6:
Identify the questions that a supervisor needs to answer in order to create an action plan
- Who will take the necessary steps? - When must each step of the plan be completed? - What actions need to be taken?
Identify an example of feedback control in an organization.
A supervisor reviewing customer comments about service
_____ is a characteristic of an effective control system in an organization.
Acceptability
_____ objectives are formed by determining how to help a department or division in an organization meet its objectives, as well as how to meet a supervisor's own career objectives.
Personal
Identify an example of negative reinforcement.
Supervisors coaching employees on how to deal with customers who are upset
Identify a true statement about policies.
They do not spell out the details of how to handle a specific situation.
True or false: The cost of using the control system in an organization should be greater than the benefit derived from using them.
This is false. The control system used in an organization should be economical. In general, this means that the cost of using the controls should be less than the benefit derived from using them.
True or false: In an organization, a reason why flexibility in an effective control system is important is that performance measures might be incompatible.
This is true. An effective control system in an organization should be flexible. One reason flexibility is important is that performance measures might be incompatible.
True or false: Fixing the problem in an organization can entail adjusting a process, the behavior of an individual employee, or the standard itself.
This is true. Fixing the problem in an organization can entail adjusting a process, the behavior of an individual employee, or the standard itself. For process and behavioral problems, supervisors can choose from among a number of possible actions.
Identify a characteristic of an effective control system in an organization.
Timeliness
Which of the following is an example of positive reinforcement?
Verbally praising employees for a job well done
A(n) ______ is a scheme for how to achieve an objective.
action plan
A management function of making sure that work goes according to plan is known as _____.
controlling
A contingency plan involves how a supervisor _____.
creates backup strategies for every original one
_____ specify the desired accomplishments of an organization in part or as a whole.
objectives
The development of objectives that specify how divisions, departments, and work groups will support organizational goals is known as _____.
operational planning
The creation of long-term goals for organizations is known as _____.
strategic planning
A(n) _____ is in the best position to provide information about the needs, abilities, and progress of his or her department or work group to higher-level managers.
supervisor
In organizations, operational planning is typically performed by _____.
supervisors
Identify the ways in which supervisors create an action plan
- By answering where a particular task will take place - By answering how work will be done
In the process of controlling in an organization, which of the following are true of a budget?
- It is useful as a type of performance standard. - It is useful as a plan for spending money.
Identify the factors that influence the way supervisors set performance standards in an organization.
- The expectations of the supervisors' employer - The experience of the supervisors - The type of work being monitored by the supervisors
Identify the actions that supervisors can take to fix process and behavioral problems in an organization.
- Training employees - Improving communication with employees - Developing new rewards for good performance
What are the steps involved in the process of management by objectives (MBO) in an organization in order of occurrence?
1. All individuals in the organization work with their managers to set objectives, specifying what they are to do in the next operating period 2. Each individual's manager periodically reviews the individual's performance to see whether he or she is meeting the objectives. 3. The organization rewards individuals on the basis of how close they come to fulfilling the objectives
What are the steps involved in the process of controlling used by a supervisor in the correct order of occurrence?
1. the supervisor establishes performance standards 2. the supervisor monitors actual performance and compares it with established standards 3. The supervisor reinforces success or makes some adjustment to bring performance and the established standards into line
When setting performance standards, which of the following should supervisors avoid?
Being too dependent on the organization's past performance
Which type of control system do employees appreciate in an organization?
Controls that focus on areas over which they themselves have some control
What is at the heart of a control function?
Detection of problems
Identify a way to get employees involved in setting objectives.
Developing objectives as a work group along with supervisors
When using a budget as a tool for control, a supervisor typically compares actual expenses on a project with the amounts in the budget.
This is true. In controlling, a budget is useful as a kind of performance standard. A supervisor typically compares actual expenses with the amounts in the budget.
In the context of positive reinforcement, a supervisor's actions will depend on _____.
company and union rules regarding superior performance
Planning what to do if original plans do not work out is known as _____ planning.
contingency
An important application of planning personal objectives in an organization is _____.
effectively managing the use of one's time
Higher management relies on supervisors to provide _____.
estimates of personnel to accomplish their work
_____ control is the type of control that focuses on past performance in an organization.
feedback
For supervisors, the process of planning includes _____.
figuring out what tasks a department needs to complete to achieve its goals
An effective control system in an organization should be _____.
flexible
Objectives with a broad focus are known as _____.
goals
One way to get employees involved in setting objectives is to _____.
have them write down what they think they can accomplish in the coming year
In the context of the control process, the exception principle is beneficial when it _____.
helps a supervisor manage his or her time wisely and motivate employees
In an organization, the process of allocating human resources includes determining _____.
how many and what kind of employees a department will need
In an organization, the process of allocating equipment resources includes determining _____.
how much equipment is needed to meet a department's objectives
A formal system for planning in which managers and employees at all levels set objectives for what they are to accomplish is known as _____.
management by objectives
_____ involves the removal of something unpleasant after a desired behavior has occurred.
negative reinforcement
_____ refers to the management function of setting goals and determining how to meet them.
planning
Broad guidelines for how to act are known as ______
policies
_____ involves the presentation of something pleasant after a desired behavior has occurred.
positive reinforcement
In the context of the control process, encouragement of a behavior by associating it with a reward is known as _____.
reinforcement
In the context of the process of controlling in an organization, measures of what is expected are known as _____.
standards
The long-term goals created through strategic planning for organizations include the _____.
type and quality of goods or services the organization is to provide
The information gained from the control process is beneficial only if supervisors _____.
use it as the basis for reinforcing behavior
In a control system, _____ refers to the size of the difference between actual performance and the standard to be met.
variance
