Final Exam
Glynnis, an employee, received an e-mail from an angry client about a certain product. Although it was not Glynnis's fault, she hesitated to report it to her manager because she knew that she would be blamed for it and could even be fired. In this case, which of the following is true of Glynnis's company?
"Shoot the messenger" management exists, implying a lack of control.
_____ is defined as a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.
Conflict
Select a reason why employees resist control systems.
Control systems can change the power structure of the organization.
Steve, long-term and successful sales professional for Durham Inc., has gained a vast degree of competitive intelligence in his 25 years with Durham. He walked into his manager's office and said, "David, for family reasons, I need to move out of state. Therefore, I've accepted a position with a competitor. I'm submitting my two weeks' notice. This isn't personal; you've been a great friend." David replied, "Steve, I'm sorry to hear this. I will truly miss you and your contributions. However, your two weeks' notice will not be required. I will walk with you to human resources right now to process your resignation, and then we will escort you to the door." David's rather terse response was intended to quickly remove Steve from Durham's premises. Why?
David wants to ensure that a soon-to-be competitor will not have ongoing access to Durham's competitive intelligence and staff through Steve.
_____ problems arise when the receiver doesn't listen carefully or reads too quickly and overlooks a key point.
Decoding
According to _____, effectiveness depends on two factors: the personal style of the leader and the degree to which a situation gives the leader power, control, and influence over the situation.
Fiedler's contingency model
Victor told his sales manager, "Our staff are dissatisfied, and they have not been displaying good citizenship since we lost the big SafeJob account." What did Victor mean regarding not displaying good citizenship?
His employees are not going the "extra mile" and helping others at work.
Which of the following statements exemplifies the importance of managerial skills?
Interpersonal skills are important throughout a manager's career, at every level of management.
____ is the process of evaluating all inputs and outputs, through the entire "cradle-to-grave" journey of a product, in order to determine the total environmental impact of its production and use.
Life cycle analysis
_____ indicate a company's ability to pay short-term debts.
Liquidity ratios
An organization that has the least structural integration of diverse workers is
Monolithic organization
Sage met her manager to discuss an issue she was facing in the office. During the meeting, her manager's phone was constantly ringing. This made it difficult for Sage to explain her problem clearly. Her manager, distracted by the ringing phone, could not grasp the significance of the problem and sent Sage back with half-hearted promises to take appropriate action. In this scenario, the ringing telephone represents
Noise
_____ is leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of an environment.
Smoothing
______ planning involves a process of translating broad strategic goals and plans into specific goals and plans relevant to a particular portion of an organization.
Tactical
_________ are work groups composed of multinational members whose activities span multiple countries.
Transnational teams
At QP Systems Inc., the authorities are taking special efforts to recruit qualified members from minority groups that have been discriminated against in the past. This is referred to as
affirmative action.
Enforcement of the _____, if only in the United States, became more vigorous following high-profile financial scandals at Enron, WorldCom, and other corporations.
antibribery law
Needs that customers acknowledge and try to satisfy are
articulated
Companies with a reputation for providing opportunities for diverse employees are most likely to
attract and retain motivated employees.
_____ leadership refers to a style in which the leader is true to himself or herself while leading.
authentic
"I'm not sure that I'm going to like our new boss," said Terry to his co-worker, Frieda. "I've noticed that when a decision needs to be made - Boom! - she makes it, announces it, and moves on without consulting any of us." Terry's new boss is using a(n) ___________ leadership approach to decision making.
autocratic
In the Hackman and Oldham model, __________ is the independence and discretion in making decisions.
autonomy
Hospitals and universities are very expensive to start and keep running because of the capital and equipment required. The requirement of personnel, such as specialized medical doctors and researchers, is also high. What does this provide an example of?
barriers to entry
_____ technology is commonplace in the industry and provides little competitive advantage.
base
Tommy, engineering manager at APC Systems, Inc., is struggling to maintain a competitive advantage in APC's marketplace. He wants to hire and retain the best staff that he can, but the best staff command high salaries. Tommy knows that high staff salaries can erode his company's profitability. But passing along these higher costs to his clients means they will start doing less business with higher-priced APC and more business with Tommy's lower-priced competitors. Tommy is struggling to
be cost competitive.
A _____________ leader lives, goes to school, travels, or works in other cultures, then returns home to lead.
bridge
Functional strategies are implemented
by each appropriate area or unit.
_______ control is based on the norms, values, shared goals, and trust among group members.
clan
_____ involves creating relationships built on mutual respect and encouraging each individual to take responsibility for his or her actions.
clan control
Social loafing can be avoided if
clear performance goals exist.
A leader with _____ power has control over punishments; people comply to avoid those punishments.
coercive
You have been asked to report on the competitive environment in the restaurant industry; therefore, you develop the __________ necessary to decide how to manage in the given environment.
competitive intelligence
A popular low-cost airline, Budget Airways, has gone out of business. Although the service and price provided by the airline was what customers wanted, the larger airlines were able to drive the low-cost airline out of business through an aggressive price war. Which component of the competitive environment does this illustrate?
competitors
An independent research laboratory entered into an agreement with a multinational agricultural company to develop a new variety of hybrid seeds for cold climates. In return, the agricultural company would fund the research. This method of acquiring new technology is known as
contracted development.
When Alex, the marketing manager of FrontStreet Inc., realized that his plan to increase sales levels was not producing the results he desired, he took quick action to make necessary adjustments. According to this scenario, Alex was exercising the management function of
controlling
In the context of organizational integration, _____ refers to a situation when interdependent units create deadlines and objectives that contribute to a common goal.
coordination by plan
_____ are companies that stay within a stable product domain as a strategic maneuver.
defenders
A _______ is a focused organizational effort to create a new product or process via technological advances.
development project
In an effort to combat groupthink and an overall lack of creativity, the group leader assigned Lucy the job of criticizing ideas, for the sake of argument, throughout the meeting. Lucy is playing the role of a
devil's advocate
A ________ organization has departmentalization that groups units around products, customers, or geographic regions.
divisional
The _____ responsibilities of business are to produce goods and services that society wants at a price that perpetuates the business and satisfies its obligations to investors.
economic
In a new team environment,
everyone works to continuously improve methods and processes.
______ are parent-company nationals who are sent to work at a foreign subsidiary.
expatriates
A leader who has _____ power has certain knowledge; people comply because they believe in, can learn from, or can otherwise gain from that knowledge.
expert
In _____ control, instead of waiting for results and comparing them with goals, a manager or employees can exert control by limiting activities in advance.
feedforward
Patricia Cutler, CEO of Band Corporation, announced the new corporate structure, naming Kyoshi Saito VP of the Far East Division, Riaz Bakri VP of the Middle East Division, Gunter Abfeld VP of the European Division, and Sam Jones VP of the Americas Division. The Band Corporation's new structure follows the ____________ approach to departmentalization.
geographic
_____ is a condition that occurs when a decision-making group loses sight of its original purpose and a new, less important aim emerges.
goal displacement
A(n) _____ is a collection of people who interact to undertake a task but do not necessarily perform as a unit or achieve significant performance improvements.
group
A pluralistic organization is best defined as an organization that
has a diverse employee population.
__________ is a structure authority directly related to the three broad levels of the organizational pyramid.
hierarchy
Allied Bank Corp. utilizes the janitorial services of Marie's Clean-It Corp. to keep their buildings clean. Marie's provides all the necessary cleaning supplies, training, background security checks (because the crew works after hours), and all other associated expenses. The other available janitorial services do not typically provide security checks, and a client such as a bank would have to hire guards to watch the work of the janitors. If Allied Bank were to consider hiring another cleaning service to replace Marie's, which of the following would the bank incur?
high switching costs
Work team diversity promotes creativity and innovation because people with different backgrounds
hold different perspectives on issues
Because his firm's product market share has declined in the past 12 months, the sales manager for RLC Group instructed his marketing professional to perform a benchmarking analysis. What would you instruct the marketing professional do for this analysis?
identify competitors' best processes and compare with RLC's processes
For the decision-making process in an organization, those who _______ a decision must understand the choice and must be committed to its successful implementation.
implement
Advocates of QWL claim that it results in
improved organizational effectiveness and productivity.
According to egoism, an ethical system,
individual self-interest is the actual motive of all conscious action.
Persuading, as one of the roles that superior team leaders perform, refers to
influencing team members, as well as obtaining external support for teams.
_____ is a team strategy that entails making decisions with the team and then letting outsiders know of its intentions.
informing
A company was required by law to change its physical work environment in such a way so as to enable disabled people to function properly. Because the company followed a(n) _____ ethics program, it did not stop at just making changes that would help it stay out of trouble with the law. It went further and trained its employees to be sensitive toward disabled people.
integrity-based
Listening to employee suggestions, gaining support for organizational objectives, and fostering an atmosphere of teamwork are all considered _____ skills.
interpersonal and communication
In the context of making ethical decisions, knowing what actions are morally defensible is referred to as moral
judgment
A transcendent education teaches students to think beyond self-interest and profitability—in fact, to
leave a legacy that extends beyond the bottom line.
In the context of horizontal structure of a firm, _____ are those that have responsibility for the principal activities of the firm.
line departments
An entrepreneur wanted to sell washing machines with dryers in a tropical country. To his disappointment, he found that nobody wanted to buy these machines. He realized that the dry climate of the country contributed to his failure. People usually hung their washed clothes out in the sun to dry. The lack of _____ was responsible for the failure of his product.
market receptiveness
_______ is the degree to which a communication channel conveys information.
media richness
______ are high-level managers who help people meet top management and learn the norms and values of the organization.
mentors
Lena uses certain principles, rules, and values such as honesty, compassion, and integrity in her daily life to determine what is right or wrong. Thus, Lena uses ____________________ when making decisions.
moral philosophy
Select the activity that is NOT a vital source of useful observations regarding nonverbal communications.
noting speech cadence
The five-by-eight inch card with one rule on it—Use good judgment in all situations—that employees at J. R. Williams Corporation receive along with the employee handbook tells the employees a great deal about their company's
organization culture.
Flatiron Inc. recently embarked on an effort to increase coordination and cooperation within the company. During the process, the managers of the organization reviewed and specified job responsibilities, grouped jobs into work units, and reallocated resources within the company. The managers were exercising the management function of
organizing.
_______ is a consequence a person receives for his or her performance.
outcome
A _____ can occur when performance is good but someone realizes that it could be better.
performance gap
GlobalMart Inc. periodically reviews the goals of the company. During the process, the managers of the company analyze their current strategies as compared to their competitors' strategies, determine goals that they will pursue, and decide upon specific actions for each area of the company to take in pursuit of these goals. With these actions, the managers are engaged in the management function of
planning.
_______ is the practice of using a fair process in decision making and making sure others know that the process is as fair as possible.
procedural justice
The most effective standards are expressed in _____ terms; they are objective more than subjective.
quantitative
During the unfreezing stage of the three-stage model to manage resistance against change, management
realizes that the past ways of thinking, feeling, and doing things are obsolete.
Communication
refers to the transmission of information and meaning from one party to another through the use of shared symbols.
Forge Right Inc., a manufacturing company, developed a strategic plan that assumed improved growth in its industry. Additionally, it generated several _____ for different economic settings. When a recession started, Forge Right Inc. quickly implemented the plan based on those conditions. As a consequence, it survived more easily than other firms in the industry.
scenarios
"Boss, I frequently hear gossip and rumors on the grapevine—some of it rather disturbing. How do you advise that I deal with this information?" asked Bobby. Sam replied, "In my experience as an employee and as a manager, I advise you to
seek more information without stirring the pot."
_______________ is the highest level need in Maslow's hierarchy.
self-actualization
______ use(s) statistical tools to analyze the causes of product defects.
six sigma quality
Theo, as part of his recent promotion, attended a training program that focused on issues like active listening, mentoring, and giving feedback. The training program required Theo to participate in exercises that focused on these areas along with other managers and employees. Theo found the seminar to be very helpful in pointing out the different approaches preferred by people from different backgrounds. This type of instruction is common in diversity training and is known as
skill building.
_____ is the process in which different individuals and units perform different tasks.
specialization
Marc was one of Stephanie's lower-quartile performers, mainly due to punctuality. In Marc's annual performance review, he submitted his draft goals for the upcoming years. One of his goals was to "Improve my punctuality." Stephanie responded, "No, Marc. That goal is not acceptable. Your goal needs to be more ________________ so that you and I can monitor and measure whether or not you are attaining your goal."
specific and quantifiable
In a major announcement at an annual medical conference, Dr. Benjamin Johnson, Research Director of Acme Pharmaceuticals, informs the medical community of a breakthrough in the treatment of diabetes. As _________________ for his organization, he answers questions posed to him by his medical research colleagues and members of the press.
spokesperson
Virtue ethics
suggests that what is moral comes from what a mature person with good "moral character" would deem right.
At the _____ leadership level, the team leader handles most (if not all) of the leadership duties, including assigning tasks, making and explaining decisions, training team members, and managing members one-on-one.
supervisory
As a manager at VTI Corp., Jules spends much of his time coaching young managers and making sure that any required information reaches all the branches for them to be successful. Jules would best be described as a(n)
tactical manager.
To assist managers in understanding their current technology base, a(n) __________________helps clarify which technologies the organization most depends upon.
technology audit
According to expectancy theory, instrumentality is
the perceived likelihood that performance will be followed by a particular outcome.
In organizing, coordination is
the procedures that link the various parts of an organization to achieve the organization's overall mission.
Technology both complicates things and creates new opportunities. The challenges come from
the rapid rate at which communication changes.
The formal planning model emphasizes a _______ approach.
top-down
A(n) ______ price is internally charged by one organizational unit for a good or service that it supplies to another unit.
transfer
A _____ leader has a special ability to generate excitement and revitalize organizations.
transformational
A(n) _______________ leader gets people to transcend their personal interests for the sake of the larger community.
transformational
Pettigrew Inc. recently decided to expand from its original base in real estate to several wide-ranging industries such as trucking, lawn mower manufacturing, and catering. Pettigrew is using the _____ corporate strategy.
unrelated diversification
_____ communication travels from lower to higher ranks in the hierarchy of an organization.
upward
Evan, a general manager at Coral Products Inc., has decided to work from home because his wife is ill. He uses e-mails and teleconferencing to communicate with his team members and customers. This system of working is an example of
virtual offices.
Discounting the future refers to
weighing short-term benefits more heavily than long-term benefits.
