ManExam2
Which of the following is the series of global strategic alliances that an organization creates with suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors to produce and market a product?
B2B network structure
The sales of Audiophile, a manufacturer of home and professional audio systems, have been declining noticeably over the last several quarters. Muaad, the CEO, meets with several managers, including Bruno, the head of the customer service department, and Ilya, a customer response team leader. It is determined that, while the company's quality and innovation standards are being met and even exceeded, its customer service is not performing as well as it should be. Muaad decides to implement a goal of raising the quality of Audiophile's interactions with customers by their next quarterly meeting. Given what you know about the control process, what should the team at Audiophile do next?
Correct answer: Muaad should meet with Bruno and Ilya to decide if a five-star rating scale is sufficient for measuring their progress and whether they need to reach a 4- or 4.5-star average.
At Cosmeto & Co., Ignas, a marketing specialist, usually works with other marketers. However, he has recently been assigned to a team to develop a new kind of shampoo. Cosmeto has a complex organizational structure, and the team developing the new shampoo has members who specialize in a variety of functions for the company, including research and design, production, and packaging. Ignas and these other members will rotate in and out of the shampoo team as their specific tasks are completed. Ignas has to report to
Correct answer: both the marketing manager and the personal care product manager.
The pattern of faulty and biased decision making that occurs in groups whose members strive for agreement at the expense of good decision making is called
Correct answer: groupthink.
Ace Components, Inc., conducted a SWOT analysis, which determined a major threat by
Correct answer: predicting low trading volumes and low volatility levels in the stock market.
To implement the fifth step of the strategic implementation process, a manager would
Correct answer: talk to employees about feedback received concerning a product they worked on.
How does the product team structure differ from the matrix structure?
It permanently assigns employees to cross-functional teams.
A group of managers at Right Stuff, Ltd., analyzes both the internal strengths and weaknesses of their organization as well as the opportunities and threats of the external environment. Which of the following planning exercises does this indicate?
Swot Analysis
TruLife Health Systems has opted for a top-down approach to changing how the company functions so that efficiency is increased. What is the change likely to entail?
a fast or revolutionary approach involving only the top managers
Managers at Dimensions, Inc., created an effective strategy formulation, which determined that the company has
a strength in R&D, a weakness in product range, and an increasing threat from companies in East Asia.
Which of the following is often known as an ad hoc committee?
a task force
Managers should attempt to collect and use all available information in the organization's planning process. This emphasizes the ________ aspect of planning.
accuracy
FinePrint, Inc., is a major book publisher in the United States. However, the future of book sales is unpredictable, thereby making FinePrint's position precarious. Which of the following should the CEO of FinePrint do in order to provide the greatest stability for the company?
acquire a cosmetics company, an auto parts company, and a baked goods company
Jack, a manager, wants to promote creativity in his company. To do this, which of the following actions would he take?
allow a subordinate to proceed on a work project even though he does not agree with how the subordinate wants to do the work
According to Charles Perrow, the routineness of technology is determined by task
analyzability
The degree to which a job allows the worker to schedule the tasks of the job and to decide how to carry out these tasks is known as
autonomy
When Gallo purchased a company that makes wine bottles, it was involved in ________ integration.
backward vertical
In the administrative model of decision making, when the number of possible alternatives to a decision is so large that the manager cannot possibly evaluate all of them before making a decision, which of the following has occurred?
bounded rationality
Jae-Kyu, a worker at Chelsea Motor Scooters, comes up with a new way to attach the fuel injection system to the motor, increasing the efficiency of the assembly process. The managers instruct all employees to attach fuel injection systems the same way so that every car comes off the assembly line with its fuel injection system attached in the new way. The managers are using ________ control.
bureautic
To determine an organization's mission, managers must first define its
business
Great Deal, Inc., is a highly profitable clothing store chain. Dom, the CEO, has decided it is time for the company to increase its competitive advantage. Dom is not worried about stability and wants to make sure he is able to be knowledgeable about all aspects of the company. Which of the following should Dom do?
buy a fabric supplier and a clothing manufacturer
A manager who takes "ownership" of a project and provides the leadership and vision that takes a commodity from the idea stage to the final customer is a product
champion
To counteract groupthink on a merchandising team, a manager decides to brings in two
co-workers of Mexican descent because none of the current members have a Latino background.
The Pizza Man implemented job design by
combining the jobs of chef and food server into a single job description
The control system that is typically used in a garment plant to solve problems like substandard inputs, broken machine parts, or a worker's skill deficiency to produce a particular type of garment is ________ control.
concurrent
Marco is considering opening a theater in a mid-size city. However, before he does this, he wants to lower the risk of such an endeavor. Many theaters have opened before but have failed because of financial difficulties. Marco has some experience as an actor and as a stage manager, but this will be his first real foray into the business side of things. To best increase his chances of achieving his goal, Marco should
conduct a survey to determine local cultural tastes, evaluate other cities as options, and search for a central location with a reasonable rent.
At the heart of organizational learning is
creativity
In managerial decision making, the ability of a manager to discover novel ideas that lead to alternative courses of action for the organization to use for solving a particular problem is known as
creativity
When different managers from different functional areas are brought together to work on an organizational task, they are known as a(n) ________ team.
cross functional
Fern Motor Co. brings together senior managers from its marketing, R—D, manufacturing, accounting, and finance departments to work together as a team to design a new type of sport utility vehicle. In this scenario, Fern Motor Co. creates a
cross functional team
Allocating authority in an organization, which gives lower-level managers and nonmanagerial employees the right to make important decisions about how to use organizational resources, is an example of
decentralization of authority
Organizations can keep their hierarchy flat by
decentralizing authority.
Which of the following activities might a manager perform if he or she is at the final stage of the control process?
deciding whether to take corrective action to meet the standard
Managers at Ferwn Pvt., Ltd., is number two in market share in the local sports equipment manufacturing industry. As part of its business-level strategy, this company
develops methods to take over the number one spot.
Coca-Cola spends an enormous amount of money on advertising to distinguish, and create a unique image for, their products. Coca-Cola is pursuing a ________ strategy.
differentiation
The most immediate and potent form of behavior control is
direct supervision
Another name for the business level of the organization is the ________ level.
divisional
Which of the following structures is an organizational structure composed of separate business units within which are the functions that work together to produce a specific product for a specific customer?
divisional
Ayaru, a marketing manager, wants to budget the advertising for a new product launch. She is trying to determine the amount of money that her company can afford to spend on advertising this new product. In the context of decision-making, which of the following criteria of alternative courses of action is Ayaru implementing?
economic feasibility
Members of which of the following groups may be considered intrapreneurs?
employees of an organization who notice opportunities to develop new products
Carlos, a manager, redesigns the job of Dani, a subordinate, so that she has more responsibility over her job. This is the process of job
enrichment
SynVens, a major retail chain in Hungary, is planning to diversify. To accomplish this, it sets up a corporate level strategy which involves
entering the textiles industry and aiming to be the first or second in market share in this industry in five years.
The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger is an example of poor managerial decision making by the managers at NASA and Morton Thiokol, who considered and then downplayed the criterion of
ethicalness
Which of the following stages in making organizational change includes benchmarking?
evaluate the change
The managers of a division are given a fixed budget and are then evaluated on the basis of their ability to produce goods or services. This is an example of a(n) ________ budget approach.
expense
At the output stage, managers usually utilize ________ control.
feedback
Gazelle Computers monitors the number of customer returns for each product model to track when the organization is producing a large number of defective products. In this case, Gazelle is using ________ control.
feedback
Futura Fabricators gives specifications to its suppliers of raw materials in an attempt to improve the quality of those raw materials and to minimize and anticipate the problems they are likely to face in the conversion process. This is an example of ________ control.
feedforward
BMW produces cars exclusively for high-income customers. BMW is pursuing a ________ strategy.
focused differentation
A company that is serving only a few market segments has most likely adopted a ________ strategy.
focused differentiation
The decision of a company to invest in state-of-the-art European production facilities is an example of a ________-level strategy.
functional
The level of an organization that contains the organization's marketing department, R&D department, and human resources department is the ________ level.
functional
Which of the following is most likely to require a short-term plan?
functional goals
CrossBorders Delivery Corporation organizes its managers according to the different regions of the world in which the managers work. This is an example of a ________ structure.
geographic
Karabo wants to start a graphic design company that will have employees who are highly skilled at using complex computer programs. For this type of company, Karabo would most likely want to
give lower-level managers and the graphic designers the authority to make important decisions.
CoreSol Ltd. implements a liaison role by
giving one manager in each of three departments (marketing, engineering, and production) the responsibility of coordinating with each other to brainstorm new product ideas.
PlayBall Enterprises produces baseball mitts in the United States, including the ones used in the major leagues. Baseball teams around the world usually want to use the same mitts as the major league teams in America. As a result, the managers of PlayBall have decided to use a ________ structure.
global product
An advantage of the differentiation strategy is
greater barriers to entry
Eduardo works a salesperson at a prescription drug store; Marietta works as a doctor, helping people who suffer from malignant diseases. Marietta most likely has
higher task significance
When an organization has a culture that leads to values and norms that fail to motivate or inspire employees, eventually leading to stagnation and often failure over time, that company has a(n) ________ culture.
inert
Organizing tools that managers use to increase communication among functions and divisions are known as ________ mechanisms.
integrating
Why is group decision making considered beneficial?
it allows more information processing correction errors
KJ, Inc., has received a poor rating for one of its newly launched products from the customers. Joe, a top manager at KJ, Inc., wants to find out why this product performed poorly. To accomplish this, which of the following decision-making steps does Joe have to implement?
learn from feedback
With reference to the steps of decision-making process, which of the following is the last step in the managerial decision-making process?
learn from feedback
Managers can increase their ability to make nonprogrammed decisions that will allow them to adapt to, modify, and even drastically alter their task environments so that they can continually increase organizational performance through organizational Correct answer:
learning
The financial ratio that indicates the degree to which the organization uses debt or equity to finance its ongoing operations is the ________ ratio.
leverage
Clark is the new CEO of Stonehedge, Inc. He wants to pursue a focused low-cost strategy for his company, which sells weapons and gear to hunters. To accomplish this, he will
make the prices of the company's hunting weapons and gear less than those of the competition.
Managers are able to be responsive to the needs of their customers and maintain flexibility in making decisions regarding customers' changing needs with a ________ structure.
market
What structure do organizations adopt when they organize divisions according to the type of customers they focus on?
market
The idea that an organization's hierarchy should be designed with as few levels of authority as are necessary to use the organization's resources in an efficient and effective manner falls under which of the following principles?
minimum chain of command
The greater the level of uncertainty in the organization's environment, the
more likely managers are to design a structure and a culture that are flexible.
With management by objectives, the first things established are
organizational obejectives
The manager of 24-7, a convenience store, keeps track of the average sale amount for each customer as a way of deciding on the product mix to be carried in the store. This is an example of ________ control.
output
________ tends to be the first type of control that all managers use to evaluate performance.
output control
Anja is taking part in a brainstorming group that is supposed to think of new storylines for films for a major studio. The studio wants creative stories that are different from previously produced films, but also marketable. However, Anja soon notices that members in the group tend to rely on old storylines, especially about superheroes, that seem like "safe" bets at the box office. Additionally, when one of them proposes an idea, the others almost invariably go along with it. What should Anja do in order to effectively counteract this dynamic?
point out that many superhero films have recently failed at the box office and that audiences are looking for alternative stories that are not similar to video games
When managers decide that they have the capabilities and resources required to implement an alternative, and they are sure that the alternative will not threaten the attainment of other organizational goals, they are focusing on which of the following criteria of alternative courses of action?
practicality
The classical model of decision making specifies how decisions should be made by managers; this is a way of saying that this model of decision making is
prescriptive
A divisional manager's performance is evaluated on the basis of the difference between the sales revenues generated by that division and the cost of making those goods and services. The divisional manager is being evaluated using the ________ budget approach.
profit
The performance ratio that measures the efficiency of the organization in terms of how well the resources of the organization have been used to generate profit is a(n) ________ ratio.
profit
When a manager is evaluated on the difference between sales revenue and the budgeted cost of making those goods and services, this is an example of a(n) ________ budget approach.
profit
An organization's finance department decides to go to the company's usual bank and take out a loan whenever the company's revenues for the month are projected to be less than its expenses. What type of decision does this represent?
programmed
Nikola, the accountant for a small firm, always pays the real estate taxes seven days before they are due. This represents which type of decision?
programmed
Regina, a manager, orders raw materials when the raw materials inventory reaches a certain point. This is an example of which type of decision
programmed
Best Grounds Coffee wants to pursue a vertical integration corporate level strategy. To accomplish this, it
purchases the supplier in Brazil that provides its coffee beans.
The CEO of a company would like to know whether his managers can pay off claims of short-term creditors without selling inventory. What ratio will help him understand the company's liquidity?
quick ratio
In assessing the need for organizational change, managers must
recognize that there is a problem and identify its source.
Hemisphere Corporation decides to enter a new type of business in order to create a competitive advantage in one of its existing businesses. Hemisphere is engaging in
related diversification
An organization's net income before taxes divided by the total assets of the organization is known as
return on investment
The manager of a profit center is evaluated on the basis of the amount of sales that have been generated from the goods or services produced in his/her division. The divisional manager is being evaluated using the ________ budget approach.
revenue
When managers know the possible outcomes of a decision and can assign probabilities to each of these outcomes in terms of their likelihood of occurrence in the future, this is known as
risk
After one person shares an idea, the next thing that should happen in a brainstorming session is
sharing of other ideas
The tool that is used in situations when programmed decision making is appropriate is a ________ plan.
standing
A formal agreement that commits two or more companies to exchange or share their resources in order to produce and market a product is known as a(n) ________ alliance.
strategic
When Procter & Gamble uses the same distribution system to deliver its oral care products and its hair care products to drugstore chains, this is an example of
synergy
The degree to which a manager feels that his or her job is "meaningful" because of the way in which the job affects other people is known as
task significance
What do managers do to regulate routine activities?
they establish rules and guidelines
Top managers in a company decide between themselves to implement an employee stock ownership plan for all their employees. This is an example of a company taking a
top-down approach to promote adaptive culture.
A software firm is considering introducing a new product on the market. However, managers cannot estimate the probability of success for the new product. Which of the following best describes the situation?
uncertainty
When managers cannot assign probabilities of future occurrence to possible alternatives with a decision, this is known as
uncertainty
When an organization enters a new type of industry, which is not similar in any way to the current businesses of the organization, it is engaged in
unrelated diversification