mgmt 301 exam 3
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of geographically dispersed multicultural teams? A) Mutual trust is unimportant. B) They often lack traditional supervision. C) They must work more autonomously. D) Coordination between team members is challenging.
A) Mutual trust is unimportant.
________ are cooperative arrangements between two firms in which they agree to share resources to accomplish mutually desirable goals for a predetermined period of time, say, 5 years. A) Strategic alliances B) Licensing arrangements C) joint venture D) Wholly-owned subsidiaries
A) Strategic alliances
Which of the following is true of Lewin's concept of refreezing as the third phase of the change process? A) The new state should not allow reversal. B) The new state should be static. C) The new state should not be monitored. D) The new state should not be adjusted.
A) The new state should not allow reversal.
What determines whether a control is considered operational, tactical, or strategic? A) its breadth of scope B) its industry C) its effect on profitability D) its implementation schedule
A) its breadth of scope
Proponents of the balanced scorecard approach to control assert that it ________. A) links measures of organizational success more closely to strategic objectives B) simplifies the design and implementation of control measures C) takes a retroactive approach to designing organizational controls D) focuses on financial ratios and budgetary controls in order to improve profits
A) links measures of organizational success more closely to strategic objectives
Broman Group Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells consumer product dispensing systems. Jim Cole is a plant supervisor at one of the manufacturing plants of the company. He observes a dip in the performance of a worker in his team. Jim informs the employee that he will release his annual increment only if his performance improves significantly in the coming months. Which of the following is most similar to the situation mentioned here? A. Aston, the supervisor of a small organizational team, assigns inconvenient shifts to those employees who do not agree with his policies. B. Arthur, the CEO of a leading book retailer in the southeastern United States, decides to reduce the salaries of its employees due to a financial slowdown. C. Anderson, an operations manager, uses his formal authority to persuade the employees to put in additional hours of work every day. D. Andrea, the CEO of a design software and service company, asks for a formal explanation from the managers for the company's poor financial performance.
A. Aston, the supervisor of a small organizational team, assigns inconvenient shifts to those employees who do not agree with his policies.
Good Baby, Inc. is a China-based MNC with operations in 44 countries around the World. Good Baby is known for its policy of hiring the nationals of its host countries they for all positions in the company from mail room clerks all the way up to the executive suites. What kind of philosophy do you think Good Baby upholds in their hiring policy? A. Polycentric B. Geocentric C. Ethnocentric D. I've never heard of these centrism!
A. Polycentric
Calvin is the CEO of Centaur Inc. The company has incurred a loss as it has lost one of its key clients. Calvin needs to inform the owner of the company and the board of directors about this issue. In this case, which of the following mediums would be suitable for Calvin? A. face-to-face conversation B. A text message C. A memo D. An e-mail report
A. face-to-face conversation
The current sales price of a product is $25 per unit and the variable cost is $17 per unit. Fixed costs for manufacturing the product are $40,000. The break-even point is __________ units. A) 8,000 B) 5,000 C) 2,000 D) 1,000
B) 5,000
Department A shows an annual after-tax profit of $400,000 from invested assets of $12 million. Department B shows an annual after-tax profit of $400,000 from invested assets of $8 million. Which unit had the best financial performance? A) Department A performed the best. B) Department B performed the best. C) Both departments had the same financial performance. D) Performance cannot be determined from these statistics.
B) Department B performed the best.
________ involves manufacturing products in a firm's home country and shipping them to a foreign market. A) Importing B) Exporting C) Outsourcing D) Strategic marketing
B) Exporting
Traditionally, manufacturers waited until they received reports from quality control personnel to check the rate of defective products and then decide whether those rates were too high in order to take action for future operations. This system is a part of ________ control. A) feedforward B) Feedback C) Concurrent D) yes-no
B) Feedback
Which of the following is a reason for involving in decision making the people who are going to be affected by its results? A) The decision-making process will not be partial or biased toward anyone. B) They will be more committed to meeting standards that they themselves have created. C) The degree of difficulty will neither be too difficult nor too ambitious. D) They will be more accepting of losses and failures if they are involved from the start.
B) They will be more committed to meeting standards that they themselves have created.
According to the force field analysis, equilibrium occurs when ________ of change are balanced with ________ of change resulting in a relatively steady state. A) external forces; internal forces B) driving forces; restraining forces C) maintenance forces; corrective forces D) demographic forces; societal forces
B) driving forces; restraining forces
In EduTech, a software company, the views and suggestions of managers are considered unquestionable and employees never go against what has been suggested by the managers. Sole authority rests in the hands of the managers. What is this an example of? A) uncertainty avoidance B) power distance C) individualism D) gender focus
B) power distance
Which of the following is a dimension of national culture? A) political stability B) uncertainty avoidance C) regulations D) economic development
B) uncertainty avoidance
Which of the following is the best example of selective perception acting as a barrier to interpersonal communication? A. subordinate employee does not make eye contact with his manager when speaking to him. B. A customer focuses only on the product's price and ignores the salesperson's advice on quality. C. An employee agrees with his boss' suggestions even though he believes his boss is wrong. D. An employee misinterprets a colleague's sincere compliment as mockery.
B. A customer focuses only on the product's price and ignores the salesperson's advice on quality.
________ refers to the flow of goods and services, capital, knowledge and cultures across country borders. A. Globality B. Globalization C. Repatriation D. Internationalization
B. Globalization
The essence of the organizational development (OD) approach to organizational change is ________. A. having information technology play a central role in the change effort B. its emphasis on planned efforts focusing on people and their interrelationships in organizations C. redesigning a firm's processes to achieve dramatic improvements D. its skill at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and modifying its behavior to accommodate changes
B. its emphasis on planned efforts focusing on people and their interrelationships in organizations
Romano Ware manufactures kitchen utensils. It is headquartered in Jakarta and has an international presence. Its production sites and sales locations are situated in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The organization is highly decentralized, and region or country managers can tailor their strategies to local market conditions and demands. Which of the following approaches is Romano Ware using? A. international B. multidomestic C. global D. transnational
B. multidomestic
Which of the following statements is true of break-even point? A) It cannot be used for control purposes in business organizations. B) It can be reached by selling very few units if the fixed costs are high. C) It is calculated as the ratio of the total fixed costs to the contribution margin of a unit. D) It helps managers exercise control after the product has been created and is ready for marketing.
C) It is calculated as the ratio of the total fixed costs to the contribution margin of a unit.
In which of the following cases is the need for change the least? A) when the difference between performance and standard is negative B) when the difference between performance and standard is positive C) No difference exists between performance and standard. D) There is no well-defined standard to measure performance by.
C) No difference exists between performance and standard.
Which of the following is true for a globally focused organization? A) Managers can tailor strategies to local market conditions and demands. B) It allows a subsidiary to react quickly to changes in the marketplace. C) They attempt to market a relatively standardized product across geographic markets. D) It strives to be simultaneously centralized and decentralized.
C) They attempt to market a relatively standardized product across geographic markets.
As a reason for resistance to change, the term inertia means ________. A) lacking adequate information about the need for change B) being comfortable with the present way of doing things C) mistrusting those who are communicating the need for change D) refusing to believe that change is necessary or helpful
C) being comfortable with the present way of doing things
People who live in countries that score high on individual orientations tend to ________. A) value collective decisions B) emphasize group membership C) emphasize and reward individual achievement D) exhibit emotional dependence on organizations
C) emphasize and reward individual achievement
Generally, when a company institutes a change to counter that of a rival company, it is making a change in its ________. A) structure B) staffing C) strategy D) systems
C) strategy
An organization has just begun to initiate major changes in its manufacturing processes. There has been some resistance among employees to these changes, but middle management has developed some specific approaches to enlist cooperation among the employees. To explain the changes to employees and the logic behind the decisions to make the changes, a series of small group discussions has been organized. In addition, management offered a vacation time bonus to be awarded to employee groups who meet the organization's timeline for implementing the changes. Which of the following methods of managing resistance to change is used in the third approach? A. Education and communication B. Facilitation and support C. Cooptation D. Negotiation and rewards
C. Cooptation
A large, bureaucratic organization is about to undertake a massive change in the way it does business. These changes will include redesigning processes, reward systems, and managerial selection and training. The ultimate goal of these changes is to improve the company's efficiency, allowing it to achieve many goals at the same time. For the purpose, the company develops a project team, which is asked to identify the factors that prevent people from changing and also those that drive them toward change. Which of the following techniques should be used by the project team to identify what prevents people from changing and what drives them toward change? A. Performance gap analysis analysis B. Resistance analysis C. Force-field analysis D. Adapter analysis
C. Force-field analysis
In the Fall of 2018 a search committee was appointed to hire a new Dean of the Isenberg School of Management. At which stage of group development did the committee come to an agreement about the way they should behave toward one another, and the procedures to be followed at all meetings? A. Forming B. Storming C. Norming D. Performing
C. Norming
A machine that Miguel works on has ceased to function. Even though his manager would be able to help him, Miguel fears informing his manager and decides to solve the problem himself. Miguel's act illustrates a common organizational communication problem referred to as _________ A. shielding. B. insubordination. C. filtering. D. negative instrumentality.
C. filtering.
_____ refers to a reaction to conflict that involves moderate attention to both parties' concerns without being either highly cooperative or highly assertive.
Compromising
High-performing employees in an organization can be retained by ________. A) close monitoring B) increased workload C) increased feedback D) increased recognition
D) increased recognition
Within the context of organizational change, which of the following practices focus on shared values and culture? A) replacing batching with continuous-flow manufacturing B) encouraging cooperation through a cross-training program C) changing from a niche market to a general market approach D) instituting participatory decision making throughout the organization
D) instituting participatory decision making throughout the organization
The ratio of return on investment (ROI) measures the profitability of a business unit by comparing ________ to ________. A) activity; sales B) liquidity; liability C) inventory cost; inventory turnover D) net profit before taxes; total assets invested
D) net profit before taxes; total assets invested
In high-context cultures, the situation has a ________ influence on what is considered appropriate behavior. A) minimal B) marginal C) negligible D) significant
D) significant
A sales manager announces that all weekly sales reports must be submitted via e-mail, rather than hardcopy. However, some of the veteran staff members are still putting their reports in the manager's office mailbox. Which of the following would be the least effective way of winning over those who are resistant to this change? A) providing all required hardware, software, and training B) explaining how electronic submissions save time, paperwork, and money C) praising staff when they successfully submit their reports electronically D) stressing that younger staff members have no problem e-mailing their reports
D) stressing that younger staff members have no problem e-mailing their reports
Within the context of organizational change, which of the following practices focus on shared values and culture? A. Replacing batching with continuous-flow manufacturing. B. Encouraging cooperation through a cross-training program. C. Changing from a niche market to a general market approach. D. Instituting participatory decision making throughout the organization
D. Instituting participatory decision making throughout the organization
Which of the following is an advantage of oral communication? A. The message stays the same even if relayed through many people. B. It provides the receiver with more time to analyze the message. C. The message can be revised several times. D. It is more persuasive than written communication.
D. It is more persuasive than written communication.
A(n) ________ is a small group of people involved in intense discussions of the positive and negative features of a company's products or services. A. monitoring group B. interest group C. T- group D. focus group
D. focus group
Jenson Foods is a giant global conglomerate headquartered in Patterson, New Jersey and has subsidiaries in many countries across the world. Each subsidiary has its own manufacturing facility, which produces products that are tailored for its domestic consumers. Jenson Foods is following a ________ strategy. A. global B. international C. transnational D. multi-domestic
D. multi-domestic
_________ enhance(s) team performance, even among virtual teams.
Empowerment1
Which of the following is true of innovation in the context of management?
It is a new method that creates value.
________ goals are higher-level goals taking priority over specific individual or group goals that can be used to encourage collaboration.
Superordinate
_____ develop and maintain harmony within the team; they boost morale, give support, provide humor, soothe hurt feelings, and exhibit concern for members' well-being.
Team maintenance roles
Which of the following characteristics tends to increase the speed at which an innovation will spread?
The innovation can be tried without significant cost.
Which of the following best describes pacing technologies?
They have yet to prove their full value but have the potential to alter the rules of competition.
Zev, an assistant in the marketing department at Huntington's, is assigned to a team with Ajoy, Tiffany, and DeAnne. DeAnne and Ajoy are consistently among the top salespeople at the company and are outgoing and well-liked. Farhad, Zev's boss, has observed that, while Zev is a good employee, he is generally introverted and quiet and is disinclined toward making more effort than he has to. However, when Zev begins working with his team, he becomes more engaged, inclined to speak up, and invested in the team's goals. What is most likely the cause of this social facilitation effect?
Zev is more motivated when other people are present.
Floyd is the CEO of Black Sand Inc. He is in need of an updated technology and is questioning whether he should develop it or acquire it from external sources. This is an example of
a make-or-buy decision.
In their projections for last quarter, the top management at Health First Medical Supply had hoped to sell 10,000 units of their newest model of defibrillator. But when the final tallies came in, sales had fallen far short, with less than 7,000 units sold. The difference is an example of
a performance gap.
Too much happy talk from senior management, an absence of a major crisis, too many visible resources, and low overall performance standards often lead to
a sense of complacency.
Which of the following lateral role relationships exists when top management centralizes an activity to which a large number of other units must gain access?
a service relationship
Which of the following is a characteristic of the norming stage of group development?
agreeing on shared goals
A(n) ________ firm needs to stay technologically competitive but tends to allow others to demonstrate solid demand in new arenas before it responds.
analyzer
A team that controls decisions about and execution of a complete range of tasks, including acquisitions, operations, quality control, maintenance, and shipping, is known as a(n)
autonomous work group.
Although ________ is useful to maintain orderliness and gain efficiencies, it is an enemy of innovation.
bureaucracy
Julian is the founder and CEO of Backyard Paradise, a company that designs and markets home and garden furniture made from reclaimed and recycled materials. He is putting together a team to revamp the company's social media presence. How can he ensure that the team is cohesive and has high-performance norms?
by selecting people who have similar backgrounds and attitudes, but are not too homogeneous
Reflection is a process
by which a person states what he or she believes the other person is saying.
"I can see that you're stuck on that problem," said Rahul to his subordinate. "You need some new ideas. I recommend that you assemble a team to help you. A team
can bring about innovation and change."
The transmission of information and meaning from one party to another through the use of shared symbols is known as
communication
Media richness is described as the degree to which a(n)
communication channel conveys information.
An advantage of one-way communication over two-way is the fact that
communication is faster and easier.
The primary role of a management team is to
coordinate and provide direction to subunits.
Marcy Johannson, Director of Innovation, told her team, "Next year, we will use a new approach to product development known as ________. That is, we will take a human-centered approach to innovation that integrates customer needs, the potential of technology, and the requirements for business success."
design thinking
Julia focuses her organization in an effort to use technological advances to create a new process. Julia is leading her organization through a
development project.
Janet, president of Glasgow Textiles, just gave the workers in her factory a pep talk. This is an example of ________ communication.
downward
Of the five groups of adopters of a new technology, the group that includes the people or organizations to which others look for leadership, ideas, and up-to-date technical information are known as the
early adopters.
A method of managing resistance to change that is best applied before changes occur, and which can involve one-on-one discussions, presentations to groups, and reports is the ________ approach.
education and communication
As operations manager for Greenway's, a nationwide drug-store chain, Tyrone instituted a number of changes. These included removing procedures that were slowing down checkout lines, providing employees with the information and authority they needed to do their jobs better, and stepping up the rewards program for high achievers. Tyrone was thus leading change by
empowering broad-based action.
Which of the following should management do to properly empower a team?
entrust the team with responsibility, allowing them to make decisions on their own
"Yikes! In my meeting with my boss, I can't tell her exactly what just happened! I will have to withhold some of the facts and skew the results a bit," thought Penny. Penny is planning to use ________ when meeting with her manager.
filtering
A technique for managing the change process by identifying the specific factors that prevent people from changing, as well as those that will drive them toward change, is known as ________ analysis.
force-field
When rumors proliferate, the ________ can become destructive.
grapevine
Messages via oral channels generally
have no permanent record.
Which of the following can help leaders build teams that are cohesive and have high-performance norms?
helping the team succeed and publicizing its successes
Which of the following refers to the stage of the technology life cycle that is characterized by recognition of a need, a perception of a means to satisfy that need through applied science or knowledge, and slow progress?
identifying early problems
One of the determinants in assessing market receptiveness is the
immediate, valuable application of the new technology.
A disadvantage of electronic communication is the
inability to pick up on subtle, nonverbal clues.
"Raymond, why aren't the chemists using the new mass spectrometer that we bought for them? It's actually easier for them to use," said the division manager. Raymond replied, "It's simply ________. The old ways of doing work are comfortable, so people don't want to try something new."
inertia
Even after optical scanning and e-mailing became accepted technologies for sharing documents, some people still resisted using them in favor of methods they were used to, such as faxing. This type of resistance to change is best classified as
inertia
"I am implementing a boundaryless organization—an organization without significant barriers to information flow," said Jeannine Smythe, Chief Information Officer. "This free flow does not imply a random free-for-all of unlimited communication and information overload. Rather, it means
information will be available as needed."
A disadvantage of technology leadership is
infrastructure costs.
Which of the following options would a company choose when it wants to develop a technology and keep it proprietary?
internal development
When one of his subordinates sat down in his office and began by saying "There's something you do as a boss that I really don't like," Chan could have gotten defensive. Instead he did his best not to get emotional and tried to hear what the employee was really saying. In the end, the meeting proved successful, in part because Chan applied the listening skill of
keeping an open mind.
Low Tide Inc. adopts a new technology purely out of social pressure. In this case, Low Tide Inc. would be classified as part of the ________ group of adopters of new technology.
late majority
A disadvantage of oral communication is that the
likelihood of spontaneous, ill-considered statements is relatively high.
"Kellen, always strive to have a high-performing ________ reporting to you. These individuals will coordinate and give direction to the subunits under their jurisdiction and integrate work among the subunits. This will be key to your success," said Vaughn, Kellen's mentor.
management team
An example of filtering would be when
managers give subordinates unwarranted compliments instead of honest criticism.
Which of the following is a characteristic of the storming stage of group development?
maneuvering for power and status
When other tactics for managing resistance to change will not work or are too expensive, the ________ approach offers a relatively quick and inexpensive solution to resistance problems.
manipulation and cooptation
When an organization attempts to introduce a change, but its employees fail to see how the proposed action represents an improvement or even fits in with company strategy, the result is likely resistance to change motivated by
misunderstanding.
Which of the following best exemplifies the work of a task specialist
moving the team toward its objectives
Ringing telephones, thoughts about unrelated issues, and fatigue that blocks perfect understanding are all examples of ________ in the communication process.
noise
Retail managers can use ________ to determine which inventory items require the most attention. A. EOQ modeling B. CPS scheduling C. Breakeven analysis D. ABC analysis
not A or C, D?
A systemwide application of behavioral science knowledge to improve and reinforce the strategies, structures, and processes that lead to organization effectiveness is known as
organization development
used properly, teams can be powerfully effective as a building block for
organization structure.
Jenna's supervisor was lamenting the fact that their company could not simultaneously meet the needs of their existing customer base (primarily consumers over the age of forty) and make inroads to the growing youth market. Jenna, on the other hand, came up with a plan for doing both, an example of
organizational ambidexterity.
A team strategy that emphasizes internal team building while simultaneously achieving external visibility is called
parading.
In managing resistance to organizational changes, the facilitation and support method is most likely to be used when
people are resisting because of adjustment problems
When Donald tells Carla, "I need you to get this done right away," what she hears is different from what he says. The reason is most likely a difference in ________ between the two of them.
perception
With an economic downturn on the horizon, the top management at Lakecraft Boating projected a corresponding slump in the sale of its high-end boats. Therefore, it decreased production goals for models in the upper price ranges and concentrated more of its efforts on lower-end pontoon boats. This is an example of
proactive change.
Billy works at a leather factory as an experimental scientist. Through his experiments, he learns that soaking leather in a lime mixture infused with oil from a species of wildflower cuts in half the time and labor needed to soften leather. As a result, the factory changes its leather softening procedure to incorporate Billy's more efficient method. Billy's discovery is an example of
process innovation.
A(n) ________ is a person who promotes a new technology throughout the organization in an effort to obtain acceptance of and support for it.
product champion
"Boss, we will need to integrate a timer as a new technology into our control system. However, as you know, we don't manufacture timers. If you agree, I will arrange to ________; that will be the simplest, easiest, and most cost-effective way to acquire this new technology," said Syl Brooks, engineering manager.
purchase it
"Miguel, as you progress in your career, always anticipate and prepare for an uncertain future. Create and manage the future you want," said Jolene, Miguel's manager. "Don't let the future manage you. Don't engage in ________ by responding to pressure after a problem has already arisen. That's what followers do."
reactive change
When internal audits revealed significant quarterly shortfalls due to employee theft, Dream Home Building Supply made a number of changes and instituted a number of controls and safeguards to prevent future theft. This last step is an example of
refreezing
A benefit that teams provide to their members is
satisfaction of important personal needs, such as affiliation.
Companies that try to change the structure of their industry, creating a future competitive landscape of their own design, are known as
shapers
People are more likely to remember and buy into a message expressed as a simple ________ with unexpected, concrete, and credible elements.
story
An organization development intervention that relates to organization structure and design, employee involvement, and work design is known as a(n) ________ intervention.
techno-structural
Gene asks his employee Rhian to clearly identify the technologies that their company depends on most. Gene is asking Rhian to perform a(n)
technology audit.
Bob's Soccer Gear, a manufacturer of soccer accessories, adopted a change in soccer ball composition pioneered by other manufacturers, thereby avoiding the costs and risks of innovation. This is an example of
technology followership.
Darren is preparing to give a major presentation. One of the things he needs to remember is to
tell the audience the purpose of the presentation.
Benchmarking is
the process of comparing an organization's practices and technologies with those of other companies.
Individuals are generally more motivated to work hard when they are in the presence of others, are concerned with what others think of them, and want to maintain a positive self-image. This is called
the social facilitation effect.
An advantage of electronic communication is that
there is increased speed and efficiency for routine messages.
Introducing and sustaining multiple policies, practices, and procedures across multiple units and levels in an organization is known as
total organization change.
Collins and Porras believe many individuals and companies are plagued by the ________, which is an unnecessarily constraining belief that only one goal but not another can be attained.
tyranny of the or
The three basic stages of managing resistance and motivating change within an organization are
unfreezing, moving to institute the change, and refreezing.
Thanks to a brainstorm on the part of Yolanda, chief operations officer for Top Mart Building Supply, the company just had a very productive afternoon. Top management, along with sales personnel and front-line workers, sat down together in a number of break-out sessions that gave employees an opportunity to discuss their ideas, wish lists, complaints, and so forth. This is an example of
upward communication.
Loss of human interaction, burnout caused by long hours with technical tools, and lack of guidance for inexperienced employees are among the disadvantages of
virtual offices.