MGMT 3340 (Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3) Exam 1
Daniel, a manager at Joe's Fish Shack, monitors the performance of workers in his department to check if the quality of their work is meeting the performance standards of the company. In doing so, which managerial task is Daniel performing?
controlling
In _____, managers evaluate how well the organization is accomplishing its goals.
controlling
Managers who accept the assumptions of Theory Y
create a work setting that encourages commitment.
Which of the following is an element of planning?
deciding which goals the organization will pursue and what strategies will achieve those goals
Which of the following does planning involve in an organization?
developing strategies for how to achieve high performance
Helen doesn't always agree with her manager's decisions, but she always follows her manager's orders. This obedience to a manager's authority is most consistent with Fayol's principle of
discipline
Following an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the CEO of an American petroleum company took the responsibility for correcting the environmental damages caused by his company. According to Mintzberg's typology, in doing so, he is performing the role of a
disturbance handler.
Job specialization refers the process by which
division of labor occurs as different workers gain expertise in tasks.
The general ability to understand, alter, lead, and control the behavior of other workers is a _____ skill.
human
Joey has worked in a bicycle factory for several months. The assembly process requires multiple tasks, and over the months Joe's supervisor has assigned him to several different jobs throughout the production line. His most recent assignment is applying the custom paint and adding the decals. Adding the decals requires perfection, and Joe does it quickly and always performs the task well, so his supervisor will keep him in this position. This is an example of
job specialization.
Which of the following managerial tasks does a manager perform when he/she articulates a clear organizational vision for the organization's members to accomplish?
leading
Which of the following tasks does a manager perform when he/she energizes employees and enables them to understand the part each of them plays in achieving organizational goals?
leading
SkyGen, an airlines company, appointed an engineer to be the link between the company's R&D department and the government contractor who is sponsoring the designing and prototyping of a new fighter airplane. According to Mintzberg, the engineer appointed by SkyGen to be the link between the company's R&D department and the government contractor is playing the role of a
liaison
Communication among managers in Angela's business was slowing down the pace of planning and organizing, so Angela recently merged some of the company's departments and cut back on the number of levels of managers. Which of Fayol's principles of management supports Angela's decision?
line of authority is the chain of command extending from the top to the bottom of an organization. Fayol was one of the first management theorists to point out the importance of limiting the length of the chain of command by controlling the number of levels in the managerial hierarchy. The more levels in the hierarchy, the longer communication takes between managers at the top and bottom and the slower the pace of planning and organizing. Restricting the number of hierarchical levels to lessen these communication problems lets an organization act quickly and flexibly.
Which of the following is a consequence of restructuring?
loss of jobs
The PRP Company manufactures plastic components. The company has a low level of efficiency and low level of effectiveness, which means it is most likely to produce a
low-quality product that customers do not want.
Ally works on a production line. Her manager has moved several of her coworkers around to achieve the right worker-task specialization and to link people and tasks by the speed of the production line. If successful, the manager will
lower costs.
Fayol's principle of initiative suggests that
managers should encourage employees to act on their own without direction from a supervisor.
The outcome of the control process is the ability to
measure performance accurately and regulate organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
Emma is a highly efficient manager. This implies that she
minimizes the amount of input resources without compromising quality.
According to Mintzberg's typology, a manager who evaluates the performance of other managers in different tasks and takes corrective action to improve their performance is a
monitor
According to Mintzberg's typology, a manager who establishes agreements with other organizations about pooling company resources while working on joint projects is a(n)
negotiator.
Large companies like General Electric face challenges in maintaining a competitive edge with innovation because
new products or offerings must be approved by layers of formal bureaucracy, which slows down the process.
A(n) _____ is a collection of people who work together and coordinate their actions to achieve a wide variety of goals.
organization
In which of the following managerial tasks are work relationships restructured to facilitate the interaction and cooperative efforts of organizational members, all of whom strive to achieve organizational goals?
organizing
_____ refers to the tendency of a closed system to lose its ability to control itself, and thus disintegrate.
Entropy
_____ is (are) known for refining Taylor's analysis of work movements.
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
Which of the following statements is consistent with the principles of scientific management?
Increase job specialization in order to make the production process more efficient.
______ is the process of creating new or improved products that customers want.
Innovation
Which of the following is true of scientific management?
It resulted in job dissatisfaction for many workers.
The Art Hub makes and sells paintings, sculptures, and small craft items. Its products meet consumer needs, but are often too expensive to buy. Which of the following is most likely to be true with regard to the company?
Its product manager achieves company goals but uses resources inadequately.
Robert is the product manager at Digital Digs, LLC, a company that manufactures computer accessories. He is known for his effectiveness and efficiency, qualities that are highly regarded in the company where he works. Which of the following can be fittingly inferred with regard to Digital Digs?
Its products meet consumer needs at a price they can afford.
Oceania Unlimited Inc. is a tourism agency that offers special holiday packages in the Pacific region. Every year, as an incentive, the most efficient and effective manager in the network gets an all-expenses-paid trip to one of Oceania's islands. Which of the following managers is most likely to meet these requirements?
Karen, who chooses the right goals to pursue, and makes clever use of resources to achieve them
_____ is the managerial task that involves managers using their power, personality, influence, persuasion, and communication skills to coordinate people and groups so their activities and efforts are in harmony.
Leading
_____ refers to the chain of command extending from the top to the bottom of an organization
Line of authority
Which of the following explains why Apple operates with an organic structure?
Management is able to stay abreast of technological developments and changing competitive conditions.
_____ refers to a system of task and authority relationships that controls how employees use resources to achieve a company's goals.
Organizational structure
______ means providing a work environment that is physically and psychologically safe.
Social responsibility
_____ is the performance gain caused by two or more departments coordinating their efforts.
Synergy
_____ skills are job-specific skills required to perform a particular type of work or occupation at a high level.
Technical
Mayfair Mobile's external environment is changing rapidly, and it responds by decentralizing decisions to lower-level managers so that the organization can react faster. Which of the following types of organizational structure allows this?
an organic structure
Fayol recommended the use of _____ to show the position and duties of each employee and to indicate which positions an employee might move to or be promoted to in the future.
an organizational chart
Administrative management is the study of how
an organizational structure is to be created such that it leads to high efficiency and effectiveness.
Which of the following revelations from different research studies came to be known as the Hawthorne effect?
workers' productivity being affected more by the attention received from researchers than by the work setting
Craig is a highly effective manager. This implies that he
chooses appropriate goals and then achieves them.
The primary message of _____ is that there is no one best way to organize.
contingency theory
Abby, the CEO of Little Angel Photography, reviews the performance of her company over the last quarter to determine whether they are meeting the planned sales and profitability goals. In this instance, which managerial task is she performing?
controlling
low effectiveness, low efficiency
A low-value product that customers do not want manager chooses wrong goals and make poor use of resources
high effectiveness, high efficiency
A product that customers want at a quality and price that they can afford
high effectiveness, low efficiency
A product that customers want, but that is too expensive to buy managers choose the right goals but does a poor job of using the resources
_____ is a management technique that involves giving employees more authority and responsibility over how they perform their work activities.
Empowerment
_____ gives managers the right to direct and control their subordinates' behavior to accomplish organizational goals.
Authority
_______ is the power to hold workers accountable for their actions and to make decisions about the use of organizational resources.
Authority
_____ refers to the concentration of authority at the top of the organizational chart instead of being distributed throughout the managerial hierarchy.
Centralization
_____ is defined as the ability of one organization to outperform other organizations because it produces desired goods or services more efficiently and effectively than its competitors.
Competitive advantage
_____ is the measure of the appropriateness of the goals selected by management for the organization and the degree to which the organization accomplishes these goals.
Effectiveness
_____ is the measure of how productively an organization uses its resources to achieve a goal.
Efficiency
Paula started a new bakery business. Because she must meet specific requirements from the state health department, Paula has decided to use a mechanistic structure for management. Which of the following supports Paula's choice to organize and control the business with a mechanistic structure?
Employees are closely supervised and follow well-defined rules and standard operating procedures.
According to Taylor, the production process becomes more efficient with
an increase in division of labor through specialization.
Employees at Southwest Airlines have highly flexible job descriptions that enable them to chip in and help where needed. Employees are encouraged to help solve problems where they see them. Thus, it's not uncommon to see a Southwest manager helping move passenger luggage into aircraft or check in passengers at a gate. This is an example of:
Theory Y.
Which of the following is true of rules?
They are mandatory instructions
Which of the following is true of top managers?
They have cross-departmental responsibility.
Which of the following is true of middle managers?
They make specific decisions about the production of goods and services.
_____ is the creation of a new vision for a struggling company using a new approach to planning and organizing to make better use of a company's resources and allow it to survive and eventually prosper.
Turnaround management
low effectiveness, high efficiency
a high quality product that customers do not want manager chooses inappropriate goals but makes good use of resources to pursue these goals
A company with a high level of efficiency and low level of effectiveness is most likely to produce
a high-quality product that customers do not want.
In the context of the human relations movement and related studies, who among the following is a "ratebuster?"
a person performing above the work-group performance norm
A company with a high level of efficiency and effectiveness is most likely to produce
a product that customers want at a quality and price they can afford.
Henry Fayol believed that in order to increase the efficiency of the management process, it is essential that
all organizational members are entitled to be treated with justice and respect.
Which of the following is a consequence of empowerment?
an increase in performance
organic structure
authority is decentralized to middle and first-line managers to encourage them to take responsibility and act quickly to pursue scarce resources. Departments are encouraged to take a cross-departmental or functional perspective, and cross-functional teams composed of people from different departments are formed. As in Follett's model, the organization operates in an organic way because authority rests with the individuals, departments, and teams best positioned to control the current problems the organization is facing. As a result, managers in an organic structure can react more quickly to a changing environment than can managers in a mechanistic structure. However, an organic structure is generally more expensive to operate because it requires that more managerial time, money, and effort be spent on coordination. So it is used only when needed—when the organizational environment is unstable and changing rapidly.47 Google, Apple, and 3M are examples of companies that operate with organic structures.
Companies are using self-managed teams to
better utilize the workforce.
A company that specializes in making computer accessories has its managers concentrate on improving the quality of one of their products. The new product is more advanced than those of their competitors, and customers are willing to pay more for the higher quality. By _______, this company outperformed its competitors by producing a product more efficiently and effectively than their competitors.
building a competitive advantage
According to Mintzberg's typology, a manager who commits organizational resources to develop innovative goods and services is a(n)
entrepreneur
To increase effectiveness, middle managers
evaluate whether the organization's goals are appropriate.
Supervisors are also referred to as _____ managers.
first-line
EZtronics' approach to management is consistent with Theory Y because managers at EZtronics
have created a work setting that allows workers to exercise initiative.
Melissa, the HR manager of a publishing house, has been asked to increase the level of efficiency at the workplace. She decides to restructure work relationships within the company and categorize people into departments according to the kinds of job-specific tasks they perform. Which of the following managerial tasks is Melissa performing?
organizing
In which of the following managerial tasks do managers select appropriate goals for the organization?
planning
Marietta is the product manager at Fireflies Ltd., a company that designs and manufactures clothes and fashion accessories. Noticing the rising popularity of rhinestone jewelry and the fact that only a handful of stores actually stocked it, she decided to take advantage of the latent demand in the market. Marietta knew that she was taking a risk by committing organizational resources to pursuing this idea, but was confident about the merit of her decision. In deciding the allocation of resources for attaining her goals, which managerial task can Marietta be said to be performing?
planning
Max Weber developed the:
principles of bureaucracy
The Clear Image Devices Company designs and develops imaging equipment. It has a low level of efficiency and high level of effectiveness, so it is most likely to produce a
product that customers want, but that is too expensive for them to buy.
Chris has a job as a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company. The company offers both quarterly and annual bonuses based on performance. The company also has a profit-sharing plan for its employees. This organization follows Fayol's principle of
remuneration of personnel.
Because of financial problems in the organization, using ________, the top management of an investment bank decided to reduce the number of middle managers by 10 percent.
restructuring
Due to declining global sales, Makeown Ventures Inc. announced that it would lay off 12 percent of its existing workforce over the next few months. This is an example of
restructuring
In an interview with a television channel, the Public Relations manager of KP Oil explained what his company intended to do to tackle the threat to marine life caused by an oil spill in the Pacific Ocean. The oil spill was caused by a tanker ship accident carrying crude oil for the company. According to Mintzberg, the PR manager of KP Oil is playing the role of a
spokesperson
The idea that employees who stay with the organization for many years develop skills on the job which can help the organization to become more efficient is consistent with Fayol's principle of
stability of tenure.
Marcia works at a warehouse and her job involves maintaining an accurate inventory and accurate data for financial statements. Today she received a document from her manager with specific instructions to perform her job tasks. This is an example of:
standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The human relations movement advocates that
supervisors be behaviorally trained to manage subordinates
According to Henri Fayol, initiative refers to
the ability to act on one's own without direction from a superior
The line of authority in an organization is
the chain of command extending from the top to the bottom of an organization.
According to Henri Fayol, equity refers to
the justice, impartiality, and fairness to which all organizational members are entitled.
Which of the following best defines synergy?
the performance gains that result when individuals and departments work together
In a bureaucracy, a manager's formal authority derives from
the position he or she holds in the organization.
Core competency is
the specific set of departmental skills, knowledge, and experience that allows one organization to outperform another.
A manufacturing company recently developed a new vision and radical new strategies to reduce the number of products sold in order to reduce costs. The company utilized ________ by developing the new vision and strategies.
turnaround management
Josh works for an advertising company. There are several middle managers, but Josh only receives orders from and reports to one manager. Which of the following principles of management by Henri Fayol fits Josh's relationship with his manager?
unity of command
Tyler is an engineer at an assembly plant for an auto company. Tyler receives orders from and reports to both his department manager and his project manager. This violates Fayol's principle of
unity of command.
division of labor
°A champion of job specialization and the division of labor for reasons already mentioned, Fayol was nevertheless among the first to point out the downside of too much specialization: boredom—a state of mind likely to diminish product quality, worker initiative, and flexibility. As a result, Fayol advocated that workers be given more job duties to perform or be encouraged to assume more responsibility for work outcomes—a principle increasingly applied today in organizations that empower their workers. Modern grocery stores, like Publix, use division of labor in their operations. For example, in the bakery and deli, employees focus on creating cakes, pies, and ready-to-eat meals. By using division of labor, Publix employees are able to develop expertise they might not otherwise gain.
unity of command
°specifies that an employee should receive orders from, and report to, only one superior. Fayol believed that dual command, the reporting relationship that exists when two supervisors give orders to the same subordinate, should be avoided except in exceptional circumstances. Dual command confuses subordinates, undermines order and discipline, and creates havoc within the formal hierarchy of authority. For example, the U.S. Army maintains unity of command for its soldiers. Clearly defined ranks range from private to five-star general, and each soldier answers to a commanding officer with a higher rank. While operating in the field, it is critical that soldiers understand their objectives, and consistent unity of command enables each soldier to know exactly whom he or she should follow to get the job done °A reporting relationship in which an employee receives orders from, and reports to, only one superior.