MGT 331 Exam 2
When you have a diverse group of managers and they come together to make a good decision, that is called GroupThink.
False
When managers make decisions that take time and effort to make and result from careful information gathering and evaluating alternatives, it is called reasoned judgement decision making.
True
When using programmed decision making, the manager is steered toward making the optimum decision possible, however in non-programmed decision making the optimum decision is possible, but not likely.
True
When organizations employ a matrix structure when designing a organizational structure, which of Henri Fayol's principles are they violating?
Unity of Command
When a manager designs a job, which three things of the following five items must be balanced to create an effective and efficient job?
Accountability Authority Responsibility
Which of the following items is NOT one of the things managers should allow when attempting to enrich a job?
Allowing workers to decide which corporate vision they should pursue
"Quid Pro Quo" is a latin term, when used in the area of sexual harassment, it means:
Asking an employee to perform sexual favors in exchange for receiving some reward
We studied the classical decision making model and found it to have several problems. Which three of the following five statements are problems that were identified with the classical decision making model?
Assumes the manager has enough skills to properly evaluate the information Assumes managers all know the proper direction of the company and therefore what is optimal course of action for the company Assumes the manager can access all the information they need about the possible alternatives
During the lecture, the instructor describes three things, which when working together, creates a strong barrier to entry that will deter potential competitors. What are the three things that create a strong barrier to entry?
Brand loyalty Economies of Scale Regulations, Patents, Copyrights
At a large corporation like General Electric, the three levels of planning discussed in the book are:
Corporate Level Functional Level Divisional or Business Level
There are three steps involved with creating plan. Which of the following are involved in the broad task of creating a plan
Discover where an organization is at the present time; determine the status quo. Decide on what the future state of that organization should be Decide on the steps to take to move an organization from the status quo to the future desired state.
Meritocracy, a system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement is most aligned with which of these?
Distributive Justice
Which of the following reasons is why diversity in a company makes business sense
Diversity can increase the recruitment and retention of valued organizational members. McKinsey and Company say that if a company is diverse, it has a 35% greater likelihood of outperforming its competitors than if it isn't diverse. Diversity allows for a variety of points of view and approaches to problems and opportunities can improve managerial decision making.
In class we watched a video called "Brainstorming Done Right". The presenter said there were three things you should always do, and three things you should avoid doing to ensure a good brainstorming session. What were the three things you should avoid?
Don't evaluate anything while you are recording the ideas shared from your team. You should not require people to answer or set up a sequence for them to contribute, doing so will kill spontaneity. You must avoid asking questions like, "Why do you think that would ever work?" These are judging questions and are just another form of evaluation.
You were asked to watch a video about how managers should keep their staff accountable. In that video there were 8 things a manager should do. From the following list, pick 4 of those items listed in the video.
Ensure they know the ramifications or consequences if they don't get their tasks completed. Ensure your staff knows you respect them as you give them feedback. Don't accept general or non-specific answers to your questions. Don't be timid or afraid to hold your staff accountable.
Geert Hofstede was an IBM psychologist who developed a "Model of National Culture". He originally had 5 dimensions, but it has since been expanded to 6. The reason to study his model and compare the culture of one country, say the U.S.A. to another, such as India, is to determine which country has the stronger, better, and more effective national culture, an important aspect a USA-based manager should know.
False
Group decision making is always better than individual decision making because it avoids a single persons prior hypothesis bias
False
Someone who is in the direct chain of command, who has formal authority over people and resources of an area of the business that is the core purpose of the company, is called a staff manager.
False
The generation of multiple forecasts of future conditions, using both highly positive and highly negative variables, followed by an analysis of how to effectively respond to those conditions is called long-term planning.
False
There are basically two types of decisions managers are paid to make, programmed decisions and non-programmed decisions. Managers who are paid to make programmed decisions are generally paid more than managers who only make non-programmed decsions.
False
Of the following options, which three things should a manager do if they are presented with a sexual harrassment complaint?
Follow up with human resources after you've reported it to them because Investigations of harassment charges and any disciplinary action should proceed in a timely manner Refer back to the company's sexual harassment policy to verify what the next steps should be. Listen to the complaining party and take down notes in order to communicate it effectively and accurately with the human resource department which should be your next call.
Which of these is NOT a consideration a manager uses to create an organization's structure?
How to create and communicate the vision of the division
What are three elements the text provides to explain why information is incomplete during decision making?
Time and Information Constraints Uncertainty and Risk Ambiguous Information
During the lecture and in the book, there were four things a manager should do to stop or end sexual harassment in their workplace. What are those four things?
If sexual harassment has taken place, take corrective action in a timely manner. Use an equitable and fair process to look into and discover the charges of sexual harassment. On a regular and ongoing basis, make sure all managers, employees, and bosses have educational training on what sexual harassment is, how to respond to it, and how to help prevent it. Have a company policy the clearly explains what sexual harassment is and ensure that top management truly endorses it.
When designing a job, Job Simplification and Job Enrichment are two things for a manager to consider. What is the third thing the text says a well schooled manager will take into consideration?
Job Enlargement
You were asked to watch a video from Patrick Bet-David about 8 steps a manager should use to hold their people accountable. He started off by saying "Don't be afraid to hold someone accountable", then "Question their answers" , "Don't accept general responses", and to "Be specific in your directions". When he was suggesting managers "Question their answers", he gave an example. Which of the following did he indicate was his way of questioning their answers?
Patrick asks one of his people on an audio conference call, "how many people phone calls did you make last week?" and the person said "around 200". Patrick says don't accept the word "around". He says you should then follow up, "specifically how many phone calls was it?" He says challenge their answers to ensure you are getting truthful information.
The salience effect can be defined as:
Perceiving individuals with high social status more positively than those with low social status
Which four of these statements are valid reasons to do planning?
Planning is a useful way of getting managers to participate in decision making about the appropriate goals and strategies for an organization Planning is necessary to give the organization a sense of direction and purpose, a unity of direction said Henri Fayol. Planning can be used as a device for controlling managers and measuring staff's results Planning helps coordinate managers of the different functions and divisions of an organization
The Hofstede Model of National Culture, as presented in class, has 6 dimensions. Which of the following are NOT a dimension considered in his model?
Profit Motivation Verbal Communications
Using the Administrative model, and not the Classical model, there are six steps in decision making. Place the steps into the proper order.
Recognize need for decision Generate Alternatives Assess Alternatives Choose Among Alternatives Implement chosen alternatives Learn from feedback
Which of the following are true about making satisficing decisions?
Satisficing is when a manager searches for and chooses an acceptable, or satisfactory response to their problem
When dealing with the forces in a Global Environment (in fact, the instructor says ALL environments) the manager has a set of "task" environment conditions and a set of "general" environment conditions. Match each of these conditions as to whether they are task or general conditions.
Suppliers- Task Technological- General Competitors- Task Sociocultural- General Economic- General Customers- Task Demographics- General Distributors- Task
What are 3 of the ways managers can address religious diversity?
Take the time to post holy days for different religions on the company calendar Providing flexible time off for holy days rather than just closing on Christmas and Good Friday. Be aware of important religious holidays for more than just Christians when scheduling critical meetings
Which method listed is NOT one of the ways we discussed in class that managers could use to group jobs within an organization?
Technology
Which of the following three statements are true about a company's mission statement?
The mission statement is a broad declaration of an organization's purpose The mission statement is a highly polished set of words when properly formed can distinguish the company from its competitors. The mission statement should answer the question of why an organization exists.
You are a middle manager for a West Michigan manufacturing company. Your boss informs you that you will be working in Manila for 8 weeks starting a new product line for your company which is part of a long-term strategy to diversify and move into other industries than automotive. You want to prepare to be the best manager you can. You remember your prof from GVSU talking about Hofstede's Model of National Culture and so you get out your old notes from school. You want to know what you can expect from your Manila-based production people who you will be supervising.
The staff will hold you in esteem and refer to you as Mr. or Ms. and as their "boss" even though you ask them to call you by your first name and treat you as a friend. When things go well and you are delivering praise to them, do so as a group or department, not calling out a single person for recognition. Like you, they will want to know what needs to be done soon, so you don't spend time explaining how this new product line works into the long-term growth of the company. Don't expect them to voice many concerns about happiness at work or feel free to talk about their personal opinion. They have a low sense of indulgence with a greater emphasis on restraint.
A SWOT analysis looks at a companies Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. In the video we watched, the two components that are external and future-oriented are:
Threats and Opporunities
A company that uses an organizational structure composed of all the departments that an organization requires to produce its goods or services is using a functional structure organizational style.
True
Stereotypes are simplistic and often inaccurate beliefs about the typical characteristics of particular groups of people
True
Telling lewd jokes, sending around emails containing pornography, or making sexually oriented remarks about someone's personal appearance would all qualify as creating a hostile work environment.
True
The formal system of setting up task and reporting relationships that coordinates and motivates organizational members so they work together to achieve organizational goals is called developing an organizational structure
True
Which of the following statements are true about non-programmed decision making?
When a unique and new opportunity is presented to a company, they have to use non-programmed decision making because of too many unknowns Rules do not exist on how to make a decision because the situation is unexpected so non-programmed decision making is the way to go. Non-programmed decisions is used to address non-routine decisions that can occur in response to unpredictable threats
Which of the following three statements are FALSE about time horizons when it comes to planning?
When doing planning for small organizations in volatile markets, it is critical to do long term planning of 5 to 10 years in the future. Once a long term 5 year plan has been developed, it only needs to be updated twice in a decade. If a company does good short term planning, intermediate planning and long term planning is typically a useless exercise
According to the video we watched, you know you have a real strategy (and not just a goal statement, an objective, or a marketing pitch) when you can answer these four questions. What are the four questions?
Where do we compete? How do we sustain value? What resources and capabilities do we utilize? What unique value do we bring?
What is the best definition of the "Glass Ceiling"?
the invisible barriers that prevents minorities and women from being promoted to top corporate positions