Exam 1: Managing and Performing

Debra and her top managers are choosing the goals that Debra's company should achieve and deciding in advance the appropriate actions needed to achieve those goals. What are they doing?

Luna is a manufacturer of fashion jewelry. The company has been operating for the past decade and is well known. When the CEO, Aimee, was asked by a local newspaper during an interview about the secret to her success, she stated that there were several reasons. She makes sure that the company always introduces new styles of jewelry to suit changes in tastes and stay a step ahead of her competitors, and the company offers its customers the best by using fine-quality semiprecious stones in artful settings. She also stated that the company's salespersons cater to customers individually to help them purchase jewelry appropriate for their personal style. Luna has its own exclusive website, which can be accessed anywhere in the world, and customers are promised that they will get what they order within 36 hours.Which of the following success drivers of performance is Aimee using by constantly changing and introducing new jewelry styles to match the changing trends in the market and stay a step ahead of competitors?

Bill's department has been introducing new goods and services on a rapid-fire basis over the past two years. However, business is down, largely because customer feedback on the usefulness, reliability, and durability of the new goods and services is negative. Bill's division manager, Anne, reviews the situation. Anne concludes that the innovation of Bill's department is good; however, ________ is poor.

Individuals' conceptual and decision-making skills

Luna is a manufacturer of fashion jewelry. The company has been operating for the past decade and is well known. When the CEO, Aimee, was asked by a local newspaper during an interview about the secret to her success, she stated that there were several reasons. She makes sure that the company always introduces new styles of jewelry to suit changes in tastes and stay a step ahead of her competitors, and the company offers its customers the best by using fine-quality semiprecious stones in artful settings. She also stated that the company's salespersons cater to customers individually to help them purchase jewelry appropriate for their personal style. Luna has its own exclusive website, which can be accessed anywhere in the world, and customers are promised that they will get what they order within 36 hours.It can be understood that Aimee is an example of a(n)

Raj manages a team of six professionals in a health care company. His subordinates have a wide variety of experiences and skill sets. In effectively ________ his team, Raj regularly seeks to inspire his subordinates to draw upon their various backgrounds in ways never needed or dreamed of in the past.

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, representing a business cost, erode his company's profitability. But he also knows that he cannot simply pass along these higher costs to his clients, because they will then start doing less business with higher-priced APC and more business with APC's lower-priced competitors. Tommy is struggling

Terence supervises the shipping department of a book printer in South Carolina. He contacts trucking companies to arrange pickups, and he makes sure that his team members load cartons onto the correct trucks. Terence is a