Exam 6: Understanding the Management Process

Alex notices that sales of the company's best products are declining.He gathers together his sales staff to generate solutions to the decline in sales.He encourages all the participants to generate as many new ideas as possible and forbids anyone from criticizing or ridiculing the ideas of others.Alex is using

Typically, only a small part of the manager's day is spent talking with other employees.

Jessica is hired to keep the books and pay the bills for a small company.She provides a(n) ____ resource for the firm.

Formal leaders have legitimate power that is based on their position within the organization.

Ted Thompson is responsible for two departments that continually set conflicting goals.Ted must get involved in ____ to achieve some sort of balance between those goals.

Once a manager has identified a problem, he or she can generate alternatives to that problem.After this is done, the manager

Managers should avoid satisficing in the ____ stage of the managerial decision-making process.

A manager who coordinates the activities of operating employees is a(n) ____ manager.

Which of the following items is not a part of planning?

Although Frank is not in top management, he is charismatic and well liked by others in his organization.Other employees often look to Frank to see how he reacts to new policies implemented by top management, and they follow his lead.Frank has ____ leadership in his organization.

Managerial decision making involves a four-step process that begins with generating alternatives and ends with selecting an alternative.

A company like Motorola might establish a goal of reducing its inventory by 50 percent over the next year.To ensure that it reaches this goal, the company could monitor its progress on a quarterly or monthly basis.If the managers at Motorola discover that there is a danger of not achieving this goal, they can take corrective action to adjust for the deficiency.This is a description of the managers' ____ function.

Goals are established for only one year at a time.

Vince Martin has been described as a visionary.He has the ability to think in abstract terms.Vince has ____ skills.

Dazzle Magazine Rosalea recently switched careers.Previously, she was a college professor, but she felt she needed more real-world experience to help her business students more fully.She became a manager at Dazzle Magazine, where she was in charge of the layout.Always open to new ways of doing things, Rosalea let her staff implement their ideas at times.Rosalea learned firsthand the different roles she had to play as a manager. It always got stressful when the publication deadline neared.At one point, there was a major mix-up in the layouts for the front cover.Rosalea was not sure of the correct layout because she had allowed one of her employees, Joseph, to modify and run with his idea on this matter.However, she could not ask for Joseph's help with the covers because he happened to be out of town at the time.Rosalea quickly looked over the layouts but felt that they still needed some work. She decided to ask the design manager for her help.The design manager did not feel comfortable making a decision on the issue, so she did not give Rosalea an answer.Rosalea then went to an employee within her department for advice.That employee suggested some ideas, but Rosalea was still not satisfied.Finally, Rosalea called one of her top graduate students with whom she had kept in contact and asked her if she could offer some ideas.The graduate student quickly came to the magazine's office and helped Rosalea decide on the alternative that should be implemented.Rosalea greatly appreciated the assistance and the suggestion.The final cover design went to press, and that issue of the magazine was successful.This helped Rosalea realize that considering the big picture was good, but equally important were the little details. -Refer to Dazzle Magazine.Now that Rosalea has real-world experience, she understands more than ever that certain personal skills are needed for any manager's success.These skills include all of the following except

What are the most important skills needed by a successful manager in today's business world?

Middle managers are generally responsible for developing an organization's mission.

A manager who has the abilities to relate to people, understand their needs, and show compassion has ____ skills.

O.Sawyer discovered problems in coordinating the work flow going from her department to marketing.To solve the problem, she identified some situations that needed correction and asked employees to submit their suggestions for improvement.After their suggestions were summarized, the employees selected one for implementation.Next, a supervisor was given responsibility and authority to oversee implementation and to keep Sawyer informed.Sawyer's actions exhibit the ____ leadership style.

Centrum Springs, Inc. Riley has worked for Centrum Springs, Inc., for many years and has now been given the opportunity to advance in the company.His manager is retiring and hopes that Riley will take over for him.However, even though Riley is an experienced employee, there are many things that he still needs to learn.Riley has trained many new employees, but he has never held a management position.Riley needs to have a general understanding of what it takes to be a manager. There are many problems in Riley's department.There are no secondary plans to fall back on in case the initial plan fails.Riley also will need to learn how to direct people in such a way that makes them want to do more than the absolute minimum they have to.Riley feels that this is a great opportunity, and he is anxious to learn everything to be a great manager.He knows that if he performs well in this position, he will have the opportunity to move up the corporate ladder. -Refer to Centrum Springs, Inc.When Riley learns all that it takes to be a manager, he will be involved in