Exam 7: Principles of Planning

One of the short-term objectives of Alport Corporation, a manufacturer of construction equipment, is "to achieve a 15 percent return on investment (ROI) by September 2011."According to Drucker, this objective relates to ________.

A key element of any management by objectives (MBO) program is top management support and commitment.

The management by objectives (MBO) approach has been found to be ineffective for nonprofit organizations.

A(n) ________ involves breaking an organizational objective down into subobjectives so individuals at different levels of the organization know what they must do to reach the overall organizational objective.

The final responsibility for organizational planning rests with the firm's chief executives.

The final responsibility for organizational planning rests with ________.

The workers of a factory go on an unauthorized strike. The factory supervisor attempts to brings the situation under control by initiating negotiations with the labor union. According to Mintzberg, this manager has taken on the role of a(n) ________.

Organizational planners must know how all parts of the organization function and interrelate.

A potential disadvantage of planning is that it can take up too much managerial time.

Which of the following is the fundamental purpose of planning?

Describe the steps in the planning process.

When setting objectives, managers should state objectives as specifically as possible because ________.

How can managers increase the quality of their objectives?

An organization's vision outlines what the organization exists to do, given a particular group of customers and customer needs.

According to Drucker, which of the following is an example of an organizational objective related to productivity?

One of ValuTech's objectives for the year is to bring down the firm's production costs by 5 percent. To meet this objective, managers have suggested the following alternatives: (1) Use alternate suppliers who can provide raw materials at a lower cost. (2) Adopt cutting-edge technology that makes the production process more efficient. -Alternatives to reach an organizational objective are based on assumptions which are called ________.

According to Mintzberg, which of the following tasks is associated with the role of a resource allocator?

A sales manager sets the following performance objective for members of his sales team: To increase customer sales by 10 percent within the next 6 months. Which of the following is a valid criticism of this objective?

John F. Mee suggested that organizational objectives for businesses can be summarized in three points. Identify the correct statement.

According to Drucker, management should set objectives that indicate the company's responsibilities to its customers and society but should not specify the extent to which the company intends to live up to these responsibilities.