Exam 9: Foundations of Planning

Rachel is the academic dean for a regional community college. The president has asked her to develop a plan for the college. He wants a plan covering the next five years, and he wants it to be as specific as possible, but not to the extent that it constrains flexibility. In developing the plan, Rachel must address several emerging issues, including advancements in teaching technology, shifting demand for various academic programs, declining student enrolment, and increasing competition from other schools. Despite projections that student enrolment will continue to decline over the next five years, Rachel must ensure that the plan allows the college to meet its employment obligations to tenured faculty who have been offered long-term teaching positions. -The college's employment obligation to tenured faculty is an example of which contingency factor that can affect planning?

What is competitor intelligence? Identify some of the sources of competitor intelligence? Discuss the legal and ethical issues related to this concept.

Which of the following is the best indicator of an organization's real goals?

Formal planning involves which of the following aspects?

A well-designed goal should be written in terms of actions rather than outcomes.

In organizations where formal planning did not lead to higher performance,the cause was often ________.

Rachel makes $80,000 a year as an accountant.Based on her income,she is trying to figure out how she can build an investment portfolio worth $1 million by the time she retires.Rachel is at which step of the goal-setting process?

In today's global business environment,obtaining competitive intelligence is relatively easy.

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding an organization's goals?

Tyler Nall is president and CEO of a new chain of retail stores that is about to begin operations. During the last couple of months, he has been developing goals and directions for the stores, which will sell moderately priced home furnishings to average-income consumers. The plan is to open 20 to 30 stores in large shopping centres across Canada over the next three years. Tyler and his vice-presidents have decided that each store should have sales equal to or greater than $900 per square metre per day. To attract an adequate number of customers, each store should be: • located in an out-parcel site of a major shopping mall; • located at a mall that attracts an average of at least 2,000 customers daily; • well maintained both inside and out; • well lit, throughout the store; • arranged in room settings to highlight the home furnishing decor; • open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday; • staffed with friendly, well-groomed sales personnel dressed in business attire. -Tyler's goal for each store to sell at least $900 per square metre per day has some of the characteristics of a well-designed goal.For example,it is measurable and quantifiable.What else might Tyler do to improve the design of this goal?

Goals are different from plans because ________.

Organizations ABC and XYZ are both in the same industry and vie for the same set of customers in the marketplace. At ABC, goals are set at the top level of management each year and then broken into subgoals for each organizational level. Similarly, plans are developed at the top level and then reformulated and delegated to managers at the middle and lower levels. At XYZ, goals are developed at the top level, and then those managers meet with their subordinates at the next lower level to establish mutually agreeable goals. The middle managers then meet with the first-level managers to establish mutually agreeable goals. Finally, the first-level managers meet with each of their employees and establish mutually agreeable goals. Annual plans are then developed by organization members at all levels to meet their specific needs. -Assuming that XYZ's hierarchy of goals is clearly defined,the resulting integrated network of goals could also be called a ________ chain.

When the hierarchy of organizational goals is clearly defined,it forms an integrated network of goals called a ________ chain.

A manager's analysis of the external environment can be improved by ________,which involves analyzing information to detect emerging trends.

Developing a plan to integrate two companies after a corporate merger is an example of a single-use plan.

Plans are documents that outline ________.

A well-designed goal should be ________ but ________.

Organizations real goals and stated goals are the same.

Planning is often called the primary management function because it ________.

When organizational members are more actively involved in planning,they see that the plans are ________.