Exam 9: Foundations of Planning

Studies have found that the quality of the planning process and the appropriate implementation of plans likely contribute more to high performance than does the extent of planning.

In a typical MBO program,successful achievement of objectives is reinforced by performance-based rewards.

Plans that specify the details of how the overall goals are to be achieved are called ________ plans.

In traditional goal setting,what happens to goals as they make their way down from top management to lower levels?

A(n)________ plan is a plan specifically designed to meet the needs of a unique situation.

Which of the following types of plans dominates managers' planning efforts at upper levels of the organization?

Robert Lee has just completed a Bachelor of Computer Science degree at Carleton University. He now wants to begin a new Internet business selling his services as a website developer for companies in Ottawa. He estimates that within one year, if his business idea is a success, he will be employing five programmers and two analysts. -To ensure that the objectives are clearly defined and do not leave room for interpretation,he will have to develop ________ plans.

Nadia Mainardi is the senior planner for the Whistler-Blackcomb Regional Development Council. She has met with a group of stakeholders, including the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, Tourism B.C., and others who are interested in working together to improve the Sea to Sky Highway between North Vancouver and Whistler. To date, Nadia has successfully obtained a Technical Assistance Grant from the province to help organize several small communities along the Sea to Sky Highway into an intergovernmental unit, all sharing the same mission and goals. Nadia is now charged with developing a strategic plan for this group, called the Sea to Sky Collaborative. -Nadia's first step in setting goals for this new group should be to ________.

Formal planning is associated with higher profits and higher return on assets.

Which type of plan is flexible and provides general guidelines?

Kay was excited. She had just returned from a manager's retreat where MBO was discussed. MBO had never been used in her organization before, and Kay was enthusiastic about implementing it in her department. She received permission from her manager, the division head, who vaguely remembered learning about MBO in university several years earlier. Kay looked over the information she had received but was still confused about who was to choose the goals for the employees. However, she knew that once the goals were chosen they needed to be specific and have explicit time periods attached. Even though it would take a lot of work to implement the program, Kay was confident that MBO would prove to be very beneficial to the organization. -Who should develop the employees' goals for the MBO program?

Planning reduces uncertainty regarding current events but often leaves rule-bound managers unable to anticipate change and develop appropriate responses to future events.

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. -The statement that each store should have sales equal to or greater than $900 per square metre per day is an example of ________.

A well-designed goal should be general and easily attainable.

When formal planning fails to lead to higher performance,which of the following is most likely to be the reason for the failure?

Which of the following types of plans dominates managers' planning efforts at lower levels of the organization?

Planning reduces overlapping and wasteful activities.

Stretch goals are goals that ________.

Planning establishes goals or standards that eliminate the need for controls.

Governmental regulations,powerful labour unions,and other critical environmental forces constrain managers' options and ________.