Exam 8: Foundations of Planning

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

Two types of plans that are differentiated by their breadth of application are _____________.

When uncertainty is high and managers must be flexible, which type of plan is most preferable?

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

Refer to the scenario given to answer the following questions. A-Z Goal Setting and Planning (Scenario) 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. -Which goal setting approach is used at XYZ?

The more the current plans affect future commitments, the longer the time frame for which managers should plan.

A city's policy concerning skateboarding on downtown sidewalks that provides guidance for police action would be considered what type of plan?

________ involves the acquisition of proprietary materials or trade secrets of other companies by any means.

Plans that encompass only the production or the sales goals of a company are termed ________ plans.

Refer to the scenario given to answer the following questions. E-Biz Dreams (Scenario) 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 provide the new programmers and analysts with general guidelines about production goals and desired efficiencies, he will have to develop __________ plans.

The commitment concept means that plans should extend far enough to meet those commitments made when the plans were developed.

Which of the following goals is most appropriate for an MBO program?

Refer to the scenario given to answer the following questions. It's Academic (Scenario) 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 president's instructions to Rachel illustrate the tradeoff between the __________ of specific plans versus the __________ of directional plans.

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

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

In informal planning, goals are rarely written down or communicated to others.

The "commitment" concept means that plans should extend far enough to meet those commitments __________.

Refer to the scenario given to answer the following questions. MBO (Scenario) 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. -Based on Kay's observations about effective goal setting, which of the following is an appropriate goal for a MBO program?

Which of the following is true of the impact of formal planning on organizational performance?

Refer to the scenario given to answer the following questions. E-Biz Dreams (Scenario) 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 clarify how the overall goals are to be achieved, Robert will need to develop __________ plans.