Exam 11: Foundations of Control

When performance is below standards,a manager's options are to do nothing or revise the standard.

Control is important because it is the second link that sets the stage for the organizing and planning functions.It's the best tool for managers to understand what motivates employees.

Direct supervision is the best known form of ________ control.

In the final stage of the control process,managers can choose among three possible courses of action: do nothing,correct actual performance,or revise the standard.

Refer to the Scenario below to answer the questions that follow. Designing a Control System (Scenario) Gina realizes her department needs to make some changes in its control system.The department is one of five in her division,and she is not sure which approach will work best for the organization.She could base her department's performance on its distinct product,making it a profit centre and evaluating it against overall company results.She could also make better use of the policies,regulations,and procedures that are already in place.To date,Gina has not strictly enforced many of the regulations established by the head office because her department is self-regulating.The work groups set their goals and insure those goals are achieved.Everyone is well aware of the expected standards and work behaviours,and there is little tolerance for workers who do not meet the group norms. -Gina's department is currently using ________ control.

Setting goals is the first step of the control process.

Global Tech Limited uses cross-functional teams to resolve organizational problems and to keep up with rapidly changing technology.They use ________ control.

The business faculty complained that the college print shop was charging too much for materials.A local print shop could do the same work for about half the price.Apparently,the college print shop did NOT use ________ control.

________ is the process of monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations.

Tim has been asked to investigate last month's production shortfall and correct the problem.This is the third shortfall this year,and this time Tim wants to get to the source of the problem and fix it for good.Tim will take ________ corrective action.

Which of the following is the name of the act that was created in the United States (and emulated somewhat in Canada)in direct response to the Enron-type scandals?

Economic value added is calculated by taking after-tax operating profit minus the total annual cost of capital.

A recent survey cited in your textbook indicated that Canadians spend an average of ________ hours per week online at work for personal reasons.

The key to ________ control is taking managerial action before a problem occurs.

Compare Canadian manufacturing productivity with Chinese manufacturing productivity.Which variable might make productivity ratios less comparable?

Bob went on a business trip last week and padded his work-related expenses.He even commented to his wife that "everyone at the office does it." This fraudulent filing of an expense report is a clear example of ________.

The third and final step in the control process is ________.

Refer to the Scenario below to answer the questions that follow. Control Systems at Statco (Scenario) Statco is a statistical software company based in British Columbia.This publicly traded firm has grown dramatically over its 25-year history,and it now has more than 12 000 employees worldwide.As it has grown,the company has adopted a hierarchical structure,which emphasizes organizational authority.Management relies heavily on administrative rules,regulations,and policies in order to meet its goals.However,the company has struggled to meet projected revenues for each of the past 10 quarters.While it is true that world financial markets have been very turbulent over the past three years,demand for the firm's products has typically been recession-proof in the past.Now,the board of directors is growing increasingly impatient with the management team.The firm's president,Susan Wong,is concerned that recent performance may indicate that management has lost control of the work force.She has hired Mark Adams,an expert in control system design,to evaluate Statco and offer suggestions to improve the firm's performance. -Mark suggests that Statco's approach to control should place greater emphasis on external market mechanisms such as ________.

Refer to the Scenario below to answer the questions that follow. Financial Ratios (Scenario) Jan was in a big hurry.She had just been given the assignment of reporting on the financial health of her company to the new divisional vice president.Donna,the new vice president,had asked Jan to provide several calculations to help her gain an understanding of the company's financial shape.Jan realized that this was a great career opportunity--one that could make or break her reputation with the new vice president.She quickly pulled out her old financial management textbook and turned to the chapter on financial ratios to review the required calculations. -Donna asked Jan to provide her with an estimate of how efficiently the firm is using its assets.Therefore,Jan calculated a(n)________ ratio called total asset turnover.

In general,the greater the distance between the home office of a global company and its branch,the ________.