Deck 7: Functions and Skills of Management

Question 1

To make good decisions, a successful manager must be able to think abstractly in order to picture the organization as a whole and to understand its relationship to the rest of the business community. In other words, the manager must have ________.

A)conceptual skills
B)decision-making skills
C)interpersonal skills
D)community relations skills

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic resources of a company?

A)human resources
B)design resources
C)financial resources
D)technological resources

Answer 2

B

Question 3

At what stage in the decision-making process would managers be most likely to seek customer or market opinion?

A)when identifying problems
B)when generating alternative solutions
C)when evaluating the alternatives
D)when choosing the best plan of action

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The BEST way to describe the conceptual skills that a good manager must develop is to state that these skills must include understanding the relationships between ________.

A)product designs and product manufacturing
B)the different parts of the organization
C)the legal firms who represent the company
D)machinery workers and machine service workers

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a key management skill?

A)organizing and leading the members of a group to accomplish a goal
B)knowing exactly what has to be done to accomplish a goal within an organization
C)assessing the resources available to accomplish a goal within an organization
D)having the ability to accomplish goals without the participation of others

Question 6

Diane Pollock was recently promoted to middle management based on her excellent interpersonal skills. These skills help her because one of the primary roles of a middle manager is to ________.

A)develop software to maximize the company's efficiency
B)act as a liaison among different groups in the company
C)understand how world events will affect the company's growth
D)draft a handbook that outlines the company's rules and regulations

Question 7

Mission statements reflect the personality of ________.

A)a company
B)a typical customer of a company
C)the owner of a company
D)the spokesperson for a company

Question 8

In business planning, what is the main course of action created by top-level managers?

A)a financial analysis
B)a marketing plan
C)a strategic plan
D)a SWOT analysis

Question 9

Tasty Pastry Bakery Shop is having problems with its sticky buns. The bottoms are burning and the customers are complaining. They have identified the problem and they are looking into possible alternative solutions. They could change the recipe and reduce the sugar, which burns quickly. They could change the type of pan they are using. They could lower the heat of the oven. They have tried changing the type of pan from steel cookie sheets to glass pans; however, the buns are still burning. What must they do now?

A)evaluate the alternatives again
B)generate more alternative solutions
C)implement a new plan of action
D)revisit the process of identifying the problem

Question 10

Goals are broad accomplishments that an organization wants to achieve within a certain time frame in most companies, this is about ________.

A)three months
B)one year
C)five years
D)ten years

Question 11

Lower-level managers must use interpersonal skills for a variety of reasons in the workplace, however, they do not need to ________.

A)build morale
B)communicate with investors
C)motivate employees
D)train workers

Question 12

There are several steps that are crucial to effective time management. One of the following steps will NOT improve the productivity of a business.

A)answering all emails as soon as they arrive
B)determining the level of urgency of paperwork
C)identifying clear agendas for meetings
D)crossing off tasks on the schedule as soon as they are completed

Question 13

Technical skills may include ________.

A)the ability to operate a printing press
B)the ability to recruit new employees
C)the ability to create and communicating goals
D)the ability to monitor the performance of employees

Question 14

Short-term targets a company implements that are designed to help realize the plans that have been made are called ________.

A)goals
B)objectives
C)benchmarks
D)strategic plans

Question 15

________ is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish the goals of an organization.

A)Human resources
B)Organization
C)Management
D)Intellectualizing

Question 16

The vision of a company is directed toward ________.

A)customers
B)employees
C)news media
D)human resources

Question 17

Which of the following processes best describes how managers identify unseen problems?

A)looking at the most recent sales figures
B)listening to messages on the consumer complaint line
C)analyzing data and searching for trends
D)looking at sales projections and comparing current figures

Question 18

________ and organizing are two of a manager's most important responsibilities.

A)Planning
B)Recruiting
C)Training
D)Writing

Question 19

The mission statement for a company MOST often appears on ________.

A)internal memos
B)advertising materials
C)company stationery
D)sales contracts

Question 20

Sally Hodges manages the housekeeping staff at a luxury resort. Most of the workers she interacts with are originally from Guatemala. Sally has decided to take a course in Spanish in order to communicate better with her staff. She is developing her ________ skills.

A)interpersonal
B)technical
C)leadership
D)conceptual

Question 21

Once a company's vision and mission statement have been articulated, management must assess a company's SWOT, which stands for ________.

A)strengths, weaknesses, operations, and targets
B)strengths, world view, obligations, and tasks
C)strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
D)strengths, weaknesses, organization, and threats

Question 22

Despite their benefits, traditional pyramidal management has been criticized as being ________.

A)top-heavy
B)inflexible
C)uneconomical
D)impersonal

Question 23

Which of the following would NOT be considered a middle manager?

A)a supervisor
B)a sales manager
C)a controller
D)an operations manager

Question 24

Conditions that could negatively affect a company's competitive capability are called ________.

A)extreme circumstances
B)external threats
C)internal weaknesses
D)tactical nightmares

Question 25

________ plans depend on daily or weekly schedules and focus on specific departments or employees.

A)Operational
B)Tactical
C)Strategic
D)Contingency

Question 26

Organizational structure depends on a variety of factors NOT including ________.

A)the number of employees in the organization
B)the location(s)of business operations
C)the speed at which decisions are made
D)the collaborative nature of the work

Question 27

If a computer virus spreads rapidly through a company's computer system and threatens to shut down all internal and external lines of communication, the company will likely put a ________ into effect.

A)strategic plan
B)emergency plan
C)healthcare plan
D)contingency plan

Question 28

Division managers who are responsible for financial, marketing, sales, operations, or IT divisions and team leaders who are responsible for a group of employees are ________.

A)top managers
B)first-line managers
C)middle managers
D)senior managers

Question 29

When is the annual budget for an organization developed?

A)during strategic planning
B)during tactical planning
C)during operational planning
D)during contingency planning

Question 30

The specifics of carrying out tactical plans are ________.

A)strategies
B)internal strengths
C)operational plans
D)objectives

Question 31

A(n)________ organization has few people in power and many following.

A)horizontal
B)flat
C)circular
D)vertical

Question 32

Tactical planning and coordinating specific plans with the established strategic vision is the task of the ________.

A)top managers
B)junior managers
C)middle managers
D)first-line managers

Question 33

What represents the highest level of planning in an organization?

A)strategic plan
B)tactical plan
C)operational plan
D)contingency plan

Question 34

The need for a business to change quickly will often help determine the ________.

A)mission statement
B)vision
C)compensation of employees
D)organizational structure

Question 35

In an organizational chart for a company, training will generally fall under what division?

A)human resources
B)finance
C)operations
D)marketing

Question 36

Once long-term goals and objectives have been determined, middle management generates ________.

A)strategic plans
B)short-term targets
C)tactical plans
D)resource evaluations

Question 37

Which type of plan acts as a framework for decisions and assists in setting corporate benchmarks?

A)operational
B)tactical
C)contingency
D)strategic

Question 38

Which of these falls directly under the responsibility of first-line managers?

A)yearly evaluation report
B)day-to-day operations
C)annual budget allocation
D)department restructuring

Question 39

Which of the following types of plans represents a set of instructions for employees?

A)strategic
B)operational
C)tactical
D)vision

Question 40

Which type of plan will keep an organization running in the event of a disruption?

A)tactical
B)contingency
C)strategic
D)operational

Question 41

An organization where there are fewer middle managers and employees work in groups is a ________ organization.

A)network
B)vertical
C)horizontal
D)linear

Question 42

A company that is organized around specific business functions and where there are several levels of first-line and middle managers is a ________ organization.

A)network
B)vertical
C)flat
D)linear

Question 43

Managers do not need to be comfortable with technology because they can delegate those tasks to their information technology (IT)staff.

Question 44

When managers evaluate a decision and determine that it is not meeting the goals of the organization, the decision-making process may become cyclical.

Question 45

It is important for a marketing manager to have strong accounting skills.

Question 46

A vision statement is a current description of an organization's purpose, basic goals, and philosophies.

Question 47

Keeping a schedule is an important time management skill.

Question 48

Reebok only designs and markets its products. The company does not produce any products. This is an example of ________.

A)a network organization
B)a team organization
C)a vertical organization
D)a flat organization

Question 49

It is virtually impossible to learn decision-making skills. Some people are decisive by nature and others are indecisive.

Question 50

A ________ is a graph that displays the values of two variables to see if there is a relationship between the variables.

A)scatter chart
B)run chart
C)check sheet
D)control chart

Question 51

A mission statement identifies what a business wants to be in the future.

Question 52

If a business owner has a superb knowledge of business logistics, has the ability to make good decisions every day, and has excellent interpersonal skills, the business will thrive.

Question 53

The skills of a manager and the process a manager goes through will be entirely different if the organization is a simple working group instead of a multibillion-dollar company.

Question 54

The basic steps in a formal decision-making process are identifying and analyzing the problem, examining the alternatives, and finally implementing the best plan of action.

Question 55

Top managers learn conceptual skills in business school and then apply what they've learned in the workplace.

Question 56

The quality initiative that is statistically based, proactive, and long-term and that is designed to look at the overall business process to prevent problems is called ________.

A)Six Sigma
B)Total Quality Management
C)the Control Cycle
D)Performance Measurement

Question 57

Most people who have graduated from a reputable Master's in Business Administration program have a mastery of the basic skills a successful manager needs to possess: technical, interpersonal, conceptual, decision-making, and time management.

Question 58

Network organization is an emerging business structure in which ________ collaborate.

A)teams of employees
B)a company and its distributors
C)a group of companies
D)a group of managers

Question 59

When Ford Motor Company formed management groups around areas of specific production, it was using a ________ organization structure.

A)flat
B)vertical
C)pyramid
D)linear

Question 60

When Boeing recently produced its latest airplane, the Boeing 787, parts of the plane were assembled in Italy, other parts were assembled in Wichita, Kansas, and elements of the plane were shipped to Everett, Washington, where the final assembly was completed. This is an example of ________.

A)vertical organization
B)horizontal organization
C)network organization
D)team organization

Question 61

Successful managers, those who are rapidly and consistently promoted, are also the managers who are most effective.

Question 62

What are at least three of the interpersonal skills that a top manager must develop in order to work successfully with people both inside and outside an organizations?

Question 63

The benefit of a horizontal organization is that each team has more responsibility for the outcome of its work.

Question 64

When each division or group within a company with a horizontal structure works autonomously, it can create barriers to coordination across functions.

Question 65

Almost all businesses are organized the same way, in a vertical, hierarchical structure.

Question 66

Tactical plans are made with a six-month to one-year horizon in mind.

Question 67

Whenever new market opportunities or potential threats arise, managers rely on their ________ to help them analyze the impending outcomes of their decisions.

Question 68

Smaller companies that have relatively few employees tend to be organized in the same way as large corporations.

Question 69

Only for-profit companies use mission statements.

Question 70

Once managers have identified several alternative solutions, they must evaluate those alternatives based on various criteria. Name at least four of those criteria.

Question 71

Explain the acronym SMARTER. It should be kept in mind by managers when designing and wording goals and objectives.

Question 72

Most companies have control systems that help measure the plans they set in place to carry out the goals and objectives of the organization. This control system generally forms a cycle.

Question 73

Explain at least three ways that the vision and mission statement are critically important for an organization.

Question 74

________ requires that managers have the ability to recognize specific ways in which they can make every task or situation productive.

Question 75

What are the four primary functions of management?

Question 76

The majority of companies are structured with the more traditional vertical structure or the group-oriented horizontal structure.

Question 77

A company might conduct full-scale practice drills, including closing a building and working from a remote location, in order to test its contingency plans.

Question 78

An understanding of the company mission can help fuel employee enthusiasm.

Question 79

Xerox maintains a flat organizational structure organized by product category and by region.

Question 80

At what stage in the decision-making process do the company's mission, values, and goals play the most important role?