Deck 5: Managing the Business

Question 1

Discuss the art of management and how it is supported by the science of management.

Answer 1

Managers must blend an element of intuition and personal insight with hard data and objective facts. Even though managers may try to be scientific as often as possible, they must frequently make decisions and solve problems on the basis of intuition, experience, instinct, and personal insights. For example, relying heavily on conceptual, communication, interpersonal, and time-management skills, a manager may have to decide among multiple courses of action that look equally attractive. And even objective facts may prove to be wrong.

Question 2

Comparing actual performance against standards is an example of which function of the management process?

A) Planning
B) Organizing
C) Leading
D) Controlling
E) Strategizing

Answer 2

D
Explanation:D)Controlling is the process of monitoring a firm's performance to make sure that it is meeting its goals.

Question 3

Which type of manager spends most of their time working with and supervising the employees who report to them?

A) First-line managers
B) Information managers
C) Top managers
D) Chief executive officers
E) Operations managers

Answer 3

A
Explanation:A)Supervisors and office managers are the first-line managers who work with and supervise the employees who report to them.

Question 4

When a sales manager compares actual sales to the quarterly sales quota, he or she is performing the controlling function of management.

Question 5

CFO and controller are titles associated with what type of manager?

A) Financial
B) Information
C) Human resource
D) Marketing
E) Operations

Question 6

Which type of business constituent has titles such as President and CEO?

A) First-line managers
B) Top managers
C) Middle managers
D) Power brokers
E) Stockholders

Question 7

Which function in the management process is being utilized when a firm elects to move towards a more centralized structure?

A) Planning
B) Leading
C) Organizing
D) Controlling
E) Monitoring

Question 8

Which level of management is responsible for the overall performance and effectiveness of the firm?

A) Top managers
B) First-line managers
C) Middle managers
D) Supervisory managers
E) Human resource managers

Question 9

Which description identifies the organizing function of the management process?

A) Guiding and motivating employees to meet organizational objectives
B) Determining how best to arrange an organization's resources into a coherent structure
C) Scanning the business environment for threats and opportunities
D) Monitoring an organization's performance to ensure that it is meeting its goals
E) Determining what an organization needs to do and how best to get it done

Question 10

Which description identifies the controlling function of the management process?

A) Guiding and motivating employees to meet organizational objectives
B) Determining how to arrange a firm's resources into a coherent structure
C) Scanning the business environment for threats and opportunities
D) Monitoring a firm's performance to ensure that it is meeting its goals
E) Determining what an organization needs to do and how best to get it done

Question 11

The first step in the planning process is determining goals. What is the next step?

A) Developing a strategic mission
B) Developing a comprehensive strategy
C) Developing an array of tactics
D) Developing an operational plan
E) Developing a functioning budget

Question 12

Which business constituents analyze their competitive environments and plan, organize, direct, and control the operations of their organizations?

A) Stockholders
B) Managers
C) Regulators
D) Agents
E) Customers

Question 13

The first step in the control process is to compare actual performance to standards.

Question 14

Which aspect of the management process involves determining what the organization needs to do and how best to get it done?

A) Organizing
B) Planning
C) Controlling
D) Processing
E) Monitoring

Question 15

Define the term management.

Question 16

What type of management process function is being used when a manager motivates the workforce by rewarding them with additional vacation when standards are achieved?

A) Leading
B) Planning
C) Organizing
D) Marketing
E) Strategizing

Question 17

What function of the management process is used to monitor and ensure the organization is meeting its goals?

A) Planning
B) Organizing
C) Leading
D) Controlling
E) Budgeting

Question 18

Which type of manager is responsible for implementing the strategies, policies, and decisions made by top managers?

A) First-line manager
B) Middle manager
C) Supervisory manager
D) Office manager
E) Financial managers

Question 19

Which description defines the planning function of the management process?

A) Guiding and motivating employees to meet organizational objectives
B) Discussing how best to arrange an organization's resources into a coherent structure
C) Scanning the business environment for threats and opportunities
D) Determining what an organization needs to do and how best to get it done
E) Monitoring a firm's performance to make sure that it is meeting its goals

Question 20

What can managers do to incorporate a scientific approach to management?

Question 21

Which of the following managers depend most on conceptual skills?

A) First-line managers
B) Top managers
C) Middle managers
D) Marketing managers
E) Financial managers

Question 22

Titles such as plant manager, operations manager, and division manager designate which level of management?

A) First-line managers
B) Middle managers
C) Top managers
D) Supervisors
E) Technology managers

Question 23

Operations managers are responsible for production, inventory, and quality control.

Question 24

Which of the following managers are responsible for planning and overseeing the firm's accounting functions?

A) Financial managers
B) Information managers
C) Production managers
D) Human resource managers
E) Marketing managers

Question 25

Fostering new ideas and innovation and resolving conflicts within a department is a responsibility under which managerial role?

A) Interpersonal
B) Resource allocator
C) Decisional
D) Disturbance handler
E) Informational

Question 26

How is the decisional role of a corporate manager similar to the role of the entrepreneur?

A) Both are initiators of change.
B) Both are resource allocators.
C) Both require technical skills.
D) Both must have strong Human Resource skills.
E) Both rely on strong conceptual skills.

Question 27

Information managers are responsible for getting products from producers to consumers.

Question 28

What skills can a manager utilize to work well with people and make them feel excited about their work?

A) Human relations skills
B) Technical skills
C) Accounting skills
D) Conceptual skills
E) Marketing skills

Question 29

What type of skills requires defining problems and selecting the best course of action to take?

A) Human relations skills
B) Production skills
C) Conceptual skills
D) Decision-making skills
E) Technical skills

Question 30

Which level of management sets general policies, formulates strategies, approves all significant decisions, and represents the company in dealings with other firms and with government bodies?

A) Operations managers
B) Production managers
C) Top managers
D) Middle managers
E) First-line managers

Question 31

Which of the following managers are directly responsible for getting products from producers to consumers?

A) Human resource managers
B) Public relations managers
C) Information managers
D) Marketing managers
E) Financial managers

Question 32

What type of skills are needed to understand and work well with people in the workplace?

A) Human relations skills
B) Technical skills
C) Conceptual skills
D) Motor skills
E) Decision-making skills

Question 33

An accountant's ability to audit a company's records is an example of what type of skills?

A) Motor skills
B) Technical skills
C) Human relations skills
D) Conceptual skills
E) Decision-making skills

Question 34

The titles of supervisor, office manager, and group leader are examples of which level of management?

A) Top management
B) Middle management
C) First-line management
D) Operations management
E) Human resource management

Question 35

Who is responsible for designing and implementing systems to gather, organize, and distribute facts and data essential for the running of the company?

A) Marketing managers
B) Information managers
C) Production managers
D) Human resource managers
E) Research and development managers

Question 36

A manager is expected to serve in what interpersonal capacity when coordinating people, groups, and organizations?

A) Figurehead
B) Spokesperson
C) Leader
D) Negotiator
E) Liaison

Question 37

Which of the following are responsible for production and quality control?

A) Information managers
B) Human resource managers
C) First-line managers
D) Operations managers
E) Marketing managers

Question 38

Identify and discuss five recommendations for companies that wish to grow.

Question 39

What type of skill is needed to understand foreign markets, cultural differences, and motives of foreign rivals?

A) Technology
B) Strategic management
C) Decision making
D) Conceptual
E) Global management

Question 40

Which of the following refers to a person's ability to think in the abstract, to diagnose and analyze different situations, and to see beyond the present situation?

A) Human relations skills
B) Decision-making skills
C) Conceptual skills
D) Production skills
E) Technical skills

Question 41

What identifies performance targets used by organizations and their managers to measure success or failure at every level?

A) Tactics
B) Goals
C) Strategies
D) Mission statements
E) Promotions

Question 42

If an organization sets out to increase its share of the snack food market by 10 percent during the next eight years, what kind of goal is the organization setting?

A) A short-term goal
B) An intermediate goal
C) A tactical goal
D) A long-term goal
E) An organizational goal

Question 43

The managerial role characterized by the ability to gather and disseminate communications and areas of interest is referred to as

A) interpersonal.
B) resource allocator.
C) decisional.
D) disturbance handler.
E) informational.

Question 44

Managers have many roles within the organization. Discuss the interpersonal roles of managers and how those roles affect the organization.

Question 45

What does e-partnering involve?

A) Buying shares of small companies that provide technology unavailable to the purchasing company
B) Buying shares of small companies that are similar to the purchasing firm
C) Linking up to the inventory records of another company
D) Sharing a Web server with another company
E) Advertising another company on the purchasing company's Web site

Question 46

When the finance department has a goal of a 3 percent increase in return on investment in three years, what type of goal is the organization setting?

A) A long-term goal
B) A tactical goal
C) A short-term goal
D) An intermediate goal
E) An organizational goal

Question 47

A three year goal is considered to be what?

A) Long-term
B) Intermediate
C) Short-term
D) Objective
E) Problematic

Question 48

Many managers spend as much as four hours a day in meetings.

Question 49

Identify the four leading causes of wasted time in the workplace as outlined in the text.

Question 50

What are the basic steps in decision making?

Question 51

Which kind of strategy takes place at the level of the product line and focuses on a firm's competitive position?

A) Functional
B) Business
C) Local
D) Fundamental
E) Environmental

Question 52

What of the following indicates an organization's reason for being?

A) Strategy
B) Tactic
C) Mission
D) Diversity
E) Profitability

Question 53

Which of the following BEST describes a business strategy?

A) A strategy for determining the firm's overall attitude toward growth and the way it will manage its businesses or product lines
B) A strategy at the business unit or product line level that focuses on improving a firm's competitive position
C) A strategy by which managers in specific areas decide how best to achieve corporate goals through productivity
D) A strategy that assists first line managers in making day-to-day decisions about motivating employees
E) A strategy that integrates an organization's marketing goals into a cohesive whole by focusing on the ideal product mix to achieve maximum profit potential

Question 54

The effectiveness of managers in using time can be undermined by frequent phone calls.

Question 55

Changes in technology will result in a decrease in the amount of information that managers will use to make decisions.

Question 56

The informational roles of a manager are natural continuations of a manager's interpersonal role.

Question 57

Identify and explain the four types of decisional roles and the function of each role.

Question 58

The last step in the decision-making process is the selection of the best alternative.

Question 59

Which of the following BEST describes a mission?

A) An objective that a business hopes and plans to achieve
B) A broad set of organizational plans for implementing decisions made for achieving organizational goals
C) The shared experiences, stories, beliefs, and norms that characterize an organization
D) An organization's statement of how it will achieve its purpose in the environment in which it conducts business
E) An organization's competitive standing in the marketplace

Question 60

What activity do company managers undertake so they can later measure success or failure at every organizational level?

A) Planning tactics
B) Setting goals
C) Devising strategies
D) Auditing skills
E) Publicizing promotions

Question 61

Increasing sales by 4 percent in the next six months would be an example of an intermediate goal.

Question 62

When conducting a SWOT analysis of an organization, which question can help management brainstorm for the threats section of the analysis?

A) What external changes present interesting possibilities?
B) What aspect of the organization's vision can be altered?
C) What necessary skills do the organization's employees currently lack?
D) What does the organization offer that makes it stand out from other organizations?
E) What external economic forces can affect the organization's bottom line?

Question 63

Which of the following is NOT considered an organizational strength?

A) Strong market position
B) Dedicated work force
C) Changing consumer tastes
D) Technical expertise
E) Recognized customer relation management

Question 64

The starting point in effective management is setting goals.

Question 65

Goal setting helps managers assess performance.

Question 66

When conducting a SWOT analysis of an organization, which question can help management brainstorm for the weaknesses section of the analysis?

A) What external changes present interesting possibilities?
B) What aspect of the organization's vision can be altered?
C) What necessary skills do the organization's employees currently lack?
D) What does the organization offer that makes it stand out from other organizations?
E) What external economic forces can affect the organization's bottom line?

Question 67

Business strategy focuses on improving the company's competitive position.

Question 68

Which of the following would be classified as opportunities for an organization?

A) Government regulation of the organization's services
B) Highly unionized workers in the organization's industry
C) New competitors
D) Stronger demand for the organization's services
E) Economy fluctuations

Question 69

Increasing sales by 4 percent in the next eight months is an example of what kind of goal?

A) Tactical
B) Strategic
C) Short-term
D) Intermediate
E) Long-term

Question 70

When conducting a SWOT analysis of an organization, which question can help management brainstorm for the strengths section of the analysis?

A) What external changes present interesting possibilities?
B) What aspect of the organization's vision can be altered?
C) What necessary skills do the organization's employees currently lack?
D) What does the organization offer that makes it stand out from other organizations?
E) What external economic forces can affect the organization's bottom line?

Question 71

Which of the following BEST describes functional strategy?

A) A strategy for determining the firm's overall attitude toward growth and the way it will manage its businesses or product lines
B) A strategy at the business-unit or product-line level that focuses on improving a firm's competitive position
C) A strategy by which managers in specific areas decide how best to achieve corporate goals through productivity
D) A strategy that assists first line managers in making day-to-day decisions about motivating employees
E) A strategy that integrates an organization's marketing goals into a cohesive whole by focusing on the ideal product mix to achieve maximum profit potential

Question 72

Doubling the number of merchants participating in a sales program over the next 10 years is an example of a long-term goal.

Question 73

Which of the following is the BEST example of unrelated diversification?

A) Ford Motor Company merging with General Motors
B) Northwest Airlines merging with Procter & Gamble
C) McDonald's merging with Burger King
D) Tootsie Roll merging with Hershey
E) Bath and Body Works merging with The Body Store

Question 74

What type of analysis focuses on external factors?

A) Organizational analysis
B) Governmental analysis
C) Environmental analysis
D) Functional analysis
E) Financial analysis

Question 75

Long-term goals are derived directly from a firm's mission statement.

Question 76

Which variable of SWOT analysis identifies changing consumer tastes, hostile takeover offers, and new government regulations?

A) Threats
B) Opportunities
C) Strategies
D) Internal factors
E) Weaknesses

Question 77

When conducting a SWOT analysis of an organization, which question can help management brainstorm for the opportunities section of the analysis?

A) What external changes present interesting possibilities?
B) What aspect of the organization's vision can be altered?
C) What necessary skills do the organization's employees currently lack?
D) What does the organization offer that makes it stand out from other organizations?
E) What external economic forces can affect the organization's bottom line?

Question 78

In which step of the strategy formulation process would a SWOT analysis take place?

A) Matching the organization and its environment
B) Analyzing the organization and the environment
C) Developing tactical and operations plans
D) Setting strategic goals
E) Contingency planning and crisis management

Question 79

The marketing manager wants to increase regional sales by 2 percent each quarter over the next year. This is an example of what kind of goal?

A) Long-term
B) Intermediate
C) Short-term
D) Strategic
E) Tactical

Question 80

Which of the following is the heart of the strategy formulation process and requires comparing threats and opportunities against strengths and weaknesses?

A) Organizational analysis
B) Matching the organization and its environment
C) Analyzing the organization and the environment
D) Setting strategic goals and mission statements
E) Conducting an analysis using SWOT techniques