Deck 12: Managers

Question 1

A "flat" organization is one in which:

A)excessive bureaucracy forces people to interact in a "flat" unemotional fashion.
B)there are very few layers of management.
C)there is a "glass ceiling."
D)there is little specialization of job tasks.
E)there is no high technology in use.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The text refers to the lowest level of management as

A)middle management.
B)executive.
C)first-line supervision.
D)boss.
E)steward.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following correctly distinguishes executives from administrators?

A)leadership versus coordination
B)private versus public and non-profit sector employment
C)identification with the employing organization versus identification with an occupational group
D)direct supervision versus bureaucratic organization
E)staff versus line responsibility

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Administrator is a term often used for a manager in

A)private industry.
B)corporations.
C)small companies.
D)nonprofit firms.
E)multinational companies.

Question 5

Technology is LEAST likely to change a manager's role by

A)changing the staffing ratio.
B)changing the mix of products.
C)changing the information base.
D)changing the manager's need for interpersonal skills.
E)changing the span of control.

Question 6

The textbook includes a boxed insert on the "Failure and Fraud Among American Managers." The main criticism of American managers is

A)they no longer take enough risks.
B)they are more interested in their own advancement than in the good of the organization.
C)they sacrifice long-term planning for short-term gains.
D)they pay insufficient attention to legal and financial aspects of their companies.
E)they are complacent about the role of government.

Question 7

Middle managers often experience

A)pruning.
B)downsizing.
C)a ceiling effect.
D)rechanneling.
E)all of the above

Question 8

Which of the following defines a manager's span of control?

A)the specialization of management tasks
B)whether a manager supervises other managers
C)the number of different functional activities of the organization which a manager oversees
D)the number of workers a manager supervises
E)the proportion of the budget the manager controls

Question 9

A self-employed person is often classified as a(n)

A)entrepreneur.
B)professional.
C)executive.
D)administrator.
E)manager.

Question 10

A manager who does not work in the production area of the company's good or service is called

A)a staff manager.
B)a line manager.
C)a supervisor.
D)a subcontractor.
E)a middle manager.

Question 11

A person at or near the very top of a for-profit business hierarchy is a(n)

A)manager.
B)supervisor.
C)executive.
D)administrator.
E)professional.

Question 12

Managers must be alert to

A)changes in scale.
B)changes in technology.
C)changes in specialization.
D)changes in organizational environment.
E)all of the above.

Question 13

The behavioral approach to managers studies

A)what managers say they do on the job.
B)what managers actually do on the job.
C)how many managers are actually needed for a particular job.
D)the preparation managers have had to perform a job.
E)the training that would be useful for a manager to perform a task successfully.

Question 14

The demand for managers is a function of all the following EXCEPT :

A)technology
B)levels of bureaucracy
C)availability of MBAs
D)span of control
E)staffing ratio

Question 15

Typical managerial careers are characterized by all of the following EXCEPT:

A)intense training periods.
B)frequent transfers.
C)mentoring.
D)advancement to the executive level.
E)periodic threats of pruning.

Question 16

What are the major components of the management role?
Examination Items that Test for Application, Analysis, Synthesis, or Evaluation
Multiple-Choice Items
1 Kanter (cited in the text) argues that managers work in a climate of uncertainty.Her argument is used to help explain which of the following?

A)the historic homogeneity of management with its dominance of white, Protestant males
B)why managers identify so strongly with their employing organizations
C)the lack of managers' interest in controlling their relations with their environments
D)the need for highly specialized managerial training
E)the preference for lawyers and financial analysts in executive positions

Question 17

The steepness of hierarchy in a bureaucratic organization refers to

A)the number of functional units in the organization.
B)the social distance between the lowest-ranked employee and the highest- ranked executive.
C)the ratio of the number of top management to the number of first-line supervisors.
D)the number of layers of supervision.
E)the number of people supervised by a manager.

Question 18

The organizational culture approach to managers:

A)emphasizes how American firms differ from other firms.
B)emphasizes how table manners, musical tastes, and other cultural issues affect the evaluation of a manager by superiors.
C)emphasizes how organizations change the culture of their surrounding communities.
D)emphasizes how an organizational climate affects a manager's performance.
E)emphasizes how organizations integrate workers from multicultural backgrounds.

Question 19

A small business owner can share the risks of ownership through

A)borrowing money.
B)entering a franchise arrangement.
C)developing a partnership.
D)bartering with other small business owners.
E)postponing the payment of taxes.

Question 20

A common risk for staff managers is

A)being blamed if productivity falls.
B)outsourcing.
C)having too many direct reports.
D)being left out of important meetings.
E)not holding an MBA degree.

Question 21

Stephen is a manager who spends a considerable portion of the day reading business magazines and the Wall Street Journal.What is the most legitimate reason for this use of Stephen's time?

A)He is about to be pruned and looking for a job.
B)Managers need to remain alert to changes in the environment of their firm.
C)He is looking for new theories of management to use.
D)He is avoiding conflict with his supervisors and peers.
E)Managers who look like they are working hard raise workers' anxiety.

Question 22

A manager's mentor serves in all of the following roles EXCEPT:

A)role model
B)cheerleader
C)accountant
D)adviser
E)protector

Question 23

Which of these behaviors is most associated with successful managers?

A)reprimanding workers.
B)monopolizing information in the firm.
C)emphasizing the downward flow of information.
D)networking.
E)concentrating on the firm and ignoring the environment.

Question 24

Which of the following is most likely to help a manager increase his or her span of control?

A)shifting responsibilities to staff departments
B)adopt Theory Z
C)eliminate the position of one or two supervisors who currently report to the manager
D)substitute machines for the work of several workers
E)develop an additional layer of hierarchy above the manager

Question 25

A franchisee most closely resembles a(n)

A)executive.
B)middle manager.
C)supervisor.
D)administrator.
E)self-employed proprietor.

Question 26

The families of corporate managers

A)are larger than the families of other workers.
B)have little to do with the employing corporation.
C)relocate frequently to new sites.
D)rarely socialize with other corporate families.
E)are especially well-integrated into the local community.

Question 27

Supervisor is to front-line as executive is to

A)staff position.
B)line operations.
C)top management.
D)middle management.
E)span of control.

Question 28

Which of the following would be most likely to be a staff manager?

A)vice president for production
B)shift supervisor
C)plant maintenance director
D)supervisor of product inspectors
E)personnel director

Question 29

Flatness and steepness describe a firm's

A)profit margin.
B)staffing ratio.
C)span of control.
D)levels of hierarchy.
E)staff and line relationships.

Question 30

The organizational culture is most concerned with

A)relationships between an organization and its competitors.
B)relationships between an organization and government agencies.
C)relationships between domestic and international organizations.
D)relationships within the organization.
E)relationships between the organization and its board of directors.

Question 31

Which of the following would be included in the managerial occupations?

A)managerial consultants
B)self-employed proprietors
C)executive secretaries
D)shareholders in a large corporation
E)the board of directors of a corporation

Question 32

Why is downsizing similar to pruning?

A)Both are responses to technological innovation.
B)Both are ways in which managers are asked to leave their companies.
C)Both are ways to reduce the span of control.
D)Both are ways to increase the staffing ratio.
E)Both leave the organization more vulnerable to its environment.

Question 33

High labor turnover is most likely to be tolerated in organizations that follow

A)Theory X.
B)Theory Y.
C)Theory Z.
D)Human relations theory.
E)Macroeconomic theory.

Question 34

A heavily bureaucratized workplace is most likely to be

A)flat, with a low staffing ratio.
B)flat, with a large span of control.
C)steep, with a narrow span of control.
D)steep, with a high staffing ratio.
E)flat, with little horizontal differentiation.

Question 35

Traditionally, the unemployment rate of managers has been very low.That fact has begun to change because of

A)new coverage in the unemployment compensation system.
B)downsizing of firms.
C)high quit rates over transfer policies.
D)outsourcing to subcontractors.
E)rising heterogeneity among managers.

Question 36

Line manager is to internal promotion as staff manager is to

A)downsizing.
B)lay-off.
C)lateral movement.
D)bureaucracy.
E)stagnation.

Question 37

Not-for-profit sector is to profit sector as administrator is to

A)technician.
B)staff.
C)line.
D)manager.
E)supervisor.

Question 38

Entrepreneurship refers to

A)a style of management.
B)a form of corporate organization.
C)ownership of an enterprise
D)innovative fringe benefits.
E)how managers are trained.

Question 39

In the short run, an immediate effect of downsizing is to

A)make organizations more vulnerable to their environment.
B)reduce the span of control for each manager.
C)increase the staffing ratio.
D)increase productivity by substituting capital for labor.
E)reduce the demand for managers.

Question 40

The organizational culture that most emphasizes cooperation between workers and management is

A)scientific management.
B)human relations.
C)Theory X.
D)Theory Y.
E)Theory Z.

Question 41

Investing in new technology is most likely to affect

A)the steepness of hierarchy.
B)the span of control.
C)the staffing ratio.
D)matrix organization.
E)executive compensation.

Question 42

Hayes and Abernathy's critique of American business (Box 12.5) criticizes American business managers for

A)financial control.
B)corporate portfolio management.
C)market-driven behavior.
D)both a and b
E)a, b, and c

Question 43

All the managers of the ABC Corporation have been called into headquarters for a tabletop exercise to see how they would react to a hypothetical major power black-out that affected their chief production facility.The managers are observed for their decision-making ability.This type of study is called

A)a simulation.
B)an organizational culture study.
C)a scientific management study.
D)an organizational survey.
E)a worker participation study.