Deck 5: Establishing and Managing Priorities

Question 1

A Gantt chart is most commonly used as a scheduling device:

A) in a high-volume work area.
B) in a high-risk work area.
C) where there are few work steps and results are accomplished quickly.
D) where there are many tasks to complete in a short period of time.
E) when undertaking lengthy projects.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Key result areas (KRAs) consist of:

A) individual tasks.
B) individual goals.
C) both individual tasks and individual goals.
D) groups of tasks that, together, highlight areas of accountability or responsibility and specific areas in which results need to be achieved.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following best describes the 'balcony overview'?

A) A clear job purpose statement
B) Key result areas (KRAs)
C) SMART measures of success
D) Seeing your job as a whole
E) All of these responses are correct.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

An effectively written job purpose statement should:

A) detail every aspect of a particular job and be several pages in length.
B) list each of the individual responsibilities of a particular job.
C) list what is required to undertake a particular job, but not differentiate between what is important and what is not important.
D) be short and to the point, showing why the job exists and why it is important.
E) provide a detailed explanation of why a job exists and why it is important.

Question 5

Ideally, you should clear your desk:

A) at the end of every day.
B) at the end of every week.
C) when others comment on how messy it is.
D) as often as is required to maintain your concentration and attention on the matter at hand.
E) never, because a messy desk shows that you are working hard.

Question 6

Which of the following is not something the 'balcony overview' assists a manager with?

A) Setting priorities
B) Establishing a work schedule
C) Achieving a realistic work-life balance
D) Focusing their own efforts
E) Monitoring their own performance

Question 7

Keeping a 'To do' list allows a manager to remain focused on the tasks that will help to achieve their goals no matter what else may come up. This means they will work in a manner that is:

A) ad hoc.
B) reactive.
C) spontaneous.
D) proactive.
E) passive.

Question 8

Which of the following would not be considered to be a key result area (KRA)?

A) Sorting incoming business mail each day
B) Continuous improvement
C) Workplace health and safety
D) Customer relations
E) Housekeeping matters

Question 9

One way to limit time lost due to human interruptions is to:

A) draw up a scale for when and how frequently interruptions can occur.
B) impose designated 'quiet times' of an hour or less.
C) arrive at work earlier than others.
D) cut interruptions short by referring to a list of important phone calls that need to be made soon.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 10

What does the Pareto principle state?

A) A small proportion of effort, people or time (20 per cent) accounts for an equally small proportion of the results (<20 per cent).
B) A small proportion of effort, people or time (20 per cent) accounts for a large proportion of the results (80 per cent).
C) A large proportion of effort, people or time (80 per cent) accounts for an equally large proportion of the results (>80 per cent).
D) A moderate proportion of effort, people or time (35 per cent) accounts for a large proportion of the results (80 per cent).
E) A small proportion of effort, people or time (20 per cent) accounts for a moderate proportion of the results (35 per cent).

Question 11

In which of the following categories would measuring the number of products returned by customers due to manufacturing defects be a measure of success?

A) Cost
B) Quality
C) Quantity
D) Safety
E) Time

Question 12

In the 1970s, Henry Mintzberg's study of how managers spent their time revealed that the average amount of time spent on each task was:

A) five minutes.
B) 10 minutes.
C) 15 minutes.
D) 30 minutes.
E) one hour.

Question 13

Under which of the following categories would training your staff in skills that only you have fall?

A) Do it now.
B) Do it later.
C) Delegate it.
D) Dump it.
E) Decide whether or not to do it later.

Question 14

When you work on the right tasks (i.e. those that are both urgent and important) in the easiest, fastest, least costly and most streamlined manner possible, you are working:

A) efficiently.
B) effectively.
C) efficiently, but not effectively.
D) both efficiently and effectively.
E) neither efficiently nor effectively.

Question 15

What is the first step you must take when monitoring performance?

A) Measure actual performance.
B) Compare actual performance with targeted performance.
C) Correct any deviations.
D) Wait at least a year, so that data on performance is available.
E) Any of the above could be the first step.

Question 16

If, as a manager, you chose to fix a jam in the photocopier - which could be fixed by someone else - it would be an example of:

A) manager-imposed work.
B) system-imposed work.
C) discretionary work.
D) other-imposed work.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 17

A measure of success is also commonly referred to as a key performance indicator (KPI).

Question 18

Suppose you are a manager and ask yourself the question, 'Do I do any tasks that are urgent, but not important?' What you are really asking is:

A) 'Which tasks are important?'
B) 'What important activities and tasks do I take on?'
C) 'Could I delegate any of these tasks?'
D) 'Could I complete these tasks more effectively by doing them earlier?'
E) 'Why should these tasks be done at all?'

Question 19

Lag indicators are an effective means of addressing below-target performance because they measure what is happening as it occurs; whereas lead indicators provide an historical performance perspective.

Question 20

The A-B-C method of setting work priorities helps to ensure that:

A) all tasks on a 'To do' list are actually completed.
B) as many tasks as possible on a 'To do' list are completed.
C) meaningful goals are achieved, because tasks on a 'To do' list are worked on in order of importance.
D) only important tasks on a 'To do' list are worked on.
E) important and unimportant tasks on a 'To do' list are worked on simultaneously.

Question 21

Generally speaking, if you needed some help to you improve your current job performance, you would seek out a coach.

Question 22

If a manager multitasks all the time, it is:

A) likely to be a positive thing, because it will show others they are working hard.
B) likely to be a negative thing, because it will show others they are disorganised.
C) likely to be a positive thing, because it will show others they are efficient and able to work on more than one task at a time.
D) likely to be a negative thing, because it is only possible to fully concentrate on one task at a time; therefore, it can slow progress and result in more mistakes being made.
E) neither positive nor negative, since they will accomplish more, but at the same time make more errors.

Question 23

When you decide it is time to move on from a position or organisation, you should:

A) Advise your boss first
B) See out your notice period
C) Complete all work as far as possible
D) Write a handover for your replacement
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 24

When seeking out suitable career situations, it is:

A) important to know how you work best.
B) important to work out how you prefer not to work.
C) neither important to know how you work best, nor to work out how you prefer not to work.
D) important both to know how you work best and to work out how you prefer not to work.
E) important to make money the most important factor.

Question 25

The correct sequence, from first to last, in which to apply the steps of the learning cycle is:

A) experience, plan, review, conclude.
B) experience, review, conclude, plan.
C) plan, experience, review, conclude.
D) plan, review, experience, conclude.
E) experience, plan, conclude, review.

Question 26

As part of a professional development plan - which will provide you with the ability to change jobs, industries or careers - it is important to include developing:

A) portable skills.
B) technical skills.
C) information technology (IT) skills.
D) industry-specific skills.
E) 'hard' skills.

Question 27

If there is an aspect of your job that you find difficult or dull, you should:

A) keep putting it off; eventually, it will be irrelevant.
B) devote more time to it than other aspects of your job, regardless of its relative importance.
C) where possible, delegate the task to a member of your team who is willing and able to do it for you.
D) resign and look for another position.
E) do the task poorly, and simply accept that you did your best.

Question 28

When receiving negative feedback, it is best to:

A) ignore it, because it can lower your self-esteem.
B) contradict the person providing the feedback and point out why they are wrong.
C) criticise the person providing the feedback.
D) take the feedback on board, and wait until later to consider whether or not it is valid.
E) show the person providing the feedback that you are upset with what they have said in the hope that they will change it.

Question 29

Breaking down big tasks into a series of smaller tasks is one strategy that managers can use to address the problem of:

A) procrastination.
B) lacking the skill necessary to undertake the task.
C) lacking the time necessary to undertake the task.
D) interruptions.
E) competing priorities.

Question 30

Which of the following should you not do as part of building a professional reputation?

A) Give credit to others where it is due
B) Only show respect to people who can advance your career
C) Decide on an image of yourself that you wish to project, and then act, speak and write in ways that support that image
D) Build actual and virtual relationships with people who can help you in your career
E) Maintain a positive and professional attitude

Question 31

For an organisation, a person's ability to adapt to change is an example of their:

A) intrinsic value.
B) extrinsic value.
C) current value.
D) future value.
E) past value.

Question 32

According to Howard Gardner, Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard University, someone with linguistic intelligence (i.e. who is good with words) is said to be:

A) self smart.
B) people smart.
C) body smart.
D) nature smart.
E) word smart.

Question 33

In an organisational context, 'role perception' means:

A) acting in a way you disagree with so as to achieve a personal goal.
B) behaving according to a set of concepts that you have defined as appropriate in relation to a particular workplace or organisational context.
C) acting in such a way as to manipulate work colleagues into doing things they would not normally be prepared to do.
D) making sure you are on good terms with everybody at your workplace so as to further your career.
E) All of these responses are correct.