Deck 2: Pioneering Ideas in Management

Question 1

The practice of management goes back several thousands of years; however, the development of management theories and principles occurred around the 1600s with the discovery of the New World.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The classical viewpoint or school of management is comprised of three different but related approaches. The approaches are administrative, bureaucratic and operational.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Two major characteristics of Weber's idea of bureaucracy are the specialisation of labour and a well-defined hierarchy:

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Chester Barnard was one of the early behaviourists who set the stage for the field of industrial psychology.

Question 5

Abraham Maslow developed a theory of motivation that made various assumptions about human nature. Although humans aim to fulfil unsatisfied needs, Maslow suggested that group needs take precedence over individual needs.

Question 6

McGregor suggested that managers who base their management practices on Theory X assumptions are likely to utilise practices that control, direct and coerce employees as a means to motivate or increase productivity.

Question 7

After World War II, mathematics and information aids supported managerial decision making due to the success of quantitative models.

Question 8

Inputs that are utilised for goods and services production may include informational and human resources.

Question 9

The characteristic of open systems that enables an organisation to delay or postpone decay and natural disorder is called negative synergy.

Question 10

Firms are more likely to survive today if they scrap old ways of working in favour of radically redesigned business processes.

Question 11

What formed the basis of management viewpoints?

A) Renaissance
B) Behavioural, quantitative, contemporary
C) Classical, technical
D) None of the given answers is correct

Question 12

To which viewpoint or school of management did Henry Towne, Robert Owen and Charles Babbage contribute?

A) Administrative
B) Behavioural
C) Pre-classical
D) Quantitative

Question 13

Who were Robert Owen's employees in the cotton mills?

A) He employed a wide range of people of all ages
B) The majority of his employees were young children
C) The majority of his employees were young people
D) He only employed older people

Question 14

'The father of scientific management' is considered to be:

A) Lillian Gilbreth.
B) Fred Taylor.
C) Frank Gilbreth.
D) Charles Babbage.

Question 15

Frederick Taylor developed his principles of scientific management largely to tackle what he saw as a major problem in industry. This was:

A) lack of incentives for workers.
B) low productivity.
C) poor tools for workers.
D) soldiering.

Question 16

The key concept in Fred Taylor's four principles of scientific management was the notion that management:

A) must use scientific means to determine the best way to perform each task.
B) needed to carefully select workers and train them to do the work in the manner management wanted the work done.
C) should be responsible for planning and the workers for executing the work.
D) needed better controls if soldiering was to ever be reduced.

Question 17

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth used motion studies to pioneer their respective areas of expertise. What aspect did they not introduce?

A) Scaffolding for different job types
B) Studying motion picture technology
C) Implementing psychology in work places
D) Developing training method in management skills

Question 18

Which of the following was one of the major characteristics of Max Weber's 'ideal bureaucracy'?

A) Discipline is absolutely necessary for the smooth running of an organisation, but the state of discipline depends essentially on the worthiness of its leaders.
B) A scalar chain of authority extends from the top to the bottom of the organisation and defines the communication path.
C) Managers carefully select workers and train them to perform the task by using the scientifically developed method.
D) Selection and promotion are based on the qualifications and performance of organisation members.

Question 19

According to the 'acceptance theory of authority' employees more readily accept direction from their supervisor if they:

A) accept the supervisor's position of authority.
B) do not understand the communication.
C) believe the actions asked for suit both their needs and the needs of other employees.
D) None of the given answers is correct

Question 20

Which approach focuses on principles used by managers to coordinate the organisation's internal activities?

A) Bureaucratic management
B) Administrative management
C) General and industrial management
D) Functional management

Question 21

Which of the following of Fayol's general principles of management is correctly described as the notion that an employee should receive orders from one and only one supervisor?

A) Division of work
B) Unity of direction
C) Unity of command
D) Centralisation

Question 22

A scalar chain refers to:

A) horizontal chain.
B) hierarchical chain.
C) national chain.
D) scaled responsibilities.

Question 23

The early behaviourist who argued for the importance of groups, thought power should be jointly developed and suggested that conflicts could best be resolved through integration was:

A) Mary Parker Follett.
B) Fritz Roethlisberger.
C) Max Weber.
D) Hugo Mü nsterberg.

Question 24

Which concept did not guide Follett in her employment and workplace studies?

A) Powersharing to influence and produce change.
B) Psychological studies to identify individuals for specific jobs.
C) Integrative unity where company and employees work as a whole.
D) None of these concepts guided Follett

Question 25

By and large, the major contributions of the Hawthorne experiments were that they helped bring about the human relations movement of management and that they showed:

A) the importance of participative leadership styles.
B) how work can be broken into smaller and smaller pieces that are more easily learned.
C) that Barnard's zone of indifference was wider than previously thought.
D) the impact that social aspects of the job had on productivity.

Question 26

Maslow's work is significant in the area of management because it explains that:

A) workers are motivated to earn because they need to.
B) work fills in workers' time.
C) work assists with self-actualisation, sense of belonging and skill development.
D) workers have basic needs beyond a basic drive.

Question 27

While the human relations viewpoint was a great change from the classical school of management, it still did not explain work situations enough to help managers understand workers. A new approach which helps to give managers practical guidelines about people is:

A) behavioural science.
B) quantitative management.
C) management science.
D) operations management.

Question 28

Operations management is the part of management theory that focuses primarily on the:

A) management of production and delivery of products and services.
B) use of mathematical and statistical tools to increase decision effectiveness.
C) design and use of computer-based systems for better information.
D) integration of components of the organisation with the environment.

Question 29

What is the difference between an open and a closed system?

A) An open system is open to employees and a closed system does not interact.
B) A closed system receives feedback but does not interact with its internal environment.
C) An open system interacts with its environment continually and a closed system does not interact and receives little feedback.
D) Most companies are closed because an open system is too complicated.

Question 30

The systems theory approach suggests there are four major components in an organisation. Which of the following is not one of them?

A) Inputs
B) Transformation processes
C) Outputs
D) Management information systems

Question 31

Whether or not an organisation is considered to be open or closed depends primarily on its:

A) rate of change.
B) use of data and information.
C) interaction with its environment.
D) rate of turnover and replacement of personnel.

Question 32

The ability of the whole to equal more than the sum of its parts is known as:

A) entropy.
B) negative entropy.
C) synergy.
D) negative synergy.

Question 33

The antonym or opposite of 'contingency theory' in terms of management theory is:

A) management science.
B) synergy.
C) universality.
D) Theory X.

Question 34

What positive aspect is not part of the new Theory Z?

A) Giving workers job security
B) Giving workers a pay rise for improved productivity
C) Including workers into the decision-making process
D) Providing broader career paths for workers

Question 35

Total quality management is an approach that focuses on:

A) collective responsibility.
B) cross-organisational commitment.
C) quality efforts integrated with company goals.
D) All of the given answers are a focus

Question 36

An important aspect of TQM is:

A) its emphasis on the cost of increasing material and management cost.
B) cost of not doing things correctly the first time.
C) its emphasis on just-in-time practices.
D) All of the given answers are important aspects

Question 37

Knowledge is the only asset that is unique to the organisation. Mische found that there is a strong correlation between knowledge and:

A) departmental processes.
B) product development.
C) learning.
D) management.

Question 38

Name the five major viewpoints in the development of modern management theory. Describe one theory. Why do you consider it important?

Question 39

Why were Robert Towne's pre-classical pioneering ideas significant?

Question 40

How do each of Frederick Taylor's four principles of scientific management operate in a modern organisation?

Question 41

In what ways did the work of Mary Parker Follett move the early behaviourist theories forward?

Question 42

What was the impact of each of the three Hawthorne Studies?

Question 43

In what ways are the three main quantitative management branches (that have evolved since WWII) different and useful for managers?

Question 44

In what ways are systems theories and contingency theories relevant to the field of management?

Question 45

Theory Z helps managers take a sociological approach. In what ways are American management and Japanese Theory Z different?

Question 46

Which five contributors to the current knowledge of management would you choose to illustrate the nature of its innovative processes? Why did you choose these five persons?