Deck 17: Foundations of Control

Question 1

Personal observation as a form of control measurement requires little time.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: Personal observation, in fact, requires a great deal of time, so the statement is false.

Question 2

What is measured in the control process is often less critical than how it is measured.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: The opposite is true-what is measured is usually more, not less, important than how it is measured. The criteria that managers choose to measure often defines how an organization will operate.

Question 3

Control is the only managerial function that allows managers to make sure that organizational goals are being met.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: Plans can be carried out with motivated employees, but without monitoring there is no way to be sure that goals are actually being met.

Question 4

Control is the process of monitoring and evaluating activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned.

Question 5

In the past, a major drawback of an oral report was that there is no way to store the information in the report for later reference.

Question 6

Motivation and leadership are two primary parts of the controlling function.

Question 7

The criterion that determines the effectiveness of a control system is how well it reduces unnecessary costs.

Question 8

Basic corrective action focuses on identifying the cause of a performance deviation.

Question 9

The control process is a two-step process that measures and compares.

Question 10

Henry Ford basing his assembly line on practices he viewed in Chicago slaughterhouses is an example of benchmarking.

Question 11

Immediate corrective action might include changing the way employees are paid for their work.

Question 12

The development or identification of objectives or standards must precede the control process.

Question 13

Some control criteria, such as employee satisfaction and absenteeism, are applicable to almost any management situation.

Question 14

The control function is not intended to protect the organization from threats.

Question 15

The value of the control function lies in three areas: planning, organizing, and motivating.

Question 16

Controlling provides a critical link back to planning that compares actual outcomes to planned outcomes.

Question 17

An effective control system can help managers delegate authority to employees with confidence.

Question 18

A single business cannot experience both underperformance and overperformance at the same time.

Question 19

MBWA can pick up moods and attitudes that other forms of measurement miss.

Question 20

A gap between actual performance and planned goals that falls within an acceptable range of variation usually requires managerial action.

Question 21

The key to feedforward controls is taking action while the problem is occurring.

Question 22

A spell-checker that corrects words as you type in a word processing program is an example of feedforward control.

Question 23

Employers have the legal right to read personal email of employees if it is sent on a company computer.

Question 24

The acid test compares the difference between current assets and inventories to current liabilities.

Question 25

Liquidity compares the total amount of debt a company has to its total assets.

Question 26

A scorecard with respect to organizational performance should always focus on all four performance areas equally.

Question 27

The major drawback of feedback control is that by the time the manager has the information, the problem has already occurred.

Question 28

Direct supervision is the best-known form of concurrent control.

Question 29

Return on investment compares net profit after taxes to total sales.

Question 30

Control measures in two different locations in different parts of the world are always comparable.

Question 31

Firewalls, data backup, and encryption help prevent security breaches in organizations.

Question 32

A balanced scorecard with respect to organizational performance includes areas that are financial and customer-oriented only.

Question 33

Management of a global company often relies on highly formalized reports as controls for distant operations.

Question 34

A GPS that tells you that you are making a wrong turn is an example of concurrent control.

Question 35

A major advantage of feedforward control is that it increases employee motivation.

Question 36

Employee theft amounts to less than $450 annually per worker in the United States.

Question 37

Profitability ratios are a traditional way for a company to measure success.

Question 38

Budgets can be effective tools for both planning and controlling.

Question 39

A management information system (MIS) focuses on providing managers with the raw data that pertains to the organization.

Question 40

An example of revising a standard is a teacher who changes a grading scale because students do poorly on an exam.

Question 41

A disadvantage of a statistical report is that it may leave out ________ measurements of performance.

A) subjective
B) objective
C) positive
D) negative

Question 42

This type of performance measurement format would be most likely to include graphs, tables, and computer outputs.

A) oral report
B) statistical report
C) MBWA
D) written report

Question 43

Controlling compares ________ to see if goals are being achieved.

A) planned performance to standard performance
B) standard performance to ideal performance
C) actual performance to competitor performance
D) actual performance to planned performance

Question 44

A major part of the controlling function of management is to ________.

A) formulate strategies
B) set standards
C) correct performance problems
D) structure an organization

Question 45

A rigid, militaristic, high-pressure workplace that includes intimidation is likely to be a dysfunctional work environment.

Question 46

A manager measuring actual performance is like a teacher ________.

A) composing a test
B) grading a test
C) helping a student study for a test
D) making an assignment

Question 47

The controlling function helps managers protect an organization's ________.

A) reputation for honesty
B) assets
C) position in the community
D) good name

Question 48

This is the most informal form of performance measurement.

A) oral reports
B) written reports
C) statistical reports
D) personal observation

Question 49

The more a control system helps an organization ________, the more successful it is judged to be.

A) meet government guidelines
B) help employees achieve job satisfaction
C) meet its goals
D) help employees be productive

Question 50

For a baseball player, a statistical report would feature such things as ________.

A) a newspaper profile of the player
B) batting average and slugging percentage
C) filmed highlights of great plays
D) scouting reports on the player

Question 51

Managers always use these for performance standards during the control process.

A) goals created during the planning process
B) employee opinions
C) generic performance standards for the industry
D) standards developed by performance experts

Question 52

The first step in the control process is to ________.

A) take action
B) measure actual performance
C) compare performance against a standard
D) compare a standard against an ideal

Question 53

MBWA stands for management by ________.

A) work area
B) work action
C) written action
D) walking around

Question 54

The value of the controlling function is seen in three specific areas: planning, ________.

A) organizing, and leading
B) protecting employees, and empowering the workplace
C) protecting employees, and protecting the workplace
D) empowering employees, and protecting the workplace

Question 55

An advantage of management by walking around is ________.

A) perceptual biases
B) obtrusiveness
C) personal contact
D) objectivity

Question 56

Workplace violence, in all its many forms, affects around 250,000 U.S. workers each year.

Question 57

A well-run company that has well-thought-out plans, motivated and productive workers, and an efficient organizational structure ________.

A) always attains its goals
B) may not always attain its goals
C) rarely attains its goals
D) has no reason to monitor its performance

Question 58

Controlling is the ________ in the management process.

A) first step
B) final step
C) most important step
D) least important step

Question 59

Effective controlling can help managers who are afraid to delegate authority ________.

A) empower their employees
B) set their goals
C) maximize risk
D) minimize employee empowerment

Question 60

The control management function ensures that ________ in an organization.

A) goals are set
B) goals are met
C) plans are made
D) plans are realistic

Question 61

This kind of performance measurement method is fast and is a good platform for feedback, yet it can be private and scheduled for a single employee ahead of time.

A) written report
B) MBWA
C) oral report
D) statistical report

Question 62

A software company that puts almost all of its performance measurement effort into measuring the total number of units that the company and its competitors sell most likely wants to excel at ________.

A) efficiency
B) market share
C) cost per unit
D) labor per unit

Question 63

Jessie's assigned work section consists of three work groups who were assessed by this method of performance measurement and were informally judged to be "creative, innovative, hard-working, and fun-loving."

A) MBWA
B) written report
C) statistical report
D) oral report

Question 64

These forms of performance measurement provide the best and most immediate forms of feedback.

A) oral report and written report
B) written report and statistical report
C) MBWA and oral report
D) statistical report and MBWA

Question 65

What managers choose to measure is largely determined by

A) what an organization does well.
B) the organization's structure.
C) the company's image.
D) the leaders and leadership style of those in the organization.

Question 66

If a manager of a tennis store sees sales totals for a particular racquet significantly exceeding goals and deviating from acceptable range of variation, she might ________.

A) do nothing since sales exceeded goals
B) run a sale on the racquet
C) run a sale on other products
D) inquire about ordering more racquets

Question 67

When actual performance falls outside an acceptable range of variation, it is termed a(n) ________.

A) significant deviation
B) insignificant deviation
C) acceptable deviation
D) large deviation

Question 68

In general, ________ that falls outside an acceptable range of variation must be dealt with by a manager.

A) an overperformance
B) an underperformance
C) any deviation
D) a small overperformance or a large underperformance

Question 69

In the second step of the control process, actual performance can be considered acceptable as long as the performance doesn't fall ________.

A) short of goals by more than 15 percent
B) short of goals by more than 30 percent
C) inside an acceptable range of variation
D) outside an acceptable range of variation

Question 70

To carry out the second step of the control process, managers at an electric shaver company need to compare the number of actual shavers sold to ________.

A) a competitor's sales totals
B) planning goals for sales totals
C) sales totals from last year
D) the number of possible shaver customers

Question 71

The most comprehensive form of performance measurement is this.

A) MBWA
B) oral report
C) statistical report
D) written report

Question 72

The third step in the control process is to ________.

A) measure actual performance
B) compare a standard against an ideal
C) take action
D) compare performance to a standard

Question 73

Which of the following is NOT a recognized possible course of action for managers to take when actual performance falls outside an acceptable range of variation?

A) take corrective action
B) change the standards
C) ignore the performance data
D) do nothing

Question 74

A car company that puts more effort into measuring quality than total units sold most likely wants to excel at ________.

A) customer satisfaction
B) efficiency
C) employee satisfaction
D) cost per unit

Question 75

A state motor vehicles agency that is interested in serving the public might choose to measure ________.

A) total revenue rather than customer wait time
B) total customers rather than total revenue
C) customer wait time rather than total customers
D) employee turnover rather than customer wait time

Question 76

Which of the following performance measurement categories must be measured subjectively rather than in objective or quantifiable terms?

A) budget
B) absenteeism
C) efficiency
D) job satisfaction

Question 77

The second step in the control process is to ________.

A) compare a standard against an ideal
B) measure actual performance
C) compare performance against a standard
D) take action

Question 78

When should a manager's course of action be to do nothing?

A) when the cause of the variation has been identified
B) when the standard is acceptable
C) when the standard is not acceptable
D) when the variance is acceptable

Question 79

Steve has a taped record of a one-on-one meeting with his boss.

A) a statistical report
B) an oral report
C) MBWA
D) a written report

Question 80

Actual performance falls far short of planned goals, yet a manager takes no action. Assuming this manager is a reasonable person and is not mistaken, what is the most likely cause of his inaction?

A) He does not trust the data.
B) He does not consider the deviation significant.
C) He does not trust the goals that were set.
D) He does not believe in corrective action.