Deck 18: Monitoring and Controlling

Question 1

At the end of every month,the accounting department submits a balance sheet,statement of profit and loss,and cash flow statement to the senior management team.These are all ________.

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

Answer 1

D

Question 2

________ is the final step in the management process,which provides a critical link back to ________.

A)Organizing; planning
B)Planning; controlling
C)Controlling; planning
D)Leading; organizing

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following sources of information for measuring performance is subject to personal biases,time consuming,and obtrusive?

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

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Statco,Inc.,has struggled to meet projected revenues for each of the past ten quarters.The firm hired Mark Adams to design a control system and offer suggestions to improve the firm's performance.Which of the following is a key activity that the proposed control system should perform?

A)organizational planning
B)organizational structuring
C)performance measurement
D)corporate governance

Question 5

Managers engage in controlling activities to protect the organization and its assets.

Question 6

Which of the following observations best explains why the control function is important?

A)An effective control system includes employee empowerment.
B)An effective control system assures that the organization will meet or exceed its goals.
C)An effective control system is the only way managers know whether organizational goals are being met.
D)Organizational strategies are formed during the controlling stage.

Question 7

The control process assumes that ________.

A)feedback is the only way to improve performance
B)managers will be aware of the actions and activities of their employees
C)performance standards are already in place
D)employee monitoring costs are part and parcel of doing business

Question 8

The first step in the control process is ________.

A)setting the desired standards
B)measuring actual performance
C)comparing performance against expectations
D)enforcing managerial control

Question 9

Mark wants to use a tool which is easy to visualize and effective for showing relationships.Which of the following tools is best suited for this?

A)benchmarking
B)balanced scorecard
C)written reports
D)statistical reports

Question 10

Which of the following management responsibilities determines if organizational goals are being achieved?

A)designing the organization's structure
B)motivating employees
C)formulating business strategy
D)measuring firm performance

Question 11

Which of the following sources usually provides filtered information which cannot be documented?

A)oral reports
B)personal observations
C)online reports
D)written reports

Question 12

Having a control system reduces the scope of employee empowerment and autonomy.

Question 13

Brenda is always ready with a story to tell about performance in her area.Unfortunately,Brenda sometimes leaves out important facts and makes statements that cannot be corroborated.Brenda is delivering ________.

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

Question 14

Which of the following sources provides information which is comprehensive,formal,and easy to file and retrieve?

A)oral reports
B)personal observations
C)online reports
D)written reports

Question 15

Controlling is the process of monitoring,comparing,and correcting work performance.

Question 16

Which of the following is one of the main advantages of using statistical reports as the source of information?

A)Statistical reports can be used to obtain firsthand knowledge.
B)Unfiltered information can be obtained using statistical reports.
C)Statistical reports are effective for showing relationships.
D)Statistical reports provide unbiased information.

Question 17

Annette is watching her new employee as he executes the steps in making French fries.Her purpose is to make sure he follows the instructions exactly as given.Annette is using ________.

A)personal observation
B)statistical reports
C)mentoring
D)nonverbal feedback

Question 18

Andrew prefers to get his performance data in the form of charts and graphs.Andrew prefers ________.

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

Question 19

________ refers to the process of monitoring,comparing,and correcting work performance.

A)Controlling
B)Checking
C)Measuring
D)Verifying

Question 20

What are the major reasons why the control function is important to managers?

Question 21

Managers should do nothing if the variance observed from the standard is acceptable.

Question 22

Mark recommends that the managers at Statco should identify how and why performance has deviated beyond the acceptable range of variation,and then correct the source of the deviation.Here,Mark is recommending ________.

A)feedforward control
B)immediate corrective action
C)basic corrective action
D)concurrent control

Question 23

Which of the following refers to the overall output of goods or services produced divided by the inputs needed to generate that output?

A)yield
B)efficiency
C)effectiveness
D)productivity

Question 24

The comparing step in the control process determines ________.

A)a company's relative position in the industry in terms of the standards used
B)a company's relative position in the industry in terms of performance variances
C)the variation between actual performance and an external benchmark from a noncompetitor
D)the variation between actual performance and the standard

Question 25

Some control criteria,such as employee satisfaction,can be used for any management situation.

Question 26

Basic corrective action corrects problems at once to get performance back on track.

Question 27

Managers should use subjective measures when ________.

A)work activities cannot be expressed in quantifiable terms
B)work activities are critical to the organization
C)organizational processes and activities are complex
D)employee attitudes are at stake

Question 28

For which of the following is a subjective measure most appropriate?

A)level of satisfaction of patient care in a hospital
B)degree of improvement in closing sales in a real estate brokerage
C)quality of a water supply
D)reduction of waste in a manufacturing process

Question 29

Which of the following is considered the easiest way to increase organizational productivity?

A)increasing the price of outputs
B)increasing the amount of inputs
C)hiring more employees
D)decreasing the value of the products

Question 30

The goal for the sales team at the auto dealership was to sell one new car per day every day of the month.In August the team sold 33 cars.What should management do?

A)Nothing.The deviation is insignificant.
B)Revise the goal.If the team sold more than the goal,obviously the goal is too low
C)Wait.See if the performance is duplicated next month before taking any action.
D)Celebrate.Any achievement beyond the goal is deserving of a celebration.

Question 31

"No,James,you must start the timer after you lower the French fry basket into the fryer,not before." This supervisor is using ________.

A)basic corrective action
B)disciplinary action
C)immediate corrective action
D)delayed corrective action

Question 32

________ is measured by the costs of acquiring and transforming organizational resources into outputs.

A)Input
B)Quality
C)Profit
D)Leverage

Question 33

________ corrects the problem at once to get performance back on track.

A)Basic corrective action
B)Immediate corrective action
C)Verbal feedback
D)Disciplinary action

Question 34

The plant superintendent wants to know the value of products per man hour.She is concerned with ________.

A)costs
B)waste
C)productivity
D)profits

Question 35

In a short essay,list and briefly explain the steps,processes,and best practices managers typically utilize in the control process.Provide examples where appropriate.

Question 36

Managers could choose to do nothing when ________.

A)an employee fails to attain the standard because of internal problems
B)the difference between actual performance and standard performance is low and acceptable
C)performance standards are acceptable,though the employees have not attained it
D)the variance observed from the expected performance is caused due to unrealistic standards

Question 37

Following a customer complaint,ABC Mfg.formed a problem solving team to find out why the system was producing unacceptable parts and make a recommendation to fix it.This is an example of ________.

A)delayed corrective action
B)immediate corrective action
C)basic corrective action
D)preventive corrective action

Question 38

Frank believes organizational effectiveness is more important to the organization than organizational productivity.What could be the rationale behind this belief?

A)Organizational productivity is not a measure of organizational performance.
B)Organizational effectiveness is a measure of how well the organizational goals are met.
C)Organizational productivity is not directly related to organizational output.
D)Organizational effectiveness is a quantitative measure of the input-output relationship.

Question 39

Deviations that exceed the acceptable range of variation become significant and need a manager's attention.

Question 40

If a manager investigates how and why performance has deviated beyond the acceptable range of variation,and then corrects the source of the deviation,she is using ________.

A)feedback control
B)immediate corrective action
C)basic corrective action
D)concurrent control

Question 41

The management control that takes place while a work activity is in progress is known as ________.

A)feedforward control
B)concurrent control
C)feedback control
D)reactive control

Question 42

Which of the following ratios examines the organization's use of debt to finance its assets and its ability to meet the interest payments on the debt?

A)liquidity ratios
B)leverage ratios
C)profitability
D)activity ratios

Question 43

In order to increase the ratio of outputs to inputs,a manager would have to ________.

A)decrease the selling price
B)increase productivity
C)increase the quality of inputs
D)hire additional employees

Question 44

Management by walking around is an example of ________ control.

A)feedback
B)concurrent
C)feedforward
D)reactive

Question 45

Charles wants to prevent problems before their occurrence.Which of the following is the most desirable type of control to achieve this goal?

A)proactive control
B)preventive control
C)feedforward control
D)feedback control

Question 46

Contours,Inc.,knows each drill bit can cut approximately 100,000 holes before the hole size is smaller than the print specification so it changes drill bits after 95,000 uses.Contours,Inc.,is using ________ control.

A)preventive
B)predictive
C)feedforward
D)concurrent

Question 47

________ is when a manager in the work area interacts directly with employees to maintain supervision.

A)Preventive maintenance
B)Management by walking around
C)Reactive control
D)Feedforward control

Question 48

Productivity decreases when an organization raises the prices of its products.

Question 49

The ________ ratios measure an organization's ability to meet its current debt obligations.

A)activity
B)liquidity
C)leverage
D)profitability

Question 50

________ ratios measure how efficiently the firm is using its assets.

A)Liquidity
B)Leverage
C)Profitability
D)Activity

Question 51

Ruth,a financial consultant,determines her client's leverage ratio to be very high.What suggestion could Ruth give to help the firm reduce its leverage ratio?

A)Increase the money supply by selling a part of its assets.
B)Pay back part of its debts to improve the ratio.
C)Maintain more current assets than current liabilities.
D)Reduce the sales to total assets ratio of the firm.

Question 52

Contours,Inc.,quality auditors pull one part from the production line every 15 minutes.These parts are measured against the production print; any variation that is beyond acceptable levels is reported to the machine operators.Contours,Inc.,is using ________ control.

A)feedforward
B)concurrent
C)feedback
D)concentric

Question 53

An organization hires additional personnel as soon as they get a major contract.The organization is using ________ control.

A)feedforward
B)concurrent
C)feedback
D)management

Question 54

The operations manager suggests a hike in the prices to improve productivity.However,the marketing manager rules this option out.What could be the possible reason for this?

A)Product prices are not related to organizational productivity.
B)Selling price is negatively correlated to organizational productivity.
C)The industry is characterized by intense competition.
D)Such an action would lead to reduced employee satisfaction.

Question 55

Organizational effectiveness is a measure of how appropriate organizational goals are and how well those goals are being met.

Question 56

Organizational ________ is a measure of how appropriate organizational goals are and how well an organization is achieving those goals.

A)productivity
B)effectiveness
C)efficiency
D)yield

Question 57

Most employees do their jobs well and never require disciplinary action.

Question 58

Connor interacts directly with the employees in the work area to identify problem areas.He works with various departments to obtain a holistic idea of the business.This type of direct supervision is an example of ________ control.

A)proactive
B)preventive
C)management by walking around
D)feedback

Question 59

Which of the following is considered the most desirable type of control to prevent anticipated problems?

A)feedforward control
B)concurrent control
C)feedback control
D)reactive control

Question 60

Donald discovers major flaws in the packaging department.He consults the production manager and formulates control measures to improve packaging.Here,Donald is using the ________ control.

A)feedback
B)reactive
C)concurrent
D)feedforward

Question 61

The earthquake/tsunami which hit Japan in March of 2011 highlights the contemporary need to design organizational controls for ________.

A)cross-cultural differences
B)global turmoil and disasters
C)workplace privacy
D)workplace safety

Question 62

Control techniques can be quite different for different countries.The differences are primarily in the ________.

A)types of tasks that employees perform in various countries
B)way employees respond to the controlling measures
C)strategic orientation of each technique
D)measurement and corrective action steps of the control process

Question 63

Feedforward control is more popular and effective than the other forms of control.

Question 64

Managers should not consider the standards when measuring the actual performance of employees.

Question 65

Which of the following ratios measures how efficiently and effectively the firm is using its assets to generate revenue?

A)total asset turnover ratios
B)inventory turnover ratios
C)acid test ratio
D)return on investment

Question 66

________ is the search for the best practices among competitors or noncompetitors that lead to their superior performance.

A)Factor analysis
B)Total quality management
C)Market positioning
D)Benchmarking

Question 67

The ________ approach to performance measurement was introduced as a way to evaluate organizational performance from more than just the financial perspective.

A)market value
B)balance sheet
C)balanced scorecard
D)income statement

Question 68

Which of the following is a performance measurement tool that looks at four areas that contribute to a company's performance?

A)market value method
B)economic value method
C)balanced scorecard approach
D)information control approach

Question 69

Raw,unanalyzed facts are called ________.

A)data
B)information
C)database
D)factoids

Question 70

What do you think are the benefits of benchmarking? Provide examples of benchmarking practices.

Question 71

Elaine wants to analyze her company's ability to meet its current debt obligations.Which of the following ratios is most helpful to Ruth in analyzing this?

A)inventory turnover ratio
B)return on investment ratio
C)current ratio
D)total asset turnover ratio

Question 72

In a short essay explain feedforward,concurrent,and feedback controls and provide an example for each one.

Question 73

Benchmarks for a company must be created based on the previous performance of the company.

Question 74

Every March,Bill,who owns and operates a small retail shop,takes a large box of receipts and invoices to his accountant so the accountant can file Bill's taxes in April.Only then does Bill know if his business has been profitable.Bill could benefit from a(n)________.

A)concurrent control system
B)balanced scorecard system
C)inventory control system
D)management information system

Question 75

List and discuss four performance control tools used for monitoring and measuring organizational performance.

Question 76

Irene was quite upset to learn her employer read her e-mails.She thought all her messages were private.Which of the following arguments would best explain her employer's actions?

A)Managers want to ensure company e-mail servers are not being used for personal e-mails.
B)Managers want to be certain employees are not inadvertently passing on company secrets.
C)Managers are looking for information that can later be used to terminate employees.
D)Managers monitor computer usage to justify system upgrades.

Question 77

The balanced scorecard approach evaluates organizational performance from more than just the financial perspective.

Question 78

When data is analyzed and processed,it becomes ________.

A)a system
B)information
C)fact
D)a structure

Question 79

Feedforward control takes place while a work activity is in progress.

Question 80

Activity ratios measure an organization's ability to meet its current debt obligations.