Question 1

List and summarize the four levels of management,summarizing the job responsibilities for someone at each level.For each level of management,discuss some of the activities that would be performed by the managers of a U.S.-based party-favor store.

Accepted Answer

Managers may be classified into four levels:top,middle,first-line,and team leaders.(Answers will vary regarding the tasks performed by the managers at the U.S.-based party-favor company. )
Top managers make long-term decisions about the overall direction of the organization and establish the objectives,policies,and strategies for it.They need to pay a great deal of attention to the environment outside the organization,being alert for long-run opportunities and problems and devising strategies for dealing with them.Thus,executives at this level must be future oriented,dealing with uncertain,highly competitive conditions.The top managers at the party-favor company will need to be on the lookout for competition from abroad;it may be the case that competing companies in other countries can produce party favors at a much lower cost,thereby gaining a price advantage over the U.S.company.Top managers may need to look into outsourcing and other cost-saving measures in order to remain competitive.
Middle managers implement the policies and plans of the top managers above them and supervise and coordinate the activities of the first-line managers below them.At the party-favor company,a middle manager might meet with a top manager and receive the following goal:"Enter the wedding-favor market,achieving market penetration of 10 percent by the end of the fiscal year." The middle manager implements this goal by working with first-line managers to define the tasks that will achieve this goal,as well as managing the progress in reaching that goal.
Following the plans of middle and top managers,first-line managers make short-term operating decisions,directing the daily tasks of nonmanagerial personnel.A first-line manager on the shop floor might oversee the installation of new equipment to create wedding favors,arrange for the employees to receive training on the new equipment,and then monitor the output to make sure that costs are controlled and the wedding favors are of high quality.
Team leaders are responsible for facilitating team activities toward achieving key results.Team leaders may not have authority over other team members,but they are expected to provide guidance,instruction,and direction to the others;to coordinate team efforts;to resolve conflicts;to represent the team to the first-level manager;and to make decisions in the absence of consensus.The party-favor company may appoint a team leader for its new wedding-favor business;this team leader will coordinate the efforts of the team members,perhaps helping them apply best practices from other parts of the organization to achieve the company's goals.

Question 2

List the characteristics that most entrepreneurs have.Suppose you have decided to start a nail salon in a town that does not currently have one.Explain how you will benefit from having each of these characteristics.

Accepted Answer

The characteristics that most entrepreneurs have include a high need for achievement,belief in personal control of destiny (including an internal locus of control),high energy level and action orientation,high tolerance for ambiguity,and self-confidence and tolerance for risk.
If you are starting a nail salon,a high need for achievement is essential.Renting a space and hiring staff will be expensive.To put your business on the map and make it flourish,you must be driven to succeed.
By having an internal locus of control,you say to yourself,"I am in charge of making my business successful.I cannot leave it to luck." You believe that you are responsible for marketing the business and making it profitable,and you wake up every day with that knowledge.
A high level of energy and an action orientation will keep you motivated.Each day you will ask yourself,"Am I doing everything I can to make my business grow? What else can I do? What can I do better?" You will never be satisfied with the status quo;you will always be looking for ways to improve (and increase your profitability).
Among all this,your high tolerance for ambiguity will keep you focused in a world where many start-up businesses fail each year.You recognize that money will be tight until your business is established,and you make contingency plans that will get you past the rough spots.
Finally,your self-confidence and tolerance for risk will get you through some tough times.You have to believe in your product and your staff,and you have to be willing to take chances to get noticed (positively)in a world where so many marketing messages are competing for attention.

Question 3

Felix pays a lot of attention to the environment outside his company,staying alert for long-run opportunities and problems and devising strategies for dealing with them.Felix is a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  team leader.
B)  first-line manager.
C)  board manager.
D)  monitoring manager.
E)  upper-level manager. E

Question 4

Mark,vice president of human resources at Executive Corporation,is a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  team leader.
B)  first-line level manager.
C)  board manager.
D)  middle-level manager.
E)  upper-level manager.

Question 5

Companies that develop and sell smartphone apps would be wise to focus their efforts on _______,who were born from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s.

Accepted Answer

A)  the Baby Boomers
B)  the Millennials
C)  Generation Z
D)  Generation X
E)  the Lost Generation

Question 6

You are a senior manager at a large consumer goods company.The company president has noticed that recent college graduates and junior-level employees tend to gravitate toward you.They come to you for advice and ask for your opinion on important matters,even though you are not their direct supervisor.The president realizes that you are acting as a(n)_____ to junior employees.

Accepted Answer

A)  mentor
B)  client
C)  entrepreneur
D)  team leader
E)  middle manager

Question 7

______ refer to the ability to motivate,to inspire trust,and to communicate with others.

Accepted Answer

A)  Technical skills
B)  Strategic planning
C)  Soft skills
D)  Training skills
E)  Planning and organizing skills

Question 8

Which of the following jobs in a high-tech company would be considered a "high-touch job"?

Accepted Answer

A)  traveling sales reps who meet with the owners or managers of electronics stores
B)  the bookkeepers who work in the company's accounts payable department
C)  the building's maintenance managers,who make sure the physical plant remains in good working order
D)  the warehouse staff who fulfill customers' orders
E)  the Web designer who designs and continuously updates the company's website

Question 9

One of the reasons Ace Distributors,a local manufacturing company,is considered a good place to work is that the managers encourage and reward their employees for developing new products and ways of improving existing products and services.In this example,Ace Distributors' managers are carrying out the ______ role.

Accepted Answer

A)  talent implementer
B)  developer
C)  entrepreneur
D)  visionary
E)  improvement

Question 10

Donna manages the service desk and makes routine decisions related to customer refunds and merchandise returns.Donna also oversees the daily tasks of the cashiers and front desk employees.Donna is a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  team leader.
B)  first-line manager.
C)  board member.
D)  middle manager.
E)  top manager.

Question 11

According to management scholar Henry Mintzberg,which three roles do managers play?

Accepted Answer

A)  interpersonal,analytical,professional
B)  professional,leader,informational
C)  interdependent,monitor,analytical
D)  interpersonal,informational,decisional
E)  interpersonal,analytical,monitor

Question 12

Donna,vice president of finance,and Bob,vice president of human resources,are

Accepted Answer

A)  lower-level managers.
B)  team leaders.
C)  advisory managers.
D)  board members.
E)  functional managers.

Question 13

What do technical skills consist of?

Accepted Answer

A)  the ability to think analytically
B)  the ability to think analytically,to visualize an organization as a whole,and to understand how the parts work together
C)  job-specific knowledge needed to perform well in a specialized field
D)  the ability to work well in cooperation with other people to get things done
E)  the ability to think in a logical manner

Question 14

_________ employs state-of-the-art computer software and hardware to help people work better together.

Accepted Answer

A)  A strategy database
B)  Collaborative computing
C)  A knowledge base
D)  A wisdom system
E)  Knowledge management

Question 15

Melissa,the hotel manager,knows that the number of guests at her hotel has significantly decreased.
Therefore,corporate has made it clear that the amount each department can spend on certain items will need to be cut for the year.Melissa needs to work with the hotel department managers on how to cut costs,as a part of her role as

Accepted Answer

A)  monitor.
B)  disseminator.
C)  disturbance handler.
D)  entrepreneur.
E)  resource allocator.

Question 16

According to the _______,taking care of customers is essential to obtaining a competitive advantage.

Accepted Answer

A)  Golden Marketing Rule
B)  first law of business
C)  Employee Rule
D)  Profit-Generating Code
E)  synergy focus

Question 17

Define and explain the three roles that managers play,according to Henry Mintzberg.Also explain and give an example fo the subroles within each category.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Define and explain the three roles that...

Question 18

Donna,the office manager,spends a large part of her day working closely with those whom she supervises to successfully accomplish the many tasks she is responsible for.She also works well with other departments to get things done.Which type of managerial skill is Donna exhibiting?

Accepted Answer

A)  technical
B)  sales
C)  human
D)  partnership
E)  culture

Question 19

Becoming a manager offers

Accepted Answer

A)  few rewards due to the large amount of stress.
B)  many rewards apart from money and status.
C)  an individual to be exempt from some current laws.
D)  an individual to not have to stretch his or her abilities.
E)  little apart from money and status.

Question 20

Paula,a plant manager,received an e-mail from the CEO stating that the company will now be focusing on customer service.The e-mail also stated that all plant managers need to implement this policy and coordinate the activities related to this strategy for their lowest-level managers.Paula is a(n)

Accepted Answer