Deck 5: Planning and Decision Making

Question 1

Which of the following is the most popular method for increasing goal commitment?

A) encouraging worker participation in goal setting
B) keeping goals private
C) setting ethical goals
D) using an ombudsperson to set goals

Answer 1

A
Participative goal setting leads to higher goal commitment and is the most popular approach to achieving commitment.

Question 2

According to the textbook,which of the following is a benefit of planning?

A) It improves vertical integration of departments.
B) It encourages people to engage in behaviours directly related to goal accomplishment.
C) It encourages people to remain with the company, rather than go to work for the competition.
D) It eliminates the need for change agents.

Answer 2

B
Section 1 of the chapter offers four benefits from planning: (1)intensified work effort, (2)increased persistence toward goals, (3)direction,and (4)creation of task strategies that lead to stronger performance.

Question 3

In 1997,Royal Dutch/Shell earned $8 billion in profit.In that year,top management decided to strive to increase the company's profits to $17 billion annually by 2001.Which classical management function would be instrumental in achieving this goal?

A) motivating
B) research and development
C) planning
D) marketing

Answer 3

C
Planning is defined as choosing a goal and developing a strategy to attain that goal.

Question 4

Which of the following is a favoured approach for tracking progress toward goal achievement?

A) setting response and stimulus goals
B) gathering and providing performance feedback
C) using operant and classical conditioning
D) providing mechanistic and dynamic feedback

Question 5

Monica purchased a scale to make sure she reduced the weight of her racing bike by exactly seven grams.Which S.M.A.R.T goal guideline is Monica following?

A) Goals should be specific
B) Goals should be measurable.
C) Goals should be attainable.
D) Goals should be realistic.

Question 6

Mandy continues to put chocolates and toffees in her gift baskets since customers have always raved about them.Sales continue to decline with people being more health conscious,but Mandy feels they will still purchase her baskets for her delicious treats.Which pitfall of planning is this an example of?

A) Planning may produce a false sense of security.
B) Planning may impede change and adaptation.
C) Planners may be detached from the company and its environment.
D) Planning can create laziness in workers.

Question 7

Lacy learned about planning in her management course.That night,Lacy set specific goals to achieve in doing her homework.Lacy's mom happily noticed Lacy complete an extra two hours of homework.Which benefit of planning did Lacy's mom witness?

A) intensified effort
B) persistence
C) direction
D) creation of task strategies

Question 8

Thomas knows that the value of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar can greatly affect his hotel bookings.Thomas and his team have created several alternative plans and they are ready to make adjustments depending on what value the dollar will settle at.Which step in planning is this an example of?

A) maintain flexibility
B) develop effective action plans
C) develop goal commitment
D) track progress toward goal achievement

Question 9

An increase in sales over the previous year seems likely since the economy is better this year than last year.Which aspect of S.M.A.R.T.goals would an increase in sales represent?

A) synergistic
B) measurable
C) attainable
D) realistic

Question 10

Patrick started a lawn service company and found that in his neighbourhood,the young families took pleasure from doing their own lawn care.When he began promoting his services to more mature neighbourhoods where older home owners wanted someone else to care for their lawns,Patrick was able to hit his sales targets.Which S.M.A.R.T goal guideline did Patrick follow?

A) Goals should be specific.
B) Goals should be measurable.
C) Goals should be attainable.
D) Goals should be realistic.

Question 11

According to the text,which of the following is a pitfall of planning?

A) the acceptance of sacrificing solutions
B) a mistaken sense of certainty based on faulty assumptions
C) the inability of line personnel to accept the long-term benefits of planning
D) a need for expensive employee training before plans can be effectively implemented

Question 12

Which of the following is a commonly used method for increasing goal commitment?

A) rewarding whistle-blowing
B) making the desired aim public
C) getting union support
D) using the equity theory

Question 13

What is the most popular approach to increasing goal commitment?

A) setting goals together as a team
B) making goals public
C) getting top management's support
D) assigning realistic and attainable goals

Question 14

Eleanor gave her production team a specific objective of increasing production by 3 percent over the previous month and keeping rejects below the standard of 0.05 percent.Eleanor noticed the team having far more drive and energy,and overall more alertness and commitment to their tasks.Which benefit of planning is Eleanor seeing in her production team?

A) intensified effort
B) persistence
C) direction
D) creation of task strategies

Question 15

What lists the specific steps,people,resources,and time period for accomplishing a goal?

A) a strategy
B) a proximal goal
C) a distal goal
D) an action plan

Question 16

According to the textbook,which of the following is a benefit of planning?

A) It encourages people to work harder for extended periods.
B) It encourages people to do others' jobs in a variety of different ways.
C) It reduces employee turnover.
D) It creates a mechanistic environment.

Question 17

Ken's financial planning business has produced far more sales when he changed his activities from "selling as many RRSPs as possible each month" to selling "$100,000 in RRSPs per month." Which S.M.A.R.T goal guideline is Ken following?

A) Goals should be specific.
B) Goals should be measurable.
C) Goals should be attainable.
D) Goals should be timely.

Question 18

After implementing a plan and giving his sales staff specific sales targets to achieve each month,Muhammad has found they waste far less time and their activities are all geared toward servicing customers,finding new clients,and closing the sale.Which benefit of planning is Muhammad seeing in his sales staff?

A) intensified effort
B) persistence
C) direction
D) creation of task strategies

Question 19

A manufacturing manager is eliminating distractions from the factory so that workers can remain focused on completing their tasks.Which benefit of planning will result from the manager's actions?

A) intensified effort
B) persistence
C) direction
D) development of task strategies

Question 20

Nancy was surprised her department's sales figures did not meet the goals she set in her plan.On further inspection,she realized the expectation that competition would not reduce their prices did not hold true.Which pitfall in planning is this an example of?

A) assumptions
B) commitment
C) assertion
D) tactics

Question 21

Disney is not in the movie and theme park business; it wants to create fun and fantasy for its customers.Which of the following is described by this statement?

A) transformational mission
B) vision
C) strategic mission
D) target

Question 22

A manager had a goal to reduce the expenses incurred by the sales force.He examined the weekly expense sheets prepared by the individual salespeople and met with those that needed to further reduce their expenses.Which accepted method for tracking progress toward goal achievement was he using?

A) setting realistic and attainable goals
B) gathering and providing performance feedback
C) developing concrete action plans
D) making sure goals are measurable

Question 23

What levels of an organization must have goals and action plans that support the goals and action plans at the top of the organization for planning to work best?

A) bottom and staff levels
B) top and middle levels
C) bottom and middle levels
D) group levels

Question 24

Richard writes a statement that he plans to frame and hang on the wall to motivate his staff.The statement says,"To rekindle optimism and ethical behaviour in our youth,one student at a time".What kind of statement did Richard write?

A) strategic statement
B) mission statement
C) vision statement
D) value statement

Question 25

Which statement provides a broad declaration of an organization's purpose that distinguishes it from the others of a similar type?

A) strategic statement
B) mission statement
C) vision statement
D) value statement

Question 26

What expresses a company's purpose and destination that it hopes to reach?

A) vision statement
B) action plan
C) strategy
D) mission statement

Question 27

A statement found at a certified organic food marketer's website reads,"At Seeds of Change,we're committed to making delicious foods that are healthy for you as well as the planet." This statement will not change over time.What type of statement is it?

A) vision
B) mission
C) statement of value
D) discretionary responsibility

Question 28

Which of the following within a company does NOT change over time?

A) the mission
B) the vision
C) the strategy
D) the action plan

Question 29

What must an organization have for options-based planning to work?

A) slack resources
B) use of cross-functional teams
C) broad spans of management
D) tall organizational structures

Question 30

Most people who have watched the television show Star Trek are familiar with this statement: "To explore strange new worlds,to seek out new life and new civilizations,to boldly go where no man has gone before." What is this statement an example of?

A) a plan of action
B) a tactical plan
C) a mission
D) a strategy

Question 31

Which type of planning leaves commitments open by maintaining slack resources?

A) options-based planning
B) learning-based planning
C) traditional planning
D) operant planning

Question 32

From what does a mission directly flow?

A) from tactical plans
B) from contingency plans
C) from operational plans
D) from a vision

Question 33

Anthony writes and frames a statement to give clear direction to his staff for what he wants his company to achieve.The statement says,"To provide the highest level of student career direction in Canada." What kind of statement did Anthony write?

A) the strategic statement
B) the mission statement
C) the vision statement
D) the value statement

Question 34

A manufacturer of suntan lotion sets a goal to achieve a 3 percent increase in sales over the next three months.In relation to the time frame set to achieve it,what type of goal is this?

A) a strategic goal
B) an operational goal
C) a distal goal
D) a proximal goal

Question 35

Who is responsible for developing strategic plans that make clear how the company will serve customers and position itself against competitors in the next two to five years?

A) an action team
B) middle management
C) planning staff
D) top management

Question 36

A department store is experiencing greater than usual shrinkage,and management wants it stopped.Middle management decided to hire a security company to study the problem and develop the best plan for dealing with it.What type of plan has middle management adopted?

A) contingency
B) strategic
C) operational
D) tactical

Question 37

Top management is responsible for developing plans that make clear how the company will serve customers and position itself against competitors in the next two to five years.Which term is usually associated with these types of long-term plans?

A) standing plans
B) tactical plans
C) operational plans
D) strategic plans

Question 38

Which of the following can help organizations maintain flexibility as they plan?

A) strategic planning
B) options-based planning
C) assumptions-based planning
D) change agent planning

Question 39

Which type of planning keeps choices open by making small,simultaneous investments in many alternative plans?

A) learning-based
B) options-based
C) conditioned
D) functional

Question 40

An Australian manufacturer of skis and snowboards wants to increase awareness of its brand in the Canadian market.A plan to accomplish this objective might be to host a series of skiing and snowboarding competitions in the Canadian Rockies to raise brand awareness.What type of plan is this?

A) contingency
B) single-use
C) visionary
D) tactical

Question 41

What type of planning is a budget?

A) strategic
B) tactical
C) operational
D) actionable

Question 42

What is the term for the process of choosing a solution from available alternatives?

A) decision making
B) problem identification
C) multivariable selection
D) problem solving

Question 43

Which type of operational plan saves managers time because it is created once and then used repeatedly to handle frequently recurring events?

A) standing plan
B) budget plan
C) multiple-use plan
D) options-based plan

Question 44

Which of the following is a type of operational plan?

A) single-use plans
B) contingency plans
C) short-term strategies
D) mission modifications

Question 45

Which type of plan directs the behaviour,efforts,and priorities of employees for periods ranging from one month to six months?

A) strategic
B) tactical
C) operational
D) standing

Question 46

In case of a fire,most organizations have a series of actions that must take place,beginning with notifying the fire department and including evacuating buildings.What kind of standing plan is this?

A) rules and regulations
B) procedures
C) policies
D) organizational norms

Question 47

New employees were instructed to never wear loose-fitting clothes when working around the canning machine.What kind of standing plan is this?

A) rules and regulations
B) procedures
C) policies
D) organizational norms

Question 48

What type of plans are single-use plans,standing plans,and budgets?

A) strategic
B) tactical
C) operational
D) MBO

Question 49

What type of plan specifies how a company will use resources,budgets,and people to accomplish specific goals within its mission?

A) strategic
B) tactical
C) operational
D) single-use

Question 50

What type of plan is often implemented with a management by objectives (MBO)technique?

A) single-use
B) standing
C) operational
D) tactical

Question 51

Who is primarily responsible for developing operational plans?

A) lower-level managers
B) middle managers
C) top managers
D) staff advisers

Question 52

Which of the following is achieved effectively with the management by objectives (MBO)technique?

A) tactical planning
B) development of policies and procedures
C) broadening of the span of transformation
D) problem framing

Question 53

What is the third step in the management by objectives (MBO)process?

A) jointly discuss possible goals
B) jointly select goals that are challenging
C) jointly develop tactical plans
D) jointly review progress toward goal accomplishment

Question 54

Who is responsible for creating tactical plans?

A) team leaders
B) lower-level managers
C) middle managers
D) top managers

Question 55

What is the term for a systematic process of defining problems,evaluating alternatives,and choosing optimal solutions?

A) problem identification
B) rational decision making
C) benchmarking
D) multivariable selection

Question 56

Which of the following are types of standing plans?

A) policies and procedures
B) targeted plans
C) long-term tactical strategies
D) transformational plans

Question 57

What standing plan indicates the general course of action that should be taken in response to a particular event or situation?

A) policy
B) procedure
C) rule
D) regulation

Question 58

What type of plan would be used to create the festivities to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of a manufacturer?

A) single-use plan
B) contingency plan
C) scenario plan
D) standing plan

Question 59

Which type of standing plan indicates the specific steps that should be taken in response to a particular event?

A) policies
B) procedures
C) actionable plans
D) single-use plans

Question 60

Which of the following are the most specific type of standing plan?

A) policies
B) procedures
C) rules and regulations
D) forecasts

Question 61

Which statement presents a rule for effective brainstorming?

A) Limit ideas to conserve time.
B) Select an open-minded group leader.
C) Give certain people in the group the most freedom to generate ideas.
D) Allow criticism.

Question 62

In which process is each decision compared directly to every other criterion?

A) absolute comparisons
B) relative comparisons
C) minimum comparative threshold
D) comparative ranking scales

Question 63

What have studies of the proper use of the devil's advocacy and dialectical inquiry approaches shown?

A) The approaches lead to less a-type conflict.
B) The approaches lead to improved decision mentoring.
C) The approaches lead to greater acceptance of decisions once they have been made.
D) The approaches introduce c-type conflict into the decision-making process.

Question 64

Where does groupthink often occur?

A) in newly formed groups whose members were arbitrarily selected and who are assigned to make programmed decisions
B) in groups in which members have dissimilar backgrounds
C) in standing committees whose members are under no pressure to agree
D) in highly cohesive groups, where there is much pressure for members to agree

Question 65

How does the nominal group technique improve group decision making?

A) The technique requires the selection of co-leaders to prevent member dominance.
B) The technique provides predetermined group norms.
C) The technique eliminates group cohesiveness.
D) The technique decreases a-type conflict.

Question 66

What is said to exist when there is a gap between a desired state-what managers want-and an existing state-the situation that the managers are facing?

A) a service gap
B) a benchmark
C) a condition of uncertainty
D) a problem

Question 67

When Coca-Cola discovered it had an unauthorized bottler selling Coke in the Colombian jungle,it used the rational decision-making process to find a solution.The managers at Coca-Cola evaluated the possible courses of action.According to the text,what would Coca-Cola have likely found about this stage of the decision-making process?

A) that this stage was the least expensive of all the stages
B) that this stage was the most time consuming of all the stages
C) that this stage was the last stage in the process for Coca-Cola
D) that this stage required Coca-Cola to use complex mathematical models

Question 68

In the 1960s,Coca-Cola executives in Atlanta learned that a bottler in the Colombian jungle was bottling pirated Coke in dumped bottles.Since the soft-drink company was at that time expanding globally and building its reputation on exacting production standards,Coca-Cola decided it had to bring some sort of legal action against the unauthorized bottler,ignore it,or buy it.In which stage of the rational decision-making process would this decision have been made?

A) problem definition
B) criteria weighting
C) generation of alternative courses of action
D) identification of decision criteria

Question 69

In the 1960s,Coca-Cola executives in Atlanta learned that a bottler in the Colombian jungle was bottling pirated Coke in dumped bottles.The soft-drink company was at that time expanding globally and building its reputation on exacting production standards.Which of the following does the unauthorized bottler best exemplify?

A) a standard of malfeasance
B) a problem
C) a benchmark
D) a keystone issue

Question 70

Which of the following is one of the six steps in the rational decision-making process?

A) choose a minimally acceptable alternative solution
B) evaluate the effectiveness of the decision
C) weight the criteria
D) introduce the decision to those who will be affected by it

Question 71

In which decision-making method does a panel of experts respond to questions and to one another until an agreement is reached on how a specific issue should be handled?

A) dialectical inquiry technique
B) nominal group technique
C) Delphi technique
D) electronic brainstorming technique

Question 72

Neither Chile nor Peru has a mass-market café culture,but that fact has not stopped Starbucks from trying to determine what can be done to make its coffee houses successful in those markets.By recognizing that people in these two South American countries do not drink coffee in the quantity that people do in North America,Starbucks has begun a process involving problem identification.What type of process is this?

A) rational decision making
B) trend analysis
C) sacrificing
D) selection of optimal solutions

Question 73

Neither Chile nor Peru has a mass-market café culture,but that fact has not stopped Starbucks from trying to determine how best to expand into those markets.What process is Starbucks engaging in?

A) intuitive conditioning
B) benchmarking
C) decision making
D) organizational design

Question 74

Joyce wishes to reduce flaws produced by her night shift.At each stage of production she has her production supervisor measure 20 samples to ensure they are each within 0.005 mm of the required size.What type of comparison is Joyce having her supervisor conduct?

A) relative
B) specific
C) absolute
D) attainable

Question 75

In which type of comparison is each criterion compared directly to other criterion?

A) relative
B) specific
C) absolute
D) attainable

Question 76

The European Union encourages companies to abandon national boundaries and offer the same products to all of the member countries.Allianz,Germany's largest insurance group,is considering converting from a German company to a European company.If it makes this decision rationally,what will it do first?

A) It will create decision criteria based on national GNPs.
B) It will identify problems arising from tax and regulatory issues.
C) It will decide whether to expand to one nation at a time.
D) It will create a committee to make the final decision.

Question 77

Which step in the decision-making process can be done better by groups than by individuals?

A) defining the problem and generating alternatives
B) creating cohesive solutions to organizational problems as a whole
C) creating weighted alternatives and coping with bounded rationality
D) dealing with the problems associated with bounded rationality

Question 78

As a company that manufactures janitorial cleaning supplies tries to develop more environmentally friendly products that can clean as well as its current ones,the company's manager must select among alternatives derived from oranges,parsley,lemon,or a combination of these ingredients.Which step in the rational decision-making model is this?

A) generate alternative courses of action
B) evaluate each alternative
C) compute the optimal decision
D) implement the optimal alternative

Question 79

In which approach to decision making is an individual or a subgroup assigned the role of a critic?

A) dialectical inquiry
B) groupthink
C) devil's advocacy
D) Delphi technique

Question 80

What term is usually associated with the emotional reaction that can occur when disagreements become personal rather than professional?

A) a-type conflict
B) c-type conflict
C) emotive empowerment
D) organizational disharmony