BUS101 Practice Test 2 - Flashcards

Q: Which of the following BEST describes a mission?

an organization\'s statement of how it will achieve its purpose in the environment in which it conducts business.

question

Which business constituents analyze their competitive environments and plan, organize, direct, and control the operations of their organizations?

answer

managers.

question

Which description defines the planning function of the management process?

answer

determining what an organization needs to do and how best to get it done.

question

Hewlett-Packard decides to move toward a more centralized structure. This is an example of which function in the management process?

answer

organizing.

question

Comparing actual performance against standards is an example of which function of the management process?

answer

controlling.

question

Steve motivates employees by rewarding them with additional vacation when standards are achieved. This is an example of which function in the management process?

answer

leading.

question

Which level of management sets general policies, formulates strategies, approves all significant decisions, and represents the company in dealings with other firms and with government bodies?

answer

top managers.

question

The titles supervisor, office manager, and group leader are examples of which level of management?

answer

first-line management.

question

Which of the following are responsible for production and quality control?

answer

operations managers.

question

Which of the following managers are directly responsible for getting products from producers to consumers?

answer

marketing managers.

question

Who is responsible for designing and implementing systems to gather, organize, and distribute facts and data essential for the running of the company?

answer

information managers.

question

An accountant's ability to audit a company's records is an example of what type of skills?

answer

technical skills.

question

Camille Graham is a manager who works well with people and makes them feel excited about their work. What type of skills is she illustrating?

answer

human relations skills.

question

Which of the following managers depend most on conceptual skills?

answer

top managers.

question

What activity do company managers undertake so that they can later measure success or failure at every organizational level?

answer

setting goals.

question

Which of the following BEST describes a mission?

answer

an organization's statement of how it will achieve its purpose in the environment in which it conducts business.

question

Sometimes a corporation buys and operates multiple businesses in compatible industries as part of its corporate strategy. This is an example of what type of strategy?

answer

strategic diversification.

question

Which of the following BEST describes functional strategy?

answer

a strategy by which managers in specific areas decide how best to achieve corporate goals through productivity.

question

Doreen Madison has been tracking product sales for McCoy Industries. She notices that sales of surgical supplies have fallen off in the past six months and she is considering strategies to reverse this trend. This is an example of what function of the management process?

answer

controlling.

question

CFO and controller are titles associated with what type of manager?

answer

financial.

question

Starbucks has established itself as the premier marketer of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining its uncompromising principles and continuing to grow. This statement illustrates what aspect of Starbucks' organization?

answer

its mission.

question

Carlos wants to complete his M.B.A. in three years. This is an example of what kind of goal?

answer

intermediate.

question

Increasing sales by 4 percent in the next eight months is an example of what kind of goal?

answer

short-term.

question

The marketing manager wants to increase regional sales by 2 percent each quarter over the next year. This is an example of what kind of goal?

answer

short-term.

question

Which of the following is the BEST example of unrelated diversification?

answer

Northwest Airlines merging with Procter & Gamble.

question

The first step in the planning process is determining goals. What is the next step?

answer

developing a comprehensive strategy.

question

Which variable of SWOT analysis identifies changing consumer tastes, hostile takeover offers, and new government regulations?

answer

threats.

question

When conducting a SWOT analysis of an organization, which question can help management brainstorm for the strengths section of the analysis?

answer

What does the organization offer that makes it stand out from other organizations?

question

When conducting a SWOT analysis of an organization, which question can help management brainstorm for the weaknesses section of the analysis?

answer

What necessary skills do the organization's employees currently lack?

question

Which of the following would be classified as opportunities for an organization?

answer

stronger demand for the organization's services.

question

Marty uses computer forecasts to determine possible outcomes of an intended change in his division. What element of management is Marty utilizing?

answer

contingency planning.

question

Which factor plays a key role in determining an organization's structure?

answer

mission and strategy.

question

What do managers do when the "job" of a firm is broken down into smaller jobs?

answer

specialize the job.

question

At Chaparral Steel, some employees transport scrap steel while others operate shredding equipment. What does this example demonstrate?

answer

specialization.

question

Which of the following is a natural part of organizational growth?

answer

job specialization.

question

Determining how people performing certain tasks can best be grouped together is called what?

answer

departmentalization.

question

What type of departmentalization does Kraft Foods use by having separate divisions for different types of foods?

answer

product.

question

Vlasic has separate departments to transform cucumbers into fresh-packed pickles, pickles cured in brine, and relishes. What is this an example of?

answer

process departmentalization.

question

What is dividing a store into a men's department, a women's department, and a luggage department an example of?

answer

customer departmentalization.

question

A snack food firm has one division for the United States, one for Europe, and another for Asia. How is this firm departmentalized?

answer

by geography.

question

In what type of organization do most lower-level decisions need to be approved by upper management before they can be implemented?

answer

centralized.

question

In what type of organization is decision-making authority delegated to levels of management at various points below the top?

answer

decentralized.

question

What kind of organization becomes more responsive to its environment by breaking the company into more manageable units?

answer

decentralized.

question

With relatively few layers of managers, what do decentralized organizations tend to reflect?

answer

flat organizational structure.

question

With its many organizational layers, what type of organizational structure does the U.S. Army demonstrate?

answer

tall.

question

What is the preferred span of control when jobs are more diversified or prone to change?

answer

narrow.

question

Which of the following begins when a manager assigns responsibility to a subordinate?

answer

delegation.

question

After responsibility for a task is assigned, which of the following comes next?

answer

the granting of authority.

question

Which of the following BEST describes responsibility?

answer

the duty to perform an assigned task.

question

Which of the following BEST describes authority?

answer

the power to make the decisions necessary to complete a task.

question

Which of the following BEST describes accountability?

answer

the obligation employees have to their manager for the successful completion of an assigned task.

question

What authority is based on special expertise and usually involves counseling and advising?

answer

staff authority.

question

Which term describes groups of operating employees who are empowered to plan and organize their tasks and to perform those tasks with a minimum of supervision?

answer

work teams.

question

Which form of organization is used by most small to medium-sized firms?

answer

functional.

question

What are departments called that resemble separate businesses in that they produce and market their own products?

answer

divisions.

question

What style of organization relies almost entirely on employees working on a common project, with little or no underlying functional hierarchy?

answer

team.

question

What structure does an organization with little or no formal structure and with only a handful of permanent employees use?

answer

virtual structure.

question

What type of organization seeks to integrate continuous improvements with continuous employee development?

answer

learning.

question

Which of the following organizational systems is the part that can be seen and represented in chart form?

answer

formal organization.

question

What has Rubbermaid used to create and maintain the innovation and flexibility of a small business environment within the large, bureaucratic structure?

answer

intrapreneuring.

question

Which of the following is an advantage of job specialization?

answer

Workers can develop expertise in their jobs.

question

When a company makes products available where they are convenient for consumers, it creates which type of utility?

answer

place.

question

In a business, whose job is it to draw up plans to transform resources into products and bring together basic resources, such as knowledge, physical materials, equipment, and labor?

answer

operations manager.

question

Which term describes services that cannot be produced ahead of time?

answer

unstorable.

question

Which of the following would be considered a low-contact service?

answer

Correct Answer: A) electric power. B) massage. C) surgery. D) piano lesson. E) haircut.

question

The check-processing operations at your bank would be considered to be which type of system?

answer

low-contact.

question

Which of the following would be considered a high-contact system?

answer

A) electric company. B) lawn care company. Correct Answer :C) barber shop. D) gas company. E) postal delivery.

question

Save-A-Lot grocery stores use which type of strategy for attracting customers?

answer

low-cost.

question

3M uses which strategy for attracting customers?

answer

flexibility.

question

Machine, woodworking, and dry cleaning shops typically use which type of layout?

answer

custom-products.

question

Which type of layout is designed to move resources through a smooth, fixed sequence of steps?

answer

same-steps.

question

Which term is defined as the combination of "characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs"?

answer

quality.

question

Performance refers to which of the following?

answer

how well the product does what it is supposed to do.

question

Consistency refers to which of the following?

answer

the sameness of product quality from unit to unit.

question

Managers can work to reduce waste, inefficiency, and poor performance by examining procedures on a step-by-step basis. Which term describes this process?

answer

methods improvement.

question

Logan Aluminum makes coils of aluminum that it supplies to customer companies that use it to make beverage cans. Logan uses a schedule that specifies how many tons of each type of coil will be produced each week. What is this schedule called?

answer

master production schedule.

question

In operations control, production managers monitor production performance by which method?

answer

comparing results with detailed plans and schedules.

question

What is the name for a production system in which all the needed materials and parts arrive at the precise moment they are required for each production stage?

answer

just-in-time production.

question

Which of the following is greatly reduced in a just-in-time production system?

answer

goods in process.

question

Which of the following is a component of materials management?

answer

warehousing.

question

Which of the following BEST describes total quality management?

answer

the sum of all activities involved in getting high-quality products into the marketplace.

question

Which of the following BEST describes quality ownership?

answer

the principle that quality belongs to each person who creates it while performing a job.

question

Which of the following BEST describes competitive product analysis?

answer

the process by which a company analyzes a different company's products to identify desirable improvements.

question

When a worker at Toshiba takes apart a Xerox copier and tests each component, the worker is engaging in which activity?

answer

competitive product analysis.

question

Which of the following BEST describes value-added analysis?

answer

the process of evaluating all work activities, materials flows, and paperwork to determine the value that they create for customers.

question

Which term refers to collaborative groups of employees from various work areas who meet regularly to define, analyze, and solve common production problems?

answer

quality improvement teams.

question

Which of the following BEST describes ISO 9000?

answer

a program certifying that a factory, laboratory, or office has met the quality management standards of the International Organization for Standardization.

question

Which program certifies improvements in environmental performance?

answer

ISO 14000.

question

Receiving and storing materials, billing patients for treatment, and filling customer orders from Internet sales are examples of which kind of activity?

answer

processes.

question

Which term refers to the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of a business activity to achieve dramatic improvements in performance?

answer

business process reengineering.

question

Which of the following BEST describes supply chain management?

answer

the principle of looking at the supply chain as a whole in order to improve the overall flow through the system.

question

Which of the following BEST describes scientific management?

answer

a theory of motivation holding that managers should analyze jobs to find the most efficient methods and use money as a primary motivator.

question

Which of the following helps explain why some people do not work as hard as they can when their salaries are based purely on seniority?

answer

expectancy theory.

question

Tina is the most productive employee in her department. When her manager retires, Tina doesn't apply for the job, in spite of her excellent record and the pay and prestige associated with the job. She believes that the job will go to someone who has more seniority. Based on expectancy theory, which would explain why Tina doesn't apply for the job?

answer

the performance-reward issue.

question

Sue works very hard and is the most productive worker on her day shift. When a position opens on the evening shift, Sue is encouraged to apply, but does not; she has children and wants to be home in the evening. Based on expectancy theory, which explains why Sue doesn't apply for the job?

answer

the rewards-personal goals issue.

question

Kent wants to motivate the maintenance staff to be more productive. He starts by providing training and assures employees that high productivity will be rewarded. Employees are asked to identify the rewards that would mean the most to them. Kent likely subscribes to which theory of motivation?

answer

expectancy.

question

Terry generally likes her job and works hard. However, Terry's level of effort has declined recently. Terry became aware that a new employee, with far less experience, was hired at Terry's current salary. Terry's lack of motivation can best be described by which theory of motivation?

answer

equity.

question

Which would an employee who is productive but refuses to help others or the organization be lacking in?

answer

organizational citizenship.

question

What does turnover refer to?

answer

people quitting their jobs.

question

Which of these is one of the "big five" personality traits?

answer

openness.

question

What is emotionality?

answer

the degree to which someone tends to be positive or negative.

question

Which of the following might you, as a manager, expect to see in an employee who has a low degree of conscientiousness?

answer

a tendency to be unprepared at meetings.

question

You need to assign a task to one of your employees. The task involves a high level of detail. To whom should you assign the task?

answer

Winston, who exhibits high conscientiousness and low extraversion.

question

The extent to which people are self-aware is an aspect of which of the following?

answer

emotional intelligence.

question

An employee with a low level of social skills would be unlikely to do which of the following?

answer

circulate a get-well card.

question

Which of the following is the set of expectations held by employees and the organization regarding what the employee will contribute and what he or she will receive?

answer

psychological contract.

question

Which of the following aspects of the psychological contract is provided by the organization?

answer

status.

question

Which of the following aspects of the psychological contract is provided by the employee?

answer

skills.

question

Michelle has been working at AdCo for five years. The company recently hired a new college graduate to work in a position very similar to Michelle's position. In a casual conversation with the new hire, Michelle discovers that the new employee is making $4,000 more annually than she is. What might Michelle's reaction be?

answer

Michelle may feel that the psychological contract has been broken.

question

Because job permanence is less likely in today's economy, which of the following are some companies offering in order to keep the psychological contract in balance?

answer

flexible scheduling.

question

What is the term for the extent to which a person's contributions and the organization's inducements match?

answer

person-job fit.

question

If an employee needs to feel that she is a part of a team and yet her position involves working alone, which of the following may not be right?

answer

the person-job fit.

question

Jane is a very conscientious worker, but she has poor social skills. Which of the following jobs might be best for her?

answer

working independently on spreadsheets.

question

Brooke was excited to take a job at Film, Inc. She was looking forward to working with Robert, the man who had hired her, because of his experience and status within the industry. Eight months after her hire, Robert retired. Which aspect of the psychological contract might Brooke feel has been violated?

answer

career opportunities.

question

What is the Hawthorne effect?

answer

the conclusion that workers are more productive if management pays attention to them.

question

What is MOST useful about Theory X and Theory Y?

answer

They shed light on managers' attitudes toward employees.

question

According to Maslow's model, a set of needs will be a motivator until which of the following occurs?

answer

The needs are satisfied.

question

Which of the following lists Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs in order, starting with the most basic?

answer

physiological, security, social, esteem, self-actualization.

question

Douglas believes that his employees are self-motivated and growth-oriented. He is what type of manager?

answer

Theory Y.

question

According to which theory are employees given a voice in how they do their jobs and how the company is managed?

answer

participative management and empowerment.

question

What is telecommuting an example of?

answer

modified work scheduling.

question

What was a major problem with the trait approach to leadership?

answer

The results were too inconsistent and thus not very practical.

question

Which of the following describes one of the primary concerns associated with charismatic leadership due to severe devotion to a particular leader?

answer

the potential lapse of ethical practices.

question

Which of the following accurately describes a primary characteristic of charismatic leaders?

answer

They tend to set high expectations for themselves and energize others.

question

Bob, Joe, and Larry can all perform their jobs well without supervision. What does this indicate?

answer

presence of a leadership substitute.

question

The norms of the engineering group at Acme Incorporated are so strong that there is nothing the new company leader can do to change things. What does this illustrate?

answer

leadership neutralizers.

question

Anne bought stock in ABC Company in hopes of making a profit. Although the stock's price steadily continued to drop, she refused to sell her stock. What does this illustrate?

answer

escalation of commitment.

question

Which of the following do organizations need in order to be effective?

answer

both leadership and management.

question

In interviews with two leadership applicants, Ben tried to determine each person's knowledge of the industry, level of energy, and level of self-esteem. With which of the following concepts of leadership is Ben MOST concerned here?

answer

trait-based leadership.

question

Which of the following statements BEST describes the assumptions made by researchers of the behavioral approach to leadership?

answer

Behaviors of effective leaders are the same in all situations.

question

A company leader who often uses the phrase "that was then and this is now" to explain his decisions most likely follows which model of leadership?

answer

situational leadership.

question

According to the situational approach to leadership, the extent to which a leader or subordinate is involved in decision making depends on characteristics of which aspects of an organization?

answer

the leader, the followers, and the situation.

question

What are group effectiveness, worker disposition, and the type of organization examples of?

answer

situational characteristics that may affect a leader's decision making.

question

Which of the following is an example of an approach to leadership as seen through the eyes of followers?

answer

transformational leadership.

question

Which of the following may describe charismatic leadership?

answer

an approach to leadership emphasizing the perspectives of the followers.

question

GDB Technologies has had lackluster performance for the past few years. Choi is hired in an attempt to give new life to the company's prospects and give it new direction away from its current situation. Which of the following BEST describes Choi's leadership role?

answer

transformational.

question

Carol took over a stagnant firm three years ago. At that time, she clearly laid out her vision of where the firm should go and since that time has worked to energize the employees of the firm toward these goals. Which of the following BEST describes Carol's leadership role?

answer

charismatic.

question

At Nordic Enterprises, Johann is most effective in carrying out the management of daily tasks that must be performed. Which of the following BEST describes Johann's leadership role?

answer

transactional.

question

Which of following describes the activities MOST involved with transactional leadership?

answer

the implementation of routine activities.

question

Which of the following is a fundamental element of charismatic leadership?

answer

influencing.

question

Steven learned that the cohesiveness among his employees was so strong that there was nothing he could do to change things. Which of the following BEST describes this cohesiveness?

answer

leadership neutralizer.

question

According to current theories of gender roles in leadership, which of the following BEST describes the differences in decision making?

answer

Males tend to be more autocratic than females in making decisions.

question

As ABC Enterprises has grown during the past few years, more and more workers have been hired from the local Ethiopian population. A number of incidents at the firm have arisen during this time regarding certain customs prevalent among these new workers. Which of the following forms of leadership does the management of this firm need to utilize in order to most harmonize this situation?

answer

cross-cultural leadership.

question

Which states the correct definition of collectivism?

answer

a greater focus on the group than on the individual.

question

Which states the correct definition of individualism?

answer

a greater focus on the individual than on the group.

question

In exercising strategic leadership, what is a leader MOST likely to do?

answer

align the company with its environment.

question

An inward belief about something, often without conscious consideration, is frequently referred to as what?

answer

intuition.

question

Bill decides to study a foreign language. All of his friends said it will be easy. After the third week, he realizes the language is very difficult for him to grasp. He continues his studies, hoping that it will eventually get easier. What does this illustrate?

answer

escalation of commitment.

question

Leadership researchers in the late 1940s believed that leaders should engage in which of the following behaviors?

answer

both employee-focused leader behavior and task-focused leader behavior in equal amounts.

question

Which of the following dispositions is typical for leaders with a high degree of risk propensity?

answer

reliance on intuition.

question

What is a prime ingredient in fostering different levels of risk propensity within an organization?

answer

organizational culture.

question

What is a prime ingredient in fostering different levels of risk propensity within an organization?

answer

organizational culture.

question

What is a prime ingredient in fostering different levels of risk propensity within an organization?

answer

organizational culture.

BUS101 Practice Test 2 – Flashcards

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