MGT300 Test 2 True/False Questions – Flashcards

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The career path that most resembles the traditional view of climbing the stairs in a corporate hierarchy is the linear career
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TRUE
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A steady-state career entails a slow-but-steady growth in level of responsibility and compensation.
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FALSE
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Individuals who don't want the responsibility that comes with promotion may follow a transitory career path.
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TRUE
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Planning helps managers to cope with events that can be predicted, but is not particularly helpful when conditions are uncertain.
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FALSE
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Planning occurs only at the highest levels of an organization, being done by top managers.
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FALSE
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Planning and strategic management derive from an organization's mission and vision about itself.
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TRUE
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In this time of Internet connections and speedy-access computer databases, one typically has complete information for planning and decision making.
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FALSE
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Planning gives you expectations against which you can compare your performance.
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TRUE
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Facebook strives to be on the cutting edge of social media, and is experiencing phenomenal growth. It encourages what it calls a "hacker" mindset, always looking to break down the old in favor of something better. Of Miles and Snow's basic strategy types, Facebook would be described as a prospector.
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TRUE
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According to Miles and Snow's basic strategy types, a defender protects its strong position in an industry by constantly seeking new opportunities for growth.
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FALSE
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Microsoft has been accused of adapting competitors' products after those firms spent the resources and took the risks to develop them. Companies with this strategy are known as analyzers by Miles and Snow.
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FALSE
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Blockbuster Video was slow to adapt to the latest trends in its industry, such as DVD-by-mail and movie downloads online. When it tried to incorporate the same into its business model, it was well behind competitors like Netflix. Blockbuster might be defined as a defender, according to Miles and Snow.
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FALSE
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The process of a business cycling through decisions first to select products and markets, then about producing and delivering the products, and finally to establish roles and processes is known as the discovery cycle.
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FALSE
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The administrative part of the adaptive cycle focuses on establishing roles and organizational processes.
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TRUE
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Mission and vision statements should be created once the strategic planning process is complete.
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FALSE
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Determining an organization's mission is the responsibility of top management and the board of directors.
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TRUE
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A vision has a clear sense of the future and the actions needed to get there.
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TRUE
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A vision statement expresses what the organization should become and where it wants to go strategically.
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TRUE
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Marriot Hotel's statement in which it states its desire "to be the world's leading provider of hospitality services" is a mission statement.
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FALSE
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Strategic planning determines goals for an organization for a period of 1-5 years.
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TRUE
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Operational planning is normally performed by middle management.
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FALSE
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Tactical planning is done by first-line managers and looks forward to the next 1-8 weeks.
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FALSE
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Decisions that are predictable, following a well-defined set of procedures are typical of operational planning.
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TRUE
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A target is a specific commitment to achieve a measurable result within a stated period of time.
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FALSE
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An organization's goals arranged from low-level to high-level can be termed a means-end chain.
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TRUE
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Strategic goals focus on objectives for the organization as a whole.
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TRUE
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Operational goals are set by middle managers and focus on the actions needed to achieve strategic goals
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FALSE
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The 'R' in a SMART goal stands for 'reachable'.
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FALSE
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A bike messenger company that operates in the downtown area of a large city recently set the following goal: "All deliveries should be completed as quickly as possible." This example meets the criteria for a SMART goal.
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FALSE
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SMART goals that are challenging yet can be met within the available scope of time, equipment, and financial support are known as achievable, the 'A' in SMART.
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FALSE
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Because it is unrealistic for SMART goals to be accomplished overnight, they should have target dates.
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TRUE
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A marketing plan is an example of an action plan.
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TRUE
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The operating plan defines the course of action needed to achieve a stated goal.
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FALSE
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Southwest Airlines' goal of being highly profitable is a tactical goal.
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FALSE
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Southwest Airlines' goal of making arrival times more reliable is a tactical goal.
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TRUE
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In single-use plans, a program is another name for a project.
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FALSE
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The U.S. government space program is an example of a single-use plan
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TRUE
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A procedure is a standing plan that outlines the response to particular problems or circumstances.
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TRUE
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A policy includes more specifics than does a rule.
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FALSE
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Policies, procedures, and rules are types of single-use plans.
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FALSE
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MBO was developed by Frederick Taylor as part of scientific management.
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FALSE
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The purpose of MBO is to motivate subordinates.
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TRUE
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The first step in an MBO program is for the manager to set objectives for her subordinate.
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FALSE
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Maintenance objectives are one type of objective used in MBO.
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TRUE
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In MBO, objectives that employees fail to meet should be put aside for the next period in favor of ones that they can achieve.
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FALSE
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In order for MBO to be successful, it must be implemented throughout the entire organization.
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TRUE
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Organization-wide, the best structure for objectives in MBO is known as a diversity pattern.
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FALSE
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Deadlines can help one concentrate the mind, in order to make decisions rather than put them off.
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TRUE
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In the planning/control cycle, part of the control process can be to improve future plans.
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TRUE
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The planning/control cycle has three planning steps and three control steps.
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FALSE
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In the planning/control cycle, comparing the results with the plan is one of the control steps.
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TRUE
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In the planning/control cycle, carrying out the plan is one of the control steps.
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FALSE
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Managers must be willing to make large, painful decisions to suddenly alter strategy.
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TRUE
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In a world of rapid and discontinuous change, the ability to please nonmanagerial employees has been called the golden trait among managers.
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FALSE
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A business plan is a document with the purpose of outlining a proposed firm's profit and loss statements for its first operating cycle.
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FALSE
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Formal business plans can be dangerous to the survival of new businesses; many who try them fail because of the resources required to write and agree upon the plan.
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FALSE
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A strategy is a large-scale action plan that sets direction for an organization
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TRUE
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Strategic management is the process of involving select managers from the executive leadership of the organization in the formulation and implementation of strategies and strategic goals.
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FALSE
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An organization should adopt strategic management and strategic planning to encourage new ideas
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TRUE
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Bad planning is usually a result of top managers' inability to gather enough information.
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FALSE
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Planning is usually a straightjacket for new ideas, since it effectively blocks peripheral vision in favor of a predetermined course.
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FALSE
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A sustainable competitive advantage is the ability of an organization to produce goods or services more effectively than its competitors and outperform them.
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TRUE
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Ford's Sync in-dash communications platform, despite its high level of technology, has been unable to provide the company with a distinct competitive advantage.
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FALSE
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Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter is a leading authority on competitive strategy.
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TRUE
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Strategic conservation attempts to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by preserving what is distinctive about a company.
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FALSE
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Strategic positioning can be achieved by performing similar activities to rivals, but in different ways.
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TRUE
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A strategic position may be based on serving the few needs of a few customers.
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FALSE
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Good strategy allows a company to be everything to everyone.
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FALSE
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Strategic planning is appropriate for large companies, but does not help the performance of small companies.
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FALSE
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Management of a small company in an industry that is not very competitive should not engage in strategic planning because the small gains in performance may not be worth the effort.
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TRUE
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Organizations may turn to the strategic-management process after a crisis.
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TRUE
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The first step of the strategic-management process is to establish the grand strategy
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FALSE
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The strategic-management process has five steps and a feedback loop.
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TRUE
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A vision will be demoralizing to employees if it describes a future state that appears beyond the reach of the organization.
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FALSE
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Many good mission statements include descriptions of an organization's customers, as well as its major products or services.
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TRUE
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According to Burt Nanus, good vision statements are useful because they help people to consider all interesting elements in their environments.
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FALSE
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A good vision statement should describe a company's major strengths and competitive advantage in its industry
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FALSE
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A mission statement should be ambitious.
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FALSE
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A comprehensive strategy assesses current organizational performance and then explains how its mission is to be accomplished.
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FALSE
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A defensive strategy is sometimes called retrenchment strategy.
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TRUE
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A development strategy is a grand strategy that involves expansion.
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FALSE
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A continuity strategy is a grand strategy that involves little or no significant change.
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FALSE
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Best Buy plans to keep its prices low and make few changes in the near future, which is an example of a stability strategy.
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TRUE
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A grand strategy can be established by using tools like SWOT analysis and forecasting.
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TRUE
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Strategy formulation is the process of choosing among different strategies and altering them to best fit the organization's needs.
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TRUE
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The starting point in establishing a grand strategy is usually an analysis of Porter's competitive forces.
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FALSE
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Strategy actualization is the term for putting strategic plans into effect.
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FALSE
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A common challenge to strategy implementation is resistance by people within the organization.
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TRUE
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One of the ways to keep a strategic plan on track is to make it very comprehensive, covering as many scenarios for the future as you can.
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FALSE
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Competitive intelligence challenges the brains of employees to make them better equipped to produce novel ideas for business.
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FALSE
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SWOT analysis helps management to develop a realistic understanding of the organization in relation to internal and external environments.
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TRUE
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Obsolete technology and outdated facilities are examples of organizational threats.
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FALSE
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Guthrie Community College has done a SWOT analysis and discovered that the number of college-bound high-school juniors in its state has grown by nearly 20% in the past few years. This is a strength for Guthrie.
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FALSE
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Organizational threats are the environmental factors that hinder an organization's ability to achieve a competitive advantage.
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TRUE
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Forecasting is a strategic-planning tool used to make long-term strategy.
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TRUE
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Two types of forecasting are trend analysis and competitive intelligence.
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FALSE
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Contingency planning is a hypothetical extension of a past series of events into the future.
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FALSE
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Too little or unreliable historical data may result in erroneous trend analyses
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TRUE
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Contingency planning can also be called scenario planning
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TRUE
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The use of hedging to manage the cost of aviation fuel is an example of trend analysis.
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FALSE
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In Porter's model for industry analysis, there are three primary competitive forces in a firm's environment.
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FALSE
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Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is now challenged by new competitors such as Annie's and other store brands, which Porter's model for industry analysis calls the threat of new entrants.
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TRUE
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In a cost-leadership strategy, an organization targets a wide market and offers products of services of unique and superior value compared to competitors.
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FALSE
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Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce has a focused-differentiation strategy
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TRUE
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A single-product strategy can be described as focused but vulnerable.
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TRUE
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A small florist most likely follows a diversification strategy.
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FALSE
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Burberry makes outerwear, accessories like umbrellas, and children's clothing, which is called a related diversification strategy.
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TRUE
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Synergy is one of the benefits of a single-product strategy.
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FALSE
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General Electric sells lighting products and is also involved in plastics, broadcasting, and financial services. GE uses a related diversification strategy
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FALSE
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The BCG matrix is a means of evaluating strategic business units on the basis of both their business growth rates and their profitability.
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FALSE
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Cash cows in the BCG matrix have slow growth but high market share.
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TRUE
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Execution is tactical in nature, rather than part of a company's strategy.
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FALSE
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A company must be able to execute three core processes of business including people, products, and administration.
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FALSE
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There are seven leader behaviors that help a manager successfully execute a strategy.
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TRUE
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Managers who execute well insist on realism.
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TRUE
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If your boss asked you to take care of a task, productivity expert Odette Pollar says it is still OK to delegate it.
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FALSE
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Confidential matters and issues involving discipline cannot be effectively delegated.
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TRUE
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Corporate culture is as also known as organizational structure.
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FALSE
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The "social glue" that binds customers to a particular firm is called organizational culture.
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FALSE
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Organizational culture can vary widely across organizations on dimensions of treatment of employees, teamwork, and risk taking.
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TRUE
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A formal system of task and reporting relationships that coordinate and motivate an organization's members is known as an organizational configuration.
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FALSE
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A clan culture has an external focus and values flexibility rather than stability and control.
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FALSE
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An adhocracy culture attempts to create innovative products by being adaptive, creative, and quick to respond to the environment.
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TRUE
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A market culture has a strong external focus and values stability and control.
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TRUE
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Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, with its culture that manages failure and disappointment, and of helping drug researchers live for the small victories in discovering new drugs for various diseases, is an example of an adhocracy.
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TRUE
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A company with a formalized, structured work environment aimed at achieving efficiency, timeliness, and reliability in the creation and deliver of products has a clan culture.
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FALSE
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Organizational culture appears as three layers: observable artifacts, token values, and foundational beliefs.
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FALSE
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Culture exists on visible and unobservable levels.
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TRUE
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Allowing business-casual dress in the workplace is an example of the espoused values portion of organizational culture.
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FALSE
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Espoused values represent the values and norms actually exhibited in the organization.
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FALSE
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An organization's basic assumptions are difficult to change.
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TRUE
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At 3M the Gold Step award, a trophy for successful new products, is an example of a symbol.
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TRUE
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A ritual is a narrative based on true events, which is repeated—and sometimes embellished upon—to emphasize a particular value of an organization.
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FALSE
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A hero is a person whose accomplishments embody the values of the organization.
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TRUE
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When the National Football League annually presents the winners of the Superbowl with rings in a ceremony, it is an example of a ritual.
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TRUE
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The pink Cadillac that Mary Kay presents to the best salespeople of its cosmetic line is an example of an emblem.
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FALSE
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Research shows that organizations with market cultures report higher profits and financial growth.
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TRUE
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A good organizational culture can facilitate a low turnover rate.
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TRUE
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Sometimes an organizational structure can be strong enough to take the place of organizational culture.
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FALSE
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When employees are forced to adhere to an organization's values through extensive procedures and bureaucracies, its culture is said to be weak.
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TRUE
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The fit perspective assumes that the most effective cultures help organizations anticipate and adapt to environmental changes.
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FALSE
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An investigation of companies with different organizational cultures showed that long-term financial performance was highest for those with an adaptive culture.
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TRUE
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Those who found a business and the managers who follow them primarily use power and coercion to embed the culture into the organization.
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FALSE
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Roberto opened a new restaurant in Miami called Cuban Isle. He wanted to be sure a culture of service and excellence was embedded in his new organization so he posted the values of the organization in the kitchen and in the dining room. Roberto is teaching his organization the culture through this action.
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TRUE
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Sharing stories, legends, or myths are good ways to develop an organizational structure.
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FALSE
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The type of training provided to new hires and the frequency of performance evaluations contribute to their understanding of the organization's culture.
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TRUE
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By definition, an organization includes 10 or more people
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FALSE
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A hospital is an example of a mutual-benefit organization
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FALSE
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Only for-profit organizations can be represented by an organization chart.
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FALSE
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An organization chart it is most often illustrated with a tall, slender rectangle showing each level of the company
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FALSE
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The reporting relationships on an organizational chart are known as the vertical hierarchy of authority.
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TRUE
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A formal vertical hierarchy shows a company's most typical channels of communication.
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TRUE
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Horizontally on an organizational chart are the various companies outside of the firm, such as suppliers and distributors.
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FALSE
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As you are promoted to higher levels in an organization, you may have to actively resist isolation.
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TRUE
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The division of labor means that an employee should report to no more than one manager.
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FALSE
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Hierarchy of authority is also referred to as the chain of command.
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TRUE
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An organization is said to be flat when there are only a few levels with wide spans of control.
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TRUE
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Power refers to the rights inherent in a managerial position to make decisions, give orders, and utilize resources.
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FALSE
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Director of operations is an example of a staff position.
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FALSE
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Staff personnel have authority functions in that they provide advice, recommendations, and research to line managers.
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TRUE
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An advantage in using centralized authority is that there is less duplication of work, because fewer employees perform the same task.
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TRUE
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One advantage of decentralized organizations is that procedures are uniform and thus easier to control.
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FALSE
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The functional structure is the most typical type for small firms.
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FALSE
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An organization with different grouping of people based on its products, customers, or geographic regions has a functional structure.
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FALSE
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Ford Motor Co. has what is known as a divisional structure because it has different divisions for passenger car dealers, large trucking customers, and farm products customers.
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TRUE
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If a marketing person reports to both the Vice President of Marketing and also to the project manager for the Ford Mustang, she works in a network organization.
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FALSE
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A functionally-organized company can also use team-based structure to work on particular problems.
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TRUE
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A corporation that uses a network structure is often called matrix corporation.
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FALSE
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Bombardier builds jets from 12 separately-sourced portions which can be put together in four days. This is an example of a modular organizational structure.
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TRUE
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The process of fitting the organization to its environment is called contingency design.
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TRUE
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The founder of McDonald's, Ray Kroc, intended that a Big Mac should taste the same anywhere, and accordingly the company has many specific procedures, making it a formulaic organization.
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FALSE
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Companies that must respond to fast-changing customer tastes often favor an organic structure to a mechanistic one.
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TRUE
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Lawrence and Lorsch's term for the tendency of an organization's parts to disperse and fragment is demarcation.
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FALSE
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Integration is the tendency of the parts of an organization to draw together to achieve a common purpose.
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TRUE
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The four stages of organization life cycle include birth, growth, stability, and maturity.
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FALSE
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In general, organizations become more bureaucratic over their lifetimes.
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TRUE
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The first stage of in an organization's life cycle is known as creation.
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FALSE
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