WGU – OBC1 – Flashcards
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How can a manager build employee trust?
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Provide specific job loss and change information.
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A change vision must be developed and clearly conveyed to all members of the firm. What aspect of the change vision should management communicate to employees?
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How the employees will be affected by the change.
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What are the four types of strategic change?
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Structural, Cost Cutting, Process, and Cultural
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What level of political action has broad long-term strategic impact?
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Network
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Surprise and fear of the unknown are reasons people resist change. How might this reaction manifest itself through employee behavior?
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They create rumors to fill the void created by lack of official announcements.
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What two recommendations should a manager consider in implementing an organizational change?
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Ensure the organization is ready and involve mid-level managers.
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Which of the following is a key factor in communicating change vision to employees?
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Provide employees the opportunity to discuss proposed changes.
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What skills does a manager need to successfully implement change?
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Communicates clearly, motivates through participation, and delegates key duties.
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Which phase of change is characterized by reorientation towards a new situation?
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Refreezing
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A company is in the unfreezing phase of change. What should communication from manager to employee focus on?
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Helping the employee become dissatisfied with the status quo.
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A manger develops a strategy for empowering others to remove barriers and encouraging risk-taking and creative problem solving. Which phase of change is the manger trying to support?
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Reengineering
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What factor results in greater resistance to change in some cultures than in others?
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Ethnocentrism
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How does innovation benefit an organization?
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Enhances the firm's ability to remain competitive.
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How does the use of a flat structure encourage innovation?
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Collaboration and creativity promote innovation.
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Why would a celebrating failure strategy be appropriate for encouraging innovation when a previous innovation failed?
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Employees and management learn from failures.
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What is an important characteristic of effective strategic objectives?
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Are measurable
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Which of the following strategic objectives demonstrates cross-cultural awareness?
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Increase sales by satisfying the needs of diverse customers.
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What is the difference between core competencies and distinctive competencies?
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Core competencies are measured relative to internal activities, while distinctive competencies are measured relative to competitors.
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Which statement about the strategic planning sequence is correct?
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Setting objectives precedes crafting strategies.
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Which statement about objectives within a strategic planning context is correct?
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The results for a short-term objective can be identical to the results for the related long-term objective.
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What is a component of an action plan?
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Evaluating alternatives.
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A manager established short- and long-term targets for the organization. Which step in the development and implementation of the action plan did the manager complete?
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Setting objectives
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Which set of public information sources would a manager use to establish and maintain a competitive advantage?
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Company history and financial reports required by the Securities and Exchange Commission, company Website, product information, and market trends.
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Which counter-intelligence technique is ethically acceptable?
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Reviewing competitors' court records
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Firms gather competitive intelligence (CI) in order to better understand and anticipate their competitors' future plan. The focus of competitive intelligence is information consisting of a firm's future objectives, current strategies, assumptions, and capabilities. What type of information that can be used by competitors can be protected?
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Current operations for the organization
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What does a business-level strategy describe?
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How to compete in individual product markets.
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What type of organizational culture strategy would assume significant debt to accomplish its goals?
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Risk-taking
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What influence does organizational structure have on strategy implementation?
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Provides financial reliability or Provides flexibility to reallocate resources
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What does a properly designed organizational control system do?
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Provides insights regarding behaviors that enhance the firm's performance
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For what purpose can interdependent business managers within a firm's portfolio use strategic control?
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To make their division more independent.
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What is an appropriate use for output controls?
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Controlling activity in the warehouse
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What trait has recent research strongly linked to greater work motivation?
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Internal locus of control
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Which of the following has recent research indicated as having a strong negative correlation with job satisfaction?
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Perceived stress
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Which of the following could have a negative impact on clear communication?
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Social perception
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A large business in an industry known for unethical practices is considering whether to start an ethics training program. A group of genuinely honest company executives is meeting to discuss the subject. The following are comments made by each of the executives. Which executive's statement would improve the probability of ethical business behavior?
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"We should start the training because my beliefs about corporate culture are different than others in our industry."
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Which of the following would tend to promote tolerance for diversity at a company?
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Offer diversity training to current employees and mentoring programs to new employees.
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What has recent research indicated characterizes an entrepreneurial (constructive) organizational culture?
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Increased collaboration and teamwork.
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What kind of organizational structure encourages cross-functional teams that focus on customer satisfaction?
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Horizontal
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What is a result of using the job characteristics model?
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Reduced absenteeism
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What is an expected outcome of using the job characteristics model?
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Identification of job goals for alignment with job quality standards
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Which managerial practice aimed at improving diversity would likely result in litigation?
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-Hiring that targets minorities
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What theory would give a manager a framework for determining how to convince an employee to choose a particular course of action?
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Vroom's Expectancy Theory
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In what maintenance role does a person encourage all group members to participate?
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Gatekeeper
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In what stage of group development do group members determine where they fit in the power structure?
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Storming
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What leadership style should managers use during the first and second stages of group development?
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Directive Structured
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There are various types of power, each of which will elicit compliance but may or may not elicit commitment. Some types of power, while eliciting compliance, may have negative ramifications. What type of power will elicit compliance without producing commitment or negative ramifications?
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Legitimate
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What characteristics are associated with the aftermath phase of the conflict process?
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Either understanding between the conflicting groups or individuals improves, or hostility between them continues.
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Tensions between two divisions of a company are creating the potential for reduced productivity. Both divisions are critical to the company's operation and both are led by vice presidents with a solid track record for profits. Executive managers want to resolve the conflict before productivity begins to slip. What conflict resolution style should the executive managers use to solve this problem?
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Compromising
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What main characteristics of functional conflict sets it apart from dysfunctional conflict?
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It encourages positive feelings in employees.
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Employees in a team environment are trying to decide what method to use for a new manufacturing process. During their discussion of the latest proposed method, a very strong "devil's advocate" emerges to attack the proposal. What type of conflict does this scenario portray?
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Functional
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Conflict Resolution Styles
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Avoiding Accommodating (Giving In) Win/Lose (Classic) Problem Solving (Collaboration) Compromising
