Modern Management: Concepts and Skills mcq

Modern Management: Concepts and Skills

1. When devising goals for his team to achieve, which of the following points should Kevin

consider most important?

a. Organizational goals

b. His career goals

c. Individual abilities

d. Internal politics

e. Employee goals

2. ________ resources refer to the machines used during the manufacturing process.

a. Technology

b. Monetary

c. Capital

d. Raw material

e. Hardware

3. Ben is a manager at Transit Logistics, a logistics company involved in transportation and stor

age. He is in charge of monitoring the schedules of the truck drivers who transport the goods. In

this scenario, the capital resource of the organization is the ________.

a. work-schedule

b. transported goods

c. trucks

d. drivers

e. Ben

4.Which of the following situations demonstrates effectiveness but not efficiency?

a. Workers at MNS worked overtime for two weeks, but were unable to achieve the ir target

production.

b. Managers at MNS aimed to complete a particular project by August, but only

completed it in September.

c. The manager told Stella to do a report, even though Ray was better qualified for the task. However, Stella managed it successfully.

d. Following a number of layoffs, Gianna’s team was very demotivated and hence the

performance of the department suffered.

e. MNS aimed to complete construction of the new plant in two weeks, but a workers’ strike delayed construction.

5. Managerial efficiency is the proportion of total organizational resources that contribute to

productivity during the manufacturing process. The ________ this proportion, the more

________ the manager.

a. higher; inefficient

b. higher; efficient

c. lower; effective

d. lower; efficient

e. higher; ineffective

6. Management principles are considered to be universal because _________.

a. production processes and strategies remain the same across organizations

b. employees in all organizations have the same skill sets

c. all organizations have the same organizational hierarchy

d. the activities of planning, organizing, influencing, and controlling are the same across organizations

e. organizational goals and methods do not change from organization to organization

7. Nathan is the plant manager for Arwen Manufacturing. Though he does not work hands-on on

the manufacturing process, he needs to know the ins and outs of the processes, so that he can

guide his employees effectively and step in to help if necessary. According to Katz, this involves

developing Nathan’s ________ skills.

a. technical

b. moral

c. conceptual

d. human

e. interpersonal

8. In an organization, task-related activities include ________.

a. empowering others to solve problems

b. consulting when making decisions

c. providing recognition for achievements and contributions

d. encouraging innovative thinking

e. short-term planning

9. ________ skills are very important to managers at the lower, middle and top levels.

a. Human

b. Conceptual

c. Technical

d. Tactical

e. Strategic

10. Which of the following is the correct representation of the stages in a career?

a. Exploration; Maintenance; Establishment; Decline

b. Establishment; Exploration; Maintenance; Decline

c. Establishment; Plateauing; Exploration; Maintenance

d. Establishment; Maintenance; Plateauing; Decline

e. Exploration; Establishment; Maintenance; Decline

11. People in the ________ stage may find it difficult to maintain prior performance levels, perhaps

because they have lost interest in their careers or have failed to keep their job skills up-to-

date.

a. decline

b. establishment

c. maintenance

d. exploration

e. plateauing

12. Under classical management theory, comprehensive analysis of management concerns the

management function as a whole. The primary contributor to this category was ________.

a. Frederick W.Taylor

b. Frank Gilbreth

c. Ludwig von Bertalanffy

d. Henry L. Gantt

e. Henri Fayol

13. F.W. Taylor’s approach was unpopular with workers and unions because they feared that

reengineering their jobs would lead to ________.

a. an increase in quality

b. a decrease in productivity

c. lower piecework rates

d. longer work days

e. workers losing their jobs

14. The Gilbreths aimed to increase worker efficiency by ________.

a. encouraging teamwork rather than individual work

b. reducing the number of movements taken to accomplish a task

c. enforcing minimum criteria for the types of workers hired for a job

d. instituting the piece-rate system for remuneration

e. understanding what motivates employees to complete a task

15. Gantt believed in worker compensation that corresponded to production through the piece

rate system, as well as the ________ system when production exceeded the quota.

a. interest

b. pension

c. staggered

d. bonus

e. profit

16. One of the general principles of management explained by Fayol is “unity of command.” What

does this principle mean?

a. All employees should be treated as equally as possible.

b. All workers should be given the same orders by managers.

c. The interests of one person should take priority over the interests of the organization.

d. Workers should receive orders from only one manager.

e. The entire organization should be moving toward a common objective.

17. Each manager in an organization possesses certain amounts of authority. For example, the

president possesses the most authority; the first-line supervisor, the least. According to Fayol,

this is known as ________.

a. scalability of tenure

b. unity of command

c. the scalar chain

d. decentralization

e. esprit de corps

18. The purpose of the bank wiring observation room experiment, which is one of the phases of

the Hawthorne studies, was to analyze ________.

a. social relationships in a work group

b. the most basic movements necessary to achieve a task

c. the impact of scientifically designed jobs on worker efficiency

d. system improvements through task-scheduling innovation

e. the impact of unity of command in terms of productivity

19. The Hawthorne Studies sparked the ________, a people-oriented approach to management in

which the interaction of people in organizations is studied to judge its impact on

organizational success.

a. behavioral study movement

b. human relations movement

c. motion studies initiative

d. scientific management movement

e. “one best way” model

20. A human is an example of a(n) ________ system. Constant interaction with the environment

influences the person’s state of existence and future.

a. conditional

b. static

c. inert

d. closed

e. open

21. Which of the following statements is true about corporate social responsibility?

a. It is the managerial obligation to abide to societal laws when pursuing organizational

goals.

b. It is the managerial obligation to cater to the needs of the stockholders, while abiding

by the laws of the society.

c. It is the managerial obligation to ensure ethical decision-making in an organization to

benefit its customers.

d. It is the managerial obligation to ensure the accountability of certain individuals in an

organization through mechanisms that try to reduce or eliminate the principal-agent

problem.

e. It is the managerial obligation to take action that protects and improves both the

welfare of society as a whole and the interests of the organization.

22. Organizing for social responsibility activities entails ________.

a. making things happen as they were planned to happen

b. establishing for all organizational resources logical uses that emphasize the attainment

of the organization’s social objectives

c. determining how the organization will achieve its social responsibility objectives

d. guiding the activities of organization members to help attain the organization’s social

responsibility objectives

e. determining and reporting progress in the attainment of social responsibility objectives

23. ________ is defined as the management process of guiding the activities of organization

members to help attain organizational objectives.

a. Organizing

b. Influencing

c. Controlling

d. Planning

e. Implementing

24. Which of the following activities performed by an organization indicates that it is conducting a

social responsibility measurement in the social investment area?

a. Putting in money and human resources to solve community social problems

b. Conducting studies to pinpoint social problems

c. Ensuring worker safety

d. Participating in long-range community planning

e. Dealing fairly with employees and customers

25. Individuals following the ________ act in a way that results in the greatest good for the

greatest number of people.

a. golden rule

b. deontological principle

c. Kantian principle

d. utilitarian principle

e. virtue ethics principle

26. Which of the following actions suggests that an individual is following Kant’s categorical

imperative?

a. Acting in a way you would expect others to act toward you.

b. Acting in a way that the action taken under the circumstances could be a universal law

of behavior.

c. Acting in a way that results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

d. Taking actions that abide by the laws of the state.

e. Taking actions that would be viewed as proper by a disinterested panel of professional

peers.

27. Brenda works as an accountant in a software firm. She notices that the company has inflated

its balance sheet to show profits, when in reality it is under loss. Brenda reports this

inconsistency to the CFO and then to the local authorities, when the CFO refused to take

action. Which of the following explains Brenda actions?

a. Crowdsourcing

b. Pharming

c. Phishing

d. Whistle-blowing

e. Shoulder surfing

28. Which of the following is true regarding the majority and minority groups in an organization?

a. The majority group has more people than the minority group.

b. The minority group possesses decision-making power in most organizations.

c. The majority group in any organization lacks social status and acceptance.

d. The minority group can have more people than the majority group.

e. The top management constitutes a minority group that commands decision-making

power.

29. Which of the following is an advantage of a diverse workforce?

a. Decreased costs

b. Decreased innovation

c. Decreased market share

d. Less resilience to change

e. Lower productivity

30. Treating an issue, person, or behavior unjustly or inequitably on the basis of prejudices is

known as ________.

a. stereotyping

b. discrimination

c. tokenism

d. xenocentrism

e. ethnocentrism

31. Perceptions about the sexes based on what society believes are appropriate behaviors for men

and women are ________.

a. indications of ethnocentrism

b. a result of bicultural stress

c. gender-role stereotypes

d. sources of pluralism

e. instances of sexual harassment

32. The approach to cultural diversity that most closely parallels affirmative action policies is the

________ approach.

a. golden rule

b. righting-the-wrongs

c. assimilation

d. multicultural

e. culture-specific

33. The multicultural approach ________.

a. gives employees the opportunity to develop an appreciation for both differences of

culture and variations in personal characteristics

b. creates a homogeneous culture that suppresses the creativity and diversity of views that

could benefit the organization

c. pressures employees who do not belong to the dominant culture to conform

d. advocates shaping organization members to fit the existing culture of the organization

e. addresses past injustices experienced by a particular group

34. In the area of diversity, controlling involves ________.

a. establishing task forces or committees to explore issues and provide ideas

b. carefully choosing work assignments to support the career development of all

employees

c. evaluating the extent to which diversity goals are being achieved

d. the evaluation activities necessary to assess the diversity efforts

e. the selection of the diversity training programs for the organization

35. In the ________ stage, managers are unaware of behaviors they engage in that are problematic

for members of other groups.

a. unconscious competence

b. controlled competence

c. conscious competence

d. conscious incompetence

e. unconscious incompetence

36. The different types of organizations in ascending order of the extent of involvement in the

international arena are ________.

a. international, transnational, domestic, multinational

b. domestic, multinational, transnational, international

c. multinational, domestic, transnational, global

d. domestic, international, multinational, transnational

e. transnational, international, multinational, domestic

37. An organization that has significant operations in more than one country, disregards national

boundaries and is guided by a common strategy from a corporation center is a(n) ________.

a. transnational organization

b. global organization

c. domestic organization

d. multinational corporation

e. international corporation

38. Which of the following is a characteristic of domestic management?

a. Widely disparate economic conditions

b. National markets varying greatly in population and area

c. Markets at different stages of the industrial revolution

d. People living in similar value systems

e. Different national sovereignties

39. The process of bringing individuals who have been working abroad back to their home country

and reintegrating them into the organization’s home-country operations is called ________.

a. expatriation

b. emigration

c. immigration

d. polycentrism

e. repatriation

40. International planning in the area of ________ emphasizes reaching organizational objectives

through the purchase of the operating assets of another company in a foreign country.

a. direct investing

b. exporting

c. license agreements

d. importing

e. joint venture

41. An international market agreement is ________.

a. an agreement between an importer from one country and an exporter from another

b. an arrangement among a cluster of countries that facilitates a high level of trade among

these countries

c. an agreement between a multinational company and its franchisees in a number of

countries

d. a joint venture between two companies who want to enter markets in the other country

e. an international import deal between two countries

42. A Canada-based shoe manufacturing company in Malaysia has hired a Malaysian manager

to manage it, because the company’s CEO believes that the manager will understand the

situation and manage the plant better than any foreign manager. This company is said to have

a(n) ________ attitude.

a. polycentric

b. geocentric

c. gynocentric

d. ethnocentric

e. egocentric

43. All of the English teachers at Springfield High School jointly developed and agreed on the

standards that students must achieve in order to graduate to the next grade. This is an

example of ________.

a. consensus

b. intuitive decision making

c. rules of thumb

d. bounded rationality

e. groupthink

44. Which of the following is the final step in the decision-making process?

a. Identify organizational objectives

b. Gather feedback to find out if the problem is solved

c. Take action

d. Select the most beneficial alternative

e. Implement the selected alternative

45. ________ refers to situations where the probability that a particular outcome will occur is not

known in advance.

a. Unrealistic optimism

b. Heuristics

c. Risk

d. Hazard

e. Uncertainty

46. ________ refers to the likelihood that an event or outcome will actually occur.

a. Ratio

b. Surety

c. Probability

d. Bias

e. Brainstorming

47. The phenomenon of compromising the quality of a decision to maintain relationships within a

team is referred to as ________.

a. groupthink

b. scapegoating

c. crowdsourcing

d. brainstorming

e. doublethink

48. The nominal group technique of decision-making begins with ________.

a. the entire group discussing their ideas simultaneously

b. group members writing down individual ideas on the matter being discussed

c. members writing their ideas on a board for all other members to see

d. a secret ballot which allows members to support their favorite ideas without fear

e. members presenting their individual ideas orally

49. Which of the following is true about strategy?

a. Smaller organizations are more precise than large organizations in developing

organizational strategy in order to meet their goals sooner.

b. Strategy is a general plan developed to reach short-term goals.

c. Organizational strategy focuses on the marketing and financial aspects of a business.

d. Strategy is actually the end result of strategic planning.

e. Research and development are not a part of an organization’s strategy.

50. The last step in the strategic management process is ________.

a. establishment of an organizational direction

b. strategic control

c. strategy formulation

d. strategy implementation

e. environmental analysis

51. Lobbying efforts by interest groups and progress on the passage of laws are examples of the

________ component of the general environment.

a. legal

b. international

c. technological

d. political

e. social

52. Which of the following strategy formulation tools was deliberately designed to be more

complete than the BCG Growth-Share Matrix?

a. The critical questions analysis

b. The GE Multifactor Portfolio Matrix

c. Environmental analysis

d. SWOT analysis

e. Porter’s Model for Industry Analysis

53. The Razzmatazz Group of companies plans to launch a new flavor of crackers that is distinct

and unusual. Which of the following strategies is the company following to become more

competitive?

a. Cost leadership

b. Divestiture

c. Focus

d. Stability

e. Differentiation

54. ________, the fourth step of the strategic management process, is putting formulated

strategies into action.

a. Strategic control

b. Strategy implementation

c. Strategic feedback

d. Environmental analysis

e. Strategy formulation

55. ________ is the ability to provide the organizational resources necessary to implement a

strategy.

a. Interacting skill

b. Monitoring skill

c. Tactical skill

d. Organizing skill

e. Allocating skill

56. A firm’s ability to undertake an action is referred to as ________.

a. competitor motivation

b. competitor capability

c. strategic ability

d. competitor awareness

e. differentiation

57. Which of the following plans focuses on organizational situations that occur repeatedly?

a. Intermediate plan

b. Standing plan

c. Single-use plan

d. Budgetary plan

e. Programmed plan

58. A company announces in a memo that smoking will not be allowed on the premises. This

statement is an example of a ________.

a. rule

b. policy

c. program

d. program

e. budget

59. Which of the following is a planning device as well as a strategy for organizational control?

a. Rule

b. Policy

c. Program

d. Procedure

e. Budget

60. The salesforce estimation method is a ________ method of sales forecasting.

a. qualitative

b. quantitative

c. focus group

d. hall test

e. survey

61. Sales during the ________ stage is typically due to the need to replace a worn-out product.

a. maturity

b. introduction

c. decline

d. growth

e. saturation

62. What can managers do to prevent products from entering the decline stage?

a. They can increase the advertising product.

b. They can improve the product quality.

c. They can increase the price of the product.

d. They can reduce the sales promotion.

e. They can reduce the product features.

63. Which of the following is true regarding Gantt charts?

a. Resource to be scheduled is plotted on the horizontal axis

b. Time is plotted on the vertical axis

c. It is essentially a bar graph

d. Does not establish realistic worker output standards

e. Does not provide an overview of the use of organizational resources

64. According to Fayol’s guidelines for organizing resources, you should ________.

a. not use sanctions against faults and errors

b. make extensive use of regulations and paperwork

c. not link rewards to performance

d. recognize the unity of command

e. establish multiple guiding authorities

65. Which of the following is one of the three main components of the management system that

Weber termed a bureaucracy?

a. A flat organizational structure

b. Emphasis on the human variable

c. Close, personal relations among organization members

d. A clearly outlined organizational hierarchy

e. Minimum regulations and paperwork

66. Traditionally, an organization chart is constructed in ________ form.

a. Hyperbolic tree

b. Spider diagram

c. Pyramid

d. Radial tree

e. Pie-diagram

67. According to the contingency viewpoint to designing span of management, the appropriate

span of management narrows when ________.

a. subordinates are physically located close to one another

b. subordinates are carrying out simple functions

c. subordinates’ activities need to be synchronized carefully

d. the activities performed by supervised individuals are similar

e. the manager spends little time on planning activities

68. According to the contingency viewpoint to designing span of management, which of the

following situations would warrant a relatively wide span of control?

a. Supervising a team of factory workers sewing buttons onto shirts

b. Managing a virtual team of engineers spread across several countries

c. Managing a highly interdependent production team

d. Supervising a team of scientists engaged in complex research work

e. Managing and coordinating the activities of a marketing team

69. In the context of forces influencing formal structure, the customers and suppliers of the

management system, along with existing political and social structures constitute the forces

in the ________.

a. manager

b. environment

c. subordinates

d. task

e. activity

70. When properly designed, job descriptions ________.

a. encourage job sharing among employees

b. encourage the application of socio-technical systems principles to the humanization of work

c. communicate job content to employees

d. encourage job rotation among employees

e. increase the number of tasks associated with the job

71. Which of the following is NOT one of the four key dimensions for appraising manager

responsibility?

a. Behavior with upper management

b. Behavior with other groups

c. Behavior with subordinates

d. Personal attitudes and values

e. Behavior with stockholders

72. The most significant factor in determining whether an organization will have staff personnel is

________.

a. the nature of the products and service produced

b. the size of the organization

c. the type of industry

d. the degree of centralization in the organization

e. the qualifications of the workers

73. When staff personnel are viewed as suppliers and line personnel as customers, staff personnel

are performing the ________ role.

a. advisory

b. counseling

c. administrative

d. control

e. service

74. The three steps in the delegation process are ________.

a. assign specific duties, grant authority, and create responsibility

b. assign responsibility, create accountability, and assign specific duties

c. create responsibility, grant authority, and promote acceptance

d. assign specific duties, create responsibility, and promote acceptance

e. create accountability, promote acceptance, and facilitate performance

75. Which of the following is an advantage of delegation?

a. It helps supervisors to hide their professional inadequacies.

b. It frees up the supervisor to perform other organizational tasks.

c. It significantly reduces the amount of time taken to complete a task.

d. It provides employees with a false sense of authority.

e. It allows the supervisor to forgo personal responsibility for delegated tasks.

76. A structural change ________.

a. ensures appropriate functioning of technology

b. makes the change appealing to employees

c. works by changing controls that influence organization members

d. increases the division of labor

e. develops the skills of the people

77. The managerial grid proposes that various managerial styles can be described by a manager’s

concern for ________.

a. customers and company

b. quantity and quality

c. production and people

d. power and acceptance

e. profit maximization and revenue maximization

78. Which of the following is a key characteristic of the compromising strategy used to resolve

conflicts?

a. A solution that gives the parties part of what they wanted

b. Complex procedures for decision making

c. Strong win-win orientation

d. Use of legitimate power and authority

e. Low involvement of managers and supervisors

79. To minimize the negative effects of the perceptual differences of receivers on interpersonal

communication, managers should ________.

a. communicate only when they have the total attention of the destination

b. try to send messages with precise meanings

c. use verbal communication instead of visual communication

d. preferably communicate using casual terms and references

e. use low involvement channels for communication

80. Which of the following observations is consistent with the “ten commandments of good

communication”?

a. Always plan communications with the past in mind.

b. Convey as much information as possible in each communication.

c. Focus more on the content than the overtones in communication.

d. All communications should be planned by the sender alone.

e. Avoid communication if the receiver cannot perceive it correctly.

81. Which of the following statements is true regarding nonverbal communication?

a. Verbal and nonverbal communications are not mutually exclusive in most cases.

b. It is highly consistent with verbal communication.

c. Contrary to popular belief, nonverbal communication does not include vocal tones.

d. It has little influence on the total effect of communication.

e. It cannot be used to encode and transmit thoughts.

82. Which of the following is the major reason for the establishment of informal communication

networks?

a. Desire for information that is not furnished formally

b. Lack of formal organizational communication channels

c. Lack of necessary rules and regulations within the organization

d. Inability of managers to communicate effectively

e. Vertical nature of the organizational structure

83. The most fundamental motivation theory that begins with an individual feeling a need is

________.

a. Porter-Lawler theory

b. equity theory

c. ERG theory

d. needs-goal theory

e. Herzberg’s two-factor theory

84. If an individual is driven to get respect from others, according to Maslow the person is being

motivated by ________.

a. self-actualization needs

b. security needs

c. esteem needs

d. social needs

e. physiological needs

85. Which of the following are the three basic categories of needs identified by Clayton Alderfer in

his ERG theory?

a. Esteem, recognition, and goal

b. Existence, relatedness, and growth

c. Esteem, relatedness, and goal

d. Existence, recognition, and growth

e. existence, relatedness, and goal

86. In Alderfer’s ERG theory, ________ need refers to the need for continuing personal

development.

a. existence

b. relatedness

c. esteem

d. emotional

e. growth

87. In Likert’s Management System, which style of management is characterized by complete

trust and confidence in subordinates?

a. System 5

b. System 2

c. System 1

d. System 3

e. System 4

88. Which of the following is one of the characteristics of a group as used in management-related

discussions?

a. A group is simply a gathering of people.

b. Groups always work toward the accomplishment of an organizational goal.

c. Groups are characterized by occasional communication among members over time.

d. A group consists of members who are psychologically aware of one another.

e. A group must consist of 5 or more people.

89. Which of the following statements about a group is true?

a. They are characterized by occasional communication among members over time and a

size small enough to permit face-to-face communication.

b. Groups invariably cause desirable consequences within the organization.

c. The most common technique for accomplishing work through people is dividing them

into work groups.

d. Groups are a simple gathering of people consisting of 5 or more people.

e. Groups exist only in some organizational structures.

90. Formal groups that handle routine activities and are outlined on an organization chart are

called ________.

a. work teams

b. committees

c. task groups

d. command groups

e. transitory groups

91. A collection of individuals whose common work experiences result in the development

of a system of interpersonal relationships that extend beyond those established by

management is a/an ________.

a. informal group

b. committee

c. work team

d. task group

e. command group

92. Which of the following is considered a people-related factor that leads to effective

team performance?

a. Proper technical direction and leadership

b. High power struggle within the team

c. Organizational stability and job security

d. Stable goals and priorities

e. Mutual trust and team spirit

93. According to the time-pressure/creativity matrix, people who feel as if they are on

autopilot ________.

a. believe that they are doing important work and report feeling positively

challenged by and involved in the work

b. receive little encouragement from senior management to be creative

c. show creative thinking that is equally oriented toward identifying problems and

generating or exploring ideas

d. tend to collaborate with one person rather than with a group

e. focus on one activity for a significant part of the day because they are undis

turbed or protected

94. ________ ideas are ideas that focus on invention relating to the way in which the

organization is supervised.

a. Service

b. Process

c. Management

d. Technology

e. Product

95. Which of the following is one of the possible creative ideas for enhancing

organizational success based on Crosby’s thoughts on total quality management?

a. Drive out fear of reporting mistakes

b. Publish quality goals for all workers so they know exactly what they are

expected to do.

c. Build teams (not just individuals) that focus on quality.

d. Dedicate the quality management function to measuring conformance to

requirements and reporting and differences accurately.

e. Encourage self-development of workers as more useful players in maintaining

quality.

96. The total power a manager possesses is made up of two different kinds of power:

________.

a. position power and personal power

b. authority and responsibility

c. authority and accountability

d. ownership power and skill power

e. social power and reward power

97. Information required for decisions related to operational control should ________.

a. emphasize the future

b. provide an aggregate without going into the details

c. primarily contain historical data

d. come largely from external sources

e. be well defined and narrow

98. ________ decisions relate to obtaining and effectively and efficiently using the organizational

resources necessary to reach organizational objectives.

a. Strategic control

b. Strategic planning

c. Management control

d. Operational control

e. Operational planning

99. Information ________ refers to the degree to which the information represents reality.

a. quantity

b. quality

c. scope

d. appropriateness

e. timeliness

100. The quality of the IS refers to ________.

a. the accuracy of the information

b. the relevance of the information

c. its ease of use

d. the proficiency of the users