Deck 10: Plans and Planning Tools

Question 1

The repetitiveness dimension of a plan is the extent to which the plan is used over and over again.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A plan is likely to fail if managers at different levels in the organization are not properly engaged in or contributing to planning activities.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The Delphi method of forecasting is more formal than the jury of executive opinion method and it also gathers, evaluates, and summarizes expert opinions as the basis for a forecast.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Human resource planning is another area of concern for output planners.

Question 5

A product life cycle refers to the five stages through which most products and services pass, including introduction, growth, maturity, progress, and decline.

Question 6

The sales forecasting method is the most complex method available to managers.

Question 7

Site selection is part of input planning.

Question 8

Single-use plans can be subdivided into policies, procedures, and rules.

Question 9

The scope dimension of a plan is the level of the organization at which the plan is aimed.

Question 10

Forecasting is the development of proposed action to furnish sufficient and appropriate organizational resources for reaching established organizational objectives.

Question 11

A budget is a single-use financial plan that covers a specified length of time.

Question 12

A policy is a single-use plan that furnishes broad operating guidelines.

Question 13

Standing plans are plans used over and over again because they focus on organizational situations that occur frequently.

Question 14

Determining at what rate employees are being lost to other organizations is part of human resource planning.

Question 15

They key forecast for organizations is the sales forecast because it serves as the fundamental guideline for planning.

Question 16

The next step in the human resource planning process, after taking a human resource inventory, is determining net human resource requirements.

Question 17

A plan is an unspecific action proposed to help the organization achieve its objectives.

Question 18

Repetitiveness, time, scope, and length are the four dimensions of plans.

Question 19

A rule is a standing plan that designates specific required action.

Question 20

The jury of executive opinion of forecasting predicts future sales levels primarily by asking appropriate salespeople to give their opinions on what will happen to sales in the future.

Question 21

Scheduling is an integral part of every organizational plan.

Question 22

Axiom Industries believes in promoting from within. If qualified applicants are available internally, a job posting will be issued by the HR department providing the necessary details about all vacancies. This is an example of a ________.

A) form
B) policy
C) process
D) rule
E) program

Question 23

According to Kast and Rosenzweig, which of the following is NOT one of the major dimensions of a plan?

A) time
B) scope
C) level
D) people
E) repetitiveness

Question 24

Standing plans and single-use plans are examples of which dimension of planning?

A) time
B) level
C) scope
D) repetitiveness
E) environment

Question 25

The first step in designing a PERT network is to identify the critical path.

Question 26

The portion of the total management system at which a plan is aimed is called the ________ of the plan.

A) repetitiveness
B) level
C) time dimension
D) scope
E) longevity

Question 27

A specific action proposed to help the organization achieve its objectives is known as a(n) ________.

A) objective
B) goal
C) plan
D) stepping stone
E) activity

Question 28

Strategic planning and tactical planning are directly related to which dimension of planning?

A) time
B) level
C) scope
D) repetitiveness
E) flexibility

Question 29

Juno Corp. is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or veteran status. This statement is an example of a ________.

A) policy
B) procedure
C) rule
D) program
E) form

Question 30

A company informs the employees of its production unit to immediately remove any nonconforming material from the normal process flow when detected, and notify either the President, Quality Manager, or Sales Manager. This is the ________ followed by the company.

A) policy
B) procedure
C) rule
D) program
E) budget

Question 31

A standing plan that designates specific required action, indicates what organizational members should or should not do, and allows no room for interpretation is known as a ________.

A) budget
B) rule
C) procedure
D) policy
E) program

Question 32

The Gantt chart is a scheduling device composed of a bar chart with time on the horizontal axis and the resource to be scheduled on the vertical axis.

Question 33

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

A) programmed plan
B) budgetary plan
C) standing plan
D) single-use plan
E) intermediate plan

Question 34

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) program
C) budget
D) policy
E) program

Question 35

The PERT network contains two primary elements: time and activities.

Question 36

Some plans are designed to cover the entire open management system: the organizational environment, inputs, process, and outputs. Such a plan is often referred to as a ________.

A) rule
B) master plan
C) level plan
D) policy
E) procedure

Question 37

A ________ is a standing plan that outlines a series of related actions that must be taken to accomplish a particular task.

A) policy
B) form
C) procedure
D) rule
E) program

Question 38

A ________ is a standing plan that furnishes broad guidelines for taking action consistent with reaching organizational objectives.

A) budget
B) policy
C) procedure
D) rule
E) schedule

Question 39

At Stangor Industries, all employees who wish to apply for a leave of absence, must fill up an application form available on the company's online leave tracking system. Employees are requested to submit the application at least 5 days before going on leave. This is an example of a ________.

A) procedure
B) rule
C) program
D) budget
E) policy

Question 40

A supervisor informs his subordinates that those who work late or on overtime must ensure that all equipment, lights, and air conditioners are switched off when they leave the work place. The supervisor is informing his subordinates of the ________.

A) processes
B) rules
C) programs
D) budgets
E) policies

Question 41

Which of the following is the first step in the human resource planning process?

A) developing human resource programs
B) assessing organizational objectives and plans
C) determining human resource requirements
D) preparing a human resource inventory
E) determining net human resource requirements

Question 42

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

A) policy
B) procedure
C) program
D) budget
E) rule

Question 43

Which of the following is a qualitative method of sales forecasting?

A) moving average method
B) regression method
C) product stage method
D) jury of executive opinion method
E) correlation method

Question 44

When selecting a site for their new plant, company management is interested in gaining information about the competitive situation that exists at the site. Which area of consideration is management looking into when selecting the new site?

A) operating costs
B) investment cost
C) profit
D) community relations
E) transportation

Question 45

A ________ is a single-use plan designed to carry out a special project within the organization.

A) procedure
B) rule
C) program
D) budget
E) policy

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT a reason for failure of plans?

A) Responsibility for planning is wrongly vested solely in the planning department.
B) Management expects that plans developed will be realized with little effort.
C) Financial projections are confused with planning.
D) Adequate inputs are used in the planning.
E) Management fails to grasp the overall planning process.

Question 47

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

A) quantitative
B) focus group
C) hall test
D) survey
E) qualitative

Question 48

The two broad types of sales forecasting methods are ________.

A) hall tests and Internet surveys
B) hall tests and omnibus surveys
C) qualitative and quantitative
D) qualitative and focus groups
E) focus groups and quantitative

Question 49

The two most important planning tools are ________.

A) forecasting and scheduling
B) forecasting and routing
C) designing and scheduling
D) routing and designing
E) procuring and simulating

Question 50

Planning for plant facilities and human resources are instances of ________.

A) process planning
B) input planning
C) community planning
D) environmental planning
E) system planning

Question 51

Which of the following is considered the key organizational forecast?

A) utility forecasting
B) sales forecasting
C) social trends forecasting
D) technological forecasting
E) economic forecasting

Question 52

BBM Inc. is a consumer electronics giant based in the U.S. Unlike most of its competitors, the company recently chose to set up its manufacturing unit in Finland instead of China. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen this decision?

A) China offers a large talent pool of highly skilled, but low cost labor.
B) The Finnish government encourages domestic businesses and provides them with ample financial support.
C) Research suggests that consumers have a negative perception of goods that are manufactured in China.
D) BBM was recently fined by the government for dumping its products in developing countries.
E) Suppliers in China have lower bargaining power than those in Finland.

Question 53

Before zeroing in on the new site, the management of a company decided to check whether there were good schools which the children of their employees' could attend. The company was trying to check out the ________ of the new site.

A) living condition
B) degree of unionization
C) community relations
D) labor condition
E) transportation facility

Question 54

________ is the process of development of proposed action that will furnish sufficient and appropriate organizational resources for reaching established organizational objectives.

A) Input planning
B) Regenerative planning
C) Forecast planning
D) Batch planning
E) Community planning

Question 55

In the human resource planning process, after determining the human resource requirements, managers should ________.

A) contract, expand, or adjust the human resource programs
B) assess organizational objectives and plans
C) prepare a human resource inventory
D) determine net human resource requirements
E) develop human resource programs

Question 56

________ is the process of predicting future environmental happenings that will influence the operation of the organization.

A) Forecasting
B) Scheduling
C) Routing
D) Controlling
E) Designing

Question 57

Programs and budgets are ________.

A) standing plans
B) policies
C) single-use plans
D) procedures
E) rules

Question 58

A ________ is a single-use financial plan that covers a specified length of time.

A) budget
B) policy
C) procedure
D) rule
E) program

Question 59

Which of the following is a quantitative method of sales forecasting?

A) consumer surveys
B) product stages
C) jury of executive opinion
D) the Delphi method
E) salesforce estimation

Question 60

Which of the following will lead to the failure of a plan?

A) Corporate planning is integrated into the total management system.
B) In starting formal planning, too much is attempted at once.
C) There is clarity of understanding of the different steps of the planning process.
D) Responsibility of the planning process is shared by all departments.
E) Management knows that the plans developed will require huge efforts in order to be successful.

Question 61

A relatively formal sales forecasting method that gathers, evaluates, and summarizes expert opinions as the basis for a forecast is the ________.

A) nominal group technique
B) salesforce estimation method
C) time series analysis method
D) Delphi method
E) trend analysis method

Question 62

In the ________ stage, the sales of a product are just beginning to build.

A) decline
B) introduction
C) growth
D) maturity
E) saturation

Question 63

In the product life cycle, which of the following stages typically follows the maturity stage?

A) saturation
B) decline
C) obsolescence
D) growth
E) resurrection

Question 64

Which of the following is a characteristic of the Delphi method?

A) It is a more formal method than the jury of executive opinion method.
B) It gives accurate data because the data is collected by the sales people who continually interact with customers.
C) It utilizes historical data to predict future sales levels.
D) It predicts future sales by analyzing the historical relationship between sales and time.
E) It predicts future sales by using the product life cycle.

Question 65

The regression method is a ________ method of sales forecasting.

A) hall test
B) surveys
C) quantitative
D) qualitative
E) focus group

Question 66

The two popular scheduling techniques are ________.

A) Gantt charts and the Delphi method
B) Gantt charts and the jury of executive opinion method
C) Gantt charts and the program evaluation and review technique
D) the Delphi method and the program evaluation and review technique
E) the jury of executive opinion method and the program evaluation and review technique

Question 67

In which of the following stages do product sales continue to climb because of the fact that the product has been in the marketplace for some time and has become more accepted by the people?

A) decline stage
B) introduction stage
C) growth stage
D) maturity stage
E) saturation stage

Question 68

The ________ method predicts future sales by analyzing the historical relationship between sales and time.

A) moving average
B) regression
C) salesforce estimation
D) Delphi
E) product stages

Question 69

In which of the following sales forecasting methods do managers within the organization assemble to discuss their opinions on what will happen to sales in the future?

A) trend analysis
B) nominal group technique
C) the Delphi method
D) jury of executive opinion method
E) the product stages method

Question 70

The ________ method utilizes historical data to predict future sales levels.

A) jury of executive opinion
B) moving average
C) regression
D) product stages
E) salesforce estimation

Question 71

In which of the following methods of sales forecasting, do the forecasters compute average sales levels for x historical time periods and are also in a position to choose the number of time periods that best fit their situations?

A) the moving average method
B) the regression method
C) the product stages method
D) the salesforce estimation method
E) the Delphi method

Question 72

________ is the process of formulating a detailed listing of activities that must be accomplished to attain an objective, allocating the resources necessary to attain the objective, and setting up and following timetables for completing the objective.

A) Influencing
B) Leading
C) Controlling
D) Scheduling
E) Forecasting

Question 73

Which of the following is true regarding the maturity stage of the product life cycle?

A) product sales continue to climb
B) competitors enter the market
C) sales are typically due to population growth
D) the product is replaced by a competing product
E) sales are just beginning to build

Question 74

Which of the following is a characteristic of the jury of executive opinion method of sales forecasting?

A) The resulting forecast is a blend of informed opinions.
B) It is a more formal method than the Delphi method.
C) It gives accurate data because the data is collected by the sales people who continually interact with customers.
D) It utilizes historical data to predict future sales levels.
E) It predicts future sales by analyzing the historical relationship between sales and time.

Question 75

Impetus Solutions developed a technology which enjoyed a successful run in the market for three years. In the last six months however, sales have started decreasing as several other competitors have entered the market and are selling the same product at a cheaper price. This has had an impact on the sales of Impetus. Which stage of the product life cycle is Impetus's product in?

A) introduction
B) growth
C) maturity
D) saturation
E) obsolescence

Question 76

Which of the following sales forecasting methods provides the forecaster with a trend-line that best explains the historical relationship between sales and time?

A) the regression method
B) the product stages method
C) the jury of executive opinion
D) the Delphi method
E) the moving average method

Question 77

Which of the following activities is carried out during scheduling?

A) Future environmental happenings that will influence the operation of the organization are predicted.
B) Goods are produced based on forecasts and are stocked in a warehouse.
C) Raw materials, subcomponents, and accessories are procured based on forecasts.
D) Appropriate managers assemble and discuss their opinions on what will happen to sales in the future.
E) Activities that must be accomplished to attain organizational objectives are listed and resources are allocated.

Question 78

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

A) They can improve the product quality.
B) They can reduce the product features.
C) They can increase the advertising product.
D) They can reduce the sales promotion.
E) They can increase the price of the product.

Question 79

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

A) decline
B) maturity
C) saturation
D) growth
E) introduction

Question 80

Which of the following is a characteristic of the decline stage of the product life cycle?

A) competitors enter the market
B) sales are typically due to the need to replace a worn-out product
C) the product is replaced by a competing product
D) sales are just beginning to build
E) product sales continue to climb