Deck 14: Foundations of Control

Question 1

Effective controlling can help managers ________.

A)empower their employees
B)set their goals
C)maximize risk
D)minimize employee empowerment

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Control is the process of monitoring and evaluating activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Motivation and leadership are two primary parts of the controlling function.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The first step in the control process is to ________.

A)take action
B)measure actual performance
C)compare performance against a standard
D)compare a standard against an ideal

Question 5

Controlling provides a critical link back to planning that compares actual outcomes to planned outcomes.

Question 6

The value of the controlling function is seen in three specific areas: planning, ________.

A)organizing, and leading
B)protecting employees, and empowering the workplace
C)protecting employees, and protecting the workplace
D)empowering employees, and protecting the workplace

Question 7

In a short essay, define and describe the management function of control.

Question 8

The controlling function helps managers protect an organization's ________.

A)reputation for honesty
B)assets
C)position in the community
D)good name

Question 9

The control function is not intended to protect the organization from threats.

Question 10

The criterion that determines the effectiveness of a control system is how well it reduces unnecessary costs.

Question 11

The more a control system helps an organization ________, the more successful it is judged to be.

A)meet government guidelines
B)help employees achieve job satisfaction
C)meet its goals
D)increase sales

Question 12

A major part of the controlling function of management is to ________.

A)formulate strategies
B)set goals
C)correct performance problems
D)structure an organization

Question 13

Controlling compares ________ to see if goals are being achieved.

A)planned performance to standard performance
B)standard performance to ideal performance
C)actual performance to competitor performance
D)actual performance to planned performance

Question 14

Controlling is the ________ in the management process.

A)first step
B)final step
C)most important step
D)least important step

Question 15

An effective control system can help managers delegate authority to employees with confidence.

Question 16

The control management function ensures that ________ in an organization.

A)goals are set
B)goals are met
C)plans are made
D)plans are realistic

Question 17

The value of the control function lies in three areas: planning, organizing, and motivating.

Question 18

Control is the managerial function that allows managers to make sure that organizational goals are being met.

Question 19

Managers always use these for performance standards during the control process.

A)goals created during the planning process
B)employee opinions
C)generic performance standards for the industry
D)standards developed by performance experts

Question 20

A well-run company that has well-thought-out plans, motivated and productive workers, and an efficient organizational structure ________.

A)always attains its goals
B)may not always attain its goals
C)rarely attains its goals
D)has no reason to monitor its performance

Question 21

In the second step of the control process, actual performance can be considered acceptable as long as the performance doesn't fall ________.

A)short of goals by more than 15 percent
B)short of goals by more than 30 percent
C)inside an acceptable range of variation
D)outside an acceptable range of variation

Question 22

What managers choose to measure is largely determined by

A)what an organization does well.
B)the organization's structure.
C)the company's image.
D)the leaders and leadership style of those in the organization.

Question 23

Steve has a taped record of a one-on-one meeting with his boss.

A)a statistical report
B)an oral report
C)MBWA
D)a written report

Question 24

A software company that puts almost all of its performance measurement effort into measuring the total number of units that the company and its competitors sell most likely wants to excel at ________.

A)efficiency
B)market share
C)cost per unit
D)labor per unit

Question 25

Jessie's assigned work section consists of three work groups who were assessed by this method of performance measurement and were informally judged to be "creative, innovative, hard-working, and fun-loving."

A)MBWA
B)written report
C)statistical report
D)oral report

Question 26

For a baseball player, a statistical report would feature such things as ________.

A)a newspaper profile of the player
B)batting average and slugging percentage
C)filmed highlights of great plays
D)scouting reports on the player

Question 27

MBWA stands for management by ________.

A)work area
B)work action
C)written action
D)walking around

Question 28

To carry out the second step of the control process, managers at an electric shaver company need to compare the number of actual shavers sold to ________.

A)a competitor's sales totals
B)planning goals for sales totals
C)sales totals from last year
D)the number of possible shaver customers

Question 29

A manager measuring actual performance is like a teacher ________.

A)composing a test
B)grading a test
C)helping a student study for a test
D)making an assignment

Question 30

A car company that puts more effort into measuring quality than total units sold most likely wants to excel at ________.

A)customer satisfaction
B)efficiency
C)employee satisfaction
D)cost per unit

Question 31

This kind of performance measurement method is fast and is a good platform for feedback, yet it can be private and scheduled for a single employee ahead of time.

A)written report
B)MBWA
C)oral report
D)statistical report

Question 32

This type of performance measurement format would be most likely to include graphs, tables, and computer outputs.

A)oral report
B)statistical report
C)MBWA
D)written report

Question 33

The second step in the control process is to ________.

A)compare a standard against an ideal
B)measure actual performance
C)compare performance against a standard
D)take action

Question 34

The most comprehensive form of performance measurement is this.

A)MBWA
B)oral report
C)graphs
D)written report

Question 35

An advantage of management by walking around is ________.

A)perceptual biases
B)obtrusiveness
C)personal contact
D)objectivity

Question 36

These forms of performance measurement provide the best and most immediate forms of feedback.

A)oral report and written report
B)written report and statistical report
C)MBWA and oral report
D)statistical report and MBWA

Question 37

This is the most informal form of performance measurement.

A)oral reports
B)written reports
C)statistical reports
D)personal observation

Question 38

A disadvantage of a statistical report is that it may leave out ________ measurements of performance.

A)subjective
B)objective
C)positive
D)negative

Question 39

A state motor vehicles agency that is interested in serving the public might choose to measure ________.

A)total revenue rather than customer wait time
B)total customers rather than total revenue
C)customer wait time rather than total customers
D)employee turnover rather than customer wait time

Question 40

Which of the following performance measurement categories must be measured subjectively rather than in objective or quantifiable terms?

A)budget
B)absenteeism
C)efficiency
D)job satisfaction

Question 41

When actual performance falls outside an acceptable range of variation, it is termed a(n)________.

A)significant deviation
B)insignificant deviation
C)acceptable deviation
D)large deviation

Question 42

The control process is a two-step process that measures and compares.

Question 43

In general, ________ that falls outside an acceptable range of variation must be dealt with by a manager.

A)an overperformance
B)an underperformance
C)any deviation
D)a small overperformance or a large underperformance

Question 44

The third step in the control process is to ________.

A)measure actual performance
B)compare a standard against an ideal
C)take action
D)compare performance to a standard

Question 45

Immediate corrective action is designed ________.

A)to get to the root cause of a problem
B)to get performance back on track
C)to shake up an organization
D)to punish employees for poor performance

Question 46

All of the following are dangers of revising production goals downward EXCEPT ________.

A)it destroys incentive to work harder
B)it increases incentive to work harder
C)it gives employees an excuse to be less productive
D)it gives employees something to blame for their lack of effort

Question 47

After an extended period of unseasonably warm and sunny weather, revenues at an indoor tennis club are down sharply during the month of November, but are in line with what managers expected for the month.The best strategy for the club manager is to ________.

A)do nothing
B)run a sale on hourly rates
C)raise hourly rates to increase revenue
D)change her monthly goals for December

Question 48

When should a manager's course of action be to do nothing?

A)when the cause of the variation has been identified
B)when the standard is acceptable
C)when the standard is not acceptable
D)when the variance is acceptable

Question 49

If a manager of a tennis store sees sales totals for a particular racquet significantly exceeding goals and deviating from acceptable range of variation, she might ________.

A)do nothing since sales exceeded goals
B)run a sale on the racquet
C)run a sale on other products
D)inquire about ordering more racquets

Question 50

Which of the following would constitute basic corrective action for employees whose production has dropped?

A)changing the pay scale
B)taking away employee privileges
C)looking for causes of the production drop
D)changing how the work is carried out

Question 51

Actual performance falls far short of planned goals, yet a manager takes no action.Assuming this manager is a reasonable person and is not mistaken, what is the most likely cause of his inaction?

A)He does not trust the data.
B)He does not consider the deviation significant.
C)He does not trust the goals that were set.
D)He does not believe in corrective action.

Question 52

A law firm manager finds that one lawyer who consistently outperforms other lawyers at the firm is threatening to leave.Which immediate corrective action should the manager take?

A)none
B)offer a bonus
C)disciplinary action
D)a study to see why she outperforms others

Question 53

In many cases, immediate corrective action rather than basic corrective action is taken by managers because they ________.

A)want to be thorough
B)lack time
C)lack information
D)don't understand the situation

Question 54

Which of the following is NOT a recognized possible course of action for managers to take when actual performance falls outside an acceptable range of variation?

A)take corrective action
B)change the standards
C)editing the performance data
D)do nothing

Question 55

For addressing unemployment, this is an example of basic corrective action.

A)a task force to see why jobs were lost
B)food stamps
C)unemployment compensation
D)a job training program

Question 56

A professor gives a new test to an otherwise typical class and finds that only 10 percent of the students get grades of C or above.What is the most appropriate and fair response?

A)do nothing
B)revise the grading curve downward
C)revise the grading curve upward
D)revise the test itself

Question 57

When might a manager be justified in revising a standard rather than taking corrective action to remedy a significant performance deviation?

A)when performance exceeds the standard
B)when performance falls slightly short of the standard
C)when performance falls far short of the standard
D)when the standard is unrealistic

Question 58

Due to a recent construction of an upscale housing community near a tennis club, customer use has skyrocketed during the year and the club is operating at all-time high levels, far beyond the goals set the previous year.The best strategy for the manager is to ________.

A)do nothing
B)run a sale to increase customers
C)advertise
D)change goals for the following year

Question 59

For addressing the hardships accompanying unemployment, this is an example of immediate corrective action.

A)a job training program
B)food stamps
C)a task force to see why jobs were lost
D)a job placement agency

Question 60

A law firm manager finds that the firm loses too many of its civil cases while it wins an inordinately high number of its criminal cases.Which basic corrective action can the manager take?

A)pay criminal lawyers more
B)pay civil lawyers less
C)analyze civil and criminal cases
D)fire civil lawyers

Question 61

What is measured in the control process is often less critical than how it is measured.

Question 62

Basic corrective action focuses on identifying the cause of a performance deviation.

Question 63

MBWA can pick up attitudes and factual omissions that other forms of measurement miss.

Question 64

An example of revising a standard is a teacher who changes a grading scale because students do poorly on an exam.

Question 65

Which kind of control takes place before the actual work is carried out?

A)feedback
B)concurrent
C)recurrent
D)feedforward

Question 66

In a short essay, explain the difference between immediate corrective action and basic corrective action.

Question 67

In a short essay, explain why what managers choose to measure can be more important than how they measure in the control process.

Question 68

Immediate corrective action might include changing the way employees are paid for their work.

Question 69

In a short essay, describe the first step in the control process.

Question 70

The development or identification of objectives or standards must precede the control process.

Question 71

In the past, a major drawback of an oral report was that there is no way to store the information in the report for later reference.

Question 72

A cell phone maker tests its new model with a sample audience when it is fully operational.What kind of control is this?

A)pre-market control
B)feedback control
C)concurrent control
D)feedforward control

Question 73

Personal observation as a form of control measurement requires little time.

Question 74

In a short essay, describe the second step in the control process.

Question 75

A gap between actual performance and planned goals that falls within an acceptable range of variation usually requires managerial action.

Question 76

In a short essay, describe the third step in the control process.

Question 77

In a short essay, explain how managers determine what a significant deviation is.

Question 78

A single business cannot experience both underperformance and overperformance at the same time.

Question 79

Some control criteria, such as employee satisfaction and absenteeism, are applicable to almost any management situation.

Question 80

Henry Ford basing his assembly line on practices he viewed in Chicago slaughterhouses is an example of benchmarking.