Deck 5: Planning and Decision Making

Question 1

The operations manager of a car manufacturing company in the U.S.wants to set up factories in three other countries by the end of the current year.After he has set this goal,which of the following is the next step he should take in order to achieve this goal? 

A) ​Analyze the profits the factories will make 
B) ​Track progress toward goal achievement 
C) ​Develop commitment to the goal 
D) ​Set up effective action plans

Answer 1

  C

Question 2

Which of the following statements is true of planning? 

A) ​It fixes all organizational problems. 
B) ​It creates an environment of uncertainty. 
C) ​It discourages employees from working hard. 
D) ​It intensifies the effort put in by managers and employees.

Answer 2

  D

Question 3

The Delphi technique is a decision-making method in which group members cast votes to select solutions.

Answer 3

  False

Question 4

Once a strategic objective has been accomplished,a new one should be chosen.

Question 5

Research indicates that the effectiveness of goal setting can be doubled by the addition of feedback.

Question 6

Top management is responsible for developing _____.

A) standing plans 
B) ​tactical plans 
C) ​operational plans 
D) ​strategic plans

Question 7

The purpose of options-based planning is to commit people and resources to a particular course of action.

Question 8

The first step in planning is to develop effective action plans.

Question 9

Omega Corp.has a goal of increasing its production and reducing its overhead costs.To achieve this goal,the company has developed four alternate action plans.Its idea is to monitor how these plans work and then invest more in the plan that shows maximum results.This type of planning that allows for flexibility is known as _____.

A) ​reverse planning 
B) ​options-based planning 
C) ​time-based planning 
D) ​traditional planning

Question 10

The most popular approach to increase goal commitment is to _____.

A) ​assign goals to workers 
B) ​set goals participatively 
C) ​ask the top management to assign goals 
D) ​delegate decision-making authority to workers

Question 11

Which of the following is a benefit of planning? 

A) It fixes all organizational problems.​ 
B) ​It decreases persistence toward goals. 
C) ​It gives direction to managerial efforts. 
D) ​It reduces the motivation of employees to achieve goals.

Question 12

The nominal group technique typically produces better decisions than the devil's advocacy and dialectical inquiry approaches.

Question 13

The manager of a packaging and shipping company has set a goal of increasing the customer base by 2.5 percent in the next two months.In this scenario,the manager has set a _____. 

A) ​distal goal 
B) ​quixotic goal 
C) ​visionary goal 
D) ​proximal goal

Question 14

The more criteria a potential solution meets,the better that solution will be.

Question 15

The last step in effective planning is to _____.

A) ​maintain flexibility in planning 
B) ​develop commitment to goals 
C) ​develop long-term action plans 
D) ​track progress toward goal achievement

Question 16

Planning encourages persistence even when there may be little chance of short-term success.

Question 17

A drawback of planning is that: 

A) ​it does not provide direction to managerial activities. 
B) ​it causes detachment, which leads planners to plan for things they do not understand. 
C) ​managers tend to put in minimal efforts when following a plan. 
D) ​planning decreases persistence among employees.

Question 18

Specific,challenging goals provide a target for which to aim and a standard against which to measure success.

Question 19

Which of the following is a disadvantage of planning? 

A) ​It increases employee turnover. 
B) ​It creates a false sense of certainty. 
C) ​It decreases the effort put in by managers and employees. 
D) ​It discourages employees from working hard for long periods.

Question 20

The nominal group technique improves group decision making by decreasing a-type conflict.

Question 21

Which of the following is a decision-making method in which members of a panel of experts respond to questions and to each other until an agreement is reached on how a specific issue should be handled? 

A) ​Dialectical inquiry 
B) ​Nominal group technique 
C) ​Delphi technique 
D) ​Devil's advocacy

Question 22

_____ are responsible for the creation of tactical plans.

A) ​Chief Financial Officers 
B) ​First-level managers 
C) ​Middle managers 
D) ​Top managers

Question 23

Which of the following is a decision-making method in which an individual or a subgroup is assigned the role of critic? 

A) ​Dialectical inquiry 
B) ​Groupthink 
C) ​Devil's advocacy 
D) ​Delphi technique

Question 24

_____ refers to the emotional reactions that can occur when disagreements become personal rather than professional.

A) ​A-type conflict 
B) ​C-type conflict 
C) ​Channel conflict 
D) ​Personal conflict

Question 25

A _____ is a gap between a desired state and an existing state.

A) ​problem 
B) ​benchmark 
C) ​condition of certainty 
D) ​minimum threshold

Question 26

A _____ is a type of operational plan that saves managers time because once the plan is created,it can be used repeatedly to handle frequently recurring events.

A) ​standing plan 
B) ​budget plan 
C) ​single-use plan 
D) ​tactical plan

Question 27

At a canning factory,new employees are instructed to wear a certain type of uniform while working around the canning machines.The description of the uniform is very detailed and specific.Which of the following kinds of standing plans is described in this scenario? 

A) ​Rules and regulations 
B) ​Norms 
C) ​Policies 
D) ​Purpose statements

Question 28

A laptop manufacturer has created a set of methods to deal with specific technical issues raised by customers.These methods can be referred to as _____.

A) ​tactical plans 
B) ​visionary plans 
C) ​single-use plans 
D) ​standing plans

Question 29

Management by objectives is a management technique often used to develop and carry out _____.

A) ​strategic plans 
B) ​standing plans 
C) ​operational plans 
D) ​tactical plans

Question 30

Daniel has started a small shoe manufacturing company.He does not want the best equipment at the moment,so he is using equipment that is good enough to work with.In this scenario,Daniel is _____.

A) ​maximizing 
B) ​discounting 
C) ​specializing 
D) ​satisficing

Question 31

_____ occurs when a group member must wait to share an idea because another member is presenting an idea.

A) ​Dialectal inquiry 
B) ​Groupthink 
C) ​Maximizing 
D) ​Production blocking

Question 32

_____ is a process wherein each decision criterion is compared directly with every other criterion.

A) ​Absolute comparisons 
B) ​Relative comparisons 
C) ​Benchmarking 
D) ​Satisficing

Question 33

Which of the following is the first step in the process of management by objectives? 

A) ​Collectively selecting goals 
B) ​Discussing possible goals 
C) ​Jointly developing tactical plans 
D) ​Reviewing progress regularly

Question 34

Claire is faced with an issue and wants to come up with a rational decision regarding the issue.Which of the following steps should Claire take first in order to make a rational decision? 

A) Computing the optimal decision​ 
B) ​Defining the problem 
C) ​Generating alternative courses of action 
D) ​Identifying decision criteria

Question 35

During a discussion about the budget for a project,the discussion gets personal between two managers of Trion LLC.They digress from the topic and start venting their anger on each other.In this scenario,the managers have _____ conflict.

A) ​cognitive 
B) ​a-type 
C) ​c-type 
D) ​intellectual

Question 36

_____ are responsible for developing operational plans.

A) ​Lower-level managers 
B) ​Middle managers 
C) ​Top managers 
D) ​Board of directors

Question 37

_____ are standing plans that indicate the specific steps that should be taken in response to a particular event.

A) ​Policies 
B) ​Procedures 
C) ​Single-use plans 
D) ​Options-based plans

Question 38

_____ is fear of what others will think of one's ideas.

A) ​Dialectal inquiry 
B) ​Cognitive conflict 
C) ​Production blocking 
D) ​Evaluation apprehension

Question 39

Identify the most specific type of standing plans.

A) ​Policies 
B) ​Procedures 
C) ​Single-use plans 
D) ​Rules and regulations

Question 40

The marketing managers of Point Inc.are having a conflict over how they can improve the marketing strategy of their company.The managers are disagreeing on the views presented by each other based on their experiences and knowledge.In this scenario,the managers are engaged in a(n)_____.

A) a-type conflict​ 
B) ​personal conflict 
C) ​c-type conflict 
D) ​channel conflict

Question 41

_________ is described as the determination to achieve a goal.

Question 42

_________ is choosing a goal and developing a method or strategy to achieve that goal.
A.Controlling
B.Organizing
C.Leading
D.Planning

Question 43

_________ is described as the process of choosing a solution from available alternatives.

Question 44

The _________ is a more specific goal that unifies company-wide efforts,stretches and challenges the organization,and possesses a finish line and a time frame.
A.policy
B.single-use plan
C.strategic objective
D.purpose statement

Question 45

_________ is a barrier to good decision making caused by pressure within the group for members to agree with each other.

Question 46

_________ are the standards used to guide judgments and decisions.

Question 47

_________ planning allows companies to maintain flexibility by making small,simultaneous investments in many alternative plans.
A.Strategic
B.Options-based
C.Funds-based
D.Traditional

Question 48

Budgets are a type of _________ plans.
A.strategic
B.tactical
C.operational
D.visionary

Question 49

_________ are described as a cushion of extra resources that can be used with options-based planning to adapt to unanticipated changes,problems,or opportunities.

Question 50

_________ is a systematic process of defining problems,evaluating alternatives,and choosing optimal solutions.
A.Problem identification
B.Rational decision making
C.Benchmarking
D.Profiling