Deck 13: Fundamentals of Controlling

Question 1

If effective feedforward controls have been implemented,there is no need for concurrent controls.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Control mechanisms should indicate who or what is responsible for a deviation and where the deviation occurred.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Since controls are inflexible,supervisors and employees need to be able to adapt as needed.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Everyone uses feedforward controls at one time or another.

Question 5

Alarm clocks,thermostats,gauges,and police officers directing traffic are all examples of controls.

Question 6

The cost of a control system may be more than it is worth,even when the control system is effective.

Question 7

At Thomaston Sporting Goods Emporium,the controls applied over firearms should be more stringent than the controls it applies over fishing equipment.

Question 8

Examples of feedback control include measurement of the quality and quantity of units produced.

Question 9

Feedback controls are the most widely used category of controls at the supervisory level.

Question 10

Standards may be defined as specific criteria against which to evaluate results.

Question 11

For control mechanisms to work effectively,they need to be understandable,timely,suitable,economical,indicational,and flexible.

Question 12

If controls are confusing,the supervisor should devise new controls that meet the departmental needs and are understandable to everyone who uses them.

Question 13

Employees always view controls positively because they know it will enhance the planning process.

Question 14

Most supervisors utilize feedforward controls so they don't have to bother with concurrent controls.

Question 15

Feedback controls are essentially useless because they're providing feedback too late,when the acts have already taken place.

Question 16

When allowing an employee to work on an assignment without close supervision,the supervisor should leave the employee completely alone until it is time to view the final results.

Question 17

In a behavioral sense,controls and on-the-job freedom compliment each other.

Question 18

The word control often elicits negative reactions.

Question 19

Some firms have loosened certain controls only to find they need to tighten them up or return to the original controls that had been abandoned.

Question 20

The control process involves four sequential steps: setting standards,measuring performance,corrective action,and providing instruction.

Question 21

The exception principle is the concept that supervisors should concentrate their investigations on activities that deviate substantially from standards.

Question 22

Most annual budgets are projections for the following year based on the previous year's budget.

Question 23

Large organizations employ consultants trained in work efficiency and cost control so that supervisors don't have be cost conscious.

Question 24

Once the budget is approved by higher-level management,supervisors have no more contact with it or interest in it until the next budget cycle.

Question 25

Historical data does not provide much value when budgeting for the future.

Question 26

One method by which performance can be measured is by direct observation and personal contact.

Question 27

Workers are more apt to accept standards as reasonable and fair when they help to formulate those standards.

Question 28

Intangible standards are targets for results that have physical form.

Question 29

Cost and revenue data are usually reported to the supervisor by his or her subordinate employees in the department.

Question 30

A firm should never be willing to share financial information with employees.

Question 31

Oral and written reports are probably the best way for supervisors to monitor employee performance.

Question 32

Without spot checking,supervisors have no control mechanisms to monitor performance.

Question 33

Customer satisfaction,profitability,and employee suggestions are all strategic control points.

Question 34

Tangible standards are standards of performance that are difficult to measure.

Question 35

When an employee's job routine does not lend itself to reports,the supervisor may have to rely on periodic spot checks.

Question 36

Some worker productivity standards are expressed relative to factors over which a supervisor has no control.

Question 37

Time standards are absolute and beyond dispute since they are bound by an objective,fixed measurement: the hands of the clock.

Question 38

In a motion study,engineers analyze how a job is performed to identify ways to improve,eliminate,change,or combine steps to make the job easier and faster.

Question 39

The extent of involvement that a supervisor has with a budget is to simply ensure performance expectations are met within the contraints of a budget.

Question 40

When a supervisor discovers a deviation from the standard,he/she should next find out who is at fault.

Question 41

Which of the following is an example of concurrent control?

A)Instituting a preventive maintenance plan
B)Sampling complete products to ensure quality
C)Measuring the number of units a certain employee has completed on his or her shift
D)Observing employees during their work shifts to ensure that they are complying with standards

Question 42

Identify an accurate statement about controlling.

A)The main purpose of controlling is to assign blame for mistakes.
B)Controlling should not be consistent with strategy.
C)The function of controlling is carried out simultaneously with the other managerial functions.
D)Controlling is not related to the other primary managerial functions.

Question 43

Which of the following statements is true about the managerial function of controlling?

A)Controlling is not related to the other primary managerial functions.
B)Controlling is performed by the supervisor only after he or she has performed all the other managerial functions.
C)Controlling involves taking appropriate actions to correct any deviations from standards.
D)Controlling does not influence employee motivation and behavior.

Question 44

Companies often give cost-cutting orders as a result of competition from other businesses.

Question 45

Inventory control means maintaining quality standards for products and services.

Question 46

During manufacture,Stephen notices the indicator light on one of the machines in the assembly line flashing red.He immediately recognizes this as an indication of a problem with the machine and intervenes to fix it.Which of the following control mechanisms does this scenario best exemplify?

A)Feedforward control
B)Concurrent control
C)Feedback control
D)After-the-process control

Question 47

When controls are confusing or too sophisticated for employees,a supervisor should:

A)create complex charts and graphs to explain the controls in more detail.
B)stop using controls altogether.
C)attempt to help his or her employees understand them.
D)devise new controls that meet departmental needs and are understandable to everyone who uses them.

Question 48

_____ is the time factor control mechanism that involves taking corrective action during the production or delivery process to ensure that standards are being met.

A)Feedback control
B)Concurrent control
C)Feedforward control
D)Preventive control

Question 49

The managerial function of controlling is typically performend separately from the other managerial functions.

Question 50

Supervisors who play a key role in cost reduction usually do so with the help of their employees.

Question 51

Which of the following is NOT a requirement for an effective control system?

A)It should be understandable to everyone who uses it.
B)It should not permit changes in dynamic settings.
C)It should expose deviations as they occur.
D)It shouldyield timely information.

Question 52

When top management issues an order to cut costs across the board,supervisors should stop buying supplies and eliminate preventive maintenance programs.

Question 53

Which of the following statements is true of the supervisor's role in controlling?

A)Supervisors should monitor every detail of every employee's work.
B)Supervisors should be forward-looking while controlling.
C)Supervisors should leave their employees alone until it is time to inspect the final results.
D)Supervisors should remember that the main purpose of controlling is to assign blame for mistakes.

Question 54

Feedforward control involves:

A)taking anticipatory action to ensure that problems do notoccur.
B)taking actions after the activity has been completed.
C)taking corrective action during the production or delivery process to ensure that standards are being met.
D)determining what went wrong in an activity and where to place blame.

Question 55

Which of the following statements is true about control mechanisms?

A)Control mechanisms are likely to be based on mathematical formulas and complex graphs at lower levels of management.
B)The control mechanisms at higher management levels are less sophisticated than those at lower management levels.
C)Control mechanisms must permit changes when such changes are required.
D)The same set of control mechanisms are used for all activities across all departments.

Question 56

The controlling function is most closely related to which other primary managerial function?

A)Leading
B)Planning
C)Staffing
D)Coordinating

Question 57

Identify an accurate statement about time factor control mechanisms.

A)Feedforward control mechanisms consider, in advance, the possibility of any malfunctions or undesirable outcomes.
B)Feedforward control mechanisms are often applied while operations are proceeding.
C)Concurrent controls are the least desirable control mechanisms when damage or mistakes occur.
D)Concurrent controls cannot be used to catch the problems that feedforward controls cannot anticipate.

Question 58

Ron has established a preventative maintenance program at his company where the machines used in production are serviced on a regular basis to prevent breakdowns in the future.Which of the following control mechanisms does this best exemplify?

A)Feedforward control
B)Concurrent control
C)Feedback control
D)In-process control

Question 59

Production control involves routing operations,scheduling,and expediting work flow.

Question 60

Which of the following types of control mechanisms is useful for controlling a problem prior to its happening?

A)Concurrent control
B)Feedback control
C)In-process control
D)Feedforward control

Question 61

If a cost-cutting order comes down from top management,the supervisor's best response is to:

A)reduce expenses with the help of his employees.
B)hold "pep rallies" with his employees.
C)stop buying any supplies.
D)eliminate preventive maintenance work.

Question 62

Tangible standards can measure all of the following EXCEPT:

A)quantity of output.
B)quality of output.
C)time spent on providing a service.
D)an organization's reputation.

Question 63

_____ refers to the technique of evaluating some number of items from a larger group to determine whether the group meets acceptable quality standards.

A)Profiling
B)Sampling
C)Randomization
D)360-degree evaluation

Question 64

Care 1 Hospital is renowned for its impeccable reputation and strong employee morale.These types of qualities can best be described as _____ standards.

A)tangible
B)intangible
C)objective
D)subjective

Question 65

Which of the following best exemplifies feedback control?

A)Introducing a preventive maintenanceprogram to reduce the risk of machines breaking down during production
B)Following a checklist before starting production to reduce the margin for error
C)Visually inspecting a batch of finished goods to assess their quality
D)Responding to a warning signal in the middle of the production process to fix an issue

Question 66

A written plan expressed in numerical terms that projects anticipated resources and expenditures for a certain period of time is known as a:

A)budget.
B)projection.
C)forecast.
D)utility.

Question 67

The _____ is based on the concept that supervisors should concentrate their investigations on activities that deviate substantially from standards.

A)exception principle
B)reciprocity reflex
C)golden rule
D)objective principle

Question 68

Jasper,a quality control analyst,decides to pick a few products at random from a batch of finished goods for inspection.He compares the quality of these products against certain predetermined quality standards to determine whether they are suitable for shipment.This example demonstrates the technique of:

A)randomization.
B)census.
C)profiling.
D)sampling.

Question 69

Which of the following is NOT an accurate statement regarding the supervisor's role in controlling through budgets?

A)The budget that most concerns supervisors is usually the departmental expense budget.
B)Supervisors must refer to their budgets to monitor their expenditures during the operation period.
C)Supervisors' budgets should be very detailed and should not be subject to change.
D)Supervisors should demonstrate the actual need for each amount they request and document their requests with historical data whenever possible.

Question 70

Which of the following statements is true of a time study?

A)A time study does not make allowances for fatigue, personal needs, and unavoidable delays.
B)A time standard is completely scientific and beyond dispute.
C)A time study involves making judgments and approximations.
D)A time study involves analyzing work activities to determine how to make a task more efficient.

Question 71

Carla's primary function as a supply chain manager for a consumer goods manufacturer is to monitor the flow of raw materials,supplies,work-in-process,and finished goods.Carla is most likely involved in:

A)quality control.
B)production control.
C)inventory control.
D)budgetary control.

Question 72

Which type of control involves keeping watch over raw materials,supplies,work-in-process,and finished goods?

A)Inventory control
B)Quality control
C)Production control
D)Budgetary control

Question 73

Albert's manufacturing company produces over 1,000 units of product per day.However,when inspecting the finished products for defects,he randomly tests only about 10 percent of the items produced to save on time and costs.This demonstrates the principle of _____.

A)personal observation
B)randomization
C)transparency
D)sampling

Question 74

The first step in the control process is:

A)to set standards appropriate to the task.
B)to measure performance against set standards.
C)to take corrective action.
D)to determine what went wrong and where.

Question 75

Conrad,an accountant for a large marketing company,develops projections and proposals for the annual budget based on the budget of the previous year.This is an example of what type of budgeting?

A)Incremental budgeting
B)Operational budgeting
C)Zero-base budgeting
D)Activity-based budgeting

Question 76

_____ are performance criteria chosen for assessment because they are key indicators of overall performance.

A)Strategic control points
B)Policies
C)Numerical aberrations
D)Objectives

Question 77

_____ refers to open-book management in which all financial information is shared with employees and other stakeholders.

A)Opacity
B)Transparency
C)Integrity
D)Spot checking

Question 78

Which of the following statements is true about intangible standards?

A)Intangible standards are targets for results that have no physicalform.
B)Intangible standards can be very easily expressed in numerical orprecise terms.
C)Intangible standards are performance targets for results that are identifiable and measurable.
D)Intangible standards can be set to measure such things as quantity of output, quality of output, and the like.

Question 79

In which of the following situations are oral and written reports most necessary?

A)When the department is small
B)When the entire team operates in one location
C)When there are very few team members
D)When employees work around the clock

Question 80

At Best Facilities Inc.,industrial engineers were brought to the assembly line to observe production and to identify ways to improve,eliminate,change,or combine steps to make the job easier and more efficient.This is an example of what type of study?

A)Concurrent study
B)Control study
C)Motion study
D)Time study