Deck 1: Managing and Performing

Question 1

It can be said that technology both complicates things and creates new opportunities.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Technology both complicates things and creates new opportunities. The challenges come from the rapid rate at which communication, transportation, information, and other technologies change.

Question 2

The theory of total quality includes preventing defects before they occur.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: Total quality includes preventing defects before they occur, achieving zero defects in manufacturing, and designing products for quality. The goal is to solve and eradicate from the beginning all quality-related problems and to live a philosophy of continuous improvement in the way the company operates.

Question 3

Most social networking sites, part of a wave of "Web 2.0" changes occurring the last 10 years, are now stable and profitable.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: In 2003 tech guru Tim O'Reilly coined the term "Web 2.0" to describe the exciting new wave of social networking start-ups that allow users to publish and share information. But most failed or are stalled; many fired their chief executives and laid off employees. Very few, other than Facebook, make a profit.

Question 4

The four key elements that make the current business environment different from the past include globalization, technological change, the importance of knowledge and ideas, and collaboration across organizational "boundaries."

Question 5

Globalization affects only large companies with operations overseas.

Question 6

A global company can be headquartered anywhere, but the managers all come from the United States.

Question 7

Until recently the move to globalization was growing very quickly. Now the change from local to global has leveled off and countries are pushing back in favor of localization.

Question 8

Customers can be effectively involved in company decisions, especially when it comes to areas like new product development.

Question 9

Developing countries are becoming hotbeds of innovation, delivering new goods and services more cheaply than Western counterparts.

Question 10

Effective collaboration can occur within but not between organizations.

Question 11

The reason that companies fail is nearly always a change in the environment.

Question 12

The most precious resources of an organization are people's expertise, skills, wisdom, and relationships.

Question 13

Knowledge management is a set of practices aimed at discovering and harnessing the competition's intellectual resources.

Question 14

If an organization does not innovate, it will soon cease to exist.

Question 15

Innovation is the introduction of new goods and services.

Question 16

The key to company success is how transformative a product will be to society as a whole or to the industry in which a company operates.

Question 17

Technology has had only positive effects in the workplace, due to the tremendous opportunities it presents.

Question 18

Quality is defined as the level of expenditure both for the creation of a product and the sales price to the customer.

Question 19

Managers succeed by focusing on fundamentals and knowing what's important.

Question 20

The fundamental success drivers for an organization are individuality, identifiability, cost competitiveness, and growth.

Question 21

Leading is defined as coordinating and manipulating human resources to maximize opportunity.

Question 22

The best managers and companies focus primarily on one of the six dimensions of competitive advantage, such as cost alone or quality alone.

Question 23

Value is "strategic" when it contributes to meeting the organization's goals.

Question 24

The management function known as organizing refers to assembling and coordinating the resources needed to achieve goals.

Question 25

Management is the process of working with people and resources to make a profit under any circumstances.

Question 26

Service is the speed and dependability with which an organization delivers what customers want.

Question 27

The four traditional functions of management include planning, organizing, supporting, and satisfying.

Question 28

The Internet has made cost competitiveness a more important consideration for businesses.

Question 29

One dimension of service quality is making it easy and enjoyable for customers to experience a service or to buy and use products.

Question 30

Today customers value both the quality of physical goods and the quality of services.

Question 31

Aesthetics, while important to customers, is not considered an aspect of quality.

Question 32

Sustainability is fundamentally a cost-cutting effort.

Question 33

Ideally, planning is a top-down function in which top executives establish business plans and tell others to implement them.

Question 34

In the future, organizing will include creating an organization chart and having a personnel department that administers plans, programs, and paperwork.

Question 35

In terms of good management, efficiency and effectiveness differ in their focus on resources.

Question 36

Rising demand for resources, limited supplies, and changing social attitudes have contributed to the popularity of sustainable approaches to business.

Question 37

Cost competitiveness means pricing your products lower than all competitors' products.

Question 38

Corporate speed means being fast to respond to both your customers and the competition.

Question 39

Efficiency is far more important than effectiveness in today's competitive environment.

Question 40

The planning function can be described as delivering strategic value.

Question 41

Which of the following statements about collaboration is true?

A) Collaboration occurs only within the boundaries of the organization.
B) A sole focus on unit performance spurs collaboration.
C) It is unrealistic to think that the company can collaborate with its customers.
D) Disclosing your plans by collaborating with consultants and suppliers is not a good idea because they may also be working with your competitors.
E) Collaboration is an important process of knowledge management.

Question 42

Interpersonal skills are most important early in your career, whereas technical skills become more necessary as you rise higher in the company.

Question 43

To become an effective manager you should choose one or two of the four management functions in which to become expert. An outstanding manager need only be proficient in one or two of the functions and can hire others to do the remaining ones.

Question 44

In managing your career, it is important to know that now, more than ever, individuals will be held accountable for their actions and for results.

Question 45

__________ is defined as the excellence of your product.

A) Innovation
B) Quality
C) Demand
D) Six sigma
E) Customization

Question 46

As managers rise through an organization, they will probably rely less on their technical skills.

Question 47

Emotional intelligence involves the skills of understanding yourself, managing yourself, and dealing effectively with others.

Question 48

Frontline managers often have titles such as supervisor or sales manager.

Question 49

__________ is the introduction of new goods and services.

A) Collaboration
B) Invention
C) Innovation
D) Adaptation
E) Inception

Question 50

Globalization is an issue primarily for

A) Large transnational firms.
B) Transnational firms of any size.
C) Small companies with local customers only.
D) Domestic firms with overseas sales.
E) All firms.

Question 51

Successful managers know that the change from a local to a global marketplace is

A) Irrelevant to today's business environment.
B) Irreversible.
C) Unchanging.
D) Slowing.
E) No different than it has been over the last three decades.

Question 52

In today's work environment, one should focus solely on becoming a specialist because jobs are becoming so specialized.

Question 53

Top managers are also called tactical managers since they must translate the general goals into specific objectives and activities.

Question 54

Being a manager is more like being the conductor of an orchestra than playing an instrument in it.

Question 55

Controlling is the management function responsible for monitoring performance and implementing necessary changes.

Question 56

The need for interpersonal and communication skills fades as a manager moves from the lower levels of an organization into the upper management arena.

Question 57

_________ is the set of practices aimed at discovering and harnessing an organization's intellectual resources, fully utilizing the intellects of the organization's people.

A) Knowledge management
B) Collaboration
C) Innovation
D) Service management
E) Communication management

Question 58

Social capital is the goodwill stemming from your social relationships.

Question 59

Which of the following is one of the key elements that make the current business landscape different from the past?

A) Uniformity of offerings
B) Collaboration across organizational boundaries
C) Quality
D) Cost competitiveness
E) Speed

Question 60

Which of the following statements about the Internet is true?

A) The Internet has reduced threats to most businesses.
B) The Internet drives down costs.
C) The Internet's only impact on business is indirect because it impacts customers.
D) The Internet has had a slowing effect on globalization.
E) The Internet slows decision making because so much extra information is available.

Question 61

Cost competitiveness means that you

A) Sacrifice quality to keep costs low.
B) Carefully monitor costs mainly during the start-up phase of the business.
C) Price your product or service at a level attractive to consumers.
D) Manage your costs by being effective.
E) Offer a high-quality product at a higher price.

Question 62

Sustainability is the effort to minimize the use of resources, especially those that are

A) Foreign-produced.
B) Subject to fluctuations in price on the open market.
C) In high demand in developing nations.
D) Polluting and nonrenewable.
E) Not important to future innovation.

Question 63

Building a dynamic organization is another way of describing which function of management?

A) Planning.
B) Organizing.
C) Leading.
D) Controlling.
E) Staffing.

Question 64

__________, or the rapid execution, response, and delivery of results, often separates the winners from the losers in the modern business environment.

A) Service
B) Quality
C) Innovation
D) Speed
E) Competitiveness

Question 65

The management function of ______________ involves assembling and coordinating organizational resources.

A) controlling
B) planning
C) organizing
D) optimizing
E) quantifying

Question 66

Managing your costs and keeping them down requires being

A) Effective.
B) Fast.
C) Mindful of high service requirements.
D) Efficient.
E) Collaborative.

Question 67

In terms of good management, efficiency differs from effectiveness primarily in the former's focus on

A) Customer satisfaction.
B) Shareholder profits.
C) Customer retention.
D) Employee turnover.
E) Resource use.

Question 68

Which of the following is a way to measure quality?

A) Product performance.
B) Conformance to standards.
C) Reliability.
D) Aesthetics.
E) All of these.

Question 69

The four traditional management functions, still relevant today, include

A) Planning, leading, controlling, and organizing.
B) Marketing, finance, accounting, and production.
C) Planning, operations, labor, and contracting.
D) Hiring, training, appraising, and firing.
E) Marketing, management, finance, and accounting.

Question 70

Done properly, ________ allows people to live and work in ways that can be maintained over the long term (generations) without depleting or harming our resources.

A) sustainability
B) total quality
C) innovation
D) collaboration
E) cost competitiveness

Question 71

Planning involves which of the following?

A) Analyzing current situations.
B) Determining rewards for goals achievement.
C) Attracting people to the organization.
D) Motivating employees.
E) Implementing necessary changes.

Question 72

Biomark Software has recently implemented new reporting relationships in its organization due to tremendous growth. Managers are determining new job responsibilities for individuals and resource allocation for its new business units. Biomark managers are performing the management function of

A) Planning.
B) Organizing.
C) Leading.
D) Controlling.
E) Budgeting.

Question 73

______________ is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals.

A) Planning
B) Management
C) Controlling
D) Decision making
E) Collaboration

Question 74

The managers at Capturion Action Cameras are currently developing strategies for the company's new products and setting objectives for its business units. These managers are engaged in the management function of

A) Organizing.
B) Planning.
C) Goal coordination.
D) Controlling.
E) Initiating.

Question 75

Lorenzo is a general manager for Perry Mechanical Engineers. He is considering some changes to the production floor, including layout adjustments and the purchase of new equipment to improve efficiency. He also wants to promote one of his supervisors to be his assistant manager. Lorenzo is currently involved in which dimension of management?

A) Planning.
B) Controlling.
C) Leading.
D) Organizing.
E) Budgeting.

Question 76

The management function of _______________ is specifying the goals to be achieved and deciding in advance the appropriate actions needed to achieve those goals.

A) strategizing
B) leading
C) organizing
D) planning
E) controlling

Question 77

In a competitive context, __________ means giving customers what they want or need, when they want it.

A) service
B) quality
C) innovation
D) speed
E) competitiveness

Question 78

The planning function in the new business environment can also be described more dynamically as

A) Creating conditions so that people and things work together to achieve maximum success.
B) Delivering strategic value.
C) Stimulating people to be high performers.
D) Monitoring performance and implementing needed changes.
E) Motivating workers to do their jobs effectively.

Question 79

Which of the following statements about the sources of competitive advantage is true?

A) The best companies choose one source of competitive advantage and perfect it.
B) Managing the sources of competitive advantage is a zero-sum game where one source improves at the expense of the other.
C) It is possible to improve quality and also enhance speed.
D) Outsourcing certain functions is likely to decrease innovation.
E) The faster the product is provided, the more innovation suffers.

Question 80

A manager's ability to stimulate people to be high performers is referred to as

A) Planning.
B) Organizing.
C) Leading.
D) Controlling.
E) Monitoring.