Deck 11: Management Decision and Control

Question 1

The Japanese make heavy use of a decision-making process called ringisei or decision making by consensus.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: The Japanese are somewhat different from the Europeans, though they still employ a long-term focus. They make heavy use of a decision-making process called ringisei, or decision making by consensus. Under this system any changes in procedures and routines, tactics, and even strategies of a firm are organized by those directly concerned with those changes. The final decision is made at the top level after an elaborate examination of the proposal through successively higher levels in the management hierarchy, and results in acceptance or rejection of a decision only through consensus at every echelon of the management structure.

Question 2

Decisions that are heavily economic in orientation concentrate on such aspects as return on investment (ROI) for overseas operations.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: Decisions which are heavily economic in orientation concentrate on such aspects as return on investment (ROI) for overseas operations.

Question 3

Amazon's target market is significantly larger, but less loyal, than Alibaba's.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: Amazon, unlike Alibaba, specializes primarily in just business-to-consumer sales. As a result, Amazon's target market is significantly smaller, but more loyal, than Alibaba's.

Question 4

ISO 9000 certification is becoming a necessary prerequisite to doing business in the EU.

Question 5

Financial performance evaluation of a foreign subsidiary or affiliate usually is based on profit and return on investment.

Question 6

When local managers are inexperienced or not highly effective, decision making tends to be decentralized.

Question 7

An assessment center is an evaluation tool that is used to evaluate employees.

Question 8

General Motors designed and built an inexpensive vehicle, the Ikon, for the Indian market.

Question 9

A quality control circle is a group of workers who meet on a regular basis to discuss ways of improving the quality of work.

Question 10

A legal system called codetermination requires workers and their managers to participate in the discussion of major decisions.

Question 11

In Germany, managers place a greater emphasis on managing subordinates than on productivity and product quality.

Question 12

Efficient processes become increasingly important as diversification or differences between the parent and subsidiary increase.

Question 13

Larger organizations typically emphasize decentralized decision making in their international operations.

Question 14

Direct controls use reports and other written forms of communication to control operations.

Question 15

Direct controls are particularly important in international management because of the great expense associated with indirect methods.

Question 16

Surprisingly one of the least common approaches to personnel performance evaluation is the periodic appraisal of work performance.

Question 17

The process of giving individuals and teams the resources, information, and authority they need to develop ideas and effectively implement them is referred to as reengineering.

Question 18

As a TQM technique, rewards and recognition tend to be effective universally.

Question 19

Decision making and controlling are two vital and often interlinked functions of international management.

Question 20

Through its diverse set of websites, Alibaba can cater to virtually any type of transaction.

Question 21

Which of the following factors encourages the use of centralized decision making?

A)Small company size
B)Small capital investment
C)Relatively low importance to the MNC
D)Highly competitive environment

Question 22

Areas that are examined by the ISO 9000 certification team include all of the following except:

A)Design (product or service specifications)
B)Process control (instruction for manufacturing or service functions)
C)Purchasing service (e.g., instructions for conducting after-sales service)
D)Environmental management standards

Question 23

ISO 9000 refers to the International Standards Organization (ISO) certification to ensure:

A)Quality products and services
B)On-time delivery
C)Safety standards
D)Compliance with worldwide workplace equality standards

Question 24

The process of choosing a course of action among alternatives is referred to as:

A)Supervision
B)Directing
C)Decision making
D)Controlling

Question 25

Today, MNCs taking a TQM approach are:

A)Decentralized
B)Top heavy
C)Customer-driven
D)Reengineered

Question 26

When the subsidiary is selling new products in growing markets, _____ decision making is more likely.

A)External
B)Decentralized
C)Centralized
D)Neutralized

Question 27

The following factors encourage the use of decentralized decision making except:

A)Small company size
B)Relatively low importance to MNC
C)High degree of technology
D)Stable environment

Question 28

An organizational strategy and the accompanying techniques that result in the delivery of high-quality products or services to customers is referred to as:

A)Total quality management
B)Just-in-time management
C)Reengineering
D)ISO 9000

Question 29

Kaizen is a Japanese term that means:

A)Employee empowerment
B)Continuous improvement
C)Quality comes first
D)Teamwork

Question 30

In Japan, what should be done is called _____, while what one really feels, which may be quite different is _____.

A)Tatemae; honne
B)Honne; ringisei
C)Honne; tatemae
D)Ringisei; tatemae

Question 31

In domestic situations, when competition increases, management will:

A)Integrate product or service lines
B)Centralize authority
C)Decentralize authority
D)Diversify product and service lines

Question 32

The following factors encourage the use of centralized decision making except:

A)Large company size
B)Large capital investment
C)Heterogeneous product lines
D)High degree of technology

Question 33

The more sophisticated the level of technology, the greater the use of _____ decision making.

A)Participative
B)Centralized
C)Decentralized
D)Team-based

Question 34

Researchers found that _______ teams featured higher team orientation, flatter organizational hierarchies, and more open-minded and informal work attitudes.

A)Japanese
B)French
C)Indian
D)Swedish

Question 35

Identify the statement which accurately depicts a difference between French and Danish managers in their approach to the decision-making process.

A)French managers do not spend as much time analyzing alternatives to optimize production
B)Danes do not emphasize control in operations
C)French managers are less emotionally responsive and tend to take a straightforward approach
D)Danes present each opportunity with a sense of creativity and logic

Question 36

A company is likely to ________ decision-making processes when there are important brand names or patent rights involved as it wants to create as much protection as possible.

A)Decentralize
B)Delay
C)Centralize
D)Delegate

Question 37

If decentralized decision making is in place, decisions are:

A)Made at the top management level
B)Made at the middle management level
C)Delegated to operating personnel
D)Contracted to external consultants

Question 38

If centralized decision making is in place, the most important decisions are made at the:

A)Top management level
B)Middle management level
C)Level of self-managed work teams
D)Operational personnel

Question 39

The process of giving individuals and teams the resources, information, and authority they need to develop ideas and effectively implement them is referred to as:

A)Total quality management
B)Reengineering
C)Empowerment
D)Kaizen

Question 40

According to the text, one of the primary areas where TQM is having a big impact is:

A)Human resources management
B)Manufacturing
C)Marketing
D)Finance

Question 41

Visits by top executives to overseas affiliates or subsidiaries is a common form of:

A)Indirect control
B)External control
C)Cultural control
D)Direct control

Question 42

Controls that are generally used by MNCs to monitor performance on a monthly basis are:

A)Direct
B)Indirect
C)External
D)Internal

Question 43

According to the work of Horovitz, all of the following are common characteristics of British control except:

A)Operating units had a large amount of marketing autonomy
B)Control was used more for general guidance than for surveillance
C)Financial reports were simple and lightly emphasized
D)Top management tended to focus attention on major problem areas and did not get involved in specific, detailed matters of control

Question 44

General Motors' decision to close some of its U.S.factories and to establish production operations on a worldwide basis is a strategic move aiming to:

A)Reduce costs
B)Increase quality
C)Attack competition
D)Diversify risks

Question 45

One technique associated with TQM is the use of ongoing training to achieve:

A)Linear progress
B)Continual improvement
C)Total overhaul of the organization
D)Recognition

Question 46

The process of evaluating results in relation to plans or objectives and deciding what action, if any, to take is referred to as:

A)Directing
B)Decision making
C)Supervising
D)Controlling

Question 47

Three sets of financial statements usually are required from subsidiaries; they do not include:

A)Statements prepared in response to investigations and queries from the SEC
B)Statements prepared to meet the national accounting standards and procedures prescribed by law and other professional organizations in the host country
C)Statements prepared to comply with the accounting principles and standards required by the home country
D)Statements prepared to meet the financial consolidation requirements of the home country

Question 48

BMW intends to reduce its development and production costs and offer a reliable and competitively priced auto by:

A)Copying the success of Ikon in India
B)Refinancing and reengineering the company
C)Sharing engines, gearboxes, and electrical systems from its other offerings
D)Centralizing its manufacturing facilities

Question 49

The external control process differs from the internal control in that the external control:

A)Encourages harmony, responsiveness, and sensibility
B)Focuses on self, function, one's own group, and one's own organization
C)Proves to be uncomfortable when the environment seems out of control or changeable
D)Has a dominating attitude bordering on aggressiveness toward the environment

Question 50

The internal control process differs from the external control in that the internal control:

A)Encourages harmony, responsiveness, and sensibility
B)Focuses on the self, function, one's own group, and one's own organization
C)Proves to be comfortable with waves, shifts, and cycles, which are regarded as "natural"
D)Has a flexible attitude, willing to compromise and keep the peace

Question 51

Controls that involve face-to-face or personal meetings to monitor operations are:

A)Direct
B)Indirect
C)Parallel
D)Circular

Question 52

Control in European MNCs requires more _____ of operating decision making than does control in U.S.MNCs.

A)decentralization
B)projections
C)comparative analysis
D)centralization

Question 53

PC firms are finding that they must keep on the cutting edge more than any other industry because of:

A)The relentless pace of technological change
B)The tendency of customers to switch brands frequently
C)The shrinking market
D)Their reliance on upscale retail outlets

Question 54

Which of the following is not a form of direct control?

A)Visits by top executives to overseas affiliates or subsidiaries
B)The staffing practices of MNCs
C)The organizational structure of MNCs
D)The use of financial ratios that provide insights into the unit's financial health

Question 55

The use of monthly operating reports that are sent to the home office is a common example of:

A)Direct control
B)Indirect control
C)External control
D)Cultural control

Question 56

In comparing the control mechanisms used by U.S.and European firms, it has been found that U.S.firms make greater use of _____ control, while European firms rely more heavily on _____ control.

A)Output; behavioral
B)Bureaucratic; participative
C)Behavioral; output
D)Participative; bureaucratic

Question 57

The amount remaining after all expenses are deducted from total revenues is referred to as:

A)Remuneration
B)Profit
C)Returns
D)Proceeds

Question 58

The following are common problems that MNCs face in attempting to control their overseas operations except:

A)The objectives of the foreign operation and the corporate objectives are similar
B)The objectives of joint-venture partners and corporate management conflict
C)Amount of experience and competence in planning are widely diverse among foreign CEOs
D)Basic philosophic conflicts exist about objectives and policies of foreign operations, largely because of cultural differences between home and host-country managers

Question 59

The following are accurate representation of the differences in control measures used by European and American managers except:

A)Americans tend to control operations through reports and other objective, performance related data
B)Socio-emotional control systems are preferred by European firms
C)American managers like task-oriented control
D)European firms are more centralized than American firms

Question 60

Two common ways of looking at how MNCs control operations are:

A)Determining whether the organization uses accounting or strategic controls and by choosing whether the enterprise uses simple or complex controls
B)By looking at the ways in which the organization uses hierarchical and bureaucratic controls and by looking at the ways in which the organization uses external or internal controls
C)Choosing whether the enterprise uses simple or complex controls and by determining whether the organization uses financial or strategic controls
D)Determining whether the enterprise chooses to use internal or external control and by looking at the ways in which the organization uses direct and indirect controls

Question 61

What are the main factors that help influence whether decision making will be centralized or decentralized?

Question 62

Discuss the relevance of the various performance measures that are used for control purposes.

Question 63

The Japanese method of training workers for all jobs on the line, even though they eventually are assigned to a single workstation is known as:

A)Training overkill
B)Taguchi method
C)Kaizen
D)Ringisei

Question 64

Return on investment (ROI) is measured by dividing:

A)Profit by assets
B)Revenues by profit
C)Expenses by revenues
D)Profit by expenses

Question 65

Describe the differences between direct controls and indirect controls? Provide an example of each type of control for the management of a MNC.

Question 66

Discuss the decision-making philosophies and practices of the French and Danish managers.

Question 67

Financial performance evaluation of a foreign subsidiary or affiliate usually is based on:

A)Profits and assets
B)Assets and return on investment
C)Profit and return on investment
D)Assets and owners' equity

Question 68

A(n) _____ is an evaluation tool that is used to identify individuals with the potential to be selected or promoted to higher-level positions.

A)Behavior evaluation center
B)Employment suitability center
C)Assessment center
D)Employment testing center

Question 69

A typical assessment center would involve simulation exercises that would include the following except:

A)In-basket exercises
B)Oral communications of a business plan
C)Business decision exercises
D)Preparation of a business plan

Question 70

A group of workers who meet on a regular basis to discuss ways of improving the quality of work is a:

A)Task force
B)Committee
C)Self-managed team
D)Quality control circle

Question 71

Explain the relevance of TQM in decision making and controlling processes.

Question 72

According to the text, the amount of _____ directly relates to how well or how poorly a unit is judged to perform.

A)Revenue
B)Expense
C)Asset
D)Profit

Question 73

The use of quality circles is a TQM technique associated with the control function which was popularized by the:

A)Japanese
B)Germans
C)French
D)Chinese

Question 74

The most common types of performance measures used for control purposes include the following except:

A)Financial performance
B)Quality performance
C)International monetary performance
D)Personnel performance

Question 75

The philosophy, "Anything worth doing in the area of quality is worth overdoing," is the management attitude of the

A)French.
B)Danish.
C)Japanese.
D)Americans.