Deck 18: Planning and Control Techniques

Question 1

Competitor intelligence experts suggest that 80 percent of what managers need to know about competitors can be found out from their own employees, suppliers, and customers.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Competitor intelligence becomes illegal corporate spying when it involves the theft of proprietary materials or trade secrets by any means.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Research has shown that companies with advanced environmental scanning systems have increased their profits and revenue growth.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The critical path is the shortest sequence of events in a PERT network.

Question 5

Environmental scanning establishes the basis for forecasts.

Question 6

A load chart is a modified Gantt chart.

Question 7

The vast majority of competitor intelligence involves corporate spying.

Question 8

Forecasting is critical and most effective under rapidly changing environmental conditions.

Question 9

Events, activities, and load factors are all parts of PERT network analysis.

Question 10

Engineers use a process called reverse engineering to study competitors' products to learn about technical innovations.

Question 11

A competitor's advertisements, want ads, and corporate website can all serve as good sources of competitive intelligence.

Question 12

Time series analysis, substitution effect, and economic indicators are all examples of qualitative forecasting techniques.

Question 13

Competitor intelligence seeks to identify competitors and assess the intellectual capital of their managers and employees.

Question 14

The Gantt chart is a bar graph that displays time on the vertical axis and the activities to be scheduled on the horizontal axis.

Question 15

Environmental scanning is the screening of large amounts of information by an organization to anticipate changes in their internal environment.

Question 16

Benchmarking involves evaluating company effectiveness against its own standards.

Question 17

Benchmarking is a form of environmental scanning.

Question 18

Qualitative forecasting uses the judgment and opinions of knowledgeable individuals to predict outcomes.

Question 19

To be effective, benchmarking standards must involve companies in the same industry.

Question 20

Buying a competitor's product for evaluation is an illegal form of competitor intelligence.

Question 21

Forecasting techniques fall into what two categories?

A) fixed asset and human capital
B) predictive and confirmatory
C) strategic and operational
D) quantitative and qualitative
E) global and domestic

Question 22

Many firms regularly buy competitors' products and have their own engineers study them to learn about new technical innovations. This process is called __________.

A) reengineering
B) regression analysis
C) product deconstruction
D) reverse engineering
E) corporate espionage

Question 23

Selena is manager of research and development at Mega Computers. She has asked her engineers to dismantle a competitor's latest computer model to gain a better understanding of its new technology. This is an example of __________.

A) reverse engineering
B) corporate espionage
C) process reengineering
D) regression analysis
E) product deconstruction

Question 24

Competitor intelligence experts suggest that 80 percent of what managers need to know about competitors can be found out from __________.

A) business information companies such as Dun & Bradstreet
B) their competitors' employees, suppliers, and customers
C) their competitors' products, managers, and customers
D) their own employees, suppliers, and customers
E) the Internet

Question 25

The value of global scanning is largely dependent on the __________.

A) extent of foreign competition activities in the domestic market
B) the fluctuations in the global customer needs
C) extent of foreign government regulation activities
D) extent of the organization's global activities
E) scale of the organization's domestic activities

Question 26

Fixed costs are expenses that do not change, regardless of volume.

Question 27

Research has shown that companies with advanced environmental scanning systems have __________.

A) lower rates of employee turnover
B) lower rates of business failure
C) faster market reaction times
D) increased profits and revenue growth
E) higher product manufacturing costs

Question 28

Project management differs from managing a production line because of the temporary nature of most projects and project teams.

Question 29

One of the fastest-growing areas of environmental scanning is __________.

A) regression analysis
B) competitor intelligence
C) reengineering
D) forecasting
E) time series analysis

Question 30

To compute a breakeven point, a manager needs to know the unit price of the product being sold, the fixed cost per unit, and the total variable cost.

Question 31

Which of the following is an accurate statement concerning the process of competitor intelligence gathering?

A) It is legal but unethical.
B) It is time-consuming and costly to gather.
C) The vast majority of what managers need to know about competitors can be found out from their own employees, suppliers, and customers.
D) It typically involves organizational spying.
E) It is typically illegal and unethical.

Question 32

The goal of forecasting is to provide managers with __________.

A) accurate predictions of trends and events
B) decisions about what customers will be demanding and when
C) information about the dynamics of environmental change
D) information that will facilitate decision making
E) accurate predictions in dynamic environments

Question 33

Quantitative forecasting applies a set of mathematical rules to __________.

A) develop predictions of outcomes from customers' opinions
B) a series of past data to predict outcomes
C) support the opinions of experts
D) estimate the number of products that should be produced at a given time
E) combine estimates from sales personnel of customers' expected purchases

Question 34

Three techniques that help managers assess their organization's environment are __________.

A) strategic planning, environmental scanning, and TQM
B) forecasting, budgeting, and time management
C) budgeting, environmental scanning, time series analysis
D) benchmarking, planning, and evaluating
E) environmental scanning, forecasting, and benchmarking

Question 35

Competitor intelligence allows managers to do which of the following?

A) take preemptive action against competitors
B) cut costs below the competition
C) increase market diversification
D) anticipate competitor actions
E) assess the intellectual capital of competitors' managers and employees

Question 36

Scenario planning is most useful in forecasting events that cannot be anticipated.

Question 37

Which of the following is a qualitative forecasting technique?

A) regression models
B) customer evaluation
C) substitution effect
D) economic indicators
E) time series analysis

Question 38

The task of getting a project's activities done on time, within budget, and according to specifications is called project management.

Question 39

What type of forecasting technique relies on the judgment and opinion of knowledgeable individuals?

A) qualitative
B) short term
C) confirmatory
D) predictive
E) quantitative

Question 40

Environmental scanning establishes the basis for __________.

A) project management
B) forecasting
C) reengineering
D) budgeting
E) performance management systems

Question 41

Which of the following allows managers to monitor the interdependent activities of a project's progress, identify possible bottlenecks, and shift resources as necessary in order to keep the project on schedule?

A) Gantt chart
B) PERT network
C) load chart
D) breakeven analysis
E) linear programming

Question 42

Which planning tool uses a bar graph to show output, both planned and actual, over a period of time?

A) PERT network
B) expense budget
C) breakeven analysis
D) linear programming
E) Gantt chart

Question 43

Which of the following is a good suggestion for improving forecasting effectiveness?

A) never compare forecasts to a "no change" scenario
B) increase the length of forecasts to improve their accuracy
C) utilize the "half-life" estimation model
D) use complex forecasting methods
E) employ multiple forecasting methods whenever possible

Question 44

__________ budget predicts future sales.

A) expense
B) profit
C) revenue
D) variable
E) cash

Question 45

Gantt charts were developed to help managers perform __________.

A) budgeting
B) benchmarking
C) regression analysis
D) scheduling
E) linear programming

Question 46

Which of the following is good advice for improving budgeting?

A) Remember that budgets are not tools.
B) Let budgets drive goals.
C) Coordinate budgeting throughout the organization.
D) Do not use budgeting planning software.
E) Remember that profits result from budgets.

Question 47

Sean is the marketing manager for Mega Computers. He is trying to predict how many more units they can sell in Western Canada next quarter by increasing advertising expenditures by 20 percent. Which specific forecasting technique should Sean use?

A) regression models
B) customer evaluation
C) substitution effect
D) economic indicators
E) time series analysis

Question 48

Jill is trying to predict next quarter's sales for her company by analyzing five years of previous sales data. Which specific forecasting technique should Jill use?

A) regression models
B) customer evaluation
C) substitution effect
D) economic indicators
E) time series analysis

Question 49

One suggestion for improving forecasting effectiveness is to __________.

A) increase the length of forecasts to improve their accuracy
B) base your forecast on a single model whenever possible
C) always employ global forecasting
D) use simple forecasting methods
E) assume that you can accurately identify turning points in a trend

Question 50

If managers at Sharp Canada wanted to predict the effect of LCD televisions on the sale of conventional televisions, they should use which quantitative forecasting technique?

A) regression models
B) customer evaluation
C) substitution effect
D) economic indicators
E) time series analysis

Question 51

A __________ schedules resource capacity by work area.

A) Gantt chart
B) load chart
C) PERT network
D) breakeven analysis
E) linear program

Question 52

Which of the following is true concerning benchmarking?

A) Benchmarking always involves analyzing a competitor.
B) Benchmarking is most effective when analyzing within your own industry.
C) Benchmarking may involve analyzing a company with a completely different product.
D) Benchmarking foreign companies is not suggested due to cultural differences.
E) Benchmarking results in faster growth but reduced productivity.

Question 53

A profit budget __________.

A) projects future sales
B) forecasts cash on hand and how much will be needed
C) lists primary activities and allocates a dollar amount to each
D) assumes a fixed level of sales
E) combines revenue and expense budgets

Question 54

A __________ is a flow chart diagram that depicts the sequence of activities needed to complete a project and the time or costs associated with each activity.

A) Gantt chart
B) decision tree
C) load chart
D) linear program
E) PERT network

Question 55

Jill is worried that her company may not have sufficient funds to cover projected expenses. She needs to analyze the __________ budget.

A) expense
B) profit
C) revenue
D) variable
E) cash

Question 56

When General Motors surveys its car dealers to determine which styles and quantities of cars are desired across Canada, they are using which specific forecasting technique?

A) regression models
B) customer evaluation
C) substitution effect
D) economic indicators
E) time series analysis

Question 57

Sue's boss has asked her to prepare a progress report on the upcoming exhibition. Several activities have already been completed, some are ahead of schedule, and others are behind schedule. A simple tool that Sue could use to visually present the progress report is a __________.

A) Gantt chart
B) linear program
C) decision tree
D) PERT network
E) forecast matrix

Question 58

Searching for the best practices among competitors or noncompetitors that lead to their superior performance is called __________.

A) corporate espionage
B) environmental scanning
C) substitution effect
D) competitive intelligence
E) benchmarking

Question 59

In a PERT network, __________ is the amount of time an individual activity can be delayed without delaying the whole project.

A) delay time
B) slack time
C) the critical path
D) crash time
E) critical time

Question 60

If a project requires coordinating hundreds of activities, some of which must be done simultaneously and some of which cannot begin until earlier activities have been completed, which of the following tools should be used?

A) Gantt chart
B) breakeven analysis
C) load chart
D) PERT network
E) linear programming

Question 61

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions.
Dave's Doughnuts (Scenario)
Dave Glazer is the owner of Dave's Doughnuts, a five-store chain of doughnut shops located in the Okanagan region of British Columbia. At weekly management meetings, Dave asks each of the five store managers to report on local trends and new customer requests.
Dave likes to keep informed about business trends and reads the industry magazine Doughnut Digest every month. Each year he attends the National Conference of Doughnut Makers and updates his managers upon his return. These activities are examples of __________.

A) strategic planning
B) time series analysis
C) environmental scanning
D) corporate espionage
E) forecasting

Question 62

The final step in the project planning process is to __________.

A) establish sequences
B) identify activities and resources
C) determine project completion date
D) define objectives
E) determine additional resource requirements

Question 63

The role of project manager remains difficult because she or he is managing people who __________.

A) will make mistakes during the project
B) might be absent from work on the day of an important presentation
C) are not skilled enough to participate in the project
D) are still linked to their permanent work areas
E) are not motivated to complete the project

Question 64

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions.
Dave's Doughnuts (Scenario)
Dave Glazer is the owner of Dave's Doughnuts, a five-store chain of doughnut shops located in the Okanagan region of British Columbia. At weekly management meetings, Dave asks each of the five store managers to report on local trends and new customer requests.
Dave recently conducted an experiment with three new cooking oils in his stores. Customers were invited to participate in a taste-preference test of three sample doughnuts, one for each of the oils: N, O, and W. Based on the results of this test, Dave concluded that oil N was the favourite. Which planning technique was Dave using in this instance?

A) quantitative forecasting
B) global scanning
C) regression analysis
D) qualitative forecasting
E) benchmarking

Question 65

A __________ is a consistent view of what the future is likely to be.

A) scenario
B) program
C) project
D) strategic plan
E) PERT network

Question 66

The Chilliwack Volunteer Fire Department is selling cookbooks as a fundraiser. Each cookbook costs $3 to produce, and total fixed costs are $400. If the cookbooks sell for $8 each, how many have to be sold to break even?

A) 50
B) 75
C) 80
D) 100
E) 200

Question 67

Often, the only real influence that project managers have is __________.

A) their ability to keep the project moving forward
B) their communication skills and their powers of persuasion
C) the ability of the supplier to deliver
D) the legitimate power to reward or punish subordinates based on their performance
E) their insistence that the project be finished according to plans

Question 68

In order to compute the breakeven point, a manager needs to know the unit price of the product being sold, the variable cost per unit, and __________.

A) total number of units sold
B) manufacturing costs per unit
C) total fixed costs
D) total variable costs
E) total manufacturing costs

Question 69

Which technique is widely used to help managers make profit projections?

A) factor analysis
B) cost accounting
C) breakeven analysis
D) PERT network analysis
E) linear programming

Question 70

Krazy Key Chains sell for $1.00 each. If variable costs are $0.50 each and total fixed costs are $2,500, what is the profit if 10,000 units are sold?

A) $5,000
B) $10,000
C) $2,500
D) $7,500
E) $6,000

Question 71

In a PERT network, the critical path is the __________.

A) central guideline that other activities feed in to
B) checkpoint for comparing standards of completion
C) most time-consuming sequence of events and activities
D) most costly path in the project schedule
E) quickest and most direct route to project completion

Question 72

Which of the following is a requirement of linear programming?

A) abundant resources
B) The goal must be outcome optimization.
C) There must be only one way to combine resources.
D) There must be a nonlinear relationship between variables.
E) A change in one variable must be accompanied by a greater change in the other.

Question 73

The intent of scenario planning is to __________.

A) predict future events that cannot be anticipated
B) prepare contingency plans that increase uncertainty
C) prepare for unexpected events
D) forecast random events
E) reduce uncertainty by playing out potential situations under different conditions

Question 74

Krazy Key Chains sell for $1.00 each. If variable costs are $0.50 each and total fixed costs are $2,500, how many key chains must be sold to break even?

A) 5,000
B) 10,000
C) 2,500
D) 1,500
E) 2,367

Question 75

The first step in the project planning process is to __________.

A) establish sequences
B) identify activities and resources
C) determine project completion date
D) define objectives
E) determine manpower requirements

Question 76

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions.
Dave's Doughnuts (Scenario)
Dave Glazer is the owner of Dave's Doughnuts, a five-store chain of doughnut shops located in the Okanagan region of British Columbia. At weekly management meetings, Dave asks each of the five store managers to report on local trends and new customer requests.
Occasionally, Dave will purchase a popular new doughnut from a competitor and send it to a food laboratory in Vancouver for analysis. The lab provides a breakdown of the ingredients so Dave can learn the competitor's secrets. Dave is engaging in which process?

A) process reengineering
B) regression analysis
C) product deconstruction
D) qualitative forecasting
E) reverse engineering

Question 77

Which of the following is an example of a fixed cost?

A) property taxes
B) energy costs
C) labour costs
D) raw materials
E) production inputs

Question 78

If a retail sales manager wants to know how many denim jackets must be sold in order to achieve a specified profit objective, she should use which planning tool?

A) breakeven analysis
B) PERT network analysis
C) Gantt chart
D) cost accounting
E) load chart

Question 79

The Chilliwack Volunteer Fire Department is selling cookbooks as a fundraiser. Each cookbook costs $3 to produce, and total fixed costs are $400. If the cookbooks sell for $8 each, how many do they have to sell to earn a $5,000 profit?

A) 540
B) 1,080
C) 2,160
D) 2,334
E) 5,000

Question 80

If there is a linear relationship between two variables, then a change in one variable must be accompanied by __________ in the other variable.

A) no change
B) an exactly proportional change
C) a larger change
D) a disproportionally inverse change
E) a smaller change