Question 1

Refer to Volkswagen. Bernd Pischetsrieder exercised the organizing function when he made decisions about how to replace retiring managers. His decisions will, in turn, affect which management function as new managers come on board?

Accepted Answer

These decisions will determine the quality and character of VW's leadership going forward.

Question 2

There have been several studies of managers who fail (derailers) and managers who succeed in climbing the organizational hierarchy (arrivers). Which of the following statements describes a significant fact learned from these studies?

Accepted Answer

B, C, and D describe derailers rather than arrivers. E is only a general description of the studies and does not describe a significant fact.

Question 3

After their first year of managerial experience, managers tend to:

Accepted Answer

The answer of After their first year of managerial experience,...

Question 4

Refer to Krispy Kreme. Which management function had Rudolph not performed at the time of his death?

Accepted Answer

Rudolph had not planned for a smooth succession of top management.

Question 5

Creating a competitive advantage through people relies heavily on the use of which skill to reward people for providing exceptional customer service?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Creating a competitive advantage through people relies...

Question 6

Leon Dodd is a member of a self-managed team at Standard Aero Alliance, Inc. (SAAI). His team's top priorities are understanding customer requirements and expectations. It would appear that SAAI is:

Accepted Answer

The use of self-managed teams is one management practice suggested as a way to create a competitive advantage through employees.

Question 7

Refer to Volkswagen. The restructuring efforts mainly involved which of the management functions?

Accepted Answer

Organizing is deciding where decisions will be made, who will do what jobs and tasks, and who will work for whom. The restructuring of VW involved mainly personnel issues.

Question 8

After a year as a manager, new managers typically realize their job is:

Accepted Answer

As a manager, the primary responsibility is to manage people and facilitate their work. While problem-solving and troubleshooting are certainly important aspects of management, they are secondary to the success and well-being of the individuals comprising the team. Managing tasks is also important, but it is secondary to ensuring that the team is functioning at its best.

Question 9

What type of skills tends to be equally important at all levels of management?

Accepted Answer

Human skills, which refer to the ability to work effectively with others and build relationships, are important at all levels of management. This includes being able to communicate clearly, collaborate with others, and empathize with colleagues and stakeholders. While technical skills and conceptual skills may be more important at certain levels of management (e.g. technical skills for lower-level managers and conceptual skills for higher-level managers), human skills are necessary across the board.

Question 10

There have been several studies of managers who fail (derailers) and managers who succeed in climbing the organizational hierarchy (arrivers). Which of the following statements describes one of the facts learned from these studies?

Accepted Answer

Both arrivers and derailers are talented. Arrivers have weaknesses just like derailers. Arrivers typically have no more than one fatal flaw. The number one mistake of derailers is that they are insensitive to the needs of others.

Question 11

Refer to Krispy Kreme. As the CEO of Krispy Kreme, Rudolph would have been responsible for:

Accepted Answer

All of these are basic responsibilities of top managers.

Question 12

Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme is a relatively small doughnut seller. It has only 292 stores in the United States, while Dunkin Donuts has 3,600 outlets. The company originated in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where it still operates a plant that fills a 50-pound bag with doughnut mix every seven seconds. It recently opened a new plant in Effingham, Illinois, that fills a bag every three seconds. This second plant allows the company to reduce costs while increasing its output. The company began in the mid-1930s when Vernon Rudolph bought a secret recipe for yeast doughnuts from a French pastry cook. Rudolph ran the company until his death in 1973.
-Refer to Krispy Kreme. The building of the Effingham plant increased the ____ of the Krispy Kreme operation.

Accepted Answer

Efficiency is getting work done with a minimum of effort, expense, or waste.

Question 13

Refer to Krispy Kreme. To be successful, managers need four skills. The fact that Rudolph was a skilled baker when he purchased the secret doughnut recipe indicates he had ____ skills.

Accepted Answer

Technical skills are the defined as the ability to apply the specialized procedures, techniques, and knowledge required to get the job done. In this case, Rudolph possessed the technical skills of a baker.

Question 14

Volkswagen
Bernd Pischetsrieder, chief executive of Volkswagen, announced restructuring plans for the company. VW is Europe's largest carmaker and needed to make itself profitable once again. To do so, VW cut thousands of jobs in the ensuing years through natural attrition, early retirement, and buying workers out of their contracts. The carmaker also considered whether its component parts factories in Brunswick, Kassel, and Wolfsburg were helping VW accomplish its organizational goal. Pischetsrieder blamed much of the company's problems on restructuring that was done in 1993. He insisted that the company is missing a whole generation of managers because its former CEO eliminated a whole layer of management. Now, 45 percent of managers were expected to go into retirement in the following three or four years.
-Refer to Volkswagen. VW is examining the ____ of its component parts factories.

Accepted Answer

Effectiveness is accomplishing tasks that help fulfill organizational goals.

Question 15

Which of the following management practices can be used by an organization that wants to create a competitive advantage through its employees?

Accepted Answer

All of these management practices can be used to create a competitive advantage through its employees. Self-managed teams can increase productivity and innovation, employment security can lead to greater job satisfaction and commitment, high wages contingent on organizational performance can motivate employees to work harder and achieve better outcomes, and sharing information can promote collaboration and better decision-making.

Question 16

Wainscott Finch, a Fortune 500 management consulting firm, conducts Project Management Preparatory Academies for its clients in which participants spend 70 hours learning how to create a differential competitive advantage through their employees. Why?

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that managers have an important effect on customer satisfaction because they are responsible for how satisfied their employees are at their jobs. Satisfied employees provide much better customer service.

Question 17

After six months as a manager, new managers typically believe their job is:

Accepted Answer

The answer of After six months as a manager, new...

Question 18

Which skills increase in their importance to success as managers' rise through the managerial ranks?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which skills increase in their importance to...

Question 19

As the shift supervisor at a car wash, Jacob is bossy, arrogant, and insensitive to the needs of his subordinates. He is unable to delegate any tasks to the other employees. He will more than likely never be a middle or top manager because he:

Accepted Answer

The number one mistake made by derailers is their insensitivity to others.

Question 20

The ability to perform ____ increases in its importance to success as managers' rise through the managerial ranks.

Accepted Answer

As managers rise through the ranks, their focus shifts from technical skills to conceptual skills. Conceptual skills involve the ability to see the organization as a whole and understanding how each part fits into the larger picture. This is particularly important at higher levels of management where decision-making is much broader and impacts the entire organization. While interpersonal and human skills are important at all levels, conceptual skills become more critical as one moves up the managerial ladder.

Quiz 1: Management