Question 1

Strategy maps show the cause-and-effect links between environmental factors and preferred strategy.

Accepted Answer

As Kaplan and Norton state, "Strategy maps show the cause-and-effect links by which specific improvements create desired outcomes," such as objectives for revenue growth, targeted customer markets, the role of excellence and innovation in products, and so on.

Question 2

Strategic control is monitoring performance to ensure that day-to-day goals are being met and taking corrective action when needed.

Accepted Answer

Strategic control is monitoring performance to ensure that strategic plans are being implemented and taking corrective action as needed.

Question 3

A maximum 2% deviation from the standard is the acceptable level prescribed for control systems.

Accepted Answer

The acceptable deviation depends on the range of variation built into the standards when they were set.

Question 4

One of the reasons that measurement-managed firms succeed is that their organizational cultures tend to minimize risk taking.

Accepted Answer

Managers in measurement-managed companies more frequently reported strong teamwork and cooperation among the management team and more willingness to take risks.

Question 5

Measurement-managed companies are those in which senior management agrees on measureable criteria to determine strategic success.

Accepted Answer

In a survey, measurement-managed companies were those in which senior management reportedly agreed on measurable criteria for determining strategic success, and management updated and reviewed semiannual performance measures in three or more of six primary performance areas.The six areas were financial performance, operating efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee performance, innovation/change, and community/environment.

Question 6

An equipment control that monitors the use of computers is part of the informational area of organizational control.

Accepted Answer

The physical area of organizational control includes buildings, equipment, and tangible products.Examples include equipment controls to monitor the use of computers, cars, and other machinery.

Question 7

Except for in rare instances, employees at McLaren Professional Painting take responsibility for their own work and how it is done, rather than being governed by a rigid set of rules.McLaren is using bureaucratic control.

Accepted Answer

Decentralized control is an approach to organizational control that is characterized by informal and organic structural arrangements, the opposite of bureaucratic control.This form of control aims to get increased employee commitment, using the corporate culture, group norms, and workers taking responsibility for their performance.

Question 8

When performance exceeds the standards set in the control systems, managers should take no action.

Accepted Answer

When performance meets or exceeds the standards set, managers should give rewards, ranging from giving a verbal "Job well done" to more substantial payoffs such as raises, bonuses, and promotions to reinforce good behavior.

Question 9

Social responsibility and ethics make up one of the four indicators used in the balanced scorecard.

Accepted Answer

The balanced scorecard gives top managers a fast but comprehensive view of the organization via four indicators: (1) customer satisfaction, (2) internal processes, (3) innovation and improvement activities, and (4) financial measures.

Question 10

Financial measures like quarterly sales figures are not adequate for gauging changes in contemporary value-creating activities.

Accepted Answer

Financial measures such as quarterly sales have been criticized as being shortsighted and not reflecting contemporary value-creating activities.Moreover, critics say that traditional financial measures don't improve customer satisfaction, quality, or employee motivation.

Question 11

Tactical control is monitoring performance to ensure that divisional or departmental plans are being implemented and taking corrective action as needed.

Accepted Answer

Tactical control is monitoring performance to ensure that tactical plans, those at the divisional or departmental level, are being implemented and taking corrective action as needed.

Question 12

Drug tests at hiring are an example of the human resources area of organizational control.

Accepted Answer

The controls used to monitor employees in the human resources area of organizational control include personality tests and drug testing for hiring, performance tests during training, performance evaluations to measure work productivity, and employee surveys to assess job satisfaction and leadership.

Question 13

The three levels of control are strategic, tactical, and operational.

Accepted Answer

The three levels of control, which correspond to the three principal managerial levels, are strategic, tactical, and operational.

Question 14

A strategy map is a visual representation of the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard that enables managers to communicate their goals.

Accepted Answer

A strategy map is a visual representation of the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard that enables managers to communicate their goals so that everyone in the company can understand how their jobs are linked to the overall objectives of the organization.

Question 15

Computer information systems are helpful in the internal business perspective of the balanced scorecard.

Accepted Answer

The internal business perspective is what the company must do internally to meet its customers' expectations.These are business processes such as quality, employee skills, and productivity.Top management's judgment about key internal processes must be linked to measures of employee actions at the lower levels.Computer information systems can help, for example, in identifying late deliveries, tracing the problem to a particular plant.

Question 16

Decentralized control is most appropriate for an organization in which the tasks are explicit and certain.

Accepted Answer

Bureaucratic control works well in organizations in which the tasks are explicit and certain.While rigid, it can be an effective means of ensuring that performance standards are being met.

Question 17

Middle-level managers are responsible for operational control.

Accepted Answer

Operational control is done mainly by first-level managers, those with titles such as "department head," "team leader," or "supervisor."

Question 18

Bureaucratic control is characterized by the use of rules, regulations, and formal authority to guide performance.

Accepted Answer

Bureaucratic control is an approach to organizational control that is characterized by use of rules, regulations, and formal authority to guide performance.

Question 19

The balanced scorecard, also known as the triple bottom line, gives top managers a fast but comprehensive view of the organization via three indicators.

Accepted Answer

The balanced scorecard gives top managers a fast but comprehensive view of the organization via four indicators: (1) customer satisfaction, (2) internal processes, (3) innovation and improvement activities, and (4) financial measures.

Question 20

Management by exception is a control principle that states that managers should be informed of a situation only if data show a significant deviation from standards.

Accepted Answer

Management by exception is a control principle that states that managers should be informed of a situation only if data show a significant deviation from standards.

Quiz 16: Control Systems and Quality Management: Techniques for Enhancing Organizational Effectiveness

Strategy maps show the cause-and-effect links between environmental factors and preferred strategy.

Strategic control is monitoring performance to ensure that day-to-day goals are being met and taking corrective action when needed.

A maximum 2% deviation from the standard is the acceptable level prescribed for control systems.

One of the reasons that measurement-managed firms succeed is that their organizational cultures tend to minimize risk taking.

Measurement-managed companies are those in which senior management agrees on measureable criteria to determine strategic success.

An equipment control that monitors the use of computers is part of the informational area of organizational control.

Except for in rare instances, employees at McLaren Professional Painting take responsibility for their own work and how it is done, rather than being governed by a rigid set of rules.McLaren is using bureaucratic control.

When performance exceeds the standards set in the control systems, managers should take no action.

Social responsibility and ethics make up one of the four indicators used in the balanced scorecard.

Financial measures like quarterly sales figures are not adequate for gauging changes in contemporary value-creating activities.

Tactical control is monitoring performance to ensure that divisional or departmental plans are being implemented and taking corrective action as needed.

Drug tests at hiring are an example of the human resources area of organizational control.

The three levels of control are strategic, tactical, and operational.

A strategy map is a visual representation of the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard that enables managers to communicate their goals.

Computer information systems are helpful in the internal business perspective of the balanced scorecard.

Decentralized control is most appropriate for an organization in which the tasks are explicit and certain.

Middle-level managers are responsible for operational control.

Bureaucratic control is characterized by the use of rules, regulations, and formal authority to guide performance.

The balanced scorecard, also known as the triple bottom line, gives top managers a fast but comprehensive view of the organization via three indicators.

Management by exception is a control principle that states that managers should be informed of a situation only if data show a significant deviation from standards.