Deck 1: The Changing World of Management

Question 1

The hyper-competitive nature of today's business environment has led to a paradigm shift in management practices; managers are now placing more emphasis on innovation and moving away from relentless cost controls.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Industries, technologies, economies, governments and societies are constantly changing, and managers are responsible for helping their organisations navigate through the unpredictable environments with rigidity and strict controls.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

In responding to the demands of the new management paradigm, organisations need flexible and agile managers as well as a culture that embraces change.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

According to Peter Drucker, the job of a manager is summed up in these five tasks: set objectives; organise; motivate and communicate; measure and develop people.

Question 5

The five tasks performed by a manager as proposed by Peter Drucker do not fall into the core management functions: planning, organising, leading and controlling.

Question 6

Irrespective of the job situation, managers perform numerous and varied tasks that are beyond the scope of the four (4) primary functions of a manager.

Question 7

As a manager, good leading involves understanding the business environment and how it is changing, predicting changes as best as you can, and considering how to position the organisation to make its goods and services attractive.

Question 8

Usually the assigning of tasks, grouping of tasks into departments and allocating resources to the department to accomplish objectives follow the planning process.

Question 9

In times of uncertainty, fierce competition and increasing diversity, a manager's ability to lead by shaping culture, communicating goals and motivating employees is critical to business success.

Question 10

The important skills required to manage a department or an organisation can be categorised into: conceptual; human; technical; and organising.

Question 11

Poor human skills is the single most important contributor to organisational failure in today's rapidly changing business environment.

Question 12

An important determinant of the manager's job is the hierarchical level.

Question 13

Afshan is a manager at Tesla. Primarily, she is tasked with monitoring both the external and internal business environment, and determining the best strategies for the organisation to remain competitive. Her role is an example of a top-level manager.

Question 14

The first-level managers are concerned less with individual performance and more with linking groups to people such as coordinating teams.

Question 15

Managers at the middle and first-line management hierarchical levels may also have horizontal project manager responsibilities in their organisations.

Question 16

Top managers are responsible for communicating a shared vision for the organisation, shaping corporate culture and nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit that can help organisations innovate and keep pace with the volatile business environment. This is an indication that managers at this level need more of human skills for them to be effective.

Question 17

A first-line manager is basically responsible for a temporary work project that involves the participation of other people in the organisation.

Question 18

At the hierarchical level, supervisory and middle managers highly play leader roles than liaison roles as compared to top managers who are more of liaisons than leaders.

Question 19

Managers in small companies often see their most important role as that of spokesperson because they must promote the small, growing company to the outside world.

Question 20

Australian managers are faced with myriad challenges, however, one of the most important challenges for them in the business context is:

A) the need to maintain a competitive health package for employees
B) the compliance with regulatory laws
C) the need to emphasise effectiveness over efficiency
D) exposure to the sharp competitive forces of the Asian, American and European marketplaces
E) the need to pay labour cost.

Question 21

The new management approach requires managers to possess the following competencies except:

A) being an enabler
B) leading teams
C) maintaining stability in relation to designing
D) managing relationships by collaboration
E) leading by empowering others.

Question 22

The question of what managers actually do to plan, organise, lead and control was first answered by:

A) Henry Mintzberg
B) Henri Fayol
C) Michael Porter
D) Frederick Taylor
E) Fred Fiedler.

Question 23

The recent research in management maintains that managers least enjoy the following activities except:

A) controlling subordinates
B) leading innovation
C) handling paperwork
D) managing time pressures
E) none of these choices.

Question 24

Raul, the CEO of Golden Bricks, believes that the most important task he undertakes as a manager is establishing goals for the organisation and deciding what must be done to realise them. This is an activity of which management function?

A) organising
B) developing people
C) planning
D) leading
E) none of these choices.

Question 25

Sharon was asked to join the promotion review committee by the CEO because of her expertise in recognising the value of employees and developing this critical organisational asset. Sharon's expertise is related to which management function?

A) develop people
B) organise
C) set objectives
D) measure
E) motivate and communicate.

Question 26

Which of the following activities best describes the organising function of a manager?

A) using influence to motivate employees
B) communicating organisational goals to employees
C) monitoring activities and making correction
D) setting objectives with and for team members
E) none of these choices.

Question 27

When Jeff Bezos, owner of the Post, decided to stay out of the paper's editorial matters but hold meetings with the top management of the organisation every fortnight to get updates on distribution strategy, the status of technological upgrades and other important issues concerning the digital makeover, he was performing the function of?

A) motivating and communicating
B) controlling
C) leading
D) setting objectives
E) developing people.

Question 28

Non-managers of an organisation are expected to possess the most of which of the followings skills to ensure effective performance?

A) reporting skills
B) technical skills
C) human skills
D) conceptual skills
E) none of these choices.

Question 29

The human skills of a manager are a demonstration of how they relate to other people, including the ability to:

A) motivate
B) facilitate
C) coordinate
D) lead
E) all of these choices.

Question 30

James was adjudged the best customer service personnel for the week due to his sterling performance in handling the aggrieved customers from the union. This is an example of organisational:

A) business modelling
B) effectiveness
C) climate
D) goal setting
E) all of these choices.

Question 31

Claire was the quality control manager at Cadbury for seven years before she was promoted into the general manager role to oversee operations at the New Zealand plant. In her new position, which hierarchical level is Claire now?

A) middle manager
B) top manager
C) first-line manager
D) department manager
E) all of these choices.

Question 32

Adele is an effective oversight of the business processes in the Marketing and Sales unit. What manager is Adele?

A) general manager
B) information services manager
C) first-line manager
D) department manager
E) none of these choices.

Question 33

A person who combines his conceptual, human and technical skills to effectively and efficiently execute a single functional task while managing a group of employees with similar training and skills, is a?

A) middle manager
B) top manager
C) leader
D) functional manager
E) all of these choices.

Question 34

Although a managerial role is appealing and positive, potential managers need to consider the following before making the decision to a management career.

A) the increased workload
B) the challenge of supervising former peers
C) the headache of responsibility for other people
D) being caught in the middle
E) all of these choices.

Question 35

The new CEO of the company manages through actions. This is an indication that he is a/an:

A) entrepreneur
B) disturbance handler
C) resource allocator
D) negotiator
E) all of these choices.

Question 36

In the organising function of a manager, he or she decides on who gets resources; schedule, budget, set priorities, etc. What specific role is the managing playing?

A) entrepreneur
B) resource allocator
C) disturbance handler
D) negotiator
E) none of these choices

Question 37

Which of the following is tasked to drive innovation and enable organisations to respond to the rapid shift in the business environment?

A) employees working on the production line
B) group head
C) CEO
D) department head
E) first-line manager

Question 38

The general manager of P&P manufacturing plant in Denmark was tasked to resolve the dispute between the two factions and to take corrective actions in response to the production crisis. This is an example of which of the following roles?

A) disseminator
B) leader
C) disturbance handler
D) negotiator
E) monitor.

Question 39

According to Mintzberg, when Ludi initiates improvement projects and identifies new ideas to make her organisation more effective, she is performing which of the following roles?

A) disseminator
B) leader
C) disturbance handler
D) entrepreneur
E) none of these choices.

Question 40

As a negotiator for his department, George is supposed to:

A) represent the department's interest and bargain for better welfare packages for the members
B) take corrective action during conflicts or crisis
C) perform ceremonial and symbolic duties
D) seek and receive information from various social media platforms
E) transmit information to outsiders through speeches, reports, etc.

Question 41

If Jessie Jones uses his conceptual and human skills to initiate change, resolve organisational conflicts among his subordinates, and to take important decisions on how much resources should be allocated to attain a desired outcome, he is said to be playing:

A) disseminator role
B) leader role
C) decisional role
D) entrepreneurial role
E) none of these choices

Question 42

Which of the following will small business owners and manager perceive as the most important role because they must promote their small, growing company.

A) disseminator
B) leader
C) liaison
D) negotiator
E) spokesperson.

Question 43

____________________ involves creating a shared culture and values, communicating goals to employees and infusing them with the desire to perform at a high level.

Question 44

Apples Inc business success can be attributed to Steve Jobs' ability to think strategically, and understand the broad, long-term view of the organisation within the sector. Steve Jobs put to use his ____________________ ?.

Question 45

James used his mastery of the methods, techniques and equipment in engineering to design the prototypes for Samsung's next generation of smart phones. James used his ____________________ to achieve this feat?.

Question 46

Financial resources for non-for-profit organisations typically come from government appropriations, ________________ and ___________________.

Question 47

____________________ encompasses an individual's specialised knowledge, analytical ability and the competent use of tools and techniques to solve problems in a specific discipline.

Question 48

Easol Motors has advertised a position for a manager who will be responsible for their assembly plant in Australia, and for all the functional departments within it. In this regard, Easol Motors is recruiting for a ____________________ .

Question 49

'Leaders can design wonderful strategies, but the success of the organisation resides in the execution of those strategies.' Therefore, it is the ____________________ who executes these strategies, drives innovation and enables organisations to respond to changing nature of the environment.

Question 50

Although they are both functional managers, ____________________ are responsible for the manufacturing and marketing departments that make and/or sell the products and services or an organisation, whereas ___________________ are those in charge of the support line departments such the finance and human resources.

Question 51

The question of what managers actually do to plan, organise, lead and control was first answered by _____________________________.

Question 52

Team leaders and non-managerial employees who are responsible for line and staff jobs need more of ____________________ skills to be effective.

Question 53

The set of expectations for one's behaviour in an organisation is termed as their ____________________

Question 54

Despite the huge amount of money Jodi takes at Deep Consult, she performs only ceremonial and symbolic duties such as greeting visitors, signing legal documents and being the face of the organisation. This is an indication that Jodi is a ____________________.

Question 55

According to Mintzberg, the varied roles played by managers can be organised into 10 roles which can further be divided into three categories namely: informational, interpersonal and ____________________

Question 56

James Gordon is adept at seeking current information from many sources and communicating the information to others both inside and outside the organisation. He has great finesse in public speaking thus he is usually used by the organisation to introduce their new products to the public. James is effectively playing an ____________________ role in the organisation.

Question 57

Andy is a representative from the bank who maintains the bank's information links inside and outside the organisation. In effect, Andy is playing a ____________________ role.

Question 58

Good planning overlaps with ____________________ - working out the details of the resources necessary to achieve the various set objectives, and how they will be marshalled.

Question 59

Identify the six (6) new competencies required to be successful under this new management paradigm.

Question 60

Peter Druker, the father of modern management, bundled together managers' activities by specifying five (5) tasks. Identify the five tasks.

Question 61

Distinguish between organisational effectiveness and organisational efficiency. Give a scenario each where managers are being effective and efficient.

Question 62

Managers differ across three hierarchical levels and their primary focus changes at different levels. Identify the three managers and briefly describe their function.

Question 63

Human skills have been identified as the most important skill for successful managers. Identify five human skill-related factors that contribute to managers' failure to achieve desired results.

Question 64

Identify the three roles managers of non-for-profit organisations are expected to emphasise more and how they contribute to organisational effectiveness.

Question 65

Mintzberg's research showed that the diverse roles of managers can be organised into 10 roles. Identify these roles and group them into the three conceptual categories.

Question 66

List and describe the three (3) main skills required at varying degrees depending on a manager's level to effectively and efficiently achieve organisational goals.

Question 67

Define organisation and specify the various elements of the definition to offer better understanding.

Question 68

The definition of management includes two important ideas. Discuss

Question 69

The success of an organisation is intricately linked with the application of a manager's major skills to the performance of his or her key roles. Discuss.

Question 70

Robert Jones has been appointed as the new manager to direct the operations of the finance department. His job description indicates that he is supposed to effectively play the three managerial roles since they will serve as one of the key performance indicators of the position. As the management consultant in charge of the transition exercise, describe these three categories of managerial roles and explain how they differ.

Question 71

Differentiate between an individual performer and a manager in your organisation giving cogent examples of the roles they both play.

Question 72

As the management consult contracted to develop the organisational structure for Afrikiko Ltd detailing the reporting lines within the company, discuss all the types of managers based on their hierarchical levels highlighting the vertical as well as horizontal distinctions.