Deck 2: The Evolution of Management Thought

Question 1

The only universally accepted theory of management is the systems approach.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

According to Henri Fayol's unity of command principle, each employee should receive orders from only one superior..

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The field of management is presently experiencing information overload.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

According to the universalist or functional approach to management, administration of public and private organizations requires different processes.

Question 5

Chain of command refers to who is ultimately responsible for getting things done.

Question 6

When studying management, history and historical perspective do not matter because management is a new, forward-looking field.

Question 7

According to Henri Fayol, a manager's job can be divided into the following five areas of responsibility: planning, organizing, leading, motivating, and controlling.

Question 8

The operational approach to management focuses on improving efficiency and quality.

Question 9

Management has been practiced for thousands of years.

Question 10

The universal process approach is the oldest, and one of the most popular, approaches to management.

Question 11

In early cultures, management was something one learned by word of mouth and trial and error, rather than something one studied.

Question 12

According to Fayol's centralization principle, the right to give orders must be centralized and the responsibility decentralized.

Question 13

We gain a better understanding of the present by taking a historical perspective.

Question 14

Founded in 1623, the Zildjian Company attributes its success to good management principles and an appreciation for the company legacy that keeps everyone focused on preserving the business for the long haul.

Question 15

The interdisciplinary nature of management is a principal cause of the information explosion in management theory.

Question 16

The Zildjian Company has an estimated 65% of the world cymbal market. They attribute this success to sticking with one product and never making changes.

Question 17

There is virtually no evidence of Henry Fayol's universal process approach in today's management literature.

Question 18

Business management courses were not taught in the U.S. until the end of World War II.

Question 19

Women and men from around the globe have been contributors to management theory and practice.

Question 20

Subordinates should observe the formal chain of command unless expressly authorized by their respective superiors to communicate with each other. Fayol called this the scalar chain.

Question 21

The legal formation of labor unions was an important historical influence behind the human relations movement.

Question 22

Frederick Taylor's scientific management movement involved standardization, time and task study, systematic selection and training, and pay incentives.

Question 23

Douglas McGregor's Theory Y assumes people are energetic and creative individuals capable of achieving great things if given the opportunity.

Question 24

The concept of a fishbone diagram, or doing it right the first time, was promoted by Philip B. Crosby.

Question 25

The Hawthorne studies concluded that productivity was affected less by changes in work conditions than by the attitudes of the workers.

Question 26

Henry L. Gantt humanized Frederick Taylor's differential piece-rate plan by combining a guaranteed day rate (minimum wage) with an above-standard bonus.

Question 27

Frederick Taylor and the early scientific management proponents have been praised for viewing workers as complex beings, not mindless machines who work just for money.

Question 28

According to scientific management, workers produced more when paid by the hour.

Question 29

Whereas scientific management is limited largely to hand labor and machine shops, operations management specialists apply their expertise to all types of production and service operations.

Question 30

The performance of a select group of employees in the Hawthorne studies tended to improve, no matter how the physical surroundings were manipulated.

Question 31

According to Armand V. Feigenbaum, quality is determined by the customer.

Question 32

Douglas McGregor's Theory Y assumes that most will only do as their told and that employees prefer to be directed.

Question 33

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were dedicated to finding the one best way to do every job.

Question 34

Frederick Taylor's scientific management studies began in 1924 in a Western Electric plant near Chicago.

Question 35

The idea that "satisfied employees would be less inclined to join unions" was proposed by early human relations theory after the Wagner Act was passed.

Question 36

The idea that most people dislike work, and will avoid it when they can, is a Theory Y assumption, according to McGregor.

Question 37

A Pareto analysis can be used to separate major problems from minor ones by determining the 20 percent of possible causes leading to 80 percent of all problems.

Question 38

As an advocate of employee rights, Frederick Taylor believed in letting workers determine their own way of doing tasks.

Question 39

Mary Parker Follett viewed organizations as technical systems.

Question 40

Advocates of the behavioral approach to management argue that profits must be the central focus of organized activity, since without profits the organization cannot exist.

Question 41

Bivariate analysis is a research technique used to determine how a combination of variables interacts to cause a particular outcome.

Question 42

Given that a battery-powered digital watch runs without help from the outside environment, it could be described as a relatively closed system, after the battery is in place.

Question 43

Systems theorists studied management by taking things apart.

Question 44

Complex adaptive systems cannot be changed.

Question 45

The contingency approach to management amounts to a purely situational view.

Question 46

Closed-system thinking is fundamental to the contingency view.

Question 47

Everything belongs to only one system 3/4 the solar system, according to general systems theory.

Question 48

According to Chester Barnard's early systems model, the principal elements in an organization are willingness to serve, common purpose, and communication.

Question 49

The behavioral approach to management makes it clear to present and future managers that people are the key to productivity.

Question 50

In order to avoid the quick-fix mentality, which makes management by best-seller so tempting, managers should ensure that recommendations are based on science or, at least, on some form of rigorous documentation, rather than purely on advocacy.

Question 51

Management theory probably will not evolve beyond the contingency approach.

Question 52

The most significant contribution of contingency theory has been the identification of the one best way to manage.

Question 53

Chester Barnard's systems perspective has encouraged management and organization theorists to study organizations as complex and dynamic wholes instead of piece by piece.

Question 54

A commonality between chaos theory and organizational learning is the concept that systems are influenced by feedback.

Question 55

The contingency approach is strictly theoretical 3/4 not research-oriented.

Question 56

The contingency approach is a helpful addition to management thought because it emphasizes situational appropriateness.

Question 57

Practical and relevant multivariate analyses are what contingency management theorists strive to carry out.

Question 58

The three characteristics of the contingency approach are a multivariate approach, an open-system perspective, and a practical research orientation.

Question 59

Organizational learning advocates say organizations can learn from experience, just as people do.

Question 60

According to the contingency approach, different situations require different managerial responses.

Question 61

The Zildjian Company has achieved long-term success in part, because they are guided by their core values. Which of the following is NOT one of their core values?

A) innovation
B) craftsmanship
C) avoiding risk taking
D) empowering employees
E) customer collaboration

Question 62

Chris Randert, the CEO of Randert Printing Company, remarked in a recent speech that specialization of labor will be necessary for his company's success. Which of Henry Fayol's principles of management was he referring to?

A) Unity of command
B) Division of Work
C) Unity of direction
D) Scalar chain
E) Authority

Question 63

The functional approach to management is also known as the

A) systems approach.
B) behavioral approach.
C) excellence approach.
D) operational approach.
E) universal process approach.

Question 64

The Zildjian Company's key to success is

A) their secret strategy
B) good management practices
C) avoiding risky R&D (research and development)
D) buying their competitors
E) their location

Question 65

____ refers to who is ultimately responsible for getting things done.

A) Specialization of labor
B) Chain of command
C) Communication
D) Delegation
E) Authority

Question 66

The field of management can be described as

A) interdisciplinary
B) applied social science
C) little more than common sense
D) highly scientific
E) seriously out of date

Question 67

Imagine that you work for Laura Rice. She believes that you will be a devoted and loyal employee if she treats you with a combination of kindliness and justice. This belief refers to which of Henry Fayol's principles of management?

A) Equity
B) Stability and tenure of personnel
C) Centralization
D) Scalar chain
E) Discipline

Question 68

Where did the pioneering contributors to management theory and practice come from?

A) Around the globe
B) The United States
C) The Western Hemisphere
D) The Third World countries
E) The Eastern Hemisphere

Question 69

The universal process approach assumes that

A) managing in public and private organizations is basically the same.
B) small organizations are hardest to manage.
C) management is not practiced in small organizations.
D) managing in public and private organizations is completely different.
E) it is more difficult to manage public organizations.

Question 70

Which of Henry Fayol's principles indicates that the right to give orders must accompany responsibility?

A) Unity of direction
B) Discipline
C) Unity of command
D) Scalar chain
E) Authority

Question 71

Which approach is the oldest, and one of the most popular, approaches to management thought?

A) Contingency
B) Universal process
C) Operational
D) Systems theory
E) Behavioral

Question 72

Which of the following is not one of the approaches to management discussed in the text?

A) The systems approach
B) The contingency approach
C) The universal process approach
D) The multinational approach
E) The behavioral approach

Question 73

Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple sets the record straight on many factual errors written about him including that he dropped out of college (he didn't). His story reminds managers that they should

A) research only online using sites such as Wikipedia
B) always trust data that has been published in books
C) validate the real story by going to the person who is the subject of the article
D) always trust data that has been published in journals
E) validate the real story by going to the person writing the article or publication

Question 74

Henry Fayol's 14 Universal Principles of Management includes ___________, the principle that specialization of labor is necessary for organizational success.

A) discipline
B) authority
C) the chain of command
D) the division of work
E) the unity of direction

Question 75

Which of these best describes the body of management knowledge today?

A) Japan-dominated
B) Disappearing
C) Experiencing information overload
D) Severely limited
E) Unified

Question 76

____ is one of Henry Fayol's five functions or areas of managerial responsibility.

A) Cooperation
B) Control
C) Optimization
D) Leading
E) Communicating

Question 77

Which one of these is NOT one of Henry Fayol's 14 universal principles of management?

A) Esprit de corps
B) Equity
C) Authority
D) Diversity
E) Centralization

Question 78

To reduce employee confusion, Star Cruise Company recently instituted a policy stating that an employee should receive orders from only one supervisor. Which of Henry Fayol's principles of management relates to this policy?

A) Unity of command
B) Unity of purpose
C) Scalar chain
D) Authority
E) Esprit de corps

Question 79

As an area of academic study, management is essentially a product of

A) the sixteenth century.
B) the British system.
C) the twentieth century.
D) trial and errors.
E) corporate America.

Question 80

Frenchman Henri Fayol's management writings were influenced by

A) Chester I. Barnard.
B) his thirty years as a college professor.
C) his experience as an administrator.
D) his military experience.
E) his wife, Mary Parker Follett.