Deck 2: The Evolution of Management Thinking

Question 1

The earliest focus of management was on the things of production - the needs of people were often ignored in the interest of higher production efficiency and profit.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

As a proponent of the classic perspective of management, Frederick Taylor asserted that 'the best management is a true science, resting upon clearly defined laws, rules, and principles'.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

History has shown that there are two management perspectives: classical perspective and scientific perspective.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The practice of management dates back to 3000 BC when the first government organisations were developed by the Sumerians and Egyptians, however the formal study of management is relatively recent.

Question 5

Frederick W. Taylor was of the view that workers could be retooled like machines, their physical and mental gears recalibrated for better productivity.

Question 6

Although Frederick W. Taylor is known as the father of scientific management, other personalities such as Henry Gantt, Frank B. Gilbreth, Lillian M. Gilbreth and Max Weber, contributed significantly to the development of the subfield.

Question 7

The work of Frank B. Gilbreth, one of the important pioneers of Scientific Management, had great impact on medical surgery by drastically reducing the time that patients spent on the operating table.

Question 8

Frederick W. Taylor was of the belief that organisations that are managed based on rational authority would be more efficient and adaptable to change because continuity is related to formal structure and positions rather than to a particular person.

Question 9

In the late 1800s, managers of European organisations could not delineate their personal goals from that of organisational goals, hence the use of organisational resources to pursue personal goals.

Question 10

Scientific management and administrative principles are both subfields of the classical perspective. However, scientific management focused on the total organisation while administrative principles focused on the productivity of the individual worker.

Question 11

In Max Weber's work, General and Industrial Management, he discussed fourteen (14) principles of management including unity of command, division of work, unity of direction and scale chain.

Question 12

The overall classical perspective as an approach to management was very powerful and gave organisations fundamental new skills for establishing high productivity and effective treatment of employees.

Question 13

Information technology (IT) is the most recent subfield of management science that focuses on the needs of people. IT is often reflected in management information systems designed to provide relevant information to managers in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

Question 14

Management science has three subsets: operations research, operations management and operational technology.

Question 15

Douglas McGregor, an advocate of the human resources perspective, believed that the classical perspective of management was based on Theory X assumptions about workers, and that a slightly modified version of Theory X would fit early human relations ideas.

Question 16

McGregor's Theory Y maintains that organisations can capitalise on the imagination and intellect of the workforce.

Question 17

The contingency view of management underscores the uniqueness of each situation thus contradict the classical perspective which has a universalist view.

Question 18

Big data analytics can be thought of as a direct descendant of Frederick Winslow Taylor's scientific management and the most recent iteration of the quantitative approach to management.

Question 19

Professor Schwartz maintained that as 'the Millennials ascend, they will change organisations' because 'meaning is an important part of their agenda'. Two new management trends have emerged as responses to this issue: the bosses workplace and a renewed emphasis on employee engagement.

Question 20

The historical struggle within management to balance the things of production and the humanity of production can be answered via society business.

Question 21

The classical perspective of management contains four (4) subfields: scientific management, bureaucratic organisations, administrative principles, and __________ .

A) management science
B) social business
C) humanistic orientation
D) contingency view
E) innovative management

Question 22

_______________ contributed to management by demonstrating the importance of compensation for performance, the careful study of tasks and jobs, and the importance of personnel selection and training.

A) Management science
B) Scientific management
C) Bureaucratic organisations
D) Humanistic management
E) Administrative principles

Question 23

One of the key criticisms of scientific management is that it

A) developed standard methods for performing each job
B) did not appreciate the social context of work and higher needs of workers
C) did acknowledge the variance among individuals
D) initiated the careful study of tasks and jobs
E) trained workers in standard methods

Question 24

Which of the following scholars asserted that rationality in organisations meant employee selection and advancement based on competence rather than on 'who you know'.

A) Max Weber
B) Frederick Taylor
C) Carl Max
D) Michael Porter
E) None of these choices.

Question 25

An ideal bureaucracy is characterised by:

A) personnel selection and promotion based on technical qualifications
B) administrative acts and decisions recorded in writing
C) division of labour, with clear definitions of authority and responsibility
D) positions organised by a hierarchy of authority
E) all of these choices

Question 26

The organising of similar activities into functional units led by first-line managers is an example of which of Fayol's general principles of management?

A) unity of command
B) division of work
C) unity of direction
D) scalar chain
E) none of these choices

Question 27

The subfield of the classical perspective of management that emerged more recently after the Second World War to handle the massive and complicated problems associated with modern global warfare is known as _____________________.

A) management science
B) scientific management
C) bureaucratic organisations
D) administrative principles
E) social business

Question 28

The subfield of the management perspective that focuses on human needs include the following except:

A) human resources perspective
B) human relations movement
C) behavioural science approach
D) operations research

Question 29

Which of the subfield of the humanistic perspective was rooted in the idea that truly effective control comes from within an individual employee rather than from strict, authoritarian control?

A) the human relations movement
B) the human resources perspective
C) the behavioural science approach
D) organisational behaviour management
E) all of these choices.

Question 30

The ground-breaking research that laid the foundation for the management perspective that focuses on human needs to improve organisation effectiveness is known as:

A) the twin study
B) the Rhesus factor study
C) the Hawthorne studies
D) the monkey experiment
E) the Taiwanese study.

Question 31

Abraham Maslow and Douglas McGregor were significant contributors of which subfield of the humanistic perspective?

A) the human relations movement
B) the human resources perspective
C) the behavioural science approach
D) organisational behaviour management
E) all of these choices.

Question 32

The behavioural science approach has led to the development of various concepts in management such as:

A) matrix organisations
B) self-managed teams
C) corporate culture
D) management by wandering around
E) all of these choices.

Question 33

The extension of the humanistic perspective that describes organisations as open systems that are characterised by entropy, synergy and subsystems interdependence is called: _______________?

A) systems thinking
B) scientific management
C) bureaucratic organisations
D) administrative principles
E) humanist perspective.

Question 34

A typical supply chain for a retail organisation will have the following parties:

A) suppliers
B) manufacturers
C) distributors
D) retailers
E) all of these choices

Question 35

In today's business environment, organisations are using social media programs such as a company's online community page, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. for the following purposes:

A) generating awareness about company products and services
B) sharing ideas and seeking feedback from customers and partners
C) strengthening relationships among employees
D) selling products
E) all of these choices

Question 36

Which of the following is not an advantage of a bossless work environment?.

A) better and faster decision making
B) greater employee job autonomy
C) increased flexibility
D) higher overhead costs
E) none of these choices.

Question 37

In order to manage the things of production and the humanity of production concurrently, a business has sought to deploying social media technologies like Ubuntu - the organisation's online community page. The following are benefits the social business stands to enjoy:

A) improvement in efficiency
B) increase productivity
C) faster and smoother operations
D) all of these choices

Question 38

Although social media is a new technology (thing of production), it can also be used to improve the human aspect of organisations by:

A) enabling a sense of community
B) facilitating communication and collaboration
C) facilitating knowledge sharing
D) all of these choices

Question 39

In the 1920s and 1930s, the ____________________________ emerged as an overall approach to management, to tackle the deficiency of the classical perspective relating to how it ignored the needs of the people in the interest of higher production efficiency and profit.

Question 40

The evolution of modern management started with the classical perspective which contains four (4) subfields, each with a different focus: _______________, bureaucratic organisations, administrative principles, and management science.

Question 41

____________________ is an approach to management which focuses on scientifically determined jobs and management practices as the way to enhance organisational effectiveness and efficiency.

Question 42

The ____________________ made significant contributions to management by emphasising the importance of compensation for performance, careful study of tasks and jobs, the importance of personnel selection and training.

Question 43

According to Henri Fayol, the situation where employees of a particular functional unit receives orders from the same manager, is known as ____________________.

Question 44

____________________ has become the basis for large new developments known as Big Data, Blockchain, artificial intelligence, etc. that will drive the workplace forward over the coming years.

Question 45

Joel thinks to get his workforce motivated enough to work effectively, he needs to coerce, control and threaten them with punishment. Joel subscribes to ____________________ of the human resources perspective.

Question 46

In today's technology-driven business organisations are using __________________________ to interact electronically with employees, customers, partners and other stakeholders (three words).

Question 47

Henry, the new CEO of Antrack Air, often uses his conceptual and technical skills to identify patterns of movement within the airline industry, focusing on the qualities of rhythm, flow, direction, shape, and networks of relationships. This type of activity, referred to as __________ thinking, allows Henry to see the structures that underlie complex situations within the industry and company.

Question 48

Making decisions about subsystems is a very difficult task to do because they are ____________________.

Question 49

________________________ include company online community pages, wikis for virtual collaboration and so on.

Question 50

Identify the two management perspective and give two examples of the subfields under each perspective.

Question 51

Douglas McGregor, an advocate of the human resources perspective, formulated the well-known Theory X and Theory Y used in management studies. List the various assumptions of Theory X and Theory Y

Question 52

List five (5) characteristics of the ideal bureaucracy according to Weber.

Question 53

Management science is a more recent management approach that falls within the classical perspective. It focuses on the application of mathematics, statistics, and other quantitative techniques to management decision making and problem solving. There are three subsets under this management approach, list and briefly describe them.

Question 54

With a view on the recent historical trends in management studies, define the following terms: 'systems thinking', 'system', 'subsystems' and 'synergy'.

Question 55

Advancement in technology has influenced management practices and procedures in recent times. Big Data analytics and supply chain management are two technologies used to manage the new technology-driven workplace. Differentiate between the two concepts.

Question 56

Trace the evolution of management practices from the classical perspective by identifying and explaining major developments that focused on the things of production.

Question 57

Discuss the quantitative perspective of management, and evaluate the usefulness of this management technique in today's workplace, including at least one advantage and one disadvantage.

Question 58

Using a cogent example, briefly describe systems thinking and highlight its implication on management practices.

Question 59

Social businesses are viewed as the panacea for the historical struggle within management to balance the things of production and the humanity of production. In effect, social media has become a state-of-the-art business leadership tool used by managers to improve organisational effectiveness and efficiency. Briefly identify some popular social media platforms and expound on how they can help managers balance production goals with employee needs.

Question 60

The Hawthorne studies significantly contributed to the emergence of the human relations movements of management. Briefly describe what happened in the Hawthorne studies, and explain the results and conclusions of these studies.