Q&A Hero

Q: Once managers have measured actual performance, they should: A. revise accepted standards. B. compare actual performance to the standards. C. establish the standards of performance. D. initiate corrective action. E. develop goals and objectives.

Q: Which of the following cannot be measured easily? A. The creativity of a research engineer B. An employee's ability to meet deadlines C. The success of a product D. An employee's adherence to rules E. The money spent on organizational resources

Q: Which of the following is true of measuring actual performance? A. Managers can either evaluate output or behavior, never both. B. Outputs and behavior can be measured easily always. C. It is easy to measure outputs and behavior of complex, nonroutine activities. D. Outputs are easier to measure because they are more tangible and objective. E. Managers develop performance stands to measure behavior first and then outputs.

Q: Once managers have chosen the standards to evaluate performance, the next step in the control process is to: A. compare actual performance against chosen standards of performance. B. initiate corrective action if the chosen standard is not being achieved. C. measure actual performance. D. evaluate the results of comparison. E. revise performance standards.

Q: Which of the following can hurt the performance of an organization? A. Adopting realistic performance standards B. Setting stretch goals for employees C. Establishing operating budgets that regulate how managers and workers attain their goals D. Using output controls to motivate managers and employees at different levels E. Focusing on only one standard instead of a hundred different standards

Q: Which of the following steps of the control process involves goal setting? A. Measuring actual performance B. Comparing actual performance against chosen standards C. Evaluating the results of comparison D. Establishing the standards of performance E. Initiating corrective action

Q: Which of the following is the first step of the control process? A. Measuring actual performance B. Comparing actual performance against chosen standards C. Evaluating the results of comparison D. Establishing the standards of performance E. Initiating corrective action

Q: An organization monitors the number of customer returns for each product model as a part of an attempt to recognize defective products. This is an example of: A. feedforward control. B. concurrent control. C. clan control. D. feedback control. E. bureaucratic control.

Q: Which of the following types of controls do managers use during the output stage of transforming raw materials into finished goods? A. Behavioral control B. Concurrent control C. Bureaucratic control D. Feedforward control E. Feedback control

Q: Which of the following types of controls helps monitor the quality of goods or services provided during the production process? A. Feedforward control B. Concurrent control C. Feedback control D. Bureaucratic control E. Clan control

Q: Starling Manufacturing Inc. has carefully set up strict specifications for raw materials that are sourced from suppliers. It follows a three-step approval process to select new suppliers and ensures that they are aware of raw material specifications. This is an example of: A. concurrent control. B. feedforward control. C. feedback control. D. bureaucratic control. E. clan control.

Q: RST Consulting screens job applicants by viewing their rsums electronically and using several interviews to select highly skilled people. By doing so, the managers at RST Consulting ensure that the wrong candidates are not picked for a particular job. This is an example of: A. concurrent control. B. feedforward control. C. feedback control. D. bureaucratic control. E. clan control.

Q: During the input stage, managers use __________ control procedures to anticipate problems before they occur. A. input B. conversion C. output D. feedforward E. feedback

Q: Which of the following types of control allows managers to anticipate problems before they arise? A. Feedforward control B. Concurrent control C. Feedback control D. Bureaucratic control E. Clan control

Q: The formal monitoring, evaluation, and feedback systems that allow managers to determine if the organization's strategy and structure are working according to plans are known as _____ systems. A. social B. routine C. control D. nonprogrammed E. classical

Q: The process by which managers monitor and regulate the efficiency and effectiveness of the workers in an organization is called _____. A. planning B. organizing C. leading D. controlling E. coordinating

Q: The process of comparing one companys performance on specific dimensions with the performance of other high-performing organizations is called benchmarking. A. True B. False

Q: With bottom-up change, the emphasis is on making the changes quickly and dealing with problems as they arise; it is revolutionary in nature. A. True B. False

Q: Top-down change is typically more gradual or evolutionary than bottom-up change. A. True B. False

Q: Organizations with entrepreneurial, flexible cultures, such as high-tech companies, are much easier to change. A. True B. False

Q: Assessing the need for change calls for two important activities: recognizing that there is a problem and identifying its source. A. True B. False

Q: Revolutionary change is gradual, incremental, and narrowly focused. A. True B. False

Q: Evolutionary change involves a bold attempt to quickly find new ways to be effective. A. True B. False

Q: Organizational change is the movement of an organization away from its present state toward some preferred future state to increase its efficiency and effectiveness. A. True B. False

Q: Organizational culture functions as a kind of control system. A. True B. False

Q: Clan control keeps organization members goal-directed, while they are still open to new opportunities. A. True B. False

Q: Output control and behavior control are appropriate for the most important and significant organizational activities. A. True B. False

Q: Bureaucratic rules constrain and standardize behavior and encourage people to think for themselves. A. True B. False

Q: Bureaucratic control is control by means of a comprehensive system of rules and standard operating procedures. A. True B. False

Q: An important characteristic of management by objectives is its nonparticipatory nature. A. True B. False

Q: Being under close scrutiny or not being evaluated in an impartial way motivates employees to perform better. A. True B. False

Q: The more complex a job is, the more difficult it is for a manager to evaluate how well a subordinate is performing. A. True B. False

Q: Behavior control tends to be the first type of control that managers at all levels use to evaluate performance. A. True B. False

Q: When managers personally supervise subordinates, they lead by example and help subordinates develop and increase their own skill levels. A. True B. False

Q: The least powerful form of behavior control is direct supervision of a subordinate by a manager. A. True B. False

Q: If goals are set at an impossibly high level, managers might work only half-heartedly to achieve them because they are certain they will fail. A. True B. False

Q: Financial information provides managers with all the information required to measure the four building blocks of competitive advantage. A. True B. False

Q: The subjectivity of financial measures of performance is the reason why managers use them to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations. A. True B. False

Q: Days sales outstanding is a profit ratio that reveals how efficiently managers are collecting revenue from customers to pay expenses. A. True B. False

Q: An organization is said to be highly leveraged if it uses more debt than equity to finance its ongoing operations. A. True B. False

Q: The operating margin is calculated by dividing a company's operating profit by sales revenues. A. True B. False

Q: When you divide the organization's current assets by its current liabilities, the result is known as the times-covered ratio of the organization. A. True B. False

Q: Profit ratios measure how well managers have protected organizational resources to be able to meet short-term obligations. A. True B. False

Q: The high level of uncertainty in the organizational environment makes establishing targets and designing measurement systems much easier for managers A. True B. False

Q: The final step in the control process is to evaluate the results and bring about change as appropriate. A. True B. False

Q: Behaviors are typically easier to measure than outputs because they are more tangible and objective. A. True B. False

Q: It is more challenging for managers to measure outputs or behavior when an organization and its members perform nonroutine activities. A. True B. False

Q: In practice, managers can only measure the actual outputs that result from the behavior of their members and not the behaviors themselves. A. True B. False

Q: The first step in the control process is to evaluate results in terms of performance standards. A. True B. False

Q: At the input stage, managers use feedback control to anticipate problems before they arise. A. True B. False

Q: A control system must be rigid in order to be effective. A. True B. False

Q: Control helps managers respond more effectively to customers. A. True B. False

Q: Control helps managers build competitive advantage. A. True B. False

Q: Control means just reacting to events after they have occurred and nothing more. A. True B. False

Q: Control is not concerned with keeping employees focused on the important problems confronting the organization but with reacting to events after they have occurred. A. True B. False

Q: As a part of the controlling process, managers monitor and evaluate the organization's strategy to see if it is working. A. True B. False

Q: A matrix structure is also known as product team structure. A. True B. False.

Q: The matrix structure of an organization is usually very rigid. A. True B. False.

Q: A market structure does not allow managers to act flexibly in making decisions in response to customers changing needs. A. True B. False.

Q: Managers are most likely to adopt a global geographic structure when they pursue a multidomestic strategy. A. True B. False.

Q: A product structure lets divisional managers respond quickly and appropriately to the changing task environment. A. True B. False.

Q: A product structure makes it necessary for corporate managers to supervise directly each division's day-to-day operations. A. True B. False.

Q: When managers organize divisions according to the type of customer they market their products to, they adopt a product structure. A. True B. False.

Q: The goal behind creating a divisional structure is to create smaller, more manageable units within the organization. A. True B. False.

Q: It's easier for managers to communicate and coordinate with one another when they are responsible for several different kinds of products. A. True B. False.

Q: A functional structure becomes more efficient when an organization's task environment is rapidly changing. A. True B. False.

Q: When people who perform similar jobs are grouped together, it becomes difficult for managers to monitor and evaluate their performance. A. True B. False.

Q: An organizational structure composed of all the departments that an organization requires to produce its goods or services is known as a functional structure. A. True B. False.

Q: The degree to which a job gives an employee the freedom to schedule different tasks and decide how to carry them out is known as task significance. A. True B. False.

Q: Task identity refers to the degree to which a worker feels his or her job is meaningful because of its effect on people inside the organization or on people outside the organization. A. True B. False.

Q: Managers who make design choices that increase job enlargement are likely to increase the degree to which people behave mechanically. A. True B. False.

Q: Increasing the degree of responsibility that a worker has over his or her job is known as job enrichment. A. True B. False.

Q: Different strategies need different organizational structures and cultures. A. True B. False.

Q: It's easier for managers to gain access to scarce resources when the external environment is changing quickly. A. True B. False.

Q: The characteristics of an organization's human resources are an important factor in determining the type of organizational structure. A. True B. False.

Q: Organizational design remains consistent across all organizations. A. True B. False.

Q: An organizational structure should be designed in such a way that employees don't develop supportive job behaviors and attitudes. A. True B. False.

Q: The process by which managers establish the structure of working relationships among workers in an organization is called organizing. A. True B. False.

Q: Organizational architecture is the combination of organizational structure, culture, control systems, and human resource management (HRM) systems that together determine how efficiently and effectively organizational resources are used. A. True B. False.

Q: Define organizational culture. What shapes the culture of an organization?