Chapter 01 - The Exceptional Manager: What You Do, How You Do It
Chapter 01
The Exceptional Manager: What You Do, How You Do It
True / False Questions
1.Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo!, advises moving ahead quickly after a failure so as not to lose momentum.
TrueFalse
2.Exceptional managers have a gift that cannot be taught.
TrueFalse
3.Management includes integrating the work of people through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the organization's resources.
TrueFalse
4.To be efficient means to achieve results, to make the right decisions and to successfully carry them out.
TrueFalse
5.Efficiency and effectiveness have the same meaning in management.
TrueFalse
6.Automated telephone systems are typically both very effective and very efficient.
TrueFalse
7.An effective manager's influence on the organization is multiplied beyond the results achievable by just one person.
TrueFalse
8.Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon's $112 million in compensation in 2008 is typical for CEOs in North America.
TrueFalse
9.One of the rewards of being a manager is that you can build a catalog of successful products or services.
TrueFalse
10.Studying management is likely to help you once you are in a manager role, but is unlikely to be beneficial before then.
TrueFalse
11.One of the payoffs of studying management includes understanding how to deal with organizations as a customer.
TrueFalse
12.If you enjoy mentoring and helping others to grow, management is a great job.
TrueFalse
13.Most people prefer to have a combination of high level of skill and low level of challenge while at work.
TrueFalse
14.Organizations need to stay ahead of their competition in their quality, responsiveness, efficiency, and innovation.
TrueFalse
15.Competitive advantage is defined as finding ways to deliver new or better goods or services.
TrueFalse
16.When managing for competitive advantage, the first "law" of business is "take care of the shareholders."
TrueFalse
17.Taking care of the customer applies equally well to non-profit and for-profit businesses.
TrueFalse
18.The decline in revenue in the newspaper industry is due to a sharp drop in the number of people reading American newspapers.
TrueFalse
19.Whereas a generation ago, organizations rewarded employees for their efficiency, today the emphasis is on length of service.
TrueFalse
20.Despite continued immigration, the proportion of racial or ethnic groups in the US is expected to be stable well into the next century.
TrueFalse
21.When he or she does not speak the local language, a manager should rely on gestures and symbols since they have the same meaning to everyone throughout the world.
TrueFalse
22.The global network of independently operating but interconnected computers, linking hundreds of thousands of smaller networks around the world is called the Hypernetwork.
TrueFalse
23.E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods or services over computer networks.
TrueFalse
24.One reason e-business is so important is that the Internet dramatically lowers the cost of communication.
TrueFalse
25.Text messages and documents transmitted over a computer network are called cyber-messages.
TrueFalse
26.A problem typically associated with interconnected databases on the Internet is that they contain too little information.
TrueFalse
27.Project management software allows managers to plan and schedule the people, costs, and resources to complete a project on time.
TrueFalse
28.One advantage of e-business is that organizations and teams are no longer as bound by time zones and locations.
TrueFalse
29.Telecommuting means working from home or remote locations using a variety of information technologies.
TrueFalse
30.Meetings that are conducted via telecommuting use video and audio links along with computers to let people in different locations see, hear, and talk with one another.
TrueFalse
31.Collaborative computing involves using state-of-the-art computer software and hardware to help people work better together.
TrueFalse
32.Intellectual management is the implementation of systems and practices to increase the sharing of knowledge and information throughout an organization.
TrueFalse
33.In recent years, white-collar crime in the US has become very rare.
TrueFalse
34.The Josephson Institute suggests a TEAM (Teach, Enforce, Advocate, Model) approach to encourage good financial habits in children.
TrueFalse
35.Unsustainable business practices resulted from a general notion that natural resources are unlimited.
TrueFalse
36.Some people simply don't find being a manager fulfilling because they are caught between the bosses and the subordinates, or may even feel that they lack respect.
TrueFalse
37.One's experience in management is usually not affected by the company's culture.
TrueFalse
38.The "management process" is the same as the "four management functions."
TrueFalse
39.When a manager is motivating others to work hard to achieve the organization's goals, she is engaged in the management function of leading.
TrueFalse
40.When Barrett, a college administrator, is determining which of several degree programs his campus will offer, he is involved in the management function of controlling.
TrueFalse
41.Organizing is the arranging of tasks, people, and other resources to accomplish work.
TrueFalse
42.When Arturo revises the wait staff schedule to have more personnel available during the busier dinner rush, hoping it will help with several service complaints, he is engaged in controlling.
TrueFalse
43.According to Peter Drucker, "knowledge workers" have very little technical skill.
TrueFalse
44.The traditional organizational model is shaped like a rectangle.
TrueFalse
45.There are managers at three levels of an organization: top, middle, and first-line.
TrueFalse
46.First-line managers make long-term decisions about the overall direction of the organization and establish the objectives, policies, and strategies for it.
TrueFalse
47.Yajuan is a branch manager to whom three other managers at her facility report, so she would be termed a middle manager.
TrueFalse
48.A first-line manager directs the daily tasks of nonmanagerial personnel.
TrueFalse
49.A Director of Finance is a general manager.
TrueFalse
50.A functional manager typically oversees several departments within an organization.
TrueFalse
51.The main purpose of a nonprofit organization is to offer services to some clients.
TrueFalse
52.According to Mintzberg's research, managers rely more on verbal than on written communication because of the time it takes to accomplish the latter.
TrueFalse
53.Since the 1960s research conducted by Mintzberg, the typical general manager has reduced her work week to the traditional forty hours.
TrueFalse
54.Most managers accomplish their work during lengthy, uninterrupted periods during the regular workday.
TrueFalse
55.Time and task management are major challenges for every manager.
TrueFalse
56.According to Mintzberg, the three broad types of managerial roles include interpersonal, informational, and leadership.
TrueFalse
57.Multitasking and answering every email instantly are good ways to improve executive functioning.
TrueFalse
58.The spokesperson function is an example of the informational roles often played by managers.
TrueFalse
59.In decisional managerial roles, a manager acts as figurehead, leader or liaison.
TrueFalse
60.Entrepreneurship means taking risks to try to create a new enterprise.
TrueFalse
61.Two types of entrepreneurship include the extrapreneur and the intrapreneur.
TrueFalse
62.Successful entrepreneurial companies have been called "gazelles" because of a characteristic they possess, namely an acute sensitivity to the environment.
TrueFalse
63.Characteristic of both entrepreneurs and managers is a high need for achievement and a belief in personal control of destiny.
TrueFalse
64.Opportunity entrepreneurs are those who start their own business out of a burning desire rather than because they lost a job.
TrueFalse
65.Researcher Robert Katz determined that through education and experience managers acquire technical, conceptual, and innovation skills.
TrueFalse
66.Having required technical skills is most important among first-line managers.
TrueFalse
67.Human skills are critical for first level and middle managers, but not for top managers.
TrueFalse
Multiple Choice Questions
68.One way to think of ______is "the art of getting things done through people."
A.supervision
B.motivation
C.management
D.leadership
E.strategy
69.The pursuit of organizational goals efficiently and effectively by integrating the work of people through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the organization's resources is called
A.employment.
B.career planning.
C.competitive advantage.
D.management.
E.strategic planning.
70.A group of people who work together to achieve some specific purpose is/are called
A.managers.
B.a collaboration.
C.a team.
D.an organization.
E.a community.
71.Elian, a manager at a busy restaurant, was very careful about how he scheduled his personnel, making sure everyone was busy during work, and he carefully watched his other costs too, getting competitive bids from suppliers on a regular basis. Elian would best be described as a(n) _____ manager.
A.efficient
B.ethical
C.innovative
D.effective
E.micro
72.To be ______as a manager means to make the right decisions and successfully carry them out to achieve goals.
A.productive
B.ethical
C.efficient
D.effective
E.innovative
73.The ______effect states that your influence on the organization is multiplied far beyond the results that can be achieved by just one person acting alone.
A.proliferation
B.multiplier
C.managerial
D.halo
E.additive
74.According to a Fortune article, the scarcest, most valuable resource in business is not financial capital but
A.renewable resources.
B.government support.
C.highly innovative technology.
D.a young workforce.
E.skilled effective managers.
75.Which of the following is the most likely payoff of studying management as a discipline?
A.You will understand how to brand your organization.
B.You will understand how to relate to and interact with your supervisors and co-workers.
C.You will understand how to manage to your family and close friends much better.
D.You will understand how to deal with the media in a crisis.
E.You will understand how to advance your career without guilt.
76.Which of the following is NOT a reward for practicing management?
A.You can build a catalog of successful products or services.
B.You and your employees can experience a sense of accomplishment.
C.You can stretch your abilities and magnify your range.
D.You can be rewarded money and status for your efforts.
E.You can become exempt from many of society's ethical standards.
77.Which of the following is a challenge facing managers today?
A.Maintaining good records of what worked in the past
B.Dealing with a static, immobile environment
C.Staying ahead of competitors through corporate espionage
D.Managing to achieve the manager's own happiness and life goals
E.Collaborating with competitors
78.Indra is a new manager for a software company, and she doesn't like to be bored at work. But neither does she enjoy _____, such as when she had to explain the new product her team is developing to the CEO and several board members. As psychologist Csikzentmihalyi predicts, her ideal state would be an emotional zone between the two.
A.overload
B.anxiety
C.immodesty
D.fear
E.pressure
79.The ability of an organization to produce goods or services more effectively than its competitors is called its
A.competitive advantage.
B.quality.
C.efficiency.
D.innovation.
E.effectiveness.
80.In seeking competitive advantage, the first law of business is
A.take care of your shareholders.
B.take care of your stakeholders.
C.take care of the customer.
D.take care of the environment.
E.take care of your employees.
81.Which of the following is NOT an area in which an organization must stay ahead of its competitors to achieve competitive advantage?
A.Market share growth
B.Being responsive to customers
C.Innovation
D.Quality
E.Efficiency
82.Finding ways to deliver new or better goods or services is called
A.advancement.
B.streamlining.
C.innovation.
D.efficiency.
E.quality control.
83.Customers are likely to put up with ______only if your organization is the only one of its kind.
A.modest levels of innovation
B.computerized customer service
C.poor quality products
D.e-commerce transactions
E.lack of environmental policies
84.Which of the following is the most likely reason for the decline in fortunes of American newspapers, an inability to exploit their competitive advantage?
A.A poorer standard for news gathering
B.Relying too heavily on advertising, rather than customer subscriptions, for revenue
C.Decline in newspaper readership over the last 70 years
D.Preference of customers for getting news in a digital format
E.An increase in salaries and material costs within the industry
85.By midcentury, the percentage of Hispanics (of any race) in the population is expected to _____, and the percentage of non-Hispanic whites is expected to _____.
A.stay the same; increase
B.increase; decrease
C.decrease; increase
D.increase; stay the same
E.stay the same; decrease
86.The concept of a "flat" world means
A.employees are learning to suppress negative emotion in the workplace.
B.corporations are developing a preference for a new, flatter organizational structure.
C.a recession now slows the economies of most nations simultaneously.
D.globalization has leveled the playing field for emerging economies.
E.business people are now more conservative in their approach to investment.
87.Many advantages have been linked to e-business, but studies show that employees are less productive when dealing with excessive ______volume.
A.videoconferencing
B.meeting
C.email
D.telecommuting
E.collaborative computing
88.Mariana is in charge of planning and hosting the monthly all-company meeting, and creating an updated webpage for employees as follow-up. She gathers important happenings, new project information, changes to schedules or other plans, and requests additional items from the staff. Holding these meetings and creating the employee webpage are a form of
A.information management.
B.e-management.
C.project management.
D.knowledge management.
E.morale management.
89.As a sales manager, you would have to decide how much you should allow your sales rep to criticize the competition. This is an example of the challenge of managing for
A.your own happiness.
B.globalization.
C.ethical standards.
D.sustainability.
E.diversity.
90.Economic development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is known as
A.environmentalism.
B.globalization.
C.ethics.
D.the bottom line.
E.sustainability.
91.The company's culture most directly affects
A.a manager's happiness.
B.the number of competitors a firm has.
C.the number of products a company makes.
D.the amount charged for the firm's products or services.
E.the education of the workforce.
92.Which of the following is one of the four principal functions of management, also known as the management process?
A.Planning
B.Scheduling
C.Motivating
D.Executing
E.Monitoring
93.Setting goals and deciding how to achieve them is called
A.controlling.
B.managing.
C.planning.
D.organizing.
E.leading.
94.When administrators of a college are determining whether to hire more full-time instructors or possibly more part-time ones, they are engaged in
A.planning.
B.organizing.
C.managing.
D.leading.
E.controlling.
95.Because the various groups that help a manager reach company goals often have different needs and wants, resolving conflicts is an essential part of which management function?
A.Planning
B.Managing
C.Organizing
D.Controlling
E.Leading
96.Monitoring performance and taking corrective action as needed is called
A.managing.
B.planning.
C.organizing.
D.improving.
E.controlling.
97.Rosaria is concerned about a new report that shows the last production run for which she was responsible had a high level of defects among the products. She plans to delay the next run until the problem has been discovered and fixed. Rosaria is engaged in which management function?
A.Repairing
B.Organizing
C.Monitoring
D.Controlling
E.Executing
98.A general manager at a department store is giving an important presentation to several departments to engage the whole staff in a new customer retention effort beginning this month. This is an example of
A.planning.
B.organizing.
C.leading.
D.controlling.
E.marketing.
99.Management theorist Peter Drucker compared the workplace of the future to a
A.pyramid.
B.symphony orchestra.
C.flattened oval.
D.chess game.
E.warship.
100.In the traditional management pyramid, managers are classified into ______levels.
A.two
B.three
C.four
D.five
E.six
101.A chief operating officer is an example of what level of manager?
A.First-line
B.Top
C.Leadership
D.Middle
E.Merit
102.Erica is a structural engineer who works for a large international firm. She designs the concrete and steel structures that support most large buildings. Because of her high level of technical skills, Erica is best referred to as a
A.knowledge worker.
B.blue-collar worker.
C.self-managed worker.
D.first-line worker.
E.first line manager.
103.Managers who are future oriented, dealing with uncertain, highly competitive conditions, and who stay alert to long-run opportunities and problems are most likely to be
A.first-line managers.
B.functional managers.
C.middle managers.
D.general managers.
E.top managers.
104.Managers who implement the policies and plans determined at the highest levels and coordinate the activities of lowest levels are called
A.executional managers.
B.first-line managers.
C.middle managers.
D.functional managers.
E.general managers.
105.Jerome is a clinic director running a facility in an urban area for a large non-profit health organization. He receives most of his strategic direction from the organization and supervises several department managers in his workplace. Jerome is a
A.first-line manager.
B.middle manager.
C.facility manager.
D.functional manager.
E.coordination manager.
106.Managers who make short-term operating decisions and direct the daily tasks of the nonmanagerial employees are called
A.first-line managers.
B.middle managers.
C.general managers.
D.functional managers.
E.initial managers.
107.Esteban is an Accounts Payable supervisor for a large electronics company, directing the work of four accounting clerks. He is a(n)
A.directional manager.
B.middle manager.
C.first-line manager.
D.general manager.
E.area manager.
108.A ______manager is responsible for just one organizational activity.
A.specialist
B.first-line
C.singular
D.functional
E.top-level
109.Will is thinking about joining a professional organization for accountants since he was recently hired at a prestigious firm and his dues will be paid. This is an example of a(n) ______organization.
A.for-profit
B.nonprofit
C.administrative
D.mutual-benefit
E.aid-based
110.The Salvation Army and the Red Cross are examples of which type of organization?
A.For-profit
B.Nonprofit
C.Administrative
D.Mutual-benefit
E.Aid-based
111.Which type of nonprofit organization offers services to all clients within its jurisdiction?
A.Administrative
B.Mutual-benefit
C.Aid-based
D.Authority
E.Commonweal