Management CH8

________ involves defining the organization's goals, establishing strategies for achieving those goals, and developing plans to integrate and coordinate work activities.

• execution

• logistics

• planning

• operations

Which one of the following is among the reasons why managers should plan?

• When work activities are coordinated around plans, inefficiencies become obvious.

• Uncertainty can be eliminated and the organization can be insulated from change with planning.

• Planning eliminates the need to set goals

• Planning eliminates the need to measure work effort

Which one of the following is true of the impact of formal planning on organizational performance?

• Formal planning is associated with positive financial results

• Organizations that formally plan invariably outperform those that don't plan

• The amount of planning done is more important to high performance than the quality of planning and implementation

• Companies can start seeing the impact of formal planning on performance about a year after starting the planning process

When formal planning fails to lead to higher performance, which one of the following is most likely to be the reason for the failure?

• A participative style of planning was used.

• Managers were allowed too much autonomy.

• The company emphasized the control function over other functions.

• External forces constrain managers' options.

Which aspect of planning refers to documents that outline how results are to be achieved?

• goals

• plans

• objectives

• performance guidelines

Most companies' goals can be classified as either ________ or ________.

• strategic; financial

• operational; tactical

• social; economic

• strategic; operational

Robert Downs, owner of a new community newspaper in his home town of Corning, New York, has set the following goal for his company: "To be a champion for free speech and for the development of the community." This goal constitutes the ________ goal of the company.

• informal

• operational

• financial

• strategic

An organization's ________ goals are official statements of what an organization says, and what it wants its stakeholders to believe its goals are

• stated

• real

• authentic

• implicit

Which one of the following is the best indicator of an organization's real goals?

• organizational members' actions

• mission statement

• annual reports

• stock valuation

An organization's mission states that it "is committed to reducing its environmental footprint"; but its facilities do not comply with statutory environmental regulations. This is an instance of how ________.

• strategic goals help shape financial goals

• long-term goals differ from short-term goals

• an organizations stated goals need not be its real goals

• a company's real goals are derived from its mission statement