WorksheetsManagement Exam Practice Questions (1-27)
Total questions: 108
Worksheet time: 54mins
Which set lists all four basic management functions in order?
Controlling, organizing, influencing, planning
Organizing, planning, controlling, influencing
Planning, organizing, influencing, controlling
Influencing, planning, organizing, controlling
What does planning primarily involve for managers?
Motivating staff to complete assigned tasks
Choosing tasks, outlining methods, setting timing
Assigning tasks to departments and teams
Monitoring performance against standards
Which statement best distinguishes planning from organizing?
Planning sets goals; organizing structures resources
Planning assigns tasks; organizing motivates teams
Planning is short-term; organizing is long-term
Planning handles people; organizing handles budgets
What is influencing in the management context?
Structuring roles and resources
Guiding people’s behavior toward goals
Assigning tasks across units
Comparing results to standards
Which description correctly captures organizing?
Designing roles, relationships, resources
Motivating, leading, and directing
Setting objectives and action plans
Auditing results and correcting gaps
Under corporate social responsibility, how should managers balance goals?
Consider societal and organizational goals together
Ignore societal interests unless legally required
Prioritize organizational goals over societal goals
Focus exclusively on societal expectations
What does the Davis Model of CSR encourage firms to be?
Neutral systems with limited stakeholder input
Open systems with public disclosure
Closed systems protecting proprietary data
Hierarchical systems with strict oversight
Which CSR activity fits normal operations under the Davis Model?
Shareholder-only communication campaigns
Consumer affairs and community volunteerism
Speculative political lobbying efforts
Unrelated philanthropic investments abroad
What is controlling in management?
Structuring roles and processes
Motivating employees to act
Comparing performance to standards
Assigning tasks to teams
Which pair correctly identifies core management resources?
Policies, procedures, standards, audits
Capital, markets, products, services
Planning, organizing, leading, controlling
Human, financial, physical, informational
In operations, what does efficiency mean?
Meeting standards without variance
Allocating tasks to specialists
Producing more units per hour
Using fewer resources for outputs
Which statement about management principles is accurate?
Principles apply only to large firms
Jobs vary; principles are universal
Principles differ by industry only
Jobs are identical; principles vary
Technical skills primarily involve what?
Applying specialized knowledge
Motivating and inspiring people
Aligning goals with stakeholders
Seeing the organization holistically
Minimum CSR performance for managers requires what?
Focusing only on profitability
Adhering to legislated responsibilities
Deferring to industry associations
Voluntarily exceeding legal standards
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s primary function is to:
Enforce equal employment opportunity
Regulate product safety in markets
Set standards for corporate disclosure
Administer environmental compliance
The Consumer Product Safety Commission primarily:
Oversees environmental permits
Sets financial reporting standards
Grants equal employment to workers
Regulates product safety and health
When do conceptual skills become more important than technical skills?
Transitioning from public to private
Shifting from staff to line positions
Entering a new industry role
Moving from lower to upper management
Which activity is change-related for organization members?
Assigning roles and defining structures
Auditing results and correcting deviations
Clarifying objectives and monitoring performance
Providing recognition and developing confidence
Which are task-related activities in management?
Stakeholder town hall meetings
Short-term planning and monitoring
Community volunteering initiatives
Employee recognition ceremonies
Which term best describes stakeholders?
Customers purchasing products
Individuals affected by decisions
Shareholders providing capital
Managers setting objectives
Controlling in the area of social responsibility does not entail assessments or measurements.
False
Often
Rarely
True
All companies should take social responsibility measurements in the quality-of-life area and the economic function area.
True
Only economic
Only quality-of-life
False
A social audit is conducted to measure the present social responsibility activities of an organization.
True
False
Historical only
Future only
A career is a sequence of work-related positions occupied by a person over the course of a lifetime.
True
Short-term roles
False
Only one job
The exploration stage occurs at the beginning of a career and is characterized by self-analysis and the exploration of different types of available jobs.
False
Late-career
Mid-career
True
Career plateauing is a period of declining performance and productivity.
False
True
Rapid promotion
Always growth
The second stage in career evolution is the establishment stage, during which individuals about 25 to 45 years old start to become more productive, or higher performers.
True
Decline
Exploration
False
An organization that wants to retain an employee may need to assist that employee's spouse in his or her career development as well.
Illegal
Never needed
False
True
Ethical managers strive for success within the confines of sound management practices that are characterized by fairness and justice.
True
False
Profit only
Rules only
A code of ethics is an informal statement that organizations release to help its employees obtain a basic understanding of ethics.
Only legal
Only verbal
False
True
Kant's categorical imperative proposes to act in such a way that the action taken under the circumstances could be a universal law, or rule, of behavior.
True
Outcome-only
Utility-based
False
A whistle-blower is an employee who performs quality reviews within an organization and reports flaws in the processes.
True
Union official
False
External auditor
The process of determining how an organization can get where it wants to go and what it will do to accomplish its objectives is ________.
Influencing
Organizing
Controlling
Planning
Which of the following is the fundamental purpose of planning?
Allocating resources efficiently
Helping the organization reach its objectives
Maintaining ethical codes
Improving pay structures
________ is the process of establishing orderly uses for resources within the management system.
Organizing
Planning
Controlling
Influencing
________ skill is the ability to establish orderly uses for resources within the management system.
Organizing
Planning
Controlling
Influencing
________ is the process of guiding the activities of organization members in appropriate directions.
Organizing
Controlling
Influencing
Planning
Which of the following is the primary purpose of the influencing subsystem?
Policy compliance
Budget reduction
Employee evaluation
Attainment of management objectives
Ensuring that an event occurs as it was planned to occur constitutes ________.
Plan
Control
Influence
Organize
________ is the systematic effort to compare performance to predetermined standards in order to determine whether performance is in line with those standards, or needs to be corrected.
Planning
Influencing
Controlling
Organizing
Becky's department has seen a number of layoffs in the last two months, and employee morale is very low. This is affecting the work atmosphere and productivity is declining. In this situation, the department manager's primary task will be ________.
Organizing
Controlling
Influencing
Planning
Motivating employees to perform better so that they can achieve the organization's goals is known as ________.
Auditing
Controlling
Influencing
Organizing
Lebron wants to file a complaint against a fast-food restaurant because he was rejected in a job interview with the firm. Lebron believes that he was discriminated against because of race. Which of the following federal agencies should he approach?
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Securities and Exchange Commission
Department of Labor
Federal Trade Commission
Social responsiveness can be defined as ________.
Routine cost control
Profit maximization only
Reactive legal compliance
Proactive adaptation to social needs
The protective purpose of planning is to ________.
ensure compliance with regulations and policies
align resources with strategic objectives
increase the degree of organizational success
reduce risk from uncertain business conditions
The affirmative purpose of planning is to ________.
minimize risk from business uncertainties
increase the degree of organizational success
widen spans of management in firms
avoid unnecessary paperwork and red tape
Fred is a Grade D manager in Lighthouse Infrastructure and manages a small team of eight engineers. The company has 15 Grade D managers. He worked his way up from the lowest grade, Grade E, where he was one of 52 line managers and hopes to be promoted to Grade C soon, which would make him one of the six vice-presidents in the company. However, breaking into Grade B, comprising three presidents, will be a challenge. Only the CEO and COO occupy Grade A. Which of the following numbers represents Fred's span of control?
3 presidents at Grade B overall
8 direct reports in his current team
15 managers at Grade D in the firm
6 vice-presidents at Grade C level
Dorothy Woods, CEO of Arcadia Corp., is planning to widen the spans of management in the organization in order to have a flatter organization. Which of the following, if true, would support Dorothy's strategy?
Arcadia Corp. centralizes decisions to increase formal controls
Arcadia Corp. leads in developing customized, innovative communication technology
Arcadia Corp. uses narrow spans with multiple guiding authorities
Arcadia Corp. maintains strict multi-layered regulatory paperwork
Trot is the CEO of a consulting firm. He plays a key role in guiding the activities of organization members in appropriate directions. This role performed by Trot can be called ________.
control
coordination
planning
influence
You are speaking to one of your professors. You tell the professor that you are satisfied with the grades that you have received. In this communication situation you are a(n) ________.
decoder
encoder
feedback
channel
As part of the controlling process, you have finished measuring the performance of your team. What must you do next?
Compare measured performance to standards
Set new organizational objectives
Provide additional training to staff
Collect more raw data from teams
Which of the following is the best example of raw data?
an interpreted customer satisfaction index
a summarized monthly performance report
a projection of future product demand
a benchmarked KPI comparison chart
The primary management function is ________.
planning
controlling
organizing
leading
Alternatives to reach an organizational objective are based on assumptions which are called ________.
procedures
policies
benchmarks
premises
According to Fayol's guidelines for organizing resources, you should avoid ________.
regulations, red tape, and paperwork
centralization of decision making
excess span of control in teams
multiple channels for communication
According to Fayol's guidelines for organizing resources, you should do all of the following, EXCEPT ________.
establish multiple guiding authorities
assign authority with responsibility
ensure appropriate division of labor
maintain clear unity of command
Which of the following is considered a primary managing activity?
inventory turnover optimization
product lifecycle mapping
budget variance analysis
building corporate culture
Primary management activities such as communicating, leading, and motivating are considered ________.
planning premises
controlling functions
organizing structures
influencing processes
________ and ________ have been called the "Siamese twins of management."
Directing; coordinating
Organizing; staffing
Leading; motivating
Planning; controlling
Which of the following is the first step in the controlling process?
measuring performance
setting performance standards
taking corrective action
analyzing variances
________ is the management function through which managers compare present performance to preestablished performance standards.
Staffing
Controlling
Organizing
Planning
Gathering information that measures recent performance within the organization is part of the ________ management function.
leading
organizing
planning
controlling
Managers who have successfully increased the value of the organization have fulfilled their social obligation towards ________.
the degree of effectiveness and efficiency in pursuing social responsibilities
regulations, red tape, and paperwork reduction goals
expansion of spans across managerial hierarchies
premises used to build strategic alternatives
________ is defined as the process of determining how the organization will achieve its objectives, or get where it wants to go.
stockholders
enhances decision coordination
can take up too much managerial time
Planning
Managing a virtual team of engineers spread across several countries.
A disadvantage of planning is that it ________.
enhances decision coordination
can take up too much managerial time
Planning
Managing a virtual team of engineers spread across several countries.
stockholders
Which of the following is an advantage of planning?
stockholders
Planning
enhances decision coordination
can take up too much managerial time
Managing a virtual team of engineers spread across several countries.
According to the contingency viewpoint to designing span of management, which of the following situations would warrant a relatively wide span of control?
Planning
enhances decision coordination
Managing a virtual team of engineers spread across several countries.
stockholders
can take up too much managerial time
Andrew is a mid-level manager with three organizational levels above him and two below him. He has four analysts reporting directly to him. Using Graicunas's formula, calculate the total number of possible relationships between Andrew and his subordinates.
timeliness
appropriate
The subordinates have a strong negative attitude toward the manager.
44
external stimuli that interfere with transmission of messages from the sender to the receiver
Which of the following is the most complete and accurate description of communication barriers?
external stimuli that interfere with transmission of messages from the sender to the receiver
appropriate
44
The subordinates have a strong negative attitude toward the manager.
timeliness
Which of the following is an example of a macrobarrier when a manager communicates with his or her subordinates?
external stimuli that interfere with transmission of messages from the sender to the receiver
The subordinates have a strong negative attitude toward the manager.
timeliness
appropriate
44
The CEO of Pegasus Inc. wants to know the ROI on a recent promotional drive to develop the marketing strategy for next year. The Marketing Manager sends him a detailed report on all the personnel in his department and the salaries and bonuses paid to them over the past year. This information is likely to be useless to the Operations manager because it is not ________.
Implementation
appropriate
subsystem
recognize the unity of command
timeliness
Information ________ is the extent to which the receipt of information allows decisions to be made and action to be taken so the organization can gain some benefit from possessing the information.
recognize the unity of command
Implementation
subsystem
timeliness
appropriate
________ is the key to a successful planning process.
timeliness
recognize the unity of command
appropriate
subsystem
Implementation
A system created as part of the overall management system is a(n) ________.
recognize the unity of command
subsystem
timeliness
appropriate
Implementation
According to Fayol's guidelines for organizing resources, you should ________.
appropriate
timeliness
Implementation
recognize the unity of command
subsystem
Which of the following is the first step in the organizing process?
standard
communication abilities
reflect on plans and objectives
emotional intelligence
measuring performance
Which of the following is considered a fundamental managerial skill?
communication abilities
measuring performance
standard
emotional intelligence
reflect on plans and objectives
The capacity of people to recognize their own feelings and the feelings of others, to motivate themselves, and to manage their own feelings as well as the emotions in relationships with others, is called ________.
emotional intelligence
reflect on plans and objectives
measuring performance
standard
communication abilities
The level of activity established to serve as a model for evaluating organizational performance is a(n) ________.
communication abilities
standard
reflect on plans and objectives
emotional intelligence
measuring performance
Jacob, an upper-level manager, recently saw a project fail because he did not establish objectives for all important organizational areas during the initial stages. Jacob made a mistake during the ________ stage of the management process.
organizing
planning
Seth, a manager in a growing organization, believes that creating departments leads to the formation of barriers in an organization. Not establishing departments appropriately while ________ can be a huge management mistake.
organizing
planning
________ is defined as the management process of guiding the activities of organization members to help attain organizational objectives.
Planning
Controlling
Influencing
Organizing
In which of the following stages of performing social responsibility activities does a manager lead, communicate, motivate, and work with groups to attain the organization's social responsibility objectives?
Planning
Organizing
Influencing
Controlling
Planning is advantageous to an organization, particularly in the creation of new ventures. According to an often-cited survey, as many as 65 percent of all newly started businesses are not around to celebrate a fifth anniversary. This high failure rate seems primarily a consequence of inadequate planning. Successful businesses have an established plan, a formal statement that outlines the objectives the organization is attempting to achieve. Planning does not eliminate risk, of course, but it does help managers identify and deal with organizational problems before they cause havoc in a business. Which of the following best expresses the main point of this paragraph?
Planning eliminates business risk entirely
Companies that plan well appear to have a better chance at success
New ventures fail mainly due to market competition
Formal plans are unnecessary for small businesses
The first step in the planning process is to ________.
assign departmental tasks
conduct market analysis
state organizational objectives
allocate resources effectively
Which of the following is true about the height of an organization chart?
Taller charts mean more decentralization
Greater height increases span of management
Normally, the greater the height of the organization chart, the smaller the span of management
Chart height has no relation to span
The organization structure at Kinetic Machines is horizontally divided into Marketing, Finance, Production, and R&D departments. Identify the departmentalization mode being used here.
Functional
Process
Customer
Geographic
To minimize the negative effects of the perceptual differences of receivers on interpersonal communication, managers should ________.
focus on nonverbal cues only
avoid written communication
try to send messages with precise meanings
use more technical jargon
What is the major purpose of feedback in the communication process?
It replaces the need for clarity
It records all messages for auditing
It helps receivers avoid misunderstandings
It is used by the source to ensure successful communication
Immediately after Randor Leather awarded a long-term contract for supply of raw materials, its Operations Manager gets information from a vendor about a much cheaper source of raw material. This information is likely to be of little use to the business because it is not ________.
timely
accurate
of good quality
complete
As part of a process of job redesigning, the HR manager of Mars LLC conducted an informal survey of employees to assess their job satisfaction levels. However, fearing negative action, few employees gave clear, unambiguous responses to the HR manager's questions. This survey is likely to be of little use to the HR manager because it is ________.
not representative
biased by sampling
not in sufficient quantity
too technical
The targets toward which an open management system is directed are ________.
organizational objectives
departmental budgets
employee appraisals
market share goals
The second and third steps of the organizing process focus on the ________.
tasks to be performed within the management system
hiring sequence for vacancies
span of control
budget allocations for departments
Which of the following is the last step in the organizing process?
Design organizational structure
Define roles and responsibilities
Assign authority levels
Evaluate results of organizing strategy
Which of the following terms best represents the capacity of people to recognize their own feelings and the feelings of others, to motivate themselves, and to manage their own feelings as well as the feelings in relationships with others?
Behavioral adaptability
Cognitive empathy
Emotional intelligence
Social aptitude
Factors within an organization that are barriers to organizational goal attainment are called ________.
problems
risks
constraints
issues
Roland, a firm believer in management policies, always manages his team by the book. His team members agree that he is more of a manager than a leader. This indicates that Roland should work on _______ his team.
controlling processes tightly
planning activities effectively
organizing workflow better
influencing team behaviors
staffing positions wisely
Gayle has not established appropriate performance standards for her team. This is a fault in the _______ function of management.
controlling function
organizing function
leading function
staffing function
planning function
The social responsibility measurement in the _______ area includes performing tasks like producing goods and services that people need, paying fair wages, and ensuring worker safety.
legal function
community function
philanthropic function
ethical function
economic function
The social responsibility measurement in the _______ area includes tasks like making an effort to preserve the natural environment.
community area
quality-of-life area
ethical area
economic area
legal area
What is the underlying assumption in the first alternative?
Low-cost raw materials will not affect final product quality
Customers are more quality conscious than price sensitive
The company's relationship with current suppliers is strong
Customers associate high prices with high quality and vice versa
Competitors will avoid adopting high-end technology
What is the underlying assumption in the second alternative?
Competitors are also likely to adopt high-end technology
Consumers' decisions are influenced by manufacturing process
Better technology translates into higher worker productivity
Upgrading costs will outweigh resulting benefits
Alternate suppliers can provide raw materials cheaper
The organization structure at Sinclair Funds, a financial services company, is divided horizontally into Insurance, Mutual Funds, and Wealth Management departments. Identify the departmentalization mode being used here.
geographic basis
customer segment
product or service
process stage
functional area
Gizmo Sales, a company that sells office supplies to companies in Atlanta, GA, has organized the business horizontally into departments named North Atlanta, South Atlanta, and Downtown Atlanta. This indicates that Gizmo has departmentalized on the basis of _______.
territories
functional roles
customer type
product lines
process flow
You are the manager of a legal consulting firm. Which of the following is an example of a microbarrier of communication that you are likely to come across?
The firm has several international clients who speak different languages and have different cultures
Employees lack access to project management software tools
Client contracts require lengthy legal reviews by specialists
Email servers experience periodic outages during weekdays
The firm’s building has poor acoustics causing echoes
Which of the following should the source do to gather nonverbal feedback?
increase message frequency to avoid misinterpretations
observe the destination's gestures and facial expressions
send messages using detailed quantitative charts and tables
request written summaries after each meeting from recipients
use only audio calls to minimize visual distractions
"Paralysis by analysis" is generally caused by _______.
information overload
poor delegation
lack of training
organizational politics
insufficient data quality
Which of the following is the first step in evaluating organizational information?
summarizing findings for leadership
collecting additional internal records
benchmarking against external data
pinpointing the data to be analyzed
choosing appropriate analytic models
