Fundamentals of Management, 10e (Robbins)
Chapter 2 The Management Environment
1) What did the effect of a volcanic eruption in Iceland have on the production of Nissans in a
plant in Japan illustrate?
A) how much organizations depend on their banks
B) how much organizations depend on their external environment
C) how much organizations depend on corporate culture
D) how much organizations depend on a strong brand image
2) Which components of the external environment of the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South
Carolina were disrupted by the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland?
A) the demographic and global components
B) the political and legal components
C) the economic and global components
D) the sociocultural and demographic components
3) Which of the following is not involved with the demographic component of an organization’s
external environment?
A) values
B) gender
C) race
D) income
4) This component of an organization’s external environment is concerned with scientific and
industrial innovations.
A) Demographic
B) Technological
C) Sociocultural
D) Economic
5) This component of an organization’s external environment is concerned with interest rates and
employment levels.
A) Demographic
B) Technological
C) Sociocultural
D) Economic
6) Court rulings allowing gay marriage is an example of a change in which components of an
organization’s external environment?
A) political/legal and technological
B) economic and demographic
C) sociocultural and global
D) sociocultural and political/legal
7) Global trade after the recent economic downturn has ________.
A) increased dramatically
B) decreased dramatically
C) increased, then decreased significantly
D) remained slow
8) The majority of growth in the U.S. employment recently has been in this area.
A) Low paying jobs
B) High paying jobs
C) Technology jobs
D) Full-time jobs
9) Which of the following has been identified as a significant risk to business leaders in the next
decade?
A) stagnation in technology
B) income disparity
C) declining birth rates
D) political instability
10) According to polls, which percent of adults believe that economic inequality is not a problem
at all?
A) 90
B) 50
C) 30
D) 10
11) In the United States the gap between the rich and poor is ________.
A) decreasing
B) accepted
C) hidden
D) increasingly tolerated
12) The use of peer-to-peer services such as Uber is an example of this type of economy.
A) Capitalistic
B) Socialistic
C) Sharing
D) Unplanned
13) Which of the following assets can be used as part of a sharing economy?
A) Cars
B) Homes
C) Skills
D) All of the above
14) Which of the following views of management would agree with the statement that managers
should not be held accountable for changing global economic conditions?
A) the geocentric view
B) the new-world order view
C) the demographic view
D) the symbolic view
15) Which view of management describes a situation in which managers are directly responsible
for a company’s success or failure?
A) the structural view of management
B) the symbolic view of management
C) the omnipotent view of management
D) the realistic view of management
16) Which kind of company would be less likely to fire its CEO after a poor performance?
A) a company with a symbolic view of management
B) a company with a realistic view of management
C) a company with an external view of management
D) a company with an omnipotent view of management
17) Which kind of company would you expect to pay its CEO the most?
A) a company with a symbolic view of management
B) a company with a liberal view of management
C) a company with a semipotent view of management
D) a company with an omnipotent view of management
18) ________ is the study of population characteristics.
A) Sociology
B) Demographics
C) Sociographics
D) Anthropology
19) Experts predict that these two countries will be larger than the developed countries of the
world by year 2050.
A) Mexico and China
B) India and China
C) China and South Africa
D) India and Mexico
20) What will cause countries such as Denmark to shrink with respect to the size of their
economy, relative to other nations?
A) no social safety net
B) welfare payments
C) high birth rate
D) low birth rate
21) Which of the following identifies the best illustration of the phrase “demographics is
destiny”?
A) India is experiencing explosive growth partly because its population is growing rapidly.
B) India is experiencing poverty because its population is growing rapidly.
C) The United States is experiencing slow growth partly because its population is growing
rapidly.
D) The United States is experiencing healthy growth partly because its population is not growing
and people are saving their resources.
22) Which of the following provides the best illustration of technology transforming how
managers manage in the workplace?
A) Managers oversee very large design teams.
B) Managers must supervise design teams more closely.
C) Managers oversee very large clerical and secretarial staffs.
D) Managers oversee very small clerical and secretarial staffs.
23) Which demographic do managers pay closest attention to with respect to large-scale trends in
the business world?
A) age
B) sex
C) employment status
D) geographic location
24) How are the “Post-Millennials” likely to be different from previous generations?
A) They require products that are completely customized to the individual.
B) They require products that are completely generic and not at all customized to the individual.
C) They require products that are serious and meaningful rather than frivolous and fun.
D) They require products that are of much higher quality than those required by individuals in
previous generations.
25) Which popular name has been assigned to those individuals born between 1946—1964?
A) Generation Y
B) Millennials
C) Generation X
D) Baby Boomers
26) Which generation is predicted to be the most diverse and multicultural of any generation in
the United States?
A) Baby Boomers
B) Generation X
C) Generation Y
D) Generation Z
Linden State University (Scenario)
Marta is a dean at Linden State University, a school with an enrollment of almost 20,000
students. In her daily activities, Marta has to deal with problems that involve students, faculty,
curriculum, budgets, and a variety of other things.
27) Marta sees an opportunity for her school in increasing the enrollment in individuals who
were born in the 1980s and early 1990s. Which term describes these prospective students?
A) Baby Boomers
B) Gen Yers
C) Gen Xers
D) Gen Zers
28) Marta is currently focusing her efforts on fundraising. She sees this generation as the cohort
on which to focus most of her attention.
A) Gen Y, because it is the wealthiest generation
B) the Baby Boomers, because they are the most ethical generation
C) the Baby Boomers, because they are the largest and wealthiest generation
D) the Post-Millennials, because they are the largest generation that is still looking forward to
college
29) Marta has turned her attention to cultivating undergraduate students in the near future–three
to five years from now. On which generation should she focus her attention?
A) the Baby Boomers, because they are looking for Continuing Education programs for self-
improvement
B) Gen X, because they are looking to get advanced degrees so they can obtain high-paying jobs
C) Gen Y, because the job market is so difficult they are looking to specialize in a useful major
such as accounting and biology
D) the Post-Millennials, because they are of the age that is just beginning to enroll in college
30) Marta wants to increase visibility for graduate programs in such areas as public health that
are specialized for professionals who have already worked in their field for ten years or more. On
which generation should she focus her efforts?
A) Gen W
B) Gen X
C) Gen Y
D) Pre-Millennials
31) Marta is worried that the facilities at Linden State are not as up-to-date as they could be with
respect to wi-fi access and the availability of classes on-demand using podcasts, social
networking, and other digital advances. Which generation is likely to notice this deficiency the
most?
A) the children of the Baby Boomers
B) the Baby Boomers
C) the Post-Millennials
D) Gen X
32) Theodore and Janice have formed TJ Soft, an entrepreneurial venture to develop games and
other kinds of software for consumers. Theodore feels that success depends on the decisions that
he and Janice make in the near future with respect to personnel. If they hire the “right” people,
Theodore thinks, the company will be successful. Which view of management does Theodore
espouse?
A) the symbolic view of management, because success rides on the decisions of the managers
B) the symbolic view of management, because success rides on external factors–whom Theodore
and Janice hire from the outside world
C) the omnipotent view of management, because success rides on the skills of the workers
D) the omnipotent view of management, because success rides on the decisions of the managers
33) Theodore and Janice have formed TJ Soft, an entrepreneurial venture to develop games and
other kinds of software for consumers. Janice loves the company but feels that the economy is
too slow to expect any kind of overwhelming success at this point in time. For now, Janice just
wants the company to survive. In a few years the company perhaps can look forward to true
success. Which view of management does Janice espouse?
A) the omnipotent view of management, because success rides on external factors such as the
economy
B) the symbolic view of management, because success rides on external factors such as the
economy
C) the symbolic view of management, because success rides on internal factors such as the
judgment of Theodore and Janice
D) the omnipotent view of management, because success rides on internal factors such as the
judgment of Theodore and Janice
34) Theodore and Janice have formed TJ Soft, an entrepreneurial venture to develop games and
other kinds of software for consumers. Theodore has just gotten wind from a highly reliable
source that games involving animals and ecosystems are likely to be extremely “hot” in the
coming year. Theodore is excited because TJ Soft has two games in development that fit the
animal/eco niche perfectly. Which component of the external environment will affect TJ Soft the
most in this situation?
A) the demographic component
B) the political component
C) the sociocultural component
D) the global component
35) Theodore and Janice have formed TJ Soft, an entrepreneurial venture to develop games and
other kinds of software for consumers. Theodore has just gotten wind from a highly reliable
source that Congress is likely to take action in the coming year to ban violent games. TJ Soft has
several games that could be considered violent. Which component of the external environment
will affect TJ Soft the most in this situation?
A) the political/legal component
B) the demographic component
C) the technological component
D) the economic component
36) Today’s managers must learn to cope with a greater level of change than those of the past.
37) Holding on tightly to organizational habits is one of the foundations of long-term success.
38) Organizational traditions should not be followed if they don’t fit with the current demands of
customers and shareholders.
39) A major cause of the shutdown of a BMW assembly plant in South Carolina was a bank
crisis in Iceland.
40) The external environment of an organization includes factors and forces that can affect how
the organization operates.
41) The components of an organization’s external environment include a technological
component and a political component.
42) The sociocultural component of the external environment of an organization includes trends
and traditions, but not basic attitudes and values.
43) The overall trend toward globalization is part of the political component of an organization’s
external environment.
44) Due to the large size of the economy, organizations in the United States are insulated from
global economic failures.
45) After the recent economic crisis, managers in the United States have found that there is
“smooth sailing” in the global economic arena.
46) External factors such as jobs and prices of natural resources are important factors that can
affect organizational decisions.
47) After the recent economic crisis, conditions in the United States have improved much better
and faster than in the rest of the world.
48) Recent data shows that employment in the United States is up, especially in high wage jobs.
49) While global trade has improved since the recent recession, it has not rebounded to pre-2008
levels.
50) Experts believe that in the future, income disparity between countries and individual wage
earners will be eliminated.
51) According to a recent poll, 50 percent of adults feel that economic inequality is not a
problem.
52) The symbolic view of management holds that an organization’s performance is based solely
on the decisions of managers.
53) The omnipotent view of management holds that good managerial decisions result in an
organization’s success.
54) According to the omnipotent view of management, American managers would not be blamed
if their company experienced sluggish sales in an economic downturn.
55) The quarterback of a football team assumes a largely symbolic role for his team because his
performance largely determines the outcome of the game.
56) According to the text, economic and demographic changes are two important components of
the environment that constrain the actions of managers.
57) The age of a population is one of its most important demographics.
58) The phrase “demographics is destiny” refers to the idea that older nations get tired, which
causes their performance to slip.
59) Technology has changed the way managers manage by forcing them to keep track of
employees in remote locations at all times of the day and night.
60) According to demographic predictions, the world’s population is becoming older.
61) Gen Xers are generally the children of the Baby Boomers.
62) Generation Y is becoming one of the most influential age groups.
63) In a short essay, describe an example in which the global component of an organization’s
external environment has a large impact on the organization itself.
64) In a short essay, describe the main problem of economic inequality.
65) In a short essay, describe and give an example of a sharing economy.
66) In a short essay, explain the difference between the symbolic and the omnipotent view of
management.
67) Explain the phrase “demographics is destiny” and give an example of this idea in today’s
world.
68) Why were the Baby Boomers so much more influential than other generations with respect to
changing American tastes and culture?
A) The Baby Boomers came after World War II when lifestyles were really changing.
B) The Baby Boomers were a much more coherent group than other generations.
C) The Baby Boomers were a much larger group than other generations.
D) The Baby Boomers were a much more free-spirited group than other generations.