Management, 13e (Robbins)
Chapter 18 Monitoring and Controlling
1) ________ refers to the process of monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance.
A) Controlling
B) Checking
C) Measuring
D) Verifying
2) ________ is the final step in the management process, which provides a critical link back to
________.
A) Organizing; planning
B) Planning; controlling
C) Controlling; planning
D) Leading; organizing
3) Which of the following management responsibilities determines if organizational goals are
being achieved?
A) designing the organization’s structure
B) motivating employees
C) formulating business strategy
D) measuring firm performance
4) Which of the following observations best explains why the control function is important?
A) An effective control system includes employee empowerment.
B) An effective control system assures that the organization will meet or exceed its goals.
C) An effective control system is the only way managers know whether organizational goals are
being met.
D) Organizational strategies are formed during the controlling stage.
5) Statco, Inc., has struggled to meet projected revenues for each of the past ten quarters. The
firm hired Mark Adams to design a control system and offer suggestions to improve the firm’s
performance. Which of the following is a key activity that the proposed control system should
perform?
A) organizational planning
B) organizational structuring
C) performance measurement
D) corporate governance
6) Controlling is the process of monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance.
7) Having a control system reduces the scope of employee empowerment and autonomy.
8) Managers engage in controlling activities to protect the organization and its assets.
9) What are the major reasons why the control function is important to managers?
10) The control process assumes that ________.
A) feedback is the only way to improve performance
B) managers will be aware of the actions and activities of their employees
C) performance standards are already in place
D) employee monitoring costs are part and parcel of doing business
11) The first step in the control process is ________.
A) setting the desired standards
B) measuring actual performance
C) comparing performance against expectations
D) enforcing managerial control
12) Which of the following sources of information for measuring performance is subject to
personal biases, time consuming, and obtrusive?
A) oral reports
B) personal observations
C) statistical reports
D) written reports
13) Annette is watching her new employee as he executes the steps in making French fries. Her
purpose is to make sure he follows the instructions exactly as given. Annette is using ________.
A) personal observation
B) statistical reports
C) mentoring
D) nonverbal feedback
14) Which of the following is one of the main advantages of using statistical reports as the
source of information?
A) Statistical reports can be used to obtain firsthand knowledge.
B) Unfiltered information can be obtained using statistical reports.
C) Statistical reports are effective for showing relationships.
D) Statistical reports provide unbiased information.
15) Andrew prefers to get his performance data in the form of charts and graphs. Andrew prefers
________.
A) personal observations
B) statistical reports
C) oral reports
D) written reports
16) Mark wants to use a tool which is easy to visualize and effective for showing relationships.
Which of the following tools is best suited for this?
A) benchmarking
B) balanced scorecard
C) written reports
D) statistical reports
17) Which of the following sources usually provides filtered information which cannot be
documented?
A) oral reports
B) personal observations
C) online reports
D) written reports
18) Brenda is always ready with a story to tell about performance in her area. Unfortunately,
Brenda sometimes leaves out important facts and makes statements that cannot be corroborated.
Brenda is delivering ________.
A) personal observations
B) statistical reports
C) oral reports
D) written reports
19) Which of the following sources provides information which is comprehensive, formal, and
easy to file and retrieve?
A) oral reports
B) personal observations
C) online reports
D) written reports
20) At the end of every month, the accounting department submits a balance sheet, statement of
profit and loss, and cash flow statement to the senior management team. These are all ________.
A) personal observations
B) statistical reports
C) oral reports
D) written reports
21) The comparing step in the control process determines ________.
A) a company’s relative position in the industry in terms of the standards used
B) a company’s relative position in the industry in terms of performance variances
C) the variation between actual performance and an external benchmark from a noncompetitor
D) the variation between actual performance and the standard
22) Managers should use subjective measures when ________.
A) work activities cannot be expressed in quantifiable terms
B) work activities are critical to the organization
C) organizational processes and activities are complex
D) employee attitudes are at stake
23) For which of the following is a subjective measure most appropriate?
A) level of satisfaction of patient care in a hospital
B) degree of improvement in closing sales in a real estate brokerage
C) quality of a water supply
D) reduction of waste in a manufacturing process
24) ________ corrects the problem at once to get performance back on track.
A) Basic corrective action
B) Immediate corrective action
C) Verbal feedback
D) Disciplinary action
25) “No, James, you must start the timer after you lower the French fry basket into the fryer, not
before.” This supervisor is using ________.
A) basic corrective action
B) disciplinary action
C) immediate corrective action
D) delayed corrective action
26) If a manager investigates how and why performance has deviated beyond the acceptable
range of variation, and then corrects the source of the deviation, she is using ________.
A) feedback control
B) immediate corrective action
C) basic corrective action
D) concurrent control
27) Mark recommends that the managers at Statco should identify how and why performance has
deviated beyond the acceptable range of variation, and then correct the source of the deviation.
Here, Mark is recommending ________.
A) feedforward control
B) immediate corrective action
C) basic corrective action
D) concurrent control
28) Following a customer complaint, ABC Mfg. formed a problem solving team to find out why
the system was producing unacceptable parts and make a recommendation to fix it. This is an
example of ________.
A) delayed corrective action
B) immediate corrective action
C) basic corrective action
D) preventive corrective action
29) Managers could choose to do nothing when ________.
A) an employee fails to attain the standard because of internal problems
B) the difference between actual performance and standard performance is low and acceptable
C) performance standards are acceptable, though the employees have not attained it
D) the variance observed from the expected performance is caused due to unrealistic standards
30) The goal for the sales team at the auto dealership was to sell one new car per day every day
of the month. In August the team sold 33 cars. What should management do?
A) Nothing. The deviation is insignificant.
B) Revise the goal. If the team sold more than the goal, obviously the goal is too low
C) Wait. See if the performance is duplicated next month before taking any action.
D) Celebrate. Any achievement beyond the goal is deserving of a celebration.
31) Some control criteria, such as employee satisfaction, can be used for any management
situation.
32) Deviations that exceed the acceptable range of variation become significant and need a
manager’s attention.
33) Basic corrective action corrects problems at once to get performance back on track.
34) Managers should do nothing if the variance observed from the standard is acceptable.
35) In a short essay, list and briefly explain the steps, processes, and best practices managers
typically utilize in the control process. Provide examples where appropriate.
36) Which of the following refers to the overall output of goods or services produced divided by
the inputs needed to generate that output?
A) yield
B) efficiency
C) effectiveness
D) productivity
37) The plant superintendent wants to know the value of products per man hour. She is
concerned with ________.
A) costs
B) waste
C) productivity
D) profits
38) Frank believes organizational effectiveness is more important to the organization than
organizational productivity. What could be the rationale behind this belief?
A) Organizational productivity is not a measure of organizational performance.
B) Organizational effectiveness is a measure of how well the organizational goals are met.
C) Organizational productivity is not directly related to organizational output.
D) Organizational effectiveness is a quantitative measure of the input-output relationship.
39) ________ is measured by the costs of acquiring and transforming organizational resources
into outputs.
A) Input
B) Quality
C) Profit
D) Leverage
40) Which of the following is considered the easiest way to increase organizational productivity?
A) increasing the price of outputs
B) increasing the amount of inputs
C) hiring more employees
D) decreasing the value of the products
41) The operations manager suggests a hike in the prices to improve productivity. However, the
marketing manager rules this option out. What could be the possible reason for this?
A) Product prices are not related to organizational productivity.
B) Selling price is negatively correlated to organizational productivity.
C) The industry is characterized by intense competition.
D) Such an action would lead to reduced employee satisfaction.
42) In order to increase the ratio of outputs to inputs, a manager would have to ________.
A) decrease the selling price
B) increase productivity
C) increase the quality of inputs
D) hire additional employees
43) Organizational ________ is a measure of how appropriate organizational goals are and how
well an organization is achieving those goals.
A) productivity
B) effectiveness
C) efficiency
D) yield
44) Productivity decreases when an organization raises the prices of its products.
45) Most employees do their jobs well and never require disciplinary action.
46) Organizational effectiveness is a measure of how appropriate organizational goals are and
how well those goals are being met.
47) An organization hires additional personnel as soon as they get a major contract. The
organization is using ________ control.
A) feedforward
B) concurrent
C) feedback
D) management
48) Contours, Inc., knows each drill bit can cut approximately 100,000 holes before the hole size
is smaller than the print specification so it changes drill bits after 95,000 uses. Contours, Inc., is
using ________ control.
A) preventive
B) predictive
C) feedforward
D) concurrent
49) Which of the following is considered the most desirable type of control to prevent
anticipated problems?
A) feedforward control
B) concurrent control
C) feedback control
D) reactive control
50) Charles wants to prevent problems before their occurrence. Which of the following is the
most desirable type of control to achieve this goal?
A) proactive control
B) preventive control
C) feedforward control
D) feedback control
51) The management control that takes place while a work activity is in progress is known as
________.
A) feedforward control
B) concurrent control
C) feedback control
D) reactive control
52) Connor interacts directly with the employees in the work area to identify problem areas. He
works with various departments to obtain a holistic idea of the business. This type of direct
supervision is an example of ________ control.
A) proactive
B) preventive
C) management by walking around
D) feedback
53) Contours, Inc., quality auditors pull one part from the production line every 15 minutes.
These parts are measured against the production print; any variation that is beyond acceptable
levels is reported to the machine operators. Contours, Inc., is using ________ control.
A) feedforward
B) concurrent
C) feedback
D) concentric
54) Management by walking around is an example of ________ control.
A) feedback
B) concurrent
C) feedforward
D) reactive