Chapter 7—Basic Elements of Planning and Decision Making Key
1. An organization’s goals follow from decisions made by midlevel managers.
2. Decision making is the catalyst that drives the planning process.
3. All organizations engage in planning activities, and most organizations plan in exactly the same fashion.
4. Qualcomm has a patent-licensing agreement with Texas Instruments allowing both manufacturers to share
patents in cell phone production. This is an example of tactical planning.
5. Operationalizing involves balancing and reconciling possible conflicts among goals.
6. When there are inconsistencies among various organizational goals, managers should seek to optimize the
overall goal set.
7. In determining goals, short-range means one to five years.
8. Strategic plans are the overall plans that describe how the organization will achieve its major goals.
9. Tactics deal with more specific issues than strategies.
10. Strategic plans have a shorter-term focus than either operational or tactical plans.
11. Employees that are rewarded based on quarterly profit figures will engage in more intermediate and
long-range planning than employees who do not receive quarterly bonuses.
12. Programs and projects are short-range plans.
13. When the public relations department develops a crisis reaction plan to deal with the media it is developing
a reaction plan.
14. A reaction plan is usually short range and done after something changed.
15. A contingency plan is usually done as an action plan.
16. Tactical plans are to war what strategy is to battles.
17. Tactical planning focuses on resources, environment, and mission, whereas strategic planning focuses
primarily on people and action.
18. An occasional situation may call for a stand-alone tactical plan, but most of the time tactical plans flow from
and must be consistent with a strategic plan.
19. Strategies must specify resources and time frames.
20. Operational plans tend to be narrowly focused, have relatively short time horizons, and involve lower-level
managers.
21. A program is a type of operational plan.
22. Single-use plans are referred to as policies.
23. The human resource administrator was following a policy when he offered a candidate a job and started the
negotiation process.
24. The steps to be followed in case of a fire can be found on the back of any hotel door. These instructions are
an example of rules and regulations.
25. Standard operating procedures and rules and regulations can serve as a substitute for decision making.
26. Goals, such as employee satisfaction and development, are easy to quantify.
27. The vice president of human resources wants to eliminate all overtime, whereas one of the goals set by the
vice president of operations is to make more efficient use of overtime hours. This is an example of goal
consistency.
28. An organization can use management by objectives (MBO) to implement plans.
29. Which of the following directly follows from the organization’s mission?
30. The mission statement should include all EXCEPT which of the following?
31. You have decided to go into business for yourself. On your loan application, you state that you intend to
open a flower shop in the Village Center Mall. What does this statement on your loan application represent?
32. The ____ of the National Park Service is “To promote and regulate the use of the national parks which
purpose is to conserve the scenery and the national and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide
for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the
enjoyment of future generations.”
33. The ____ of Choice Waste Management Ltd. is “To be the best international integrated leading waste
management company¾working in the best competitive environment to deliver the best value and sustainable
waste solutions to meet the world’s needs.”
34. According to the planning process described in the text, operational plans flow directly from
35. In what order should the following be developed?
36. Goals serve four very important purposes. Each purpose is related closely to one of the four functions of
management. According to the text, which of the four functions of management is NOT specifically addressed
by one of the purposes served by goals?
37. Goals can
38. Goals are set by
39. Which of the following statements most correctly reflects the relationship between goal setting and
planning?
40. A(n) ____ of Choice Waste Management could be to expand operations in two more countries this year.
41. The ____ for Catholic Charities is “To provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social
structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same.”
42. A(n) ____ for Choice Waste Management could be “to develop a recycling campaign for rural communities
of less than 1000 customers.” It would develop naturally out of a strategic goal “to increase recycling by 10%
everywhere.”
43. A(n) ____ for Choice Waste Management could be to put a flyer in with bills that explains the Dos and
Don’ts of Recycling and to put the information on the web page where customers pay online. It would develop
naturally out of a tactical goal “to develop a recycling campaign for rural communities of less than 1000
customers.”
44. Goals are classified according to their ____ when the terms quality, productivity, and innovation are applied
to them.
45. Spanx founder Sara Blakely started an apparel company. She wrote a business plan to get financing for
expansion. The business plan is Spanx’s ____.
46. Home Depot’s marketing department could set a(n) ____ to create an Internet advertisement for a sale within
the next two weeks.
47. Black Entertainment Television’s target audience is male 18 to 34 years old, because advertisers spend more
money on younger consumers. High ratings with those viewers is a(n) ____.
48. When we identify strategic, tactical, and operational goals, we are classifying them by
49. Goals set for broad general issues are called
50. Goals set for a new product launch are called
51. Goals set for short-term issues are called
52. Google set a(n) ____ goal to purchase Motorola Mobility.
53. When Starbucks expands internationally it considers market size, local standard of living, business
environment, income level and U.S. sentiment. This is considered in the ____ plan.
54. In a manufacturing company, you will most likely find more
55. Which of the following statements BEST reflects the proper approach to goal setting?
56. What is the proper managerial response when there are conflicts among goals in different parts of an
organization?
57. ____ involves balancing and reconciling possible conflicts among goals.
58. An objective is a(n) ____.
59. ____ set tactical goals.
60. ____ plans are the broad plans developed by top managers and the board of directors to guide the general
direction of the organization.
61. American Airlines planned to spin off American Eagle, a regional carrier. This is an example of a(n) ____
plan.
62. Middle managers are most closely associated with organizational plans at the ____ level.
63. Comcast launched TV One, a station geared to African Americans who are 24 to 54 years old. It does not
offer much hip hop. The program selection is part of Comcast’s ____ plan.
64. Google wanted to compete more effectively against Apple, so it offered to buy Motorola Mobility. This is
an example of a(n) ____ plan.
65. Plans that have an intermediate time horizon and are concerned with getting things done are called ____
plans.
66. Disney has a Smartphone app to help visitors navigate Walt Disney World. It helps guests find shorter lines,
food, restrooms, etc. The app helps increase guest enjoyment and time in the park, which leads to more revenue.
67. The tactical plan was to increase sales of King bread mixes through the use of sales promotions. The ____
plan done by a marketing manager low in the management hierarchy included the development of a 50-cents-off
coupon to go on the outside of each bread mix box.
68. Executives at Lululemon Athletica have just written a plan that allocates a large part of the firm’s cash to a
new product line. They have done this because they feel that they can get a real advantage over their
competition and that the new product line will have a synergistic effect when combined with current products.
What kind of plan is this?
69. Starbucks’ middle managers responsible for joint venture agreements with bookstores, hotels and airports
work from a(n) ____ plan.
70. Starbucks’ store managers decide how to customize the snacks to the local market. They make the ____
plan.
71. Which of the following types of plans is least subject to change because of the time frame involved?
72. ____ plans are the organizational plans that are broadest in focus and have the longest time frame.
73. Which of the following organizations would face the most difficulty in developing long-range plans?
74. The owners of the Pizza Place set a goal of expanding into five new markets over the next three years. What
kind of goal is this?
75. Which of the following is an example of an intermediate-range plan?
76. You just wrote a short-range plan in support of an intermediate plan. You based this plan on your best
estimate of future environmental conditions. What kind of plan did you write?
77. The 5.8 earthquake centered in Virginia surprised people in the East. The plan to clean up damage caused by
the quake was a(n) ____ plan.
78. Engelhard has just learned of a hostile takeover attempt from BASF. Engelhard needs to develop a(n) ____
plan to thwart this attempted acquisition.
79. Hurricane Irene was forecast to hit the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast about a week before it arrived. The plan to
evacuate the Outer Banks of North Carolina was a(n) ____ plan.
80. A New York Times journalist was taken hostage by the Taliban. Special Forces created a(n) ____ plan and
rescued the journalist.
81. A year before the census, the federal government hired tens of thousands of temporary workers to prepare
for the count. This is an example of a(n) ____ plan.
82. Many organizations develop a professional planning staff with overall responsibility for the planning
process. Which of the following is NOT a reason for using a planning staff?