Edgar hired a graduate from his alma mater, thinking he would be a successful first line
supervisor. Unfortunately the new hire hasn’t worked out as well as hoped. Edgar
decided to invest time and money in training for the new hire but saw little
improvement. Next he assigned a successful supervisor to mentor the young employee.
The problems persisted. Edgar is displaying ________.
A) bounded rationality
B) irrational behavior
C) poor judgment
D) escalation of commitment
In the ________ communication network, communication flows according to the
formal organizational hierarchy, both downward and upward.
A) chain
B) linked
C) wheel
D) horizontal
By the time that Sandra had finished the presentation to the employees, she had spoken
for one and one-half hours, shown 14 visual aids, and no one asked a question. The
employees were probably dealing with which of the following barriers to effective
communication?
A) information overload
B) selective perception
C) defensiveness
D) cultural constraints
Ruth, a financial consultant, determines her client’s leverage ratio to be very high. What
suggestion could Ruth give to help the firm reduce its leverage ratio?
A) Increase the money supply by selling a part of its assets.
B) Pay back part of its debts to improve the ratio.
C) Maintain more current assets than current liabilities.
D) Reduce the sales to total assets ratio of the firm.
Heavy investment in ________ will help take advantage of the market’s growth and
help maintain high market share.
A) cash cows
B) stars
C) question marks
D) dogs
Steve recommends that employees should be compensated according to their
competencies, rather than their designations. Employees should be financially rewarded
when they gain more knowledge and learn new processes that are relevant to the job,
even if the employee is at a lower level. This implies that Steve favors a ________.
A) variable pay system
B) fixed pay system
C) profit-based pay system
D) skill-based pay system
When a communication requires employees to follow their job description, or to
comply with company policies, communication is being used to ________.
A) control
B) motivate
C) provide a release for emotional expression
D) persuade
The ________ style of leadership describes a leader who tends to involve employees in
decision making, delegate authority, encourage participation in deciding work methods
and goals, and use feedback as an opportunity for coaching employees.
A) participative
B) autocratic
C) democratic
D) laissez-faire
In which of the following traditional organizational designs does duplication of
activities and resources lead to an increase in costs and reduced efficiency?
A) divisional structure
B) team structure
C) matrix structure
D) project structure
Gilda has an idea that would streamline operations, reduce costs, and increase profits.
Her idea requires the cooperation of several departments, some of which have
demonstrated a resistance to change. By considering the context in which the changes
must happen and the people in her organization, Gilda is using ________.
A) evidence-based management
B) bounded rationality
C) intuition
D) positive employee relations
During her performance evaluation, Cindy omitted a few of the details about her
problems with her subordinates because she was afraid he supervisor would think her
unfit for management. This is an example of ________.
A) lying by omission
B) framing
C) self-advancement
D) filtering
Control techniques can be quite different for different countries. The differences are
primarily in the ________.
A) types of tasks that employees perform in various countries
B) way employees respond to the controlling measures
C) strategic orientation of each technique
D) measurement and corrective action steps of the control process
Which is the first step managers should follow in goal setting?
A) evaluating available resources
B) determining goals individually or with input from others
C) writing down goals and communicating them to all who need to know
D) reviewing the organization’s mission
Shaun is the manager of a warehouse operated by a department store. He is trusted by
his subordinates because he shares information freely, is reliable, and shows extremely
good judgment while handling any type of crisis. Shaun is also known to be very
protective of his staff. Which dimensions of trust is he exhibiting?
A) integrity and loyalty
B) competence and openness
C) consistency, loyalty, and openness
D) loyalty, consistency, and competence
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
Barbara solicits input from her subordinates before making decisions that will affect
them. She often praises them for good work and gently offers suggestions to improve
their performance. Barbara uses the ________ style of leadership.
A) autocratic
B) participative
C) democratic
D) supportive