WGU C483- Principles of Management - Test Prep with complete solutions

Delivery of products or services - ANSWER-A value chain is the sequence of activities that begins with raw materials. What result does a value chain end with? Choose 1 answer Supply and demand Operations and log ...

Delivery of products or services - ANSWER-A value chain is the sequence of activities that begins with raw materials. What result does a value chain end with? Choose 1 answer Supply and demand Operations and logistics Outsourcing or insourcing Delivery of products or services Profit margins are increased. - ANSWER-What happens when an effective value chain is created? Choose 1 answer Profit margins are increased. A mission statement is developed. Customized products are standardized. Total quality management is not required. Analysis of external opportunities and threats - ANSWER-Industry and market analysis, competitor analysis, and social analysis are examples of which step in the strategic planning process? Analysis of mission, vision, and goals Analysis of management implementation Analysis of external opportunities and threats Analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses Strengths - ANSWER-Skilled management, positive cash flow, and well-known brands are examples of which component of the SWOT analysis? Threats Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Core competencies - ANSWER-What denotes skills or expertise in an activity that constitutes the roots of competitiveness in an organization? Choose 1 answer Strategic values Core competencies Products and services Opportunities and threats Suppliers can reduce manufacturing time and increase product quality. - ANSWER-According to Michael Porter's competitive environment model, how can suppliers influence strategic planning? Suppliers can reduce the threat from substitute products. Suppliers can reduce the numbers of new entrants in the market. Suppliers can reduce manufacturing time and increase product quality. Suppliers can reduce technological, demographic, and legal threats in the environment. Differentiation - ANSWER-A company offers unique products in its industry to create a competitive advantage. Which type of strategy is the company using? Valorization Differentiation Customization Standardization Vertical integration - ANSWER-Happy Inc. is a leading provider of family entertainment and BCD is a broadcasting company with news, cable, and entertainment networks. Happy Inc. recently acquired BCD in hopes of boosting its primary business of family entertainment. Which type of corporate strategy is represented by Happy Inc.'s purchase of their distribution network? Choose 1 answer Vertical integration Strategic alliances Networking Horizontal benchmarking Strategic vision - ANSWER-A local business has provided services to its customers for 40 years. The business's mission is "To give our customers the best service in town." The owner of the business has had a long-standing dream to franchise the business and become the best provider of its service in the United States. What describes the owner's dream? Choose 1 answer Strategic vision Strategic mission Strategic planning Strategic management Developing a strategic mission - ANSWER-What is the first step of organizational strategic planning? Choose 1 answer Developing operational goals Developing internal strengths Developing a strategic mission Developing external opportunities Six Sigma - ANSWER-The introduction of statistical tools to analyze the causes of product defects is associated with which quality improvement approach? Six Sigma Flexible Process Customer Process Quality Customization To revolutionize key organizational systems and processes - ANSWER-What is the principal idea of reengineering? Choose 1 answer To analyze system failures To focus on creating two-way exchanges with customers To revolutionize key organizational systems and processes To improve total quality in all businesses for the benefit of producers and consumers Less than 3.4 - ANSWER-How many defects per million are there at Six Sigma, assuming a product or process is defect-free 99.99966% of the time? Choose 1 answer Less than 3.4 Less than 4.4 Less than 5.3 Less than 6.6 To take action to accomplish the transformation - ANSWER-What is the last step to Deming's 14 points of quality management? To cease dependence on mass inspection To break down barriers among departments To evaluate options provided by management To take action to accomplish the transformation Quality Assurance - ANSWER-Process checklists and project audits are components of which management process? Choose 1 answer Quality Control Quality Assurance Quality Cooperative Quality Collaboration To measure effectiveness of an organization's quality management system - ANSWER-What is the main objective of an internal quality audit? To gauge the quality of human resources To assess the quality of control process failures To determine the quality of an organization's executive management To measure effectiveness of an organization's quality management system Six Sigma - ANSWER-A company is trying to systematically improve processes by eliminating nonconformity of their products to product specifications. The company believes their continuous effort to reduce variation in their process outputs is key to their business success. Which quality process is the company utilizing? ISO 9000 Six Sigma Reengineering Continuous processing Customer relationship management - ANSWER-Which concept entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its customers in both sales and service-related environments? Customer connection society Customer liaison administration Customer association organization Customer relationship management Sustained competitive advantage - ANSWER-Dr. Ohmae indicates that customer, corporation, and competitors should be integrated in a strategic triangle. What does Dr. Ohmae indicate that an organization can obtain by doing this? Time-based competition Sustained competitive advantage Coordination of mutual adjustment Decentralization of the organization Intrapreneur - ANSWER-What designates those who take hands-on responsibility for creating innovation such as new ideas, products, or methods within an organization? Franchiser Pacesetter Intrapreneur Controller Creates unique and different products or services - ANSWER-Why is innovation an important element of entrepreneurship? Allows the company to meet industry benchmarks Creates unique and different products or services Reduces marketing costs for the company Buffers the impact of changes in the legal environment Creativity, self-reliance, and ability to adapt - ANSWER-Most successful entrepreneurs exhibit certain characteristics. Some entrepreneurs are open-minded, able to learn quickly, and skilled at conceptualizing. Which entrepreneurial personality trait is this? Choose 1 answer Opportunity obsession Competitive intelligence Creativity, self-reliance, and ability to adapt Tolerance of risk, ambiguity, and uncertainty Determination - ANSWER-Which personality characteristics are believed to contribute to an entrepreneur's success? Risk aversion Determination Status quo obsession Motivation to delegate To maintain control - ANSWER-Why would an entrepreneurial business choose to use its own resources versus seeking outside resources in financing a business venture? To go public To spread the risk To maintain control To fuel large growth Encourage employees to work on informal job assignments - ANSWER-Which activity should management use to encourage intrapreneurship within an organization? Allow employees to form a union Motivate employees by giving extra time off Provide employees extra training opportunities Encourage employees to work on informal job assignments Provide a devil's advocate - ANSWER-What can managers do to encourage useful conflict during a meeting to lessen inhibition about disagreeing and make the conflict less personal? Evaluate leadership style Promote affective conflict Provide a devil's advocate Involve others in collaboration People respond based on their interpretation of others' intentions. - ANSWER-Why is consideration of intentions important in conflict situations? People tend to think before they act in some situations. People have habitual patterns of response to conflict situations. Selfish intentions of people often leads to poor decision making. People respond based on their interpretation of others' intentions. Cooperativeness and assertiveness - ANSWER-What describes dimensions of conflict-handling intentions? Comparativity and associativity Collaboration and aggressiveness Competitiveness and acquiescence Cooperativeness and assertiveness Expansion of resources - ANSWER-A supervisor assigned office space to three new employees. The employees were upset by the offices they were given. The first had a large office but wanted a window, the second had a new computer but wanted room for some plants, and the third had a window but needed high-speed computing to perform the job well. Which conflict resolution technique can the supervisor use to create a win-win solution for these employees? Problem solving Authoritative command Expansion of resources Altering the human variables Restructuring the organization - ANSWER-A corporation is experiencing dysfunction in their work teams. The team leader plans to realign work groups based on employees' work locations, and also to alter rules and regulations in the groups and make additional changes to "shake things up a bit." Which conflict-stimulation technique is the team leader applying? Avoidance Communication Knowledge management Restructuring the organization Market control - ANSWER-Which type of control system is being implemented when management uses prices, profit centers, and exchange relationships as a control? Choose 1 answer Clan control Market control Dynamic control Bureaucratic control Taking corrective action - ANSWER-What is the fourth step of the control process which ensures that operations are adjusted to achieve planned results? Choose 1 answer Measuring performance Taking corrective action Setting performance standards Comparing performance against standards Peer pressure - ANSWER-A corporation recently disbanded its flex time schedule for employees and now requires that all employees work 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The employees banded together in opposition of the change. What were the employees of the corporation experiencing? Apathy Timing Peer pressure Abilene paradox Negotiation and reward - ANSWER-The manager of the human resources department at a corporation agreed to authorize one-hour lunch breaks for all employees of the organization as long as the production manager agreed to shorten the morning and afternoon breaks of all employees to 15 minutes. Which approach were the managers using to enlist cooperation for the change? Facilitation and support Negotiation and reward Participation and involvement Education and communication Negotiation and reward - ANSWER-A corporation offers concrete incentives such as higher wages for cooperation with change. Which strategy is the corporation using to overcome resistance to change? Choose 1 answer Facilitation and support Negotiation and reward Participation and involvement Education and communication Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) - ANSWER-During a final job interview, the hiring manager asks candidates about age and national origin. Some of the rejected candidates suspect they did not get the job because of their age. Which law covers this type of discrimination? Fair Hiring of Employees Act (FHEA) Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employment Without Boundaries (EWB) By organizing staffing needs and looking for people with the right skills - ANSWER-After a major budget increase, a company finds itself in a position to hire 50 new employees. How can strategic human resource planning benefit the company in this situation? Choose 1 answer By providing annual reviews of staff performances By coordinating companywide continuing education By initiating termination interviews to release unproductive employees By organizing staffing needs and looking for people with the right skills Independence and discretion in making decisions - ANSWER-In the five dimensions of Hackman and Oldham's model of job design, what does autonomy describe? Choose 1 answer Information about job performance Independence and discretion in making decisions Important and positive impact on the lives of others Different job activities involving several skills and talents Integrity test - ANSWER-A store that has had a high rate of employee theft wants to use an employee selection technique to hire new employees who are less likely to steal from them. Which type of employee selection instrument is most appropriate in this situation? Choose 1 answer Validity test Integrity test Reliability test Personality test Differentiation and integration - ANSWER-When selecting an organizational structure, which key elements should be considered? Choose 1 answer Economics and ethics Diversity and dynamics Differentiation and integration Job specification and segmentation Collaboration - ANSWER-What is the best way to succeed in a matrix organizational structure? Choose 1 answer Collaboration Unity of command Top-down communication Centralized decision making To make information available as needed - ANSWER-What is a reason to create a boundaryless organizational structure? Choose 1 answer To differentiate position titles To allow for the delegation of tasks To limit the amount of collaboration To make information available as needed Virtual organization - ANSWER-Four small, independent organizations, each with its own type of expertise, plan to work together for six months for the sole purpose of developing a new product that will help each of them improve their ability to compete with larger organizations. Which type of organization does their relationship characterize? Matrix organization Virtual organization Functional organization Bureaucratic organization Organic - ANSWER-Which formal structure allows job holders to have broad responsibilities, accommodates decentralized and informal decision making, and values expertise? Modern Flexible Organic Mechanistic Divisional - ANSWER-One manager is responsible for all functional areas allowing the company to sell Product A, and another manager is responsible for all functional areas that allow the company to sell Product B. Which type of design does this corporation use? Choose 1 answer Virtual Network Divisional Horizontal Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action - ANSWER-Which entities protect the rights of employees and potential employees from discrimination in the workplace? Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action National Labor Relations and Labor Management Relations Fair Labor Standards and Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure and Labor Management Relations Barrier caused by word association - ANSWER-During an international executive meeting, an executive used a word that did not translate into English. What type of cross-cultural communication barrier is this? Barrier caused by semantics Barrier caused by tone differences Barrier caused by word association Barrier caused by differences among perceptions Personal variables - ANSWER-A younger employee becomes irritated by the sound of an older employee's voice and finds it difficult to work on projects with the older employee. This has caused conflict in the department. What is the source of conflict between the older and younger employees? Choose 1 answer Structure Differing values Communication Personal variables A publicly-held company has a policy limiting financial donations to one religious group. - ANSWER-In which situation does religious preference inappropriately affect decision making? A publicly-held company has a policy limiting financial donations to one religious group. Management approves a religious endorsement that makes claims the company supports. A member of a particular religion starts a business that benefits members of the religion in the area. Management provides two religious holidays per year for every employee regardless of religious affiliation. The company will purchase a large computer screen and a Braille keyboard - ANSWER-A visually-impaired person has been hired to work in the human resources department of a small company. Which workplace accommodations would be reasonable in this situation? The company will provide an interpreter for all face-to-face interviews. The company will purchase a large computer screen and a Braille keyboard. The company will hire a person to read all documents for the visually-impaired person. The company will purchase a Braille reader and convert company documents to Braille. Building awareness - ANSWER-What is a common component of effective diversity training programs? Building awareness Revealing concerns Completing a skills inventory Identifying informal networks people have conscious goals that energize them and direct their thoughts and behaviors toward a particular end. - ANSWER-The goal-setting theory states that: people will behave based on their perceived likelihood that performance will be followed by a particular outcome. people have conscious goals that energize them and direct their thoughts and behaviors toward a particular end. behavior that is followed by positive consequences will likely be repeated. people assess how fairly they have been treated according to two key factors, outcomes, and inputs. people will behave based on their perceived likelihood that their effort will enable them to attain their performance goals. a set of perceptions of what employees owe their employers, and what their employers owe them. - ANSWER-A psychological contract is described as: a set of perceptions of what employees owe their employers, and what their employers owe them. an agreement implying fair treatment of employees without any discrimination in terms of race or gender. a set of conditions of non-disclosure signed by an employee on joining the organization. a set of conditions to ensure the fairness of decisions made by employers. the legal concept that an employee may be terminated for any reason. Physiological - ANSWER-According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which of the following needs would one seek to satisfy first? Self-actualization Physiological Social Safety Ego job design - ANSWER-Following Herzberg's model, Hackman and Oldham proposed a more complete model of _____. empowerment expectancy reinforcement job design self-actualization intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. - ANSWER-Herzberg's two-factor theory highlights the distinction between: positive and negative reinforcement. valence and instrumentality. intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. job enlargement and job enrichment. socialized power and personalized power