Fundamentals of Management Education (Business Management Quiz - 66)

1. Which of the following is a ‘common organizational requirement’ with respect to Porter’s differentiation strategy?
[A]Strong coordination among functions in R&D, product development and marketing
[B]Strong marketing abilities
[C]Creative flair
[D]Corporate reputation for quality and technological leadership


2. Which of the following is generally not an important component of a plan?
[A]The evaluation of relevant information
[B]The assessment of probable future developments
[C]A statement of a recommended course of action
[D]A statement of manager intuition


3. Which stage of the decision-making process is either nonexistent or given little attention in programmed decision making?
[A]Analysis of alternatives
[B]Development of the alternatives
[C]Identification of decision criteria
[D]Identification of problem


4. Functional structure is a type of departmentation in which positions are grouped according to their main functional area. Which of the following is a disadvantage of functional departmentation?
[A]Specialization
[B]Managerial vacuum
[C]Power and prestige
[D]Coordination


5. Span of control refers to the number of subordinates a superior can supervise efficiently and effectively. Which of the following factors determine(s) an effective span of control?
I. Clarity and Delegation of Authority.
II. Use of Objective Standards.
III. Rate of Change.
[A]Only (I) above
[B]Only (II) above
[C]Only (III) above
[D]All (I), (II) and (III) above


6. Anil, the manager of Internet Made Easy, is concerned. He is trying, like all technological based companies, to stay ahead of the competition by being the first to offer the new services available on the Internet. His business offers training to local businesses, and so he must offer the latest available information; however, he must also advertise the classes and the content, which means going to the publisher with this information six weeks before a class is to begin. He also has to think what he should offer in his next series of classes. Anil is operating under which of the following conditions?
[A]Uncertainty
[B]Certainty
[C]Risk
[D]Optimal decision-making


7. Which of the following refers to the involvement of employees in civic activities?
[A]Volunteerism
[B]Fund-raising
[C]Recycling
[D]Valuing diversity


8. The behavioral approach began with
[A]The Hawthorne studies
[B]The mental revolution
[C]The industrial revolution
[D]Motion studies


9. Delegate means to grant or confer on subordinates certain tasks and duties along with sufficient authority, to accomplish these. Which of the following points is most likely to increase the effectiveness of delegation?
[A]Detail how the required tasks are to be completed, for the subordinate
[B]Predetermine the desired results and performance standards for the delegated task
[C]Explain the relevance of delegated tasks to larger projects or to department or organization goals
[D]Maintain the authority necessary to accomplish the main tasks


10. Which of the following is the strength of the functional structure?
[A]It focuses on results
[B]It gains advantages due to work specialization
[C]Employees have more than one boss
[D]It is based solely on teams


11. The success of an organization greatly depends on the decisions that managers make. Due to this reason, managerial approaches to decision-making have been the subject of considerable curiosity and research. There are different types of decisions that are taken. The concepts of "minimax" and "maximini" are used in which of the following decision-making techniques?
[A]Utility Theory
[B]Game Theory
[C]Preference Theory
[D]Simulation


12. The business level strategies described by Michael E. Porter are also referred to as
[A]Generic strategies
[B]Functional strategies
[C]Operational strategies
[D]Corporate strategies


13. Open systems can accomplish their tasks and meet their objectives through different courses of action. Open systems do not need a single ‘best’ method to achieve their objectives and accomplish their goals. Which of the following terms implies this concept of reaching the same result by different means?
[A]Differentiation
[B]Equifinality
[C]Dynamic Homeostasis
[D]Cost Leadership


14. Problems are encountered at all levels in an organization, and managers at various levels have to solve them or manage them in the best possible way. Which of the following is a series of interrelated sequential steps that can be used to respond to a well-structured problem?
[A]Rule
[B]Policy
[C]Budget
[D]Procedure


15. The success of an organization greatly depends on the decisions that managers make. Decision-making is the process by which a course of action is selected so as to deal with a specific problem. It is a systematic process and involves a series of steps. Feedback is usually used in which of the following stages of the decision-making process?
[A]Problem identification stage
[B]Resources and constraints identification stage
[C]Alternative evaluation stage
[D]Monitoring stage