Exam 7: Management and Leadership

The first step to developing a knowledge management system is to develop the technology to keep information secure.

Dax has been promoted to a first-line manager. Dax's new position will require him to spend a lot of time

As firms make greater use of empowerment and teams, managers will find that they

When managers work on creating conditions and systems to ensure that everything and everyone works together to achieve the organization's goals, they are involved in the ________ function of management.

Which of the following best summarizes the type of leader future organizations are likely to need? In the future, organizations will need leaders who:

A modern manager's main job is to issue orders, then follow up to make sure employees do as they were told.

Middle managers are responsible for

Objectives should be expressed as broad, general principles rather than as specific short-term results.

A(n) ________ leader would set objectives and give employees a great deal of freedom to decide for themselves how to accomplish those objectives.

Duke plans on majoring in accounting because he is confident that an ability to read and interpret financial and accounting data is the way to get to the top in business. Duke seems to be concerned with developing his

Karina was hired by the Mountain Mist Corporation to take over as the new CEO. Her initial impression is that the company is disorderly, primarily because the employees do not have a sense of purpose or a common set of values. Karina's remarks suggest that she needs to provide a(n) ________ for Mountain Mist.

Researchers have determined that all effective leaders have similar traits.

Which of the following is involved in setting work standards and schedules needed to implement the firm's tactical objectives?

Planning involves setting the organizational vision, goals, and objectives.

Mini-Case Lauzy Fare left his position as senior vice president at Blue Skies Electronics a few weeks ago to become the new CEO of Idle Time Gaming. Before joining the new company, Lauzy spent time studying Idle Time's competitive position and talking to employees in all divisions and at all levels of the organization. Based on his findings, Lauzy believes that Idle Time has potential, but also faces some serious challenges if it expects to grow. Lauzy found that when confronted by him, most of Idle Time's professional employees seemed almost afraid to express their opinions. He learned that Otto Craddick, the previous CEO and founder of the company, viewed himself as the boss, and, as such, micromanaged every aspect of the business. This discouraged employees from using their own initiative and ideas to solve problems. For example, Otto required sales and service representatives to get his approval before they made any major commitments to customers. Otto's policy prevented the organization from responding quickly to customer requests, so sales were lost. Unlike his predecessor, Lauzy believes it is important for sales and service personnel to be able to deal with many types of customer requests without needing approval from top management. He is confident that giving employees the authority and flexibility to deal with customers, and providing them with the training and resources to help them do so, will improve morale within the company, create customer satisfaction, and grow revenues. Lauzy also wants to make workers throughout the organization feel more appreciated. He plans to continue meeting with them on a regular basis to seek their advice. He hopes his work colleagues will eventually respond to his leadership style. He has already encouraged middle managers to get employees more involved in decision making, and has suggested some problem-solving techniques the managers could try. Although he thought that changing the rigidity of the company culture would be his first challenge at the new firm, Lauzy quickly realized that there were no standards in place to measure the progress of changes in internal morale, customer satisfaction, and profitability. He has asked managers in those departments to spend more time setting performance standards and then monitoring actual performance. Lauzy is confident that in a relatively short period of time internal changes will lead to good company performance. As a member of top management, Lauzy performs a variety of important tasks. -Lauzy seems to prefer a(n) ________ style of leadership.

Managers or teams of managers at the lower levels of an organization normally develop strategic plans, but top managers do most of the tactical planning.

A(n) ________ would be used by a department manager as a tool for making daily and weekly assignments.

________ is the term used to describe giving workers the education and tools they need to assume additional decision-making powers.

A statement about why an organization exists and what it is trying to achieve is called the organization's directive.

An analysis of the business environment helps managers identify threats and opportunities that face their firm.