Exam 5: Planning: the Foundation of Successful Management

Every five years, the upper-level managers of Zebra Technology meet to develop a new large-scale action plan that will set the direction for the company for the next five years. In that meeting the managers will work on developing a strategy.

You are the manager of your college's bookstore. Create a mission statement, a vision statement, and a values statement for the services you manage.

The Human Resources department of Superior Catering conducted a training workshop on setting and achieving organization goals. DeJohn, the store manager of the Miami location, has been working with his managers to set objectives that are clearly defined, focused on achieving specific results, and can be accomplished with a given amount of resources. Which aspect of SMART goals is missing?

California's dairy farmers famous tagline "Got milk?" is an example of a slogan, not a business plan or a strategy. Briefly describe the differences among these key terms: planning, a business plan, and a strategy.

For MBO to be successful, top management must be committed to the program, MBO must be applied organizationwide, and

Tricia, the director of marketing for a global company, is planning the contributions she and her department will make to the organization over the next 24 months. This type of planning is called operational planning.

The planning process begins with two attributes: a mission statement and a vision statement. What questions are answered with each of these?

During her lunch break one afternoon, Alison set a goal of completing all required trainings in the next 90 days by taking two trainings a week. What is she doing?

The planning/control cycle has two planning steps. They are

We Deliver trains its truck loaders how to set the packages in the delivery vehicles, so that when delivery drivers are pulling packages off their trucks, they are organized in a specific order and with the label facing forward to reduce errors and save time. A(n) ________ is being implemented when directing that the trucks be loaded in this specific manner.

This question has multiple parts; be sure to answer each one. First, explain how a company's approach to planning and its mission become translated into action plans. Second, imagine that you have just purchased a local pizza restaurant. There are three other similar restaurants in the city, and yours is the smallest. Write a mission statement and a vision statement, and create an action plan for achieving your vision.

The management of Computer Rescues, Inc. finalized the company's action plan for increasing its market share over the next few years. The management then set up a 12-month plan that defines how the organization will conduct its business based on the action plan, including clear sales targets for each week. The second plan is an example of a(n) ________ plan.

Professor Adams, a business teacher, meets with her students' mid-quarter to give out midterm reports and discuss with students how to improve their grade for the remainder of term. Also, she likes to meet with her students each week after midterm to discuss how they are progressing on suggestions related to the midterm reports. Discuss how Professor Adams is using the planning control steps of the planning/control cycle with her students.

Jared told his boss, Maggie, that he is going to start training for the upcoming marathon to be healthier and to have more energy for work. When Maggie asked him about his running history, Jared said, "I really have never run before and don't exercise much. I just know I need to do something." Maggie replied, "You should start slowly, maybe setting smaller, realistic exercise goals that are achievable." Maggie is helping Jared set a

Harriet, the store manager, asked Lou to organize the prize giveaways for the store's grand reopening. Lou is organizing a(n)

Luxottica, a manufacturer of fashionable prescription eyewear, notes on its website, "To see the beauty of life inspires its sustainable and ethical business approach and its corresponding pillars, including a commitment to excellence, visual well-being, social impact, and environmental protection." This excerpt from the company's website states Luxottica's

To ensure that plans are moving in the right direction, managers can use a(n)

The top management of Fresh, a food distribution company, has set strategic goals of increasing organizational market share and also decreasing corporate costs over the next three years. Charles, a division manager for Fresh, has looked at his resources, and he has decided how his division can contribute to the two strategic goals set by upper management: (1) by partnering with another company and (2) by hiring a procurement manager to negotiate lower prices from vendors. Charles' next step is to roll out his ________ to his staff.

Which sequence of goals is consistent with "cascading" goals that begin at the top of the organization?

As a manager, you meet with each of your team members quarterly to review their progress toward their written and agreed-upon goals. One of your employees, Julie, had a goal of increasing sales in her territory by 10 percent in the first quarter of the year. However, when you review Julie's sales numbers, you see that her sales have actually gone down. You know Julie is a hard worker and has an excellent relationship with her customers. When you sit down to discuss her performance, she explains what is happening in her territory. A major automobile manufacturer, which once provided 25,000 jobs, has moved its operations to Mexico and laid off all 25,000 of its workers. As a result, the economy in Julie's region has become quite depressed, and the residents are living off their savings. Taking the steps of the planning/control cycle into account, what is your best course of action with Julie?