Exam 6: Managing the Business Enterprise

Since the mid-1980s, Disney's strategic planning group turned the company into a huge and diverse collection of media and entertainment businesses. The sprawling Disney grew to include everything from theme resorts and film studios to media networks to consumer products and a cruise line. The newly transformed Disney proved hard to manage and performed unevenly. Recently, Disney disbanded the centralized strategic planning unit, decentralizing its functions to Disney division managers. Since then, Disney's management has helped it perform strongly in a competitive marketplace. Suppose that one of Disney's business units is a chain of sound studios. The studios have low profit potential, and the chain commands a relatively small share of the market. On these grounds, Disney is considering whether to sell the chain. Which of the following, if true, would most strongly suggest that Disney should keep the chain instead?

A transit supervisor who monitors bus schedules, passenger safety, and the behaviour of bus drivers is a ________ manager, while a plant manager in a manufacturing plant is a ________ manager.

Donna is going to open her own restaurant. Why is it important for Donna to be setting goals? How will the types of goals that Donna will most likely set help her in growing her business?

Maple Leaf Foods' plan to increase its earnings by more than 75 percent by 2015 is an example of a(n) ________ plan, while Coca-Cola's plan to increase sales in Europe by building European bottling facilities is an example of ________ planning.

Top managers depend on conceptual skills the most, while first-line supervisors depend on these skills the least.

Mega Computer has a goal of reducing its manufacturing costs by 15 percent over the next three years. Each of the manufacturing managers has been given tasks to reach this goal. In this case the goal

Midge thought anxiously about how to position her company for the future. By so doing, Midge functioned in the role Mintzberg called

The final step in strategy formulation is to

Cecil and Cyrus, two of Simpson's top employees, stormed into their manager's office. Both were intent on securing approval from her for projects they were proposing for the company. Shelly Simpson, manager at Soho, Howso, Tatso, & Associates, was about to function in the role Mintzberg identified as the

At which level of management are conceptual skills most important?

The post-project review of the Alpha Supplement project is complete. It found failures in planning. Too much time was budgeted to market research, leaving not enough time for product development and quality assurance. As a result, the project could not have succeeded even if the project had been run perfectly. But there were other problems as well. Constant conflicts between team members demonstrated a failure of leadership. Finally, there were failures in controlling. When component providers failed to deliver, project leaders did not locate and train new providers in time. Which of the following is most strongly suggested by the statements above?