Exam 5: Planning: The Foundation of Successful Management

MBO works the best if the objectives from upper and middle management are given to subordinates by their manager,and the supervisor simply says,"Here are the objectives I want you to meet."

Jerome's Italian Pizza is in a very competitive industry,and its upper management believes that by focusing on the strategy of lowering costs and prices,providing quicker delivery,and providing good customer service,this will result in higher profits.This is an example of a strategic goal.

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

Greg,owner of Comfortable Home Heating and Air,has been having problems with employee morale.After investigating,he found that some of his department managers were using management by objectives,but the accounting and sales managers were not utilizing MBO in their departments.For the MBO program to be successful,it has to be put in place throughout the entire organization.

In the planning/control cycle,managers take corrective action by correcting deviations in the plan being carried out or by improving future plans.

Every five years,the upper-level managers of ABC 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 are developing a strategy.

John,the owner of a lawn care service,likes to meet with his employees six months after their yearly evaluation to discuss how they are progressing on suggestions on and plans to improve their yearly job evaluation.At this point,by comparing the six-month results with the past evaluation,John is in the ______ steps of the planning/control cycle.

Alison,the vice president of marketing for a global company,is planning what contributions she and her department will make to the organization over the next 24 months.This type of planning is operational planning.

Operational planning must be completed by first-line managers every ____,and tactical planning is done by middle management every ____.

Strategic management involves all managers within the organization.

The way a particular problem or circumstance is handled,such as the company policy of always returning customer phone calls and e-mails within 24 hours,is a standard operating procedure.

The planning/control cycle has two control steps: control the direction by comparing results with the plan and control the direction by increasing organization diversity and synergy.

There are four types of objectives in MBO: improvement objectives,personal development objectives,diversity objectives,and maintenance objectives.

When setting a SMART goal,it should be results-oriented.

Summarize a business model.

Discuss the textbook suggestions on ways of writing out and achieving your biggest goals.Give an example or two of the suggestions provided.

Says one authority,strategic planning should communicate not only general goals about growth and profits but also _____.

The planning process begins with two attributes: a mission statement,which answers the question _____,and a vision statement,which answers the question ______

Steve,a hotel general manager,has had great success using MBO.Hannah,his district manager,has found that his employees are highly motivated,and she believes that this is the case because in using MBO,Steve ____.

When utilizing MBO,the manager and employee jointly set objectives for the employee,the manager develops action plans,the manager and employee periodically review the employee's performance,and the manager makes performance appraisals and rewards the employee according to the results.