Exam 16: Evidence-Based Decision Making

Controlling is the process of monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance.

Managers should do nothing if the variance observed from the standard is acceptable.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Improving Service Standards at AirCargo (Scenario) AirCargo is a regional airline that ships freight between communities in the four western provinces and the northern territories. Company president Mick Ward has asked his team of managers to investigate several complaints he has received about the company's services. Mick is particularly concerned about complaints that the company is not achieving its service commitment to customers. AirCargo promises delivery within 24 to 48 hours between larger centres, and 48 to 96 hours between smaller communities. Unfortunately, Mick has learned that the company is not achieving this standard, particularly in some northern communities, where shipments are often delayed by more than a week. Mick has made it clear to his managers that the status quo is not an option; either delivery times must be improved or their service promise must be adjusted. Ultimately, Mick would like to see AirCargo achieve the same standard as industry leader FastFreight, who promise 4 -Which of the following is not an option for taking managerial action at AirCargo?

The third and final step in the control process is __________.

Which of the following is characteristic of managerial control in less technologically advanced countries?

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Employee Theft (Scenario) Barbara is the product manager of an energy company which operates in the Americas. She is concerned about the increased employee theft observed in the factory. A study has shown that $30,000 worth of merchandise was accounted to employee theft in the year 2010. -Information technology has caused employee stealing to____________.

__________ is the search for the best practices among competitors or noncompetitors that lead to their superior performance.

Types of Control (Scenario) Sam has not been receiving the information that he needs from his current control system. By the time Sam receives his reports, the activity has been completed and mistakes have already been made. Direct supervision is used extensively on the production floor now, so some activities are corrected before they become costly mistakes. But Sam would like to do better. Ideally, he would like to fix mistakes before they happen and anticipate more of the problems before they occur. -Sam wants controls that provide information on how effective his planning efforts have been. He would also like controls that can enhance employee motivation. To accomplish both, the best choice is __________ controls.

explain the reasons why control is important for managers.

Canadian Credit Corp. advises telephone customers that their calls may be monitored to help improve the quality of customer servicE) This is a form of __________ control.

A manufacturer of pesticides developed a training video to show customers how to handle the potentially dangerous products. They hoped this form of __________ control would reduce the risk of injury associated with their products.

New Citi Bank monitors the length of time customers are kept on hold when they call into the bank for information. This is an example of a(n)_____________.

One advantage of using oral reports to measure performance is that the information will be filtered.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Improving Service Standards at AirCargo (Scenario) AirCargo is a regional airline that ships freight between communities in the four western provinces and the northern territories. Company president Mick Ward has asked his team of managers to investigate several complaints he has received about the company's services. Mick is particularly concerned about complaints that the company is not achieving its service commitment to customers. AirCargo promises delivery within 24 to 48 hours between larger centres, and 48 to 96 hours between smaller communities. Unfortunately, Mick has learned that the company is not achieving this standard, particularly in some northern communities, where shipments are often delayed by more than a week. Mick has made it clear to his managers that the status quo is not an option; either delivery times must be improved or their service promise must be adjusted. Ultimately, Mick would like to see AirCargo achieve the same standard as industry leader FastFreight, who promise 4 -Mick's desire to achieve the same standard as FastFreight is an example of __________.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Financial Ratios (Scenario) Jan was in a big hurry. She had just been given the assignment of reporting on the financial health of her company to the new divisional vice-president, Donna. Donna had asked Jan to provide several calculations to help her gain an understanding of the company's financial shape. Jan realized that this was a great career opportunity-one that could make or break her reputation with the new vice-president. She quickly pulled out her old financial management textbook and turned to the chapter on financial ratios to review the required calculations. -Donna asked Jan to provide her with an estimate of how efficiently the firm is using its assets. Therefore, Jan calculated a(n) __________ ratio called total asset turnover.

list and briefly explain the three steps in the control process. Provide examples where appropriate.

The accumulated end results of all the organization's work processes and activities are called __________.

The balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement was introduced as a way to evaluate organizational performance from more than just the financial perspective.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Financial Ratios (Scenario) Jan was in a big hurry. She had just been given the assignment of reporting on the financial health of her company to the new divisional vice-president, Donna. Donna had asked Jan to provide several calculations to help her gain an understanding of the company's financial shape. Jan realized that this was a great career opportunity-one that could make or break her reputation with the new vice-president. She quickly pulled out her old financial management textbook and turned to the chapter on financial ratios to review the required calculations. -Finally, as the hour dragged to midnight, Jan finished calculating the __________ ratios because Donna wanted to know how efficiently and effectively management is using its assets to generate profits.

__________ ratios assess how efficiently the firm is using its assets to generate profits.