Question 1

Indira was recently promoted to a functional manager position. What challenge will Indira face in setting goals for her new subordinates?

Accepted Answer

Deciding what is a specific difficult goal and what is a goal that is too difficult or too easy is a skill that managers must develop. Based on their own judgment and work experience, managers at all levels must assess how difficult a certain task is, and they must assess the ability of a particular subordinate to achieve the goal. If they do so successfully, they will be able to define challenging, interrelated goals that focus on achieving overall corporate objectives and energize individuals and the organization.

Question 2

________ control tends to be the first type of control that managers at all levels use to evaluate performance.

Accepted Answer

A)  Bureaucratic
B)  Feedforward
C)  Feedback
D)  Clan
E)  Output E

Question 3

A key characteristic of revolutionary change is that it is

Accepted Answer

A)  gradual.
B)  incremental.
C)  narrowly focused.
D)  a continuous attempt to improve.
E)  unexpected. E

Question 4

Explain the consequences of having too many rules or forcing too much standardization in an organization.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain the consequences of having too many...

Question 5

Which of these performance standards would managers find the most difficult to measure?

Accepted Answer

A)  the creativity of a research engineer
B)  an employee's ability to meet deadlines
C)  the success of a product
D)  an employee's adherence to rules
E)  the money spent on organizational resources

Question 6

For each of the four building blocks of competitive advantage, explain how organizational control can help achieve success.

Accepted Answer

The answer of For each of the four building blocks...

Question 7

For an organization focused on profit, define two commonly used financial measures and explain what they indicate about performance.

Accepted Answer

The answer of For an organization focused on profit, define...

Question 8

Explain how goal-setting relates across different levels of an organization. What characteristics do effective goals possess?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain how goal-setting relates across different levels...

Question 9

Control helps managers build competitive advantage.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

You are a CEO who wants to determine whether the company has sufficient resources available to address loan and interest payments that are due to some short-term creditors. Which measure would you find most useful?

Accepted Answer

A)  days sales outstanding ratio
B)  operating margin
C)  return on investment
D)  current ratio
E)  debt-to-assets ratio

Question 11

To establish stretch goals for an organization, managers should

Accepted Answer

A)  set goals optimized for each team and independent of the goals in other teams.
B)  let subordinates set goals for themselves.
C)  set specific and challenging goals that are within reach.
D)  define easy to achieve goals not previously attempted.
E)  set visionary goals that might not be unattainable but are directionally correct.

Question 12

After evaluating measures of performance, managers must

Accepted Answer

A)  decide whether to take corrective action.
B)  define acceptable standards in detail.
C)  measure outputs and behaviors.
D)  define detailed corrective action.
E)  compare standards to results.

Question 13

An organization is said to be highly leveraged if it uses more debt than equity to finance its ongoing operations.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

When deciding what change to make to address a problem, an organization must also consider

Accepted Answer

A)  why the change is needed.
B)  the source of the problem.
C)  obstacles associated with the change.
D)  how to introduce and manage the change.
E)  how to evaluate the change.

Question 15

Clan control

Accepted Answer

A)  is independent of organizational culture.
B)  has decreased in organizations over the past few years.
C)  standardizes behavior and leads people to behave in predictable ways.
D)  helps keep organization members goal-directed while remaining open to new opportunities.
E)  does not apply to many of the most significant organizational activities.

Question 16

According to the force-field theory,

Accepted Answer

A)  change occurs when factors forcing change balance with factors contributing to resistance.
B)  a wide variety of forces arises from the way an organization operates that make organizations resistant to change.
C)  forces that support clan control are significantly different from the forces that form the foundation of organizational culture.
D)  the forces of evolutionary change and revolutionary change are equal and complement each other.
E)  an organization is in a state of inertia when it reduces the forces for change and increases resistance to change.

Question 17

To monitor financial performance, a(n)________ ratio is used to assess cost of goods sold relative to inventory levels.

Accepted Answer

A)  profit
B)  operating
C)  activity
D)  leverage
E)  liquidity

Question 18

For each stage in the process of transforming inputs into finished goods or services, identify the type of control managers use to measure performance. Provide an example for each control type.

Accepted Answer

The answer of For each stage in the process of...

Question 19

To achieve compliance with a new industry standard, a company develops a five-year plan in which goals are set for each year with incremental organizational changes focusing on one area of the new standard. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  revolutionary change.
B)  managed change.
C)  structural change.
D)  cultural change.
E)  evolutionary change.

Question 20

Why is return on investment (ROI)the most commonly used financial performance measure?

Accepted Answer

A)  It predicts whether profits will cover fixed costs.
B)  It helps monitors the level of debt an organization is carrying in order to maintain a good credit rating.
C)  It shows whether organizations can pay creditors without selling assets.
D)  It measures how efficiently managers are turning inventory over.
E)  It allows managers of one organization to compare performance with that of other organizations in its industry.

Exam 11: Organizational Control and Change