CHAPTER 3 – THE TASK AND MACRO ENVIRONMENTS OF

MANAGEMENT

1. The task environment that affects managerial responsibilities encompasses

a) competitors, suppliers, and sociocultural trends.
b) suppliers, owners, and customers.
c) members, political-legal trends, and suppliers.
d) sociocultural, political-legal, and natural trends.
e) the organization's ecological footprint, socially responsible investing, and
sustainable development.

2. The macro environment refers to

a) external management with a Mainstream approach.
b) external management with a Multistream approach.
c) internal management with a Mainstream approach.
d) four key groups.
e) four key dimensions.

3. The stakeholders of an organization consist of __________________.

a) employees
b) owners
c) competitors
d) suppliers
e) All of these

4. "The customer is always right" means that each customer

a) is very important for the viability of an organization.
b) is highly knowledgable about the organization's products and services.
c) should have the right of way.
d) should be kept on the right side in physical settings.
e) always turns to the right side of the store first in his or her shopping
patterns.

5. ____________________________ are part of the customer group of stakeholders

for an organization.
a) Clients, staff, board members, and suppliers
b) Patrons, patients, clients, and guests
c) Regents, directors, owners, and board members
d) Parents, families, vendors, and community partners
e) Competitors, clients, board members, and subcontractors

6. The primary responsibility of the members stakeholder group is to

a) govern and provide direction for the organization.
b) provide support for the community.

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 c) complete the daily tasks in their job.
d) generate demand for the products and services of the organization.
e) develop a strategic plan for the future.

7. Mainstream managers should adapt their ________________ to maximize the

_________________ of organizational members.
a) personality; purchasing power
b) leadership style; input
c) stakeholder analysis; productivity
d) leadership style; productivity
e) machines; purchasing power

8. ________________ are the main determinants of a business's basic identity

through creating and making governance decisions.
a) Owners
b) Stakeholders
c) Mid-level managers
d) Front-line supervisors
e) Employee councils

9. ______________ elect members to a board of directors to protect the fiduciary

interests of the company.
a) Stakeholders
b) Bankers and other creditors
c) Owners or shareholders
d) Employees
e) Customers

10. Mainstream managers give the interests of ______________ top priority because
they are the primary stakeholder group affected by managerial work.
a) shareholders
b) Multistream managers
c) customers
d) employees
e) suppliers

11. Managers have a great deal of influence on _____________ because of the

information that can be used to influence decisions.
a) customers
b) employees
c) stakeholders
d) suppliers
e) shareholders

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12. In order for Mainstream managers to make decision about prices or where to
locate a business, other organizations that should be considered include
___________________.
a) city hall and libraries
b) competitors and suppliers
c) community organizations
d) other shareholders
e) None of these

13. Mainstream managers tend to aim for __________ suppliers and

______________ competitors.
a) offering faster delivery than; being faster to market than
b) lower input than; higher input than
c) lower input than; lower input than
d) control over; advantage over
e) advantage over; control over

14. The Mainstream view of the macro environment has four segments:
a) suppliers, buyers, the threat of substitutes, and the threat of new entrants.
b) social justice, suppliers, buyers, and employees.
c) cultural diversity, aging baby boomers, discouragement of bullying in the
workplace, and suppliers
d) cultural diversity, aging population, social justice, and inclusion of women
in the workplace.
e) natural, political/legal, economic-technological, and sociocultural.

15. The ______________________ segment of the macro environment shapes trends

related to the norms, attitudes, and values of employees, customers, owners, and
competitors.
a) political
b) legal
c) economic-technological
d) sociocultural
e) All of these

16. Greater international security, multigeneration workforce issues, and dual-career

couple and work-life balance issues make up part of the __________________
segment of the macro environment.
a) political-legal
b) economic-technological
c) sociocultural
d) natural
e) threat of substitutes

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17. The natural environment consists of
a) organic products that are being demanded by some consumers.
b) living things and the nonliving things that are not created by humans.
c) depletion of the rain forests and pollution of the air.
d) areas of the world not inhabited by humans.
e) All of these.

18. "Green" initiatives are used by many organizations to address

a) environmental sustainability
b) ecological problems.
c) a small niche target market of environmentalists.
d) deforestation with tree-planting programs.
e) All of these.

19. Long Tech Inc. does not believe that environmental problems exist but abides by
all environmental regulations to be a law-abiding corporate citizen. The company
practices a ______________ approach to managing the environment.
a) defensive
b) stakeholder
c) obstructionist
d) proactive
e) market

20. The political-legal environment can influence management practice with

relational capitalism, which includes
_____________________________________.
a) rewarding a mobile labor force
b) longer-term reputation and employee rights
c) managerial independence and rights
d) safety and health in the workplace
e) Canada and Australia
21. Managers use __________________________ to influence the political-legal
environment.
a) lobbyists and donations to political parties
b) mass media advertising
c) grassroots organizing
d) educational forums
e) None of these

22. Baldwin King is an investment manager who monitors indicators in the economic
environment for his clients. He would, for example, check data on
a) the threat of new entrants into an industry.
b) interest and unemployment rates.
c) inflation rates and disposable income.

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 d) interest and unemployment rates, and inflation rates and disposable
income.
e) All of these.

23. An assumption of economics in the Mainstream approach is that all individuals

a) are generally bad.
b) are generally good.
c) seek to pursue their own self-interests.
d) seek happiness in shopping for things.
e) seek to build a better world.

24. Over the last 100 years, technologies that have created major changes in the way
we live include
a) computers and motorized vehicles.
b) airplanes and mass production.
c) lean production and the Internet.
d) biotechnology and nanotechnology.
e) All of these

25. Multistream managers try to balance _______________ with

_________________.
a) financial returns; fair treatment of shareholders
b) financial returns; fair treatment of stakeholders
c) social justice; environmental sustainability
d) community investing; environmental sustainability
e) living wages; profit

26. Terrance was willing to develop a car rental business by using only hybrid
vehicles even though it was not as profitable, because he wanted to meet market
needs without depleting resources for future generations. He is engaged in
______________________.
a) the Mainstream management approach
b) wealth maximization
c) community investing
d) sustainable development
e) increasing efficiency

27. The purpose of sustenance economics is to increase the long-term well-being of

a) owners.
b) members.
c) stakeholders.
d) shareholders.
e) All of these.

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 28. A Multistream management approach to technology would seek to develop
information systems that support
a) collaborative work.
b) rewards for team performance.
c) functional specialization.
d) collaborative work and rewards for team performance.
e) All of these.

29.Multistream managers emphasize what customers ______________ that is

neglected by current Mainstream organizations.
a) want
b) need
c) design
d) like
e) enjoy

30. Multistream managers would seek to treat waste as _____________ the

production process.
a) recycling
b) outputs of
c) transforming
d) inputs to
e) reductions of

31. Multistream managers seek to create a ______________ in their network.

a) business
b) clique
c) family
d) community
e) central node

ESSAY

1. Explain the relationship between the task environment and the macro environment by
clearly identifying the different dimensions of each one.
Ans: Trends arising from the task and macro environments create both opportunities
and threats for organizations. The macro environment has four key dimensions:
sociocultural, economic-technological, natural, and political-legal. Trends arising
from the different dimensions affect all industries and organizations but to different
degrees. An individual organization has little control over change in the macro
environment. The purpose of scanning the macro environment is to adapt to the
changes in either a proactive or a reactive fashion. The sociocultural trends
encompass trends in demands for products and services. Sometimes these trends
influence regulations in the political-legal environment. Examples include increased

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environmental awareness and gender issues that led to changes in laws to protect the
environment and EEOC regulations, respectively. The task environment has four key
stakeholders: customers, owners, members, and other organizations. An organization
has the potential to influence its task environment by becoming more valued for the
products and services provided to customers and supported by members within the
organization. Other organizations such as suppliers and competitors may impose
constraints.

2. Describe trends in the natural environment and how you would approach trends in
the natural environment if you were a Mainstream manager versus a Multistream
manager.
Ans: The natural environment is made up of all the physical and natural resources
that an organization uses for input to transform with value-added activities. In
addition, the natural environment provides space for the disposal of wastes that
result from human activity. As a Mainstream manager, I would seek to find the low-
cost source for the inputs and places and/or means for disposal. For example, pulp
and paper companies would log forests for resources rather than developing their
own tree farms. The waste from the mills would be dumped into a nearby river rather
than treated to extract the chemicals for reuse or safer disposal. As a Multistream
manager, I would seek solutions and organizational processes to support a
sustainable approach to development with renewable resources or recycling of
waste. One approach would be collecting waste paper goods to recycle on an
industrial level and disposing of the waste or recycling it back into the system.