Management Concepts and Problems

1. Which of these describes the focus of neoclassical management theory?

A. the most effective way to track employee productivity
B. the best way to promote a good work-life balance
C. the best way to structure reward system
D. the best way to motivate, structure, and support employees

2. How does the theory of classical leadership management differ from the behavioural management theory?
A. Classical leadership cared a lot more about the wages of the employees, while behavioural management
theory views them all just as parts of the process
B. Classical leadership focused only on high production and efficiency, while behavioural management theory
focuses on worker satisfaction.
C. Classical leadership emphasized that a leader must have authority over his employees, while behavioural
management theory supports a bottom-up approach.
D. Classical leadership management is still implemented today, while behavioural management theory is
outdated.

3. Each of the following answer choices represents the fulfilment of one of Maslow’s needs. Identify the answer
choice that represents achieving the HIGHEST need of Maslow’s Hierarchy pyramid.
A. Tom started working at 8:00, At 8:15, his team-leader told him that the work he had recently done was
excellent and he said if Tom kept up with the good work he would surely be promoted very soon.
B. Tom should have started working at 8:00, but the elevator broke down and Tom was very scared because the
elevator was very old and has not been serviced in the past 5 years.
C. Tom started working at 8:00. He was very sad that he didn’t have a lot of friends and he didn’t really get
along well with his co-workers. Tom choose to go to the coffee break at 10:15 that he usually skips to try and
improve relations with the other workers.
D. Tom started working at 8:00. At 12:00 he felt very hungry and wanted to eat something, but his lunchbreak
was not due until 13:00.

4. Which of Maslow’s five needs can a manager fulfil by providing challenging work, inviting employees to
participate in decision-making, and giving them flexibility and autonomy in their jobs?
A. Physiological needs
B. Leadership needs
C. Social needs
D. Self-actualization needs

5. The Classical Management approach is most concerned with ______

A. Implementing technology
B. management structure
C. defining the chain of command
D. Worker productivity and efficiency.

6. Evaluate the effect of market penetration.

A. It is a marketing strategy that tries to decrease market share among stakeholders.
B. It is a marketing strategy that tries to decrease market share among existing customers.
C. It is a marketing strategy that tries to increase market share among existing customers.
D. It is a marketing strategy that tries to increase market share among stakeholders.

7. What are some of the advantages of being a strategic thinker?

A. Being able to make effective decisions
B. Being able to analyse information effectively
C. Being able to realize significant results
D. All of these answers are correct.

8. Sustainable businesses meet the needs of the present time without:

A. Making changes to their business operations
 B. Changing their short-term financial goals
C. Any negative impact to the environment
D. Impacting the resources of future generations

9. Scepticism:
A. Is the desire to learn more information and seek evidence as well as being open to new ideas
B. Involves resolutely rejecting or harshly criticizing everything in an opinionated manner
C. Involves having a healthy questioning attitude about new information that you are exposed to and not
blindly believing everything everyone tells you
D. Is the ability to admit that your opinions and ideas are wrong when faced with new convincing evidence that
states otherwise

10. In terms of strategic thinking, what does asking the right questions mean?
A. Asking questions based on the market
B. Asking questions that are outside the box
C. Asking questions about all aspects of the business
D. All these answers are correct.

11. Which one of the following is not one of the four elements of strategy design?
A. Identify your LOBs
B. Determine your strategic thrusts
C. Prepare your contingency plans
D. Establish your CSIs

12. Joe's supervisor has asked how long it will take for him to finish a project. Joe anticipates a "best case' scenario of
4 hours, a 'worst case' scenario of 8 hours, and a 'probable' scenario of 5 hours. Using the formula to calculate
'Expected Time', Joe should tell his supervisor the project will take
A. 2.8 hours
B. 4.7 hours
C. 8.7 hours
D. 5.3 hours

13. A development team at a large global technology company sells antivirus systems and offers a 10-year warranty
for its bestselling water-resistant laptops and mobile phones. The team has just developed a new interactive
website to market its products online. Which of the following would most likely be considered an innovation?
A. The website to market the products
B. The antivirus system
C. The 10-year warranty for the water-resistant laptops and mobile phones
D. The use of the development team

14. Strategic planning is ______.

A. always a formal, regimented process for developing plans for the company's future
B. a way to determine how many employees need to be available for a given shift in a retail store
C. a list that outlines all of a company's opportunities for growth
D. the process through which a company's leaders outline the vision for the future of the company, as well as
goals and strategies to guide operations.

15. Which of the following is NOT one of the key functions of management?
A. Plan
B. Innovate
C. Organize
D. Control

16. When taking disciplinary action, you should

A. Argue with the employee
B. Allow employee to speak for the others involved
 C. Make the disciplinary process as formal as possible
D. Enforce policies and rules with consistency

17. Which of the following three factors affects an employee's motivation?

A. Attitude, interests and needs
B. Attitude, interests and salary
C. Attitude, interests and working conditions
D. Attitude, needs and salary

18. Managers are judged by:

A. What they get others to do
B. Their personality
C. What they do
D. How fast they work

19. The process or activity of optimally utilizing human resources to achieve predetermined goals and objectives in the
most efficient and effective way possible is:
A. Directing
B. Controlling
C. Planning
D. Organizing

20. As a manager, you cannot evaluate:

A. The performance of the employee
B. The behaviour of the employee
C. The risk-taking characteristics of the employee
D. The attitude of the employee

21. Which of the following will help motivate employees?

A. Compromise on poor performance
B. Ask for performance and set standards
C. Use positive reinforcement, and generalize it
D. Use the same methods of reinforcement for everyone

22. Which statement about power is true?

A. Authority gives power
B. Power can be delegated
C. Power must be earned
D. Power is given through the legitimacy of the position
23. Which style of leadership asks for subordinates’ input, using them to reinforce their position on how the task
should be done, and the methods to be used?
A. Autocratic
B. Delegating
C. Relationship
D. Task

24. Which style of management would be most effective in an emergency situation?

A. Autocratic
B. Consultative
C. Delegating
D. Participating

25. Which theory of management describes the boss who believes people are lazy, and need constant supervision?
A. Theory x
B. Theory y
C. Theory z
 D. Democratic theory

26. Quality circles and quality of life management styles are often referred to as:
A. Japanese style
B. German style
C. Autocratic style
D. Theory X style

27. The freedom to act, make decisions and challenge one's self to be more creative fits which of Maslow's hierarchy
of needs?
A. Social needs
B. Security needs
C. Basic needs
D. Self-fulfilment needs

28. Which of the following is a function of management?

A. Doing
B. Staffing
C. Sampling
D. Maintaining

29. Reaching toward an objective or striving to meet a mission statement would fall into what part of management?
A. Planning
B. Directing
C. Controlling
D. Staffing

30. The theory of Unity of Command is:

A. Where each working unit has one person in charge with authority to make decisions up to a certain level
B. Where each working unit has multiple people in charge and a vote is taken when decisions must be made
C. Where each working unit has many departments, and no one person is in charge
D. None of the above

31. The upper limit of employees or subordinates a supervisor can effectively manage is called:
A. Span of control
B. Span of manpower
C. Span of organization
D. Span of functions

32. Supervisors have the tendency to spend most of their time on this function:
A. Directing
B. Controlling
C. Planning
D. Staffing

33. Which managerial function clarifies the boundaries of authority and responsibility within a department?
A. Planning
B. Organizing
C. Directing
D. Controlling

34. When solving a group conflict, you should:

A. Establish a winner and loser group
B. Resolve it in such a way that there is no apparent winner or loser
C. Smooth over the problem, hope it will go away with time
D. Support the position with the most people involved
35. Which statement is true?
A. A manager’s status within the organization does not influence communication with subordinates
B. In a well operated organization, communication always flows upward
C. The manager/subordinate status does not have any influence on communications between the two parties
D. People prefer, most of the time, to communicate with the higher status level positions

36. Which of the following is NOT a rule for effective listening?

A. Do not anticipate what the employee will say
B. Do not fake attention
C. Try to retain everything the employee is saying
D. Listen without evaluating

37. When resolving problems between two employees, the manager should:
A. Base all decisions on the employee’s attitudes
B. Remember that differences exist between employees’ personalities
C. Make your decision based on the employee’s behaviour
D. Stall for time, because time fixes everything

38. The right or privilege to direct or request a behaviour or action, along with the right to discipline is:
A. Control
B. Power
C. Authority
D. Leadership
39. In any useful description of management, you will find two premises, which statement contains one of those
premises:
A. Develop people and direction of things.
B. Develop people and not the direction of things.
C. Direction of things and not the development of people.
D. Management performs task rather than corrects workers mistakes.

40. Managers should know and use the three types of planning. These are:
A. Emergency, Task, & Contingency.
B. Goal, Long range, & Contingency.
C. Short range, Long range, & Contingency
D. Task, Long range, & Emergency.

41. To be able to formulate a workable plan you must first:

A. Have knowledge of utilities' policies & rules.
B. Know of available resources.
C. State the objective to be achieved.
D. Understand the utilities' methods & procedures.

42. When preparing a budget, you should:

A. Add a per cent increase to last year's budget values.
B. Ask more than you need so you can cover contingencies.
C. Do not budget for any contingencies.
D. Be realistic in projecting needs.

43. A job description should contain which of the following?

A. Benefits.
B. Duties.
C. Number of positions required.
D. Salary.
 44. Which is not a characteristic of a good directive?
A. Open time element
B. Appropriate wording.
C. Compatibility with objectives.
D. Reasonableness.

45. Things such as, titles, promotions, and a private office would be placed into which level of "Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs"?
A. Belongingness.
B. Physiological.
C. Security.
D. Self-esteem/Ego.
46. Which of the following is an advantage of group decisions?
A. Compromise & bargaining.
B. Majority decision making.
C. Time.
D. Variety of approaches.

47. What is the most common type of employee training?

A. On the job training.
B. Seminars.
C. Trade schools.
D. Work delegation programs.

48. When open-ended time assignments are given, which of the following is true:
A. Accountability is non-existent.
B. All tasks are completed when manager expected.
C. Employee procrastination level is low.
D. Projects are worked on at a consistent pace.

49. Managers who direct the work of the rank and file employees are known as:
A. Top Managers.
B. First Line Managers.
C. Middle Managers.
D. Operative.

50. Which statement on authority is true?

A. Authority & power are the same.
B. Authority cannot be delegated.
C. Authority and responsibility must be considered together.
D. Authority comes with power.

51. In Mr. Glow's X and Y Theory of leadership, the "Y" manager would:
A. Allow employees to become part of the decision-making process.
B. Issues direct, clears orders and expects them to be accepted & carried out.
C. Leave little doubt who is boss and who the subordinate is.
D. Does not allow employees to become part of decision-making process.

52. Autocratic leadership style may be useful when:

A. Experienced crew members with high skill levels will perform the task.
B. Hazardous working conditions exist.
C. Non-emergency conditions exist.
D. Leader does not have expertise required to do the task.
53. One of the abilities a manager needs to be successful is the ability to match leadership style to the work situation,
which is necessary because of three concerns. These are:
A. Interpersonal relationships, worker/task maturity, orders & directives.
B. accessibility, training, task.
C. Task, interpersonal relationships, worker/task maturity.
D. Workers, communication style, social activities.

54. Managers cannot evaluate:

A. Attitude of employee.
B. Behaviour of employee.
C. Performance of employee.
D. Risk taking characteristics of employee.

55. Listening is the key to knowledge and understanding. Which item listed below will not aid effective listening:
A. Anticipate what will be said next.
B. Ask questions.
C. Focus on speaker.
D. Paraphrase message.

56. Open-end time assignments can produce:

A. Completed projects on time.
B. Employee accountability.
C. Procrastination.
D. Project work schedule improvements.

57. Before you can solve a problem, you must:

A. Define the problem
B. Decide to use group or individual decision
C. Establish objectives
D. Review need for decision

58. The process of setting goals and establishing guidelines for meeting them is called:
A. Planning
B. Supervising.
C. Evaluating.
D. Managing.

59. Which of these statements best describes the concept of reinforcement?

A. Rewards are negative reinforcements.
B. Punishment and reward are both reinforcements.
C. Punishment cannot be a reinforcement.
D. Punishment can never be fair.

60. The three dimensions which affect situation favourableness are task structure, leader/member relations, and
positioning power. If these three dimensions are high, situation favourableness occurs. Which of the following
leadership theories embodies these three elements?
A. Path-Goal Theory
B. Situational Control Theory
C. Leader-Member Exchange Theory
D. Fiedler's Contingency Theory
 Answer keys

Management Concepts and Problems

1. D 11. C 21. B 31. A 41. C 51. A

2. B 12. D 22. C 32. C 42. D 52. B
3. A 13. A 23. D 33. B 43. B 53. C
4. D 14. D 24. A 34. B 44. A 54. A
5. D 15. D 25. A 35. D 45. D 55. A
6. C 16. D 26. A 36. C 46. D 56. C
7. D 17. A 27. D 37. B 47. A 57. A
8. D 18. A 28. B 38. C 48. A 58. A
9. C 19. D 29. A 39. B 49. B 59. B
10. D 20. D 30. A 40. C 50. C 60. D