MGT 3304 MANAGEMENT THEORY & LEADERSHIP PRACTICE MIDTERM

Cost competitiveness involves what?

Pricing products at a level attractive to consumers

What is true of the sources of competitive advantage?

It is possible to improve quality and also enhance speed

Middle-level managers

managers located in the middle layers of the organizational hierarchy, reporting to top-level executives

Interpersonal skills

the ability to deal effectively with other people

Frontline managers

lower-level managers who supervise the operational activities of the organization

Strategic managers

managers who focus on long-term issues and emphasize the survival, growth, and overall effectiveness of the organization

What skill do executives need less and less of as they advance?

technical skills

Operational managers play a crucial role in an organization because they provide...

the link between management and nonmanagement personnel

___________ managers are typically concerned with the interaction between the organization and its external environment

top-level

Lyle is the CEO of an international hotel chain. Lyle is most likely to focus on...

long-term survival of the organization

Jills department has focused its attention on getting products ot the customer as quickly as possible. However, sales are lower. Customer feedback surveys show problems with the delivery of the the product and the condition the items are in when they arrive. Jill concludes the problem is the poor ____ of the product and service, not the speed of delivery.

quality

Done properly, sustainability encourages people to live in ways that can be maintained for the....

long term

What is true about services?

they include intangible products like medical care

Janeen has developed a process to get the latest shoe fashion produced and to the market three weeks before her closest competitor by using technology and air shipments from Vietnam. Which fundamental driver of success has Janeen emphasized?

speed

Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube have recently emerged as serious and successful content providers, attracting viewers away from traditional networks such as ABC, CBS, and NBC. The success of these nontraditional providers demonstrates the power in the competitive environment held by new competitors, or new entrants to the marketplace. To effectively compete with these new entrants, executives at traditional networks will take advantage of barriers to entry, such as ...

distribution channels

Although a top executive team may have unique ____ strengths and ideas about its goals, it must consider ______ factors before taking action

internal, external

What is true about the stock market's impact on companies and their leaders?

The stock market may have a profound effect on the behavior of individual managers due to external pressures to be more efficient and profitable

Haru, a new manager at an electronics company, has been asked to focus on the competitive environment of the organization. What is a factor Haru should focus on?

rivals

If many factors prevent new companies from entering an industry, the....

threat of established firms is less serious

What is an example of a potential substitute product?

Chipotle Burrito Bowl for a Chick-fil-A meal

Quality Marketing, LLC uses TonerPlus copiers and printers. They have trained their employees to use these printers and copiers and have invested in inventory to replace parts and equipment used exclusively on TonerPlus items. The new operations manager wants to change, but is facing the reality of ...

high switching costs

Suave and Debonair, Inc, a chain of men's clothing stores, is facing increased competition. CEO Pablo Espinosa has tried several tactics - all unsuccessful - to influence his business environment: slashing prices, offering seasonal promotions to smooth out sales, contracting with wholesalers in advance of seasonal rushes to prevent inventory depletion, and appointing the president of the chamber of commerce in his state to his board of directors. Now, Pablo is considering identifying the best-in-class performance by other companies to compare his processes to theirs. Pablo is now considering ______ as a tactic to manage the business environment.

benchmarking

Tammi Sloane, owner of a licensed supplier of advanced self-driving vehicle technology, wants to determine the future demand of her technology. Because her forecast based on how much the industry might change due to governmental regulation is uncertain, Tammi should...

use multiple forecasts, and perhaps average their predictions

The managers at Green Thumb Gardening Tools engage in an annual organizational assessment, trying to find useful information about the industry and interpreting what is important and what is not important in the upcoming months. They look at issues, such as who their competitors are, current entry barriers, and what substitute exist for their product. This assessment is called...

environmental scanning

What best describes a vision as it pertains to leadership?

a mental image of a future state of an organization

What accurately compares leadership and management?

effective managers are not necessarily true leaders

What is true of effective followers?

they are willing to tell the truth

What is true of organizational visions?

visions can be small or large and can exist throughout all organizational levels

Mikela has been promoted to lead her department. She wants to gain support and trust; therefore, she should focus on setting a shared vision and...

scoring collective quick wins

Alexa's department likes her and admires her for her accomplishments. Many have stated that they wish they could be like her. Many of Alexa's followers comply with her wishes based on her ___________ power.

referent

A personal skill that is very important in the situational approach to leadership is the ability to...

perceive the needs and goals of others and adjust your leadership approach accordingly

As a leadership trait, self-confidence is most likely to...

allow a leader to make decisions despite uncertainty

A laissez-faire decision style, in which a leader essentially makes no decisions, leads to...

more negative attitudes and lower performance

According to leader behavior research conducted at Ohio State and Michigan, the ideal leader...

is both performance- and maintenance-oriented

Bounded rationality

a less-than-perfect form of rationality in which decision makers cannot be perfectly rational because decisions are complex and complete information is unavailable or cannot be fully processed

Coalition model

a model of organizational decision making in which groups with differing preferences use power and negotiation to influence decisions

garbage can model

a model of organization decision making depicting a chaotic process and seemingly random decisions

Jamila works in the marketing department at Intelligentsia, a cutting-edge start-up in the process of launching Xanadu, a smart-home/smart-garden technology system. After a very successful crowdfunding campaign and an influx of new angel investors, the company's future is looking bright. The start-up's founders, Han and Martine, are very rational decision makers, balancing optimism with the understanding that most start-ups, and tech start-ups in particular, face many risks at every stage of development. Their partner Gerard, however, makes decisions more subjectively and believes he is in control of all situations, even if he is not. Based on the psychological bias Gerard exhibits, which of the following most likely describes his actions?

he dismisses risks, is overconfident in his experience and skills, and believes that he is immune to failure

What factor prevents decision makers from being truly rational?

they have incomplete information about alternatives and consequences

Gina owns a fashion-design store and knows the economy greatly affects her business. Experts are predicting four potential economic outcomes over the next five years. Therefore, Gina develops alternative courses of action based on these predictions. In this scenario, she is

generating contingency plans

Safa has identified a problem that consists of a gap between what her company is doing now and what it can do to create a more profitable future. The "problem" that Safa has identified is also a(n)...

opportunity

Emil has been going through the decision-making process. He diagnosed a problem with the shipping service his company used, identified alternative shipping services, evaluated those companies, made a choice, and implemented it. What is an accurate description of Emil's decision-making process?

Emil now needs to evaluate the decision he made

"We have 75 qualified candidates for the quarterly training program but only 25 slots," said Toby Spencer, production manager. "In that case, randomly select 25, and we will train the other candidates later this year during the next rounds of training," said Amelia Stone, division manager. Toby Spencer says, "That will work." This is an example of

satisficing

What is the best example of a manager discounting the future?

a manager focusing on quarterly profits instead of the long-term vision

"My idea will make us a lot of money, and it's by far the best idea offered!" John exclaimed. His division manager replied, "I agree that your idea has promise. However, your idea has no supporting data or facts. Meanwhile, your two colleagues submitted business plans for their ideas that specified gains of 15 and 22 percent, respectively, and their plans were submitted last week before the deadline expired." John was using ________ to advance his position.

framing effects

What about group decision making is true?

If enough time is available, groups usually make higher-quality decisions than most individuals

In goal displacement, a decision-making group...

loses sight of its original goal and a new, less important goal emerges

Devon's workers come from a predominantly transient population. However, he believes as long as he pays his employees good wages and treats them fairly, he can keep employee turnover to a minimum. Devon's belief is an example of which psychological bias?

illusion of control

What about planning is accurate?

tactical plans may have a time horizon of a year or two, whereas operational plans may cover a period of less than a year

Strategic goals are...

major targets or results that relate to the long-term survival, value, and growth of an organization

SWOT analysis

a comparison of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that helps executives formulate strategies

In planning, the goal is to come up with a clear and ________ map to allow for unique circumstances and changing conditions

flexible

The managers at Foolproof Fabricators believe that several of the product ideas being considered have the potential of becoming iconic brands that will distinguish Foolproof from its competitors, which is one of their high-priority goals. What stage of the formal planning process is Foolproof involved in?

goal and plan evaluation

"I was surprised to find our corporate strategic plan to be so broad and general," said Carlos to his manager, who replied, "That's because, compared to tactical planning, strategic planning

tends to involve much less detail

Strategic vision

points to the future by providing a perspective on where the organization is headed and what it can become

Mission statement

a clear and concise expression of the basic purpose of the organization. It describes what the organization does, whom it does it for, its basic good or service, and its values

Juanita, a manager of a glassware company, is in the process of deciding what items to add to next year's line of merchandise. For research purposes, she analyzed the past and present conditions of the market and also forecasted future trends. What step of the formal planning process has Juanita performed?

situational analysis

What step of the formal planning process helps managers know if their plan is working?

monitor and control

When Kumquat, a contemporary sportswear company, tries to open its clothing stores in a new country, it learns that local rules require a certain percentage of its products be manufactured locally. This example fits into which category of pressures for local responsiveness?

economic and political demands of host-country governments

LEAP Communications Technology has subsidiaries in each country in which it does business. As the parent company, LEAP runs its research and development department from its home country. As a result, each foreign subsidiary remains dependent on it for new products, processes, and ideas. This illustrates the ________ model for global strategy.

international

High Tech Electronics, a manufacturing company, is based in Texas. The company operates a subsidiary in Ireland, marketing products that are customized to appeal to the European Union countries. In this case, High Tech Electronics is following the ________ model.

multinational

The two strategic models that have relatively high manufacturing costs are

multinational and international

Isabella Ruiz, Vice President of International Operations for Worldwide Products Corporation, was working with her subordinate, Jake Harris, to plan his upcoming 18-month overseas assignment to the firm's new office in Athens, Greece. Based upon her experience with previous failed overseas assignments, she was taking steps to avoid another failure. Therefore, one of the key features of Isabella's plan for Jake was to

develop measures to ensure that communication between the headquarters and the Athens office remains effective.

Wendy Pearson, Vice President of Marketing for New York's Finest Apparel, Incorporated, is traveling on business in a foreign country. She is negotiating a large contract with the ministry of trade, and the minister's deputy is asking for a "facilitation fee" of $1,000 USD to relax certain contractual requirements. At this point, Wendy should

abide by her firm's standards for ethical behavior and not pay the fee

International model

an organizational model that is composed of a company's overseas subsidiaries and characterized by greater control by the parent company over local product and marketing strategies than is the case in the multinational model

Multinational model

an organizational model that consists of the subsidiaries in each country in which a company does business, and provides a great deal of discretion to those subsidiaries to respond to local conditions

Transnational model

an organization model characterized by centralizing certain functions in locations that best achieve cost economies; basing other functions in the company's national subsidiaries to facilitate greater local responsiveness and fostering communication among subsidiaries to permit transfer of technological expertise and skills

Global model

an organizational model consisting of a company's overseas subsidiaries and characterized by centralized decision making and tight control by the parent company over most aspects of worldwide operations; typically adopted by organizations that base their global competitive strategy on cost considerations

Myer Products, Incorporated, headquartered in Chicago, was enjoying unparalleled success in its Paris, France, branch office. At the annual corporate management meeting in Chicago, Jules Moreau, European Division Manager, modestly cited several reasons for this success. He said, "Our decision to hire Mila Keller to manage our Paris office turned out to be a wise one. Mila is a native of Basel, Switzerland. As a result of her knowledge of business in her home country, she has opened doors to many new clients in Switzerland. This has resulted in a business volume beyond what we had envisioned." In this instance, Mila is a(n)

third-country national.

Lillian Probst, Vice President of International Operations, told her staff, "I have lived and worked in 11 countries in four continents. Although I have encountered many, many cultural differences, I have found that most people embrace the same core values:

compassion, fairness, honesty, responsibility, and respect for others

Sophie was very excited to be on a one-month project in Japan. While at work, Sophie's Japanese coworkers rarely tell their boss what they are thinking. Because she thinks the actions of her coworkers are not making the company as efficient as it would be back in Germany, Sophie is exhibiting

ethnocentrism

While Plast-a-Ware was planning how it was going to open a plant in the Philippines, it brought in Danilo, a native of the country, to teach the development team about the country's culture and economy. Danilo is an example of a(n)

inpatriate

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

an act passed into law by Congress to establish strict accounting and reporting rules in order to make senior managers more accountable and to improve and maintain investor confidence

Danger signs of unethical behavior in your organization

emphasis on short-term revenues, failure to establish a written code of ethics, quick-fix solutions, unwillingness to take an ethical stand that imposes financial costs, consideration of ethics solely as a legal issue, lack of clear procedures, responses to the demands of the shareholders

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

obligation toward society assumed by business

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

economic, social, and environmental performance

Economic responsibilities

to produce goods and services that society wants at a price that perpetuates the business and satisfies its obligations to investors

Legal responsibilities

to obey local, state, federal, and relevant international laws

Ethical responsibilities

meeting other social expectations, not written as law

Philanthropic responsibilities

additional behaviors and activities that society finds desirable and that the values of the business support

preconventional stage

making decisions based on rewards and punishment and immediate self-interest

conventional stage

conforming to the expectations of ethical behavior held by groups or institutions such as society, family, or peers

principled stage

seeing beyond authority, laws, and norms and follow their self-chosen ethical principles

The order of the levels in the pyramid of global corporate social responsibility and performance from bottom to top is

economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic

Javi Torres, general manager of Fabricated Products, Incorporated, told his mentor, "I find it difficult to support our corporate social performance without corporate financial performance." His mentor replied, "Javi, the accumulated evidence indicates that

social responsibility is associated with better financial performance

Laura Higgins, Chief Ethics Officer for WrightWay Corporation, told her CEO, "We must identify actions that will maximize profits while satisfying the demand for corporate social responsibility from multiple stakeholders. To do this, we should evaluate actions as we would all other investment decisions, by

performing cost-benefit analyses of the actions

"It's not all about profit," said Tom to his young accountant. "We have to always keep in mind the 'triple bottom line', and that means our stakeholders' broader expectations of

economic, social, and environmental performance

A question associated with the "sunshine" ethical framework is...

"How would you feel if your actions were highlighted in the media?"

One way to construct an effective ethics code is to...

have executives talk about them and then live up to their statements about ethics

"That toxic discharge is endangering the public! We need to immediately stop production!" warned Manuel. His manager, Philip, said, "Manuel, we can't stop production to fix the leak. Our profits are behind plan this quarter and we will never meet the production schedule by shutting down. We got in trouble with the production manager last quarter for a similar action." An unwillingness to take an ethical stand that may impose financial costs is a sign that the company has a(n) ________ that is conducive to unethical behavior.

ethical climate