Deck 1: Managing in a Dynamic Environment

Question 1

Alan Questrom's primary goal in turning J. C. Penney was to find ways to increase revenues.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

J. C. Penney found that they needed to centralize their purchasing practices as part of their "renewed emphasis on expense control."

Answer 2

True

Question 3

J. C. Penney actually owns Walgreen's.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Most employees do some type of managerial work.

Question 5

"Managers" is a title given to those in charge of a profit-making enterprise.

Question 6

Managerial roles are linked and are played out simultaneously on occasion.

Question 7

Managers are responsible for setting goals, employees are responsible for achieving them.

Question 8

Middle managers are removed from the technical aspects of production work. Lacking hands-on experience, many of them must develop new skills to cope with top management's demands.

Question 9

Meg Whitman is the CEO of eBay. As a top manager, Whitman's primary management task is planning and leading.

Question 10

A small organization usually has only one level of management-often the founder or the owner or an executive director.

Question 11

Managers play a key role in creating the culture and climate that affect both the ethics and the social responsibility of an organization.

Question 12

As middle managers have assumed more authority in recent years, the public relations duties of top managers have decreased.

Question 13

Dee Hock, founder of Visa Card, has found that self-management of ethics, character, and conduct takes up nearly 90 percent of a manager's time.

Question 14

The Container Store has been able to cut costs by implementing programs for new employees that minimize the amount of training required.

Question 15

At Southwest Airlines, effective teamwork makes it possible for ground crews to turn around a plane at the gate in less than 17 minutes. Except for the pilots, every employee is on the team that accomplishes this goal.

Question 16

Among the components of strategic action competency, budgeting and financial management is highly important.

Question 17

Global awareness is different from the understanding of multiple cultures.

Question 18

Proctor & Gamble has been highly successful in its standardized global branding strategy that provides maximum name recognition to customers.

Question 19

Which of the following is not one of Allen Questrom's strategies for the J.C. Penney turnaround?

A) sold the credit card division
B) centralized purchasing
C) sold Eckerd drugstores
D) refocused product strategies

Question 20

What strategic abilities did Vanessa Castagna bring to her job as chief operating officer at J. C. Penney?

A) permitted store managers to work with vendors
B) successful experience with Sears
C) reduction in operating expenses
D) previous experience at Kmart

Question 21

One who understands the workings of a business enterprise is aware of the fact that in large organization, managers may be distinguished by the scope of the activities they manage. Therefore, which of the following statements is accurate?

A) Functional mangers supervise employee with general skills that may be applied to many roles.
B) General managers supervise employees with specialized skills in a single area.
C) General managers may be responsible for the operation of a department, but only if it is very small.
D) General managers are responsible for the overall operations of a more complex unit such as a company or division.

Question 22

The sale of J.C. Penney's credit card operation to GE Capital is an example of which managerial function?

A) planning
B) organizing
C) directing
D) controlling

Question 23

Cliff Hudson wants to speed up Sonic Drive-In's average service time from 350 seconds to Wendy's industry best of 127 seconds. This is an example of the __________ function.

A) leading
B) planning
C) controlling
D) organizing

Question 24

When Cliff Hudson became CEO of Sonic, he made decisions to eliminate all of the following traditional but unproductive items except:

A) non-standardized menus.
B) unprofitable breakfast items.
C) Frankie Avalon as a spokesman.
D) five hamburger sizes.

Question 25

Cathy Johnson has just moved into a top-level managerial role with Avon products. Which of the following is not part of the planning process she will be engaged in?

A) establishing directions for the organization
B) identifying the organization's resources to achieve organizational goals
C) committing the organization's resources to achieve organizational goals
D) structuring relationships among employees that will enable them to carry out management's plans and meet specific goals

Question 26

J. W. Morgan is a manager with Tenet Hospital. He has saved the hospital thousands of dollars by implementing a new quality control system for purchasing supplies for all teams in his surgical department. This effort to remain a significant source of innovation is characteristic of ______________ management.

A) top
B) first-line
C) project
D) middle

Question 27

Ray Anderson, founder and CEO of Interface, retired and selected a successor who has pledged to continue a strong commitment to environmentalism. Anderson was the top manager of a billion-dollar-a-year company offering what product?

A) plumbing supplies
B) petroleum products
C) Internet retailing
D) floor covering

Question 28

Albert Stroucken, president of H.B. Fuller, was recently a target of questions from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the media after tests revealed that children in Central America sniff Resistol, a glue used for making H.B. Fuller shoes. The children sniff the glue because it provides a temporary euphoria that relieves hunger and hopelessness in their homes in Honduras and Guatemala. The FDA has charged that the glue's fumes can cause brain damage. What managerial position does Stroucken most likely hold?

A) public relations director
B) top manager
C) middle manager
D) first-line manager

Question 29

Cliff Hudson, CEO of Sonic, believes his day "comes down to a series of choices." How does Hudson handle his typical day as a CEO?

A) He allocates time spent on certain tasks.
B) He manages his time and delegates effectively.
C) He discusses resource allocation and agrees to completion dates.
D) All of the above.

Question 30

Recognizing new talent, establishing specialized markets, and acquiring competitors are interrelated strategic management actions of Susan Kennedy, president of __________.

A) Penguin Putnam, Inc.
B) Fawcett Books
C) Hallmark
D) John Deere

Question 31

Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, was concerned about cultural acceptance of the company in France due to which aspect of his product?

A) resistance to American products
B) styrofoam cups
C) lack of a food menu
D) insensitive marketing approach

Question 32

For Proctor & Gamble, Tide is considered all of the following except:

A) a store brand.
B) a global brand.
C) a core brand.
D) a billion-dollar product.

Question 33

Which of the following activities did the CEO of Proctor & Gamble find to be a big waste of time for the improvement of their market share in Europe?

A) managers spending a lot of time with store personnel
B) chatting with retail customers
C) designing the next billion-dollar product
D) looking for labeling problems on products

Question 34

Survey results indicate that MBA students place the highest emphasis on balancing work and life issues in the area of:

A) information overload
B) building a family
C) diet and exercise
D) All of the above have substantial impact.

Question 35

Who is Cliff Hudson? Describe how he uses the general managerial functions in his planning and administration competency as CEO of Sonic.

Question 36

Describe three of the managerial functions and an example of each.