Deck 16: Control

Question 1

Which of the following best characterizes the control process?

A) standardized, periodic, and cybernetic
B) flexible, intermittent, and automated
C) standardized, periodic, and robotic
D) continuous, dynamic, and cybernetic

Answer 1

D

Question 2

An accident in November 2005 at a Valero U.S.refinery killed two workers.Which type of control did Valero use by gathering information about how the men died so as to prevent a recurrence?

A) concertive
B) normative
C) feedback
D) concurrent

Answer 2

C
Feedback control is a mechanism for gathering information about performance deficiencies after they occur.

Question 3

Ford Motor has been attacked by its own sustainability committee for failing to do enough to cut vehicular greenhouse gas emissions.According to the committee's 2005 report,"Ford has failed to define a goal for reducing global emissions from the company's products." The report called for the company to set clear targets to improve fuel economy and to cut factory emissions.What does this committee want Ford to establish regarding emission control?

A) autonomous measurements
B) standards
C) value ratios
D) dependence measurements

Answer 3

B
Standards are criteria that are a basis of comparison for measuring the extent to which organizational performance is satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

Question 4

What is the term for the regulatory process of establishing standards that will achieve organizational goals,comparing actual performance to those standards,and then,if necessary,taking corrective action to restore performance to those standards?

A) implementation
B) goal setting
C) control
D) suboptimization

Question 5

When Marriott Hotels decided to improve the quality of service it offered its customers,it asked special corporate guests to comment on the good and bad issues of their stay,and also to tell what the competition was doing better than Marriott.Marriott acted accordingly.Which of the following did Marriott use?

A) benchmarking
B) data decentralization
C) information processing
D) mirroring

Question 6

What characteristic makes control a cybernetic process?

A) It has a feedback loop.
B) It is an intermittent process.
C) It is the first management function.
D) It uses automated benchmarks.

Question 7

What are the three basic control methods?

A) feedback control, feedforward control, and symmetry control
B) feedforward control, dynamic control, and symmetry control
C) concurrent control, feedback control, and feedforward control
D) feedforward control, presumptive control, and dynamic control

Question 8

A trucking company can gather data on how its competitors deal with total accidents,numbers of high-severity accidents by type,missed deliveries,spills,driver out-of-service by type,and vehicle out-of-service by type,and use this information to improve its own safety record.Which of the following allows a trucking company to not only compare its safety performance with that of other companies but also adopt those practices found to be superior?

A) benchmarking
B) data decentralization
C) information processing
D) mirroring

Question 9

A chain of specialty fashion stores has interviewed a sample of its female customers and learned that,on average,a customer can be expected to visit the store every two weeks looking for new merchandise.As a result,the chain has new merchandise delivered daily.If items have not been sold after a month on display at the store,the items are removed from the store to either be sold at another location or returned to the manufacturer.Through which of the following was the chain of stores able to set this standard?

A) evaluating the standard's capacity to enable goal achievement
B) benchmarking competitors
C) listening to customers
D) outsourcing

Question 10

Which type of control is a method of gathering information about performance deficiencies before they occur?

A) feedback
B) dynamic
C) pre-emptive
D) feedforward

Question 11

In October 2004,Caterpillar announced plans to cut its predicted production of construction equipment for 2005 due to forecasted increases in steel prices and growing concern about a tire shortage.Which type of control did Caterpillar use by discovering the problem with product inputs and letting customers know that its output would fall short?

A) feedforward
B) feedback
C) concurrent
D) stasis

Question 12

The objective of the company that manufactures Jägermeister liqueur is to grow its international business.The company determines its success in the international market by comparing its 2005 annual exporting data with the data gathered in 1998-the first year it had double-digit growth in exports.What does the 1998 exporting data provide?

A) an autonomous measurement
B) a standard
C) a value ratio
D) a dependence measurement

Question 13

A car manufacturer ordered 20,000 window assemblies from a supplier.To make sure the assemblies were made to specifications,the supplier of the window assemblies shipped a sample to the car manufacturer for testing.Which type of control is this practice an example of?

A) feedback control
B) contiguous control
C) suboptimal control
D) feedforward control

Question 14

Which type of control is a method of gathering information about performance deficiencies as they occur?

A) feedback
B) simultaneous
C) concurrent
D) feedforward

Question 15

Which type of control is a method of gathering information about performance deficiencies after they occur?

A) feedback
B) dynamic
C) concurrent
D) feedforward

Question 16

A manufacturer of automatic locking devices for vehicles shipped 20,000 devices to a car manufacturer that was unable to use them because of a design flaw.Which type of control would the device manufacturer be using if it waited until the parts were returned before determining the reason for the defect?

A) feedforward
B) feedback
C) balanced
D) dynamic

Question 17

What criteria are a basis of comparison for measuring the extent to which organizational performance is satisfactory or unsatisfactory?

A) standards
B) potentials
C) autonomous goals
D) degrees of centralization

Question 18

What does the basic control process begin with?

A) benchmarking or keystoning
B) the establishment of clear standards of performance
C) the comparison of actual performance to expected performance
D) problem identification

Question 19

How may companies determine standards?

A) by benchmarking other companies
B) by implementing vertical loading
C) by using outsourcing
D) by taking corrective action

Question 20

In October 2005,Cadbury Schweppes said higher commodity prices and the bankruptcy of one of its bottling plants had increased its production costs and led it to scale back its financial projections for the rest of the year.Which of the following were these financial projections for the company?

A) autonomous measurements
B) standards
C) value ratios
D) dependence measurements

Question 21

According to the text,which of the following factors can help managers to determine whether more control is possible?

A) task downsizing
B) cybernetic feasibility
C) outsourcing
D) channelization

Question 22

In a large corporation,male employees of the controllers department are required to have their ties pulled right up and their suit jackets on when they are in any common areas of the building.What is this requirement an example of?

A) bureaucratic control
B) self-control
C) concertive control
D) normative control

Question 23

Which type of control is associated with autonomous work groups?

A) objective
B) normative
C) behaviour
D) concertive

Question 24

Which approach to control monitors inputs rather than outputs?

A) feedforward control
B) feedback control
C) concurrent control
D) dynamic control

Question 25

Which type of costs are associated with implementing or monitoring control?

A) cybernetic
B) heuristic
C) regulation
D) benchmarked

Question 26

Behaviour control regulates workers' actions and routines on the job.Which kind of control measures the results of their efforts?

A) input control
B) bureaucratic control
C) normative control
D) output control

Question 27

Imagine a manufacturer that has a 99 percent error-free production rate and decides it wants 100 percent error-free production.What must its management examine to determine whether the costs of increased controls outweigh the benefits of error-free production?

A) cybernetic costs
B) benchmarks
C) financial ratios
D) regulation costs

Question 28

Which of the following factors can help managers to determine whether more or different control is worthwhile?

A) regulation costs
B) customer flows
C) channelization
D) synergy

Question 29

Sony is losing revenue to music pirating.To prevent further illegal copying of its music CDs,Sony has begun placing a software program called "Rootkit" on its music CDs.When the CD is played in the computer,this program attaches itself to the computer's memory and prevents any music from being illicitly copied.This kind of action has resulted in many consumers purchasing music downloads instead of CDs.What is this situation an example of?

A) outsourced corollary
B) inadvertent significance
C) involuntary result
D) regulation costs

Question 30

In which top-down type of control do managers try to influence employee behaviour by rewarding or punishing employees for compliance or noncompliance with organizational policies,rules,and procedures?

A) bureaucratic control
B) normative control
C) concertive control
D) objective control

Question 31

Which of the following states a tendency of companies that rely on bureaucratic control?

A) The companies have no contingency plans.
B) The companies rely on group norms rather than formalized rules and regulations.
C) The companies value their human resources above all others.
D) The companies are highly resistant to change.

Question 32

Which of the following controls tends to be relied upon by organizations that are highly resistant to change and slow to respond to customers and competitors?

A) behaviour
B) bureaucratic
C) subjective
D) normative

Question 33

What is the term for the extent to which it is possible to implement each step in the control process?

A) control feasibility
B) cybernetic feasibility
C) a quasi-control assessment
D) a balanced scorecard assessment

Question 34

When the local fast-food restaurant manager caught an employee giving free food to his friends,she fired him on the spot.When an employee stayed late after work one night to help a woman start her car,the manager rewarded him.Which type of control did the restaurant manager use in these two instances?

A) bureaucratic control
B) objective control
C) self-control
D) autocratic control

Question 35

Marriott's top management decided that there was a need for a serious effort to "put democracy back in the company" and make employees feel "involved in the success of the company." Managers adopted the theme "Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen." This was the rule employees were told to use when dealing with customers.Employees asked special corporate guests to comment on the good and bad aspects of their stay,and also to tell what the competition was doing better than Marriott.The employees then acted accordingly.Which of the following controls did Marriott adopt?

A) autonomous controls
B) concertive controls
C) normative controls
D) corrective controls

Question 36

Don is the president of one of the fastest growing logistics companies in Canada.When asked what his secret is,Don states he creates a culture of hard work.He informally rewards employees for starting early in the morning and leaving later at night and also working part of every weekend.What kind of control does Don use to help grow his company?

A) objective control
B) behavioural control
C) normative control
D) output control

Question 37

Which of the following occurs when behaviour and work procedures do not conform to standards?

A) serendipitous consequences that accompany decreased supervision
B) problems with trade barriers
C) cybernetic feasibility
D) control loss

Question 38

What are the two types of objective controls that managers use?

A) output and input
B) administrative and participative
C) participative and organizational
D) behaviour and output

Question 39

A sales manager requires each member of his sales force to make three calls per day on current customers,to call on two potential customers every week,and to sell a minimum of $10,000 worth of merchandise weekly.Which control method is the sales manager using?

A) normative
B) market-oriented
C) industrial betterment
D) objective

Question 40

McDonald's fast-food restaurants have a well-designed training program for all new employees.Each new employee is supposed to learn how to perform standardized tasks required to maintain McDonald's service quality.Due to labour shortages in some areas,though,new employees begin work as soon as they are hired and do not receive any off-the-job training.What does this nonconformity to standards create?

A) ambiguous group norms
B) motivational grapevines
C) negative benchmarks
D) control loss

Question 41

What is a result from using the balanced scorecard approach to control?

A) The approach forces managers at each level of the company to set specific goals and measure performance in each of four areas.
B) The approach places greatest priority on the most important aspect of control: the financial perspective.
C) The approach maximizes the chances of suboptimization.
D) The approach looks only at factors within a company's controllable environment.

Question 42

What can be said about the perspectives of the balance scorecard?

A) The customer perspective is the most important in the control process.
B) The company's analysis of its controllable environment is most important to the company's success.
C) The innovation and learning perspective is the most important in the control process.
D) The perspectives examined by the balanced scorecard approach are of equal importance to a company's success.

Question 43

A large university library is concerned about possible pilferage of documents from its special collection of American Civil War memorabilia.It has decided to make it nearly impossible for all but the most renowned Civil War experts to have access to the collection.The librarian in charge of the special collection feels that this new policy will adversely influence the use of the collection in research on the experiences of everyday people during the war.Which of the following is being created by this use of control?

A) suboptimization
B) control loss
C) cybernetic infeasibility
D) feedforward control

Question 44

Why is economic value added (EVA)so important?

A) EVA demonstrates the importance of a business or subset of a business to customers.
B) EVA makes managers at all levels pay much closer attention to how they run their segment of the business.
C) EVA causes managers and workers to maintain the status quo.
D) EVA determines whether a business or unit of a business is a star, question mark, cash cow, or dog, and the necessary action to follow.

Question 45

Which of the following does the traditional approach to controlling financial performance examine?

A) financial ratios
B) customer defections
C) supplier records
D) employee absenteeism

Question 46

Remy admits to being a less than productive worker in the past.However,now that he has joined a new team,working hard only when the boss is around and taking it easy when she is not is frowned upon by his fellow workers.What type of control has led to the change in Remy's level of work?

A) concertive
B) normative
C) corrective
D) feedback

Question 47

Anthony works in the controllers department.It is the only department in the company that has a written rule that all of its male workers must follow.All controller department male workers must have their top button and tie done right up when in any public areas of the company.Any male workers caught with a loosened shirt and tie in a common area can be reprimanded by any company manager.What kind control is this an example of?

A) bureaucratic control
B) normative control
C) concertive control
D) input control

Question 48

Instead of individual salespeople calling on its business customers,Cedartree Tech uses sales teams composed of marketing personnel,engineers,human resource personnel,and buyer-seller liaisons.The sales team is given complete responsibility for developing long-term partnering relationships with each customer.Which of the following kinds of controls would the company's sales managers most likely approve?

A) human resource control
B) participative control
C) self-control
D) concertive control

Question 49

What is one advantage that the balanced scorecard has over traditional control processes that rely solely on financial measures?

A) The balanced scorecard encourages control delegation.
B) The balanced scorecard eliminates problems with regulation costs.
C) The balanced scorecard minimizes the chances of suboptimization.
D) The balanced scorecard allows companies to determine the ideal control methods.

Question 50

A provider of computer technical support is using the balanced scorecard approach to control.Which of the following would the provider look at?

A) the percentage of its employees that have received training during the last year
B) management changes
C) its supply of parts
D) policies and procedures

Question 51

Which term refers to a control method that encourages managers to look beyond traditional measures to evaluate four different perspectives on company performance?

A) optimization
B) customer churn
C) balanced scorecard
D) customer defection

Question 52

Which of the following occurs when performance improvement is attained in one part of an organization,but only at the expense of decreased performance in another part?

A) suboptimization
B) control loss
C) cybernetic infeasibility
D) feedforward control

Question 53

When it comes to finances,what is the one simple question that the balanced scorecard focuses on?

A) How do we look to our shareholders?
B) How are we performing for our customers?
C) Are we making a profit?
D) What is the bottom line?

Question 54

In which of the following situations should normative controls be used?

A) when cause-and-effect relationships are clear
B) when workers have been taught self-control skills
C) when responsibility for task accomplishment is given to autonomous work groups
D) when organizational culture, values, and beliefs are strong

Question 55

Rafe's manager has instructed Rafe and his fellow workers to develop a daily theme,such as patience,empathy,and kindness.Each day,the workers are to emphasize the theme as they work with customers,suppliers,and one another.Which kind of control system is Rafe's manager using?

A) self-control
B) human resource control
C) non-administrative control
D) output control

Question 56

Which measure is used to assess performance in the traditional control systems used at most companies?

A) financial
B) customer
C) value/quality
D) quality/profit

Question 57

Which of the following would managers use when implementing the financial perspective?

A) financial ratios
B) customer defections
C) employee turnover
D) value analyses

Question 58

Which of the following is one of the four perspectives measured in the balanced scorecard approach to control?

A) financial perspective
B) policies and procedures perspective
C) management perspective
D) supply chain perspective

Question 59

Liz is the treasurer of a manufacturing company.Liz arranged financing for a plant expansion.She and the company's controller are comparing the additional sales from higher production capacity against the costs of financing the expansion and the expenses to support the additional capacity.What are Liz and the controller evaluating?

A) balanced scorecard
B) EVA
C) feedback control
D) MVA

Question 60

Sheila wants a team of workers that really care for each other where each worker will go out of their way to help another worker.Sheila has created this feeling amongst the workers by the level of care she shows for each worker.What kind of control is Sheila using to create a commitment of caring for one another amongst her workers?

A) bureaucratic control
B) normative control
C) concertive control
D) self-control

Question 61

Narrative 16-1
C&K Brewing Company is a microbrewery in western Canada. It produces Maiden's Honour brand ale, a dark beer called Warrior's Cry, and several seasonal beers under the brand name Hearthfire. Its owners George Claiborne and Pete Kunard both believe the brewery's competitive advantage comes from the duo having hired an experienced German brewmaster to oversee the production of its beers. The brewmaster checks all of the ingredients before they are mixed together to make sure that each component is of the highest possible quality and rejects those that are not. After the beer has brewed, the brewmaster runs several tests on the beer to check for taste and clarity and throws out barrels that are cloudy and/or bitter.
Refer to the Narrative 16-1.Which type of control does the brewmaster use when he tests the raw materials?

A) concurrent
B) incipient
C) feedforward
D) introductory

Question 62

Which type of quality goal is a company emphasizing when its managers must simultaneously control excellence,price,durability,or other features of a product or service that customers strongly associate with it?

A) excellence
B) value
C) conformance to expectations
D) profitability

Question 63

An article on public libraries contained the following statement: "The balanced scorecard helps organize and run the library according to a specific strategic plan,while demonstrating the library's value to the community as a whole." When dealing with the customer area of the balanced scorecard,the article advised librarians to use customer surveys.Why might surveys be a poor strategy to use?

A) The use of surveys could create information overload.
B) Customer surveys are never reliable.
C) Stakeholders should not be involved in the creation of a balanced scorecard.
D) Customer surveys are typically misleadingly positive.

Question 64

Narrative 16-1
C&K Brewing Company is a microbrewery in western Canada. It produces Maiden's Honour brand ale, a dark beer called Warrior's Cry, and several seasonal beers under the brand name Hearthfire. Its owners George Claiborne and Pete Kunard both believe the brewery's competitive advantage comes from the duo having hired an experienced German brewmaster to oversee the production of its beers. The brewmaster checks all of the ingredients before they are mixed together to make sure that each component is of the highest possible quality and rejects those that are not. After the beer has brewed, the brewmaster runs several tests on the beer to check for taste and clarity and throws out barrels that are cloudy and/or bitter.
Refer to the Narrative 16-1.The company is considering using the balanced scorecard to evaluate performance.What will the balanced scorecard provide as an integrated system?

A) maximizing the possibility of suboptimization
B) making only production managers responsible for ensuring a positive impact on the scorecard
C) measuring five different perspectives of organizational performance
D) examining performance from a financial perspective as well as other perspectives

Question 65

Narrative 16-1
C&K Brewing Company is a microbrewery in western Canada. It produces Maiden's Honour brand ale, a dark beer called Warrior's Cry, and several seasonal beers under the brand name Hearthfire. Its owners George Claiborne and Pete Kunard both believe the brewery's competitive advantage comes from the duo having hired an experienced German brewmaster to oversee the production of its beers. The brewmaster checks all of the ingredients before they are mixed together to make sure that each component is of the highest possible quality and rejects those that are not. After the beer has brewed, the brewmaster runs several tests on the beer to check for taste and clarity and throws out barrels that are cloudy and/or bitter.
Refer to the Narrative 16-1.What does the brewmaster use to determine the quality of the beer by comparing its clarity to that of the finest beer?

A) standards
B) benchmarks
C) motivational cues
D) informational cues

Question 66

Theresa is comparing customer data between the previous three years and the current year to determine how many customers have left and the rate at which customers are leaving.What activity is Theresa engaged in?

A) determining the potential for customer churn
B) measuring customer loyalty
C) analyzing customer defections
D) measuring the competition's performance

Question 67

Several extended-stay hotel chains ask guests to hang their towels so they can be reused as a way to help the environment.Which stage of waste minimization does this request reflect?

A) waste prevention and reduction
B) recycle and reuse
C) waste treatment
D) waste disposal

Question 68

Jägermeister liqueur is the only product made by its manufacturer.The company is carefully evaluating what it learned in becoming such a success to see whether it could use the same strategy to expand its international market.Which perspective of the balanced scorecard is the liqueur manufacturer emphasizing?

A) the financial perspective
B) the policies and procedures perspective
C) the customer perspective
D) the innovation and learning perspective

Question 69

Narrative 16-1
C&K Brewing Company is a microbrewery in western Canada. It produces Maiden's Honour brand ale, a dark beer called Warrior's Cry, and several seasonal beers under the brand name Hearthfire. Its owners George Claiborne and Pete Kunard both believe the brewery's competitive advantage comes from the duo having hired an experienced German brewmaster to oversee the production of its beers. The brewmaster checks all of the ingredients before they are mixed together to make sure that each component is of the highest possible quality and rejects those that are not. After the beer has brewed, the brewmaster runs several tests on the beer to check for taste and clarity and throws out barrels that are cloudy and/or bitter.
Refer to the Narrative 16-1.Which type of control does the brewmaster use when he tests the beer to see how it tastes?

A) simultaneous
B) feedback
C) concurrent
D) reactive

Question 70

Narrative 16-1
C&K Brewing Company is a microbrewery in western Canada. It produces Maiden's Honour brand ale, a dark beer called Warrior's Cry, and several seasonal beers under the brand name Hearthfire. Its owners George Claiborne and Pete Kunard both believe the brewery's competitive advantage comes from the duo having hired an experienced German brewmaster to oversee the production of its beers. The brewmaster checks all of the ingredients before they are mixed together to make sure that each component is of the highest possible quality and rejects those that are not. After the beer has brewed, the brewmaster runs several tests on the beer to check for taste and clarity and throws out barrels that are cloudy and/or bitter.
Refer to the Narrative 16-1.Which classical management function is the brewmaster in charge of?

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

Question 71

According to the balanced scorecard approach to control,which of the following is much more likely to have a positive effect on a company's bottom line than an analysis of customer satisfaction?

A) an analysis of the competition
B) an analysis of budgets
C) an analysis of competitive value
D) an analysis of customer defection

Question 72

What question do managers ask for the internal perspective of the balanced scorecard?

A) At what must we excel?
B) How do we provide value to our stakeholders?
C) What is the bottom line?
D) How important is customer satisfaction?

Question 73

What are the three ways that quality is typically defined and measured?

A) profitability, customer satisfaction, conformance to expectations
B) value, customer satisfaction, and conformance to expectations
C) profitability, reliability, and conformance to expectations
D) excellence, value, and conformance to expectations

Question 74

Narrative 16-1
C&K Brewing Company is a microbrewery in western Canada. It produces Maiden's Honour brand ale, a dark beer called Warrior's Cry, and several seasonal beers under the brand name Hearthfire. Its owners George Claiborne and Pete Kunard both believe the brewery's competitive advantage comes from the duo having hired an experienced German brewmaster to oversee the production of its beers. The brewmaster checks all of the ingredients before they are mixed together to make sure that each component is of the highest possible quality and rejects those that are not. After the beer has brewed, the brewmaster runs several tests on the beer to check for taste and clarity and throws out barrels that are cloudy and/or bitter.
Refer to the Narrative 16-1.To maintain the reputations of the brewery and the brewmaster,the company typically destroys about 8 percent of its production because the beer is not of a high enough quality.Which type of control is this an example of?

A) objective control
B) concertive control
C) bureaucratic control
D) sacrificing control

Question 75

An article on public libraries contained the following statement: "The balanced scorecard helps organize and run the library according to a specific strategic plan,while demonstrating the library's value to the community as a whole." The same article advised librarians to ask,"At what activities must we excel?" What area of the balanced scorecard was the article then referring to?

A) the financial perspective
B) the policies and procedures perspective
C) the customer perspective
D) the internal perspective

Question 76

According to the textbook,which level of waste minimization produces the greatest minimization of waste?

A) waste prevention and reduction
B) recycle and reuse
C) waste treatment
D) waste disposal

Question 77

What is the term for a performance assessment whereby companies identify which customers are leaving and the rate at which customers are leaving?

A) customer subjectivity
B) customer satisfaction
C) customer defection
D) customer objectivity

Question 78

Process modification and material/product substitution are two strategies used for waste prevention and reduction.What is the third?

A) collective reuse
B) modification of organizational culture
C) process diversification
D) good housekeeping

Question 79

An article on public libraries contained the following statement: "The balanced scorecard helps organize and run the library according to a specific strategic plan,while demonstrating the library's value to the community as a whole." Standards suggested to use with one area of the balanced scorecard include how quickly and effectively a new service can be offered and how the training staff responds to its introduction.Which area of the scorecard would this be?

A) the financial perspective
B) the policies and procedures perspective
C) the customer perspective
D) the innovation and learning perspective

Question 80

An article on public libraries contained the following statement: "The balanced scorecard helps organize and run the library according to a specific strategic plan,while demonstrating the library's value to the community as a whole." In which area of the balanced scorecard did the article advise librarians to ask,"How can the library continue to improve and create value?"

A) the financial perspective
B) the policies and procedures perspective
C) the customer perspective
D) the innovation and learning perspective