Question 1

Activity ratios measure an organization's ability to meet its current debt obligations.

Accepted Answer

Activity ratios measure the efficiency of a company's use of its assets, such as inventory turnover or days sales outstanding. These ratios do not directly measure the organization's ability to meet its current debt obligations, which is measured by liquidity ratios.

Question 2

Managers engage in controlling activities to protect the organization and its assets.

Accepted Answer

Controlling activities such as monitoring performance, implementing policies and procedures, and assessing risks are intended to safeguard the organization and its resources from various threats and uncertainties.

Question 3

Controlling is the process of monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance.

Accepted Answer

Controlling involves monitoring performance, comparing it with goals, and correcting deviations from the goals to ensure that the work is on track.

Question 4

Employers establish specific policies defining theft and fraud and discipline procedures.This is an example of a concurrent control measure to control employee theft.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a preventive control measure, as it aims to prevent theft and fraud by clearly defining unacceptable behaviors and consequences before they occur. Concurrent controls would involve monitoring and adjusting activities as they happen.

Question 5

Some control criteria, such as employee satisfaction, can be used for any management situation.

Accepted Answer

Employee satisfaction can be used as a control criterion in any management situation as it can help determine the effectiveness of management practices and policies in creating a positive work environment and promoting employee morale.

Question 6

Feedforward control is more popular and effective than the other forms of control.

Accepted Answer

This statement is not necessarily true. Each form of control (feedforward, feedback, and concurrent) has its own strengths and weaknesses, and their effectiveness depends on the specific situation and factors involved. For example, feedback control may be more appropriate when dealing with unpredictable or rapidly changing systems, while feedforward control may be more effective in situations where the inputs are known and can be controlled.

Question 7

Benchmarks for a company must be created based on the previous performance of the company.

Accepted Answer

Benchmarks can be based on a company's previous performance, industry standards, competitor performance, or strategic goals, not solely on past performance.

Question 8

The balanced scorecard approach evaluates organizational performance from more than just the financial perspective.

Accepted Answer

The balanced scorecard approach considers performance evaluation from four different perspectives: financial, customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth.

Question 9

Most employees do their jobs well and never require disciplinary action.

Accepted Answer

This statement is generally true as the majority of employees perform satisfactorily and meet the expectations of their job roles. However, there may be instances where disciplinary action is necessary for a small percentage of employees who fail to meet performance or behavioral standards.

Question 10

Organizational effectiveness is a measure of how appropriate organizational goals are and how well those goals are being met.

Accepted Answer

Organizational effectiveness refers to the extent to which an organization is achieving its goals efficiently and effectively. Therefore, it is true that organizational effectiveness is a measure of how appropriate organizational goals are and how well those goals are being met.

Question 11

Managers tend to use more direct supervision and highly centralized decision making for control in less technologically advanced countries.

Accepted Answer

This is because less technologically advanced countries often lack the infrastructure and communication tools necessary for decentralized decision making and remote supervision. Therefore, managers may rely more on direct supervision and centralized control to ensure tasks are completed to standards.

Question 12

Deviations that exceed the acceptable range of variation become significant and need a manager's attention.

Accepted Answer

Deviations that exceed the acceptable range of variation can have a significant impact on a project or organization, and therefore, require a manager's attention to address the issue and prevent further problems. Ignoring such deviations can result in delays, quality issues, and cost overruns.

Question 13

Productivity decreases when an organization raises the prices of its products.

Accepted Answer

There is no direct relationship between raising prices and decreasing productivity. However, if customers are deterred by the new prices and sales decrease, productivity may be negatively affected.

Question 14

Basic corrective action corrects problems at once to get performance back on track.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Basic corrective action corrects problems at once...

Question 15

Embezzlement and fraudulent filing of expenses are examples of employee theft.

Accepted Answer

Embezzlement and fraudulent filing of expenses are both forms of employee theft, which is the intentional taking or misuse of an employer's assets, funds, or property by an employee without permission or authorization.

Question 16

Having a control system reduces the scope of employee empowerment and autonomy.

Accepted Answer

A control system can actually enhance employee empowerment and autonomy by providing clear guidelines and objectives, allowing employees to understand their roles and make decisions within a defined framework.

Question 17

Feedforward control takes place while a work activity is in progress.

Accepted Answer

Feedforward control is a management technique that involves taking preemptive actions to prevent possible problems before the work activity begins, not while it is in progress.

Question 18

Managers should not consider the standards when measuring the actual performance of employees.

Accepted Answer

Managers should always consider the standards when measuring the actual performance of employees. Standards provide a benchmark against which actual performance can be compared, and deviations from the standards can be used to identify areas for improvement or coaching.

Question 19

Managers should do nothing if the variance observed from the standard is acceptable.

Accepted Answer

If the variance observed from the standard is within an acceptable range, then there is no need for managers to take any corrective action. However, they should still monitor the situation and make adjustments if necessary in the future.

Question 20

Using corporate hotlines or other mechanisms for reporting and investigating workplace violence is an example of feedback control.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Using corporate hotlines or other mechanisms for...

Quiz 10: Managerial Controls