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ES − 1 −
2. Explain what managers do. TF 9, 13, 15, 19 8, 10, 12, 14, 11, 16, 18
17
MC 24, 30, 32, 40, 15, 17, 18, 20, 14, 16, 19, 21,
41, 50, 53, 54 22, 25, 26, 27, 23, 33, 36, 37,
28, 29, 31, 34, 38, 42, 43, 46,
35, 39, 44, 45, 48, 51, 52, 55,
47, 49, 57, 58, 56, 60
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ES − 3 2, 4, 5
3. Describe the competencies used TF 21, 26, 33 20, 22, 23, 25, 24, 29, 34
in managerial work and assess 27, 28, 30, 31,
your current competency levels. 32
MC 61, 62, 68, 70, 63, 66, 67, 69, 64, 65, 71, 72,
76, 81, 83, 87, 73, 77, 79, 80, 74, 75, 78, 86,
92, 94, 97, 100 82, 84, 85, 88, 89, 91, 95, 102
90, 93, 96, 98,
99, 101
ES − 6, 8 7
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CHAPTER 1: MANAGING IN A DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT
True/False Questions
Learning Objective 1
1. Alan Questrom’s primary goal in turning J. C. Penney was to find ways to increase
revenues.
2. J. C. Penney found that they needed to centralize their purchasing practices as part of
their “renewed emphasis on expense control.”
4. Fortune magazine includes “the ability to attract, develop, and keep talented people” as
one of the key factors used to establish its list of Most Admired Companies.
Learning Objective 2
8. Managerial roles are linked and are played out simultaneously on occasion.
10. Managers are responsible for setting goals, employees are responsible for achieving
them.
11. Middle managers are removed from the technical aspects of production work. Lacking
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hands-on experience, many of them must develop new skills to cope with top
management’s demands.
12. Meg Whitman is the CEO of eBay. As a top manager, Whitman’s primary management
task is planning and leading.
14. A small organization usually has only one level of management—often the founder or
the owner or an executive director.
15. Managers play a key role in creating the culture and climate that affect both the ethics
and the social responsibility of an organization.
16. The greater emphasis on managing group performance and allocating resources
represent the most important differences between first-line and middle managers.
17. As middle managers have assumed more authority in recent years, the public relations
duties of top managers have decreased.
18. Top managers conduct a great deal of their leadership activity with people in
organizations other than their own.
19. 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.
Learning Objective 3
20. In theory, six managerial competencies are essential for effectiveness. In practice,
knowing where one competency begins and the other ends is difficult, and some or all
need to be relied upon at different times.
21. Communication competency includes both formal and informal communication as well
as the ability to negotiate.
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22. Of the six managerial competencies, strategic action is the most fundamental.
23. Formal communication can take place at a more personal level, as during conversation
with suppliers and clients.
24. The Container Store has been able to cut costs by implementing programs for new
employees that minimize the amount of training required.
25. “Designing the team” is the first step for any team project and usually is the
responsibility of a manager or team leader.
26. In a recent study of more than 400 organizations and 80,000 managers, the Gallup
organization found that the best managed companies used employee in teams.
27. When people think of teamwork, they realize the importance of making a distinction
between the team members and a team leader.
28. 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.
29. Among the components of strategic action competency, budgeting and financial
management is highly important.
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31. Taking responsibility for your life at work and beyond involves self-management
competency.
33. Proctor & Gamble has been highly successful in its standardized global branding
strategy that provides maximum name recognition to customers.
34. For new college graduates, surveys reveal that career development is a much higher
priority than building a family.
2. 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
Learning Objective 1
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5. A(n) ______________ has a structure and strives to achieve goals that individuals
acting alone could not reach.
a. manager
b. organization
c. competency
d. not-for-profit group
6. All organizations have the same overall goals, but their specific goals are unique. A
specific goal at FedEx is ____________.
a. serving customers
b. diversity training
c. on-time package delivery
d. profits for shareholders
7. A ___________ is a person who plans, organizes, directs, and controls the allocation of
human, material, financial, and information resources in pursuit of the organization’s
goals.
a. organization
b. manager
c. CEO
d. functional officer
9. Which of the following is not one of the duties of Carly Fiorina, CEO at Hewlett-
Packard?
a. training a new management team
b. restructuring HP
c. creating a work environment
d. implementing a corporate merger
10. The term ____________refers to the tasks and activities involved in directing an
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13. 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.
Learning Objective 2
What Managers Do
14. In what specific sequence do managers perform their managerial functions in order to
achieve company goals?
a. planning, organizing, leading, controlling
b. organizing, leading, controlling, planning
c. leading, controlling, planning, organizing
d. None of the above because the functions are often performed simultaneously,
15. The sale of J.C. Penney's credit card operation to GE Capital is an example of which
managerial function?
a. planning
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b. organizing
c. directing
d. controlling
17. In the _________ process managers set standards of performance, measure current
performance against those standards, take action to correct any deviations, and adjust
the standards if necessary.
planning
organizing
leading
controlling
18. 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.
leading
planning
controlling
organizing
19. When Cliff Hudson became CEO of Sonic, he made decisions to eliminate all of the
following traditional but unproductive items except:
non-standardized menus.
unprofitable breakfast items.
Frankie Avalon as a spokesman.
five hamburger sizes.
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20. GE Capital is divided into four distinct businesses for the purpose of serving the
specialized needs of customers. What managerial function is being employed to
achieve this type of clarity?
planning
organizing
leading
controlling
21. When Lois Dimpfel, vice president of IBM Worldwide Olympic Technology Systems,
was organizing the team to bring the Salt Lake City Games to millions of TV viewers,
she was primarily involved in the _______________ managerial function.
planning
controlling
organizing
leading
22. 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?
establishing directions for the organization
identifying the organization's resources to achieve organizational goals
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
23. Starbucks attributes its success to the managerial function of ______________, which
includes control procedures such as the criteria used to hire people, the type of coffee
beans used, and the physical layout of stores.
planning
controlling
directing
organizing
24. The planning function is the dynamic process of making decisions that focuses on
___________.
future performance
outsourcing
past performance
technical skills
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25. Once managers have defined goals for future performance, they must translate those
relatively abstract desires into reality. The coordination effort to do this represents
____________.
planning
controlling
organizing
leading
26. The _______________ managerial function concerns itself with assigning workers to
departments.
planning
organizing
leading
controlling
27. Tim Hodges, a regional vice-president for 7–11 stores, allowed his store managers the
freedom to run their operations as though they were separate businesses. By
__________ in a new way, he was attempting to better coordinate the company's
human and material resources.
controlling
staffing
organizing
planning
28. After management has made plans, created a structure, and hired the right personnel,
someone must ____________________ the organization over time.
control
evaluate the efficiency of
lead
evaluate the effectiveness of
29. Lois Dimple, vice president of IBM Worldwide Olympic Technology Systems, knew she
needed to plan, organize, and lead simultaneously to complete the task assigned to
her. What was Dimple’s responsibility?
coordinate the summer Olympic games in Atlanta
coordinate the winter Olympic games in Utah
coordinate the summer Olympic games in Sydney
create a system supplying real time Internet coverage of the games
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30. ____________ involves getting others to perform tasks necessary to achieve the
organization’s goals.
Leading
Organizing
Controlling
Planning
33. Which of the following is not a factor in determining whether a first-line manager will be
successful?
a. has a strong technical expertise to teach subordinates
b. is willing to let subordinates do the work
c. plans and schedules work for employees
d. has sales or marketing experience before becoming manager
34. James Herndon has been working for ExxonMobil for three years. He recently was
promoted to production supervisor. Krystina Rios supervises sales associates who go
to people's homes and sell insurance. Both positions may be classified as a
___________ manager.
a. first-line
b. matrix
c. high potential
d. functional
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35. Tonya Forrister is the type of manager who leads a hectic work life full of interruptions.
Her job is constantly on the “firing line.” From this description, Tonya would be
considered a ___________ manager.
a. bureaucratic
b. first-line
c. task force
d. ineffective
36. Jason Henderson is a sales manager with Kia Motor Company. Primarily his
subordinates see him as a team leader in their project. Jason's position represents a
__________.
a. component of a matrix organizational design
b. distinct division of staff and line positions
c. component of a mechanistic organizational design
d. first-line manager
37. 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
38. The most important managerial task performed by first-line managers is usually ______.
a. managing multiple departments
b. coordinating teams
c. scouting for possible take-over targets
d. managing individual performance
39. Jerry Strahan of Lucky Hot Dogs describes his job as ringmaster. He tries to balance
the health department's demands for clean kiosks, vendors' demands for supplies, and
his first-line manager's demand for recruiting new employees to staff the company's 25
kiosks in New Orleans. Strahan is considered to be at what level of management?
a. top management
b. middle management
c. first-line management
d. intermediate management
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40. Typical job titles of middle managers include all of the following except:
plant manager
sales manager
director of finance
All of the above are considered job titles for middle managers.
41. Audrey Van Drew at Alcatel USA finds herself translating top management's strategy for
increasing sales into tangible quotas for production plant managers. Van Drew would
be considered to be at what level of management?
a. top management
b. middle management
c. first-line management
d. intermediate management
42. Norma Jean Lockhart has recently been promoted to a middle manager with Allied
Pharmaceutical. She wanted to know what task most middle managers considered
important. She found out that the key task was ______________.
a. managing individual performance
b. coordinating teams
c. managing group performance and allocating resources
d. representing one's subordinates
43. Laura Gonzales is a manager with Safeway. Her responsibilities partially include
establishing target dates for products and developing evaluation criteria for
performance. These responsibilities are primarily associated with _____________
management.
a. first-line
b. team
c. middle
d. top
44. Ryan Getty of Smith Bakery is responsible for directing and coordinating the activities of
first-line managers. Ryan’s position would best be classified as a ________.
a. top manager
b. second-line manager
c. project leader
d. middle manager
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45. A large electronics manufacturer has recently hired Susan Jenson. Her responsibilities
include motivating and disciplining project leaders, keeping track of performance and
providing feedback, and improving communications and productivity of the various
projects. These responsibilities are closely affiliated with ____________ management.
a. project
b. first-line
c. middle
d. top
47. Marie Runyon's promotion to manager of La Madeleine Bakery & Café has been met
with 70-hour workweeks starting at 3 a.m. She must meet a profit target by using
company mandated sales strategies. What type of manager is Runyon?
a. first line
b. middle
c. top
d. matrix
48. Jackie Deaver is attempting to establish target dates for her division. Further, she has
been involved in developing evaluation criteria for the performance of her employees
and supervisors. She is a little overwhelmed with deciding which projects should be
given money, personnel, and materials. Jackie would most likely be classified as a
___________ manager.
a. first-line
b. hands-on
c. middle
d. strategic
49. Camillo Silva is responsible for translating top management policies into specific goals.
Camillo's position would best be classified as a __________.
a. first-line employee
b. section coordinator
c. tactical supervisor
d. middle manager
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50. Typical job titles of top managers include all of the following except:
a. chairman.
b. division president.
c. chief executive officer.
d. All of the above are considered job titles for top managers.
51. 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
52. Top managers spend most of their day (over 75 percent) planning and leading. They
spend most of their leading time _________.
a. entertaining socially after work
b. directly involved with employee tasks
c. working with key people outside their own organization
d. controlling middle management decisions
54. Dee Hock tells his managers at Visa Card to invest at least 40 percent of their time in
improving self-management of their own ethics, character, and conduct. Dee operates
at the __________ level.
a. top management
b. functional
c. middle-level marketing
d. production management
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57. Heather Jenkins feels great pressure and demands in her job at Citicorp. Her typical
day involves disposing of thirty-six pieces of mail, handling five telephone calls per hour,
and going to eight meetings each day. Jenkins is most likely experiencing the
challenges felt by ________________.
a. all employees
b. top managers
c. first-line managers
d. leaders of self-managed teams
58. 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
59. Angela Duke seems to spend days and nights working for General Electric. It seems
that one night she may spend working late at the office and the next night entertaining
business associates. Even when she goes home, Angela uses her study as a branch
office. She is most likely fulfilling the role of .
a. staff management
b. top management
c. middle management
d. board of director member
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60. Juan Amaya's typical business week includes using his own technical expertise in metal
framing buildings, keeping good rapport with the community, knowing union and non-
union hiring practices, supervising work crews, and monitoring the financial matters of
his company. Amaya is what type of manager?
a. first-line manager
b. middle manager
c. top manager
d. a business owner who does all levels of managing
Learning Objective 3
Managerial Competencies
61. It takes all of the following managerial competencies to be a great manager except:
a. global awareness.
b. communication.
c. technical expertise.
d. teamwork.
63. Helene Perlman negotiates effectively on behalf of a team over roles and resources, is
skilled at developing relationships and exercising influence upward with superiors, and
takes decisive and fair actions when handling problem subordinates. Helene is
engaged in ___________communication.
a. negotiation
b. informal
c. formal
d. planning
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65. Which of the following is not considered a component of the planning and administration
competency?
a. time management
b. information gathering, analysis, and problem solving
c. budgeting and financial management
d. negotiation
66. A manager monitors information and uses it to identify symptoms, underlying problems,
and alternative solutions. What competency is the manager demonstrating?
a. communication
b. planning and administration
c. teamwork
d. strategic action
68. Employees at __________ are encouraged to treat customers like they would treat
visitors in their own homes.
a. The Container Store
1. Sonic
2. J. C. Penney
3. Whole Foods Market
69. 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.
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70. Cliff Hudson, CEO of Sonic, finds that he must manage his time and delegate effectively
because there are more daily problems and opportunities than he can possibly attend
to. This is part of the __________.
a. teamwork competency
b. communication competency
c. planning and administration competency
d. personnel management competency
71. Latisha Phillips handles several issues and projects at one time but doesn’t spread
herself to thin, monitors and keeps to a schedule or changes the schedule if needed,
and works effectively under time pressure. What dimension of the planning and
administration competency characterizes her work?
a. information gathering and analysis
b. time management
c. planning and organizing projects
d. budgeting and financial management
72. The view of successful teamwork includes all of the following except:
a. a competency that involves taking the lead at times.
b. supporting others who are taking the lead at other times.
c. collaborating with others in the organization on projects that do not even have a
designated team leader.
d. setting the strategic goals for the team.
73. A manager brings conflict and dissent into the open and uses it to enhance the quality
of decision, while at the same time facilitating cooperative behavior and keeping the
group moving toward its goals. What competency is the manager demonstrating?
a. communication
b. planning and administration
c. teamwork
d. strategic action
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75. The Whole Foods Market developed its employees’ teamwork competency by
organizing its stores into self-managed teams. All of the following are positively effected
by an emphasis on teamwork except:
a. accountability.
b. labor union relations.
c. "no secrets" management philosophy.
d. all of the above
77. A manager quickly recognizes when changes in the industry create significant threats
and opportunities. What competency is the manager demonstrating?
a. strategic action
b. planning and administration
c. teamwork
d. communication
78. Pierre Rousseau recognizes the management challenges of alternative strategies and
addresses them. What dimension of strategic action competency describes Rousseau?
a. understanding the organization
b. taking strategic action
c. understanding the industry
d. prioritizing skill
79. Global awareness requires that you have an open attitude and sensitivity to cultures
different from yours. Which of the following is true concerning this competency?
79. a. A country’s culture seldom affects behavior.
b. Very few American companies have global markets for their services and products.
c. You must recognize that culture makes a difference in how people think and act.
d. Your own culture rarely determines your basic values.
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80. A manager understands the nature of national, ethnic, and cultural differences
represented on the task force she organized. What managerial competency is the
manager demonstrating?
a. communication
b. global awareness
c. self-management
d. planning and administration
81. Carrying out an organization’s managerial work by drawing on the human, financial, and
material resources from multiple countries and serving markets that span multiple
countries requires what managerial competency?
a. strategic action competency
b. self-management competency
c. global awareness competency
d. communication competency
82. Dustin Ross travels abroad several times a year and is aware of cultural cues and is
able to adapt quickly in novel situations. He oftentimes has to adjust his own behavior
when interacting with people from various national, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.
What dimension of the global awareness competency is Dusty practicing?
a. cultural knowledge
b. cultural openness and sensitivity
c. global management
d. cultural understanding
83. Understanding the organization's overall mission and ensuring that employees' actions
are in alignment defines the __________ competency.
a. communication
b. teamwork
c. strategic action
d. self-management
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85. Top managers like John Mackey of Whole Foods or Allen Questrom of J.C. Penney's
must perceive changes in the organizational environment and apply which management
competency?
a. global awareness
b. communication
c. strategic action
d. all of the above
86. 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
88. 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
89. Which of the following is essential in order to work with people from other backgrounds?
a. appropriate language
b. negotiation skills
c. social etiquette
d. openness and sensitivity
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90. A serious global awareness mistake made by __________ was to change the name of
their product in Germany to the more common global name. Local customers no longer
recognized a product that had previously been familiar, resulting in lost sales volume.
a. Proctor & Gamble
b. Philip Morris
c. Mitsubishi
d. Nestlé
91. Billy Durant has been assigned to a potentially large volume seasonal rental customer
who brings a crew from Mexico every year. The reason previous salesmen have failed
to get the order is most likely related to __________.
a. integrity and ethical conduct
b. understanding the industry
c. lack of strategic planning
d. cultural knowledge & understanding
92. 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.
93. 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
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95. Beverly Stevens is willing to make mistakes and accepts responsibility for her own
actions. What dimension of the self-management competency is Stevens exhibiting by
her behavior?
a. integrity and ethical conduct
b. personal drive and resilience
c. balancing work
d. balancing life issues
96. A manager is willing to continually unlearn and relearn as changed situations call for
new skills and perspectives. What managerial competency is the manager
demonstrating?
a. communication
b. teamwork
c. self-management
d. strategic action
98. Current polling data indicates that the qualities employers are the least concerned with
in hiring young employees are:
a. technical skills.
b. self-management.
c. integrity.
d. personality.
99. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com with a loan from his parents. Banks and venture
capital firms would not loan to an internet startup company. Bezos is an example of the
__________ required to face setbacks and risk failure in a new business.
a. integrity and interest in the job
b. balance of work and life demands
c. strategic action
d. personal drive and resilience
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100 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.
101 Employees who fail to take advantage of development and training opportunities offered
. by the organization are considered derailed. The most common reasons for derailment
are all of the following except:
a. problems with interpersonal relationships
b. inability to lead a team
c. inability to learn, develop, and adapt
d. having too broad of a functional perspective
102 In a competitive and highly dynamic work environment, the most difficult management
. challenge is predicted to be __________.
a. task related learning
b. teamwork competency
c. balancing work and life issues
d. maintaining integrity and ethics
Essay Questions
Learning Objective 1
Managers establish organizational goals and then direct the work of subordinates, on
whom they depend to achieve those goals. Managers acquire and allocate the human
and material resources without which organizations couldn’t exist. Effective
management is essential to the success of an organization.
A manager is a person who plans, organizes, directs, and controls the allocation of
human, material, financial, and information resources in pursuit of the organization’s
goals. The many different types of managers include department managers, product
managers, account managers, plant managers, division managers, district managers,
and task force managers. What they all have in common is responsibility for the efforts
of a group of people who share a goal and access to resources that the group can use
in pursuing its goal. Managers establish organizational goals and then direct the work
of subordinates, whom they depend on to achieve those goals. Managers acquire and
allocate the human and material resources without which organizations couldn’t exist.
Managers are evaluated on how well the people they direct do their jobs.
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Learning Objective 2
2. Who is Cliff Hudson? Describe how he uses the general managerial functions in his
planning and administration competency as CEO of Sonic.
Cliff Hudson has instituted sweeping changes in the 2,400 restaurant chain, bringing
them back to healthy profitability and impressive growth. When he arrived in 1995 the
company had been mismanaged. Both the physical and financial condition were in
serious disarray.
Hudson exhibited the leading function in the decisions to close more than 300
locations. He has also made important changes in the contracts and business
relationships with franchisees who actually own and operate the drive-in locations.
The control function is focal in decisions that reduce operating expenses. Centralized
purchasing and concessions from food suppliers were combined with standardization
of menus throughout the chain in order to create consistency of quality, low costs, and
enhanced profit margins. Methods to increase the speed of processing orders and
serving customers are constantly being pursued. Control is also involved in the
deployment of point-of-sale terminals that can track trends and opportunities, such as
the popularity of sundaes in specific markets.
The organizing function is involved in marketing and advertising work that resulted in
the creation of national advertising campaigns and dropping Frankie Avalon as a
spokesman due to loss of recognizability to younger generations.
Examples of the planning function are the analysis of marketing data to discover
customer tastes, and goals to increase the volume of breakfast item sales. The
decision to keep the company's signature carhops is also an aspect of the planning
function.
Difficult, p. 11
3. What functions do managers usually perform today? What sets managers apart?
a. Managers are individuals that allocate human and material resources and direct the
operations of a department or an entire organization.
b. Managers achieve an organization's or department's goals for the most part by
arranging for others to do things, not by performing all the tasks themselves.
c. Managers are involved in planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the people
working in an organization to achieve the organization's goals.
d. Goals give direction to the tasks and activities undertaken.
e. Managers are set apart on how well others do their jobs.
4. How might you differentiate between the three levels of management? Give an
example of each.
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a. First-line managers are directly responsible for the production of goods or services.
They may be called sales managers, section chiefs, or production supervisors,
depending on the organization. Employees who report to them do the organization's
basic production work. This level of management is the link between the production
or operations of each department and the rest of the organization.
b. Middle managers focus on coordinating employee activities, determining which
products or services to provide, and deciding how to market these products or
services to customers. Middle managers receive specific goals and plans for first-line
managers to implement. Middle managers typically have titles such as department
head, plant manager, and director of finance.
c. Top managers are responsible for the overall direction and operations of an
organization. Typical titles of top managers are chief executive officer, president,
chairman, division president, and executive vice president. Top managers set goals
that are handed down through the hierarchy, eventually reaching each worker.
a. Planning involves defining organizational goals and proposing ways to reach them.
Managers plan for three reasons: (1) to establish an overall direction for the
organization's future, such as increased profit, expanded market share, and social
responsibility; (2) to identify and commit the organization's resources to achieving its
goals; and (3) to decide which activities are necessary to do so.
b. Organizing is the process of creating a structure of relationships that will enable
employees to carry out management's plans and meet its goals. By organizing
effectively, managers can better coordinate human and material resources. An
organization's success depends largely on management's ability to utilize those
resources efficiently and effectively.
c. Leading involves communicating with and motivating others to perform the tasks
necessary to achieve the organization's goals. This process is called directing or
influencing.
d. Controlling is the process by which a person, group, or organization consciously
monitors performance and takes corrective action. In the control process, managers
set standards of performance, measure current performance against those
standards, take action to correct any deviations, and adjust the standards if
necessary.
Learning Objective 3
6. What are some of the ways that the Container Store applies the communication
competency to getting the best out of its employees?
The Container Store starts with 235 hours of formalized training for new hires.
Individual store managers continue this training culture with an open communication
environment that features new product sales and display training, a teamwork focus,
and incentives
specifically tied to goal achievement. "Super sales trainers" are top performers who
serve the stores, selected from employees who have shown strong leadership and
communication skills.
A "do unto others" philosophy is part of the firm's commitment to open communication
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Moderate, p. 17
8. Many college instructors assign team projects because employers indicate the desire to
hire graduates who know how to work in teams to perform their jobs. What are some of
the teamwork competencies that are being developed when working as student teams?
a. The ability to take the lead and work as a team leader when needed, as well as the
willingness to support a team leader when others have taken the lead.
b. Self-direction of teams involves the formulation of goals, defining of tasks to be
accomplished, and assigning those tasks to group members according to their
interests and abilities.
c. Learning how to create a supportive environment, as well as dealing with conflicts,
disappointments, and frustration.
d. Learning how to get the best out of team members, balancing the contributions of
the more forceful members with those who are more reserved.
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