Chapter 8

1. Setting objectives and determining how they will be accomplished is the essence of the management function of __________. Planning.

2. __________ is the process of deciding exactly what one wants to accomplish and how to do it. Planning.

3. Performance targets that we have to work extra hard and stretch to reach are __________. Stretch goals

4. Organizations that set ___________ do so knowing these goals will be difficult to reach and require extra hard work. Stretch goals

5. Stretch goals are performance targets that require __________ and are a(n) _______ to reach. Extra hard work, stretch

6. __________ is the management function that establishes the platform for further managerial efforts. Planning.

7. In the planning process, __________ refer to the specific results or desired outcomes that one intends to achieve. Objectives.

8. Which one of the following alternatives lists the planning steps in proper order? Define objectives, determine current standing relative to objectives, develop premises regarding future conditions, analyze and choose among possible action alternatives, and implement the plan and evaluate results.

9. Which of the following statements accurately describe planning time horizons?A. Short-range plans cover one year or less into the future.B. Intermediate-range plans cover a time frame of one to two years into the future.C. Long-range plans cover a time frame of three or more years into the future..

10. Which level of management spends more time with long-range planning when compared to other levels of management? Top-level managers.

11. Which of the following are implications of research conducted by Elliot Jaques?A. People vary in their capabilities to think out, organize, and work through events of

different time horizons.B. Most people work comfortably with only three-month time spans; smaller groups of

people work well with a one-year time frame; and only one person in several million can handle a 20-year time frame.

C. Managers working at different levels in the organization must plan over varying time horizons.

12. __________ plans set broad, comprehensive, and long-term action directions for the entire organization. Strategic.

13. Strategic planning begins with __________________ Vision

14. A ________________helps to implement all or parts of a strategic plan. Tactical plan

15. Company LMN, a toy manufacturer, has discovered that one of its suppliers has used lead based paint on one of its products. It is Thanksgiving week. The Executive committee has assembled a team to devise a plan to mitigate the issue. LMN is using ____________ Tactical planning

16. All of the following are examples of functional plans except: Operational plans

17. __________ is the process of predicting what will happen in the future. Forecasting.

18. Using the opinions of persons with special expertise to make predictions about the future is called __________. Qualitative forecasting.

19. ABC Inc. utilizes mathematical and statistical analyses of historical data and surveys to predict future events. This process is called __________.Quantitative forecasting.

20. A means-ends chain is also known as a __________. Hierarchy of objectives.

21. In the means-ends chain, __________ objectives are ends that are directly tied to __________ objectives as the means for their accomplishment. Higher-level lower-level.

22. ACME Financial requires their planning process to include people who will be affected by the resulting plans and/or will be asked to help implement them. ACME is utilizing ______. Participatory planning..

23. __________ is a technique that makes use of external comparisons to better evaluate one’s current performance and identify possible actions for the future. Benchmarking.

24. __________ is a planning technique that makes use of external comparisons to determine practices used by best-in-class companies in an effort to improve performance and identify possible actions for the future. Benchmarking.

25. An important risk associated with the use of staff planners is the __________ that can develop between staff planners and line managers. communication gap

26. Using the opinions of individuals who possess special expertise to make predictions about the future is called qualitative forecasting (T)

27. Using mathematical and statistical analyses of historical data and surveys to predict future events is called quantitative forecasting (T)

28. Contingency planning identifies alternative courses of action that can be implemented to meet the needs of changing circumstances (T)

29. Benchmarking is used to gain perspective on current organizational performance through the use of external comparisons (T)

30. Controlling is the management function that establishes the platform for further managerial efforts(F)

31. Although planning focuses attention on defining and setting objectives, it doesn’t concern itself with the implementation of those objectives (F)

32. Planning is an ongoing process engaged in simultaneously with other daily work processes (T)

33. Planning is a five-step process that includes defining objectives, determining current status relative to objectives, developing premises regarding future conditions, analyzing action alternatives and choosing among them, and implementing the plan and evaluating results (T)

34. An organization with focus knows the needs of its customers and knows how to serve them well; an individual with focus knows where he or she wants to go in a career or situation and is able to retain that objective even in difficult circumstances (T)

35. Policies communicate broad guidelines for making decisions and taking action in specific circumstances (T)

36. Rules or procedures describe exactly what actions are to be taken in specific situations (T)37. Standard operating procedures are rules often found in employee manuals (T)38. Procedures present a plan of action for specific situations whereas policies are broad guidelines

(T)39. Aligning goals from one level to the next facilitates the right things happening at the right time on

all levels of the organization (T)40. In the means-ends chain, higher-level objectives are ends that are directly tied to lower-level

objectives as the means for their accomplishment (T)41. A good performance objective should be challenging and specific but it need not be measurable

or time defined (F)42. On those jobs where performance is difficult to quantify, performance objectives can be stated as

verifiable work activities (T)43. Participatory planning requires that the planning process include people who will be affected by

the resulting plans and/or will be asked to help implement them (T)44. The use of participatory planning can increase creativity in planning, the commitment of people

for planning, and the information available for planning (T)45. The use of participatory planning can increase conflict over scarce resources and consequently

decrease acceptance of chosen alternatives (F)46. Only a few key people should be involved in developing plans in order to keep the plans simple

and to facilitate implementation (F)47. Managers must have the insight and courage to be flexible in response to new circumstances (T)48. Planning creates a solid platform for further managerial efforts at allocating and arranging

resources to accomplish essential tasks, guiding the efforts of human resources to ensure high levels of task accomplishment, monitoring task accomplishment, and taking necessary corrective action (T)

49. Although planning focuses attention on defining and setting objectives, it doesn’t concern itself with the implementation of those objectives (F)

50. Fixed budgets define specific task objectives, link activities to be accomplished with due dates, and identify the amounts and timing of resource requirements (F)