CASE 1—E-Biz Dreams
Robert Downs has just completed a Master of Science degree in computer science at Major State University. He now wants to begin a new Internet business selling his services as a Web site maker for companies in his home city, St. Louis. He estimates that, if his business idea is a success, within one year he will be employing at a minimum 10 programmers and two analysts.
1. To make his business successful, Robert will first have to develop what type of plan?
A. Tactical
B. Specific
C. Directional
D. Strategic
2. To clarify how the overall goals are to be achieved, Robert will have to develop a
A. Tactical plan
B. Specific plan
C. Directional plan
D. Strategic plan
3. To ensure that the organization’s objectives are clearly defined and do not leave room for interpretation, he will have to develop what type of plan?
A. Tactical
B. Specific
C. Directional
D. Strategic
4. To provide the programmers and analysts general guidelines about the efficiencies that are desired, he will have to develop what type of plan?
A. Tactical
B. Specific
C. Directional
D. Strategic
CASE 2—XYZ Planning
At organization XYZ, the plans are made at the top, and then those managers meet with their subordinates at the next level and mutually agreed-to goals are established with them. The mid-level managers then meet with their first-level managers and mutually agreed-to goals are established with them. Finally, the first-level managers meet with each of their employees and mutually agreed-to goals are established with them.
5. The planning approach used at the XYZ organization is ____________________.
A. Management by Objectives
B. Directional planning
C. Specific planning
D. Traditional planning
CASE 3—Dollars to Donuts
Ralph Friedgrin is the owner of a chain of five donut shops in Smalltown, MD. Smalltown is located along Interstate 95, about half-way between Lost and Nowhere.
6. Mr. Friedgrin demands that the five store managers during their weekly meeting discuss what the customers in their stores are requesting. Mr. Friedgrim always reads the monthly donut-industry magazine, Holey Mazole. He always attends the Annual National Conference of Donut Makers and updates his managers when he returns. These activities are examples of_________________.
A. Competitive intelligence
B. Benchmarking
C. Environmental scanning
D. Global scanning
7. On occasion, Mr. Friedgrin goes to nearby, larger towns such as Lost and Nowhere to visit big chain donut shops. Mr. Friedgrin purchases donuts and chats with these customers about their donut likes and dislikes. He also will “peek” into the kitchen to view the equipment, or when he can, he will watch through the customer observation window to see the whole process. Mr. Friedgrin is performing which planning technique?
A. Competitive intelligence
B. Environmental scanning
C. Benchmarking
D. Global scanning
8. Mr. Friedgrin recently went on a well-deserved vacation. While at the beachfront resort, Mr. Friedgrin took many notes regarding the excellent service he received. On the flight home, he reviewed his notes to see what lessons he could apply to his donut shops. When Mr. Friedgrin is out looking at the “best practices” of the other donut stores in these towns, he is performing which of the following?
A. Competitive intelligence
B. Benchmarking
C. Environmental scanning
D. Strategic planning
CASE 4—SWOT Analysis
As a process of self-examination during her senior year of college, Casey decided to develop a SWOT analysis of her prospects relative to getting a job.
9. Casey realizes that she has a personal characteristic that suggests she is not comfortable interacting with strangers. She interprets this as a(n) _________is she is to get a job as a salesperson.
A. Alternative
B. Strength
C. Weakness
D. Opportunity
10. Casey majored in marketing and really enjoyed studies in market research. Through research on the Internet and in the university library, she discovers that this industry appears to have significant positive external trends. She interprets this as a (n)______.
A. Alternative
B. Strength
C. Weakness
D. Opportunity
11. Casey has been involved in _____________at a personal level
A. Opportunity analysis
B. Risk avoidance
C. Strategic planning
D. Stage decision making
CASES 5—Un Taco Pequeno
Imagine that you are the president of Taco Rocket, a new and successful chain of 100 Mexican fast-food restaurants. The success you have experienced in the last 5 years has you thinking of what to do with the business next. Should you expand the business at the current rate? Open new and different restaurants? What?
2, You decide to concentrate on Taco Rocket’s primary business by only increasing the menu to include new items such as enchiladas and rice bowls. This is an example of what type of growth strategy?
A. Quality improvement
B. New-product development
C. Retrenchment
D. Diversification
13. Your oldest supplier, Zorro Distributors, is a small family-owned firm. Recently, the firm’s president, Diego De La Vega, made the decision to retire. To his disappointment, none of his five children stepped forward to take his place the helm of the firm. Sr. De La Vega is concerned that if he sells his company to a larger distributor, many of his employees will lose their jobs. You approach your old friend with a generous offer to buy Zorro and continue its current operations. Should your offer be accepted, Taco Rocket would be undertaking_________________.
A. A new-product development
B. Merger
C. An acquisition
D. A Retrenchment
14. Because of the good profits and a fear of growing too fast, you decide to keep Taco Rocket in the same business and do not change the menu. You hope to retain the same market share and return-on-investment record. This is considered a ________strategy.
A. Stability
B. Growth
C. Combination
D. Diversification
CASE 6- The First Job
Upon graduation, you search for a job with the university’s job placement center. Although you have studied and prepared to work in an advertising agency, the first job that you are offered is a supervisor in a manufacturing company working the afternoon shift from 3:00 PM until 11:00 PM.
15. If you had made a larger search using the Internet and other employment search processes, you might have been able to find more employment opportunities. This would have been a more ___________________decision-making process.
A. Nonprogrammable
B. Uncertain
C. Risky
D. Rational
16. Under bounded rationality, you would be expected to search for a job by_________.
A. Looking at all the opportunities that can be analyzed in the time available
B. Looking at all the opportunities available
C. Looking “outside the box” in your search
D. Analyzing all the opportunities until you find the perfect job.
17. If you used a shortened process of searching for a job, it is likely that you __________rather than maximized in your decision process.
A. Minimized
B. Rationalized
C. Satisficed
D. Agreed
CASE 7—Is the Picture Clear?
Sharon was the regional manager of a large cable television company. She faced many problems and decisions daily, such as how to price each market, who to hire, what kind of technology she should purchase, and how she should handle the increasing customer complaints. She needed some help sorting these issues out.
18. When a customer calls and requests a refund for a partial month’s usage of cable, the fact that such situations are routine and most likely have a standard response would make the response a __________decision.
A. Standard
B. Routine
C. Policy
D. Programmed
19. Sometimes Sharon follows a ____________, a series of interrelated sequential steps for responding to a structured problem.
A. Rule
B. Policy
C. Procedure
D. Suggestion
20. Sometimes Sharon instructs her local managers to follow___________when confronted with problems. These established parameters for the manager making the decision rather than specifically stating should or should not be done.
A. Rules
B. Procedures
C. Policies
D. Orders
21. Unfortunately, Sharon also faces issues containing information that is ambiguous or incomplete, such as what kind of technology to purchase. These are known as _______problems.
A. Ill-Structured
B. Vaiable
C. Random
D. Hit-and-miss
CASE 8—Managing Your Career
Michelle has a new job and is learning to perform the tasks assigned to her. Different situations demand different decision-making processes.
22. Michelle finds a situation that instructs her in specific, interrelated, sequential steps to respond to a problem. This set of instructions is referred to as a ________.
A. Rule
B. Policy
C. Guideline
D. Procedure
23. Michelle finds a company directive that specifically restricts her from taking certain actions. This is a ________________.
A. Rule
B. Policy
C. Broad Guideline
D. Procedure
24. As she learns the general guidelines of the job, Michelle is given more decision-making authority. The guidelines establish parameters for decision making and are referred to as a _______________.
A. Rule
B. Policy
C. Programmed Decision
D. Procedure
25. Michelle eventually finds a problem that has no cut-dry solution. The problem is unique and will never occur again. This problem is referred to as __________.
A. Flexible
B. Programmed
C. Adaptable
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1. To make his business successful, Robert will first have to develop a D. Strategic plan. A strategic plan is a long-term plan that outlines the overall goals and objectives of the business and the strategies to achieve them.
2. To clarify how the overall goals are to be achieved, Robert will have to develop a A. Tactical plan. A tactical plan is a short-term plan that outlines the specific actions and steps to accomplish the strategic goals.
3. To ensure that the organization's objectives are clearly defined and do not leave room for interpretation, he will have to develop a C. Directional plan. A directional plan is a plan that sets the general direction and purpose of the organization, providing a framework for decision-making.
4. To provide the programmers and analysts general guidelines about the efficiencies that are desired, he will have to develop a A. Tactical plan. A tactical plan will provide guidelines and specific actions to achieve desired efficiencies and outcomes.
5. The planning approach used at the XYZ organization is A. Management by Objectives. In the Management by Objectives approach, goals are set at each level of the organization and mutually agreed-upon between managers and their subordinates.
6. The activities of reading the donut-industry magazine and attending conferences are examples of C. Environmental scanning. Environmental scanning involves gathering information about the external environment to identify trends, opportunities, and threats that may impact the business.
7. Mr. Friedgrin's action of visiting big chain donut shops, interacting with customers, and observing their processes is an example of A. Competitive intelligence. Competitive intelligence involves gathering information about competitors and their practices to gain insights and ideas for improving one's own business.
8. Mr. Friedgrin's action of taking notes about excellent service at a beachfront resort and reviewing them to apply to his donut shops is an example of B. Benchmarking. Benchmarking involves comparing one's own practices and performance with those of other organizations to identify best practices and improvement opportunities.
9. Casey's personal characteristic of not being comfortable interacting with strangers is interpreted as a C. Weakness. In a SWOT analysis, weaknesses are internal factors that hinder an individual or organization from achieving their goals.
10. Casey's discovery of significant positive external trends in the market research industry is interpreted as a D. Opportunity. Opportunities are external factors that can be leveraged to achieve success or gain an advantage.
11. Casey's personal involvement in opportunity analysis indicates that she is engaged in A. Opportunity analysis. Opportunity analysis involves evaluating and assessing potential opportunities for personal or organizational growth and success.
12. Taco Rocket's decision to only increase the menu to include new items such as enchiladas and rice bowls is an example of B. New-product development. New-product development is a growth strategy that focuses on introducing new products or variations to existing products to attract customers and expand the business.
13. Taco Rocket's offer to buy Zorro Distributors and continue its current operations is an example of C. An acquisition. An acquisition involves purchasing another company to expand operations or gain access to new markets.
14. Taco Rocket's decision to keep the business in the same industry and not change the menu to retain market share and return-on-investment record is considered a A. Stability strategy. A stability strategy involves maintaining the current business operations and not seeking major changes or growth opportunities.
15. If the job search had involved a larger search using the Internet and other employment search processes, it would have been a more B. Uncertain decision-making process. In an uncertain decision-making process, there is limited information available and multiple possible outcomes.
16. Under bounded rationality, you would be expected to search for a job by A. Looking at all the opportunities that can be analyzed in the time available. Bounded rationality involves making decisions based on the limited information and time available.
17. If a shortened process of searching for a job was used, it is likely that C. Satisficed rather than maximized in the decision-making process. Satisficing refers to selecting the first acceptable alternative rather than searching for the optimal solution.
18. When a customer calls and requests a refund for a partial month's usage of cable, the response is a D. Programmed decision. Programmed decisions are routine decisions with standard responses.
19. Sharon follows a C. Procedure, which is a series of interrelated sequential steps for responding to a structured problem.
20. Sharon instructs her local managers to follow B. Procedures when confronted with problems. Procedures provide established parameters for making decisions without specifying exactly what should or should not be done.
21. Information that is ambiguous or incomplete, such as what kind of technology to purchase, is known as A. Ill-Structured problems. Ill-structured problems lack clear solutions and often involve uncertainty and ambiguity.
22. A set of specific, interrelated, sequential steps to respond to a problem is referred to as a D. Procedure.
23. A company directive that specifically restricts certain actions is a A. Rule.
24. Guidelines that establish parameters for decision-making are referred to as C. Policies.
25. A problem that has no cut-and-dry solution and is unique is referred to as A. Flexible.