罗宾斯《管理学》第九版题库-7

Chapter 7 – Foundations of Planning

True/False Questions

4. Research indicates that managers who plan always outperform

managers who do not plan.

False (moderate)

9. Plans that specify the details of achievement of the overall objectives

are called operational plans.

True (difficult)

10. Directional plans have clearly defined objectives.

False (moderate)

12. Standing plans are created in response to programmed decisions that

managers make and include policies, rules, and procedures.

True (moderate)

13. The greater the environmental certainty, the more plans need to be

directional and emphasis placed on the short term.

False (moderate)

22. An organization's real goals are what they actually plan on

accomplishing, rather than what they hope to accomplish.

False (moderate)

24. Real goals are official statements of what an organization says its

goals are.

False (easy)

Multiple Choice

36. One purpose of planning is that it minimizes ______________ and

______________.

a. cost; time

b. time; personnel needs

c. waste; redundancy (difficult)

d. time; waste

e. mistakes; cost

38. What does the evidence suggest about organizations that plan

compared to organizations that do not plan?

a. Planning organizations always outperform nonplanning

organizations.

b. Nonplanning organizations always outperform planning

organizations.

c. Planning organizations generally outperform nonplanning

organizations (easy)

d. Nonplanning organizations generally outperform planning

organizations.

e. They generally perform at about the same level.

45. Which of the following is the foundation of planning?

a. employees

b. goals (easy)

c. outcomes

d. computers

e. the planning department

46. According to the text, _____________ are documents that outline how

goals are going to be met and which typically describe resource allocations, schedules, and other necessary actions to accomplish the goals.

a. strategies

b. goals

c. plans (moderate)

d. policies

e. procedures

50. Which of the following is true concerning an organization's stated

objectives?

a. They issue identical objectives to all constituents.

b. Organizations typically have internal and external sets of

objectives.

c. They may issue different objectives to stockholders,

customers, employees, and the public.

(moderate)

d. It is illegal to issue conflicting stated objectives.

e. Stated objectives are usually in line with short-term actions.

54. What should a person do to understand what are the real objectives of

the organization?

a. observe organizational member actions (moderate)

b. attend a stockholders annual meeting

c. read their statement of purpose

d. read their annual report

e. watch television news reports

59. When we categorize plans as being single-use versus standing, we

categorize them by ______________.

a. breadth.

b. specificity.

c. frequency of use. (easy)

d. depth.

e. time frame.

61. Based on the information presented in the text, ______________ are

short term, specific, and standing.

a. operational (moderate)

b. long-term

c. strategic

d. specific

e. directional

67. An organizational plan that has a 6-year time frame would be

considered what type of plan?

a. operational

b. short-term

c. strategic

d. intermediate

e. long-term (moderate)

68. Strategic plans tend to include a time period of usually

______________.

a. 1 year.

b. 1-3 years.

c. 3 years or more. (moderate)

d. 5 years or mor

e.

e. at least 10 years.

71. Compared to directional plans, what type of plan has clearly defined

objectives?

a. strategic

b. single-use

c. short-term

d. specific (moderate)

e. standing

76. Planning accuracy with a high degree of environmental change tends

to produce which of the following results?

a. Planning accuracy is likely.

b. Planning accuracy becomes much more important.

c. Planning accuracy becomes less important.

d. Planning accuracy is less likely. (moderate)

e. Planning accuracy occurs in the long-run.

78. A ______________ plan is a one-time plan designed to meet the needs

of a unique situation and created in response to nonprogrammed decisions that managers make.

a. single-use (easy)

b. short-term

c. directional

d. standing

e. strategic

79. A small town's preparation for a visit by the President of the United

States would be considered what type of plan?

a. strategic

b. directional

c. standing

d. long-term

e. single-use (moderate)

81. A city's policy concerning skateboarding on downtown sidewalks

providing guidance for police action would be considered what type of plan?

a. standing (difficult)

b. contingency

c. directional

d. single-use

e. strategic

84. Where in the organizational hierarchy are traditional goals

determined?

a. front-line employees

b. team leaders

c. lower-level managers

d. middle managers

e. top managers (moderate)

89. A management system in which specific performance goals are jointly

determined by employees and their managers is known as ______________.

a. management by objectives. (moderate)

b. means-ends chain.

c. traditional goal setting.

d. management by opinions.

91. Which of the following is not one of the four common elements of

Management By Objectives (MBO)?

a. goal specificity

b. participative decision-making

c. an explicit time period

d. a systems loop (difficult)

e. performance feedback

93. Management By Objectives (MBO) can be described by which of the

following statements?

a. an autocratic system

b. a "bottom up" system

c. a "top down" system

d. both a "top down" and a "bottom up" system (difficult)

e. a static system

105. According to the boxed feature, “Managing in an E-Business World,”

probably the biggest change for planning in e-business is that ______________.

a. the environment is more stable.

b. customers are calling the shots. (moderate)

c. employees are making the demands.

d. only a few competitors exist.

Essay Questions

122. In a short essay, list and discuss the four reasons for planning.

Answer

a. Planning establishes coordinated effort. It gives direction to

managers and nonmanagers alike. When employees know

where the organization or work unit are going and what they

must contribute to reach goals, they can coordinate their

activities, cooperate with each other, and do what it takes to

accomplish those goals. Without planning, departments and

individuals might be working at cross-purposes, preventing the

organization from moving efficiently toward its goals.

b. Planning reduces uncertainty by forcing managers to look ahead,

anticipate change, consider the impact of change, and develop

appropriate responses. It also clarifies the consequences of

actions managers might take in response to change. Even

though planning can’t eliminate change, managers plan in order

to anticipate changes and develop the most effective response to

them.

c. Planning reduces overlapping and wasteful activities. When

work activities are coordinated around established plans, wasted

time and resources and redundancy can be minimized.

Furthermore, when means and ends are made clear through

planning, inefficiencies become obvious and can be corrected or

eliminated.

d. Planning establishes goals or standards that are used in

controlling. If managers are unsure of what they are trying to

accomplish, they will be unable to determine whether or not the

goal has actually been achieved. In planning, goals and plans

are developed. Then, through controlling, actual performance is

compared against the goals, significant deviations are identified,

and necessary corrective action is taken. Without planning,

there would be no way to control.

(moderate)

127. In a short essay, list and discuss five characteristics of well-defined goals.

Answer

(1) A well-designed goal should be written in terms of outcomes rather

than actions. The desired end result is the most important element of any goal and, therefore, the goal should be written to reflect this. (2)

Next, a goal should be measurable and quantifiable. It’s much easier to determine if a goal has been met if it’s measurable. In line with

specifying a quantifiable measure of accomplishment, (3) a well-

designed goal should also be clear as to a time frame. Although open-ended goals may seem preferable because of their supposed flexibility, in fact, goals without a time frame make an organization less flexible

because a manager is never sure when the goal has been met or when he or she should call it quits because the goal will never be met regardless of how long he or she works at it. (4) Next a well-designed goal should be challenging but attainable. Goals that are too easy to accomplish are not motivating and neither are goals that are not attainable even with

exceptional effort. (5) Next, well-designed goals should be written

down. Although actually writing down goals may seem too time

consuming, the process of writing the goals forces people to think them through. In addition, the written goals become visible and tangible evidence of the importance of working toward something. (6) Finally, well-designed goals are communicated to all organizational members who need to know the goals. Making people aware of the goals ensures that they’re “on the same page” and working in ways to ensure the accomplishment of the organizational goals.

(moderate)

128. In a short essay, list and discuss the five steps in the goal-setting process.

Answer

a. Step 1: Review the organization’s mission, the purpose of the

organization. These broad statements of what the organization’s

purpose is and what it hopes to accomplish provide an overall

guide to what organizational members think is important. It’s

important to review these statements before writing goals

because the goals should reflect what the mission statement says.

b. Step 2: Evaluate available resources. A manager doesn’t want

to set goals that are impossible to achieve given the available

resources. Even though goals should be challenging, they

should be realistic. If the resources a manager has to work with

doesn’t allow for the achievement of that goal no matter how

had the manager tries of how much effort is exerted, that goal

shouldn’t be set.

c. Step 3: Determine individually, or with input from others, the

goals. These goals reflect desired outcomes and should be

congruent with the organizational mission and goals in other

organizational areas. These goals should be measurable,

specific, and include a time frame for accomplishment.

d. Step 4: Write down the goals and communicate them to all who

need to know. Writing goals down forces people to think them

through and also makes those goals visible and tangible evidence

of the importance of working toward something.

e. Step 5: Review results and whether goals are being met. Make

changes, as needed. Once the goals have been established,

written down, and communicated, a manager is ready to develop

plans for pursuing the goals.

(difficult)

129. In a short essay, list and discuss the three contingency factors that affect planning.

Answer

a. Level in the organization – for the most part, operational

planning dominates managers’ planning efforts at lower levels.

At higher organizational levels, the planning becomes more

strategy oriented.

b. Degree of environmental uncertainty – when environmental

uncertainty is high, plans should be specific, but flexible.

Managers must be prepared to reword and amend plans as

they’re implemented. At times, managers may even have to

abandon their plans.

c. Length of future commitments – the more that current plans

affect future commitments, the longer the time frame for which

managers should plan. This commitment concept means that

plans should extend far enough to meet those commitments

made when the plans were developed. Planning for too long or

for too short a time period is inefficient and ineffective.

(moderate)