Chapter 5 Planning And Decision Making

10 October 2022
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question
After earning a profit of $10 billion, Tekmake decides to double its profits within the next five years. It lays out broad goals and develops a market penetration strategy to accomplish its goals. In this case, the process by which Tekmake is going to achieve this goal is called _____.
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planning
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Alpha Inc. wants to expand its customer base. The chief executive officer (CEO) sets a target for all its sales units to increase sales by 50 percent by the next fiscal year. The CEO also lays out a scheme for the company to produce a new product within the next two years. In this case, which of the following functions of business management is the CEO most likely doing?
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planning
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Which of the following statements is true about planning?
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It encourages the development of task strategies.
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Which of the following is a pitfall of planning?
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It can impede change and slow needed adaptation.
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Identify a true statement about plans.
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Plans are meant to be guidelines for action.
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The first step in designing a plan that works is to:
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set goals
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Identify a true statement about the planning process.
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The final step in developing an effective plan is to maintain flexibility.
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Martha is a manager at Healier Life Inc. She drafts a list of specific goals that she wants her company to achieve by the end of the year. In the context of planning, the next step that Martha should take is to:
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develop commitment to those goals
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Which of the following is a commonly used technique for increasing goal commitment?
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making the goals public
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In the planning process, after developing goal commitment, a manager must:
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develop an effective action plan.
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In the planning process, a(n) _____ lists the specific steps, people, resources, and time period for accomplishing a goal.
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action plan
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In the context of the planning process, _____ are primary goals.
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distal goals
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Karen, the sales manager of an appliance store, informs Jonah, one of her salespeople, that she expects him to sell $50,000 worth of merchandise by the end of the quarter. Every week, Jonah provides Karen with a report on his progress. In this scenario, Karen is using _____ to track Jonah's progress.
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performance feedback method
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Plushvier Inc. plans to launch its product in five regional markets. In order to maximize profit and reduce loss, initially, the company makes small investments in all five markets. The investments made are small so that if a particular market fails to perform, then the company can discontinue its investment in that market and invest in markets that produce good returns. In this case, Plushvier Inc. is using _____.
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options-based planning
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Top management is responsible for developing _____ that make clear how a company will serve customers and position itself against competitors in the next two to five years.
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strategic plans
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Strategic planning begins with the creation of a _____.
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purpose statement
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Which of the following statements is true about an organization's purpose statement?
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It states the company's reason for existing.
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Which of the following statements is true about the strategic objective of an organization?
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It unifies companywide efforts.
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Identify an accurate feature of the strategic objective of an organization.
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It must stretch and challenge the organization.
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Plans that are used to direct behavior, efforts, and attention over the next six months to two years are known as _____.
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tactical plans
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Diego is a manager in a company that manufactures electronic gadgets. He creates a plan to develop cost-effective production technologies over the next one year. The plan also specifies how the company can effectively utilize its people and resources from different departments, and how the budgets can be streamlined to accomplish the objective. His plan is consistent with that of the company's overall objective of increasing its production by 100 percent in the next five years. Diego is most likely developing a(n) _____.
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tactical plan
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_____ are the day-to-day plans for producing or delivering an organization's products and services.
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Operational plans
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Taufuer Motors, a car manufacturer, has a detailed seven-step plan in place for dealing with defects in its cars. It believes that the plan can be used as long as the defects are completely rectified. This is an example of a _____.
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standing plan
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Margo works at Parker's Coffees. She is always the last person to leave the shop. Before closing the shop each evening, she follows these instructions: pour out all the leftover coffee, turn off and unplug all the coffeemakers, wash and dry all the coffee pots, wipe the counters, turn the store lights off, and lock the door. The instructions constitute a(n) _____.
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procedure
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_____ is a type of quantitative planning through which managers decide how to allocate available money to best accomplish company goals.
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budgeting
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_____ are the standing plans that indicate the general course of action that should be taken in response to a particular event or situation.
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Policies
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Jonathan is a manager at a departmental store. In recent weeks, the sale of goods in his store has decreased considerably. He does not know the reason behind this decline. As per the decision-making process, the next step that Jonathan must take is to:
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define the problem.
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_____ is a process of weighing decision criteria in which each criterion is compared with a standard or ranked on its own merits.
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Absolute comparisons
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____ is a process of weighing decision criteria in which each criterion is compared with every other criterion.
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Relative comparisons
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In the decision-making process, which of the following best defines the term maximizing?
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It refers to choosing the best alternative course of action in decision making.
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____ refers to choosing a "good-enough" alternative when making a decision.
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Satisficing
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Groupthink is most likely to occur when:
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the group is insulated from others with different perspectives
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In the context of conflicts, c-type conflict is a disagreement that focuses on _____.
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issue-related differences of opinion
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____ is a decision-making method that creates c-type conflict by forcing decision makers state the assumptions of a proposed solution and generate a solution that is the opposite of that solution.
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Dialectical inquiry
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_____ is a group decision-making method that begins and ends by having group members quietly write down and evaluate ideas to be shared with the group.
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The nominal group technique
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Identify a true statement about the nominal group technique.
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It restricts c-type conflicts.
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Identify a true statement about the Delphi technique.
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It begins by assembling a panel of experts.
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Supernova Inc. attempts to resolve a major technical issue in its database. To identify the best way to resolve the issue, the company assembles technical experts with different skill sets. The problem was explained to each of the experts and their individual opinions were collected, and a questionnaire based on the problem was given to each of them. The answers of all the experts were analyzed and then sent back to the experts for their final opinions. Identify the strategy that is being used by Supernova to generate solutions.
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The Delphi technique
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In the decision-making process, one of the rules of brainstorming is that:
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other group members' ideas should be used to come up with even more ideas.
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Identify a true statement about electronic brainstorming.
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It overcomes the problem of production blocking.