Pariksha Vol 28

Management mini– 8 Solutions

1. Which of the following statement best describes Social Obligation?

(a) Firm’s capacity to adapt to changing social condition
(b) Social criteria to investment decisions
(c) Firm’s obligation to pursue long term goals that are good for society
(d) Firm’s obligation to meet its economic & legal responsibilities
Solution c
 Social responsibility is an ethical framework and suggests that an entity, be
it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of
society at large Social responsibility is defined as the obligation and
commitment of managers to take steps for protecting and improving society's
welfare along with protecting their own interest.
2. Monitoring organizational progress towards goal attainment is called:
(a) Planning
(b) Organizing
(c) Leading
(d) Controlling
Solution d
 Control, or controlling, is one of the managerial functions like planning,
organizing, staffing and directing. It is an important function because it helps
to check the errors and to take the corrective action so that deviation from
standards are minimized and stated goals of the organization are achieved in
a desired manner.
  According to modern concepts, control is a foreseeing action whereas earlier
concept of control was used only when errors were detected. Control in
management means setting standards, measuring actual performance and
taking corrective action.
3. A country’s government passes an act to protect rights of disable persons and to
give them flexibility in job. This comes under which of the following environmental
sub context
(a) Economic
(b) Socio cultural
(c) Politico legal
(d) Technological
Solution c
 The government is a political institution. Which has a social purpose, it
enacts and executes social policies and exists with social consent, providing
ways and means of maximizing social benefits and minimizing social costs.
In other words, the government and its structure and style have a definite
impact on business, and is on immense social value. More so in the modern
world, where business of any type and size is affected by the government
policies, programmers, and legislation. We see that, very often, depending
on the nature of the government at work, businessmen define and reorient
their business strategy and tactics.
 Quite a few of the government policies are executed through legislations.
These legislations enactments, rules and regulations, directives and
guidelines, issued by the government, constitute the politico-legal
environment of business. For a successful manager it becomes necessary to
take stock of the relevant politico-legal environment of business and then
capitalize on the opportunities offered by it.
4. A Primary benefit of MBO is
(a) Avoid competition
 (b) Resistance against new entrants
(c) Improve employee motivation
(d) Increase resources
Solution c
 Since Management by objectives (MBO) is a result-oriented process and
focuses on setting and controlling goals, if encourages managers to do
detailed planning. ... But with MBO, the subordinates feel proud of being
involved in the organizational goals. This improves their morale and
commitment.
5. Dell Company sells the variety of products like computers, laptops, accessories over
the internet. Dell is engaged in
(a) Intranet
(b) Extranet
(c) E-commerce
(d) E-Business
Solution c
 Some people use the terms "e-business" and"e-commerce" interchangeably,
but they're not synonymous. E-commerce refers to buying and selling online,
while e-business encompasses all business conducted online. E-commerce
can be viewed as a subset of e-business. Any transaction that results in a
financial change is e-commerce. All business transactions be they financial
or not is called-business. Just like marketing includes sales but sales may not
include marketing.
6. In order to communicate, motivate and delegate a manager must have:
(a) Political skills
(b) Conceptual skills
(c) Technical skills
(d) Interpersonal Skills
Solution d
  Interpersonal skills involve the ability to communicate and build
relationships with others. Often called ‘people skills’, they tend to
incorporate a managers innate personality traits and ability to handle certain
social situations .They cover a variety of scenarios where communication
and cooperation are essential. Some examples of interpersonal skills include
 Active listening
 Teamwork
 Responsibility
 Dependability
 Leadership
 Motivation
 Flexibility
 Patience
 Empathy
 In a work environment, strong interpersonal skills are an asset that can help
you navigate complexity, change and day-to-day tasks.
7. A learning organization has developed its________.
(a) Educational department to keep employees trained
(b) Capacity to adapt and change
(c) Barriers to entry of its markets
(d) A sustainable competitive advantage that is easy to maintain
Solution b
In business management, a learning organization is a company that facilitates the
learning of its members and continuously transforms itself. The concept was coined
through the work and research of Peter Senge and his colleagues. Organization that
acquires knowledge and innovates fast enough to survive and thrive in a rapidly
changing environment. Learning organizations (1) create a culture that encourages
and supports continuous employee learning, critical thinking, and risk taking with
new ideas, (2) allow mistakes, and value employee contributions, (3) learn from
 experience and experiment, and (4) disseminate the new knowledge throughout the
organization for incorporation into day-to-day activities.
8. An organic organizational structure is characterized by
(a) Minimal formalization
(b) Rigid departmentalization
(c) Narrow spans of control
(d) High formalization
Solution a
 An organic organizational structure is characterized by an extremely flat
reporting structure within an organization. Interactions among employees
tend to be horizontally across the organization, rather than vertically between
layers of managers and their direct reports.
9. The behavioral dimension of leadership involving the concern that the leader has
for the feelings, needs, personal interest, problems, and well-being of followers is
referred to as which of the following?
(a) Consideration
(b) Initiating structure
(c) Autocratic
(d) Democratic
Solution a
 Certain characteristics were identified at the individual level to determine
good leaders. Through the Ohio State University Leadership Study.
According to the findings of the Ohio study, leaders exhibit two types of
behaviors, people-oriented (consideration) and task-oriented (initiating
structure), to facilitate goal accomplishment
10. What would be the best description of plans that focus on the broad future of the
organization and incorporate both external environmental demands and internal
resources into managers' actions?
(a) Operational plans
 (b) Tactical plans
(c) Strategic Plans
(d) Holistic plans
Solution c
 Strategic planning is an organizational management activity that is used to
set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that
employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals,
establish agreement around intended outcomes/results, and assess and adjust
the organization's direction in response to a changing environment. It is a
disciplined effort that produces fundamental decisions and actions that shape
and guide what an organization is, who it serves, what it does, and why it
does it, with a focus on the future. Effective strategic planning articulates not
only where an organization is going and the actions needed to make progress,
but also how it will know if it is successful.
11. Set of processes involved in creating or determining the strategies of the
organization is called
(a) Strategy formulation
(b) Strategy implementation
(c) Strategy evaluation
(d) Strategy imitation
Solution a
 Strategy formulation refers to the process of choosing the most appropriate
course of action (strategy)for the realization of organizational goals and
objectives and thereby achieving the organizational vision. The process of
strategy formulation basically involves six main steps. Though these steps
do not follow a rigid chronological order, however they are very rational and
can be easily followed in this order
 Setting Organizations’ objectives
 Evaluating the Organizational Environment
  Setting Quantitative Targets
 Aiming in context with the divisional plans
 Performance Analysis
 Choice of Strategy
12. ___________ involves allocating resources by detailing what activities have to be
done, the order in which they are to be completed, who is to do each, and when they
are to be completed.
(a) Benchmarking
(b) Budgeting
(c) Scheduling
(d) Competitor intelligence
Solution c
 Scheduling is the process of arranging, controlling and optimizing work and
workloads in a production process or manufacturing process. Scheduling is
used to allocate plant and machinery resources, plan human resources, plan
production processes and purchase materials. Project scheduling is important
because it is an integral part of the project planning process. A project cannot
run without a project plan. Scheduling establishes the timelines, delivery and
availability of project resources, whether they be personnel, inventory or
capital.
13. When call center managers spend much of their time monitoring customer calls and
giving employees feedback about how to improve their dialogue with customers in
the future, these managers are using which of the following skills?
(a) Technical
(b) Conceptual
(c) Situational
(d) Ethical
Solution a
  Technical skills are the abilities and knowledge needed to perform specific
tasks. They are practical, and often relate to mechanical, information
technology, mathematical, or scientific tasks. ... Many technical skills require
training and experience to master. They are also typically a type of hard skill.
14. Which of the following is the accountability for the achievement of objectives, the
use of resources, and the adherence to organizational policy?
(a) Power
(b) Responsibility
(c) Authority
(d) Planning
Solution b
 Responsibility may be defined as the duty or obligation to satisfactorily
perform or complete a task (assigned by someone, or created by one's own
promise or circumstances) that one must fulfill, and which has a consequent
penalty for failure.
15. When objectives are not written down or rarely verbalized, and the planning is
general and lacks continuity, which of the following types of planning is used?
(a) Standing Planning
(b) Static Planning
(c) Informal Planning
(d) Formal Planning
Solution c
 Formal planning refers to a planning in written whereas informal planning
refers to an informal planning occurs on the spot. ... In formal planning, the
managers look forward for a change when it is to be made use of. In informal
planning, sudden plans take place.
16. What kind of organizational structure combines a vertical chain of command with
horizontal reporting requirements?
(a) Line authority
 (b) Matrix
(c) Functional
(d) Organic
Solution b
 A matrix organizational structure is a company structure in which the
reporting relationships are set up as a grid, or matrix, rather than in the
traditional hierarchy. In other words, employees have dual reporting
relationships - generally to both a functional manager and a product manager.
17. Which of these should not be avoided for effective communication?
(a) Noise
(b) Planning
(c) Semantic problems
(d) Wrong assumptions
Solution b
 To communicate effectively it is important to clarify the relationships
between audiences, messages, channels, activities, and materials: Going
through the communications planning process will help a person identify
who he need to reach, tell them what he wants them to know, and how he
will reach them.
18. When a candidate for a position is asked general, open-ended questions, they are
experiencing what type of interview?
(a) Unstructured Interview
(b) Structured Interview
(c) Relaxed Interview
(d) Unorganized Interview
Solution a
 An unstructured interview or non-directive interview is an interview in which
questions are not prearranged. These non-directive interviews are considered
to be the opposite of a structured interview which offers a set amount of
 standardized questions. Unstructured interviews flow like an everyday
conversation and tend to be more informal and open-ended.
19. When is the communication process complete?
(a) When the sender transmits the message
(b) When the message enters the channel
(c) When the message leaves the channel
(d) When the receiver understands the message.
Solution d
 Effective communication can occur only when both the sender and the
receiver assign the same or similar meanings to the message.
20. Which management concept suggests that low-importance decisions be handled by
subordinates, so that managers can focus on high-importance decisions?
(a) Management by objective
(b) Management by exception
(c) Participatory management
(d) Inclusionary management
Solution b
 Manage by exception requires reporting only when there is a deviation from
the plan.Assuming that businesses recruit competent people, they are quite
capable of getting on with their jobs without intervention from management.
By focusing on strategic business goals and plans, managers are able to
enhance the value of their contribution to the business. However, when
performance isn’t up to expectation, managers should step in. These are the
“exceptions” where management action is needed to ensure the company
meets its targets. Management by Objectives (MBO) is a principle or practice
of management that empowers employees. Employees take part in goal
setting process and they get involved in the organization which makes them
more aligned to the organization. As employees are involved in goal setting
process it is more likely that they try to achieve set goals. Since, the goals
 motivates employees to works hard is called management by objectives
(MBO).
 Management by Exception (MBE) is a method of control. Managers
intervene the work of employees only when they work outside the prescribed
scope or when they can't meet the standard. Manager Leavesemployee frees
till they work within the scope and within they meet the standard."
21. Strategic plans cover a broader view of the organization and include the formulation
of goals, whereas operational plans define ways to:
(a) Maximize the organization’s profits
(b) Achieve the goals
(c) Minimize the number of employees
(d) Provide the most efficient methods of production
Solution b
An operational plan is a key tool for managing an organization. It provides the
manager with detailed information on the work that must be done to ensure that
planned goals and objectives are achieved. Strategic plans are those established to
meet organizations' extensive goals. On the other hand, operational plans are those
that contain fine points for executing or implementing, those strategic plans in
everyday activities.
22. Which of these must be avoided for effective communication?
(a) Sharing of activity
(b) Listening
(c) Ambiguity
(d) Politeness
Solution c
 Ambiguity is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one
meaning. Ambiguous words or statements lead to vagueness and confusion,
and shape the basis for instances of unintentional communication. .
23. The set of strengths, characteristics and qualities including skills, technologies, or
resources that distinguish a firm from its competitors is called:
(a) Scope
(b) Distinctive competency
(c) Resource deployment
(d) Effective strategy
Solution b
 A distinctive competency is a competency unique to a business organization,
a competency superior in some aspect than the competencies of other
organizations, which enables the production of a unique value proposition in
the function of the business. Distinctive competencies are the combination
of the best practices and technical skills that increase the competitiveness of
an organization.
 The idea of core competencies is to create unique and creative product that
will be impossible for competitors to copy. You are here: Home / Business /
Distinctive Competencies: Examples & Pros and Cons
 Distinctive competencies are the combination of the best practices and
technical skills that increase the competitiveness of an organization. The idea
of core competencies is to create unique and creative product that will be
impossible for competitors to copy. Distinctive competencies are the main
source for organizations to grow and survive, and that’s precisely what
differentiates the brand from competitors.
24. An e-business enhanced organization is
(a) A business organization that uses the Internet seldom
(b) A business organization that uses ICT in support of some of the activities of
business which will spread their reachability.
(c) A business organization that uses ICT in support of some activities in the
business which increase the productivity of the business but may not create
new business
 (d) None of the above
Solution c
 E-enabled Business is the application of information and communication
technologies (ICT) in support of some of the activities of business which will
spread their reachability while e-enhanced Business is the application of
information and communication technologies (ICT) in support of some
activities in the business which increase the productivity of the business but
may not create new business.
 Ex: Airlines, IRCTC, flip kart’s retail (these are using technology but not
completely automating the process)
 E-enhanced Business is the application of information and communication
technologies (ICT) in support of some activities in the business which
increase the productivity of the business but may not create new business.
 Ex: Factory automation, optimization of process flow, supply chain
management.
25. All levels of management between the supervisory level and the top level of the
organization are termed as:
(a) Middle managers
(b) First-line managers
(c) Supervisors
(d) Foremen
Solution a
 Middle management is the intermediate management of a hierarchical
organization that is subordinate to the executive management and responsible
for at least two lower levels of junior staff. A middle manager is a link
between the senior management and the lower (junior) levels of the
organization. Due to involvement into day-to-day running of a business,
middle managers have the opportunity to report valuable information and
suggestions from the inside of an organization.[4] Moreover, the middle
manager is a channel of communication within the organization, as they pass
on major decisions of executives and the main goals of an organization to
lower levels of employees. This contributes to better coordination between
workers and makes a company more united.

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