Management Introduction
Questions 21 to 30
21.
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Behaviorally
Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) is a sophisticated performance rating method.
Which of the following is not true with regard to BARS?
(a) BARS minimizes subjective interpretation inherent in graphic
rating scales
(b) BARS makes use of ‘anchors’ (common reference points of
performance)
(c) BARS concentrates on job-specific behaviors and hence is highly
meaningful
(d) BARS is a simple and cost-effective rating method
(e) BARS can be applied in
organizations where a large number of people perform similar jobs.
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Which
of the following is not true with regard to functional authority?
(a) Functional
authority is the authority staff members have over line members within
the limits of their functions
(b) Functional
authority has the same effect as line authority but it doesn’t have the right
that line authority has, to punish violations or deviations in order to
ensure compliance
(c) Functional
authority is limited to those areas where a staff member has some technical
competence
(d) The use of functional authority should be
restricted to the procedural aspects of a function
(e) Functional authority is in sync with the principle of unity of
command.
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Creativity
is an important factor in managing people. Which of the following is not
true with regard to the creative process?
(a) Creativity
is the ability to develop new ideas
(b) The
creative process starts with unconscious scanning
(c) Intuition
connects the unconscious with the conscious
(d) Insight
leads to intuition
(e) Insight is tested against organizational reality.
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According
to "expectancy theory", the probability of an individual acting in
a particular way depends on
I. The personality of the individual and the likelihood it will
change.
II. The company and its potential to be moving in the right
direction.
III. The situation.
IV. The strength of that individual's belief
that the act will have a particular outcome and on whether the individual
values that outcome.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (IV) above
(c) Both (I) and (III) above (d) Both (II) and (IV) above
(e) (I), (III) and (IV) above.
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Which
of the following techniques for improving productivity aims at reducing costs
by analyzing and improving individual operations of a product or service?
(a) Work simplification (b)
Time-event network
(c) Value engineering
(d) Total Quality Management (e) Quality Circle.
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Span
of control an important factor, which is to be taken into account when
undertaking organizational design. Maintaining a large span of control within
an organization is most effective in all except one of the following
situations?
(a) When subordinates prefer autonomy
(b) When tasks are routine
(c) When
jobs are similar but have varying performance measures
(d) When
subordinates are highly trained
(e) When
managers are competent.
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Functional
job analysis is a widely used systematic job analysis approach. Which of the
following dimensions of an individual’s job does functional job analysis
focus on?
I. Data, people and jobs pertaining to the individual’s job.
II. Interpersonal relationships required to perform the job.
III. Tools and equipment used by the worker.
IV. Products and services produced by the worker.
(a)
Only (I) above (b) Only (III) above
(c) Both (II) and (IV) above (d) (I), (III) and (IV) above
(e) All (I), (II), (III) and (IV) above.
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Organizational
culture is the collection of shared values, beliefs, rituals, stories, myths
and specialized language that foster a feeling of community among
organization members. Which of the following is not a characteristic
of organization culture?
(a) It differentiates one organization from another
(b) It defines the internal environment of an organization
(c) It ensures consistency in the behavior of organization members
(d) It remains absolutely stable throughout the life of an
organization
(e) It is perceived by the organization members as well as by
outsiders.
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Management
By Objectives (MBO) is a system for achieving organizational objectives,
enhancement of employee commitment and participation. Which of the following
is not an advantage of MBO?
(a) Role clarity (b)
Clarity in organizational action
(c) Personnel satisfaction (d) Basis for
organizational change
(e) Flexibility.
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Which
of the following are the characteristics of the planning process usually
adopted in Japanese Management style?
I. Long-term orientation.
II. Individual
decision-making.
III. Decisions flowing from bottom to top and
back.
IV. Slow
decision-making.
(a) Both (I) and (II) above (b) Both (I) and (III) above
(c) Both (II) and IV) above (d) (I), (III) and (IV) above
(e) (II), (III) and (IV) above.
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Answers
21.
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Answer
: (d)Reason : BARS minimizes subjective interpretation inherent in graphic
rating scales. They make use of ‘anchors’ (common reference points of
performance) and they concentrate on job-specific behaviors and hence are
highly meaningful. However, BARS are time-consuming and costly to develop, as
they should cover each dimension of all jobs in the department. As a result,
BARS tend to be used in situations in which relatively large numbers of
individuals perform similar jobs.
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Answer
: (e)Reason : The authority to control other departments, related to specific
tasks, is known as functional authority. It is defined as the formal
authority staff members have over line members within the limits of their
functions. It has the same effect as line authority but it does not have the
right that line authority has, to punish violations or deviations in order to
ensure compliance. Functional authority is limited to those areas where a
staff person has some technical competence. The use of functional authority
should be restricted to the procedural aspects of a function. But functional
authority violates the principle of unity of command since authority over
specific functional activities is exercised not only by line managers but
also by staff managers.
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Answer
: (d)Reason : Creativity is the ability to develop new ideas. The creative
process comprises four phases: unconscious scanning, intuition, insight, and
logical formulation. Intuition connects the unconscious with the conscious,
and leads to insight. In the final phase of the creative process, insight is
tested against organizational reality.
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Answer : (b)Reason : According to "expectancy
theory", the probability of an individual acting in a particular way
depends on the strength of that individual's belief that the act will have a
particular outcome and on whether the individual values that outcome. Hence
option (b) is the correct answer.
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Answer
: (c)Reason : Value engineering involves analyzing the operations of the
products or service, estimating the value of each operation, and modifying
that operation so that the cost is lowered.
(a) Work simplification
involves teaching workers the concepts of time and motion studies, layout of
work situations, and workflow analysis in order to improve work methods.
(b) Time-event network is a
logical extension of the Gantt chart and uses Critical Path Method to help in
planning and controlling operations.
(d) Total Quality Management
(TQM) calls for active participation of all the members at all levels of the
organization in order to ensure its (the organization’s) long-term commitment
to improvement of quality.
(e) A quality circle is a group of people who belong to an
organizational area and who meet regularly to solve the problems they face at
work.
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Answer
: (c) Reason
: Maintaining a large span of control within an organization is most
effective in all situations except when jobs are similar but have varying
performance measures.
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Answer
: (d)Reason : Functional Job Analysis focuses on the following dimensions of
an individual job:
I. Data,
people and jobs pertaining to the individual’s job.
III. Tools
and equipment used by the worker.
IV.
Products and services produced by the worker.
Hence, from above
discussion, we can infer that option (d) is correct.
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Answer
: (d)Reason : Organization culture is the collection of shared values,
beliefs, rituals, stories, myths, and specialized language that foster a
feeling of community among organization members. Organizational culture is
distinctive and it differentiates one organization from another. It is based
on certain norms, which define the internal environment of an organization.
When the members of an organization interact with each other, they use a
common language, and follow the same norms and hence organizational culture
ensures consistency in their behavior. It is perceived by the members of the
organization as well as by outsiders. Though organizational culture is fairly
stable, it keeps evolving from time to time.
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Answer
: (e)Reason : MBO helps in better managing the organizational resources and
activities through clarity of objectives, role clarity, periodic feedback on
performance, and participation by managers. It provides the key result areas
(KRAs) where organizational efforts are needed, which leads to clarity in
organizational action. Since MBO allows participation of employees in
objective setting and a rational performance appraisal, it provides the
greatest opportunity for personnel satisfaction. Also, MBO stimulates
organizational change and provides a framework and guidelines for planned
change, enabling the top management to initiate, plan, direct, and control
the direction and speed of change. However, MBO has some limitations also,
which include inflexibility in the organization, particularly when the
objectives need to be changed.
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Answer
: (d)Reason : The characteristics of the planning process usually adopted in
Japanese Management style are: (1) Long-term orientation, (2) Collective
decision-making, (3) Decisions flowing bottom to top and back, (4) Slow
decision-making. Hence, (d) is the
correct answer.
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