FSOT : Management Questions! Trivia Test! Quiz

Economes are not stagnant. They expand and contract. Expansion could result in inflation. Contraction, on the other hand, may lead to recession and rising unemployment. A severe recession will lead to a depression.

Affirmative action programs are legally mandated plans that try to increase job opportunities for minority groups by analyzing the current pool of workers, identifying areas where women and minorities are underrepresented, and establishing specific hiring and promotion goals, with target dates, for addressing the discrepancy.

Customer Service Officer is a front-line staffer.

Performance varies across individuals and as such different wages should be applied. Although people in different locations get different gross wages, that approach is still based on the same base wage with different location allowance. National origin and religion are not relevant.

Managers plan, organize, staff, and direct. They have to play the strategic role and have to be free from day-to-day operations. On the other hand, customer service is an operational part of the organization and is for front-line staff.

Productivity, leadership, and adaptability are very important in evaluating employee performance. Productivity is the rate at which work is regularly produced and determines the effectiveness of the firm. A firm needs good leadership to grow. Employees that are potential good leaders should be groomed to top management roles. Adaptability is the ability to be comfortable with change. The only thing that is constant in a firm is usually change. Thus employees need to be able to adapt relatively quickly to changes.

Raw materials are natural products taken from the earth, oceans, and recycled solid waste. It is usually the starting phase of any products or business products. Convenience products are frequently purchased products, while shopping products are products in which consumers compare and contrast the benefits and costs. Specialty products are products such as fusion food or designer clothing.

Answer A is customer departmentalization, answer B is geographical, and C is production departmentalization.

Flextime is the program adopted by many U.S. companies as they recognize that making allowances for employees' schedule increases employee morale and productivity. Double time and part time are not correct. Job sharing is not correct, but is a useful management tool that occurs when two people share a job. This allows the employee to keep a job without losing income and yet being able to spend time on personal priorities.

Branding is the process of naming and identifying products. A brand is a name, term, symbol, design, or combination that identifies a product and distinguishes it from other products. A trademark needs to be registered with the U.S. patent and trademark office. It is legally protected.

An income statement is a financial report that shows an organization's profitability over a period of time, while a balance sheet is a snapshot of an organization's financial strength. A cash flow statement reflects the current assets and liquidity of the firm. An inventory sheet keeps track of inventory, which is not part of financial accounting.

Motivation affects an employee's attitude toward his or her job, employer, and colleagues. Low morale can contribute to high levels of dissatisfaction, absenteeism, and turnover.

Medical conditions change with time and location; although it is technically possible to segment based on medical condition, it will be trivial and a secondary finding compared to the first three answers.

Although teams bring with them benefits, they sometimes also create problems. Sometimes, personal conflicts can occur and hamper group productivity. Different groups can also refuse to share information and resources. But generally, the benefits outweigh the problems.

Operations management refers to the process of planning, organizing, and controlling the activities involved in transforming resources (such as raw materials, labor, and technology) into goods and services. It focuses on ensuring efficient and effective utilization of resources to meet customer demands and achieve organizational goals. This includes activities such as production planning, inventory management, quality control, and supply chain management. Therefore, operations management is the correct answer as it specifically relates to the development and administration of activities involved in transforming resources into goods and services.

ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization, which determines a series of quality standards internationally to ensure consistent product quality under many conditions.

The objective of the collective bargaining is to reach a labor contract. In collective bargaining each side tries to reach an agreement that meets its demands. Sometimes, if this is not resolved amicably, it will lead to strikes and picketing.

The correct answer is salary, commission, profit sharing, benefits. These are all common methods used by employers to compensate their workforce. Salary is a fixed amount paid to employees on a regular basis, while commission is a percentage of sales or revenue earned. Profit sharing involves distributing a portion of the company's profits among employees. Benefits can include health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks provided by the employer.

In organizations, different forms of groups exist to facilitate collaboration and achieve common goals. Committees are formal groups that are formed to address specific issues or make decisions. Task forces are temporary groups assembled to work on a specific project or problem. Self-directed work teams are groups of employees who are empowered to make decisions and manage their own work processes. These groups play important roles in promoting teamwork, sharing expertise, and enhancing overall organizational performance.

The primary characteristics of diversity in the U.S. workforce include age, gender, ethnicity, and race. These factors represent different aspects of an individual's identity and contribute to the overall diversity within a workplace. Age diversity refers to the range of ages present in the workforce, while gender diversity encompasses the representation of both males and females. Ethnicity and race diversity highlight the variety of cultural backgrounds and racial identities within the workforce. These characteristics are important to consider in order to promote inclusivity and create a diverse and equitable working environment.

Employees all have emotional, psychological, and domestic problems. Having health plans, child-care facilities and counseling services are just some examples. Increasing salary is a short-term incentive; employees will quickly adjust to the new salary and morale will drop back down again. The other two choices have smaller effects but not as great as the programs cited in answer B.

Primary data is marketing information that is observed, recorded, or collected directly from respondents, while secondary data is market information that is compiled inside or outside an organization for some purpose other than changing the current situation.

The correct sequence for the six-step process in personal selling is prospecting, approaching, presenting, handling objections, closing, and following up. Prospecting involves identifying potential customers, approaching is the initial contact with the customer, presenting is the stage where the salesperson presents their product or service, handling objections is addressing any concerns or hesitations the customer may have, closing is the stage where the salesperson asks for the sale, and following up is the final step to ensure customer satisfaction and build long-term relationships.

SWOT analysis has proven to be the most widely used and enduring analytical technique in strategic management. It allows the firm to be aware of its internal environment (strength and weaknesses) and its external environment (opportunity and threats).

JIT inventory management is a popular technique that eliminates waste by using smaller quantities of materials that arrive just in time for use in the transformation process and, therefore, requires less storage space and other inventory management expenses.

Receivables turnover is an asset utilization ratio. The first three answers are all profitability ratio -- ratios that measure the amount of operating income or net income an organization is able to generate relative to its assets, owners' equity, and sales.

Financial managers work with funds that make the company operational and profitable.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology that categorizes human needs into different levels. The highest level in this hierarchy is self-actualization needs. Self-actualization refers to the desire for personal growth, self-fulfillment, and reaching one's full potential. It is the need to become the best version of oneself and to pursue meaningful goals and aspirations. This level of need is only reached once the lower levels, such as physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, and esteem needs, have been adequately fulfilled.

Job rotation is the movement of employees from one job to another in an effort to relieve the boredom often associated with job specialization. Job enlargement is the addition of more tasks to a job instead of treating each task as separate. Job enrichment is the incorporation of motivational factors, such as opportunity for achievement, recognition, responsibility, and advancement. Job reduction, on the other hand, implies that the employee is not able to take up more responsibility and is, therefore, bad.

Money, and before it, bartering, has always been used as a medium of exchange. It is also a measure of value because more of it means one can obtain better goods and services. It also acts as a common denomination in which people can compare the value of the products or services. It also allows people to keep some of their wealth and use it when needed in the future.

Leadership is the most important asset for top management because it involves the ability to guide and inspire a team towards achieving organizational goals. Effective leadership ensures that the team is motivated, focused, and working towards a common vision. It involves making tough decisions, taking risks, and being accountable for the outcomes. Leadership also encompasses the ability to communicate effectively, delegate tasks, and manage conflicts. Without strong leadership, even the most skilled individuals may struggle to work together cohesively and achieve desired results.

A lockout is the management's version of a strike, wherein a work site is closed so that employees cannot go to work. A strike is a walkout by employees, one of the most effective weapons employees have for collective bargaining. A boycott is an attempt to keep people from buying the products of the company, while picketing is a public protest against management practices that involves union members marching and carrying anti-management signs at the employer's plant.

For bonds, the buyer loan the issuer of the bond cash in exchange for regular interest payments until the loan is repaid on or before the specified maturity date. A bond is like an IOU.

The board of directors is a group of individuals elected by the stockholders to oversee the general operations of the corporation and who set the corporation's long range objectives. Directors can be employees of the company or people unaffiliated with the company. Inside directors are usually the officers responsible for running the company. Outside directors are often top executives from other companies, lawyers, bankers, or professors.

The marketing mix comprises price, product, promotion, and place. The consumer is never part of the marketing mix. A marketing firm needs to target the consumer and then apply the appropriate marketing mix to that targeted consumer group.

During the introduction phase, the sales volume is low and the cost of product development is high.

Direct channel occurs when there is no middleman.

Imagination is the irrelevant answer. Perception is the process by which a person selects, organizes, and interprets information received from his or her senses. Attitude is both knowledge and positive or negative feelings about something. Personality is the organization of an individual's distinguishing character traits, attitudes, or habits. These three psychological factors affect a consumer's buying behavior, so firms need to be aware of them.

The bottom line of micro marketing is profit. Profit is the difference between gross sales and expenses. For macro marketing and nonprofit marketing the bottom lines will be different. For macro marketing, the society must benefit as a whole, while for nonprofit marketing, the subjects or goals of the agency has to be fulfilled.

Penetration pricing is a low price designed to help a product enter the market and gain market share rapidly.

At the heart of operations management is the transformation process through which inputs are converted into outputs.

Consumers are very heterogeneous. By segmenting, firms are able to better target the specific groups and then apply a concentration marketing mix effort on the segment. This way, the consumers have a better product or service that they need and will be more satisfied. Marketing mix for mass marketing is also possible; thus, D is not an answer.

Reengineering is an important aspect of strategy implementation because it involves breaking away from old rules and procedures to create more efficient and effective processes. The principles of reengineering include organizing around outcomes rather than tasks, having those who use the output of the process perform the process, and treating geographically dispersed resources as though they were centralized. However, adopting the status quo for some areas goes against the idea of reengineering, as it implies maintaining existing practices instead of seeking improvements and innovation.

A product line is a group of closely related products that are treated as a unit because of similar marketing strategy, production, or end-use considerations. A product mix refers to all the products offered by an organization. Depth refers to the many modifications of the same product.

Ships are the cheapest international transportation means because they have lower fuel costs compared to planes and trucks. Ships can carry a large amount of cargo, reducing the cost per unit. Additionally, ships have lower maintenance and labor costs compared to planes and trucks.

Behavior modification involves changing behavior and encouraging appropriate actions by relating the consequences of behavior to the behavior itself. Job design itself to motivate and improve employee motivation. This can be done through job rotation, enlargement, and so on. Answers B, C, and D are all useful, but less effective.

Visibility is irrelevant here. Acceptability means that the money can be readily accepted for purchase of goods and services or for debt. Divisibility means there is a wide range of denominations from notes to coins. POrtability means that it has to be light and easily moved around. Stability means the money should carry the same worth day to day. Durability means the money must last for a certain period of time and not be defaced or easily damaged.

Customer value means that the firm must make a disproportionate contribution to customer perceived value. Competitor unique means the firm has unique and superior features to competitors' capabilities. Extendibility means the firm has a product that can be used to develop new products/services or enter new markets.

The greatest disadvantage is that one has unlimited liability for damages resulting from the business operations.

The awarding of a manufacturer to an intermediary of the sole right to sell a product in a defined geographic territory is exclusive distribution. Such exclusivity provides an incentive for a dealer to handle a product that has a limited market.