Q&A Hero

Q: Corporate scandals at Enron, WorldCom-MCI, and other firms are examples of failure of ________. A) corporate public relations B) corporate governance C) corporate ethics D) corporate violations

Q: A business behavior might be legal but still not be ________. A) invalid B) ethical C) wrong D) profitable

Q: The standards and rules in businesses that help someone decide right from wrong are called ________. A) corporate governance B) laws C) ethics D) morals

Q: Which of the following is not a good method of ensuring that money is handled ethically in your business? A) Always have two people in the room when the business mail is opened, so no one can steal a check. B) Pay yourself, as the owner, strictly out of the profits earned by the business. C) Require every check issued by the business to be signed by two executives. D) Make sure the employees that handle the money are licensed and bonded.

Q: Companies that have faced ethical scandals typically did not have ________ in place to ensure that managers did not misuse funds or otherwise behave illegally or unethically. A) better business regulations B) penalties C) corporate governance D) a code of ethics

Q: What is a wrongful termination suit? How can you protect your company from it?

Q: Many companies staff their human resources organizations using a ratio of one HR executive per ________ employees. A) 50 -100 B) 50 - 200 C) 10 - 50 D) 250 - 1000

Q: As you hire employees, you will need to become aware of laws and taxes, including ________. A) anti-discrimination laws B) payroll taxes C) Fair Labor Standards Act and The Equal Pay Act of 1963 D) All of the above.

Q: The act of Congress that requires employers to pay men and women the same amount for the same work is called ________. A) The Equal Opportunity Act B) The Equal Pay Act C) The Work Compensation Act D) Anti-discrimination Act

Q: Which is not an effective way to protect yourself from a wrongful termination suit brought by an employee whom you have fired? A) I can keep documentation of all my reasons for firing the employee to prove that he/she violated company ethics or was not performing his/her duties. B) I can conduct regular reviews of employee performance. C) I can give notification in writing and work on corrections. D) I can hire a lawyer to protect me from lawsuits.

Q: The department that hires, trains, and develops company employees is called ________. A) employment office B) hiring and firing C) human resources D) personnel

Q: Which is not a good method for preventing legal complications when you must lay off or fire employees? A) Document your reasons for firing employees to prove that they did not perform their duties correctly. B) Have employees sign an agreement when they're hired saying they will not sue if they are ever laid off. C) Provide severance, which is continued salary for a limited time, and make serious efforts to help laid-off employees find a new job. D) Have appropriate employees sign a no-compete agreement.

Q: An organizational structure in which each person reports to one supervisor is called a ________ organization. A) line B) staff C) flat D) smooth

Q: The Mission of an organization is the shared beliefs, values, and attitudes among employees - also referred to as "how things are done around here."

Q: The ________ of an organization is the shared beliefs, values, and attitudes. A) mission B) culture C) structure D) vision

Q: What are the steps in the employee recruiting process?

Q: You may not be able to afford full-time employees for your business early on, but you can still hire quality people without having to provide full-time salaries and benefits. Describe some methods for doing so.

Q: When checking a job applicant's references, you should create a few questions that are pertinent to the job being filled and the related career paths.

Q: Which of the following is not a primary function of management? A) planning B) organizing C) optimizing D) controlling

Q: The ________ identifies the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the specific tasks of the job. A) job rotation B) job enlargement C) job enrichment D) job profile

Q: Hiring employees is called ________. A) assessment B) controlling C) management D) recruitment

Q: What is the difference between strategic planning and operational planning? A) Strategic plans are for one year or less and have very specific objectives, while operational plans are more vague and long-term. B) Strategic planning covers the short-term day-to-day workings of a business, while operational planning sets out long-term goals. C) Strategic planning sets out strategies for the business to achieve long-term growth and other goals, while operational planning covers the day-to-day operations of the business. D) Strategic planning is reserved for middle management in large companies.

Q: According to expert Daniel Goleman, what are the main managerial styles, their advantages and disadvantages/drawbacks?

Q: Why is it important for an entrepreneur to pay him/herself regularly in a consistent manner out of the business's earnings?

Q: A pacesetting style of leadership consists of a leader who sets very high personal performance standards and challenges employees to meet them too.

Q: Great leaders are ________. A) pessimists B) coercive C) power hungry D) optimists

Q: No matter the size of a business, the leader sets the ________ for how the organization operates. If the leader is chaotic, chances are the business will be too. If the leader is well organized and efficient, the business may well be too. A) asset optimization B) expense constraints C) profit expectations D) tone

Q: One of the most important things you can do when you start a business is to learn how to manage your ________ so that you can get more done with efficiency. A) sales B) time C) costs D) None of the above.

Q: Why are entrepreneurs not always the best managers for their businesses? A) Managers are better at coming up with fresh ideas for new businesses than entrepreneurs are. B) Entrepreneurs have a difficult time motivating employees. C) Entrepreneurs tend to be creative types who get bored with the day-to-day details of running a business. D) They tend to have short attention spans.

Q: If a business owner wants his/her pay to be a variable operating cost, a ________ is most appropriate. A) bonus B) wage C) salary D) commission

Q: A share of a company's profits paid to an investor is called a ________. A) commission B) stock C) dividend D) return

Q: When a business grows too big for the entrepreneur to run it alone, he/she should consider ________. A) franchising the business B) taking management classes to become a better manager C) slowing down marketing efforts to bring the business's growth back under control D) raising capital and using it to hire managers

Q: A leader is someone who gets things done through ________. A) coercion B) power C) influence D) force

Q: Research indicates that ________ is the most important characteristic required for successful leadership. A) self esteem B) business knowledge C) drive D) intelligence

Q: Madam C. J. Walker was an entrepreneur who became ________. A) the first female pharmacist in America B) the first African-American businessperson to become a millionaire C) the first entrepreneur to franchise a business D) the first self-made female millionaire

Q: What steps can an organization take to incorporate technology and why might they be beneficial (name at least 3)?

Q: In general, a web site or electronic storefront is not necessary for retail businesses.

Q: Retail point-of-sales systems, restaurant menu order systems, and concert venue ticketing systems are all examples of ________. A) custom software applications B) industry-specific technology C) systems for large businesses D) indirect marketing

Q: A ________ for technology is important for decision-making before investment. A) trial subscription B) consultant C) cost/benefit analysis D) competition research

Q: Compare and contrast 2 organization-wide quality initiatives such as Lean Manufacturing, Benchmarking, ISO9000, Six Sigma, TQM, and Baldrige.

Q: Explain why "profits follow quality."

Q: The central focus of total quality management (TQM) is continuous improvement.

Q: ________, an American economist, argued that business should focus on making quality products instead of maximizing profits - and that profit would follow. A) Conrad Hilton B) W. Edwards Deming C) Paul Samuelson D) Adam Smith

Q: Organizations applying for the Baldrige Award are judged on ________. A) customer and market focus B) leadership and strategic planning C) process management and human resources focus D) All of the above.

Q: Comparing one company's performance against that of other companies in the same industry or against best practices, standards, or certification criteria is called ________. A) quality comparison B) profiling C) benchmarking D) qualify deployment

Q: What organization administers the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award? A) United Nations (UN) B) National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) C) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) D) National Merit Award Administration (NMAA)

Q: A measure of quality that may be used in Total Quality Management (TQM) is ________. A) on-time delivery B) compliance with product specifications C) repeat rates D) All of the above.

Q: ________ are three of the eight quality management principles for organizational improvement. A) Conflicted supplier relationships, process approach, and leadership B) Customer focus, leadership, and policy approach C) Customer focus, continual improvement, and involvement of people D) Continuous improvement, cost control, employee motivation

Q: Which of the following is not part of process management? A) measuring tasks B) optimizing tasks C) monitoring tasks D) costing tasks

Q: The family of standards for quality management systems established by the International Organization for Standardization is ________. A) ISO9000 B) ISO8800 C) ISO2008 D) ISO 14000

Q: Engineers from what company developed Six Sigma in the 1980s? A) Intel B) General Motors C) Motorola D) General Electric

Q: One sub-methodology employed in Six Sigma is DMAIC which stands for ________. A) describe, measure, assess, improve, and control B) define, measure, analyze, improve, and control C) define, minimize, assess, improve, and collect D) describe, maximize, analyze, improve, and compact

Q: Which of the following is given by the President of the United States? A) Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award B) ISO9000:2001 C) Benchmarking Excellence Award D) National Merit for Success Award

Q: The statistical methods, within Six Sigma, are designed to eliminate defects to a failure rate of ________ defects per one million opportunities, or a 99.9997% success rate. A) 3.4 B) 34 C) 0.34 D) .344

Q: Home-based entrepreneurs have special considerations other businesses don't have.

Q: If you are considering starting a business venture in your home, thoroughly investigate zoning ordinances, civic association rules, and ________. A) the neighborhood B) deed restrictions C) distance from the Interstate D) proximity to city hall

Q: Manufacturing, warehousing, and ________ have similar considerations for the type and size of facility. A) retailing firms B) services firms C) distribution firms D) not-for-profit organizations

Q: The factor-rating for location decisions uses criteria that are prioritized but not weighted. The purpose is to eliminate subjective considerations.

Q: Which of the following is not a key factor in deciding on a location for the business? A) access to suppliers B) access for customers C) proximity to your accountant D) labor pool

Q: Tell how to calculate Reorder Point (ROP) and Economic Order Quantity (EOQ).

Q: The visual control approach to inventory management is a scientific method.

Q: ________ is the management of sourcing, procuring, production, and logistics to go from raw materials to end consumers across multiple intermediate steps. A) Supply Chain Management B) Total Quality Management C) The Production-Distribution Chain D) Supply Channel

Q: ________ are the amounts of inventory or raw materials and work-in-process kept to guarantee service levels. A) Safety stock levels B) Sufficiency levels C) Minimum lots D) Minimum-Maximum balance

Q: Factors to consider when selecting a ________ include charging a price you are willing to pay and timely delivery. A) customer B) supplier C) sales representative D) manufacturer

Q: Suppliers may be found through ________. A) newspapers and magazines B) trade shows, conferences, and catalogs C) All of the above. D) None of the above.

Q: If the lead time for garage doors is 2 weeks, and you sell 100 doors per week, and you always want at least 20 doors in stock, what is the Reorder Point? A) 320 B) 220 C) 420 D) 440

Q: The three factors included in the calculation of the Reorder Point are ________. A) demand, lead time, and safety stock B) supply, price, and safety stock C) demand, inventory, and price D) supply, demand, and holding costs

Q: A critical component of Supply Chain Management is ________. A) identifying and securing suppliers B) managing inventory C) Both of the above. D) Neither of the above.

Q: The inventory method where you look at the inventory on hand, and when the stock level of an item appears to be low, you reorder is called ________. A) basic control B) proximal management C) estimation D) visual control

Q: Lost sales and goodwill are potentially significant costs that may arise from ________. A) too little inventory B) too much inventory C) Both A and B D) poor customer service with inventory

Q: The amount of inventory to order that will total the minimum total ordering and holding costs is called the ________. A) Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) B) Economic Reorder Point (ERP) C) Reorder Point (ROP) D) Cost Accounting Point

Q: Explain the traditional production-distribution chain.

Q: Which of the following is not a step in the production-distribution chain? A) A retailer buys 6 rings. B) A consumer enters a jewelry shop and buys a ring. C) A consumer wears jewelry to work. D) A goldsmith crafts 10 rings.

Q: The set of actions that produce goods and services is called ________. A) shipping B) operations C) manufacturing D) processing

Q: ________ permit businesses to deliver what is promised when it is promised. A) Expeditors B) Operations C) Sales D) Brokers

Q: A copyright protects a songwriter, author, or visual artist. It keeps someone else from copying or appropriating the work.

Q: You do not need a patent unless you ________. A) have invented a product that you intend to market yourself or sell to a manufacturer B) believe that someone else could successfully sell the product by copying your invention C) Both of the above. D) None of the above.

Q: What is used to identify and distinguish the source of a service rather than a product? A) sales mark B) trademark C) service mark D) intellectual property

Q: The form of protection offered under U.S. law to the authors of "original works of authorship" is a(n) ________. A) patent B) electronic right C) trademark D) copyright

Q: If you invent something and don't patent it, it falls into the public domain, meaning that ________. A) you can sell your invention publicly without paying the U.S. Patent Office B) anyone can manufacture your invention and profit from selling it without paying you C) you can sell the right to manufacture the invention D) you can save a lot of money