FACULTY OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENTUNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

Diploma in Information Management(IS110)

Fundamentals Of Management(MGT160/162)

ASSIGNMENT:PAST YEAR EXAM QUESTIONS

(2009)

ByMUHAMMAD NOORAMIN BIN MOHD HASSAN

2010657136

&

ANUAR RANIXXXXXXXX

(E-PJJ – Group EISD2A)

Prepared for:SOBARIAH BT AWANG MUKHTAR

March 2011

Table Of Contents:

PART PAGE

PART A 3-5

PART B 6-9

PART C 10-11

PART D 12-13

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PART A

1. An organization is a group of individuals who work together toward common goals.True

2. Control is an important function in the managerial process because it provides a method for ensuring that the organization is moving toward the achievement of its goals.True

3. Organizing involves motivating and leading the members of an organization so that they contribute to the achievement of the organization's goals.True

4. Consistent with their linking function, top-level managers are most involved in three basic activities: planning and allocating resources, coordinating interdependent groups, and managing work group performance.False

5. Trait research was successful in predicting leadership success consistently.False

6. Operational plans define both the markets in which the organization competes and the way in which it competes in those markets.FalseOperational plans is usually centered on departments or smaller units of the organization.

7, Leadership is the process of determining the tasks to be done, who will do them, and how those tasks will be managed and coordinated.FalseLeadership is 'An influence process; normally to influence people to achieve common goal'. -Lewis, P.Goodman, S.,Fandt, P.,2001

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8. Any increase in the numerator or decrease in the denominator of the productivity equation will result in a productivity increase.True

9. Survey data show that manufacturing location decisions are dominated by five factors: favorable labor climate, proximity to markets, quality of life, proximity to suppliers and resources, and proximity to the parent company‘s facilities.True

10. The participation aspect of group decision-making usually leads to lower member satisfaction.False

11. To delegate effectively, managers must understand that delegation involves three distinct but highly related activities: (1) assignment of responsibility, (2) granting of authority, and (3) establishing accountability.True

12. Communication is the process managers use to interact with subordinates, peers, supervisors, customers, suppliers, owners and the general public.True

13. lf done properly, there will be no noise in the communication process.FalseCommunication will always have noise.

14. Food, water, air, and shelter are all security needs and form the lowest level in Maslow’s hierarchy.FalseSecurity needs include:Personal securityFinancial securityHealth and well-beingSafety net against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts

15. Communication is a dynamic yet rather straightforward process.True

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16. Esteem needs include the desire for friendship, love, and a feeling of belonging.True

17. The inventory management schedule is a detailed statement of projected production quantities for each item in each time period.True

18. Reliability of a control tool, or system, is the same thing as the reliability of a test used to select the best candidate for a job - as discussed in an earlier chapter.False

19. One of the principles of Islamic Management is the practice of favoritism and discrimination.FalseIslamic Management principles of qualifications state that; the selection of new personnel should not be based on self-interest or favoritism. It should be based on the person’s ability, expertise, experience and other suitable criteria that fit the job.

20. In a decision-making matrix, each alternative strategy has a total expected monetary value, which is the sum of the known value for that alternative.FalseA basic decision matrix consists of establishing a set of criteria upon which the potential options can be decomposed, scored, and summed to gain a total score which can then be ranked. Importantly, the criteria are not weighted to allow a quick selection process.

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PART B

1. The "art of getting things done through other people was Mary Parket Follett'sclassic definition ofA. organizing.B. management.C. planning.D, controlling.

2. The CEO of PespiCo spends a considerable amount of time outlining the activitiesnecessary to achieve the goals of his organization. That process is calledA. auditing.B. scripting.C. planning.D. organizing.

3. Airlines such as Continental, United, and Delta operate with very narrow profitmargins. As a result, these companies try hard to use the fewest inputs (iet fuel,maintenance hours, ticket agents etc.) to generate a given output. This informationtells us that is a critical managerial issue at major airlines.A. effectivenessB. proficiencyC. potencyD. efficiency

4. An organization is a group of individuals who work togetherA. to maximize shareholder wealth,B. to generate the most proit.C. to become more efficient.D. toward common goals.

5. The four forms of position power areA. legitimate, coercive, reward, and information.B. information, expert, referent, and coercive,C. legitimate, coercive, referent, and expert.D. legitimate, reward, coercive, and referent.

6. Strategic planning occurs at the following three primary levels within an organization:A. corporate, business, and financial.B. corporate, business, and marketing.C. marketing, business, and financial.D. corporate, business, and functional.

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7. The forces acting upon Diane Richards that cause her to behave in a specific,goal-directed manner are calledA personality.B. abilities.C. attitudes.D. motivation.

8. The first step in the process of control isA. responding to deviations.B. setting performance standards.C. developing organizational structure.D. comparing performance to standards.

9. The process of control involves four steps: setting standards of performance,measuring actual performance, comparing actual performance with standards, andA. anticipating problems.B. responding to deviations.C. communication.D. employee empowerment.

10. Which of the following statements about communication is inaccurate?A. Communication is a process in which sender, messages, channels, andreceivers do not remain constant or static.B. Communication is simple.C. Communication can be symbolic.D. The object of communicating is to create some degree of accurateunderstanding among the participants.

11. Which of the following choices correctly identifies the basic components of thecommunication process?A. Sender, channel, message, receiver, feedback, noise.B. Delineator, facilitator, processor, decoder, end-user.C. Originator, facilitator, encoder, decoder, end-user.D. Sender, facilitator, medium, processor, receiver.

12. Qualification from the Islamic Management perspective should be based on one ofthe following elements, which is:A. Amanah (trustworthy).B. Syura (mutual consultation).C. As-Sunnah.D. Self-interest (favouritism).

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13. The owner of Adams Services Inc. believes that an individual employee should beaccountable to only one supervisor. The principle that Adams follows is known asA. chain of command.B. span of control.C. unity of command.D. unity of delegation.

14. The process of transforming the responsibility for a specific activity or task to anothermember of the organization and empowering that individual to accomplish the taskeffectively is referred to asA. commission.B. span of control.C. delegation.D. facilitation.

15. Which of the following statements about communication is inaccurate?A. Communication is a process in which sender, messages, channels, andreceivers do not remain constant or static.B. Communication is simple.C. Communication can be symbolic.D. The object of communicating is to create some degree of accurate understanding among the participants.

16. From a consumer perspective, the degree to which the product or service meets theexpectations of the customer is calledA. quatity.B. technology.C. characteristics.D. goodness.

18. According to ,__________ a person has five fundamental needs: physiological,security, aftiliation, esteem, and self-actualizaiion.A. He|zberg's Two-Factor ModelB. Maslow‘s Hierarchy of NeedsC. Acquired-Needs ModelD. Equity Model

19. A process in which a person or group evokes a shared or common meaning toanother person or group is calledA. transference.B. communication.C. planning.D. organizing.

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20. Jane Collins is responsible for overseeing the entire system of policies, procedures,and guidelines that her organization has established to achieve and maintain quality.Jane is responsible forA. total quality management.B. statistical process control.C. quality control.D. quality assurance.

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PART C

QUESTION 1Describe the three (3) levels of management.(6 marks)

First Line Managers/Lower Level ManagersThey are responsible for putting into operation the plans of higher and middle management. The lovest level in the organization is that at which individuals are responsible for the works of others. First line or first level managers direct operating employees only; they do not supervise other managers. Examples of first-line managers are the "foreman" or produstion supervisor in a manufacturing plant.

Middle ManagersMiddle managers can include more than one level in an organization. Middle managers direct the activities of lower-level managers and sometimes also to those of operating employees. Middle managers principal responsiblities are to direct the activities that implement their organizations' policies and to balance the demands of their superiors with the capacity of their subordinates. Examples of middle managers are the Marketing Managers, The Production Manager and the Human Resource Managers.

Top managersA comparative small group of executives, the top managemant is responsible for the overall managemant of the organization. They establish operating policies and guide the organizations' interactions with its environment. Typical titles of top managers are "Chief Executive Officer", "President", and "Senior Vice-President". Actual titles vary from one organization to another.

QUESTION 2List and explain the types of single-use plans.(6 marks)

The types of single use plans include:Programs-Govern a relatively comprehensice set of activities that are designed to accomplish a particular set of goals.-Most comprehensive plans.

Projects-Direct the efforts of individuals or work group towards the achievement of specific, well designed objectives.Less comprehensive and narrower scope.

Budgets

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-Specify how financial resources should be allocated-Developed to support project and program.

QUESTION 3Give three (3) advantages and disadvantages of Group Decision Making.(6 marks)

Advantages of Group Decisions Making:-Group decisions help to combine individual strengths of the group members and hence has a set of varied skill sets applied in the decision making process.-Individual opinions can be biased or affected with pre-conceives notions are restricted perspectives, group decision help to get a broader perspective owing to differences of perception between individual in the group.-A group decision always means enhanced collective understanding of the course of action to be taken after the decision is taken.-A group decision gains greater group commitment since everyone has his/her share in the decision making.-Group decisions imbibe a strong sense of team spirit amongst the group members and helps the group to think together in terms of success as well as failure

Disadvantages of Group Decisions Making:-One of the major disadvantages of group decision making is that it is more time consuming than the process of individual decision making.-Group decisions take longer to be finalized since there are many opinions to be considered and valued.-In case of authoritarian or minority group decision making, the people whose opinions are not considered tend to be left out from the decision making process and hence the team spirit ceases to grow.-The responsibility and accountability of the decisions are not equally shared in some cases which leads to a split in the group and hence hamper the overall efficiency of the group.

QUESTION 4Write short notes on the following:a) Functional structure-Functional structure consists of units or departmental groups identified by specialty, such as engineering, development, marketing, finance, sales or human resources that are controlled from the top level of management.b) Product divisional structure-The organization is grouped in such a way that that the employees who are involved in making a specific product are grouped together into one divisionc) Geographic divisional structureGeographic structure groups employees together based upon specific geographic location.

(6 marks)

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PART D

QUESTION 1Discuss any five (5) Deming's 14 Points.(10 marks)1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. We must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimise total cost. Move towards a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

QUESTION 2a) Define controlling.(2 marks)The process to assure that actual activities conform to planned activities.

b) Explain any four (4) characteristics of effective control system.(8 marks)

Effective control systems have certain characteristics. For a control system to be effective, it must be:1. Accurate. Information on performance must be accurate. Evaluating the accuracy of the information they receive is one of the most important control tasks that managers face.2. Timely. Information must be collected, routed, and evaluated quickly if action is to be taken in time to produce improvements.3. Objective and Comprehensible. The information in a control system should be understandable and be seen as objective by the individuals who use it. A difficult-to understand control system will cause unnecessary mistakes and confusion or frustration among employees.4. Economically Realistic. The cost of implementing a control system should be less than, or at most equal to, the benefits derived from the control system.

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QUESTION 3What are four (4) primary categories of interpersonal communication? Explain each of the categories and give an example.(10 marks)

WrittenLetters, memo, reports, notices

OralTelephone, face-to-face, meetings

VisualCharts, tables, posters, advertisements

ElectronicFacsimile, computer, e-mail, pager

QUESTION 4Discuss any five (5) problems in implementing Total Quality Management (TQM).(10 marks)

-Lack of management support (commitment)-Following what other people are doing. No goals of their own. Other companies' problems may not be simillar to ours.-No viable communication system is set up between top management and lower management informing individuals on goals of quality, the process etc.-Lack of training both on part of employees and top management with regard to quality.-Top management sometimes are too preoccupied perfecting the tools of TQM but forgot to entertain customers changing needs and wants.

QUESTION 5Define islamic Management and explain any four (4) principles of islamic Management.(10 marks)

- The ultimate goal of life should be harmoniously linked with the worldly aims. Humans as "Khalifah" must be able to balance their short term and longterm goals such as serving Allah, worshipping HIM and seeking his worthy pleasure and rewards.- The morals/rteligious value of work should be integrated in the work or activities we do. Working is not merely a means for material gain, but also a moral obligation and a measure of pleasing Allah and getting nearer to him.- Time is to be well invested, not to be wasted. Time should be treated as a commodity. This statement requires us to use out time efficiently by being punctual, doing diligent work, necer play around, not to procrastinate and engage ourself in meaningless conversation.

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