ADMN 232

Administrative Principles
Sample Midterm Examination Questions
NOTE TO STUDENTS: This sample midterm examination is representative of the
TYPES of questions you will encounter on the actual midterm. However, it is NOT
representative of the NUMBER of questions you can expectthe actual midterm will have
many more questions.
Answers are provided at the end of this document.
Section 1: Multiple Choice Questions
1.

Which of the following is not an interpersonal role?

a.
b.
c.
d.

2.

The traditional management function of ________ refers to inspiring and

motivating workers to work hard to achieve organizational goals.
a.
b.
c.
d.

3.

project management
organizing
leading
conniving

Which of the following is one of the four different kinds of managers (with
different jobs and responsibilities) identified in the textbook?
a.
b.
c.
d.

4.

figurehead
entrepreneur
leader
liaison

top managers
middling managers
administrative managers
first-time managers

Which of the following is a responsibility of first-line managers?

a.
b.
c.
d.

managing the performance of managerial employees

developing the structure of groups and departments
teaching senior managers how to do their jobs
making detailed schedules and operating plans from information provided
to them

5.

In the ________ role, managers decide who will get what resources and how
many resources they will get.
a.
b.
c.
d.

resource allocator
entrepreneur
disturbance handler
liaison

6. Which of the following is not one of the four sets of characteristics that companies
look for in individuals to identify potential managers?
a.
b.
c.
d.
7.

According to ________theory, companies go through long, simple periods of

environmental stability, followed by short, complex periods of dynamic,
fundamental environmental change, finishing with a return to environmental
stability.
a.
b.
c.
d.

8.

environmental development
dynamite environment
punctuated equilibrium
The Boston Consulting Group

Which of the following is not considered a component of the general environment

that indirectly affects all organizations?
a.
b.
c.
d.

9.

technical skills
human skills
conceptual skills
perceptual skills

customers
economy
technology
political/legal trends

The term ________ is used to refer to a companys practice of identifying and

addressing customer trends and problems after they occur.
a.
b.
c.
d.

consumer development
competitive development
reactive customer monitoring
prolific customer monitoring

10.

The ________ approach to advocacy is a tactic in which an advocacy group

actively tries to convince consumers to not purchase a companys product or
service.
a.
b.
c.
d.

11.

Which of the following is not a component of organizational culture?

a.
b.
c.
d.

12.

personal aggression.
production deviance.
property deviance.
political deviance.

The two general categories of stakeholders are ________ stakeholders and

________ stakeholders.
a.
b.
c.
d.

15.

buy new pictures and furniture

do not encourage employee behaviour change.
non-discriminate selection of job applicants
none of the above

Spreading rumours about co-workers is an example of

a.
b.
c.
d.

14.

values
beliefs
strategy
attitudes

Which of the following is a recommended strategy for changing organizational

culture?
a.
b.
c.
d.

13.

customer reactive
supplier reactive
media development
product boycott

primary; secondary
profit; non-profit
business; nonbusiness
relevant; irrelevant

Which of the following is not an example of a secondary stakeholder?

a.
b.
c.
d.

advocacy groups
newspapers
television stations
employees

16.

The term ________ refers to choosing a goal and developing a method or strategy
to achieve that goal.
a.
b.
c.
d.

17.

Which management theorist would most likely have said, The success of
an enterprise generally depends much more on the administrative ability of
its leaders than on their technical ability?
a.
b.
c.
d.

18.

specific
smart
active
thematic

What is the term for a nontax method of increasing the cost or reducing
the volume of imported goods?
a.
b.
c.
d.

20.

Henri Fayol
Mary Parker Follett
Max Weber
Lillian Gilbreth

Which of the following is one of the characteristics of S.M.A.R.T. goals?

a.
b.
c.
d.

19.

goal-setting
planning
strategizing
benchmarking

tariff
nontariff barrier
trade roadblock
risk-aversive boycott

According to the steps in the process of management by objectives,

managers and employees should do all of the following, except which
one?
a.
b.
c.
d.

jointly discuss possible goals

participatively select goals
change the corporate mission
meet regularly to review progress toward goal accomplishment

21.

The types of operational plans include

a.
b.
c.
d.

22.

Budgets are an example of ________ planning.

a.
b.
c.
d.

23.

identify decision criteria.

frame the problem.
define the problem.
generate alternative courses of action.

The term ________ refers to a process in which each decision criterion is

compared to a standard or ranked on its own merits.
a.
b.
c.
d.

26.

intuitive process
defining problems
evaluating alternatives
choosing optimal solutions

The first step in the rational decision-making process is to

a.
b.
c.
d.

25.

strategic
tactical
operational
single-use

Which of the following is not part of the definition of rational decision making?
a.
b.
c.
d.

24.

special plans.
product development plans.
binary plans.
none of the above are examples of operational plans

absolute comparisons
duplicate comparisons
exclusive rule
maximum threshold rule

The three basic control methods include

a.
b.
c.
d.

feedforward control.
feedback control.
concurrent control.
all of the above

27.

Which of the following would not be considered a resource for a company?

a.
b.
c.
d.

28.

In addition to their employees, where else must organizations have variety in order to
achieve diversity?
a.
b.
c.
d.

29.

in regulatory agencies inspectors

in their customers
in their external environments
in their shareholders/investors

When it is difficult to create good measures of worker behaviour and output, and
workers are intrinsically motivated to do their jobs well and have self-leadership
skills, then it is probably appropriate to use ________ control.
a.
b.
c.
d.

30.

capital
company debt
work space
employee skills

bureaucratic
normalcy
team
self

In using the balanced scorecard approach to control, which of the following

would be an example of a goal from the innovation and learning perspective?
a.
b.
c.
d.

survive
profit ratios
debt ratios
time to market

Section 2: Written Response Questions

1. Identify the four different kinds of managers, and list at least one of the basic
responsibilities for each of these four different types.
2. Identify and briefly describe the four areas of corporate social responsibility that are
most relevant to stakeholders.
3. List and briefly describe the three kinds of operational plans.

Answer Key for Sample Midterm Examination Questions

Section 1: Multiple Choice Questions
1. B
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. A
6. D
7. C
8. A
9. C
10. D
11. C
12. D
13. D
14. A
15. D
16. B
17. A
18. A
19. B
20. C
21. D
22. C
23. A
24. C
25. A
26. D
27. B
28. B
29. D
30. D

Section 2: Written Response Questions

1. There are four different kinds of managers. Top managers are responsible for creating

a context for change, developing attitudes of commitment and ownership, creating a

positive organizational culture through words and actions, and monitoring their
company's business environments. Middle managers are responsible for planning and
allocating resources, coordinating and linking groups and departments, monitoring
and managing the performance of subunits and managers, and implementing the
changes or strategies generated by top managers. First-line managers are responsible
for managing the performance of nonmanagerial employees, teaching direct reports
how to do their jobs, and making detailed schedules and operating plans based on
middle management's intermediate-range plans. Team leaders are responsible for
facilitating team performance, managing external relationships, and facilitating
internal team relationships.
2. Companies can best benefit their stakeholders by fulfilling their economic, legal,

ethical, and discretionary responsibilities. Being profitable, or meeting one's

economic responsibility, is a business's most basic social responsibility. Legal
responsibility consists of following a society's laws and regulations. Ethical
responsibility means not violating accepted principles of right and wrong when doing
business. Because different stakeholders may disagree about what is or is not ethical,
meeting ethical responsibilities is more difficult than meeting economic or legal
responsibilities. Discretionary responsibilities are social responsibilities beyond basic
economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities. Companies will not be considered
unethical if they do not perform these.
3. The three kinds of operational plans are: (a) single-use plans, which cover unique,

one-time-only events; (b) standing plans, which save managers time, because they are
created once and then used repeatedly to handle frequently recurring events; and (c)
budgets, which are quantitative plans through which managers decide how to allocate
available money to best accomplish company goals.