Question 1 Spreading employee schedules over a longer day makes it easier for su

Question

Question 1



Spreading employee schedules over a longer day makes it easier for supervisors to manage their employees.
True
False

5 points
Question 2


Cultural diversity exists when two or more cultures exist within an organization
True
False

5 points
Question 3


When supervisors delegate duties, they are no longer accountable for how they are executed
True
False

5 points
Question 4


Six sigma approaches to quality improvement rely on statistical techniques, simulations, and experiments to decrease variation in output and eliminate waste.
True
False

5 points
Question 5


Decentralization empowers employees to act quickly to solve customers’ problems
True
False

5 points
Question 6


Improper timing can be a barrier to communication if the receiver is upset, agitated, or improperly prepared to communicate.
True
False

5 points
Question 7


Offshoring is primarily a trend in manufacturing because it is more difficult to find appropriate foreign workers in service functions such as computer programming, data entry, claims processing, and call center work.
True
False

5 points
Question 8



Homogeneous assignment is a control principle.
True
False

5 points
Question 9


Management is both a set of activities and a team of people.
True
False

5 points
Question 10



Accepting a delegated task makes you accountable for it.
True
False

5 points
Question 11


Where an MIS exists, supervisors have the primary responsibility to make certain that it serves their needs.
True
False

5 points
Question 12


Informational meetings promote cooperation among group members by conveying the reasons behind changes that will be necessary in the future.
True
False

5 points
Question 13


Programming a computer is an example of a technical skill.
True
False

5 points
Question 14


Management by exception is an organizing principle
True
False

5 points
Question 15


Assigning tasks to subordinates may be limited by their existing job description and links to pay scales.
True
False

5 points
Question 16


The first step in decision making is to list restraints
True
False

5 points
Question 17



The control process is completed when deviations are detected.
True
False

5 points
Question 18



The act of delegating a task creates a duality of both responsibility and accountability regarding its execution.
True
False

5 points
Question 19


One way to help you prepare written messages is to outline their content before you write them.
True
False

5 points
Question 20


Delicate subjects, such as reprimands, are best handled through written communication.
True
False

Explanation / Answer

In what union leaders say is becoming a national fight, protests against legislation to restrict public employees’ collective-bargaining rights spread from Wisconsin to Ohio. In Madison, Wisconsin, crowds that police estimated at 25,000 engulfed the Capitol and its lawns yesterday during a third-straight day of protests as Democratic senators fled the legislative session. In Columbus, Ohio, about 3,800 state workers, teachers and other public employees came to the statehouse for a committee hearing. President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohioan, argued over whether the bills are “an assault on unions.” Ohio firefighters Dave Hefflinger and Jerry Greer said they were. They stood near hundreds of workers elbow-to-elbow in the statehouse atrium and listened to a Senate hearing through speakers. Chants of “Kill the bill” echoed. “We’re here to support our brothers and sisters,” Hefflinger, a 27-year veteran, said in an interview. “They’re trying to take away what we fought for all of these years.” Hefflinger, 49, and Greer, 39, members of the department in Findlay, Ohio, drove two hours south to protest the bill. The measure would eliminate collective bargaining for state workers, prevent local-government employees from negotiating for health insurance and replace salary schedules with merit pay. With states facing deficits that may reach a combined $125 billion next year, Republican governors including Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, Ohio’s John Kasich and New Jersey’s Chris Christie are targeting changes in rules for collective bargaining and worker contributions for health-care coverage and pensions. Wisconsin Walkouts In Wisconsin, Walker championed a bill that would make public workers bargain only for wages and require them to pay 5.8 percent of their pension costs; they pay nothing now. They would have to foot 12 percent of their health-care premiums, up from 6 percent. Police and firefighters wouldn’t be covered by the measure. Fourteen Democratic senators disappeared from the Capitol yesterday, just as the Senate was about to begin debating, according to the Associated Press. Their flight brought the debate to a swift halt by denying the chamber a quorum, the news agency said. ‘Don’t Blink’ Yesterday, University of Wisconsin-Madison students walked out of classes at the urging of student government and campus newspapers and marched to the Capitol, about a mile away. There, they joined protesters who filled the rotunda to chant, bang drums and sing, and spilled outside. In a telephone interview Feb. 15, Walker said he spoke with Kasich about the demonstrations. When asked for advice, Walker said, “Don’t blink.” The White House’s political operation, Organizing for America, helped to build crowds using social media, the Washington Post reported today, citing an unidentified Democratic Party official. Obama himself spoke to Milwaukee television station WTMJ. “Some of what I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they’re just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions,” the president said. Boehner, a Republican from a Cincinnati suburb, responded with a statement saying he was “disappointed” that Obama criticized Walker. DMAIC six sigma approach. The six sigma approach for projects is DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control). These steps are the most common six sigma approach to project work. Some organizations omit the D in DMAIC because it is really management work. With the D dropped from DMAIC the Black Belt is charged with MAIC only in that six sigma approach. We believe define is too important be left out and sometimes management does not do an adequate job of defining a project. Our six sigma approach is the full DMAIC. Define (DMAIC). Define is the first step in our six sigma approach of DMAIC. DMAIC first asks leaders to define our core processes. It is important to define the selected project scope, expectations, resources and timelines. The definition step in the six sigma approach identifies specifically what is part of the project and what is not, and explains the scope of the project. Many times the first passes at process documentation are at a general level. Additional work is often required to adequately understand and correctly document the processes. As the saying goes “The devil is in the details.” Measure (DMAIC). Many think when they start a journey the most important thing to know is where they are going. While we agree knowing where you want to go is very important, we believe some of the first information you need before starting any journey is your current location. The six sigma approach asks the Black Belt project manager to quantify and benchmark the process using actual data. At a minimum consider the mean or average performance and some estimate of the dispersion or variation (maybe even calculate the standard deviation). Trends and cycles can also be very revealing. The two data points and extrapolate to infinity is not a six sigma approach. Process capabilities can be calculated once there is performance data, Analyze (DMAIC). Once the project is understood and the baseline performance documented and verified that there is real opportunity, it is time with the six sigma approach to do an analysis of the process. In this step, the six sigma approach applies statistical tools to validate root causes of problems. Any number of tools and tests can be used. The objective is to understand the process at a level sufficient to be able to formulate options for improvement. We should be able to compare the various options with each other to determine the most promising alternatives. As with many activities, balance must be achieved. Superficial analysis and understanding will lead to unproductive options being selected, forcing recycle through the process to make improvements. At the other extreme is the paralysis of analysis. Striking the appropriate balance is what makes the six sigma Black Belt highly valuable. Improve (DMAIC). During the improve step of the six sigma approach ideas and solutions are put to work. The six sigma Black Belt has discovered and validated all known root causes for the existing opportunity. The six sigma approach requires Black Belts to identify solutions. Few ideas or opportunities are so good that all are an instant success. As part of the six sigma approach there must be checks to assure that the desired results are being achieved. Some experiments and trials may be required in order to find the best solution. When making trials and experiments it is important that all project associates understand that these are trials and really are part of the six sigma approach. Control (DMAIC) Many people believe the best performance you can ever get from a process is at the very beginning. Over time there is an expectancy that slowly things will get a little worse until finally it is time for another major effort towards improvement. Contrasted with this is the Kaizen approach that seeks to make everything incrementally better on a continuous basis. The sum of all these incremental improvements can be quite large. As part of the six sigma approach performance tracking mechanisms and measurements are in place to assure, at a minimum, that the gains made in the project are not lost over a period of time. As part of the control step we encourage sharing with others in the organization. With this the six sigma approach really starts to create phenomenal returns, ideas and projects in one part of the organization are translated in a very rapid fashion to implementation in another part of the organization.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse Q
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.