BUSİNESS MANAGEMENT

Social forces refer to macro factors within social, cultural, and historical context. All these macro factors have a direct impact on organizations. Values, attitudes, beliefs, and all requirements of the people within the society in which the organization operates can be considered as the elements of social forces. Furthermore, social forces are important for the organizations since they regulate the relations between individuals in a society. The answer is A.

Managerial practices can be traced throughout the history of humankind. The oldest known practices date back to 8,000-3,000 BCE. The extant ancient Sumerian documents contain commercial records and they also prove that the Sumerians used these records to manage information as we do today. Similarly, construction of the pyramids in Egypt required effective execution of all management functions. The answer is B.

The classical period extended from the midst of the 19th century through the early 1950s. The classical management theory involves several approaches: systematic management, scientific management, bureaucracy, and general administrative management. The answer is D.

The roots of the scientific management approach can be traced back to the early 20th century. Increasing number of factories and growing industries led to the emergence of important managerial problems. Productivity was the major issue brought about by the industrialization. The answer is C.

Henri Fayol (1841-1925) was the leading name in the general administrative management approach. Fayol played an important role in the history of management thought. He identified five managerial functions namely, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. According to Fayol, there are six activities directly involved with industrial projects.

1. Technical: Activities related to production,

2. Commercial: Activities related to buying, selling, and exchange,

3. Financial: Activities related to search for, and optimum use of capital,

4. Security: Activities related to securing property and individuals,

5. Accounting: Activities related to quantitative/statistical analysis,

6. Managerial: Activities related to planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling.

The answer is B.

Bureaucracy approach was introduced by the German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920). Although Weber lived and worked at the same time as Fayol and Taylor, his contributions to the management thought were not recognized until some years had passed. Weber’s most important work was not translated into English until 1947. Weber’s ideal bureaucracy laid the foundations for contemporary organization theory. Bureaucracy refers to a rational set of principles for structuring organization in the most effective and efficient manner. Weber identified the basic principles of his theory of ideal bureaucracy as well as the advantages of these principles for the organization. The answer is E.

The Hawthorne studies revealed the significance of psychological and social factors in the workplace. Findings of the Hawthorne studies had a major impact on the management studies. The answer is D.

Formation of operations research teams to solve sophisticated military problems during the World War II and their solutions to these problems paved the way for the quantitative approach to management after the war. The quantitative approach to management refers to a perspective on management that emphasizes use of a group of methods in managerial decision making, based on the scientific method. Today, quantitative approach is mainly represented by management science and operations research. Statistics, linear programming, network analysis, decision trees, and computer simulations are among the quantitative tools and methods adopted by the quantitative management approach. Decisions regarding inventory control, plant-site locations, quality control, and many other decisions require objective information. Quantitative tools and methods can be used effectively in making such decisions. The answer is A.

A system basically refers to a structure of interrelated parts. Systems transform inputs into outputs to achieve specific goals. All open systems have five main aspects: inputs, transforming process, outputs, environment, and feedback. From the organizational standpoint, raw materials, human resources, financial resources, and information resources are a few examples of inputs. These inputs are used by the organization to produce outputs (products and services). The answer is C.

Entropy is a common quality of both open and closed systems. Entropy refers to the system’s tendency
to go into a decline and die. No system is capable of stopping entropy. In other words, entropy can be slowed down but can never be stopped completely. Organizations are open systems and managers strive to resist entropy by establishing an effective and efficient management system. All attempts and efforts to slow entropy down are known as negative entropy. Negative entropy is very important for business survival. The answer is B.

Organizations and their practices are shaped by social, political, economic and technological forces. For this reason, the correct answer is D.

Unemployment rates, fiscal policies and legislations, inflation rates, interest rates, and general economic conditions such as crises, stagnation, and recession are among the major economic factors. Legal and political issues are the main political forces that affect organizations. For this reason, the correct answer is C.

Henri Fayol identified five managerial functions namely; planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. For this reason, the correct answer is E.

Weber identified the basic principles of his theory of ideal bureaucracy. Division of labor, authority of hierarchy, formal selection, career orientation, formal framework of rules and impersonality are the main principles of Weber’s ideal bureaucracy. Social and psychological factors considered in the Hawthorne studies. For this reason, the correct answer is C.

Behavioral management theory focused on how managers should behave to motivate employees, encourage them to perform better, and improve their loyalty to the organization and its goals. For this reason, the correct answer is A.

Behavioral management theory focused on how managers should behave to motivate employees, encourage them to perform better, and improve their loyalty to the organization and its goals. Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933) was the leading name in the behavioral management theory. For this reason, the correct answer is D.

The Hawthorne studies were conducted from 1924 to 1932 at the Western Electric Company in Chicago led by Elton Mayo, a scholar from Harvard Business School. For this reason, the correct answer is A.

McGregor’s theory was based on two opposing views. He called the negative set of employee behaviors and attitudes as Theory X and positive ones as Theory Y. Theory Y assumes that employees are willing to work and have the skills to direct themselves. Besides, they are willing to take responsibilities and initiatives. According to Theory Y, employees prefer to have control over their jobs rather than controlled by the managers. They are self-motivated and creative. Theory Y requires a more democratic and participative management approach. For this reason, the correct answer is D.

Synergy basically means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. For this reason, the correct answer is E.

In contrast to the classical management theory’s search for the best way to solve organizational problems, the contingency approach rejects the idea that there is a best way or a solution for all organizational problems. According to the contingency approach, managerial practices are shaped by contingent and situational circumstances. For this reason, the correct answer is C.