Fundamentals of Management 2e

How to make the most of SELF-TESTS

Reasons for completing Self Tests

Self-tests are important for three reasons:

1 The study of management is fairly cumulative. If you do not master an early topic you will
later ones more difficult. Make sure that this does not happen. Check your mastery of each
topic as it is completed.
2 There is good psychology which emphasises ‘over-learning’. Do not stop immediately you
have mastered something: continue working on the same material for a little time.
Material that is over-learned is much less likely to be forgotten. Completing self-tests is a
good way of over-learning.
3 If you leave all your revision until the end, there is the danger you will run out of time. It is
much better to do some revision as you go along. Further, if you encounter a problem
later-on, there may not be time to find help.

Why Recall Self-Tests are better

Many textbooks provide self-tests in the form of multiple choice questions. This text takes a
different approach and gives open ended questions. This is based upon basic psychological
principles. Psychologists usually divide measures of long term memory into three types:
residual memory, recognition and recall.

 Residual memory (sometimes called savings) is the weakest measure of long-term

memory. It consists of weak, subconscious, memory traces that have little use except
when you need to relearn something. For example, if you need to resit a course you may
feel that you cannot remember anything. But, it may take you only five hours to study the
material that required 10 hours study the first time around: i.e. your residual memory was
worth five hours effort.

 Recognition is useful but still poor. It allows you to recognise information and choose the
correct alternative. Multiple choice tests measure this kind of memory. They are popular
because they are very easy to score. They are justified for student assessment but they do
little to help learning. Because they are quick and easy, multiple-choice tests do little to
further enhance or consolidate learning. Many students like multiple-choice tests because
they require relatively little effort and it is possible to guess the correct answer from the
context or subtle cues in the question. Further, many multiple choice questions only test
relatively simple and straightforward ideas. Often, multiple choice questions may give you a
false sense of security by over-stating your learning.

 Recall is the best form of memory. You have to consider a question and then retrieve the
 relevant information from your brain. It is much more difficult than recognition but it is
better. In realistic situations and exams you will need to retrieve information that is
complex and where there are few subtle but irrelevant cues to help. The extra effort in
retrieving knowledge helps to consolidate and advance learning. Good recall helps
situations where you need to recognise the right answer in multiple choice questions. But,
contrary-wise, the recognition involved in multiple choice questions has limited value when
writing essay in exams, contributing to tutorials or dealing with practical management
situations.

Recall questions are hated by weaker students who may give inappropriate replies to
questions such as:
- What is a nitrate? ... lower than the day-rate
- Where did Hadrian build his wall? ... around his garden
- Where did the Americans sign the Declaration of Independence? ... at the bottom

Using Fundamentals of Management Self-Tests

Fundamentals of Management 2e believes the benefits of recall far outweigh the extra effort it
requires because format that makes you retrieve information from your memory. Use the self-
tests in four stages:

1. Download the questions and print them out

2. Write your answers in the space provided using a coloured pen
3. Download the answers and score your efforts. Your answer can be in different words but it
must contain the same basic ideas. Don't cheat. Be honest. If in doubt count your answer
as incorrect.
4. Sum the number of correct answers and calculate a percentage based on the relevant
number of questions.

Evaluating your results on the Self-tests

Interpret the percentage of your first attempt as follows:

70%+ superb: Good work - the format is challenging and you did very well. But do not
rest on your laurels. Examine, but do not fret about the answers to
questions you had ‘wrong’. There is the strong possibility some ‘correct
answers’ were oversimplifications or made assumptions that were too
strict for you.
60-69% very good: You did well and you should be happy if your score is in the higher 60s
and you should still aim to be superb. You clearly have a very good grasp
of the main facts of management.
50-59% good: This is the level that most students will be expected to obtain. You should
be quietly happy but not complacent. If you encounter bad luck in an
exam you could be disappointed. Look for patterns and explanations in
 aspects where you did not do too well and try to improve in these areas.
It may be that you are OK with straightforward facts but are less happy
with indirect issues. If this is the case, try to think more widely and
imaginatively. Avoid pooh-poohing sections of lectures or the text that do
not seem to have immediate relevance.
45-49% OK: No need to panic. With extra revision you should do better for important
assessments. You should not be disappointed if English is not your first
language: your scores will improve. However, do not ignore an important
signal. Make sure you attend all lectures and seminars and spend extra
time studying the text. Ask for clarification if there is something unclear –
other students will be unclear too and be grateful you take the initiative.
40-44% worrying: If this has happened with 3 or more self-tests, there are clear problems.
Confront them and do not attempt to rationalise them away. You are in
danger of failing and wasting a summer of your life doing resits. Are you
taking things seriously? Is your attendance adequate? Are you doing
enough hours studying your notes and the text? Do you have too many
commitments? Are some of your commitments too demanding and
emotional? Do not keep major problems to yourself. Seek help before it
is too late.
Under 39%: dire: If this has happened with 3 or more self-tests there are big problems.
They will be similar but bigger and more acute than those in the previous
category – or you are playing some dangerous game. Seek immediate
help.

If your score is less than 67% and you would like to do better proceed as follows:

5. For each incorrect answer, re-read the relevant pages of the chapter or the relevant section
of your lecture notes
6. Return to your original attempts and write a new answer using a pen with a different colour
7. Rescore your second attempt and reinterpret it

If your second attempt yields a score less than 67%, discuss your answer with another student
(or use the course e-discussion site) and make a third attempt. If your total score is still less
than 67%, make a tactful contact with your seminar leader or lecturer. The easiest way to do
this is to send an e-mail or use an e-mail or course discussion site - perhaps explaining that you
will contact them at an appropriate moment of the next lecture or seminar. Every lecturer and
seminar leader I have known welcomes such queries. They know it is virtually certain you are
one of their braver students and that many others are having similar problems but do not have
the wit to make the admission. It gives them an important opportunity to give a further
explanation. Be in no doubt, they will thank you for information that allows them to improve
their explanation next year.

Good Luck with the self-tests - Mike Smith