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Supervision Concepts and

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Chapter 06 Test Bank KEY
1. _____ is the management function of setting goals and determining how to meet them.
A. Organizing
B. Controlling
C Planning
D. Evaluating
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Planning is the management function of setting goals and determining how to
meet them. The other functions managers perform—organizing, staffing, leading, and
controlling—all depend on good planning.

2. _____ are objectives with a broad focus.


A. Goals
B. Norms
C. Requirements
D. Targets
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Goals are objectives with a broad focus. Planning centers on the setting of
goals and objectives.

3. Which of the following statements is true of planning?


A. Planning should begin at the bottom, with a plan for each department.
B. Planning centers on the setting of goals and objectives.
C. Planning is the function of ensuring that work goes according to a strategy.
D. Planning done by top managers is called operational planning.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Planning centers on the setting of goals and objectives. Planning should begin
at the top, with a plan for the organization as a whole.
4. Which of the following is the management function upon which all the other functions
depend?
A. Staffing
B. Controlling
C. Planning
D. Organizing
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Planning is the management function upon which all the other functions
depend. It involves setting goals and determining how to meet them.

5. _____ specify the desired accomplishments of an organization as a whole or of a part


of it.
A. Traditions
B. Objectives
C. Code of ethics
D. Norms
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Objectives specify the desired accomplishments of the organization as a whole


or of a part of it. According to one school of thought, goals are objectives with a broad
focus.

6. Strategic planning is best defined as the process of:


A. creating long-term goals for the organization as a whole.
B. developing objectives that specify how each department will support organizational
goals.
C. planning what to do if the original plans or objectives set by an organization don't
work out.
D. accurately linking operational planning with financial planning.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations
Feedback: Strategic planning is the creation of long-term goals for an organization. These
goals typically include the type and quality of goods or services the organization is to
provide and, for a business, the level of profits it is to earn.

7. Fusion Inc., a clothing manufacturer, has recently become very successful. The top
management is now planning to venture into the confectionary business and earn similar
profits in this new business. This is an example of _____ planning.
A. operational
B. strategic
C. contingency
D. integrated operational
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: The type of planning in the scenario exemplifies strategic planning. Strategic
planning is the creation of long-term goals for an organization. These goals typically
include the type and quality of goods or services the organization is to provide and, for a
business, the level of profits it is to earn.

8. Operational planning is best defined as the process of:


A. creating long-term goals for the organization or company as a whole.
B. developing objectives that specify how each department will support organizational
goals.
C. planning what to do if the original plans or objectives set by an organization don't
work out.
D. accurately linking operational planning with financial planning.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Operational planning is defined as the development of objectives that specify


how divisions, departments, and work groups will support organizational goals.
Operational planning is performed by middle managers and supervisors.

9. Operational planning differs from strategic planning in that:


A. it is performed by middle managers.
B. it focuses on long-term goals.
C. it involves setting objectives for an organization as a whole.
D. it involves a planning department.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Operational planning is performed by middle managers and supervisors.


Middle managers set objectives that will enable their division or department to contribute
to the goals set for the organization.

10. Which of the following is a defining characteristic of strategic planning?


A. It is typically performed by middle managers and supervisors.
B. It lays down objectives for specific departments and not for the entire firm.
C. It covers a comparatively large time span that is usually over a year.
D. It is primarily aimed at making employees focus on their role in supporting the
company's goals.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Strategic planning covers a comparatively large time span that is usually over
a year. Usually it is top managers who engage in strategic planning.

11. Operational planning is performed by the:


A. top management and the board of directors.
B. top and the middle management.
C. middle management and the supervisors.
D. supervisors and the board of directors.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Operational planning is performed by middle managers and supervisors. The


objectives developed through operational planning specify how the group will help the
organization achieve its goals.

12. Which of the following is a defining characteristic of operational planning?


A. Operational planning is ideally done by the CEO and other top managers.
B. The scope of operational planning includes stating objectives for the organization as a
whole.
C. Typically, operational planning is done when the original plan fails to materialize.
D. Operational planning is usually short-term with a time frame of one year or less.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Operational planning is usually short-term with a time frame of one year or
less. It is performed by middle managers and supervisors.

13. An effective objective must be _____.


A. broad
B. clear
C. rigid
D. discreet
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: An effective objective must be clear. For objectives to be effective, they


should be written, measurable or observable, clear, specific, and challenging but
achievable.

14. For objectives to be effective, they should be:


A. written, measurable, clear, specific, and challenging but achievable.
B. simple, distinctive, rational, assessable, and easily achievable.
C. specific, acceptable, generalizable, innovative, and extremely challenging.
D. unique, understandable, logical, observable, and simple yet significant.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: For objectives to be effective, they should be written, measurable or


observable, clear, specific, and challenging but achievable.

15. Policies are best defined as:


A. broad guidelines for how to act.
B. the steps that must be completed to achieve a specific purpose.
C. specific statements of what to do or not to do in a given situation.
D. objectives with a narrow focus.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Policies are broad guidelines for how to act; they do not spell out the details of
how to handle a specific situation.

16. Procedures are best defined as:


A. the principles by which people distinguish what is morally right.
B. the steps that must be completed to achieve a specific purpose.
C. specific statements of what to do or not to do in a given situation.
D. objectives with a comparatively narrow focus.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Procedures are the steps that must be completed to achieve a specific purpose.
An organization might specify procedures for hiring employees, purchasing equipment,
filing paperwork, and many other activities.

17. At Value Inc., there are specific steps to be followed when applying for a day off.
First, an employee has to apply to his or her immediate supervisors. After getting their
approval, he or she has to get it signed by the branch manager. Then a copy of the leave
application has to be submitted to the HR department. These mandatory steps are referred
to as _____.
A. policies
B. ethics
C. procedures
D. goals
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: The mandatory steps described in the scenario are referred to as procedures.
Procedures are the steps that must be completed to achieve a specific purpose. An
organization might specify procedures for hiring employees, purchasing equipment, filing
paperwork, and many other activities.

18. Which of the following is true of procedures?


A. They are broad guidelines for how to act that are flexible and open to interpretation.
B. They free managers from making decisions about activities they carry out repeatedly.
C. They are specific statements that serve as the basis for action plans and contingency
plans.
D. They do not spell out the steps that must be completed to achieve a specific purpose.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Procedures free managers from making decisions about activities they carry
out repeatedly. Procedures are the steps that must be completed to achieve a specific
purpose.

19. Rules are best defined as:


A. the principles by which people distinguish what is morally right.
B. the steps that must be completed to achieve a specific purpose.
C. specific statements of what to do or not to do in a given situation.
D. objectives with a comparatively narrow focus.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Rules are specific statements of what to do or not do in a given situation.


Unlike policies, they are neither flexible nor open to interpretation.

20. The difference between a policy and a rule is that:


A. a policy is rigid, but a rule is comparatively flexible.
B. a policy does not specify details of how to handle a specific situation, but rules are
very specific.
C. a policy is related to operational planning and has a narrower scope compared to a
rule.
D. a policy is not open to interpretation like a rule.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: The difference between a policy and a rule is that a policy does not specify
details of how to handle a specific situation but rules are very specific. Unlike policies,
rules are neither flexible nor open to interpretation.

21. At Ecstasy Café, it is mandatory for employees to wash their hands before handling
food. This is an appropriate example of a:
A. plan.
B. rule.
C. code.
D. procedure.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: The Café requiring employees to wash their hands before handling food is an
example of a rule. Rules are specific statements of what to do or not do in a given
situation.

22. An action plan is best defined as the plan:


A. for how to achieve an objective.
B. that is a back-up for the original plan.
C. that is specifically concerned with the formulation of budget.
D. for setting a mission statement.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: An action plan is a plan for how to achieve an objective. Objectives serve as
the basis for action plans.

23. Which of the following refers to contingency planning?


A. Planning that is specifically concerned with the formulation of a company's budget
B. Planning that is concerned with what to do if the original plans don't work out
C. Planning that is primarily concerned with setting a mission statement
D. Planning that is primarily concerned with dealing effectively with whistle-blowers
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Planning what to do if the original plans do not work out is known as
contingency planning. A wise supervisor has contingency plans to go with every original
plan.

24. Which of the following is true of contingency planning?


A. It is a formal plan for how to achieve an objective.
B. The supervisor creates a contingency plan by answering the questions what, who,
when, where, and how.
C. It is too time-consuming to create a written contingency plan for every detail of
operations.
D. Contingency plans are the original plans developed by the top managers for the
organization as a whole.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: It would be too time-consuming to create a written contingency plan for every
detail of operations. Contingency planning is not always formal.

25. Which of the following is true of action plans?


A. They are the original plans developed by the top managers for the organization as a
whole.
B. They are created by answering the questions what, who, when, where, and how.
C. They are plans implemented when the original plans do not work out.
D. They cannot be used as a tool to meet desired organizational objectives.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: They are created by answering the questions what, who, when, where, and
how. An action plan is a plan for how to achieve an objective.

26. If objectives are thought of as statements of where one wants to go, then a(n) _____
plan is a map that tells them how to get there.
A. operational
B. strategic
C. contingency
D. action
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: If objectives are thought of as statements of where one wants to go, then an
action plan is a map that tells how to get there. An action plan is a plan for how to
achieve an objective.
27. _____ is a process in which managers and employees at all levels set objectives for
what they are to accomplish.
A. Objectives management
B. Strategic objectives managing
C. Program evaluation and review technique
D. Management by objectives
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-03: Define management by objectives (MBO) and discuss its use.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: Management by objectives (MBO) is a process in which managers and


employees at all levels set objectives for what they are to accomplish. Their performance
then is measured against those objectives.

28. For the effective use of management by objectives, _____.


A. managers at all levels must be committed to the system
B. the objectives set should be general and immeasurable
C. employees should be excluded from the process
D. the goals must be set solely by top management
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03: Define management by objectives (MBO) and discuss its use.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: For the effective use of MBO, managers at all levels (especially top
management) must be committed to the system. Also, the objectives they set must meet
the criteria for effective objectives described previously.

29. Why do some people dislike management by objectives?


A. It is not possible for managers to periodically review an individual’s performance to
see whether he or she is meeting the objectives.
B. Employees do not benefit from a system of rewards that is based on personality rather
than on performance.
C. Setting and monitoring the achievement of objectives can be time-consuming and
requires a lot of paperwork.
D. When employees are involved in the process of setting goals, it results in lesser
commitment toward achieving those goals.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03: Define management by objectives (MBO) and discuss its use.
Topic: Planning in Organizations
Feedback: Some people dislike MBO because setting and monitoring the achievement of
objectives can be time-consuming and requires a lot of paperwork. However, the
organization can benefit from involving employees in setting goals, which may lead to
greater commitment in achieving them.

30. Which of the following is true about management by objectives?


A. All individuals in the organization work with their managers to set objectives.
B. The managers dictate the objectives to the employees.
C. It is an informal system of setting objectives.
D. Setting and monitoring the achievement of objectives does not require paperwork.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03: Define management by objectives (MBO) and discuss its use.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: In management by objectives, all individuals in the organization work with


their managers to set objectives, specifying what they are to do in the next operating
period (such as a year).

31. A(n) _____ is defined as a plan for spending money.


A. budget
B. contingency plan
C. schedule
D. action plan
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: A budget is defined as a plan for spending money. The process of allocating
money resources is called budgeting.

32. In the context of budgeting, big-ticket items such as machinery or a new building
would most likely be part of a(n) _____ budget.
A. central
B. capital
C. divisional
D. operating
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner
Feedback: In the context of budgeting, big-ticket items such as machinery or a new
building would most likely be part of a capital budget. A budget is a plan for spending
money.

33. Which of the following is most likely to be included as part of an operating budget?
A. Insurance
B. New plant
C. New building
D. Machinery
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: Insurance is most likely to be included as part of an operating budget. Big-


ticket items such as machinery or a new building would more likely be accounted for
separately as part of a capital budget.

34. Budgeting is best defined as the process of:


A. allocating money resources.
B. formulating an agenda.
C. making a contingency plan.
D. reducing bunker hedging.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: The process of allocating money resources is called budgeting. A budget is a


plan for spending money.

35. Fred, a supervisor at JK Inc., is drafting a report on his department's estimated


expenses for the coming fiscal year and the precise allocation of available capital to areas
such as rent, employee wages, and insurance. Fred is most likely formulating a(n) _____.
A. strategic plan
B. contingency plan
C. strategic budget
D. operating budget
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Apply
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: Planning in Organizations
Feedback:
36. Which of the following is most likely to be included as part of a capital budget?
A. Amount to be spent on wages
B. Amount to be spent on rent
C. Amount to be spent on insurance
D. Amount to be spent on heavy machinery
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: In the scenario, Fred is most likely formulating an operating budget.


Businesses use operating budgets to break down how much to spend on items such as
wages and salaries, rent, supplies, insurance, and so on.

37. In context of a supervisor's role as a planner, setting a precise timetable for the work
to be done is known as:
A. . scheduling.
B. capital budgeting.
C. strategic planning.
D. evaluating.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: Setting a precise timetable for the work to be done is known as scheduling.
This process includes deciding which activities will take priority over others and deciding
who will do what tasks and when.

38. _____ includes deciding which activities will take priority over others and deciding
who will do what tasks and when.
A. Budgeting
B. Allocating
C. Scheduling
D. Controlling
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner
Feedback: Scheduling includes deciding which activities will take priority over others
and deciding who will do what tasks and when. Setting a precise timetable for the work
to be done is known as scheduling.

39. Two of the most widely used techniques for scheduling are:
A. Supnick matrix and flow network.
B. Gantt charts and PERT networks.
C. directed graphs and matrices.
D. graph algorithms and spectral layout.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: Two of the most widely used techniques for scheduling are Gantt charts and
PERT networks. Many organizations expect supervisors to use one or more of the
techniques and tools that have been developed to help with scheduling.

40. A _____ is a scheduling tool that lists the activities to be completed and uses
horizontal bars to graph how long each activity will take, including its starting and ending
dates.
A. scatter graph
B. run chart
C. stem plot
D. Gantt chart
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: A Gantt chart is a scheduling tool that lists the activities to be completed and
uses horizontal bars to graph how long each activity will take, including its starting and
ending dates. One of the most widely used techniques for scheduling is Gantt charts.

41. A scheduling tool that most efficiently identifies the relationships among tasks as well
as the amount of time each task will take is called a:
A. Gantt chart.
B. PERT network.
C. planar map.
D. run chart.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: The program evaluation and review technique (PERT) is a scheduling tool that
identifies the relationships among tasks and the amount of time each task will take. To
use this tool, the planner creates a PERT network.

42. In the context of program evaluation and review technique (PERT), the sequence of
tasks that requires the greatest amount of time is referred to as the:
A. precautionary principle.
B. exception principle.
C. exaggerated agenda.
D. critical path.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: The sequence of tasks that will require the greatest amount of time is referred
to as the critical path. A delay in the critical path will cause the entire project to fall
behind.

43. In the program evaluation and review technique (PERT), a delay in the _____ will
cause the entire project to fall behind.
A. critical path
B. network
C. action plan
D. concurrent control
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: In the program evaluation and review technique (PERT), a delay in the critical
path will cause the entire project to fall behind. An important piece of information in a
PERT network is the critical path—the sequence of tasks that will require the greatest
amount of time.

44. To make sure that employees understand objectives and consider them achievable,
supervisors should _____.
A. set objectives that are general rather than specific.
B. involve the top managers in the goal-setting process.
C. set objectives that are easy rather than challenging.
D. involve the employees in the goal-setting process.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

Feedback: To make sure that employees understand objectives and consider them
achievable, supervisors may involve them in the goal-setting process. Employees who are
involved in the process tend to feel more committed to the objectives, and they may be
able to introduce ideas that the supervisor has not considered.

45. Controlling is best defined as the:


A. scheduling tool that identifies the relationships among tasks as well as the amount of
time each task will take.
B. management function of making sure that work goes according to plan.
C. process of planning what to do if the original plans don't work out.
D. process of developing objectives that specify how each department will support
organizational goals.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-05: Explain the purpose of using controls.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Controlling is best defined as the management function of making sure that
work goes according to plan. Supervisors carry out this process in many ways.

46. _____ is at the heart of the control function.


A. Implementation of plans
B. Detection of problems
C. Elimination of errors
D. Allocation of resources
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-05: Explain the purpose of using controls.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Detection of problems is at the heart of the control function. A supervisor has
a responsibility to correct problems as soon as possible, which means that some way to
detect problems quickly must be found.

47. Which of the following is the first step in the process of controlling?
A. Monitoring actual performance against set targets
B. Establishing performance standards
C. Estimating the fund required for efficient productivity
D. Providing feedback based on performance
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Establishing performance standards is the first step in the process of


controlling. Performance standards are a natural outgrowth of the planning process.

48. Which of the following is the next step after establishing performance standards in
the control process?
A. Monitoring performance
B. Fixing problems
C. Reinforcing successes
D. Providing feedback
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: The next step after establishing performance standards in the control process is
monitoring performance. One way to monitor performance is simply to record
information on paper or enter it into a computer, a task that can be done by the
supervisor, the employees, or both.

49. In the context of the process of controlling, standards are best defined as:
A. measures of what is expected.
B. principles by which people distinguish what is morally right.
C. results of performance evaluation.
D. objectives with a comparatively narrow focus.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Standards are best defined as measures of what is expected. Establishing


performance standards is the first step in the process of controlling.

50. To be effective, performance standards should be:


A. orally stated.
B. easy rather than challenging.
C. general rather than specific.
D. measurable.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: To be effective, performance standards should be measureable. They should


meet the criteria of effective objectives; that is, they should be written, measurable, clear,
specific, and challenging but achievable.

51. In the control process, _____ define the acceptable quantity and quality of work.
A. standards
B. controls
C. rules
D. policies
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: In the control process, standards define the acceptable quantity and quality of
work. Standards are measures of what is expected.

52. In the control process, the way supervisors set standards depends on their:
A. employer’s expectations.
B. beliefs and values.
C. personality characteristics.
D. employees’ experience.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: In the control process, the way supervisors set standards depends on their
experience, their employer’s expectations, and the nature of the work being monitored.

53. When setting performance standards, a supervisor must avoid:


A. communicating performance standards to employees.
B. being a slave to the past.
C. having very specific standards.
D. apparent and achievable standards.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: When setting performance standards, a supervisor must avoid being a slave to
the past. To be effective, performance standards should meet the criteria of effective
objectives; that is, they should be written, measurable, clear, specific, and challenging but
achievable.

54. apparent and achievable standards.


A. Monitoring performance
B. Fixing problems
C. Reinforcing successes
D. Providing feedback
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Monitoring performance is the core of the control process. One way to monitor
performance is simply to record information on paper or enter it into a computer, a task
that can be done by the supervisor, the employees, or both.

55. When monitoring performance, supervisors should focus on how actual performance
compares with the standards they have set. Two concepts useful for maintaining this
focus are:
A. Gantt chart and operational planning.
B. variance and the exception principle.
C. standards and performance reports.
D. feedback control and the parity principle.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: When monitoring performance, supervisors should focus on how actual


performance compares with the standards they have set. Two concepts useful for
maintaining this focus are variance and the exception principle.

56. In the context of controlling, the size of the difference between actual performance
and a performance standard is referred to as:
A. an exception metric.
B. a measurement error.
C. variance.
D. critical path.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: The size of the difference between actual performance and a performance
standard is referred to as variance. When setting standards, the supervisor should decide
how much variance is meaningful for control purposes.

57. The control principle stating that a supervisor should take action only when the
variance is meaningful is most accurately referred to as the:
A. exception principle.
B. scalar principle.
C. Peter principle.
D. reinforcement principle.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: The control principle stating that a supervisor should take action only when
the variance is meaningful is most accurately referred to as the exception principle. This
principle is beneficial when it helps the supervisor manage his or her time wisely and
motivate employees.

58. Which of the following is true of the exception principle?


A. The exception principle is beneficial when it helps supervisors manage their time
wisely and motivate employees.
B. According to the exception principle, supervisors should take action only when the
variance is measurable.
C. The exception principle is applied by the top managers during strategic planning when
they set objectives for an organization as a whole.
D. According to the exception principle, supervisors should avoid comparing actual
performance with standards set by them.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller
Feedback: The exception principle is beneficial when it helps the supervisor manage his
or her time wisely and motivate employees. According to the exception principle, the
supervisor should take action only when the variance is meaningful.

59. Encouragement of a behavior by associating it with a reward is known as _____.


A. the exception principle
B. feedback control
C. reinforcement
D. empowerment
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Encouragement of a behavior by associating it with a reward is known as


reinforcement. When employees are doing excellent work, customers are happy, and
costs are within budget, the supervisor needs to reinforce these successes.

60. _____ involves the presentation of something pleasant after a desired behavior has
occurred.
A. Laissez-faire
B. Positive reinforcement
C. Empowerment
D. Affirmative feedback
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Positive reinforcement involves the presentation of something pleasant after a


desired behavior has occurred. An example of positive reinforcement in the workplace is
verbal praise for a job well done.

61. Removal of something unpleasant after a desired behavior has occurred is most
accurately referred to as:
A. positive reinforcement.
B. negative reinforcement.
C. self-evaluation.
D. team evaluation.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller
Feedback: Removal of something unpleasant after a desired behavior has occurred is
most accurately referred to as negative reinforcement. Reinforcement is the
encouragement of a behavior by associating it with a reward.

62. In the context of controlling, symptoms are best defined as:


A. measures of what is expected.
B. the principles by which people distinguish what is morally right.
C. the results of performance evaluation.
D. indications of an underlying problem.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Symptoms are best defined as indications of an underlying problem. To use


the information gained through controlling effectively, the supervisor needs to distinguish
problems from symptoms.

63. In the context of controlling, a factor in an organization that is a barrier to


improvement is known as a _____.
A. symptom
B. threat
C. variance
D. problem
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: In the context of controlling, a factor in an organization that is a barrier to


improvement is known as a problem. When performance significantly falls short of
standards, the supervisor should investigate. Below-standard performance is the sign of a
problem.

64. The best response to problems related to standards is to make the performance
standard:
A. less challenging.
B. less observable.
C. more appropriate.
D. more general.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: The best response to problems related to standards is to make the performance
standard more appropriate. The supervisor may need to make the standard less stringent
or more challenging.

65. The information gained from the control process is beneficial only if supervisors:
A. develop standards that are less challenging and more specific.
B. use it as the basis for reinforcing or changing behavior.
C. use it to monitor performance before establishing standards.
D. uncover problems as soon as customers and management discover them.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: The information gained from the control process is beneficial only if the
supervisor uses it as the basis for reinforcing or changing behavior. If performance is
satisfactory or better, the supervisor needs to encourage it.

66. Which of the following statements is true of the control process?


A. Once performance standards are in place, the supervisor can begin the core of the
control process: fixing problems.
B. The information gained from the control process is beneficial even if supervisors do
not use it as the basis for reinforcing behavior.
C. In a control system, variance refers to a factor in the organization that is a barrier to
improvement.
D. If the control system is working properly, the supervisor should be uncovering
problems before customers and management discover them.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: If the control system is working properly, the supervisor should be uncovering
problems before customers and management discover them. This gives the supervisor the
best opportunity to fix a problem in time to minimize damage.

67. What are the three types of control?


A. Negative, positive, and neutral control
B. Pre, post, and parallel control
C. Strategic, operational, and tactical control
D. Feedback, concurrent, and precontrol
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: There are three types of control in terms of when it occurs: feedback control,
concurrent control, and precontrol.

68. Control that focuses on past performance is referred to as _____ control.


A. feedback
B. concurrent
C. positive
D. negative
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Control that focuses on past performance is referred to as feedback control. A


supervisor reviewing customer comments about service is practicing feedback control.

69. Control that occurs while the work takes place is referred to as _____ control.
A. feedback
B. concurrent
C. positive
D. negative
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Control that occurs while the work takes place is referred to as concurrent
control. The word “concurrent” describes things that are happening at the same time.

70. Statistical process control is a technique for _____.


A. precontrol
B. concurrent control
C. feedback control
D. negative control
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Statistical process control is a technique for concurrent control. Concurrent


control refers to controlling work while that work is being done.

71. _____ refers to efforts aimed at preventing behavior that may lead to undesirable
results.
A. Precontrol
B. Feedback control
C. Concurrent control
D. Negative control
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Precontrol refers to efforts aimed at preventing behavior that may lead to
undesirable results. Such efforts may include setting rules, policies, and procedures.

72. _____ is one of the functions of the management philosophy known as total quality
management.
A. Precontrol
B. Feedback control
C. Concurrent control
D. Negative control
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Precontrol is one of the functions of the management philosophy known as


total quality management. Precontrol refers to efforts aimed at preventing behavior that
may lead to undesirable results.

73. Which of the following exemplifies feedback control?


A. A café supervisor greeting customers at their tables
B. A supervisor reviewing customer comments about service
C. A production supervisor providing employees with guidelines about the detection of
improperly functioning machinery
D. A restaurant manager visiting the kitchen to see how work is progressing
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: A supervisor reviewing customer comments about service is practicing


feedback control. Feedback control is the type just described, that is, control that focuses
on past performance.

74. Which of the following exemplifies concurrent control?


A. A café supervisor trying to change employee behavior based on customer feedback
B. A supervisor reviewing customer comments about service
C. A production supervisor providing employees with guidelines about the detection of
improperly functioning machinery
D. A restaurant manager visiting the kitchen to see how work is progressing
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: A restaurant manager who is visiting the kitchen to see how work is
progressing is practicing concurrent control. Concurrent control refers to controlling
work while that work is being done.

75. Which of the following exemplifies precontrol?


A. A café supervisor greeting customers at their tables
B. A supervisor reviewing customer comments about service and trying to change
employee behavior based on customer feedback
C. A production supervisor providing employees with guidelines about the detection of
improperly functioning machinery
D. A restaurant manager visiting the kitchen to see how work is progressing
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: A production supervisor providing employees with guidelines about the


detection of improperly functioning machinery is practicing precontrol. Precontrol refers
to efforts aimed at preventing behavior that may lead to undesirable results.

76. Jake, the restaurant manager at Tulips, greets customers at their tables, visits the
kitchen to see how the work is progressing, and makes the effort to fix any issues as soon
as they occur. Jake is most likely practicing _____.
A. feedback control
B. sequencing
C. reinforcement
D. concurrent control
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: In the scenario, Jake is most likely practicing concurrent control. Concurrent
control refers to controlling work while that work is being done.

77. _____ are an invaluable tool with which supervisors can closely monitor and control
the progress and performance of a project.
A. Gantt charts
B. Histograms
C. Bar diagrams
D. Line graphs
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Gantt charts are an invaluable tool with which supervisors can closely monitor
and control the progress and performance of a project. When considering how to monitor
performance, the supervisor can start with some basic tools used by most managers.

78. In controlling, a _____ is useful as a kind of performance standard.


A. budget
B. policy
C. procedure
D. rule
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: In controlling, a budget is useful as a kind of performance standard. The


supervisor compares actual expenses with the amounts in the budget.

79. A summary of performance and comparison with performance standards is referred to


as a performance _____.
A. pattern
B. report
C. synopsis
D. record
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: A summary of performance and comparison with performance standards is


referred to as a performance report. A well-structured report can be an important source
of information.

80. Which of the following is true of performance reports?


A. Few supervisors both prepare and request performance reports.
B. Employees do not prepare performance reports.
C. A performance report does not compare performance with performance standards.
D. Useful performance reports clarify rather than conceal problems.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: Useful performance reports clarify rather than conceal problems. Hiding
performance problems can make it difficult for supervisors to convince managers that the
group needs more resources or training.

81. In the context of tools for control, _____ can help supervisors understand the
activities behind the numbers in performance reports.
A. personal observation
B. positive reinforcement
C. precontrol technique
D. program evaluation
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: In the context of tools for control, personal observation can help supervisors
understand the activities behind the numbers in performance reports. However, the
supervisor must be careful in interpreting what he or she sees.
82. Which of the following is true of the tools for control?
A. Budgets and reports are rarely used control tools in most organizations.
B. Supervisors should ensure that performance reports are elaborate and convoluted.
C. The inability to control through personal observation is a challenge of supervising
employees who work at home.
D. Personal observations cannot help supervisors understand the activities behind the
numbers in reports.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: The inability to control through personal observation is a challenge of


supervising employees who work at home. This issue is growing in importance as
communications technology makes telecommuting possible for people with disabilities,
working parents, and others who prefer to live further from urban centers or to not spend
time commuting to an office.

83. The tools for control include:


A. budgets, performance reports, and personal observation.
B. feedback control, concurrent control, and precontrol.
C. positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and standards.
D. management by objectives, policies, and procedures.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

Feedback: The tools for control include budgets, performance reports, and personal
observation. When considering how to monitor performance, the supervisor can start with
some basic tools used by most managers.

84. Allowing a supervisor to occasionally ignore a variance if it is in the best interests of


the company is an example of a control that is:
A. flexible.
B. economical.
C. even.
D. concurrent.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-08: List characteristics of effective controls.
Topic: Characteristics of Effective Controls
Feedback: Allowing a supervisor to occasionally ignore a variance if it is in the best
interests of the company is an example of a control that is flexible. One reason flexibility
is important is that performance measures might be incompatible.

85. In the context of characteristics of effective controls, the controls should be _____,
enabling supervisors to correct problems quickly enough to improve results.
A. timely
B. acceptable
C. economical
D. flexible
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-08: List characteristics of effective controls.
Topic: Characteristics of Effective Controls

Feedback: In the context of characteristics of effective controls, the controls should be


timely, enabling the supervisor to correct problems quickly enough to improve results.

86. Effective controls are those that are:


A. written, clear, measureable, and specific.
B. timely, economical, acceptable, and flexible.
C. simple, observable, adaptable, and precise.
D. rigid, quantifiable, accessible, and central.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-08: List characteristics of effective controls.
Topic: Characteristics of Effective Controls

Feedback: Effective controls are those that are timely, economical, acceptable, and
flexible. When making recommendations about controls or setting up controls to use
within the department, the supervisor can strive for these characteristics.

87. The cost of using the controls should be less than the benefit derived from using
them. This shows that effective controls should be _____.
A. flexible
B. acceptable
C. economical
D. timely
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-08: List characteristics of effective controls.
Topic: Characteristics of Effective Controls
Feedback: The controls should be economical. In general, this means that the cost of
using the controls should be less than the benefit derived from using them.

88. Which of the following is a characteristic of effective controls?


A. They should be acceptable to supervisors and employees.
B. They should enable employees to correct their own mistakes.
C. They should be established by middle managers and supervisors.
D. They should not allow supervisors to ignore variance.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Characteristics of Effective Controls
Topic: Planning in Organizations

Feedback: A characteristic of effective controls is that they should be acceptable to


supervisors and employees. Supervisors want controls that give them enough information
about performance that they can understand what is going on in the workplace.
Employees want controls that do not unduly infringe on their privacy.

89. Which characteristic of effective controls is important mainly because of


incompatible performance measures?
A. Cost effectiveness
B. Acceptability
C. Timeliness
D. Flexibility
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-08: List characteristics of effective controls.
Topic: Characteristics of Effective Controls

Feedback: Controls should be flexible. One reason flexibility is important is that


performance measures might be incompatible.

90. Which of the following is true in the context of characteristics of effective controls?
A. For effective controls, the cost of using the controls should be more than the benefit
derived from using them.
B. Supervisors and employees want controls that unduly infringe on their privacy.
C. An effective control system is one that helps the supervisor direct his or her efforts
toward spotting significant problems.
D. Normally, a supervisor is not expected to use the control system higher-level
managers have established.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-08: List characteristics of effective controls.
Topic: Characteristics of Effective Controls

Feedback: An effective control system is one that helps the supervisor direct his or her
efforts toward spotting significant problems. Normally, a supervisor has to use whatever
control system higher-level managers have established.

91. Planning should begin at the top, with a plan for the organization as a whole.
TRUE

Feedback: Planning should begin at the top, with a plan for the organization as a whole.
Strategic planning is the creation of long-term goals for the organization.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

92. Rules are flexible and are open to interpretation.


FALSE

Feedback: Rules are neither flexible nor open to interpretation. They are specific
statements of what to do or not do in a given situation.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

93. In the MBO system, the top management alone sets the objectives for each employee
in the company.
FALSE

Feedback: In the MBO system, all individuals in the organization work with their
managers to set objectives, specifying what they are to do in the next operating period
(such as a year).
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03: Define management by objectives (MBO) and discuss its use.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

94. The objectives set for a department are rigid and do not need to be updated.
FALSE

Feedback: Supervisors will need to update the objectives for their department whenever
top management updates organizational objectives.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

95. A problem underlying significant variance is that the standard is too low or too high.
TRUE

Feedback: A problem underlying significant variance is that the standard is too low or too
high. Fixing a problem may entail adjusting a process, the behavior of an individual
employee, or the standard itself.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

96. In all the three types of controlling methods, the controlling process begins only when
employees' work is complete.
FALSE

Feedback: From the description of the control process, it might sound as though
controlling begins when employees’ work is complete. However, this is only one type of
controlling. There are three types of control in terms of when it occurs: feedback control,
concurrent control, and precontrol.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller

97. Compare and contrast strategic planning and operational planning.

Feedback: Strategic planning is mainly done by top managers, often with a planning
department. In the case of operational planning, the planning is done by middle managers
and supervisors. Strategic planning lays down objectives for the organization as a whole,
whereas operational planning lays down objectives for individual division, department, or
work group. The time frame for strategic planning is usually long (more than one year),
whereas the time frame for operational planning is usually short (one year or less).
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in organizations.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

98. Describe the management by objectives (MBO) process.

Feedback: MBO is a formal system for planning in which managers and employees at all
levels set objectives for what they are to accomplish; their performance is then measured
against those objectives. Basically, MBO involves three steps:
1. All individuals in the organization work with their managers to set objectives,
specifying what they are to do in the next operating period (such as a year).
2. Each individual's manager periodically reviews the individual's performance to see
whether he or she is meeting the objectives.
3. The organization rewards individuals on the basis of how close they come to fulfilling
the objectives.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03: Define management by objectives (MBO) and discuss its use.
Topic: Planning in Organizations

99. What are the main activities carried out by the supervisor in the planning process?

Feedback: The roles played by the supervisor as a planner are: (1) providing information
and estimates (2) allocating resources, (3) involving employees, (4) planning with a team,
and (5) updating objectives.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process.
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner

100. Define the term "controlling." List the three different forms of controlling.

Feedback: The management function of making sure that work goes according to plan is
referred to as controlling. The three different forms of control are: feedback control that
focuses on past performance; concurrent control that controls work as it takes place; and
precontrol that prevents behavior that may lead to undesirable results.
AACSB: Analytic
Bloom's: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-05: Explain the purpose of using controls.
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller
Category # of Questions

Chapter 06 Test Bank Summary


Category # of Questions

AACSB: Analytic 97
AACSB: Reflective Thinking 3
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation 95
Bloom's: Apply 4
Bloom's: Remember 64
Bloom's: Understand 31
Difficulty: 1 Easy 65
Difficulty: 2 Medium 31
Difficulty: 3 Hard 4
Learning Objective: 06-01: Describe types of planning that take place in
organizations. 14
Learning Objective: 06-02: Identify characteristics of effective objectives. 15
Learning Objective: 06-03: Define management by objectives (MBO) and
discuss its use. 6
Learning Objective: 06-04: Discuss the supervisor’s role in the planning process. 16
Learning Objective: 06-05: Explain the purpose of using controls. 3
Learning Objective: 06-06: Identify the steps in the control process. 21
Learning Objective: 06-07: Describe types of control and tools for controlling. 18
Learning Objective: 06-08: List characteristics of effective controls. 6
Topic: Characteristics of Effective Controls 7
Topic: Planning in Organizations 37
Topic: The Supervisor as Controller 42
Topic: The Supervisor as Planner 15
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hand. A moment later Captain O’Shea had both arms around him
and was bellowing in his ear:
“We will hoist ye into a bunk, Jack. Oh, but you are the jewel of a
fightin’ man! I hope ye were not hurt bad.”
“Nothing to speak of, sir, but my wind isn’t what it was,” panted
Gorham. “Better look after the nigger first. I didn’t plan to kill him.”
The chief engineer was dragging the hose aft with the
praiseworthy intention of washing down the combatants, and the
captain told him to turn the cool salt-water on the prostrate bulk of
the negro.
“I’ll play nurse to him if you haven’t spoiled him entirely,” said
Johnny Kent. “I need more help down below and he’ll make a dandy
hand with a coal-shovel when his head is mended.”
Just then the mate, who had returned to the wheel, yelled to
Captain O’Shea and jerked the whistle-cord. The skipper ran forward
and bolted into the wheel-house. With a flourish of his arm the mate
indicated a small boat lifting and falling on the azure swells no more
than a few hundred yards beyond the bow of the tug. The occupants
were vigorously signalling by means of upraised oars and articles of
clothing.
The captain rang the engine-room bell to slacken speed and
stared at the boat-load of castaways which had none of the ear-
marks of shipwreck and suffering. The white paint of the boat was
unmarred by the sea and the handsome brass fittings were bright.
Two seamen in white clothes were at the oars, and in the stern-
sheets were two women and a young man who could not be
mistaken for the ordinary voyagers of a trading-vessel’s cabin.
“I ought to have called you sooner, sir,” sheepishly confessed the
mate of the Fearless, “but I was watching the shindy on deck, same
as all hands of us. What do you make of it?”
“It looks like a pleasure party,” said Captain O’Shea. “I am
puzzled for fair.”
He ordered the engines stopped and the Fearless drifted slowly
toward the boat. The ship’s company flocked to the rail to see the
castaways, who gazed in their turn at the picturesque throng of
twentieth-century buccaneers—the swarthy, unshaven Cubans with
their flapping straw hats, bright handkerchiefs knotted at the throat,
their waists girded with cartridge-belts, holsters, and machete-
scabbards—and the sunburnt, reckless rascals of the crew.
There were symptoms of consternation in the small boat as it
danced nearer the crowded rail of the Fearless, also perceptibly less
eagerness to be rescued. This was making a choice between the
devil and the deep sea. It was now possible to discern that of the two
women in the stern of the boat one was elderly and the other girlishly
youthful. Both wore white shirt-waists and duck skirts, and the young
man was smartly attired in a blue double-breasted coat, of a nautical
cut, and flannel trousers. One might have supposed that the party
was being set ashore from a yacht instead of tossing adrift in a
lonely stretch of the Caribbean beyond sight of land.
Captain O’Shea surveyed them with a dismayed air. He was not
equipped for the business of rescuing shipwrecked people of such
fashionable appearance; and as for taking two women on board the
Fearless, here was a complication to vex the soul of an industrious,
single-minded filibuster. However, he was a sailor and an Irishman,
and his honest heart responded to the appeal of femininity in
distress. The steps were hung over the tug’s side to make the
transfer from the boat as easy as possible, and a deck-hand stood
ready with a coil of heaving-line. From the bridge Captain O’Shea
hailed the derelicts.
“For the love of heaven, who are you and where do ye come
from, so spick and span? What is it all about, anyhow?”
The young man in the stern answered in somewhat nettled
tones:
“It seems more to the point to ask who you are. We are in a
deucedly bad fix, and these ladies ought to be taken aboard; but do
you mind if I ask whether you intend to make us walk the plank? My
word, but you are a frightfully hard-looking lot. Is Captain Kidd with
you?”
It was O’Shea’s turn to be ruffled, and he flung back:
“You seem mighty particular about your company. ’Tis a
nuisance for me to bother with ye at all.”
“Oh, the ladies can’t drift about in this open boat any longer,” the
young man hastened to exclaim. “I shall pay you handsomely to set
us ashore at the nearest port.”
“And what would I be doing in the nearest port?” the skipper
muttered with a grin. “Well, there is no sense in slingin’ words to and
fro. Let them come aboard and find out for themselves.”
Running to the rail to assist these unwelcome guests, he called
to the self-possessed young man in the boat:
“How long have ye been adrift?”
“Since midnight. Our yacht ran on a reef and broke her back.
Before daylight we lost sight of the other boats.”
Captain O’Shea said nothing more. His interest veered to the
girl, who had been shielding her face from the blistering glare of sun
and sea. Now, as she looked up at the tug which towered above the
boat, the impressionable skipper perceived that her face was fair to
see, and that she smiled at him with friendly confidence. Presently
he was lending her a steadying hand as she clung to the swaying rail
of the tug and found foothold on the steps over which the waves
washed.
“You are a plucky one and no mistake!” exclaimed Captain
O’Shea. “A man might think ye enjoyed it.”
“I do,” said she, shaking the water from her skirt as she gained
the deck. “Now please get my aunt aboard as carefully as you can.
She has a touch of rheumatism.”
Without mishap the elderly lady was assisted to accomplish the
acrobatic feat of forsaking the bobbing boat, after which the young
man and the sailors were allowed to shift for themselves. Leather
hand-bags, steamer-rugs, and canned provisions were tossed to the
deck and the boat was turned adrift, for there was no room to stow it
on board. Immediately the Fearless forged ahead and picked up her
course at full speed.
To an elderly spinster of refinement whose years had been spent
in a sheltered, effete civilization, mostly bounded by Massachusetts,
the deck of the Fearless was an environment shocking beyond
words. The chief engineer had resumed his interrupted task of
playing the hose on the senseless, half-naked bulk of black Jiminez.
Jack Gorham, more or less ensanguined, was stretched upon a
hatch, where the surgeon of the Cuban party had detained him to
sponge and stitch his shoulder and bandage his head. Near by
hovered the disreputable patriots, begrimed with coal-dust and
bristling with deadly weapons.
The elderly lady stared with eyes opened very wide. Her lips
moved, but made no sound, and her delicately wrinkled cheek grew
pale. At length she managed to whisper to her niece that dread
saying familiar to many generations of New England spinsters:
“Mercy! We shall all be murdered in our beds.”
Captain O’Shea joined them, to speak his earnest reassurances.
“You are as safe as if you were in Sunday-school, ladies. This
bunch of patriots is perfectly harmless. There was an argument just
before we sighted ye, and the best man won.”
“And what is this voyage of yours, captain?” asked the girl.
“Oh, we are just romancin’ around the high-seas. ’Tis nothing
that would interest a lady.”
“Do you kill each other every day?”
“You mean the big nigger yonder?” and Captain O’Shea looked a
trifle embarrassed. “No, his manners had to be corrected. But will
you come for’ard, please, and make yourselves at home in my
room? ’Tis yours as long as ye are on board.”
“I am quite sure you have no intention of murdering us,” smilingly
quoth the girl. “And we shall ask you no more questions for the
present. Come along, Aunt Katharine.”
The young man of the castaways was fidgeting rather sulkily in
the background. He wished to interview the captain at once, but the
gallant O’Shea had eyes only for the ladies. Overlooked and
apparently forgotten, the shipwrecked young man picked his way
across the deck to accost Johnny Kent, whose first-aid-to-the-injured
treatment with a hose-nozzle had proved efficacious. The
vanquished negro was rubbing his head and sputtering salt-water
and Spanish.
“There, you’re what I call recussitated in bang-up good style,”
cried the engineer, proud of his handiwork. “If you were a white man,
your block ’ud have been knocked clean off. You ought to be thankful
for your mercies.”
The castaway touched his arm and exclaimed:
“I say, my good man, I need something to eat, and a place to
sleep. I was awake all night in an open boat.”
The stout person in the greasy overalls turned to survey the
speaker with mild amusement on his broad, red face.
“By the look of your party you must have suffered something
awful. The skipper will attend to you pretty soon and he’ll do his best
to make you happy. But this ain’t no gold-plated yacht, and it ain’t no
table dote hotel.”
“So I see, but I’ll pay for the best on board. Really, money is no
object——”
Johnny Kent chuckled and turned to wave the nozzle at the
negro, who was sitting up.
“You subside, Jiminez, or I’ll dent this over your head. It ain’t
healthy for you to get well too darned fast.”
He scrutinized the castaway with a tolerant, fatherly air and
answered him:
“Better stow that you-be-damned manner of yours, young man.
We’re outlaws, liable to be blown out of water any blessed minute.
Those tarriers for’ard had just as soon throw you overboard as not if
they don’t like your style. You ain’t a shipwrecked hero. You’re an
unavoidable nuisance aboard this hooker. We’ve got other fish to
fry.”
The young man flushed angrily. He was pleasant-featured, fair-
haired, of athletic build, his accent suggesting that he had imported it
from England. He was conscious of his own importance in the world
whose idols were money and social position. Grizzled old Johnny
Kent, who had diced with fortune and looked death between the
eyes on many seas, knew only one distinction between men. They
were “good stuff” or they were “quitters.” As for money, to have a
dollar in one’s pocket after a week ashore argued a prudence both
stingy and unmanly. Wherefore he wholly failed to grasp the view-
point of the young man who had been wrecked in a sea-going yacht.
Fortunately Captain O’Shea came back to divert the chief
engineer’s outspoken opinions. He called the castaway aside to say:
“Come to the galley with me and the cook will do his best for ye.
I will sit down there and hear your yarn. If you want some clothes,
maybe I can fit you out. My men are looking after your sailors.”
“This is a filibustering expedition, I take it,” exclaimed the other
as they went forward.
“I do not admit it,” judicially replied Captain O’Shea. “I will not
turn state’s evidence against meself.”
When they had perched themselves upon stools at the galley
table the young man handed the skipper his card, which read:
“Mr. Gerald Ten Eyck Van Steen.”
The recipient eyed the card critically and commented:
“Dutch? I had a Dutchman as bos’n once and, saving your
presence, he was an oakum-headed loafer. Now, how did ye come
to be in these waters and whose yacht was it?”
Young Mr. Van Steen proceeded to explain.
“She was the Morning Star, owned by my father, the New York
banker—the old house of Van Steen & Van Steen. You have heard of
it, of course. He decided to take a winter holiday-trip and asked me
to go along—that is to say, Miss Forbes and me. She is my
fiancée——”
“You mean the young one. And she has signed on to marry
you?” broke in Captain O’Shea with marked interest.
“Yes. She invited her aunt, Miss Hollister, to make the voyage as
a sort of chaperon. We cruised to Barbadoes, where my father was
called home on business and took a mail-steamer in a hurry. We
jogged along in the Morning Star until her captain lost his bearings,
or something of the kind, and you know the rest. We were ordered
into a boat, but while waiting for an officer and more sailors a rain-
squall came along—a nasty blow it was—and our boat broke loose,
and we couldn’t get back to the yacht. The wind was dead against
us.”
“The other boats will be picked up,” observed O’Shea. “You were
lucky to have such an easy time of it. Now comes the rub. What am I
going to do with ye?”
“Chuck up your voyage,” cheerfully answered Mr. Van Steen.
“We simply can’t go knocking about with you and risking the ladies’
lives. And think of the hardships. My dear man, this tug is no place
for a gentlewoman.”
“It is not,” agreed O’Shea, “nor was it meant to be. ’Tis not ladies’
work I have on hand. I have promised to deliver my cargo at a
certain place at a certain time, and there are men waitin’ that need it
bad. Shall I break me word to them?”
Van Steen made an impatient gesture. He was used to dealing
with men who had their price.
“But you are in this business for money,” cried he. “And I fancy
you must have been pretty hard up to take such a job and run all
these risks. Name your figure. I can understand the situation.
Rescuing us is deucedly awkward for you. You don’t know what to
do with us. How much do you stand to make on the voyage, and
what is the cargo worth?”
Captain Michael O’Shea leaned across the table and his fist was
clenched. He did not strike, but the wrath that blazed in his eyes
caused Van Steen to draw back. The sailor was not much older in
years than the other man, but he had battered his way, not merely
sauntered through life, and virile experiences had so strongly
stamped his features that Van Steen looked effeminate beside him. It
was a masterful man that held himself steady under the provocation
and replied to the insulting proposition slowly and carefully, as
though choosing his words:
“You heard me say I had given me word to land this cargo as
soon as ever I could, Mr. Van Steen. And on top of that ye try to buy
me to leave good men in the lurch and break my word when this stuff
of mine means life or death to them. All the money your daddy has in
his bank could not make me put this ship one point off her course to
set you ashore until I am good and ready. Do I make meself clear?
You and your dirty money! This isn’t New York.”
Van Steen was honestly amazed. This lowering, flinty-faced
young skipper must be crazy. Professional filibusters were a kind of
criminal recruited from the roughest classes. They could have no
morals, no manners, none of the sentiments of a gentleman. He
ventured a final attempt and said with a nervous laugh:
“But what if I offer to buy the vessel outright, cargo and all, and
absolutely protect you personally against any loss whatever?”
“I do not like your company,” abruptly exclaimed O’Shea. “Ye fill
me with sorrow for the rich. I cannot be rid of you, but we will not be
on good terms.”
His sense of humor saved the situation, and he concluded with
one of his sunny, mischievous smiles:
“’Tis terrible inconvenient for both of us. Here we are, aboard a
kind of a Flying Dutchman that must go dancin’ and dodgin’ about
the high seas with every man’s hand against her. And you are no
more anxious to quit me than I am to see the last of you.”
“But—but—it is absolutely impossible,” stammered Van Steen.
“Think of the ladies——”
“They have my room, and the bit of an upper deck will be sacred
to them.”
O’Shea stepped to the galley door, but Van Steen detained him
with a question.
“What about me? Can I negotiate for a state-room?”
“Yes, indeed; it is on the overhang with two sacks of coal for a
mattress, and ye should be thankful ’tis soft coal and not anthracite.
Ye may find the suite a trifle crowded, but by kicking a few patriots in
the ribs you can make room for yourself.”

II
In the refuge of the captain’s room that distraught spinster, Miss
Hollister, was overcome by emotions almost hysterical. Her first
impressions of the Fearless had been in the nature of a nervous
shock more severe than the episode of the shipwreck. Only the
presence of her niece restrained her from tears and lamentations.
Nora Forbes, the young person in question, was behaving with so
much courage and self-possession as to set her aunt a most
excellent example.
“Oh, did you ever see anything so dreadful?” moaned Miss
Hollister, glancing at the captain’s shaving-glass and absently
smoothing her gray hair. “There was a dead negro stretched on
deck, and a white man all covered with blood, and the captain not in
the least excited, actually joking about it——”
Miss Nora Forbes artfully coaxed her aunt away from the bit of
mirror and proceeded to arrange her own disordered tresses as
though this were more important than damp skirts and wave-soaked
stockings. With hairpins twain between her pretty lips, she replied,
and her accents were by no means hopeless:
“It is just too tremendously romantic for words, Aunt Katharine. I
am not the least bit afraid. The captain may be a desperate villain,
but he carries himself like a rough-and-ready gentleman. This is a
genuine adventure, so cheer up and enjoy it.”
“But the scenes of violence—the crew of cutthroats—the
bloodshed,” unsteadily resumed Miss Hollister, unable to refrain from
dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. “I don’t know what to say. My
mind is a blank. I can only pray——”
“I should advise unpacking that bag and getting out some clean
clothes,” suggested Nora. “There is no reason why we should look
like a pair of drowned frights. It is an upsetting experience, Aunt
Katharine, but life on shore is so tame!”
“I shall be content to be tame forevermore, Nora, if I am
permitted to survive this experience. I hope Gerald can persuade the
captain to land us at once.”
“They didn’t want to rescue us, so we must make ourselves as
agreeable as possible. I intend to be particularly nice to the captain.”
Miss Hollister was recalled to her duty as chaperone. Her
manner was reproving as she counselled:
“Be careful, Nora, you are a heedless girl at times and Gerald is
very sensitive. Our plight is too serious for jesting. Of course you
must be civil to the captain, but he is a perfectly impossible person.
Gerald will reward him for his trouble in our behalf. We are placing
ourselves under no obligations whatever.”
They were quite trim and fresh in dry clothes when the cook
brought up a tray laden with the best fare the ship’s stores could
provide and a pot of coffee black and hot enough to revive the most
forlorn castaways that ever floated.
“Th’ cap’n’s compliments,” said George, entering with a cake-
walk shuffle, “an’ he tells me to inform you that if th’ grub is burnt or
don’t taste right he’ll hang me up by mah thumbs an’ peel off mah
no-’count hide with a rope’s end.”
Miss Hollister appeared so ready to believe the worst that the
rascally George could not forbear to add:
“Of cou’se, I’se jes’ fillin’ in till th’ regular cook gits well. Mebbe
you seen him when you come aboard. He was all spraddled out. It
mighty near done for big Jiminez, I’se a-tellin’ you.”
“What happened to him?” breathlessly demanded Miss Hollister,
her hands clasped.
“He done fetch th’ cap’n a cup of cold coffee, ma’am.”
“How awful! And what was the matter with the white man in the
khaki uniform?”
“He tried to say a good word for th’ cook. And th’ cap’n done give
him his. This is a lively ship, ma’am.”
He could not help grinning as he turned to leave, and Nora
Forbes caught him in the act.
“You are an utterly shameless prevaricator,” cried she, “and I
have a notion to report you to the captain.”
“No need of it,” exclaimed O’Shea himself, who appeared in time
to grasp the luckless George by the neck and pitch him down the
stairway to the lower deck.
“He is a good cook, but his imagination is too strong for him at
times,” explained O’Shea as he stood in the door-way, declining
Nora’s invitation to enter. “The both of ye look as lovely as a May
morning. It agrees with you to be shipwrecked.”
Miss Hollister thawed a trifle, although she was strongly inclined
to accept the cook’s story as after the fact. But it was hard resisting
the blarneying sailor with the merry eyes.
“Is such severity necessary? I feel that I ought to protest—” she
began, spurred by the prompting of a New England conscience.
“And what was that slippery divil of a cook deludin’ ye about?”
The spinster mustered courage to explain. Captain O’Shea
roared with glee, and turning to Nora Forbes, as if recognizing a
sympathetic listener, exclaimed:
“Would ye know the truth about the big nigger? Then I will
introduce you to-morrow to the man that laid him out, and a better
one never stood on two feet than this same Jack Gorham, the
melancholy sharp-shooter who captures ’em alive with the butt of his
gun.”
Afraid of delaying their meal, he made an abrupt bow and
vanished on deck. Presently Mr. Gerald Ten Eyck Van Steen stood
gloomily regarding them. Nora made room for him on the cushioned
locker and cheerily asked:
“How are you getting on with the assorted pirates? Are they a
rum lot and do they sing ‘Fifteen Men on the Dead Man’s Chest’?”
“I am not getting on at all,” sadly quoth he. “I have met only the
chief engineer and the captain, and I should call them a very rum lot
indeed. This is a floating mad-house. By Jove! I was never so angry
in my life.”
“I think I understand, Gerald,” soothingly observed Miss Hollister.
“But I am sure you can extricate us from this alarming situation. You
are a young man of courage and resources and the name of Van
Steen carries great weight everywhere.”
“This wild Irishman never heard of it,” said Gerald. “And when I
talked money he almost crawled across the table to assault me.”
“Then he refuses to put us on shore at once?” tremulously cried
the chaperon. “What do you mean, Gerald?”
“He doesn’t care a hang about us. I made no impression on him
at all. The more I argued the hotter he got. He intends to carry us
about with him until he has dumped his cargo of guns somewhere on
the Cuban coast. And then I presume he will make his way back to
the United States, if the tug isn’t sunk with all hands in the
meantime.”
“But the captain can’t afford to let us interfere with his plans,”
protested Nora, who looked by no means so unhappy as the
circumstances warranted. “Do be reasonable, Gerald. Aunt
Katharine and I are quite comfortable.”
“I am not,” vehemently exclaimed young Mr. Van Steen. “The
brute of a skipper tells me I must sleep on two sacks of coal. Fancy
that!”
“I am afraid you were not tactful,” was Nora’s mirthful comment.
“We are in the captain’s power,” sighed Miss Hollister.
“We are kidnapped. That’s what it amounts to,” strenuously
affirmed Van Steen.
Later in the afternoon the trio sought the railed space on the roof
of the deck-house, just behind the small bridge which was Captain
O’Shea’s particular domain. The mate had found two battered
wooden chairs and rigged an awning. Such consideration as this
was bound to dull the edge of Miss Hollister’s fears and she gazed
about her with fluttering interest and reviving animation. Through an
open door they could see Captain O’Shea standing beside the man
at the wheel. He wore no coat, his shirt-sleeves were rolled up and
displayed his brown, sinewy forearms, and a shapeless straw hat
was pulled over his eyes. His binoculars attentively swept the blue
horizon ahead and abeam.
Presently he went on the bridge and searched the shimmering
sea astern. His demeanor was not so uneasy as vigilant and
preoccupied. So long did he stand in the one position with the
glasses at his eyes that Gerald Van Steen became curious and tried
to descry whatever it was that had attracted the captain’s notice. At
length he was able to make out a trailing wisp of brown vapor, like a
bit of cloud, where sea and sky met.
“There is some kind of a steamer astern of us,” said Van Steen
to Nora Forbes. “Perhaps it is a German or English mail-boat. If so, I
can see no objection to transferring us aboard.”
Captain O’Shea overheard the remark and called to them:
“No mail-steamer is due on this course. And it is not a cargo
tramp or she would not be steaming faster than we are.”
“Then what can it be?” asked Nora.
“I cannot tell ye, Miss Forbes, nor am I anxious at all to let her
come close enough to find out.”
On the lower deck the Cubans were flocking to the overhang or
climbing on the rail to gaze at the distant smoke astern. They talked
excitedly, with many gestures. Evidently here was an event of some
importance. Little by little the other steamer cut down the miles of
intervening space until her funnel was visible. The Fearless had
been making no unusual effort to increase her own speed, but now
Captain O’Shea said a few words into the engine-room speaking-
tube, and Johnny Kent came trundling up from below, wiping his face
with a bunch of waste.
The captain took him by the arm and imparted:
“I do not like the looks of her, Johnny; she is too fast to be
healthy for us. I got the word in New York that two of the Almirante
cruiser class were coming out from Spain to join the blockadin’ fleet
and make it hot for our business. There is nothing on the coast that
can do over twelve knots, is there?”
“Only the Julio Sanchez, Cap’n Mike, and she’s laid up at
Havana with her boilers in awful shape. I suppose you want me to
hook up and burn my good coal.”
“I think this is a poor place to loaf in, Johnny. There was
something said about a reward of fifty thousand dollars to the
Spanish navy vessel that overhauled the Fearless and sunk her at
sea. Better crack on steam and maybe we can lose that fellow
yonder after nightfall.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n Mike, I’ll put the clamps on the safety-valves,
and take care not to look at the gauges. I’ll need more help below.”
“Grab the deck-hands. Get to it.”
“And I was just crawlin’ into my bunk to finish the most excitin’
novel you ever read,” mourned Johnny Kent as he footed it down the
ladder. “It’s all about adventures. The situations are hair-raisin’,
Cap’n Mike.”
Young Mr. Van Steen had edged within ear-shot so that he heard
part of this dialogue. Returning to the ladies, he thrust his hands in
his pockets and tried to hide his perturbation. Nora questioned him
eagerly, and he answered with a shrug and a laugh:
“We’re going to have a race with the steamer behind us. I
imagine they told a few whoppers for my benefit. The chief engineer
remarked in the most casual way that he intended to put clamps on
the safety-valves. That is absurd, of course. The boilers might blow
up.”
“I am inclined to think he meant it,” said Nora, who was looking
at Captain O’Shea. “This is not a yachting cruise, Gerald.”
“But if the silly old ass of an engineer really meant it, and we are
pursued by a hostile man-of-war,” stubbornly persisted Van Steen,
“why did he talk about wanting to finish a novel because it was full of
exciting adventures? Isn’t this exciting enough?”
“You are stupid,” impatiently exclaimed Nora. “These
extraordinary men can’t see that they are living the most thrilling
adventures. It is all in the day’s work with them. I am going to ask
Captain O’Shea to tell me the truth.”
Her aunt objected, but with no great spirit. Her poor, tired brain
was bewildered by this new turn of events. She had begun to hope
to survive the voyage, but now she was beset by fresh alarms,
fantastic and incredible. Imminent danger menaced the lawless tug.
It could be felt in the buzzing excitement which pervaded the
crowded decks. The only calm place was the bridge, where Captain
O’Shea walked steadily to and fro, six paces to port and six paces to
starboard, a ragged cigar between his teeth. Already the hull was
vibrating to the increasing speed of the engines and the smoke
gushed thick and black from the hot funnel.
Nora Forbes had mounted the bridge before Van Steen could
make angry protest. Clinging to the canvas-screened rail, she
paused to catch a bird’s-eye glimpse of the swarming decks which
spread beneath her from the sheering bow to the overhang that
seemed level with the following seas. Captain O’Shea snatched a
coat from the wheel-house and flung it over the girl’s head and
shoulders, for the red cinders were pelting down from the funnel-top
like hail. For the life of him he could not keep the caressing note out
of his pleasant voice when he was talking to a pretty woman.
“’Tis a bright day and a fine breeze, Miss Forbes, and the old
Fearless is poundin’ through it at thirteen knots. Are ye enjoying
yourself?”
“Every minute of it,” she replied, and the joy of living made her
cheek glow. “Are you really afraid of that steamer behind us? Mr. Van
Steen thought you were joking with the chief engineer. Really you
can be frank with me. I promise not to make a scene.”
He regarded her rather wistfully for an instant, felt unusually
hesitant, and told her the truth because he could not bring himself to
tell her anything else.
“If it is a Spanish cruiser yonder, as I mistrust, she may make
short work of us. But she has to catch us first. And if I was easy to
catch I would not be here at all. Sooner than risk a hair of your head,
Miss Forbes, I would give up meself and my ship. But a man’s duty
comes first.”
“You are not to give me—to give us, one thought,” she warmly
assured him, and her head was held high. “Thank you for being
honest with me, Captain O’Shea. Do you wish us to stay on deck?”
Perplexed and unhappy, he answered:
“There is no safe place to stow you if the Spaniard gets within
shooting range. The hold is full of cartridges and dynamite and such
skittish truck.”
The steamer astern was still slowly gaining on the Fearless. Her
forward mast was now discernible, and the tiny ring around it was
unmistakably a fighting-top. If the vessel belonged to any other navy
than that of Spain, she would be jogging along at a cruising gait,
instead of crowding in chase with a reckless consumption of coal.
Captain O’Shea ran below to see how matters fared in the sooty,
stifling kingdom of Johnny Kent. The Fearless could not turn and
fight. All hopes of safety were bound up in those clanking, throbbing,
shining engines, in the hissing boilers, in the gang of half-naked,
grimy men who fed the raging furnaces and wielded the glowing
slice-bars and shifted the coal from the cavernous bunkers.
The quivering needles of the gauges already recorded more
steam than the law allowed, and they were creeping higher pound by
pound. The heat in the fire-room was so intense that the men had to
be relieved at brief intervals. There was no forced ventilation, and
the wind was following the ship. The deck-hands, unaccustomed to
grilling alive, stood to it pluckily until they collapsed and were hauled
out by the head and the heels. Back and forth, between the engine-
room and this inferno, waddled Johnny Kent, raining perspiration, an
oil-can in one hand, a heavy wrench in the other, and with the latter
he smote such faint-hearted wights as would falter while there was
strength in them.
“Hello, Cap’n Mike,” he roared as the skipper sidled into the
engine-room. “Is the other vessel still gainin’ on us, and what does
she look like?”
“She looks like trouble, Johnny. We are doing better. How are
things with you?”
“I need a couple of husky men. No use sendin’ me those limpsy
patriots.”
“I will look for them, Johnny. Will your boilers hold together? Can
you get any more out of her?”
“Of course I can. She’s licensed to carry a hundred and eighty
pounds, and I aim to push her to two hundred and fifty.”
Captain O’Shea hastened on deck, glanced forward and aft, and
grinned as he caught sight of Gerald Ten Eyck Van Steen. To this
pampered young man he shouted:
“You are a well-built lad. Jump below, if you please, and the chief
will introduce ye to a shovel.”
“But I don’t want a shovel. I refuse to go below,” haughtily replied
Van Steen. “It has occurred to me that if you will quit this silly race
and let the other steamer come within signalling distance I can
explain the case to her commander, and he will be glad to take us on
board. Van Steen & Van Steen have influential banking connections
with the Spanish government.”
“’Tis no time to deliver orations,” swiftly spake O’Shea. “The
other steamer will shoot first and explain afterward. Come along and
work your passage.”
“Do not resist, Gerald,” quavered Miss Hollister.
“Be a good sport and play the game,” slangily advised Nora
Forbes.
Captain O’Shea did not appear to use violence. He seemed to
propel Van Steen with a careless wave of the arm, and the indignant
young man moved rapidly in the direction of the stoke-hole ladder.
Johnny Kent pounced on him with profane jubilation, instantly
stripped him of coat and shirt, and shot him in to join the panting
toilers. There was a plucky streak in this victim of circumstances,
and he perceived that he must take his medicine. The fire-room gang
was reinforced by a strong pair of arms, a stout back, and the
stubborn endurance of the Dutch.
The afternoon was gone and the sun had slid under the lovely
western sea. The Spanish cruiser was spurting desperately to
overtake her quarry before darkness. The speed of the quivering,
clangorous Fearless had crept up to a shade better than fifteen
knots. The cruiser was in poor trim to show what she could do.
Captain O’Shea knew the rated speed of every craft on the Spanish
naval list and if his surmise was correct this particular cruiser should
be doing eighteen knots. But he knew also that a foul bottom,
slovenly discipline, and inferior coal counted against her, and that he
had a fighting chance of escape.
It was immensely trying to watch and wait. Of all the company on
deck that stood and stared at the small outline of the cruiser etched
against the shining sea, only Captain O’Shea realized that this was
the grimmest kind of a life-and-death tussle. He was your
thoroughbred gambler who comprehends the odds and accepts
them, but he was sorry for his crew, and much more so for the two
women who were in his charge.
The chaperon had retired to her room in the grip of an acute
nervous headache. She was mercifully unable to understand that
tragedy moved on the face of the waters, that whether or not the
Fearless was to be obliterated depended on a certain number of
engine revolutions per minute.
The cook had prepared supper, observing to himself as he
rattled his pans:
“If we all is due to git bumped to glory, I reckon we’ll take it more
cheerful with a square meal under our briskets.”
He dutifully bore a tray to the captain’s room, but Miss Hollister
had no appetite, and he betook himself to the bridge, where Nora
Forbes was standing beside the captain.
“Set the supper on the chart-locker in the wheel-house, George,”
said O’Shea. “The young lady will not be wanting to go into her room
and miss any of the show.”
In her twenty years Nora Forbes had never lived as intensely as
now. The blood of an adventurous ancestry was in her veins. She
was thrilled, but not afraid. More than she was aware, the dominating
personality of Captain O’Shea was influencing and attracting her.
Unconsciously she was sharing his simple, clear-eyed courage,
which accepted things as he found them. There was singular comfort
in standing beside him. They lingered for a moment in the wheel-
house, where the tall young mate gripped the spokes, his eyes fixed
on the swaying compass-card in the binnacle.
“You have never filibustered before, I take it, Miss Forbes,” said
Captain O’Shea, “but ye are as cool as an old hand.”
“I never dreamed that men were living such lives as this
nowadays,” she replied. “Tell me, do you——”
Down the wind came the report of a heavy gun. O’Shea leaped
to the bridge and the girl followed, her heart throbbing with a sudden,
sickening fear. Twilight was shutting down. The first star gleamed in
the pale sky, but a curious after-glow lingered to flood the sea with
tremulous illumination. The cruiser showed like a gray shadow, a
vague blur, from which shot a second flash of red. Again the boom of
her gun was heard on the Fearless, and this time the steel shell
kicked up a water-spout far off to starboard.
“Johnny Kent has lost distance in the last half hour,” muttered
the skipper. “His men can’t stand the pace.”
“What does it mean?” implored Nora, and she caught her breath
with a sob. “Are they really and truly trying to kill us?”
“Those are the intentions, but the shooting is pretty bad, Miss
Forbes. I will bet ye ten to one they do not hit us.”
Unwittingly she moved closer to him. Her hand was upon the rail
and he covered it with his hard palm. At the firm, warm contact her
fortitude returned. His tremendous vitality was like an electric
current. She smiled up at him gratefully, and he said in a big, friendly
way, to put her at ease:
“’Tis good to have somebody to hang onto in a tight pinch, isn’t
it? Look! There he goes again! A better shot. It struck the water
within two hundred yards of us. If he keeps on improvin’ his target
practice, I may lose me bet.”
Nora was silent. She could think of nothing to say as she stared
at the darkening horizon and the flashes of the cruiser’s guns. The
after-glow died, and night marched swiftly across the tropic sea. It
curtained the cruiser and obscured the Fearless. Johnny Kent had
won in the first act of the drama.
Every light on board the tug was extinguished, and the word was
carried below to close the draughts and slacken the fires in order to
show no sparks from the funnel. The Fearless swerved sharply from
her course and ran straight away from the Cuban coast, heading to
the southward across the Caribbean. To follow her was a game of
blind-man’s-buff, and Captain O’Shea knew every trick of shaking off
pursuit.
Nora had withdrawn her imprisoned hand with a self-conscious
little start. Already the episode of the chase seemed unreal,

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