NCMA CPCM Exam UPDATED ACTUAL
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Recommended basic types of feedback - CORRECT ANSWER Corrective,
confirmatory, motivating
A decisive leader is - CORRECT ANSWER Confident and effective
Which of the following is a leadership process competency? (-a. Character, -b. Credibility, -c.
Confidence, -d. Cooperation) - CORRECT ANSWER Character
Which of the following is not a step in the 6-step Decision-Making process to decisive
decision making? (-a. Provide feedback, -b. Implement the decision, -c. Collect internal and
external opinions , -d. Pre-plan strategies to make the decision) - CORRECT
ANSWER Collect internal and external opinions
What can reduce or even eliminate the creative process? - CORRECT
ANSWER Forced consensus
In which decision-making step should one create objectives and goals? - CORRECT
ANSWER Pre-plan strategies
An integrative thinker is: - CORRECT ANSWER able to create innovative solutions to
problems
Step 4 of the 6-step Decision-Making Process advises leaders to create a written plan that: -
CORRECT ANSWER Details the problem, determines the root cause, and lists criteria
to help choose a solution
What reflects a leadership activity for a contract manager? (-a. Resolving a dispute with a
supplier., -b. Quoting the Federal Acquisition Regulation., -c. Promptly responding to seller
inquiries., -d. Developing questions in response to a solicitation.) - CORRECT
ANSWER Resolving a dispute with a supplier.
,Which of the following describes a leader who is developing new leaders? -a. Develops the
bottom 20% of the workforce, -b. Treats everyone the same, -c. Grows the organization by
addition, -d. Focuses on individual strengths) - CORRECT ANSWER Focuses on
individual strengths
What best reflects the relationship between the leader and vision? - CORRECT
ANSWER Leader + vision = result
Employee __________ is a major component of organizational success. - CORRECT
ANSWER Motivation
_________ and _________ competencies support the technical application of contract
management.. - CORRECT ANSWER Leadership and Management
Assuring your organization adheres to high ethical standards is an example of what? -
CORRECT ANSWER A leader's focus on character
Which of the following can impede leaders from developing a vision? (Failing to consult
others, Focusing on the day-to-day, Being inflexible, Living in the past) - CORRECT
ANSWER Living in the past
When a leader in your organization insists that you accomplish something that you believe is
unethical, it likely reflects what? - CORRECT ANSWER Abuse of power
Why would contract managers need vision? - CORRECT ANSWER To drive behaviors
that achieve the mission
Optimism is an important leadership tool, but it can be undermined by: - CORRECT
ANSWER Inflexibility
,You've read FAR 33.103 (Agency Protests) over and over and are still unable to determine if
you can go ahead and award the contract. This could be an example of _______________,
and your next step could be _______________. - CORRECT ANSWER Insufficient
information; consult with stakeholders
Character is composed of which three elements? - CORRECT ANSWER Integrity,
optimism, decisiveness
When pre-planning strategies for making a decision, the leader should: - CORRECT
ANSWER Dispel assumptions that can negatively affect his/her leadership role
Which of the following is a principle required for an organizational culture of high ethical
standards? (-a. Documenting all decisions, -b. Providing rationale for all decisions, -c.
Including others in decisions, -d. Leading by example) - CORRECT
ANSWER Leading by example
When your supervisor fails to delegate tasks to you, preferring to do it themselves, what is
this called? - CORRECT ANSWER Resisting force to achieving competence
Successful contract management depends on the leader's ability to integrate: - CORRECT
ANSWER The leadership process competencies
If you are an experienced contract management leader and you need to make a fast, high risk
decision in an uncertain situation, what is the best approach? - CORRECT
ANSWER Intuition
Risk management is: - CORRECT ANSWER The ability to efficiently and cost-
effectively mitigate problems
When tracking costs following the award of a contract, what is latency? - CORRECT
ANSWER The delay between when a cost is incurred and when it appears in the
accounting system.
, This costing method uses a two-step process: 1 - assign the resource costs of each activity,
and 2 - assign activity costs to the output: - CORRECT ANSWER Activity-Based
Costing System.
The process for creating the Resource-Loaded Schedule begins with: - CORRECT
ANSWER ...extracting a Work Breakdown Structure from the Statement of Work.
When suppliers are being certified or pre-qualified they have been: - CORRECT
ANSWER Screened
Regardless of an organization's contracting activity size and purpose, the following four key
functions of management are essential: - CORRECT ANSWER Planning, Organizing,
Directing, Controlling
Analysis to measure the company's ability to meet current and long-term obligations would
use the following ratio: - CORRECT ANSWER Solvency Ratio.
Providing information to satisfy Federal contract reporting requires the comparison of current
accounting data and a time-phased program budget. One standard approach is the use of: -
CORRECT ANSWER An "S" Curve that represents how activities ramp up and tail off
during a project.
Supply Chain Management: - CORRECT ANSWER Involves managing the activities
to produce and deliver a product or service from suppliers to the end user customer
A contracting officer is preparing to award a contract for Advisory & Assistance Services to a
small business. The contracting officer wants to make sure the small business is financially
capable of performing and managing the contract. The Contracting Officer requests the
contractors Balance Sheet from the most recently completed fiscal year.
What is an example of another item the Contracting Officer might consider requesting to
make a more informed decision? - CORRECT ANSWER Cash flow statement
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Recommended basic types of feedback - CORRECT ANSWER Corrective,
confirmatory, motivating
A decisive leader is - CORRECT ANSWER Confident and effective
Which of the following is a leadership process competency? (-a. Character, -b. Credibility, -c.
Confidence, -d. Cooperation) - CORRECT ANSWER Character
Which of the following is not a step in the 6-step Decision-Making process to decisive
decision making? (-a. Provide feedback, -b. Implement the decision, -c. Collect internal and
external opinions , -d. Pre-plan strategies to make the decision) - CORRECT
ANSWER Collect internal and external opinions
What can reduce or even eliminate the creative process? - CORRECT
ANSWER Forced consensus
In which decision-making step should one create objectives and goals? - CORRECT
ANSWER Pre-plan strategies
An integrative thinker is: - CORRECT ANSWER able to create innovative solutions to
problems
Step 4 of the 6-step Decision-Making Process advises leaders to create a written plan that: -
CORRECT ANSWER Details the problem, determines the root cause, and lists criteria
to help choose a solution
What reflects a leadership activity for a contract manager? (-a. Resolving a dispute with a
supplier., -b. Quoting the Federal Acquisition Regulation., -c. Promptly responding to seller
inquiries., -d. Developing questions in response to a solicitation.) - CORRECT
ANSWER Resolving a dispute with a supplier.
,Which of the following describes a leader who is developing new leaders? -a. Develops the
bottom 20% of the workforce, -b. Treats everyone the same, -c. Grows the organization by
addition, -d. Focuses on individual strengths) - CORRECT ANSWER Focuses on
individual strengths
What best reflects the relationship between the leader and vision? - CORRECT
ANSWER Leader + vision = result
Employee __________ is a major component of organizational success. - CORRECT
ANSWER Motivation
_________ and _________ competencies support the technical application of contract
management.. - CORRECT ANSWER Leadership and Management
Assuring your organization adheres to high ethical standards is an example of what? -
CORRECT ANSWER A leader's focus on character
Which of the following can impede leaders from developing a vision? (Failing to consult
others, Focusing on the day-to-day, Being inflexible, Living in the past) - CORRECT
ANSWER Living in the past
When a leader in your organization insists that you accomplish something that you believe is
unethical, it likely reflects what? - CORRECT ANSWER Abuse of power
Why would contract managers need vision? - CORRECT ANSWER To drive behaviors
that achieve the mission
Optimism is an important leadership tool, but it can be undermined by: - CORRECT
ANSWER Inflexibility
,You've read FAR 33.103 (Agency Protests) over and over and are still unable to determine if
you can go ahead and award the contract. This could be an example of _______________,
and your next step could be _______________. - CORRECT ANSWER Insufficient
information; consult with stakeholders
Character is composed of which three elements? - CORRECT ANSWER Integrity,
optimism, decisiveness
When pre-planning strategies for making a decision, the leader should: - CORRECT
ANSWER Dispel assumptions that can negatively affect his/her leadership role
Which of the following is a principle required for an organizational culture of high ethical
standards? (-a. Documenting all decisions, -b. Providing rationale for all decisions, -c.
Including others in decisions, -d. Leading by example) - CORRECT
ANSWER Leading by example
When your supervisor fails to delegate tasks to you, preferring to do it themselves, what is
this called? - CORRECT ANSWER Resisting force to achieving competence
Successful contract management depends on the leader's ability to integrate: - CORRECT
ANSWER The leadership process competencies
If you are an experienced contract management leader and you need to make a fast, high risk
decision in an uncertain situation, what is the best approach? - CORRECT
ANSWER Intuition
Risk management is: - CORRECT ANSWER The ability to efficiently and cost-
effectively mitigate problems
When tracking costs following the award of a contract, what is latency? - CORRECT
ANSWER The delay between when a cost is incurred and when it appears in the
accounting system.
, This costing method uses a two-step process: 1 - assign the resource costs of each activity,
and 2 - assign activity costs to the output: - CORRECT ANSWER Activity-Based
Costing System.
The process for creating the Resource-Loaded Schedule begins with: - CORRECT
ANSWER ...extracting a Work Breakdown Structure from the Statement of Work.
When suppliers are being certified or pre-qualified they have been: - CORRECT
ANSWER Screened
Regardless of an organization's contracting activity size and purpose, the following four key
functions of management are essential: - CORRECT ANSWER Planning, Organizing,
Directing, Controlling
Analysis to measure the company's ability to meet current and long-term obligations would
use the following ratio: - CORRECT ANSWER Solvency Ratio.
Providing information to satisfy Federal contract reporting requires the comparison of current
accounting data and a time-phased program budget. One standard approach is the use of: -
CORRECT ANSWER An "S" Curve that represents how activities ramp up and tail off
during a project.
Supply Chain Management: - CORRECT ANSWER Involves managing the activities
to produce and deliver a product or service from suppliers to the end user customer
A contracting officer is preparing to award a contract for Advisory & Assistance Services to a
small business. The contracting officer wants to make sure the small business is financially
capable of performing and managing the contract. The Contracting Officer requests the
contractors Balance Sheet from the most recently completed fiscal year.
What is an example of another item the Contracting Officer might consider requesting to
make a more informed decision? - CORRECT ANSWER Cash flow statement
