ASHFORD UNIVERSITY – BUS 303 WEEKS 1-3 EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | ALL PRACTICE Q&A
2026/2027 | A+ GRADED | COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
GUIDE 2026&2027
1. A company notices that employees from several departments are pursuing different
goals, resulting in duplicated work and conflicting priorities. Which management function
should address this problem first?
A. Controlling
B. Coordinating
C. Staffing
D. Forecasting
Coordination aligns the activities of different individuals and departments so that
organizational efforts support common objectives rather than conflict or overlap.
2. A manager establishes quarterly revenue targets and determines the actions needed to
achieve them. Which management function is being demonstrated?
A. Planning
B. Controlling
C. Staffing
D. Organizing
Planning involves establishing objectives and determining strategies and actions for achieving
those objectives.
3. A supervisor compares actual production results with established performance
standards and takes corrective action when necessary. This is an example of which
function?
A. Planning
B. Organizing
C. Controlling
D. Leading
Controlling involves measuring actual performance against standards and correcting
significant deviations from expected results.
4. A retail manager assigns employees to specific departments based on their skills and
responsibilities. Which management activity is most directly involved?
A. Organizing
B. Forecasting
C. Motivating
D. Auditing
,Organizing involves arranging people, tasks, resources, and responsibilities so organizational
objectives can be accomplished efficiently.
5. A business wants to determine whether its new product will satisfy a specific customer
segment before investing heavily in production. Which approach would provide the most
useful initial information?
A. Ignore customer feedback until launch
B. Conduct market research
C. Increase executive salaries
D. Reduce employee training
Market research provides information about customer preferences, needs, behaviors, and
market conditions before significant resources are committed.
6. A manager encourages employees to contribute ideas during a meeting and seriously
considers their recommendations before making a decision. Which leadership approach is
illustrated?
A. Autocratic leadership
B. Participative leadership
C. Bureaucratic leadership
D. Passive leadership
Participative leadership involves employees in decision-making and encourages meaningful
input while retaining managerial responsibility.
7. A business creates a formal statement describing what it hopes to accomplish over the
next several years. What does this statement primarily represent?
A. Vision
B. Policy
C. Procedure
D. Job description
A vision describes the organization's desired future state and provides long-term direction for
its activities.
8. A company statement explains why the organization exists, whom it serves, and the
general value it intends to provide. This statement is best described as its:
A. Budget
B. Mission
C. Forecast
D. Audit
A mission communicates the organization's fundamental purpose, primary customers, and
broad reason for existence.
,9. A manager discovers that an employee has repeatedly missed performance targets.
Before imposing discipline, what should the manager do first?
A. Terminate the employee immediately
B. Determine the cause of the performance problem
C. Reduce the employee's responsibilities permanently
D. Ignore the issue
Effective performance management begins by identifying whether the problem results from
ability, resources, training, motivation, expectations, or another factor.
10. A company wants to increase employee commitment by giving workers greater
responsibility for how their tasks are performed. Which practice best supports this goal?
A. Micromanagement
B. Empowerment
C. Centralization
D. Excessive supervision
Empowerment gives employees appropriate authority and responsibility, which can
strengthen ownership, engagement, and accountability.
11. A business divides its workforce into accounting, marketing, operations, and human
resources departments. Which organizational structure is being used?
A. Functional structure
B. Matrix structure
C. Geographic structure
D. Product structure
A functional structure groups employees according to specialized business functions such as
finance, marketing, operations, and human resources.
12. A company selling products throughout several regions gives each regional manager
substantial responsibility for local operations. What organizational principle is most
evident?
A. Geographic departmentalization
B. Product departmentalization
C. Functional specialization
D. Job rotation
Geographic departmentalization organizes activities around geographic territories and can
improve responsiveness to regional customers and conditions.
13. An employee receives instructions from two managers whose priorities conflict. Which
organizational issue is most likely present?
A. Unity of command problem
B. Excessive specialization
, C. Strong centralization
D. Effective delegation
Unity of command generally means an employee should have a clear primary reporting
relationship to avoid conflicting instructions and accountability problems.
14. A manager transfers responsibility for completing a project to an employee but retains
ultimate accountability for the result. What management concept is demonstrated?
A. Delegation
B. Outsourcing
C. Downsizing
D. Benchmarking
Delegation involves assigning authority and responsibility for specific work while the
manager remains accountable for the overall outcome.
15. A supervisor refuses to allow employees to make routine decisions that fall within their
assigned responsibilities. Which management problem may result?
A. Excessive empowerment
B. Overcentralization
C. Excessive decentralization
D. Informal leadership
Overcentralization concentrates decision-making authority at higher levels and may slow
responses to routine operational issues.
16. A company gives individual branch managers authority to make decisions about local
customer-service issues. This represents:
A. Decentralization
B. Standardization
C. Formalization
D. Specialization
Decentralization distributes decision-making authority to lower levels of the organization.
17. A manager assigns a task to an employee but does not provide the authority,
information, or resources necessary to complete it. What is the primary problem?
A. Effective delegation
B. Incomplete delegation
C. Strategic planning
D. Performance appraisal
Delegation requires appropriate authority and resources in addition to responsibility;
otherwise the employee may be unable to succeed.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | ALL PRACTICE Q&A
2026/2027 | A+ GRADED | COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
GUIDE 2026&2027
1. A company notices that employees from several departments are pursuing different
goals, resulting in duplicated work and conflicting priorities. Which management function
should address this problem first?
A. Controlling
B. Coordinating
C. Staffing
D. Forecasting
Coordination aligns the activities of different individuals and departments so that
organizational efforts support common objectives rather than conflict or overlap.
2. A manager establishes quarterly revenue targets and determines the actions needed to
achieve them. Which management function is being demonstrated?
A. Planning
B. Controlling
C. Staffing
D. Organizing
Planning involves establishing objectives and determining strategies and actions for achieving
those objectives.
3. A supervisor compares actual production results with established performance
standards and takes corrective action when necessary. This is an example of which
function?
A. Planning
B. Organizing
C. Controlling
D. Leading
Controlling involves measuring actual performance against standards and correcting
significant deviations from expected results.
4. A retail manager assigns employees to specific departments based on their skills and
responsibilities. Which management activity is most directly involved?
A. Organizing
B. Forecasting
C. Motivating
D. Auditing
,Organizing involves arranging people, tasks, resources, and responsibilities so organizational
objectives can be accomplished efficiently.
5. A business wants to determine whether its new product will satisfy a specific customer
segment before investing heavily in production. Which approach would provide the most
useful initial information?
A. Ignore customer feedback until launch
B. Conduct market research
C. Increase executive salaries
D. Reduce employee training
Market research provides information about customer preferences, needs, behaviors, and
market conditions before significant resources are committed.
6. A manager encourages employees to contribute ideas during a meeting and seriously
considers their recommendations before making a decision. Which leadership approach is
illustrated?
A. Autocratic leadership
B. Participative leadership
C. Bureaucratic leadership
D. Passive leadership
Participative leadership involves employees in decision-making and encourages meaningful
input while retaining managerial responsibility.
7. A business creates a formal statement describing what it hopes to accomplish over the
next several years. What does this statement primarily represent?
A. Vision
B. Policy
C. Procedure
D. Job description
A vision describes the organization's desired future state and provides long-term direction for
its activities.
8. A company statement explains why the organization exists, whom it serves, and the
general value it intends to provide. This statement is best described as its:
A. Budget
B. Mission
C. Forecast
D. Audit
A mission communicates the organization's fundamental purpose, primary customers, and
broad reason for existence.
,9. A manager discovers that an employee has repeatedly missed performance targets.
Before imposing discipline, what should the manager do first?
A. Terminate the employee immediately
B. Determine the cause of the performance problem
C. Reduce the employee's responsibilities permanently
D. Ignore the issue
Effective performance management begins by identifying whether the problem results from
ability, resources, training, motivation, expectations, or another factor.
10. A company wants to increase employee commitment by giving workers greater
responsibility for how their tasks are performed. Which practice best supports this goal?
A. Micromanagement
B. Empowerment
C. Centralization
D. Excessive supervision
Empowerment gives employees appropriate authority and responsibility, which can
strengthen ownership, engagement, and accountability.
11. A business divides its workforce into accounting, marketing, operations, and human
resources departments. Which organizational structure is being used?
A. Functional structure
B. Matrix structure
C. Geographic structure
D. Product structure
A functional structure groups employees according to specialized business functions such as
finance, marketing, operations, and human resources.
12. A company selling products throughout several regions gives each regional manager
substantial responsibility for local operations. What organizational principle is most
evident?
A. Geographic departmentalization
B. Product departmentalization
C. Functional specialization
D. Job rotation
Geographic departmentalization organizes activities around geographic territories and can
improve responsiveness to regional customers and conditions.
13. An employee receives instructions from two managers whose priorities conflict. Which
organizational issue is most likely present?
A. Unity of command problem
B. Excessive specialization
, C. Strong centralization
D. Effective delegation
Unity of command generally means an employee should have a clear primary reporting
relationship to avoid conflicting instructions and accountability problems.
14. A manager transfers responsibility for completing a project to an employee but retains
ultimate accountability for the result. What management concept is demonstrated?
A. Delegation
B. Outsourcing
C. Downsizing
D. Benchmarking
Delegation involves assigning authority and responsibility for specific work while the
manager remains accountable for the overall outcome.
15. A supervisor refuses to allow employees to make routine decisions that fall within their
assigned responsibilities. Which management problem may result?
A. Excessive empowerment
B. Overcentralization
C. Excessive decentralization
D. Informal leadership
Overcentralization concentrates decision-making authority at higher levels and may slow
responses to routine operational issues.
16. A company gives individual branch managers authority to make decisions about local
customer-service issues. This represents:
A. Decentralization
B. Standardization
C. Formalization
D. Specialization
Decentralization distributes decision-making authority to lower levels of the organization.
17. A manager assigns a task to an employee but does not provide the authority,
information, or resources necessary to complete it. What is the primary problem?
A. Effective delegation
B. Incomplete delegation
C. Strategic planning
D. Performance appraisal
Delegation requires appropriate authority and resources in addition to responsibility;
otherwise the employee may be unable to succeed.
