Test bank for project management the managerial process 6th edition larson

Test Bank for Project Management The Managerial
Process 6th Edition Larson
Multiple Choice Questions
Project managers who understand the role that their project plays in
accomplishing the organization's strategy are able to do all of the
following EXCEPT
1.

A. Demonstrate to senior management how their project contributes to the firm's
mission.

2.

B. Explain to team members why certain project objectives and priorities are
critical.

3.

C. Explain to stakeholders why certain project objectives and priorities are critical.

4.

D. Be able to respond appropriately to delays and/or questions about product
design.

5.

E. Be able to focus on problems or solutions, even if the project is a low priority
strategically.

Which of the following would be classified as an organizational
opportunity?
1.

A. Low debt

2.

B. Excellent employees

3.

C. Increasing product demand

4.

D. Talented management

5.

E. Government regulation

Which of the following is NOT a problem associated with the absence of a
project portfolio system?
1.

A. Organizational politics

2.

B. Lack of funding

3.

C. Resource conflicts


4.

D. Multitasking

5.

E. Implementation gap

Which of the following would be classified as an organizational threat?
1.

A. Slowing of the economy

2.

B. Excellent employees

3.

C. Poor product quality

4.

D. Declining facilities

5.

E. High labor costs.

Examples of nonfinancial criteria include all of the following EXCEPT

1.

A. Capturing a larger market share.

2.

B. Reducing dependency on unreliable suppliers.

3.

C. Preventing government intervention and regulation.

4.

D. Making it difficult for competitors to enter the market.

5.

E. Calculating the time it will take to recover the project investment.

Which of the following is true of multiweighted scoring models?
1.

A. Will include quantitative criteria

2.

B. Will include qualitative criteria

3.

C. Each criterion is assigned a weight

4.

D. Projects with higher scores are considered more desirable

5.

E. All of these are true

A project screening matrix typically contains all of the following EXCEPT
1.

A. The list of available projects

2.

B. Specific criteria

3.

C. Weights assigned to specific criteria


4.

D. Costs to complete each project

5.

E. All of these are typically contained

All of the following are symptoms of organizations struggling with
strategy disconnect and unclear priorities EXCEPT
1.

A. Frequent conflicts between managers.

2.

B. Inadequate resources.

3.

C. Confused employees regarding which projects are more important.

4.

D. Not enough projects within the portfolio to make a profit.

5.

E. People are working on multiple projects and feel inefficient.

The following are responsibilities of the governance team when managing
a portfolio system EXCEPT
1.

A. Deciding how they wish to balance the available organizational resources
among the different types of projects.

2.

B. Publishing the priority of every project and ensuring the process is open and
free of power politics.

3.
4.

5.

C. Evaluating the progress of the projects in the portfolio.
D. Constant scanning of the external environment to determine if organizational
selection criteria need to be changed.
E. Communicating which projects are approved.

The assessment of the external and internal environments is called

_______ analysis.
1.

A. SWOT

2.

B. Competitive

3.

C. Industry

4.

D. Market

5.

E. Strategic


Projects are usually classified into all but one of the following categories.
Which one is NOT one of the typical classifications?

1.

A. Compliance and emergency

2.

B. Operational

3.

C. Strategic

4.

D. Political necessity

5.

E. All of these are typical classifications

In order to formulate strategies that align with the mission the
organization will need to
1.

A. Assess internal strengths and weaknesses.

2.

B. Analyze competitors.

3.

C. Examine the external environment.

4.

D. Know their core competencies.

5.

E. All of these should be considered when formulating strategies.

Which of the following is the correct order for the strategic management
process?
1.

A. Strategies, mission, objectives, projects

2.

B. Objectives, projects, mission, strategies

3.

C. Mission, strategies, objectives, projects

4.

D. Objectives, mission, strategies, projects

5.

E. Projects, mission, strategies, objectives

Which of the following is NOT true when managing a portfolio system?
1.

2.

A. The qualities of a particular project are assessed within the context of existing
projects
B. It does not require a constant effort

3.

4.
5.

C. Within a small organization it can be managed by a small group of key
employees
D. It requires input from senior management
E. It involves monitoring and adjusting criteria to reflect the strategic focus of the
organization

Which of the following is NOT true about organizational politics?
1.

A. Project managers should not engage in organizational politics

2.

B. Politics can have a significant influence on which projects receive funding

3.

C. Politics exist in every organization

4.

D. Politics can influence project selection

5.

E. Politics can play a role in the aspirations behind projects

Regardless of the criteria differences among different types of projects,
the most important criterion for project selection is

1.

A. How the project will balance risk within the project portfolio

2.

B. The project's fit to the organization strategy

3.

C. Compliance

4.

D. Nonfinancial

5.

E. Profit

Which of the following is NOT true for strategic management?
1.

A. It should be done once every few years just before developing the operating

plan

2.

B. It supports consistency of action at every level of the organization

3.

C. It develops an integrated and coordinated long-term plan of action

4.

D. It positions the firm to meet the needs of its customers

5.

E. It involves responding to changes in the external market and allocating scarce
resources to improve a competitive position.


Why do project managers need to understand their organization's mission
and strategy?
1.

A. To reduce project duration and increase the number of projects implemented

2.

B. So they can make appropriate decisions and adjustments and be effective
project advocates

3.

C. It is only important for senior management to understand the organization's
mission and strategy

4.

D. To get their job done and increase opportunities for promotion

5.

E. So that they can make sure the customer is satisfied

Which of the following is NOT true about an organization's strategy?
1.

A. Strategy determines how an organization will compete

2.

B. Strategy is implemented through projects

3.

C. Only top management must understand strategy

4.

D. Project selection should be clearly aligned with strategy

5.

E. Project management plays a key role in supporting strategy

A project selection process that is strongly linked to strategy results in
1.

A. The most profit.

2.

B. Better utilization of the organization's resources.

3.

C. More projects.

4.

D. A larger and more diverse organization.

5.

E. Stronger core competencies.

Which of the following questions does the organization's mission
statement answer?
1.

A. What are our long-term strategies?

2.

B. What are our long-term goals and objectives?

3.

C. How do we operate in the existing environment?


4.

D. What do we want to become?

5.

E. All of these are answered by the mission statement

Which of the following is NOT one of the characteristics of effective
objectives?
1.

A. Realistic

2.

B. Assignable

3.

C. Flexible

4.

D. Specific

5.

E. Measurable

The __________ financial model measures the current value of all cash

inflows using management's minimum desired rate of return.
1.

A. FUBAR

2.

B. ARR

3.

C. IRS

4.

D. IRB

5.

E. None of these

Which of the following terms is often used to denote a project that a
powerful, high-ranking official is advocating?
1.

A. Sacred cow

2.

B. Pet project

3.

C. Political necessity

4.

D. Special undertaking

5.

E. Strategic ploy


One who endorses and lends political support for the completion of a
specific project is known as the
1.

A. Project manager.

2.

B. CEO.

3.

C. Project sponsor.

4.

D. Project lead.

5.

E. Sacred cow.

Which of the following is NOT one of the traditional components found in
mission statements?
1.

A. Major products and services

2.

B. Profitability

3.

C. Target customers and markets

4.

D. Geographic domain

5.

E. Contribution to society

Susie's department is implementing many projects. She finds herself
starting and stopping work on one task to go and work on another task,
and then return to the work on the original task. Susie is experiencing
1.

A. Poor scheduling.

2.

B. Excess work burden.

3.

C. Flexible tasking.

4.

D. Multitasking.

5.

E. Burnout.


Which of the following problems refers to lack of understanding and
consensus of organization strategy among top and middle-level
managers? This also can result when top management formulates
strategy and leaves implementation to functional managers.
1.

A. Multitasking

2.

B. Organization politics

3.

C. Implementation gap

4.

D. Resource conflicts

5.

E. Employee turnover

Project selection criteria are typically classified as
1.

A. Financial and nonfinancial.

2.

B. Short-term and long-term.

3.

C. Strategic and tactical.

4.

D. Required and optional.

5.

E. Cost and schedule.

Which of the following is NOT one of the requirements for successful
implementation of strategies through projects?
1.

A. Allocation of resources

2.

B. Prioritizing of projects

3.

C. Motivation of project contributors

4.

D. Adequate planning and control systems

5.

E. Quality management

True - False Questions

A proposed project that ranks high on most criteria may not be selected
because the organization's portfolio already includes too many projects
with the same characteristics.
1.

True

2.

False

Objectives should be specific, marketable, assignable, realistic, and time
related.
1.

True

2.

False

Organizational objectives set targets for all levels of the organization not

just for top management.
1.

True

2.

False

Multiweighted scoring models include only quantitative criteria, not
qualitative.
1.

True

2.

False

Generally, people working on several projects at the same time are more
efficient than people working full-time on one project.
1.

True

2.

False

Project management historically has been preoccupied solely with the
planning and execution of projects while strategy was under the purview
of senior management.
1.

True

2.

False


Mission statements typically change frequently, responding to changes in
the external environment.
1.

True

2.

False

Project managers should not engage in organizational politics.
1.

True

2.

False

Intermittent scanning of the external environment is required when
managing organization strategy.
1.

True

2.

False

One benefit of project portfolio management is that it can justify killing a
project that doesn't support organization strategy.

1.

True

2.

False

Studies have shown that companies using predominantly financial criteria
to prioritize projects yield unbalanced portfolios and projects that aren't
strategically aligned.
1.

True

2.

False

Strategy is implemented through projects.
1.

True

2.

False


One way to offset the influence of politics on project management within
an organization is to have a well-defined project selection model.
1.

True

2.

False

Strategy formulation ends with cascading objectives or projects assigned
to lower divisions, departments, or individuals.
1.

True

2.

False

The NPV financial model measures the time it will take to recover the
project investment.
1.

True

2.

False

If a proposed project does not meet one of the designated "must"

objectives it is immediately removed from consideration.
1.

True

2.

False

The information gap refers to the lack of understanding and consensus of
organization strategy among top and middle-level managers.
1.

True

2.

False

Opportunities and threats can be viewed as flip sides of each other; that
is, a threat can be viewed as an opportunity, and vice versa.
1.

True

2.

False


The first step in the Strategic Management Process is to set long-range
goals and objectives.
1.

True

2.

False

The assessment of the external and internal environments is called the
SWOT analysis.
1.

True

2.

False

A written mission statement provides focus for decision making when
shared by organizational managers and employees.
1.

True

2.

False

Many organizations have three different kinds of projects in their portfolio:
compliance, operational, and sacred cows.
1.

True

2.

False

Free Text Questions
Strategy is implemented through ________.

Answer Given

projects.

In some cases organizations will use a(n) __________ to solicit ideas for
projects when the knowledge requirements for the project are not
available in the organization.
Answer Given

RFP (Request for Proposal).

________ translate the organization's strategy into specific, concrete, and
measurable terms.
Answer Given

Objectives.

Starting and stopping work on one task to go and work on another
project, and then returning to work on the original task is known as
___________.
Answer Given

multitasking.

A project that a powerful, high-ranking official is advocating is often
termed a(n) ___________.
Answer Given

sacred cow.

The assessment of the internal and external environments is known as
a(n) ________.
Answer Given

SWOT analysis.

In classifying the kinds of projects an organization has in its portfolio,
projects that directly support the organization's long-term mission are
________ projects.
Answer Given

strategic.

__________ the portfolio system involves monitoring and adjusting
selection criteria to reflect the strategic focus of the organization.
Answer Given

Managing.


The process of assessing "what we are" and deciding and implementing
"what we intend to be and how we are going to get there" is
______________.
Answer Given

strategic management.

A list of potential projects, several criteria, weights for those criteria, and
criteria scores for those projects are all typically included on a(n)

___________ matrix.
Answer Given

project screening.

When considering criteria used to select projects, capturing a larger
market share or reducing the dependency on unreliable suppliers would
both be examples of __________ criteria.
Answer Given

nonfinancial.

The financial model that measures the time it will take to recover the
project investment is the __________ model.
Answer Given

payback.

The lack of understanding and consensus of organization strategy among
top and middle-level managers is known as the __________.
Answer Given

implementation gap.

In a SWOT analysis, strong competition, reduced product demand, and a
maturing product life cycle are examples of external __________.
Answer Given


threats.

What the organization wants to become and the scope of the firm in terms
of its product or service would be identified in the organization's
____________.
Answer Given

mission statement.

How strategies will be realized, given available resources, is answered
through __________.
Answer Given

implementation.

A weighted scoring model typically uses several weighted selection
criteria to evaluate project proposals. An example of this would be a(n)
____________.
Answer Given

project screening matrix.

________ change infrequently and may require revision only when the
nature of the business changes or shifts.
Answer Given

Mission statements

The financial model that measures the current value of all cash inflows
and outflows using management's minimum desired rate of return is
known as the _________ model.

Answer Given

net present value (NPV).


High-ranking managers who endorse and lend political support for the
completion of a specific project are known as project _________.
Answer Given

sponsors.

In classifying the kinds of projects an organization has in its portfolio,

projects that are typically those needed to meet regulatory conditions
required to operate in a region are ___________ projects.
Answer Given

compliance (must do).

In a SWOT analysis, good product quality, low debt, and an established
supplier network are examples of internal ________.
Answer Given

strengths.

In classifying the kinds of projects an organization has in its portfolio,
projects that are typically needed to support current operations are
_________ projects.
Answer Given

operational