De La Salle University

Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business

Management and Organizations Department I–
Management in Organizations II –
2nd Term, A.Y. 2018-2019 III –
TAKE-HOME QUIZ 3 Score:_____/50

Name:_______________________________________________ Section ____________ Date ____________

I. Read the narratives and answer the questions. Choose the best answer among the choices. (30 points)

CLEANER BY DESIGN LLC

Cleaner by Design LLC was started by Taylor, Raine, and Belle, who decided to start a cleaning business with an interior
design focus. The business grew successfully; at the end of the first five years, they had 35 employees with an extensive
list of loyal customers. Most of their workforce were young women and single mothers. Each of the three women
managed a different geographical area of the city. The employees were given a choice as to what municipal region they
wanted to work in, and they developed their own schedules with the leader of their geographical region. Nearly all the
employees were happy to work with any of the three leaders.

The three women were very attuned to the need of their employees' to balance family and work. Two important values
for the company were being flexible enough to allow each employee to work out her own schedule and compatibility with
the clients. Once each quarter, an all-employee meeting was held to review client needs, new client accounts, and
employee issues. The employees had an opportunity to sign up to work with new clients. When an employee left an
existing client for a new one, the employee had full responsibility for the transition and for preparing a new team member
to take over work with the existing client.

Given the flexibility of schedule, location, and clients, the employees consistently strove to build strong client
relationships. Whenever conflicts arose in client choice, employees with the strongest client reviews were given priority
because they were best able to meet client needs and build relationships.

Employees also received a learning budget to take classes and workshops related to interior decorating and home design
crafts. Even more than the flexibility of their jobs, the employees valued the opportunity to learn in creative ways to design
beautiful living spaces. The workshops were often conducted by one of the three leaders or by craft artists in the
community, but any of the employees could also lead workshops and receive compensation equivalent to what was paid to
outside instructors. Over the years, the employees decided on a 50-50 balance between internal instructors and external
ones.

By the end of five years, Cleaner By Design was gaining prestige and had a reputation as the cleaning service sought out by
people who valued aesthetically pleasing living environments. A large franchising management consulting firm approached
the three owners about organizing their business to sell to a large corporate cleaning service, Alice the Maid Inc. The Alice
proposal included a dramatic increase in revenue achieved by streamlining cleaning processes and organizing distinct
functional departments. The employees would work the standard 40 hours during regular business hours. The workshops
for learning could still take place, but the HR manager would conduct all the training based on market surveys of client
needs and gaps in organizational improvement. The three leaders were surprised at the proposal and were not sure how
to respond. It was dramatically different from the way they lived the vision of their business: to create a more beautiful
world.

1. By organizing the business into three major geographical areas, Cleaner By Design chose ______________
departmentalization.
a. functional d. divisional
b. hybrid e. network
c. matrix

2. the organization of work is primarily shaped with

a. Mainstream departmentalization. d. Multistream departmentalization.
b. Mainstream participation. e. Multistream specialization.
c. Multistream participation.
3. The all-employee meeting once a quarter illustrates _______________, which is a fundamental of
_______________ organizing.
a. dignification; Multistream d. specialization; Mainstream
b. dignification; Mainstream e. specialization; network
c. specialization; Multistream

4. Because the employees were able to learn new craft projects, there was increased _______________ rather than
________________.
a. sensitization; specialization d. specialization; experimentation
b. specialization; standardization e. None of these
c. standardization; experimentation

5. By bringing employees together once a quarter for a meeting to build connections among them, the leaders
facilitated _________________ competence.
a. content d. relational
b. process e. systems
c. rational

6. The Alice the Maid proposal would cause a shift from a ___________________ approach.
a. Mainstream to a Multistream d. Mainstream to a Standardization
b. Multistream to a Mainstream e. None of these
c. Multistream to a Standardization

7. If the craft workshops led by outside instructors provide clear written instructions so that they can be repeated
and shared, the degree of ______________ is higher than in the nondocumented peer-to-peer workshops.
a. causal knowledge d. formalization
b. team information e. experimentation
c. creativity

8. The offer from Alice the Maid may have too much standardization, which would be likely to
______________________.
a. cause greater frustration d. All of these
b. lover organizational learning e. None of these
c. undermine creativity

9. Each of the three leaders would have __________ authority over employees in her region, but only
______________ authority over employees in the other regions.
a. line; dictatorial d. line; staff
b. dictatorial; line e. None of these
c. staff; dictatorial

10. If Raine manages the west side of the city with 15 of the employees and Taylor manages the northeast side with 7
employees, ________________.
a. Raine's span of control is wider. d. Belle's span of control is the widest.
b. Taylor's span of control is wider. e. Belle's span of control is the narrowest.
c. Raine has a narrower span of control

JOLLY FARMS

A year ago Heather and Jen bought Jolly Farms, a plant nursery, garden center, and Christmas tree farm on ten acres of
property. They had previously pooled their money to invest in mutual funds and stocks, but they were new to the nursery
business. Their core values revolve around sustainability and contributing to the well-being of all stakeholders. Another
important value for them is work-life balance, and they believe the seasonal nature of the business (it is closed from
early January to early March) will promote this.

When Heather and Jen assumed ownership, they intended to keep all of the employees on for at least a year before
considering any changes. They were eager to learn how to run Jolly Farms by observing and interacting with these
experienced workers. They met with the staff frequently and talked about their plans to improve the quality of everything
Jolly Farms sells and everything it does at every step of the business. However, the general manager left after the first
month, saying he had gotten a better offer elsewhere. The Christmas tree farm manager, a close friend of the general
manager, seems uncommunicative and negative in his interactions with Heather and Jen; he indicates that he knows his
job, his trees sell well, and he is not interested in change. The plant nursery manager, in contrast, displays a willing
attitude and interest in helping Heather and Jen become familiar with the business and in learning new ideas from them.
The rest of the staff are part-time workers, many of them high school students whose hours fluctuate on a seasonal
basis. Heather and Jen believe Jolly Farms is fulfilling an important role in the community by providing work for
teenagers, by growing plants on land that might otherwise be used for industry or subdivided by a developer, and by
providing consumers in the community with plants, vegetables, and garden supplies.

The former owners of Jolly Farms kept careful records of all sales, which made it easy for Heather and Jen to tell which
plants were the top sellers. A change they wanted to implement during the first year involved closer tracking of additional
aspects of the business, such as purchasing seed and seedlings, maintenance and repairs to equipment and facilities, the
long-term condition of their soil, and the effects of weather on the plants and on customer buying patterns. They hope
this will help Jolly Farms to invest money and effort more precisely into the right aspects of the business at the right
times.

Heather suggests starting a volunteer program at Jolly Farms whereby low-income community residents can help with
maintenance and plant care in exchange for free vegetables that did not sell on a given day and would otherwise be
discarded. The volunteers would also receive recipes for cooking the vegetables and information about the role of
vegetables in a healthy diet. Heather wants to know what Jen and the Jolly Farms staff think about the idea before any
decisions are made. If they approve, she wants to meet with low-income residents and ask for their opinions.

Last week, a power company approached Jolly Farms and several adjacent property owners about the possibility of
erecting a wind farm on their land. This would involve at least 100 wind turbine towers standing about 200 feet high
with blades about 75 feet long. The base of each tower would be more than 10 feet in diameter. Heather and Jen have
always considered wind power a clean, sustainable form of energy, and they would like to earn the income the power
company proposes to pay to landowners. However, they have heard that wind turbines are noisy and can change air
flow patterns to the point of adversely affecting agriculture on the surrounding land.

11. Heather and Jen have core values that are closely aligned with
a. operations information systems. d. value chains.
b. inputs and outputs. e. Multistream perspective
c. the Mainstream perspective.

12. The previous owners had a successful ________________ system in place.

a. just-in-time inventory d. transaction processing
b. decision support e. TQM
c. operations information

13. Heather and Jen’s plan to improve the quality of everything Jolly Farms does is best described as
a. Deming’s “deadly disease.” d. a value chain.
b. TQM. e. an eHub.
c. a feedback loop.

14. The Christmas tree manager’s attitude indicates that he is accustomed to

a. a feedback loop. d. just-in-time inventory control.
b. quantified individual output evaluation. e. TQM.
c. organizational systems.

15. The overall approach Heather and Jen take to control at Jolly Farms best resembles a
a. decision support system. d. six sigma system.
b. Mainstream value chain. e. FinEco ratio.
c. Multistream value loop.

16. Heather’s method of suggesting the low-income volunteer program is an example of which Multistream
performance standard(s)?
a. Ecological transformation d. Financial/ecological
b. Participation/inclusion e. Social justice
c. All of these

17. Without telling anyone in the community, the owner of a neighboring property decides to let the power company
install 20 wind turbines on his land. He will invest the annual income in college funds for his grandchildren.
According to Multistream performance standards, he is focusing on the __________ and ignoring _________.
a. long-term perspective; participation/inclusion d. ecological transformation;
b. long-term perspective; social justice participation/inclusion
c. financial/ecological; participation/inclusion. e. long-term perspective; ecological
transformation
18. The garden center manager informs Heather and Jen that bags of fertilizer are disappearing from inventory
without being sold. Heather and Jen call a meeting and ask the staff how to resolve the problem. The Christmas
tree manager says they should post a guard at the gate and inspect each car when employees leave work. This
suggestion is consistent with which step in which control process?
a. Multistream Step 1 d. Mainstream Step 4
b. Mainstream Step 1 e. Mainstream Step 2
c. Multistream Step 4

19. The Christmas season arrives, and the Christmas tree manager tells his sales force to press each customer to buy
the biggest tree possible. This has always worked in the past, resulting in more income per tree sold. Jen
disagrees, saying she wants customers to feel comfortable in choosing whatever tree they prefer, and this is more
important than the income per tree sold. Jen and the manager disagree on
a. Step 4 of the four-step control process. d. Step 1 of the four-step control process.
b. Step 3 of the four-step control process. e. Mainstream controls, but not Multistream
c. Step 2 of the four-step control process. controls.

20. Heather and Jen propose that when the summer temperature reaches 95 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, all
workers should take a 15-minute break every hour instead of the usual 15-minute break every 2 hours. To
everyone’s surprise, the same amount of work gets done on 95-degree days with the new schedule as previously
got done with the old schedule. This is a successful example of
a. feedback loops. d. six sigma management.
b. sustenance economics. e. acquisitive economics.
c. TQM.

CARROT TOPS

Robert Liu was recently hired to take over as CEO of Carrot Tops, a small regional restaurant chain. The previous CEO,
Fred Van Blank, had recently retired at the age of 80. During Fred’s 25 years of leadership, Carrot Tops had expanded
from a single restaurant to the present 12 outlets. The original restaurant had been founded by Fred’s brother, who died
of a heart attack at a young age. The Van Blank family still owns the business but decided to hire a new CEO from outside,
because they felt the corporation needed a new leadership style. In retirement, Fred, who was in failing health, would
be a silent partner, retaining part ownership but having no involvement in operations.

Twenty-five years ago, when Fred assumed the leadership of Carrot Tops, he had taken an early retirement from his
career as an investment manager. Fred’s background in finance had enabled him to guide Carrot Tops to operate
efficiently and profitably. However, Fred did not have much interest in the restaurant business; he rarely ate a meal at
Carrot Tops, nor did he visit competing restaurants. He spent most of his time in his office, and his communications with
the staff were mostly one-way directives in which Fred told employees what to do. For several years prior to Fred’s
retirement, attendance at Carrot Tops restaurants had been declining slowly but steadily. Fred had maintained
profitability by cutting costs to compensate for the reduced income. Staff turnover had been high, but due to declining
income Fred had not authorized significant investments in recruitment or training.

Robert Liu was hired with a mandate to turn the business around. By the end of Robert’s third year, the owners wanted
to see restaurant attendance increased by 10 percent. They also wanted Robert to solve the problem of staff turnover.
They chose Robert because of his engaging personality and his strong background in the restaurant business; he has a
degree in culinary arts and has worked as a chef, restaurant manager, and hotel food services manager.

One of Robert’s first initiatives was to visit each Carrot Tops location anonymously and eat a meal, posing as a typical
customer. Next, he instituted a series of weekly breakfast meetings for the 24 restaurant day and evening managers. He
asked them to share ideas on how to increase Carrot Tops’ customer appeal, as well as to help plan strategies for
identifying any differences in customer preferences from one Carrot Tops location to another. Robert also began
dropping in at the various locations to get to know the staff and ask for their input. All of these activities met with some
resistance, because Carrot Tops employees were in the habit of following established work procedures; they expected
to report financial data to the CEO, but not to spend time discussing things like menu, decor, or customer feedback.
Overall, they were not accustomed to being asked to contribute ideas of their own.

As a result of his endeavors, Robert learned that Carrot Tops restaurants had lots of room for improvement in how they
served the community. He asked the staff to join him in working toward the goal of making Carrot Tops the first “short
list” choice when people wanted a fun place for family, friends, and local clubs and businesses to gather and share a
meal.
21. Fred Van Blank’s leadership style was characterized by
a. Multistream-style equipping. d. consideration.
b. Mainstream-style coaching. e. initiating structure.
c. the Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership
model.

22. On the Leadership Grid, Fred Van Blank’s leadership is consistent with the __________________ style.
a. impoverished d. task
b. middle-of-the-road e. team
c. country club
23. According to Fiedler’s contingency theory, Robert Liu’s relationship-oriented leadership style is appropriate if the
situational contingencies at Carrot Tops are
a. None of these; Fiedler would consider d. very unfavorable.
Robert’s style inappropriate in any situation. e. sometimes very favorable and sometimes
b. neither very favorable nor very unfavorable. very unfavorable.
c. very favorable.
24. According to House’s path-goal theory, Robert Liu’s leadership style would best be characterized as
a. achievement-oriented. d. directive.
b. participative. e. situational.
c. supportive.

25. According to Blanchard’s Situational Leadership II model, the most appropriate leadership style for a CEO in
Robert Liu’s position would be a ____________ style.
a. coaching d. directing
b. delegating e. servant
c. supporting

26. After reading an article about servant leadership, Robert Liu decides to implement this concept at Carrot Tops.
Which of the following is he most likely to do?
a. Launch an advertising campaign with the d. Call a meeting of restaurant wait staff and
theme “We’re here to serve you.” cashiers to emphasize the importance of
b. Announce to the staff that they can each take serving the customer.
a half-day off once a year to do volunteer e. Assign the managers of each Carrot Tops
work. location to design a community service
c. Work a few shifts as a cashier, as a program for their local community
dishwasher, and as a janitor.

27. It comes to Robert Liu’s attention that some Carrot Tops employees may be undocumented immigrants, because
there are questions about some of the Social Security numbers on the payroll. If Robert uses a Multistream
leadership approach, which of the following is he most likely to do?
a. Communicate a commitment to comply with immigration status is questionable, because
immigration laws, while supporting and honesty is the best policy.
working with undocumented immigrants to d. Announce a “zero-tolerance” policy in which
help them attain legal worker status. all employees have 30 days to produce proof
b. Keep quiet about the situation, because there of legal residency or be fired.
is no need to disrupt the lives of the e. Meet privately with each of the individuals
employees who are not hurting anyone. whose immigration status is questionable and
c. Contact the Immigration and Naturalization advise them to quit.
Service to report the individuals whose

28. Most Carrot Tops employees soon begin to respond positively to Robert Liu’s leadership style, in which he asks
them for ideas and frequently stops by unannounced to observe and chat. However, a few workers are openly
negative. They say they do not understand what kind of input Robert wants, and furthermore, they consider these
conversations a waste of time. Which of the four basic Multistream leadership styles is appropriate in this
situation?
a. Empowering: freeing people to be d. Equipping: creating an environment for
responsible. continuous learning.
b. Engaging: appealing to intrinsic motivators e. None of these; according to the text, no
and to a sense of community. Multistream style would be effective with
c. Enabling: emphasizing learning, providing these employees, because they lack both
general information, and allowing capability and commitment.
experimentation without performance
pressure.
 29. Carrot Tops employees propose a new program in which the restaurants will partner with local senior centers to
allow seniors to help in the kitchen a certain number of hours per week in exchange for holding a free senior
luncheon once a week. If Robert Liu uses a Mainstream-Coaching leadership style, which of the following is he
most likely to do?
a. Hire a consultant to analyze the feasibility of d. Discuss the drawbacks of the plan, and help
the plan. employees understand how it might cause
b. Offer a bonus to the first Carrot Tops location the restaurants to lose money.
to implement the plan without losing money. e. Hold a series of community meetings for
c. Veto the plan because it is not adequately Carrot Tops employees to get acquainted
researched. with the members of each local senior center
in the plan.

30. After a year as CEO, Robert Liu receives an evaluation from the owners of Carrot Tops. They comment favorably
on his leadership style and emphasize that he combines humility with a strong desire to succeed. According to
management researcher Jim Collins, this combination of traits characterizes Robert as a
a. Multistream leader. d. manager, not a leader.
b. Level 5 leader. e. Mainstream leader.
c. transformative leader.

II. Answer both questions clearly and concisely using no more than 10 sentences. Use the rubric to guide you in composing
your answer. PLEASE WRITE LEGIBLY. (20 points)

Rubric
5 4
Clarity and organization of Answer is a model of clarity,
essay conciseness, and logical
thought. Ideas flow smoothly
between paragraphs.
Utilization of theory, models Relevant theories, models,
and concepts or concepts are explained,
and successfully synthesized
to generate revealing
insights.
Quality of description and / Analysis is done
or analysis systematically, and
generates conclusions that
are not only sound, logical,
but also full of practical
insight.
Correctness of grammar and Paper is not only error-free,
syntax but also contains language
that is both crisp and
elegant.
Answer is generally well-
written. Ideas are often
presented in a clear and
organized manner.
Relevant theories, models,
or concepts are explained
and adequately used as tools
of description and / or
analysis.
Analysis is generally done
systematically, and
generates conclusions that
are mostly sound and logical.
Paper has occasional
grammatical lapses, and
practically no spelling errors.
Sentences are generally well-
constructed.
3 2
Answer can be generally
understood, although ideas
are sometimes presented in
a confusing and repetitive
manner.
Relevant theories, models,
or concepts are explained,
but incorrectly used as tools
of description and / or
analysis.
Analysis is done with some
system, but still generates
faulty and / or illogical
conclusions.
Paper has few spelling errors
but many grammatical
errors. Sentences are
coherent but construction is
still weak.
Answer is poorly-written.
Ideas are disjointed and
difficult to understand.
Theories, models, or
concepts are not explained,
and / or incorrectly used as
tools of description and/ or
analysis.
Analysis is done carelessly,
and generates faulty and / or
illogical conclusions.
Paper contains numerous
spelling and grammatical
errors. Sentences are
constructed poorly and
difficult to understand.

1. Compare and contrast the Mainstream value chain and the Multistream value loop. Use real-life
examples to show support your discussion.