Exam prep
The midterm is Thursday, October 15, 10:00–11:15 a.m., in WH D160. It is worth 100 points, closed book and closed notes, with no devices. Bring a No. 2 pencil for the Scantron and your Toro ID.
There are two forms of the exam with the same questions in a different order, so focus on knowing the ideas, not on memorizing an order.
Part I: What to know, chapter by chapter
The number is about how many multiple-choice questions come from each chapter. Every term below is in the Key Terms list at the end of its chapter.
| Chapter | Items | Know these |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Five Functions and DART | 7 | Efficiency vs. effectiveness; levels of management and Katz's technical, human, and conceptual skills; Mintzberg's role groups; what each DART quadrant produces; why DART multiplies; buying vs. developing talent; how the five functions map onto DART |
| 2 Evolution of Management Thought | 10 | Taylor; the Gilbreths; Weber; Fayol; the Hawthorne studies; Maslow; Theory X and Theory Y; management science; open vs. closed systems; the contingency view; TQM; the learning organization |
| 3 Planning, Goals, and Strategy | 7 | Strategic, tactical, and operational planning; mission, vision, and values; MBO; SWOT (internal vs. external); Porter's five forces; Porter's generic strategies; the Hedgehog Concept |
| 4 Judgment, Decisions, and Ethics | 10 | Programmed vs. nonprogrammed decisions; certainty, risk, uncertainty, ambiguity; bounded rationality and satisficing; System 1 and System 2; named biases (anchoring, confirmation, sunk cost, escalation of commitment, framing, availability); premortem and devil's advocate; groupthink; the four ethical frameworks; CSR |
| 5 Structure and Design | 8 | Differentiation and integration; span of control; chain of command and unity of command; delegation and parity of authority; functional, divisional, and matrix structures; Mintzberg's configurations; mechanistic vs. organic; the Job Characteristics Model |
| 6 Human Resource Management | 8 | HR planning; job analysis, job description vs. job specification; realistic job previews; reliability vs. validity; structured and behavioral interviews; disparate treatment vs. disparate impact; labor relations |
Part II: Short answer, in fill-in form
- DART (10 points). Write all eight elements of the DART model and give a one-line workplace example of each. The eight are four pairs, one pair per letter.
- SMART goal (10 points). Rewrite a vague goal as a SMART goal and label which part meets each letter.
- Five functions (10 points). Name the five functions of management and define each in one line. Four correct earns full credit.
Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere. Print the page if you want a paper copy.
| DART element | My example |
|---|---|
Check your eight elements
Direct & Deploy · Attract & Assess · Reward & Retain · Teach & Transform. See the DART hub for examples.
Part III: The applied DART case
You will read two short cases about organizations with people problems and answer one. For your case you will:
- Give one piece of evidence from the case for each of the four DART quadrants (8 points).
- Recommend one specific action for each quadrant, using a tool from Chapters 3–6, such as SMART goals and MBO, span of control, structured interviews, or onboarding (8 points).
- Name the weakest link and use DART's multiplication to explain why fixing it matters most (4 points).
Sunset Bike Shop
A two-location bike shop in San Pedro has strong mechanics, but nobody knows whether repairs or sales come first. The owner hires whoever a current employee recommends. Pay is fair, but no one has had a review in two years. A new e-bike line arrived, and only one mechanic knows how to service it.
Try it: write one piece of evidence and one action for each quadrant, then name the weakest link. Bring your answer to office hours or compare with a classmate.
Practice questions (not on the exam)
Pick an answer to check it.
1. Henry Gantt is known for:
2. A company policy on expense reports, used every month, is an example of a:
3. A “90 percent success rate” feels better than a “10 percent failure rate” even though they are the same. This is:
4. An organization with few layers and wide spans of control is:
5. Two interviewers rate the same candidate very differently. The selection method has low:
6. The ability to motivate, communicate with, and lead other people is a:
Study plan
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Thu Oct 8 – Sun Oct 11 | Reread the Key Terms at the end of Chapters 1–6. Rewatch any chapter video you missed (Canvas, each week's module). |
| Mon Oct 12 | Fill in the DART and five-functions self-checks below from memory. Write two SMART goals of your own. |
| Tue Oct 13 | Work the Sunset Bike Shop case. Review the muddiest points and the practice cases. |
| Wed Oct 14 | Retake the self-checks. Review your chapter quiz results in Canvas for the questions you missed. |
| Thu Oct 15 | Arrive by 9:55 with a No. 2 pencil. Office hours that morning, 8:45–9:45, are open for last questions. |