Free Principles of Management MCQs with Answers
138 Principles of Management MCQs from Management Sciences, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
Management principles explain how organisations set objectives and coordinate people and resources to achieve them. Coverage includes planning, organising, staffing, directing, coordinating and controlling, along with authority, responsibility, delegation, span of control and the levels of management. These functions are related but not interchangeable, especially planning and controlling.
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138 questions · page 3 of 7
- A. Efficiency means using resources economically, while effectiveness means achieving objectives
- B. Efficiency means achieving objectives, while effectiveness means reducing employee costs
- C. Efficiency means increasing authority, while effectiveness means reducing supervision
- D. Efficiency means planning activities, while effectiveness means assigning duties
Explanation: Efficiency concerns the economical use of resources such as time, money and labour.
Correct answer: Efficiency means using resources economically, while effectiveness means achieving objectives- A. Procedure
- B. Policy
- C. Strategy
- D. Mission
Explanation: A procedure gives a chronological or detailed method for performing a repeated activity.
Correct answer: Procedure- A. Conceptual skill
- B. Technical skill
- C. Mechanical skill
- D. Clerical skill
Explanation: Conceptual skill enables senior managers to understand the organisation as a whole and relate it to its environment.
Correct answer: Conceptual skill- A. Line authority
- B. Staff authority
- C. Functional advice
- D. Informal influence
Explanation: Line authority is the direct chain of command used to make decisions and give orders to subordinates.
Correct answer: Line authority- A. Equity
- B. Discipline
- C. Remuneration
- D. Centralisation
Explanation: The principle of equity requires managers to combine fairness, justice and impartial treatment in dealing with employees.
Correct answer: Equity- A. Suggest and carry out useful plans
- B. Receive orders from several supervisors
- C. Keep all decisions at the top
- D. Remain in one position permanently
Explanation: Initiative means allowing employees to propose ideas and take suitable action within organisational limits.
Correct answer: Suggest and carry out useful plans- A. Building team spirit and unity
- B. Matching authority with responsibility
- C. Maintaining a formal chain of command
- D. Dividing work into specialised tasks
Explanation: Esprit de corps promotes harmony, loyalty and team spirit among employees.
Correct answer: Building team spirit and unity- A. Plans provide standards that control uses for comparison
- B. Control eliminates the need to set organisational objectives
- C. Planning begins only after performance has been measured
- D. Control assigns employees to jobs created by staffing
Explanation: Control compares actual performance with standards, and those standards commonly arise from plans and objectives.
Correct answer: Plans provide standards that control uses for comparison- A. It is clear and measurable
- B. It is broad and impossible to verify
- C. It changes whenever performance falls short
- D. It applies only after corrective action
Explanation: A clear and measurable standard allows actual results to be compared objectively with expected results.
Correct answer: It is clear and measurable- A. Stability of personnel
- B. Subordination of interest
- C. Unity of direction
- D. Order
Explanation: Stability of personnel recognises that frequent employee turnover reduces experience, continuity and organisational effectiveness.
Correct answer: Stability of personnel- A. Strategic plan
- B. Tactical plan
- C. Standing plan
- D. Contingency plan
Explanation: A tactical plan converts broad strategic objectives into departmental or functional targets and actions.
Correct answer: Tactical plan- A. A fair return for their services
- B. Complete control over pay decisions
- C. Equal salaries regardless of work
- D. Rewards based only on seniority
Explanation: The remuneration principle requires compensation to be fair to both employees and the organisation.
Correct answer: A fair return for their services- A. Personal interests always guide decisions
- B. Organisational interest takes priority
- C. Managers avoid consulting employees
- D. Employees receive identical rewards
Explanation: This principle means the interest of the organisation should take precedence when it conflicts with an individual interest.
Correct answer: Organisational interest takes priority- A. Order
- B. Discipline
- C. Equity
- D. Unity of direction
Explanation: Fayol's principle of order requires the right person and the right material to be in the right place.
Correct answer: Order- A. Line authority
- B. Functional authority
- C. Staff authority
- D. Personal authority
Explanation: Functional authority allows a specialist to issue instructions within a defined area of expertise, even across departmental boundaries.
Correct answer: Functional authority- A. It sets the organisation's broad long-term direction
- B. It lists daily tasks for individual workers
- C. It records completed work at the end of a year
- D. It gives exact steps for routine activities
Explanation: A strategic plan establishes broad long-term objectives and the general direction of the organisation.
Correct answer: It sets the organisation's broad long-term direction- A. Technical skill
- B. Conceptual skill
- C. Manual skill
- D. Clerical skill
Explanation: Conceptual skill involves seeing the organisation as an integrated system and understanding how its parts affect one another.
Correct answer: Conceptual skill- A. Departmentalisation by function
- B. Departmentalisation by territory
- C. Departmentalisation by customer
- D. Departmentalisation by product
Explanation: Functional departmentalisation groups jobs such as marketing, finance and production according to the work performed.
Correct answer: Departmentalisation by function59. Which management activity involves determining the resources and tasks needed before work begins?
- A. Organising
- B. Controlling
- C. Directing
- D. Evaluating
Explanation: Organising identifies required tasks, groups related work and assigns resources and relationships before implementation.
Correct answer: Organising- A. Planning as a continuous process
- B. Delegation as permanent transfer
- C. Authority as personal influence
- D. Staffing as employee placement
Explanation: Planning continues as conditions change, so managers may revise objectives, assumptions and actions.
Correct answer: Planning as a continuous process