Free DSST Principles of Supervision Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the DSST Principles of Supervision practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1How did Fayol's administrative approach differ in focus from Taylor's scientific management?

   1. A.Fayol emphasized the overall management of the corporation.Correct answer: A
   2. B.Fayol emphasized the timing of each worker's individual tasks.
   3. C.Fayol focused on the monetary compensation of individual workers.
   4. D.Fayol focused on limiting social interactions among workers.

   Explanation: "Fayol focused on overall management of the corporation rather than on individual tasks involved in carrying out a firm’s business." Fayol's approach concerned the organization as a whole; the other choices mischaracterize its focus.

   Reference: Principles of Management: Administrative and Bureaucratic Management — Section 3.5, Administrative and Bureaucratic Management

2. 2Which statement is an action statement in a plan to reduce late deliveries?

   1. A.Introduce a daily dispatch check before shipments leave.Correct answer: A
   2. B.Achieve a 10 percent reduction in late deliveries.
   3. C.Maintain an on-time delivery rate of 95 percent.
   4. D.Reach the desired delivery target by the end of the quarter.

   Explanation: "Action statements reflect the means by which organizations move forward to attain their goals." An action statement identifies means, whereas a goal statement identifies an end.

   Reference: Principles of Management: Is Planning Important — Section 17.1, Is Planning Important

3. 3Under the EEOC's federal EEO harassment guidance, which basis for workplace mistreatment falls within the protected-characteristic requirement, assuming other legal requirements are met?

   1. A.Disagreement over a worker's preferred schedule
   2. B.The worker's legally protected national originCorrect answer: B
   3. C.A dispute over the location of work supplies
   4. D.A difference of opinion about a work procedure

   Explanation: "For harassment to violate the law, it must be based on a legally protected characteristic, among other requirements." The protected characteristic is necessary under the EEOC's explanation, though other requirements also apply.

   Reference: Small Business Fact Sheet: Harassment in the Workplace — When does harassing conduct in the workplace violate the law?

4. 4In Weber's model, what should guide a bureaucratic manager's decisions?

   1. A.The manager's personal preferences in each case
   2. B.The organization's rules and established policiesCorrect answer: B
   3. C.The employee's family standing in the community
   4. D.The manager's informal relationships with employees

   Explanation: "Weber also stressed that bureaucrats need to make decisions based on rules rather than whims." Weber emphasized rule-based decisions, rather than discretion based on preference, family standing, or personal relationships.

   Reference: Principles of Management: Administrative and Bureaucratic Management — Section 3.5, Administrative and Bureaucratic Management

5. 5A supervisor reviews an existing plan after receiving reliable new information about a major change in demand. Why is that review consistent with sound planning?

   1. A.Plans must remain fixed once they have been adopted.
   2. B.Plans may need modification when conditions or information change.Correct answer: B
   3. C.Plans apply only to conditions that can be predicted with certainty.
   4. D.Plans should be replaced whenever a short-term result is measured.

   Explanation: "Managers and other organizational members should check to see if their plans need to be modified to accommodate changing conditions, new information, or new situations that will affect the organization’s future." Reviewing the plan permits adjustment when relevant conditions change.

   Reference: Principles of Management: Is Planning Important — Section 17.1, Is Planning Important

6. 6According to the EEOC, which condition can make harassment based on a protected characteristic a hostile work environment?

   1. A.Conduct offends an employee regardless of its severity or frequency.
   2. B.Conduct is observed by coworkers regardless of its effect on the employee.
   3. C.Conduct is sufficiently severe or pervasive to be abusive to a reasonable person in the employee's position.Correct answer: C
   4. D.Conduct must occur every day even if a single incident is severe.

   Explanation: "harassing conduct that is based on a legally protected characteristic is so severe or frequent" ... "that a reasonable person in the employee’s position would find the situation to be abusive." Severity or pervasiveness and the reasonable-person perspective both matter.

   Reference: Small Business Fact Sheet: Harassment in the Workplace — What is a hostile work environment?

7. 7In Fayol's account of management, what does esprit de corps describe?

   1. A.The authority to issue instructions across several departments
   2. B.The use of individual incentives to increase production
   3. C.The cohesion and shared commitment of a unit's workersCorrect answer: C
   4. D.The division of a department's work into specialized tasks

   Explanation: "Esprit de corps refers to the cohesion of workers in a given unit or department" The concept concerns worker cohesion, not authority, incentives, or specialization.

   Reference: Principles of Management: Administrative and Bureaucratic Management — Section 3.5, Administrative and Bureaucratic Management

8. 8A supervisor repeatedly makes a scheduling decision using established criteria. What type of decision is this?

   1. A.Nonprogrammed
   2. B.Intuitive only
   3. C.ProgrammedCorrect answer: C
   4. D.Unstructured

   Explanation: "Programmed decisions are those that are repeated over time and for which an existing set of rules can be developed to guide the process." Repeated decisions with established criteria can be programmed.

   Reference: Principles of Management: Programmed and Nonprogrammed Decisions — Section 2.3, Programmed Decisions

9. 9When an employer learns of harassing behavior, what does EEOC guidance say about ending it?

   1. A.Act quickly even if it has not yet created a hostile work environment.Correct answer: A
   2. B.Wait until the conduct is severe enough to create a hostile environment.
   3. C.Act only after the affected employee resigns.
   4. D.Wait for a court to determine whether a violation occurred.

   Explanation: "Employers also are responsible for quickly ending harassing behavior once they learn about it" The EEOC says the employer should act even if the conduct has not yet become severe or frequent enough to create a hostile environment.

   Reference: Small Business Fact Sheet: Harassment in the Workplace — What are an employer’s obligations with regard to harassment in the workplace?

10. 10According to Fayol's unity of command, how should direction reach an employee in the supervisory chain?

    1. A.Through one supervisor who receives direction from higher managementCorrect answer: A
    2. B.Through several supervisors who independently direct each task
    3. C.Through every department head with an interest in the task
    4. D.Through coworkers who independently set the employee's priorities

    Explanation: "Too often under the Taylor system, a worker could have up to eight managers telling him how to perform a single task." Unity of command addresses competing instructions; the other problems concern different aspects of management.

    Reference: Principles of Management: Administrative and Bureaucratic Management — Section 3.5, Administrative and Bureaucratic Management