Planning and Decision Making MCQs 2026

In management practice, zero-based budgeting primarily involves

1. A a method requiring every expense to be justified from zero each period rather than basing budgets on prior year figures ✓
2. B a technique that automatically increases every department budget by ten percent annually ✓
3. C a system that copies last year's budget without review or justification ✓
4. D a method eliminating all financial planning in favour of unlimited spending ✓

Regarding participative planning, the accurate statement is

1. A restricting all planning exclusively to the chief executive with no input from others ✓
2. B involving employees at various levels in the planning process to improve acceptance, information quality and commitment ✓
3. C implementing plans secretly and announcing them without prior consultation ✓
4. D prohibiting subordinates from sharing operational knowledge with planners ✓

In management practice, contingency planning primarily involves

1. A preparing alternative plans and actions in advance to respond to possible future events or emergencies ✓
2. B assuming no unexpected events will ever occur and preparing only one plan ✓
3. C reacting to crises without any prior preparation or backup options ✓
4. D eliminating all risk analysis from the planning process entirely ✓

Regarding crisis management planning, the accurate statement is

1. A ignoring potential disasters until they occur and improvising entirely ✓
2. B preparing protocols, communication plans and response teams to handle sudden major disruptions or emergencies ✓
3. C focusing crisis plans only on routine daily scheduling of staff shifts ✓
4. D prohibiting any communication during emergencies with stakeholders ✓

decision making in planning is best defined as

1. A implementing plans without evaluating any alternative options whatsoever ✓
2. B delaying all choices indefinitely until external parties decide everything ✓
3. C selecting actions randomly without analysis of goals or consequences ✓
4. D choosing among alternatives to determine courses of action that best achieve organizational objectives ✓

Regarding programmed decision, the accurate statement is

1. A a unique complex decision requiring custom analysis for a novel problem ✓
2. B a strategic choice about entering an entirely new international market for the first time ✓
3. C a decision about corporate merger with no precedent in the organization ✓
4. D a repetitive decision handled by a routine procedure, rule or habit because the situation is familiar and structured ✓

non-programmed decision is best defined as

1. A a daily reorder of standard inventory using a fixed reorder point formula ✓
2. B approving routine leave requests according to an established HR policy always ✓
3. C a novel, unstructured decision requiring custom judgment and analysis because no established procedure exists ✓
4. D processing payroll using the same automated system each month without variation ✓

planning in management is best defined as

1. A reacting to crises without any prior goal setting or preparation ✓
2. B defining goals and determining the actions, resources and schedules needed to achieve them before execution begins ✓
3. C evaluating past performance without deciding future courses of action ✓
4. D assigning blame after failures without forward-looking preparation ✓

strategic planning is best defined as

1. A daily scheduling of individual employee lunch breaks only ✓
2. B long-term, organization-wide planning defining mission, objectives and strategies to respond to the external environment ✓
3. C recording inventory counts without linking to competitive positioning ✓
4. D preparing weekly cash receipts lists without environmental analysis ✓

In management practice, tactical planning primarily involves

1. A setting the corporate mission and vision for the next decade at board level ✓
2. B assigning specific tasks to individual workers for the next hour only ✓
3. C medium-range planning by middle managers translating strategic goals into departmental objectives and action plans ✓
4. D conducting statutory external audits of annual financial statements ✓

In management practice, operational planning primarily involves

1. A formulating merger and acquisition strategy for the next five years ✓
2. B determining the enterprise-wide corporate social responsibility philosophy only ✓
3. C short-term, detailed planning of day-to-day activities and procedures to implement tactical plans ✓
4. D designing the organization's global brand identity for decades ahead ✓

In management practice, long-range planning primarily involves

1. A planning limited to the next single work shift only ✓
2. B scheduling coffee breaks for the current afternoon exclusively ✓
3. C planning covering typically three to five years or more addressing major commitments and strategic direction ✓
4. D daily assignment of courier deliveries without multi-year perspective ✓

In management practice, short-range planning primarily involves

1. A planning for periods of one year or less focusing on immediate objectives and resource allocation ✓
2. B planning organizational structure for the next twenty years exclusively ✓
3. C developing century-long technology roadmaps without near-term milestones ✓
4. D setting pension fund investment policy for thirty years with no annual review ✓

mission statement is best defined as

1. A a detailed quarterly budget spreadsheet listing every expense line item ✓
2. B a declaration of the organization's fundamental purpose, reason for existence and core values ✓
3. C an organizational chart showing reporting relationships among departments ✓
4. D a statistical quality control chart tracking manufacturing defect rates ✓

Regarding vision statement, the accurate statement is

1. A a record of past financial losses over the previous decade only ✓
2. B a list of current employee attendance violations this month ✓
3. C a forward-looking description of what the organization aspires to become or achieve in the future ✓
4. D a procedural manual describing how to operate a single machine step by step ✓

In management practice, organizational objectives primarily involves

1. A vague aspirations with no criteria for measuring achievement ✓
2. B specific measurable targets that define what the organization intends to accomplish within a defined period ✓
3. C personal hobbies of the chief executive unrelated to company performance ✓
4. D informal gossip topics circulating in the employee cafeteria only ✓

Regarding SMART objectives, the accurate statement is

1. A objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound ✓
2. B objectives that are Secret, Marginal, Arbitrary and Timeless without deadlines ✓
3. C goals set without any measurement criteria or target dates ever ✓
4. D aspirations that deliberately cannot be evaluated for completion ✓

management by objectives (MBO) is best defined as

1. A a system where only top executives set goals without subordinate input ✓
2. B a process where managers and subordinates jointly set specific objectives and periodically review progress toward them ✓
3. C an approach eliminating all performance review and feedback sessions ✓
4. D a method assigning objectives secretly without employee knowledge or agreement ✓

Regarding forecasting in planning, the accurate statement is

1. A using past data and analytical methods to estimate future conditions, demand or events relevant to plans ✓
2. B recording historical events without any attempt to project future trends ✓
3. C punishing employees for past errors without anticipating future needs ✓
4. D ignoring all market and environmental data when making decisions ✓

In management practice, environmental scanning primarily involves

1. A counting office supplies in storage closets without external analysis ✓
2. B systematically monitoring external forces such as economic, political, technological and competitive trends affecting the organization ✓
3. C reviewing only internal memos while ignoring market and regulatory changes ✓
4. D conducting employee fitness tests unrelated to business environment ✓

Regarding SWOT analysis, the accurate statement is

1. A a financial ratio formula calculating return on equity exclusively ✓
2. B a production layout technique arranging machines in a straight line only ✓
3. C assessing internal Strengths and Weaknesses and external Opportunities and Threats to inform strategic planning ✓
4. D a payroll calculation method for overtime hours without strategic context ✓

scenario planning is best defined as

1. A assuming one fixed future outcome with no alternative possibilities considered ✓
2. B planning based solely on last year's results repeated indefinitely ✓
3. C rejecting all speculation about future environmental changes entirely ✓
4. D developing multiple plausible future scenarios to test strategies and improve preparedness for uncertainty ✓

In management practice, policy in organizations primarily involves

1. A a step-by-step instruction for performing one specific task today only ✓
2. B a single binding order applicable to one incident and never repeated ✓
3. C a general guideline or principle that guides decision making across recurring situations without detailing every step ✓
4. D a financial ledger entry recording a completed transaction only ✓

Regarding procedure in organizations, the accurate statement is

1. A a broad philosophical statement of organizational values without operational detail ✓
2. B a one-time emergency order with no repeatable sequence of steps ✓
3. C an informal rumor passed through the grapevine without official status ✓
4. D a series of prescribed steps describing how to carry out a specific activity or task consistently ✓

Regarding rule in organizations, the accurate statement is

1. A a flexible general guideline allowing wide managerial interpretation always ✓
2. B an explicit, specific and usually mandatory instruction that must be followed without exception in a defined situation ✓
3. C an optional suggestion employees may ignore without consequence always ✓
4. D a long-range strategic vision statement for the entire enterprise ✓

program in planning is best defined as

1. A a single rigid rule governing one minor daily action only ✓
2. B an ongoing routine procedure repeated identically every day forever ✓
3. C a coordinated set of related activities and resources designed to achieve a major non-recurring goal ✓
4. D a personal to-do list of one employee with no organizational scope ✓

Regarding budget as planning tool, the accurate statement is

1. A a numerical plan expressing expected revenues, expenses and resource allocations over a specified period ✓
2. B a historical record of last year's actual spending with no future projections ✓
3. C an organizational chart showing chain of command among departments ✓
4. D a marketing slogan used in advertising campaigns without financial data ✓