ADMN 201 Scenario Drill Bank
These scenarios are designed to test your application of ADMN 201 concepts. Answers are based on the core lesson notes and raw course materials.
🌍 The Business Environment (Ch1-2)
1. The Boundary Bubble
Scenario: The Canadian government raises the minimum wage.
- Question: Is this a factor inside or outside the organizational boundary?
- Answer: Outside. This is an influence from the Political-Legal Environment. The firm must react to it, but cannot control it.
2. Standard of Living
Scenario: You are comparing the economic health of Canada and the USA.
- Question: Which is a better indicator of individual living standards: raw GDP or GDP per Capita? Why?
- Answer: GDP per Capita. It averages wealth per person, whereas raw GDP can be skewed by population size or a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals.
3. Technology Influence
Scenario: A clothing retailer uses AI to predict upcoming fashion trends.
- Question: Which environment is primarily influencing them?
- Answer: Technology Environment. AI is an emerging tool that changes how firms operate and compete.
4. Competitive Analysis
Scenario: An industry has high entry barriers, weak suppliers, and very few substitutes.
- Question: According to Porter’s Five Forces, is this industry likely to be highly profitable (5-star) or chronically unprofitable (0-star)?
- Answer: 5-Star (Highly Profitable). When the forces (pressure on profits) are weak, the industry can retain more value. Example: Soft drinks.
🇨🇦 International Trade (Ch5)
5. Absolute vs. Comparative
Scenario: Saudi Arabia can produce oil more efficiently than any other country in the world. Canada is more efficient at farming wheat than it is at manufacturing electronics.
- Question: Which type of advantage does Saudi Arabia have in oil? Which type does Canada have in wheat?
- Answer: Saudi has an Absolute Advantage (best in world). Canada has a Comparative Advantage (best vs its own other options).
6. The 2009 Deficit
Scenario: For 33 years, Canada ran a trade surplus. In 2009, it hit a deficit.
- Question: Name two factors that caused this shift.
- Answer: 1. The US economic downturn (reduced demand for exports). 2. Reduced commodity prices (e.g., crude oil).
👤 Human Resources (Ch8)
7. The BFOR Exception
Scenario: A fitness centre for women only hires female locker room attendants. A male applicant sues for discrimination.
- Question: What is the legal term for why the fitness centre is likely allowed to do this?
- Answer: BFOR (Bona Fide Occupational Requirement). It is an overriding characteristic of the job that justifies the preference.
8. Pay Equity
Scenario: A company pays its mechanics (mostly male) 22/hr. An evaluation shows both jobs require the same level of skill, effort, and responsibility.
- Question: Which legal concept could the assistants use to argue for a raise?
- Answer: Comparable Worth (Equal pay for work of equal value).
9. Employee Status (Modern Case)
Scenario: Uber drivers in Canada argue they should receive minimum wage and vacation pay, while Uber argues they are independent contractors.
- Question: Why does this matter for the firm’s bottom line?
- Answer: Employees are entitled to Statutory Benefits (EI, CPP, Workers’ Comp, Vacation Pay) which adds 10-25% to the cost of labour.
💡 Motivation & Leadership (Ch9)
10. The Hawthorne Effect
Scenario: A manager starts spending more time on the floor, asking employees for their opinions on light levels. Productivity rises, even when the manager dims the lights.
- Question: What is this phenomenon called?
- Answer: The Hawthorne Effect. Productivity increases because employees feel they are getting special attention.
11. Hygiene vs. Motivator
Scenario: A manager gives everyone a 5% raise to “motivate” them. According to Herzberg, will this lead to lasting motivation?
- Answer: No. Pay is a Hygiene Factor. It prevents dissatisfaction but does not create motivation. To motivate, the manager needs to add factors like Recognition, Responsibility, or Growth.
12. Theory X vs. Theory Y
Scenario: A manager monitors every keystroke of their employees because they believe “if you don’t watch them, they’ll just watch YouTube all day.”
- Question: Which McGregor theory is this manager following?
- Answer: Theory X. (Assumption that people are naturally lazy and need to be coerced).
🏛️ Management & Culture (Ch6-7)
13. The Iceberg Test
Scenario: A new CEO changes the company logo, slogans, and office layout to look “more innovative.” However, employees still refuse to share ideas across departments and wait for top-down approval for every decision.
- Question: Why hasn’t the culture actually changed?
- Answer: The CEO only changed the Visible Artifacts (10% of the iceberg). The Invisible Intangibles (90% - shared values, communication norms) remain stuck.
14. Skill Mix
Scenario: An IT manager who was a brilliant coder is promoted to CEO. They struggle because they spend all their time trying to fix server issues instead of setting the company’s 5-year vision.
- Question: Which skill do they have too much of, and which do they have too little of for their new role?
- Answer: Too much Technical Skill (not needed at the top); too little Conceptual Skill (critical for top managers to see the big picture).
⚙️ Operations & Quality (Ch10)
15. The Layout Test
Scenario: You visit two facilities. In Facility A, every item moves down a conveyor belt in the exact same order. In Facility B, items move between different clusters of machines based on whether they need painting, welding, or drilling.
- Question: Which is a Product Layout and which is a Process Layout?
- Answer: Facility A is a Product Layout (fixed sequence). Facility B is a Process Layout (grouped by function).
16. Utility Check
Scenario: A tailor takes raw silk and turns it into a suit.
- Question: Which of the four utilities did the production process primarily create?
- Answer: Form Utility (transforming raw inputs into a usable form).
17. Service Quality
Scenario: You take your car to a mechanic. The engine is fixed perfectly, but the mechanic was rude and left grease on your seats.
- Question: Did the mechanic pass the “Quality of Work” or “Quality of Service” test?
- Answer: They passed Quality of Work but failed Quality of Service.
📢 Marketing & Distribution (Ch12-13)
18. Push vs. Pull
Scenario: A toy company spends $5 million on TV ads during Saturday morning cartoons so kids will beg their parents for the “Mega-Robot.”
- Question: Is this a Push or Pull strategy?
- Answer: Pull Strategy. It targets the end consumer to create demand that “pulls” the product through the store.
19. Pricing Skimming
Scenario: A company launches a revolutionary new “unbreakable” smartphone at $2,500. There are no competitors. They plan to lower the price in 2 years when rivals catch up.
- Question: What pricing strategy is this?
- Answer: Price Skimming (Skimming the “cream” of the market willing to pay a premium for novelty).