COM Core Responsibilities 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An office manager notices that supply costs have increased 20% over the last quarter. What is the BEST first step to address this?
- Order all supplies in bulk immediately
- Conduct a supply usage audit to identify waste or over-ordering (Correct answer)
- Switch to the cheapest vendor without evaluation
- Reduce staff access to supply closets
Correct answer: Conduct a supply usage audit to identify waste or over-ordering
Auditing supply usage identifies the root cause of cost increases before implementing solutions.
Question 2: Which document outlines the specific duties, qualifications, and reporting relationships for an open administrative position?
- Employee handbook
- Job description (Correct answer)
- Organizational chart
- Performance appraisal form
Correct answer: Job description
A job description details the duties, required qualifications, and reporting structure for a position.
Question 3: An office manager is asked to develop a business continuity plan. Which element is MOST critical to include?
- Employee birthday schedules
- Emergency contact lists and recovery procedures (Correct answer)
- Office décor preferences
- Quarterly sales projections
Correct answer: Emergency contact lists and recovery procedures
Emergency contacts and recovery procedures are the core of any business continuity plan.
Question 4: When onboarding a new employee, which action should the office manager complete on or before the employee's first day?
- Schedule their performance review
- Ensure workstation, access credentials, and required forms are ready (Correct answer)
- Assign them to lead a major project
- Complete their 90-day evaluation
Correct answer: Ensure workstation, access credentials, and required forms are ready
Preparing the workstation and credentials before day one ensures a smooth onboarding experience.
Question 5: A vendor invoice arrives with charges that differ from the purchase order. What should the office manager do FIRST?
- Pay the invoice to maintain the vendor relationship
- Compare the invoice against the purchase order and contact the vendor about discrepancies (Correct answer)
- Reject the invoice without explanation
- Approve partial payment immediately
Correct answer: Compare the invoice against the purchase order and contact the vendor about discrepancies
Reconciling the invoice against the purchase order ensures accuracy before any payment is authorized.
Question 6: Which scheduling approach BEST minimizes conflicts when booking a shared conference room?
- First-come, first-served with a centralized reservation system (Correct answer)
- Allowing managers to book verbally with no record
- Reserving the room exclusively for senior leadership
- Blocking the room for the entire week as a precaution
Correct answer: First-come, first-served with a centralized reservation system
A centralized reservation system provides transparency and enforces a fair first-come, first-served policy.
Question 7: An office manager wants to improve interdepartmental communication. Which initiative would be MOST effective?
- Restricting email use to within each department
- Establishing regular cross-departmental update meetings or shared communication channels (Correct answer)
- Requiring all communication to pass through senior management
- Eliminating informal communication entirely
Correct answer: Establishing regular cross-departmental update meetings or shared communication channels
Regular cross-departmental meetings or shared channels create structured opportunities for information sharing.
COM Core Responsibilities 2
An office manager notices that supply costs have increased 20% over the last quarter.
What is the BEST first step to address this?