CPM Managing Work 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A public manager needs to redistribute tasks after a key team member goes on extended leave. What is the BEST first step?
- Immediately assign all tasks to the most senior employee
- Assess each remaining team member's current workload and skills (Correct answer)
- Hire a temporary contractor without consulting HR
- Ask volunteers to take on extra duties without compensation review
Correct answer: Assess each remaining team member's current workload and skills
Assessing current workloads and skills ensures equitable distribution and prevents burnout before reassigning duties.
Question 2: Which scheduling technique is MOST useful for managing projects with multiple interdependent tasks?
- Gantt chart only
- Critical Path Method (CPM) (Correct answer)
- Simple to-do lists
- Round-robin scheduling
Correct answer: Critical Path Method (CPM)
The Critical Path Method identifies task dependencies and the longest sequence of tasks, determining the minimum project duration.
Question 3: A manager notices that a unit consistently misses deadlines. The MOST appropriate management response is to:
- Immediately reassign all work to other units
- Analyze root causes before implementing corrective action (Correct answer)
- Issue written warnings to all staff in the unit
- Increase overtime requirements without reviewing workflow
Correct answer: Analyze root causes before implementing corrective action
Root cause analysis ensures corrective actions address the actual problem rather than symptoms.
Question 4: In work management, 'span of control' refers to:
- The geographic territory a manager oversees
- The number of employees a manager directly supervises (Correct answer)
- The budget authority granted to a manager
- The range of policies a manager can enforce
Correct answer: The number of employees a manager directly supervises
Span of control describes how many direct reports a single manager can effectively supervise.
Question 5: Which approach BEST supports accountability in a public sector work unit?
- Allowing staff to self-report performance without verification
- Establishing clear performance standards and regular progress reviews (Correct answer)
- Delegating all accountability to frontline employees
- Avoiding documentation to reduce administrative burden
Correct answer: Establishing clear performance standards and regular progress reviews
Clear standards combined with regular reviews create a transparent accountability structure aligned with public sector expectations.
Question 6: A manager is designing a new workflow. Which principle helps ensure tasks flow efficiently without unnecessary steps?
- Maximize the number of approval levels
- Apply process mapping to identify and eliminate redundancies (Correct answer)
- Add more handoff points to improve oversight
- Separate related tasks across different departments
Correct answer: Apply process mapping to identify and eliminate redundancies
Process mapping visualizes the current workflow and exposes redundant steps that can be eliminated to improve efficiency.
Question 7: When delegating a high-stakes assignment, a CPM-prepared manager should:
- Delegate completely and avoid all follow-up
- Provide clear expectations, authority, and check-in milestones (Correct answer)
- Retain all decision-making authority while assigning the task
- Select the delegate based solely on availability
Correct answer: Provide clear expectations, authority, and check-in milestones
Effective delegation includes communicating expectations, granting necessary authority, and scheduling check-ins to monitor progress.
CPM Managing Work 2
A public manager needs to redistribute tasks after a key team member goes on extended leave.
What is the BEST first step?