MHA Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which budgeting approach requires managers to justify all expenditures from scratch each budget cycle rather than using the prior year as a baseline?
- Incremental budgeting
- Zero-based budgeting (Correct answer)
- Capital budgeting
- Activity-based budgeting
Correct answer: Zero-based budgeting
Zero-based budgeting eliminates automatic rollovers by requiring justification of every line item regardless of historical spending.
Question 2: A hospital CEO wants to align employee behavior with organizational goals using extrinsic motivation. Which management tool is most appropriate?
- Job enrichment programs that increase task variety
- Performance-based bonus tied to measurable outcomes (Correct answer)
- Cross-functional team assignments to broaden skills
- Autonomy-increasing policies for clinical staff
Correct answer: Performance-based bonus tied to measurable outcomes
Extrinsic motivation relies on external rewards such as bonuses linked to measurable performance targets.
Question 3: A healthcare manager is using Management by Objectives (MBO). What is the critical first step in the MBO process?
- Evaluating employee performance against prior year metrics
- Jointly setting specific, measurable goals between manager and employee (Correct answer)
- Assigning tasks based on department-wide productivity standards
- Conducting 360-degree feedback surveys for all staff
Correct answer: Jointly setting specific, measurable goals between manager and employee
MBO begins with collaborative goal-setting between manager and subordinate to ensure alignment and commitment.
Question 4: A hospital board is exercising its fiduciary duty. Which of the following actions best exemplifies this responsibility?
- Approving a marketing campaign for a new service line
- Reviewing and approving the annual financial audit and ensuring financial controls (Correct answer)
- Negotiating physician compensation packages directly
- Selecting the vendor for a new EMR system
Correct answer: Reviewing and approving the annual financial audit and ensuring financial controls
Fiduciary duty requires board members to act in the organization's best financial interest, including oversight of financial controls and audits.
Question 5: Which type of healthcare organizational conflict is most likely to arise from resource scarcity during budget cuts?
- Interpersonal conflict between two individual employees
- Intergroup conflict between departments competing for limited resources (Correct answer)
- Intrapersonal conflict within a single manager's decision-making
- Structural conflict caused by unclear reporting relationships
Correct answer: Intergroup conflict between departments competing for limited resources
Budget cuts create intergroup conflict as departments compete for limited funding, staffing, and equipment.
Question 6: A health system is adopting a population health management strategy. Which management approach best supports this transition?
- Fee-for-service productivity incentives for clinical staff
- Siloed department structures to preserve clinical autonomy
- Value-based care models with interdisciplinary care coordination teams (Correct answer)
- Reducing preventive care programs to lower short-term costs
Correct answer: Value-based care models with interdisciplinary care coordination teams
Population health management requires value-based, coordinated care approaches that align incentives with health outcomes across patient populations.
Question 7: In the context of healthcare management, what is the primary purpose of a staffing productivity report?
- To identify employees eligible for promotion
- To compare actual hours worked to budgeted hours relative to patient volume (Correct answer)
- To document patient satisfaction scores by nursing unit
- To schedule mandatory compliance training for all staff
Correct answer: To compare actual hours worked to budgeted hours relative to patient volume
Staffing productivity reports measure efficiency by comparing worked hours against patient volume benchmarks and budgeted hours.
MHA Management 3
Which budgeting approach requires managers to justify all expenditures from scratch each budget cycle rather than using the prior year as a baseline?