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Engineering management: board exam questions with solutions

On the ECE exam under General Engineering and Applied Sciences (GEAS) and the REE exam under Engineering Sciences and Allied Subjects (ESAS). Try each question before you open its solution.

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Questions

1. Which management function measures actual performance against standards and takes corrective action?

  1. Planning
  2. Organizing
  3. Staffing
  4. Controlling
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Answer: D. Controlling

Controlling sets standards, measures performance, compares it with the standards and corrects deviations.

2. What does a Gantt chart mainly show?

  1. The organization's reporting lines
  2. Cash inflows and outflows
  3. Quality defects by cause
  4. Project tasks as bars on a time scale
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Answer: D. Project tasks as bars on a time scale

A Gantt chart plots each activity as a horizontal bar against calendar time, showing its start, duration and finish.

3. Activities A (3 days) and B (5 days) both start at time zero. C (4 days) follows both A and B, and D (7 days) follows A only. What is the project duration?

  1. 9 days, path B–C
  2. 10 days, path A–D
  3. 19 days, sum of all activities
  4. 7 days, path A–C
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Answer: B. 10 days, path A–D

Path lengths: A–D = 3 + 7 = 10, B–C = 5 + 4 = 9 and A–C = 3 + 4 = 7. The longest (critical) path is A–D at 10 days.

4. A PERT activity has optimistic 4 days, most likely 6 days and pessimistic 14 days. What is its expected time?

  1. 8 days
  2. 7 days
  3. 6 days
  4. 24 days
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Answer: B. 7 days

t_e = (a + 4m + b)/6 = (4 + 24 + 14)/6 = 42/6 = 7 days. 8 days is the plain average of the three estimates.

5. In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which needs are at the base?

  1. Physiological
  2. Safety
  3. Esteem
  4. Self-actualization
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Answer: A. Physiological

From bottom to top, the levels are physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization.

6. In management, what does 'span of control' refer to?

  1. The number of levels in the hierarchy
  2. A manager's budget limit
  3. The number of subordinates who report directly to one manager
  4. The time allowed to finish a project
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Answer: C. The number of subordinates who report directly to one manager

Span of control is how many people one supervisor directly manages. A wide span gives a flatter organization.

7. In a SWOT analysis for a local ISP, where does a new national competitor entering the city belong?

  1. Weakness
  2. Opportunity
  3. Threat
  4. Strength
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Answer: C. Threat

Threats are external factors that could hurt the firm. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors.

8. A project's critical path has an expected duration of 20 days and a standard deviation of 2 days. Assuming a normal distribution, what is the probability of finishing within 22 days?

  1. 84.13%
  2. 68.27%
  3. 50.00%
  4. 97.72%
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Answer: A. 84.13%

z = (22 − 20)/2 = 1.0, and P(Z ≤ 1) = 0.8413 = 84.13%. 97.72% corresponds to z = 2.

Other topics in the same subjects

Physics: mechanics · Physics: waves, electricity and magnetism · General chemistry · Thermodynamics · Engineering materials · Engineering economics · Computer fundamentals and programming · RA 9292 and ethics (electronics) · Fluid mechanics · Strength of materials · RA 7920 and ethics (electrical) · PEC Part 1: general requirements

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