English Quizzes for SBI PO, Clerk Prelims 2021

Directions (1-15): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

Paragraph 1: Management is a set of processes that can keep a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly. The most important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling and problem-solving. Leadership is a set of processes that create organizations in the first place or adapts them to significantly changing circumstances. Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles. This distinction is absolutely crucial for our purposes here. Successful transformation is 70 to 90 percent leadership and only 10 to 30 percent management. Yet for historical reasons, many organizations today don’t have much leadership. And almost everyone thinks about the problem here as one of managing change.

Paragraph 2: For most of this century, as we created thousands and thousands of large organizations for the first time in human history, we didn’t have enough good managers to keep all those bureaucracies functioning. So many companies and universities developed management programs and hundreds and thousands of people were encouraged to learn management on the job. And they did. But, people were taught little about leadership. To some degree, management was emphasized because it’s easier to teach than leadership. But even more so, management was the main item on the Twentieth–Century agenda because that’s what was needed for every entrepreneur or business builder who was a leader, we needed hundreds of managers to turn their ever-growing enterprises.

Paragraph 3: Unfortunately for us today, this emphasis on management has often been institutionalized in corporate cultures that discourage employees from learning how to lead. Ironically, past success is usually the key ingredient in producing this out come. The syndrome, as I have observed it on many occasions, goes like this success creates some degree of marked dominance, which in turn produces much growth. After a while keeping the ever larger organization under control becomes the primary challenge. So attention turns inward, and managerial competencies are nurtured. With a strong emphasis on management but not leadership, bureaucracy and an inward focus take over. But with continued success, the result mostly of market dominance the problem often goes unhealthy arrogance begins to evolve. All of these characteristics than making any transformation effort much more difficult.

Paragraph 4: Arrogant managers can over-evaluate their current performance and competitive position, listen poorly, and learn slowly. Inwardly focused employees can have difficulty seeing the very forces that present threats and opportunities. Bureaucratic cultures can smother those who want to respond to shifting conditions. And the lack of leadership leaves no force inside these organizations to break-out the morass.

Q1. Why, according to the author, a distinction between management and leadership is crucial?
(a) Leaders are reactive whereas managers are proactive.
(b) Organizations are facing problems of not getting good managers.
(c) Organizations are pursuing the strategy of status-quo.
(d) In today’s context organizations need leaders much more than managers in transforming them.
(e) None of these

Q2. Why did companies and universities develop programmes to prepare managers in such a large number?
(a) Companies and Universities wanted to generate funds through these programs
(b) A large number of organizations were created and they needed managers in good number.
(c) Organizations did not want spend their scarce resources in training managers.
(d) Organizations wanted to create communication network though trained managers.
(e) None of these

Q3. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE in the context of the passage?
(a) Bureaucratic culture smothers those who want to respond to changing conditions.
(b) Leadership produces change and has the potential to establish direction.
(c) Pressure on managers comes mostly from within.
(d) Leadership centers on carrying out important functions such as planning and problem-solving.
(e) Managers believe that they are the best and that their idiosyncratic traditions are superior.

Q4. Which of the following is not the characteristic of bureaucratic culture?
(a) Managers listen poorly and learn slowly.
(b) Managerial competencies are nurtured.
(c) Employees clearly see the forces that present threats and opportunities.
(d) Prevalence of unhealthy arrogance.
(e) Managers tend to stifle initiative

Q5. Which of the following is SIMILAR in meaning of the word SMOTHER as used in the passage?
(a) suppress
(b) encourage
(c) instigate
(d) criticize
(e) attack

Q6. How has the author defined management?
(a) It is the process of adapting organizations to changing circumstances.
(b) It is the system of aligning people with the direction it has taken.
(c) It refers to creating a vision to help direct the change effort.
(d) It keeps a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly.
(e) None of these

Q7. Management education was emphasized in the management programs because
(a) establishing direction was the main focus of organizations.
(b) motivating employees were thought to be done by the manager.
(c) strategies for producing change was the main focus of organizations.
(d) organizations wanted to create a powerful guiding coalition.
(e) Management was the main item of agenda in organizations.

Q8. What is the historical reason for many organizations not having leadership?
(a) A view that leaders are born, they are not made.
(b) Leaders lack managerial skills and organizations need managers.
(c) Leaders are weak in carrying out traditional functions of management.
(d) Leaders allow too much complacency in organizations.
(e) None of these

Q9. In the passage, management is equated with
(a) Organizing
(b) Leadership
(c) Organizational vision
(d) Inspire people
(e) Managerial training

Q10. Why does the attention of large organizations turn inward?
(a) Their managers become arrogant.
(b) They have to keep themselves under control.
(c) Their success creates market dominance.
(d) They want to project their predictability.
(e) None of these

Q11. Which of the following is SIMILAR in meaning of the word ‘NURTURED’ as used in the passage?
(a) think
(b) developed
(c) thwarted
(d) surfaced
(e) halted

Q12. What, according to the author, is leadership?
(a) Process which keeps system of people and technology running smoothly.
(b) Planning the future and budgeting resources of the organization.
(c) Inspiring people to realize the vision.
(d) Carrying out the crucial functions of management.
(e) None of these

Q13. Which of the following characteristics help organizations in their transformation efforts?
(a) Emphasis on leadership but not management
(b) A strong and dogmatic culture
(c) Bureaucratic and inward looking approach
(d) Failing to acknowledge the value of customers and shareholders
(e) None of these

Q14. Why were people taught little about leadership in management programmes?
(a) Teachers were busy in understanding the phenomenon of leadership.
(b) Enough study material was not available to facilitate teaching of leadership
(c) Focus of these programmes was on developing managers
(d) Leadership was considered only a political phenomenon
(e) None of these

Q15. Which of the following statements is/are definitely true in the context of the passage?
(A) Bureaucracy cultures can suffocate those who want to respond to shifting conditions.
(B) Leadership competencies are nurtured in large size organizations.
(C) Successful transformation in organizations is 70 to 90 percent leadership.
(a) Only (A) and (B)
(b) Only (A) and (C)
(c) Only (B) and (C)
(d) Only (B)
(e) Only (C)

Solutions

S1. Ans.(d)
Sol. The clue for answering this question contains in the first paragraph of the passage. Here leaders are presented as the agents of change. Leaders are needed to bring changes or transforming the organizations. So, the answer is (d).

S2. Ans.(b)
Sol. At the beginning of the second paragraph, the author tells us that thousands and thousands of large organizations have been created which in turn has created the need for a large number of managers. This is why universities and companies have developed programs to prepare managers in such a large number.

S3. Ans.(d)
Sol. Planning and problem solving are said as the functions of the managers (Refer para 1).
The author also differentiates between managers and leaders. This shows that the statement (d) is not true in the context of the passage.

S4. Ans.(c)
Sol.“ Inwardly focused employees can have difficulty seeing the very forces that present threats and opportunities.” In the last paragraph of the passage in context to the bureaucratic culture. This shows that option (c) is not a characteristic culture.

S5. Ans.(a)
Sol. The word smother here means to suppress.

S6. Ans.(d)
Sol. It keeps a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly. (Refer 1st sentence of para 1)

S7. Ans.(e)
Sol. “But even more so, management was the main item on the twentieth-century agenda because that’s what was needed… hundreds of managers to run their ever growing enterprises”.
From the above-mentioned assertions, it becomes clear that the item management is very much on the agenda of the universities because enterprises are in great need of managers.

S8. Ans.(e)
Sol. None of these.

S9. Ans.(a)
Sol. Organizing (Refer para 1). The most important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organizing

S10. Ans.(b)
Sol. “After a while keeping the ever-larger organization under control becomes the primary challenge. So, attention turns inward, and managerial competencies are nurtured”. Here the first sentence is presented as the cause for the turning of attention inward. So, the answer is (b).

S11. Ans.(b)
Sol. developed

S12. Ans.(c)
Sol. Though none of the given options is a complete definition of leadership, option (c) is partially true. And option (c) does not contain any contradictory opinion. “Inspiring people to realize the vision” talks partially but talks of the truth. Therefore, the answer is (c).

S13. Ans.(e)
Sol. “Successful transformation is 70 to 90 percent leadership and only 10 to 30 percent management. ” So, it is clear that both leadership and management are needed for change.
so, we cannot option for (a). Therefore, the correct answer is (e).

S14. Ans.(c)
Sol. Refer para 2-But, people were taught little about leadership. To some degree, management was emphasized because it’s easier to teach than leadership

S15. Ans.(b)
Sol. Actually, managerial competencies are nurtured in large size organizations. So, the statements (B) is wrong. But remaining two statements are correct in the context of the passage. So, the answer is (b).