Wayne oversees a small chain of restaurants. He has noticed that he seems to be working harder and spending more time managing than his peers. In order to save himself time and effort, Wayne should

Question

A) check every detail to make sure everything is configured perfectly.
B) focus his attention on situations that sharply deviate from what is expected.
C) work to ensure that the restaurants do not deviate even a little from expected results.
D) ignore results that are exceptions to what is expected and write them off as flukes.
E) remove specific expectations from his employees and see if his job gets easier.

Answer 1

B) focus his attention on situations that sharply deviate from what is expected.
The managerial principle of exception states that control is enhanced by concentrating on the exceptions to--that is, significant deviations from, the expected result or standard. In comparing performance with the standard, managers need to attend to the exception. Applying this principle, only exceptional cases require attention and action. This principle is important in controlling. The manager is not concerned with performance that equals or closely (adequately) approximates the expected results. Managers can save much time and effort by using the principle of exception.