Exam 3: Foundations of Planning

Application of MBO Kay was excited. She had just returned from a manager's retreat where MBO had been discussed. This had never been used in her organization before, and she was enthusiastic about implementing the program in her department. She received the OK from her manager, the division head, who vaguely remembered having heard of the program several years earlier. Kay looked over the handout she had received. She was still somewhat confused on who was to choose the goals for the employees. However, she knew that the goals once chosen needed to be specific and have explicit time periods attached. Even though there was a lot of work to do in order to implement the program, Kay was excited. She knew this would prove to be beneficial to the organization. -Which of the following is a well- written objective to be used in MBO?

All of the following involve increasing a companies' size, markets, assets, or products except a(n)___________ .

In those organizations where formal planning did not lead to higher performance, the culprit was which of the following?

Application of SWOT Analysis Terry had been told to reexamine the strategic niche their company held in the cosmetic industry. Top management did not want the company caught unaware of any changes occurring. Terry began reviewing a list of factors in his mind. There had been some negative publicity lately due to cosmetic testing on animals. The animals were well treated, but they were used to test new products. Positively, sales industry- wide was up 10%. Women were buying more cosmetics in general, which was nothing but good for the company. Another positive factor was their personnel. They had good people working in the company, particularly in research and development. The only other negative Terry could find was that the advertising campaign that was begun last year had not shown the results they had hoped for. Something needed to be done in that department. Terry began to compile his report. -The quality of the company's personnel would be classified as which of the following?

Which of the following is not one of the steps to follow in setting objectives for employees?

___________ plans have the broadest organizational focus and the longest time frame.

Without planning, there can be no effective control.

___________ specify how overall objectives are to be achieved.

Plans that apply to the entire organization, establish the organization's overall objectives, and seek to position the organization in terms of its environment are called ___________ plans.

Which of the following is an argument against formal planning?

A project is an example of a single- use plan.

A SWOT analysis consists of four key steps.

The typical growth strategies include direct expansion, new product development, quality improvement, or diversifying- merging with or acquiring other firms.

Discuss the difference between strengths and opportunities in relation to competitive advantage.

Application of SWOT Analysis Terry had been told to reexamine the strategic niche their company held in the cosmetic industry. Top management did not want the company caught unaware of any changes occurring. Terry began reviewing a list of factors in his mind. There had been some negative publicity lately due to cosmetic testing on animals. The animals were well treated, but they were used to test new products. Positively, sales industry- wide was up 10%. Women were buying more cosmetics in general, which was nothing but good for the company. Another positive factor was their personnel. They had good people working in the company, particularly in research and development. The only other negative Terry could find was that the advertising campaign that was begun last year had not shown the results they had hoped for. Something needed to be done in that department. Terry began to compile his report. -The failure of the advertising campaign would be classified as which of the following?

Tactical plans form a basis for strategic plans.

Growth through direct expansion involves increasing company size, revenues, operations, or___________ .

Successful plans may provide

In conducting a SWOT analysis, a company's___________ are examined by questions about internal resources and skills possessed by the company.

Which of following is not one of the reasons why managers should engage in planning as that was stated in the text?