Exam 1: Overview of Clinical Chemistry

Correct Answer:

Verified

Strategic management in a corporation appears to evolve through four sequential phases according to Gluck, Kaufman, and Walleck. Beginning with basic financial planning, it develops into forecast-based planning, then into externally oriented planning, and finally into a full-blown strategic management system. The evolution is most likely caused by increasing change and complexity in the corporation's external environment. The phases are thus likely to be characterized by a change from primarily an inward-looking orientation in the first phase to primarily an outward-looking orientation in the third phase, and to a more integrative orientation in the final strategic management phase with equal emphasis on both the external and internal environments.

Correct Answer:

Verified

Corporations need to develop strategic flexibility, which is the ability to shift from one dominant strategy to another. Strategic flexibility requires an organization to commit to the long-term development of important and critical resources. It requires that the company become a learning organization, which is an organization skillful in creating, innovating, and transferring knowledge, and readjusting its behavior to reflect new knowledge and ideas. Organizational learning is a critical component of competitiveness in a dynamic environment. It is particularly important to innovation as well as new product development.
Strategic management through continuous self-improvement is essential for learning organizations to avoid sluggishness. Organizational employees at all levels participate in strategic management by helping to study and analyze the environment for useful information, suggesting changes to strategies and programs to take advantage of environmental changes. They can then work effectively with each other to continuously improve work methods, procedures, and evaluation techniques.

Correct Answer:

Verified

Every business firm should have a business strategy for every industry or market segment it serves. A business strategy aims at improving the competitive position of a business firm's products or services in a specific industry or market segment. Firms must therefore have business strategies even if they are not organized on the basis of operating divisions. Nevertheless, it is still possible that some business firms do not have clearly stated business strategies. If they hope to be successful, however, they must have at least some rudimentary (even though unstated) position they take in terms of getting and keeping customers or clients.