Exam 2: Implementing Strategy: The Value Chain, the Balanced Scorecard, and the Strategy Map

The balanced scorecard can be made more effective by developing it at a detail level so that employees:

Gordon Manufacturing produces high-end furniture products for the luxury hotel industry. Gordon has succeeded through excellence in design, careful attention to quality in manufacturing and in customer service, and through continuous product innovation. The manufacturing process at Gordon begins with a close consultation with each customer so that the finished product exactly meets the customer's specifications. This commonly means unique designs, special fabrics, and high levels of manufacturing quality. In addition, Gordon believes that a key competitive edge it has over other competitors is that it has an outstanding design staff that is able to work with customers to come up with product designs that go beyond the customer's expectations. Required: Present a balanced scorecard for Gordon Manufacturing with four perspectives and at least three quantitative critical success factors in each perspective.

When a firm is determining its opportunities and threats, which of the following would not be mentioned?

Which of the following subjects would be found on the financial perspective section of a balanced scorecard?

When performing value chain analysis, which of the following should a firm take into account?

In SWOT analysis, opportunities and threats are identified by:

In the late 1990s, the bicycle maker Cannondale Corp. faced a variety of key strategic issues. One was the firm's continued dependence on Shimano Inc. of Japan to supply many parts for its bikes, particularly the derailleur, brakes, and crankset. A particularly troublesome aspect of this situation was that Shimano's high-quality and highly innovative parts were relatively expensive. Cannondale wished to reduce its dependency on these outsourced parts. A second issue was the increasing competition from Trek Bicycle Corp. and Specialized Bicycle Components Inc. for bicycles in the upper-end range of the market where Cannondale competed. Cannondale had built a successful business on the basis of high quality and innovative products. Its customers were bicyclists who expected the highest quality and most advanced features. Industry analysts predicted consolidation in the industry for manufacturers that use Shimano parts but cannot differentiate their products effectively; these bicycle makers will likely be forced to compete on price. Required: 1. Consider the use of Shimano parts as one aspect of the value chain for Cannondale. Describe Cannondale's current strategy. How should this strategy change, if at all, to compete effectively with Trek and Specialized? 2. Should Cannondale continue to outsource Shimano parts? Why or why not?

Which of the following is not a term used for a phase of the value chain?

The differentiation strategy requires all of the following resources, except:

Value activities can best be defined as:

In order to remain competitive in the contemporary business environment, several firms have started training their employees to stop viewing problems as strictly functional - that is, as only a marketing problem, or an accounting problem, for example. What does this trend illustrate about strategic management?

Which of the following is not a reason why global companies choose to report on corporate responsibility?

A firm has decided to use the balanced scorecard. Which of the following is not an advantage the company will gain by using the balanced scorecard?

In terms of strategic cost management for not-for-profit organizations, which of the following is false?

Auto engines have become more complex over the past twenty years, partly as a result of environmental concerns about exhaust contaminants. Engineers have developed two basic approaches to solving the contaminant problem. The first emphasized the catalytic converter, a modification of the auto exhaust system designed to break down pollutants. The second emphasized redesign of the auto engine's combustion process, which adds more than twice the cost of the catalytic converter alone. However, redesigning the combustion process usually results in improved full efficiency. Required: (a) Comment on the strategic advantage of redesigning the combustion process versus simply adding a catalytic converter. (b) What are the ethical questions, if any, that should be addressed in the above decision?

Which of the following perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard would most likely be the ultimate target in a strategy map for a public company?

Which of the following would not likely be a perspective of a balanced scorecard for a consumer products retailer?

A strategy map is:

The financial critical success factor of profitability can be measured by:

Which of the following organizations presents awards to firms that excel at execution of strategy, based on criteria such as leadership, marketing, strategic planning and process management?