Question 1

Devil's advocacy:

Accepted Answer

A) involves generating a plan and a counter-plan that reflects plausible conflicting courses of action. 
B) is an example of ivory tower planning. 
C) hides the possible perils of a recommended course of action. 
D) involves generating a plan, and a critical analysis of that plan. 
E) involves downplaying the problems that could result from implementing a particular plan. 
A) involves generating a plan and a counter-plan that reflects plausible conflicting courses of action. 
B) is an example of ivory tower planning. 
C) hides the possible perils of a recommended course of action. 
D) involves generating a plan, and a critical analysis of that plan. 
E) involves downplaying the problems that could result from implementing a particular plan. D

Question 2

Rules of thumb, or heuristics, always help to avoid severe and systematic errors in the decision-making process.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 3

Identify and discuss the criticisms of the traditional strategic planning process and why it is useful to view strategy as an emergent process.

Accepted Answer

The traditional planning process is viewed as a rational, highly structured process that is orchestrated by top management.This view of the strategy process has been criticized for a number of reasons.First, the world is uncertain, complex, and full of ambiguity, and it is an envirornnent in which small, chance events can have a large and unpredictable impact on outcomes; thus, plans can become obsolete in a short amount
of time.In this envirornnent, it is critical that organizations respond quickly as conditions change.
A second criticism of the traditional approach is that it places too much importance on the role of top management.The alternative view is that managers deep within an organization often do exert a profound influence over the strategic direction of the firm.The traditional model does not allow for the important strategic role that lower-level managers can play.
The third criticism of the traditional model is that it does not address serendipityDthe stumbling across good things accidentally.Because serendipitous discoveries can yield numerous opportunities, companies must be able to pursue them, even if they are
inconsistent with the current strategic plan.
Given these three criticisms, the role of emergent strategies becomes clear.Unplanned responses to unforeseen circumstances that often arise from autonomous action by individual managers deep within the organization can allow a company to prosper.

Question 4

The values of a company state how managers and employees should conduct themselves.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

Differentiate between general and functional managers.Provide an example of each from your college or university.

Accepted Answer

General managers bear responsibilities f

Question 6

Philip oversees the processes of the research and development department of his company.He is responsible for all the activities and tasks undertaken by the department.In the context of strategic management, Philip is most likely to be a

Accepted Answer

A) corporate-level general manager 
B) functional manager 
C) managing director 
D) CEO 
E) business development manager 
A) corporate-level general manager 
B) functional manager 
C) managing director 
D) CEO 
E) business development manager

Question 7

Which of the following statements is tme about nonprofit organizations?

Accepted Answer

A) They compete with each other for resources. 
B) Their ultimate aim is to maximize shareholder value in order to attract risk capital. 
C) Their mangers needn't develop careful strategies, since making profit is not the organization's goal. 
D) They do not have to worry about exceeding budgets. 
E) They seldom set any performance goals like profit-making organizations do. 
A) They compete with each other for resources. 
B) Their ultimate aim is to maximize shareholder value in order to attract risk capital. 
C) Their mangers needn't develop careful strategies, since making profit is not the organization's goal. 
D) They do not have to worry about exceeding budgets. 
E) They seldom set any performance goals like profit-making organizations do.

Question 8

The CEO is a company's principal general manager.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

One of the factors that distinguishes organizations in the nonprofit sector from profit-making businesses is the lack of a need for strategic management.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

In practice, the strategies of most organizations are probably a combination of the intended and emergent strategies.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Beta Corp., a gaming software company, had recently launched a new game.The target audience identified by the company was the age group of 12-18 years.The advertising and marketing strategies were desigued exclusively to target this age group.However, it was noticed that individuals who belong to the age bracket 18-25 years were the ones who would actually buy the game.The managers at Beta Corp.decided to redesigu their marketing strategies to position the game as something that people of all age would enjoy.The company's decision to modify its product positioning demonstrates:

Accepted Answer

A) downsizing strategy. 
B) emergent strategy. 
C) deliberate strategy. 
D) concurrency control strategy. 
E) unrealized strategy. 
A) downsizing strategy. 
B) emergent strategy. 
C) deliberate strategy. 
D) concurrency control strategy. 
E) unrealized strategy.

Question 12

In the typical scenario planning exercise:

Accepted Answer

A) managers entirely depend on employee feedback. 
B) managers try to come up with alternative plans when a business model has failed. 
C) managers formulate plans upon 'what-if situations about the future. 
D) managers do a 'postmortem' to understand what went wrong with a strategy. 
E) the corporate-level management sets targets for functional-level managers. 
A) managers entirely depend on employee feedback. 
B) managers try to come up with alternative plans when a business model has failed. 
C) managers formulate plans upon 'what-if situations about the future. 
D) managers do a 'postmortem' to understand what went wrong with a strategy. 
E) the corporate-level management sets targets for functional-level managers.

Question 13

Edward Wrapp's ideas about the astuteness of power suggest that successful strategic managers:

Accepted Answer

A) act as members of a coalition or its democratic leaders rather than as dictators. 
B) usually have little control over resources that are important to the organization. 
C) maintain tight control over as many decisions as possible by demanding complete obedience. 
D) publicly commit themselves to bold strategic agendas whether or not they are rational. 
E) recognize the futility of pursuing intended strategies. 
A) act as members of a coalition or its democratic leaders rather than as dictators. 
B) usually have little control over resources that are important to the organization. 
C) maintain tight control over as many decisions as possible by demanding complete obedience. 
D) publicly commit themselves to bold strategic agendas whether or not they are rational. 
E) recognize the futility of pursuing intended strategies.

Question 14

Which of the following is not a characteristic of well-constructed goals?

Accepted Answer

A) They are provide a means by which the performance of managers can be evaluated. 
B) They are lengthy and wordy. 
C) They specify a time period. 
D) They are challenging but realistic. 
E) They address critical issues. 
A) They are provide a means by which the performance of managers can be evaluated. 
B) They are lengthy and wordy. 
C) They specify a time period. 
D) They are challenging but realistic. 
E) They address critical issues.

Question 15

Which of the following statements is true about emergent strategies?

Accepted Answer

A) They are essentially the strategies that arise from the feedback loops. 
B) They are also influenced by the kind of culture that the organization's structure and control systems foster. 
C) They are the strategies that require the least amount of evaluation and strategic thinking from the managers. 
D) They cannot be combined with intended strategies of an organization. 
E) They are the product of formal top-down planning mechanisms. 
A) They are essentially the strategies that arise from the feedback loops. 
B) They are also influenced by the kind of culture that the organization's structure and control systems foster. 
C) They are the strategies that require the least amount of evaluation and strategic thinking from the managers. 
D) They cannot be combined with intended strategies of an organization. 
E) They are the product of formal top-down planning mechanisms.

Question 16

The final component of the strategic management process is crafting the organization's mission statement, which provides the framework or context within which strategies are formulated.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Mike, the CEO of a retail chain, wanted to keep costs low.To set an example for others, he drove his own car and furnished his office with plain, metal desks.In this case, Mike was displaying:

Accepted Answer

A) commitment. 
B) ego. 
C) astute use of power. 
D) devil's advocacy. 
E) autocratic leadership. 
A) commitment. 
B) ego. 
C) astute use of power. 
D) devil's advocacy. 
E) autocratic leadership.

Question 18

Within a diversified company, the responsibilities of corporate-level strategic managers include:

Accepted Answer

A) supervising production at the manufacturing units of the company. 
B) compiling sales reports, company costs, employee productivity and calculating the employee turnover rate. 
C) responding to employee complaints on a daily basis. 
D) providing leadership for the entire organization and allocating resources among its different business areas. 
E) maintaining records of transactions with suppliers. 
A) supervising production at the manufacturing units of the company. 
B) compiling sales reports, company costs, employee productivity and calculating the employee turnover rate. 
C) responding to employee complaints on a daily basis. 
D) providing leadership for the entire organization and allocating resources among its different business areas. 
E) maintaining records of transactions with suppliers.

Question 19

Which of the following cognitive biases occurs when decision makers allocate even more resources to a project if they receive feedback that the project is failing?

Accepted Answer

A) Prior hypothesis bias 
B) Reasoning by analogy 
C) Illusion of control 
D) Escalating commitment 
E) Representativeness 
A) Prior hypothesis bias 
B) Reasoning by analogy 
C) Illusion of control 
D) Escalating commitment 
E) Representativeness

Question 20

Ralph is a well-liked manager at Aries Inc.He eloquently communicates the goals of the organization and has even been successful in making the organization's vision part of its culture.Which of the following characteristics of good strategic leaders can be observed in Ralph?

Accepted Answer

A) Authoritarian leadership 
B) Devil's advocacy 
C) Eloquence 
D) Inconsistency 
E) Empathy 
A) Authoritarian leadership 
B) Devil's advocacy 
C) Eloquence 
D) Inconsistency 
E) Empathy

Devil's advocacy:

Rules of thumb, or heuristics, always help to avoid severe and systematic errors in the decision-making process.

Identify and discuss the criticisms of the traditional strategic planning process and why it is useful to view strategy as an emergent process.

The values of a company state how managers and employees should conduct themselves.

Differentiate between general and functional managers.Provide an example of each from your college or university.

Philip oversees the processes of the research and development department of his company.He is responsible for all the activities and tasks undertaken by the department.In the context of strategic management, Philip is most likely to be a

Which of the following statements is tme about nonprofit organizations?

The CEO is a company's principal general manager.

One of the factors that distinguishes organizations in the nonprofit sector from profit-making businesses is the lack of a need for strategic management.

In practice, the strategies of most organizations are probably a combination of the intended and emergent strategies.

In the typical scenario planning exercise:

Edward Wrapp's ideas about the astuteness of power suggest that successful strategic managers:

Which of the following is not a characteristic of well-constructed goals?

Which of the following statements is true about emergent strategies?

The final component of the strategic management process is crafting the organization's mission statement, which provides the framework or context within which strategies are formulated.

Mike, the CEO of a retail chain, wanted to keep costs low.To set an example for others, he drove his own car and furnished his office with plain, metal desks.In this case, Mike was displaying:

Within a diversified company, the responsibilities of corporate-level strategic managers include:

Which of the following cognitive biases occurs when decision makers allocate even more resources to a project if they receive feedback that the project is failing?

Ralph is a well-liked manager at Aries Inc.He eloquently communicates the goals of the organization and has even been successful in making the organization's vision part of its culture.Which of the following characteristics of good strategic leaders can be observed in Ralph?

External Analysis: The Identification of Opportunities and Threats

Internal Analysis: Distinctive Competencies, Competitive Advantage, and Profitability

Building Competitive Advantage Through Functional-Level Strategy

Building Competitive Advantage Through Business-Level Strategy

Business-Level Strategy and the Industry Environment

Strategy and Technology

Strategy in the Global Environment

Corporate-Level Strategy: Horizontal Integration, Vertical Integration, and Strategic Outsourcing

Corporate-Level Strategy: Related and Unrelated Diversification

Corporate Performance, Governance, and Business Ethics

Implementing Strategy in Companies That Compete in a Single Industry

Implementing Strategy in Companies That Compete Across Industries and Countries

Filters

Exam 1: Strategic Leadership: Managing the Strategy-Making Process for Competitive Analysis

Devil's advocacy:

Rules of thumb, or heuristics, always help to avoid severe and systematic errors in the decision-making process.

Identify and discuss the criticisms of the traditional strategic planning process and why it is useful to view strategy as an emergent process.

The values of a company state how managers and employees should conduct themselves.

Differentiate between general and functional managers.Provide an example of each from your college or university.

Philip oversees the processes of the research and development department of his company.He is responsible for all the activities and tasks undertaken by the department.In the context of strategic management, Philip is most likely to be a

Which of the following statements is tme about nonprofit organizations?

The CEO is a company's principal general manager.

One of the factors that distinguishes organizations in the nonprofit sector from profit-making businesses is the lack of a need for strategic management.

In practice, the strategies of most organizations are probably a combination of the intended and emergent strategies.

In the typical scenario planning exercise:

Edward Wrapp's ideas about the astuteness of power suggest that successful strategic managers:

Which of the following is not a characteristic of well-constructed goals?

Which of the following statements is true about emergent strategies?

The final component of the strategic management process is crafting the organization's mission statement, which provides the framework or context within which strategies are formulated.

Mike, the CEO of a retail chain, wanted to keep costs low.To set an example for others, he drove his own car and furnished his office with plain, metal desks.In this case, Mike was displaying:

Within a diversified company, the responsibilities of corporate-level strategic managers include:

Which of the following cognitive biases occurs when decision makers allocate even more resources to a project if they receive feedback that the project is failing?

Ralph is a well-liked manager at Aries Inc.He eloquently communicates the goals of the organization and has even been successful in making the organization's vision part of its culture.Which of the following characteristics of good strategic leaders can be observed in Ralph?

External Analysis: The Identification of Opportunities and Threats

Internal Analysis: Distinctive Competencies, Competitive Advantage, and Profitability

Building Competitive Advantage Through Functional-Level Strategy

Building Competitive Advantage Through Business-Level Strategy

Business-Level Strategy and the Industry Environment

Strategy and Technology

Strategy in the Global Environment

Corporate-Level Strategy: Horizontal Integration, Vertical Integration, and Strategic Outsourcing

Corporate-Level Strategy: Related and Unrelated Diversification

Corporate Performance, Governance, and Business Ethics

Implementing Strategy in Companies That Compete in a Single Industry

Implementing Strategy in Companies That Compete Across Industries and Countries

Filters