Question 1

Which one of the following statements about recruiting and retaining capable employees is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  The quality of an organization's people is always an essential ingredient of successful strategy execution-knowledgeable,engaged employees are a company's best source of creative ideas for the nuts-and-bolts operating improvements that lead to operating excellence. 
B)  Recruiting and retaining capable employees is an essential element of developing a distinctive competence. 
C)  Recruiting and retaining capable employees is closely tied to developing strong information capital capabilities. 
D)  It is very difficult for a company to competently execute its strategy and achieve operating excellence without a cadre of young managerial talent committed to staying with the company for at least a decade. 
E)  In many industries,adding to a company's talent base and building intellectual capital is more important than having a good situational fit between the company's strategy and its external environment. 
A)  The quality of an organization's people is always an essential ingredient of successful strategy execution-knowledgeable,engaged employees are a company's best source of creative ideas for the nuts-and-bolts operating improvements that lead to operating excellence. 
B)  Recruiting and retaining capable employees is an essential element of developing a distinctive competence. 
C)  Recruiting and retaining capable employees is closely tied to developing strong information capital capabilities. 
D)  It is very difficult for a company to competently execute its strategy and achieve operating excellence without a cadre of young managerial talent committed to staying with the company for at least a decade. 
E)  In many industries,adding to a company's talent base and building intellectual capital is more important than having a good situational fit between the company's strategy and its external environment.

Question 2

Which of the following is generally not among the practices that companies use to staff jobs with the best people they can find?

Accepted Answer

A)  Careful screening and evaluation of job applicants 
B)  Rotating people through jobs that span functional and geographic boundaries 
C)  Weeding out the 20% lowest-performing employees each year 
D)  Striving to retain talented,high-performing employees via promotions,salary increases,and other perks 
E)  Coaching average performers to improve their skills and capabilities 
A)  Careful screening and evaluation of job applicants 
B)  Rotating people through jobs that span functional and geographic boundaries 
C)  Weeding out the 20% lowest-performing employees each year 
D)  Striving to retain talented,high-performing employees via promotions,salary increases,and other perks 
E)  Coaching average performers to improve their skills and capabilities

Question 3

Companies with change-resistant cultures

Accepted Answer

A)  are typically opposed to performance-based incentive compensation and employee empowerment. 
B)  are prone to be preoccupied with avoiding risks,are unlikely to pursue bold actions to capture emerging opportunities,have a widespread aversion to continuous improvement in performing value chain activities,and prefer following rather than leading market change. 
C)  are often overly gung-ho about looking outside the company for best practices,new managerial approaches,and innovative ideas. 
D)  tend to be preoccupied with making sure the company has a safe,follow-the-industry-leader type of strategic vision and it avoids risky business strategies. 
E)  are typically run by amoral managers who have little regard for high ethical standards. 
A)  are typically opposed to performance-based incentive compensation and employee empowerment. 
B)  are prone to be preoccupied with avoiding risks,are unlikely to pursue bold actions to capture emerging opportunities,have a widespread aversion to continuous improvement in performing value chain activities,and prefer following rather than leading market change. 
C)  are often overly gung-ho about looking outside the company for best practices,new managerial approaches,and innovative ideas. 
D)  tend to be preoccupied with making sure the company has a safe,follow-the-industry-leader type of strategic vision and it avoids risky business strategies. 
E)  are typically run by amoral managers who have little regard for high ethical standards.

Question 4

What is meant by empowerment of employees? How does it differ from delegation of authority? In what ways can empowerment of employees aid the cause of good strategy execution?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is meant by empowerment of employees?...

Question 5

What are the characteristics of unhealthy cultures?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the characteristics of unhealthy cultures?...

Question 6

A useful guideline in designing strategy-facilitating policies and operating procedures is

Accepted Answer

A)  to prescribe enough policies to give organizational members clear direction in implementing strategy and to place desirable boundaries on their actions,then empower them to act within these boundaries however they think makes sense. 
B)  that strictly enforced policies work better than loosely enforced policies. 
C)  that more policies/procedures work better than few policies/procedures and that strict enforcement always beats lax enforcement. 
D)  to let individuals act in an empowered and self-directed way,subject only to the constraint that their actions and behavior be ethical and in step with the corporate culture. 
E)  to prescribe enough policies and procedures that little is left to chance in performing value chain activities;employees should have no leeway to do things in a manner that deviates from the company's best practices standard. 
A)  to prescribe enough policies to give organizational members clear direction in implementing strategy and to place desirable boundaries on their actions,then empower them to act within these boundaries however they think makes sense. 
B)  that strictly enforced policies work better than loosely enforced policies. 
C)  that more policies/procedures work better than few policies/procedures and that strict enforcement always beats lax enforcement. 
D)  to let individuals act in an empowered and self-directed way,subject only to the constraint that their actions and behavior be ethical and in step with the corporate culture. 
E)  to prescribe enough policies and procedures that little is left to chance in performing value chain activities;employees should have no leeway to do things in a manner that deviates from the company's best practices standard.

Question 7

Which one of the following is not a tool that company managers can use to promote continuous improvement (operating excellence)in performing value chain activities?

Accepted Answer

A)  Variability reduction analysis in work processes 
B)  Six Sigma quality control techniques 
C)  Total quality management (TQM) 
D)  Business process reengineering 
E)  Adoption of standard industry techniques 
A)  Variability reduction analysis in work processes 
B)  Six Sigma quality control techniques 
C)  Total quality management (TQM) 
D)  Business process reengineering 
E)  Adoption of standard industry techniques

Question 8

In a highly centralized organizational structure,

Accepted Answer

A)  top executive retain authority for most strategic and operating decisions. 
B)  the thesis is that strict enforcement of detailed procedures backed by rigorous managerial oversight is the most reliable way to keep the daily execution of strategy on track. 
C)  tight control from the top makes it easy to fix accountability when things do not go well. 
D)  one of the basic tenets is that most company personnel have neither the time nor the inclination to direct and properly control the work they are performing and,further,that they lack the knowledge and judgment to make wise decisions about how best to do their work. 
E)  All of these. 
A)  top executive retain authority for most strategic and operating decisions. 
B)  the thesis is that strict enforcement of detailed procedures backed by rigorous managerial oversight is the most reliable way to keep the daily execution of strategy on track. 
C)  tight control from the top makes it easy to fix accountability when things do not go well. 
D)  one of the basic tenets is that most company personnel have neither the time nor the inclination to direct and properly control the work they are performing and,further,that they lack the knowledge and judgment to make wise decisions about how best to do their work. 
E)  All of these.

Question 9

Successfully leading the effort to instill a spirit of high achievement into a company's culture and put constructive pressure on the organization to achieve good results

Accepted Answer

A)  entails such actions as treating employees with dignity and respect,celebrating individual,group,and company successes,and setting stretch objectives. 
B)  hinges on the extent to which top management emphasizes a positive rather than a negative reward system. 
C)  requires that top executives make operating excellence the company's only core value. 
D)  calls for top executives to stress the adoption of best practices,push for continuous product innovation,and provide employees with a stream of suggestions for improving company operations. 
E)  hinges on the degree to which lower-level managers and supervisors are good practitioners of MBWA. 
A)  entails such actions as treating employees with dignity and respect,celebrating individual,group,and company successes,and setting stretch objectives. 
B)  hinges on the extent to which top management emphasizes a positive rather than a negative reward system. 
C)  requires that top executives make operating excellence the company's only core value. 
D)  calls for top executives to stress the adoption of best practices,push for continuous product innovation,and provide employees with a stream of suggestions for improving company operations. 
E)  hinges on the degree to which lower-level managers and supervisors are good practitioners of MBWA.

Question 10

The primary building blocks within a company's organizational structure

Accepted Answer

A)  are almost always the departments performing such key administrative support functions as finance,accounting,information technology,human resource management,and R&D. 
B)  can include a functional or departmental structure that includes process,geographic,product,or customer groups performing one or more major processing steps along the value chain. 
C)  typically consist of an un-empowered employee department,an empowered employee department,teams of front-line supervisors,teams of middle-level managers and administrators,and the group of top-level executives that comprise the company's "executive suite." 
D)  usually consist of supply chain management,components manufacture,assembly,distribution,and administration. 
E)  usually consist of two divisions-a division charged with performing primary value chain activities and a division charged with performing support activities. 
A)  are almost always the departments performing such key administrative support functions as finance,accounting,information technology,human resource management,and R&D. 
B)  can include a functional or departmental structure that includes process,geographic,product,or customer groups performing one or more major processing steps along the value chain. 
C)  typically consist of an un-empowered employee department,an empowered employee department,teams of front-line supervisors,teams of middle-level managers and administrators,and the group of top-level executives that comprise the company's "executive suite." 
D)  usually consist of supply chain management,components manufacture,assembly,distribution,and administration. 
E)  usually consist of two divisions-a division charged with performing primary value chain activities and a division charged with performing support activities.

Question 11

The Six Sigma process of define,measure,analyze,improve,and control (DMAIC)is

Accepted Answer

A)  an improvement system for existing processes falling below specification and needing incremental improvement;the DMAIC process is a particularly good vehicle for improving performance when there are wide variations in how well an activity is performed. 
B)  an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at 100% defect-free levels. 
C)  a system of statistical procedures for achieving 100% control over how a task is performed. 
D)  an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma levels. 
E)  a system of statistical procedures for eliminating 100% of the variability in how a task is performed. 
A)  an improvement system for existing processes falling below specification and needing incremental improvement;the DMAIC process is a particularly good vehicle for improving performance when there are wide variations in how well an activity is performed. 
B)  an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at 100% defect-free levels. 
C)  a system of statistical procedures for achieving 100% control over how a task is performed. 
D)  an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma levels. 
E)  a system of statistical procedures for eliminating 100% of the variability in how a task is performed.

Question 12

Which one of the following is a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?

Accepted Answer

A)  Identifying aspects of the present culture that pose problems 
B)  Revising policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change and replacing senior executives who may be stonewalling needed organizational and cultural changes 
C)  Empowering employees to adopt whatever new work practices they believe will be an improvement 
D)  Making a concerted effort to turn the company's core competencies into distinctive competencies 
E)  Shifting from decentralized to centralized decision making so as to give senior executives more authority and control in driving cultural change 
A)  Identifying aspects of the present culture that pose problems 
B)  Revising policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change and replacing senior executives who may be stonewalling needed organizational and cultural changes 
C)  Empowering employees to adopt whatever new work practices they believe will be an improvement 
D)  Making a concerted effort to turn the company's core competencies into distinctive competencies 
E)  Shifting from decentralized to centralized decision making so as to give senior executives more authority and control in driving cultural change

Question 13

Leading the strategy execution process requires

Accepted Answer

A)  senior managers to be out in the field,seeing for themselves how well operations are going. 
B)  company managers to be diligent and adept in ferreting out problems and issues. 
C)  managers to push for better results when the strategy execution effort is not going well. 
D)  managers to have good business judgment in deciding what actions to take when corrective actions are necessary. 
E)  All of these. 
A)  senior managers to be out in the field,seeing for themselves how well operations are going. 
B)  company managers to be diligent and adept in ferreting out problems and issues. 
C)  managers to push for better results when the strategy execution effort is not going well. 
D)  managers to have good business judgment in deciding what actions to take when corrective actions are necessary. 
E)  All of these.

Question 14

The big difference between business process reengineering and continuous improvement programs such as TQM or Six Sigma is that

Accepted Answer

A)  reengineering is a tool for installing process organization whereas TQM and Six Sigma concern defect-free production methods and delivering world-class customer service. 
B)  reengineering helps create core competencies whereas TQM and Six Sigma are tools for making a core competence stronger and more efficient. 
C)  reengineering is a tool for achieving onetime quantum improvements whereas TQM and Six Sigma programs aim at incremental progress improvement (striving for inch-by-inch gains again and again in a never-ending stream). 
D)  business process reengineering requires benchmarking whereas TQM and Six Sigma do not. 
E)  reengineering represents an effort to totally revamp a firm's value chain whereas TQM looks at incrementally improving the performance of two or three targeted value chain activities. 
A)  reengineering is a tool for installing process organization whereas TQM and Six Sigma concern defect-free production methods and delivering world-class customer service. 
B)  reengineering helps create core competencies whereas TQM and Six Sigma are tools for making a core competence stronger and more efficient. 
C)  reengineering is a tool for achieving onetime quantum improvements whereas TQM and Six Sigma programs aim at incremental progress improvement (striving for inch-by-inch gains again and again in a never-ending stream). 
D)  business process reengineering requires benchmarking whereas TQM and Six Sigma do not. 
E)  reengineering represents an effort to totally revamp a firm's value chain whereas TQM looks at incrementally improving the performance of two or three targeted value chain activities.

Question 15

Total quality management (TQM)

Accepted Answer

A)  is a philosophy of managing a set of business practices that emphasizes continuous improvement in all phases of operations,100% accuracy in performing tasks,involvement and empowerment of employees at all levels,team-based work design,benchmarking,and total customer satisfaction. 
B)  is a valuable tool for helping company managers identify what the best practice is for performing a particular activity. 
C)  works best when used in conjunction with Six Sigma quality control techniques. 
D)  is an excellent tool for reengineering business processes and making quantum gains in the efficiency and effectiveness with which the processes are performed. 
E)  is a philosophy of doing things that aims at mistake-free management of a company's entire business. 
A)  is a philosophy of managing a set of business practices that emphasizes continuous improvement in all phases of operations,100% accuracy in performing tasks,involvement and empowerment of employees at all levels,team-based work design,benchmarking,and total customer satisfaction. 
B)  is a valuable tool for helping company managers identify what the best practice is for performing a particular activity. 
C)  works best when used in conjunction with Six Sigma quality control techniques. 
D)  is an excellent tool for reengineering business processes and making quantum gains in the efficiency and effectiveness with which the processes are performed. 
E)  is a philosophy of doing things that aims at mistake-free management of a company's entire business.

Question 16

If management is to match a company's organization structure to its strategy in an effective way,then it is essential

Accepted Answer

A)  that company personnel be empowered to make both strategic decisions and operating decisions. 
B)  for strategy-critical value-chain activities to be the main building blocks on the organization chart. 
C)  that value chain activities be deliberately organized so as to produce maximum strategic fit. 
D)  to define the jobs of company personnel in terms of the functions to be performed rather than in terms of the results to be achieved. 
E)  for the company to be organized around cross-functional teams rather than around functional specialties and functional departments. 
A)  that company personnel be empowered to make both strategic decisions and operating decisions. 
B)  for strategy-critical value-chain activities to be the main building blocks on the organization chart. 
C)  that value chain activities be deliberately organized so as to produce maximum strategic fit. 
D)  to define the jobs of company personnel in terms of the functions to be performed rather than in terms of the results to be achieved. 
E)  for the company to be organized around cross-functional teams rather than around functional specialties and functional departments.

Question 17

Which of the following is not a common trait of an unhealthy company culture?

Accepted Answer

A)  A politicized internal environment 
B)  Hostility to change and a wariness of people who champion new ways of doing things 
C)  An aversion to looking outside the company for best practices,new managerial approaches,and innovative ideas 
D)  An aversion to incentive compensation,failure to recruit the best and brightest employees,subpar support for employee training,overemphasis on working in teams,and low ethical standards 
E)  A disregard for high ethical standards and an overzealous pursuit of wealth and status on the part of key executives 
A)  A politicized internal environment 
B)  Hostility to change and a wariness of people who champion new ways of doing things 
C)  An aversion to looking outside the company for best practices,new managerial approaches,and innovative ideas 
D)  An aversion to incentive compensation,failure to recruit the best and brightest employees,subpar support for employee training,overemphasis on working in teams,and low ethical standards 
E)  A disregard for high ethical standards and an overzealous pursuit of wealth and status on the part of key executives

Question 18

Which one of the following is not a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?

Accepted Answer

A)  Promoting individuals who have stepped forward to advocate the shift to a different culture and who can serve as role models for the desired cultural behavior 
B)  Revising policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change 
C)  Screening all candidates for new positions carefully,hiring only those who appear to fit in with the new culture 
D)  Urging company personnel to search outside the company for work practices and operating approaches that may be an improvement over what the company is presently doing 
E)  Designing compensation incentives that boost the pay of teams and individuals who display the desired cultural behaviors and hit change-resisters in the pocketbook 
A)  Promoting individuals who have stepped forward to advocate the shift to a different culture and who can serve as role models for the desired cultural behavior 
B)  Revising policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change 
C)  Screening all candidates for new positions carefully,hiring only those who appear to fit in with the new culture 
D)  Urging company personnel to search outside the company for work practices and operating approaches that may be an improvement over what the company is presently doing 
E)  Designing compensation incentives that boost the pay of teams and individuals who display the desired cultural behaviors and hit change-resisters in the pocketbook

Question 19

Building an organization capable of good strategy execution entails

Accepted Answer

A)  staffing the organization,building core competencies and competitive capabilities,and structuring the organization and work effort. 
B)  decentralizing authority for performing strategy-critical value chain activities,establishing at least two distinctive competencies,and hiring talented employees. 
C)  investing heavily in employee training,using an empowered organization design and organization structure in order to maximize labor productivity,and employing effective incentive compensation systems. 
D)  centralizing authority in the hands of a chief strategy implementer so as to create the leadership authority for driving implementation forward at a rapid pace. 
E)  empowering employees,maximizing internal operating efficiency,and optimizing core competencies. 
A)  staffing the organization,building core competencies and competitive capabilities,and structuring the organization and work effort. 
B)  decentralizing authority for performing strategy-critical value chain activities,establishing at least two distinctive competencies,and hiring talented employees. 
C)  investing heavily in employee training,using an empowered organization design and organization structure in order to maximize labor productivity,and employing effective incentive compensation systems. 
D)  centralizing authority in the hands of a chief strategy implementer so as to create the leadership authority for driving implementation forward at a rapid pace. 
E)  empowering employees,maximizing internal operating efficiency,and optimizing core competencies.

Question 20

When trying to change a problem culture,management should undertake such steps as

Accepted Answer

A)  selecting a team of key employees to lead the culture change effort and design a plan for cultural change. 
B)  identifying which aspects of the present culture are supportive of good strategy execution and which ones are not. 
C)  drawing up an action plan to change the present culture and then persuading company personnel why this plan of action is good and will be successful. 
D)  conducting an employee survey to determine the organization's cultural norms and what company personnel like and dislike about the current culture. 
E)  employing a consultant with expertise in culture change and following his/her advice on how to proceed. 
A)  selecting a team of key employees to lead the culture change effort and design a plan for cultural change. 
B)  identifying which aspects of the present culture are supportive of good strategy execution and which ones are not. 
C)  drawing up an action plan to change the present culture and then persuading company personnel why this plan of action is good and will be successful. 
D)  conducting an employee survey to determine the organization's cultural norms and what company personnel like and dislike about the current culture. 
E)  employing a consultant with expertise in culture change and following his/her advice on how to proceed.

Which one of the following statements about recruiting and retaining capable employees is true?

Which of the following is generally not among the practices that companies use to staff jobs with the best people they can find?

Companies with change-resistant cultures

What is meant by empowerment of employees? How does it differ from delegation of authority? In what ways can empowerment of employees aid the cause of good strategy execution?

What are the characteristics of unhealthy cultures?

A useful guideline in designing strategy-facilitating policies and operating procedures is

Which one of the following is not a tool that company managers can use to promote continuous improvement (operating excellence)in performing value chain activities?

In a highly centralized organizational structure,

Successfully leading the effort to instill a spirit of high achievement into a company's culture and put constructive pressure on the organization to achieve good results

The primary building blocks within a company's organizational structure

The Six Sigma process of define,measure,analyze,improve,and control (DMAIC)is

Which one of the following is a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?

Leading the strategy execution process requires

The big difference between business process reengineering and continuous improvement programs such as TQM or Six Sigma is that

Total quality management (TQM)

If management is to match a company's organization structure to its strategy in an effective way,then it is essential

Which of the following is not a common trait of an unhealthy company culture?

Which one of the following is not a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?

Building an organization capable of good strategy execution entails

When trying to change a problem culture,management should undertake such steps as

Strategy, Business Models, and Competitive Advantage

Charting a Companys Direction: Vision and Mission, Objectives, and Strategy

Evaluating a Companys External Environment

Evaluating a Companys Resources, Capabilities, and Competitiveness

The Five Generic Competitive Strategies

Strengthening a Companys Competitive Position: Strategic Moves, Timing, and Scope of Operations

Strategies for Competing in International Markets

Corporate Strategy: Diversification and the Multibusiness Company

Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability, and Strategy

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Exam 10: Superior Strategy Execution-Another Path to Competitive Advantage

Which one of the following statements about recruiting and retaining capable employees is true?

Which of the following is generally not among the practices that companies use to staff jobs with the best people they can find?

Companies with change-resistant cultures

What is meant by empowerment of employees? How does it differ from delegation of authority? In what ways can empowerment of employees aid the cause of good strategy execution?

What are the characteristics of unhealthy cultures?

A useful guideline in designing strategy-facilitating policies and operating procedures is

Which one of the following is not a tool that company managers can use to promote continuous improvement (operating excellence)in performing value chain activities?

In a highly centralized organizational structure,

Successfully leading the effort to instill a spirit of high achievement into a company's culture and put constructive pressure on the organization to achieve good results

The primary building blocks within a company's organizational structure

The Six Sigma process of define,measure,analyze,improve,and control (DMAIC)is

Which one of the following is a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?

Leading the strategy execution process requires

The big difference between business process reengineering and continuous improvement programs such as TQM or Six Sigma is that

Total quality management (TQM)

If management is to match a company's organization structure to its strategy in an effective way,then it is essential

Which of the following is not a common trait of an unhealthy company culture?

Which one of the following is not a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?

Building an organization capable of good strategy execution entails

When trying to change a problem culture,management should undertake such steps as

Strategy, Business Models, and Competitive Advantage

Charting a Companys Direction: Vision and Mission, Objectives, and Strategy

Evaluating a Companys External Environment

Evaluating a Companys Resources, Capabilities, and Competitiveness

The Five Generic Competitive Strategies

Strengthening a Companys Competitive Position: Strategic Moves, Timing, and Scope of Operations

Strategies for Competing in International Markets

Corporate Strategy: Diversification and the Multibusiness Company

Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability, and Strategy

Filters