Question 1

Unhealthy company cultures typically have such characteristics as

Accepted Answer

A) tight budget controls,overly strict enforcement of long-standing policies and procedures,and low ethical standards. 
B) a preference for conservative strategies,an aversion to incentive compensation,and excessive emphasis on profitability. 
C) a politicized internal environment;hostility to change;an insular,inwardly focused culture;and unethical or greed-driven behavior on the part of executives. 
D) overemphasis on employee empowerment,a complacent approach to building competencies and capabilities,no coherent business philosophy,and excessively bureaucratic policies and procedures. 
E) too little emphasis on innovation,a strong preference for hiring managers from outside the company,very few core values and traditions,and a weakly enforced code of ethics. 
A) tight budget controls,overly strict enforcement of long-standing policies and procedures,and low ethical standards. 
B) a preference for conservative strategies,an aversion to incentive compensation,and excessive emphasis on profitability. 
C) a politicized internal environment;hostility to change;an insular,inwardly focused culture;and unethical or greed-driven behavior on the part of executives. 
D) overemphasis on employee empowerment,a complacent approach to building competencies and capabilities,no coherent business philosophy,and excessively bureaucratic policies and procedures. 
E) too little emphasis on innovation,a strong preference for hiring managers from outside the company,very few core values and traditions,and a weakly enforced code of ethics.

Question 2

The process of making corrective adjustments in strategy execution

Accepted Answer

A) varies according to the situation. 
B) enables companies to indoctrinate new hires rapidly into widely shared and strongly held values,principles,and behavioral norms. 
C) exemplifies a results-oriented work climate where people go the extra mile to meet or beat stretch objectives. 
D) features a ceremony honoring individuals who believe so strongly in their ideas that they take it on themselves to hurdle the bureaucracy,maneuver their projects through the system,and turn them into improved services,new products,or even new businesses. 
E) is a typical cultural mechanism for aligning,constraining,and regulating the actions,decisions,and behaviors of company personnel. 
A) varies according to the situation. 
B) enables companies to indoctrinate new hires rapidly into widely shared and strongly held values,principles,and behavioral norms. 
C) exemplifies a results-oriented work climate where people go the extra mile to meet or beat stretch objectives. 
D) features a ceremony honoring individuals who believe so strongly in their ideas that they take it on themselves to hurdle the bureaucracy,maneuver their projects through the system,and turn them into improved services,new products,or even new businesses. 
E) is a typical cultural mechanism for aligning,constraining,and regulating the actions,decisions,and behaviors of company personnel.

Question 3

Coordinating the work efforts of internal organization units is best accomplished by

Accepted Answer

A) having frequent meetings among the heads of closely related activities and work units in order to establish mutually agreeable deadlines. 
B) having the heads of support activities report to the heads of primary,strategy-critical activities. 
C) having closely related activities report to a single executive who has the authority and organizational clout to coordinate,integrate,and arrange for the cooperation of units under their supervision. 
D) establishing monetary incentives to reward people for being cooperative team players. 
E) establishing a corporate culture where teamwork is a core value and decisions are made by general consensus among team leaders in the affected work units. 
A) having frequent meetings among the heads of closely related activities and work units in order to establish mutually agreeable deadlines. 
B) having the heads of support activities report to the heads of primary,strategy-critical activities. 
C) having closely related activities report to a single executive who has the authority and organizational clout to coordinate,integrate,and arrange for the cooperation of units under their supervision. 
D) establishing monetary incentives to reward people for being cooperative team players. 
E) establishing a corporate culture where teamwork is a core value and decisions are made by general consensus among team leaders in the affected work units.

Question 4

The principal managerial actions and initiatives undertaken in the strategy execution process include which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A) Deciding how much to spend on employee training 
B) Instituting policies and procedures that facilitate rather than impede effective strategy execution 
C) Doing an effective job of empowering employees 
D) Revamping the value chain in a manner calculated to maximize operating efficiency 
E) Selecting a capable top management team 
A) Deciding how much to spend on employee training 
B) Instituting policies and procedures that facilitate rather than impede effective strategy execution 
C) Doing an effective job of empowering employees 
D) Revamping the value chain in a manner calculated to maximize operating efficiency 
E) Selecting a capable top management team

Question 5

Essential state-of-the-art operating and information systems that support company strategies and value-creating internal processes include all of the following except

Accepted Answer

A) customer database systems. 
B) information systems to track supplier/partner/collaborative ally data. 
C) human resources systems that maintain employee data. 
D) systems to record and report financial performance data. 
E) data management systems for undertaking benchmarking,TQM,and Six Sigma quality control. 
A) customer database systems. 
B) information systems to track supplier/partner/collaborative ally data. 
C) human resources systems that maintain employee data. 
D) systems to record and report financial performance data. 
E) data management systems for undertaking benchmarking,TQM,and Six Sigma quality control.

Question 6

The disadvantages of a centralized organizational structure include

Accepted Answer

A) making the organization sluggish in responding to changing conditions. 
B) a loss of top management control. 
C) putting too much decision-making authority in the hands of lower-level company personnel. 
D) making it hard to fix accountability when things do not go well and putting the organization at risk when bad decisions are made. 
E) impeding cross-unit coordination and capture of strategic fits. 
A) making the organization sluggish in responding to changing conditions. 
B) a loss of top management control. 
C) putting too much decision-making authority in the hands of lower-level company personnel. 
D) making it hard to fix accountability when things do not go well and putting the organization at risk when bad decisions are made. 
E) impeding cross-unit coordination and capture of strategic fits.

Question 7

A company's ability to marshal adequate resources in support of new strategic initiatives and steer them to the appropriate organizational units is important to the strategy execution process because

Accepted Answer

A) a change in strategy nearly always calls for budget reallocations and resource shifting. 
B) accurate budgets are the key to exercising tight financial controls over organizational units. 
C) tight budget control is management's most powerful tool for first-rate strategy execution. 
D) lean,carefully managed budgets protect the company's financial condition and eliminate wasteful use of cash. 
E) lean,strictly enforced budgets are management's best and most used means of getting organizational units to exercise fiscal discipline. 
A) a change in strategy nearly always calls for budget reallocations and resource shifting. 
B) accurate budgets are the key to exercising tight financial controls over organizational units. 
C) tight budget control is management's most powerful tool for first-rate strategy execution. 
D) lean,carefully managed budgets protect the company's financial condition and eliminate wasteful use of cash. 
E) lean,strictly enforced budgets are management's best and most used means of getting organizational units to exercise fiscal discipline.

Question 8

Which one of the following statements about a high-performance culture is false?

Accepted Answer

A) High-performance cultures are characterized by a pride in doing things right and a no-excuses sense of accountability. 
B) High-performance cultures often have a low regard for high ethical standards,a strong preference for high-risk strategies,and a slow and methodical approach to responding to changes in the marketplace. 
C) The challenge in creating a high-performance culture is to inspire high loyalty and dedication on the part of employees,such that they are energized to do things right. 
D) In a high-performance culture,there is a razor sharp focus on what needs to be done. 
E) In high-performance cultures,there is a strong sense of involvement on the part of company personnel and emphasis on individual initiative and creativity. 
A) High-performance cultures are characterized by a pride in doing things right and a no-excuses sense of accountability. 
B) High-performance cultures often have a low regard for high ethical standards,a strong preference for high-risk strategies,and a slow and methodical approach to responding to changes in the marketplace. 
C) The challenge in creating a high-performance culture is to inspire high loyalty and dedication on the part of employees,such that they are energized to do things right. 
D) In a high-performance culture,there is a razor sharp focus on what needs to be done. 
E) In high-performance cultures,there is a strong sense of involvement on the part of company personnel and emphasis on individual initiative and creativity.

Question 9

The overriding aim in building a management team should be to

Accepted Answer

A) select people who are committed to decentralizing decision making and empowering employees. 
B) assemble a critical mass of talented managers who can function as agents of change and further the cause of first-rate strategy execution. 
C) choose managers experienced in controlling costs and flattening the organization structure. 
D) select people who have similar management styles,leadership approaches,business philosophies,and personalities. 
E) choose managers who believe in having a strong corporate culture and deeply ingrained core values. 
A) select people who are committed to decentralizing decision making and empowering employees. 
B) assemble a critical mass of talented managers who can function as agents of change and further the cause of first-rate strategy execution. 
C) choose managers experienced in controlling costs and flattening the organization structure. 
D) select people who have similar management styles,leadership approaches,business philosophies,and personalities. 
E) choose managers who believe in having a strong corporate culture and deeply ingrained core values.

Question 10

Recruiting and retaining capable employees

Accepted Answer

A) is usually much more important to good strategy execution than is assembling a capable top management team. 
B) is important because 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. 
C) is more important during periods of rapid growth than during periods of crisis and attempted turnarounds. 
D) is an important organization-building element,particularly when it comes to transforming a competence into a core competence or distinctive competence. 
E) is easily the most critical aspect in building competitively valuable core competencies and capabilities. 
A) is usually much more important to good strategy execution than is assembling a capable top management team. 
B) is important because 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. 
C) is more important during periods of rapid growth than during periods of crisis and attempted turnarounds. 
D) is an important organization-building element,particularly when it comes to transforming a competence into a core competence or distinctive competence. 
E) is easily the most critical aspect in building competitively valuable core competencies and capabilities.

Question 11

A blended approach to Six Sigma implementation that is gaining in popularity is

Accepted Answer

A) dealing exclusively with procedures to achieve defect-free manufacturing and assembly. 
B) finding other ways to contribute more to the achievement of operating excellence than either business process reengineering or Six Sigma quality control techniques. 
C) known as the ambidextrous organization,not only adept at employing continuous improvement in operating processes but also allowing R&D to operate under a set of rules that allows for the development of breakthrough innovations. 
D) for organizations to become more effective in improving manufacturing and assembly activities than they are in improving such value chain activities as R&D,human resources management,supply chain management,information technology,sales and marketing,and finance. 
E) not considered the best tool for reengineering strategy-critical business processes. 
A) dealing exclusively with procedures to achieve defect-free manufacturing and assembly. 
B) finding other ways to contribute more to the achievement of operating excellence than either business process reengineering or Six Sigma quality control techniques. 
C) known as the ambidextrous organization,not only adept at employing continuous improvement in operating processes but also allowing R&D to operate under a set of rules that allows for the development of breakthrough innovations. 
D) for organizations to become more effective in improving manufacturing and assembly activities than they are in improving such value chain activities as R&D,human resources management,supply chain management,information technology,sales and marketing,and finance. 
E) not considered the best tool for reengineering strategy-critical business processes.

Unhealthy company cultures typically have such characteristics as

The process of making corrective adjustments in strategy execution

Coordinating the work efforts of internal organization units is best accomplished by

The principal managerial actions and initiatives undertaken in the strategy execution process include which of the following?

Essential state-of-the-art operating and information systems that support company strategies and value-creating internal processes include all of the following except

The disadvantages of a centralized organizational structure include

A company's ability to marshal adequate resources in support of new strategic initiatives and steer them to the appropriate organizational units is important to the strategy execution process because

Which one of the following statements about a high-performance culture is false?

The overriding aim in building a management team should be to

Recruiting and retaining capable employees

A blended approach to Six Sigma implementation that is gaining in popularity is

Strategy,business Models,and Competitive Advantage

Strategy Formulation,execution,and Governance

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

Exam 10: Superior Strategy Executionanother Path to Competitive Advantage

Unhealthy company cultures typically have such characteristics as

The process of making corrective adjustments in strategy execution

Coordinating the work efforts of internal organization units is best accomplished by

The principal managerial actions and initiatives undertaken in the strategy execution process include which of the following?

Essential state-of-the-art operating and information systems that support company strategies and value-creating internal processes include all of the following except

The disadvantages of a centralized organizational structure include

A company's ability to marshal adequate resources in support of new strategic initiatives and steer them to the appropriate organizational units is important to the strategy execution process because

Which one of the following statements about a high-performance culture is false?

The overriding aim in building a management team should be to

Recruiting and retaining capable employees

A blended approach to Six Sigma implementation that is gaining in popularity is

Strategy,business Models,and Competitive Advantage

Strategy Formulation,execution,and Governance

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