Deck 13: Management

Question 1

Who should be involved in strategy implementation?

A)The CEO and the board of directors
B)Major shareholders
C)Division heads
D)All of the above

Answer 1

All of the above

Question 2

What is the main purpose of the board of directors?

A)to represent shareholders
B)to provide oversight for the CEO
C)to protect their own interests
D)to ensure that quarterly projections are met

Answer 2

to represent shareholders

Question 3

What is the difference between a vision statement and a mission statement?

A)The vision statement is much more specific.
B)The vision statement is not necessarily about the company.
C)The mission statement gives more pragmatic guidelines than the vision statement.
D)They are the same thing.

Answer 3

The mission statement gives more pragmatic guidelines than the vision statement.

Question 4

What strategy is being implemented when a chain of grocery stores buys out a number of local farms and begins to grow its own produce?

A)Forward integration
B)Backward integration
C)Horizontal integration
D)Synergistic integration

Question 5

When the buyer has a low profit margin, what happens to the seller's bargaining power?

A)It decreases.
B)It increases.
C)It stays the same.
D)The seller's bargaining power is not affected by the buyer's profit margin.

Question 6

Which of the following does not necessarily increase competition between companies?

A)The presence of many roughly equal competitors
B)High overhead costs
C)Slow industry growth
D)Industry deregulation

Question 7

Which business strategy relies on production that adjusts to meet immediate market demand to reduce the costs associated with idle workers and facilities?

A)Industrial production
B)Just-in-time production
C)Last-in, first-out production
D)Streamlined production

Question 8

Which of the following is not an example of firm infrastructure giving a competitive advantage?

A)Negotiators maintaining positive relationships with industry regulators
B)Reducing costs by implementing efficient IT systems
C)Company officers working with important customers to close a deal
D)The marketing department helping the company enter a new market

Question 9

Which of the following best measures a company's ability to meet short-term obligations?

A)Liquidity
B)Profitability
C)Productivity
D)Leverage

Question 10

Why might the market value of a software firm be higher than its book value?

A)The market is placing value on the firm's intellectual assets.
B)Software is often priced incorrectly.
C)Tech firms use different accounting procedures than traditional firms.
D)There is no reason for the market value to be higher.

Question 11

Which strategy should a company employ to combat high turnover in a competitive industry?

A)Increase recruiting efforts.
B)Make the workplace more competitive.
C)Spend less on HR, since most employees leave anyway.
D)Implement employee retention programs.

Question 12

Who evaluates an employee in a 360-degree evaluation process?

A)Colleagues
B)Managers
C)Subordinates
D)All of the above

Question 13

Which of the following effects have new IT systems had on business over the last decade?

A)They have removed distractions from work at the office.
B)They have restricted the growth of social networks at work.
C)They have increased social capital.
D)They have reduced the number of negative interactions between co-workers.

Question 14

Which of the following is not a good quality in a leader?

A)Detail-oriented
B)Goal-oriented
C)Self-motivated
D)Reactive

Question 15

Which of the following failures is common in companies that are barely keeping up with their day-to-day functions?

A)The failure to reevaluate strategic aims.
B)The failure to question basic assumptions about the business environment.
C)The failure to analyze its own operations objectively.
D)All of the above

Question 16

Which of the following is not involved in the "management by walking around" strategy?

A)Wander through the company without a specific plan.
B)Have specific questions that need to be answered by specific people.
C)Let other people guide conversations.
D)Be open to new ideas and don't be argumentative.

Question 17

What should be the relationship between a corporate strategy and corporate structure?

A)Structure should be designed to implement strategy.
B)Strategy should be designed with the structure in mind.
C)Strategy and structure should be developed independently.
D)There is no relation because strategy changes more often than structure.

Question 18

Which of the following is an advantage of the holding company corporate structure?

A)It reduces overhead and personnel costs because the corporate office is small.
B)Executives have a great deal of control over daily operations.
C)Executives are aware of decisions made at every level of the company.
D)Integration between divisions increases efficiency and reduces costs.

Question 19

Which of the following is a strategic risk associated with outsourcing?

A)Loss of non-vital skills
B)Loss of critical skills
C)Reduced personnel cost
D)Decreased personnel flexibility

Question 20

Which is true for a business that is facing a turbulent, unpredictable business environment?

A)It should leave its goals vague to be more flexible.
B)It should avoid milestones so that workflow is allowed to remain fluid.
C)It should write detailed plans that attempt to cover every possibility.
D)It must innovate strategic controls appropriate for its environment.

Question 21

Which of the following is not a part of effective short-term goal setting?

A)Clear standards for measuring success
B)An emphasis on doing your best
C)Specific timelines for project completion
D)Setting goals that are achievable without being trivial

Question 22

When is an emphasis on corporate culture and intangible rewards more useful than strict rules?

A)When work is creative and self-directed
B)When work can be measured and evaluated exactly
C)When a worker's output is standardized
D)When tasks are repetitive and low-skilled

Question 23

What is the difference between a joint venture and a strategic alliance?

A)A joint venture is legally binding, while a strategic alliance is not.
B)Strategic alliances can be accused of illegal price fixing.
C)Joint ventures involve the creation of third-party entities.
D)Joint ventures can only include two companies; a strategic alliance can have any number.

Question 24

What can stockholders reasonably expect of company managers?

A)That they add value to the stockholders' investment
B)That they diversify the stockholders' portfolio
C)That they maximize short-term yields for the stockholders
D)That they minimize the stockholders' overall exposure

Question 25

When should a company consider vertical integration?

A)When lowered transactional costs and greater coordination are important
B)Whenever different, specialized companies will be combined
C)When the company is unable to expand profits within its segment of the value chain
D)When the company lacks liquidity

Question 26

What is it called when the head office closely advises subsidiaries?

A)Mentoring
B)Parenting
C)Consolidating
D)Centralizing

Question 27

Which of the following is unwise in a strategic alliance?

A)Setting clear expectations between members of the alliance
B)Making sure all partners are treated fairly
C)Maintaining open communication with strategic partners
D)Relying on governing documents to make the venture work smoothly

Question 28

Companies aim to earn more than "normal profits." What are normal profits?

A)The cost of doing business plus a bit more
B)An equal return on investment for an investment with equal risk
C)Whatever profit the company made during last year, plus inflation
D)Normal profits depend on the industry.

Question 29

Which of the following is a characteristic of a mature market?

A)Growth is low, and competition is intense.
B)Growth is high, and it is an easy market to enter.
C)Growth is low, but there is plenty of room for future expansion.
D)Profit depends more on product design than on efficiency.