Deck 1: The Nature of Strategic Management

Question 1

The most effective strategic management is ritualistic, predictable, and formal.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

To gain ________ firms need to provide unique products and services.

A) a bank loan
B) governmental legitimacy
C) a sustainable competitive advantage
D) competitors
E) export orders

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The strengths and weaknesses of an organization are determined relative to the strengths and weaknesses of its competitors.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Sometimes ________ is used to refer to strategic formulation, implementation and evaluation, with ________ referring only to strategic formulation.

A) strategic planning; strategic management
B) strategic planning; strategic processing
C) strategic management; strategic planning
D) strategic management; strategic processing
E) strategic implementation; strategic focus

Question 5

Compare and contrast strategic planning with strategic management.

Question 6

An organization should take a(n) ________ approach in its industry.

A) adversarial rather than a collegial
B) collegial rather than an adversarial
C) reactive rather than a proactive
D) proactive rather than a reactive
E) cooperative rather than a competitive

Question 7

Strategic management focuses on integrating management, marketing, finance and accounting, production and operations, research and development, and information systems to achieve organizational success.

Question 8

The strategic-management process

A) occurs once a year.
B) is a semiannual process.
C) is a continuous process.
D) applies mostly to companies with sales greater than $100 million.
E) applies mostly to small businesses.

Question 9

To be effective, strategic-management must be a process that familiarizes managers and employees with the key strategic issues facing an organization and the feasible alternatives for resolving those issues.

Question 10

The strategic-management process is becoming more widely used by

A) small firms.
B) nonprofit institutions.
C) governmental organizations.
D) multinational conglomerates.
E) all types of organizations.

Question 11

Application of the strategic-management process is typically more formal in larger and well-established organizations.

Question 12

Optimizing for tomorrow the trends of today is the purpose of strategic management.

Question 13

By occasionally monitoring external events, companies should be able to identify when change is required.

Question 14

What can be defined as the art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives?

A) Strategy formulation
B) Strategy evaluation
C) Strategy implementation
D) Strategic management
E) Strategic leading

Question 15

The terms "strategic management" and "strategic planning" are used synonymously in this text.

Question 16

Despite its great popularity in the 1980s, strategic planning by corporate America is now a valuable though rare activity.

Question 17

U.S. firms are not being aggressively challenged in the computer industry.

Question 18

All firms have a strategy, even if it is informal, unstructured, and sporadic.

Question 19

Strategic management focuses on integrating functional areas to achieve organizational success. Which of the following is NOT one of the functional areas that is the focus of strategic management?

A) marketing
B) finance and accounting
C) production and operations
D) research and development
E) organizational behavior

Question 20

The goal of strategic management is to

A) achieve competitive advantage.
B) maintain competitive advantage.
C) achieve and maintain competitive advantage.
D) eliminate competitive advantage.
E) eliminate and abolish competitive advantage.

Question 21

What step in the strategic management process involves mobilizing employees and managers to put strategies into action?

A) Strategy formulation
B) Strategy evaluation
C) Strategy implementation
D) Strategic advantage
E) Competitive advantage

Question 22

________ is NOT a strategy-implementation activity.

A) Taking corrective actions
B) Establishing annual objectives
C) Devising policies
D) Allocating resources
E) Motivating employees

Question 23

Which stage in the strategic-management process is the most difficult? Explain why.

Question 24

The final stage in strategic management is strategy implementation.

Question 25

The decision to expand or diversify operations is a strategy-formulation issue.

Question 26

In most large organizations that engage in strategic management, the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of strategy activities occur at three hierarchical levels: corporate; divisional or strategic business unit; and functional.

Question 27

Which phase of strategic management is most strongly associated with "action"?

A) Strategy formulation
B) Strategy implementation
C) Strategy evaluation
D) Competing advantages
E) Measuring performance

Question 28

In which phase of strategic management are annual objectives especially important?

A) Reduction
B) Formulation
C) Implementation
D) Evaluation
E) Policy

Question 29

In which phase of strategic management are long-term objectives especially important?

A) Formulation
B) Control
C) Evaluation
D) Implementation
E) Management

Question 30

An important activity in ________ is taking corrective action.

A) strategy evaluation
B) strategy implementation
C) strategy formulation
D) strategy leadership
E) strategic analysis

Question 31

Strategy evaluation is necessary because

A) internal and external factors are constantly changing.
B) the SEC requires strategy evaluation.
C) success today is a guarantee of success tomorrow.
D) the IRS requires strategy evaluation.
E) firms have limited resources.

Question 32

What types of skills are especially critical for successful strategy implementation?

A) Interpersonal
B) Marketing
C) Technical
D) Conceptual
E) Visionary

Question 33

Discuss some forces that influence the formality of the strategic-management process.

Question 34

The decision to merge is a strategy-formulation issue, but the decision to form a joint venture is a strategy-implementation issue.

Question 35

Which statement best describes intuition?

A) It alone should be used in decision making.
B) It represents a minor factor in decision making integrated with analysis.
C) It should be coupled with analysis in decision making.
D) It is better than analysis in decision making.
E) It is management by ignorance.

Question 36

Strategy implementation is often considered to be the most difficult stage in the strategic-management process.

Question 37

During what stage of strategic management is a firm's specific internal strengths and weaknesses determined?

A) Formulation
B) Implementation
C) Evaluation
D) Feedback
E) Goal-setting

Question 38

The strategic-management process represents a(n) ________, ________, and ________ approach for determining an enterprise's future direction.

A) logical; systematic; subjective
B) intuitive; disorganized; subjective
C) logical; systematic; objective
D) intuitive; disorganized; objective
E) inconsistent; systematic; subjective

Question 39

Many organizations mistakenly spend more time and effort on the implementation of a plan, than on the formulation of the plan itself.

Question 40

One of the fundamental strategy evaluation activities is reviewing the external and internal factors on which strategies are based.

Question 41

Generally, external opportunities and threats are

A) uncontrollable by a single organization.
B) unable to have a significant impact on an organization.
C) not worth monitoring and evaluating.
D) key functions in strategy implementation.
E) key functions in strategy exploitation.

Question 42

What are the means by which long-term objectives will be achieved?

A) Strategies
B) Strengths
C) Weaknesses
D) Policies
E) Opportunities

Question 43

According to Peter Drucker "Imagination is more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world."

Question 44

Once an effective strategy is designed, modifications are rarely required.

Question 45

Management by intuition can be defined as operating from the "I've-already-made-up-my-mind-don't-bother-me-with-the-facts mode."

Question 46

Long-term objectives should be all of the following EXCEPT

A) measurable.
B) continually changing.
C) reasonable.
D) challenging.
E) consistent.

Question 47

Which of the following is often considered to be the first step in strategic planning?

A) Developing a vision statement
B) Establishing goals and objectives
C) Making a profit
D) Developing a mission statement
E) Determining opportunities and threats

Question 48

Because of the success of the iPad and the iPhone, Apple has tremendous brand recognition. Brand recognition is one of Apple's

A) weaknesses.
B) opportunities.
C) strengths.
D) threats.
E) strategies.

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT a type of strategy developed from a SWOT analysis?

A) Strengths/Opportunities
B) Strengths/Threats
C) Threats/Opportunities
D) Weaknesses/Opportunities
E) Weaknesses/Threats

Question 50

Which individuals are most responsible for the success and failure of an organization?

A) Strategists
B) Financial planners
C) Personnel directors
D) Stakeholders
E) Human resource managers

Question 51

An objective, logical, systematic, and non-intuitive approach for making major decisions in an organization is a way to describe the strategic-management process.

Question 52

Internal ________ are controllable activities in an organization that are performed especially well.

A) opportunities
B) incompetencies
C) strengths
D) objectives
E) factors

Question 53

Discuss the value of integrating intuition and analysis.

Question 54

Firms, like organisms, must be "adept at adapting" or they will not survive.

Question 55

Strategic management is an attempt to organize qualitative and quantitative information in a way that allows effective decisions to be made under conditions of uncertainty.

Question 56

What are enduring statements of purpose that distinguish one business from other similar firms?

A) Policies
B) Mission statements
C) Objectives
D) Rules
E) Employee conduct guidelines

Question 57

An organization's vision statement

A) is a constant reminder to its employees of why the organization exists.
B) broadly charts the future direction of an organization.
C) addresses the basic question: "What is our business?"
D) answers the question: "What do we want to become?"
E) is mandated by law.

Question 58

According to Albert Einstein, "Knowledge is far more important than intuition."

Question 59

Specific results an organization seeks to achieve in pursuing its basic mission are

A) strategies.
B) rules.
C) objectives.
D) policies.
E) tenets.

Question 60

Analytical and intuitive thinking complement each other.

Question 61

Strategists are usually found in higher levels of management and have considerable authority for decision making in the firm.

Question 62

A clear mission statement describes the values and priorities of an organization.

Question 63

A vision statement commonly answers the question, "What is our business?" whereas a mission statement is more likely to answer the question "What do we want to become?"

Question 64

Anything a firm does especially well, compared to rival firms, could be considered a competitive advantage.

Question 65

In order for a firm to achieve sustained competitive advantage, a firm must continually adapt to changes in external trends and events and effectively formulate, implement, and evaluate strategies that capitalize upon those factors.

Question 66

Identifying an organization's existing vision, mission, objectives, and strategies is the final step for the strategic-management process.

Question 67

By the nature of what they do, strategists tend to have similar attitudes, values, ethics, and concerns for social responsibility.

Question 68

Anything that a firm does especially well compared to rival firms is referred to as

A) competitive advantage.
B) comparative disadvantage.
C) opportunity cost.
D) unsustainable advantage.
E) an external opportunity.

Question 69

Objectives should be measurable, challenging, reasonable, consistent, and clear.

Question 70

In a multidivisional firm, objectives should be established for the overall company and not for each division.

Question 71

Annual objectives are especially important in strategy formulation.

Question 72

A vision statement identifies the scope of a firm's operations in product and market terms.

Question 73

The fact that Apple has no manufacturing facilities of its own

A) has caused it to build up massive debt on its balance sheet.
B) has enabled it to remain financially lean.
C) has been problematic for Apple in terms of debt.
D) illustrates that having more fixed assets than rival firms, can provide major competitive advantages in a global recession.
E) means that it is in the same position as Sony.

Question 74

Because the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has assumed much responsibility for strategic management in the last five years, the number of firms with the position of Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) has diminished drastically during this period.

Question 75

Determining opportunities and threats is generally the first step in strategic planning.

Question 76

Annual objectives are long-term milestones that organizations must achieve to reach short-term objectives.

Question 77

Middle managers are generally the most visible and critical of all strategic managers.

Question 78

Uber has fewer fixed assets than the typical taxi fleet company. This type of benefit that a company such as Uber has is called a(n)

A) business moat.
B) first-mover advantage.
C) asset margin.
D) strategic advantage.
E) competitive advantage.

Question 79

A vision statement describes an organization's values and priorities.

Question 80

Once a firm acquires a competitive advantage, it is usually able to sustain it indefinitely.