Question 1

An initial step that companies typically take in launching the strategy execution process is often to

Accepted Answer

A) ensure all requirements of the value chain are fulfilled. 
B) form a mission statement as a basis for managers to achieve organizational objectives. 
C) go on the offensive by employing moves to make its product offering more distinctive and appealing to buyers. 
D) put together a talented management team with the right mix of experiences, skills, and abilities to get things done. 
E) strive to be more profitable than rivals and aim for a competitive edge based on bigger profit margins.

Question 2

In choosing between a centralized and a decentralized organizational structure, which of the two is more likely to further the cause of good strategy execution? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In choosing between a centralized and a...

Question 3

The most common building blocks for a company's organizational structure

Accepted Answer

A) usually consist of two divisions-a division charged with performing primary value chain activities and a division charged with performing support activities. 
B) involve 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 unempowered 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) are almost always the departments performing such key administrative support functions as finance, accounting, information technology, human resource management, and R&D. 
E) usually consist of supply chain management, components manufacture, assembly, distribution, and administration.

Question 4

The capability building process entails

Accepted Answer

A) developing the ability to do something, however imperfectly or inefficiently, and molding these efforts into an organizational ability, and as experience grows and personnel perform the activity consistently well and at an acceptable cost, it is transformed into a tried-and-true competence and as they continue to polish and refine their know-how into further improvements, they then create a real competitive capability. 
B) deciding which value chain activities to perform internally and which ones to outsource; and deciding how much authority to centralize at the top and how much to delegate to down-the-line managers and employees. 
C) creating the needed capability internally when industry conditions, technology, or competitors are moving at such a rapid clip that time is of the essence. 
D) a wait-and-see attitude, because companies often implement strategy inefficiently or imperfectly. 
E) appropriate coordinating mechanisms, and those networking and communications arrangements considered necessary to support effective execution of the firm's strategy.

Question 5

Imagine you have been asked to present a strategy implementation plan to the top management of Didrickson, a Swedish multidomestic manufacturer and marketer of outdoor activewear. Your presentation would NOT likely include which implementation option as a means of building and strengthening its competitively valuable resources and capabilities?

Accepted Answer

A) Didrickson needs to engage in experience-building activities such as collaborative efforts in R&D engineering and design 
B) Didrickson needs to shift from decentralized to centralized decision-making so as to give senior executives more authority and control in driving cultural change 
C) Didrickson needs to acquire capabilities through mergers and acquisitions 
D) Didrickson needs to enter into collaborative partnerships with suppliers, competitors, or other companies that possess needed expertise. 
E) Didrickson needs to select and assemble a team of people with the requisite skills and experience, upgrading or expanding individual abilities as needed, and then molding the efforts of individuals into a collaborative effort to create an organizational ability.

Question 6

Practices that the most successful companies like Alphabet, Boston Consulting Group, Edward Jones, Deloitte, Facebook, Genentech, Intuit, and Salesforce.com use to hire the best people they can find do NOT include

Accepted Answer

A) weeding out the 20 percent lowest-performing employees each year. 
B) coaching average performers to improve their skills and capabilities. 
C) striving to retain talented, high-performing employees via promotions, salary increases, and other perks. 
D) rotating people through jobs that span functional and geographic boundaries. 
E) careful screening and evaluation of job applicants.

Question 7

In formulating an action agenda to implement and execute a new or different strategy, the place for managers to begin is with

Accepted Answer

A) the task of revising and enhancing the company's core competencies. 
B) choosing which leadership style to employ in trying to carry out the strategy successfully. 
C) evaluating whether existing policies and procedures are adequately strategy-supportive. 
D) allocating more resources to strategy-critical parts of the business. 
E) a probing assessment of what the organization must do differently and better to carry out the strategy successfully.

Question 8

Identify and briefly discuss the four types of organizational structures that can be aligned with strategy execution.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Identify and briefly discuss the four types...

Question 9

A disadvantage of the centralized organization is that it

Accepted Answer

A) lengthens response times by those closest to the market conditions because they must seek approval for their actions. 
B) does not encourage responsibility among lower-level managers and rank-and-file employees. 
C) discourages lower-level managers and rank-and-file employees from exercising any initiative. 
D) diverts authority away from those closest to, and most knowledgeable about, the situation for actions. 
E) results in higher-level managers being unaware of actions taken by empowered personnel under their supervision.

Question 10

A centralized organization structure is more likely to further the cause of good strategy execution than is a decentralized organization structure. True or false? Explain.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Critics of companies that use outsourcing contend that shifting responsibility for performing value chain activities to outside specialists

Accepted Answer

A) has the disadvantage of raising fixed costs and reducing variable costs and makes it harder to develop distinctive competencies. 
B) can hollow out a company's knowledge base and capabilities, leaving it at the mercy of outside suppliers, and short of the resource strengths to be a master of its own destiny. 
C) results in less organizational flexibility and leads to sometimes exorbitant costs in collaborating with outside suppliers and strategic partners. 
D) slows down decision-making on key strategic issues because outside suppliers have to be consulted first. 
E) lowers the morale of company employees, dampens a company's ability to implement best practices, and results in greater bureaucracy and slower decision-making.

Question 12

When are capabilities-motivated acquisitions essential?

Accepted Answer

A) when industry conditions, like technology advances, are central to growth and rivalry is intense 
B) when first-mover advantages for products or services can be added to the portfolio lineup 
C) when the acquired firm can be purchased at a discount due to underperformance 
D) when a market opportunity can slip by faster than a needed capability can be created internally 
E) when the capabilities involve tacit knowledge and complex routines

Question 13

Recruiting and retaining capable employees does NOT entail

Accepted Answer

A) the quality of an organization's people, which is always an essential ingredient if critical value chain activities are to be performed competently. 
B) recruiting and retaining capable employees, which is a particularly important organization-building task in enterprises where superior intellectual capital is a key resource and also a basis for competitive advantage. 
C) recruiting and retaining capable employees, which is usually much more important to good strategy execution and the achievement of true operating excellence than is assembling a capable top management team. 
D) a large band of capable employees who are actively engaged in the process of making ongoing operating improvements. 
E) adding to a company's talent base and building intellectual capital while foregoing investments in plants, equipment, and capital projects.

Question 14

Companies are UNLIKELY to use outsourcing to improve performance of strategy-critical activities when they are engaged in

Accepted Answer

A) improving a company's chances for outclassing rivals in the performance of strategy-critical activities and turning a core competence into a distinctive competence. 
B) promoting quick establishment of a total quality culture. 
C) speeding internal decision-making and shortening the time it takes to respond to changing market conditions. 
D) capitalizing on the partnerships with outsiders to enhance its arsenal of capabilities and thus contribute to better strategy execution. 
E) helping decrease internal bureaucracies and flatten the organizational structure.

Question 15

The process of recruiting and retaining capable employees is

Accepted Answer

A) more important during periods of rapid growth than during periods of crisis and attempted turnarounds. 
B) always an essential ingredient of successful strategy execution. 
C) an essential element of developing a distinctive competence. 
D) closely tied to developing strong information capital capabilities. 
E) more important than having a good situational fit between the company's strategy and its external environment.

Question 16

The approach to identifying the items needed to be placed on management's action agenda of the strategy execution plan always involves

Accepted Answer

A) generalized activities that will underscore the particulars of the company's situation. 
B) some definitive managerial recipe for successful strategy execution that works for all company situations and all types of strategies, or that works for all types of managers. 
C) a set of unimportant managerial tasks that must be covered no matter what the circumstances. 
D) senior management's judgment about how to proceed in light of prevailing circumstances. 
E) a high-end differentiation strategy for proficient implementation and execution.

Question 17

You are considering a career with Enterprise Holdings, parent of the Alamo, Enterprise, and National car rental companies. What facets of Enterprise's talent management strategy are NOT likely to be strategy-supportive?

Accepted Answer

A) staffing the organization with managers and employees capable of executing the strategy well and promoting from within. 
B) creating an environment in which employees are made to feel that their views and suggestions count 
C) employing people who have similar management styles, leadership approaches, business philosophies, and personalities. 
D) providing people with opportunities to gain experience in a variety of international settings 
E) making the work environment stimulating and engaging so that employees will consider the company a great place to work

Question 18

Which recommended practices has Deloitte used to recruit and retain the best employees to make its rank-and-file employees a genuine competitive asset?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which recommended practices has Deloitte used to...

Question 19

How do companies like Alphabet and Salesforce.com go about developing employee talent and a building a top-caliber management team?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How do companies like Alphabet and Salesforce.com...

Question 20

Which of the following statements is NOT accurate with respect to building a company's competencies and capabilities?

Accepted Answer

A) Building new competencies and capabilities is a multistage process that occurs over a period of months and years. 
B) Core competencies have to be tweaked and adjusted to keep them fresh and responsive to changing customer needs and market conditions. 
C) As experience grows and company personnel learn how to perform the activities consistently well and at an acceptable cost, the ability evolves into a tried-and-true competence. 
D) It is generally much easier and less time-consuming to update and remodel a company's existing capabilities as external conditions and company strategy change than it is to create them from scratch. 
E) When a company succeeds in hiring talented employees and training them properly, competencies and capabilities tend to develop quickly and, once put in place, can last for a decade or more.

Exam 10: Building an Organization Capable of Good Strategy Execution