Deck 11: Strategy Review, eveluation, and Control

Question 1

What activity is defined as having alternative plans that can be put into effect if certain key events do not occur as expected?

A)Scenario planning
B)Corporate agility
C)Forecasting
D)Contingency planning
E)Strategy evaluation

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following statements about contingency plans is not true?

A)Contingency plans minimize the impact of potential threats.
B)Only high- priority areas require the insurance of contingency plans.
C)Contingency plans should be developed for favorable and unfavorable events.
D)Contingency plans should be as simple as possible.
E)Develop contingency plans for all contingent events.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

What is the cornerstone of effective strategy evaluation?

A)Adequate and timely feedback
B)Evaluation preceding implementation stage
C)Quality and quantity of managers
D)Smaller ratio of top- to lower- level management
E)Taking corrective actions

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Ineffectiveness and/or inefficiencies indicate the need for

A)some form of corrective action.
B)layoffs.
C)reductions in pay.
D)more synergy.
E)consultants.

Question 5

When you discover major changes have occurred in the firm's internal strategic position while conducting strategy evaluation,you should

A)copy the actions of major competitors.
B)take corrective actions.
C)continue on the present strategic course.
D)add additional funds to the present strategic plan.
E)immediately discontinue all aspects of the present strategic course.

Question 6

Which of the following is not a component of the Balanced Scorecard?

A)Financial performance
B)Internal business processes
C)Customer knowledge
D)Social responsibility
E)Learning and growth

Question 7

Which of these is/are a basic activity of strategy evaluation?

A)Taking corrective actions
B)Measuring organizational performance
C)both B and C
D)all of the above
E)Reviewing the underlying internal and external factors that represent the bases of current strategies

Question 8

In evaluating strategies,which one of Rumelt's criteria for evaluating strategies refers to the need for strategists to examine sets of trends?

A)Feasibility
B)Empowerment
C)Coherence
D)Consistency
E)Advantage

Question 9

Which of the following is not a reason why some firms prefer to conduct strategic- planning in secret?

A)Dissemination of a firm's strategies may translate into competitive intelligence for rival firms.
B)Secrecy limits rival firms from imitating or duplicating the firm's strategies.
C)It enhances understanding,commitment and communication within the firm.
D)Participants in a visible strategy process become more attractive to rival firms,who may lure them away.
E)It limits criticism,second- guessing and hindsight.

Question 10

Competitive advantage normally is the result of superiority in resources,skills and

A)consistency.
B)employees.
C)governance.
D)position.
E)feasibility.

Question 11

What term refers to the need for strategists to examine sets of trends,as well as individual trends in evaluating strategies?

A)Consistency
B)Feasibility
C)Synergy
D)Coherence
E)Advantage

Question 12

Corrective actions are not needed when

A)external and internal factors have not significantly changed.
B)competitive factors are on the rise.
C)the firm is not progressing satisfactorily toward achieving stated objectives.
D)the industry is slowing down.
E)changes have occurred in the firm's internal strategic position.

Question 13

All of these are Richard Rumelt's criteria to evaluate a strategy except

A)consistency.
B)feasibility.
C)consonance.
D)advantage.
E)distinctiveness.

Question 14

Which type of auditors are specifically responsible for safeguarding the assets of a company?

A)Government auditors
B)External auditors
C)Independent auditors
D)Research auditors
E)Internal auditors

Question 15

Familiarity with local environments usually makes gathering and evaluating information much easier for _ organizations than for ones.

A)non- profit; for- profit
B)large; small
C)for- profit; non- profit
D)foreign; domestic
E)small; large

Question 16

What aims to balance long term with short term concerns,financial with non- financial concerns,and internal with external concerns?

A)Measuring performance
B)Reviewing Bases of Strategy
C)Contingency planning
D)Taking corrective action
E)The Balanced Scorecard approach

Question 17

Which of the following is important because organizations face dynamic environments in which key external and internal factors often change quickly and dramatically?

A)Strategy simplification
B)Strategy modification
C)Strategy implementation
D)Strategy formulation
E)Strategy evaluation

Question 18

Most quantitative criteria are geared to objectives rather than objectives.

A)profit; social
B)environmental; community
C)annual; long- term
D)short- term; annual
E)top- management; employee

Question 19

Climate models are projecting hotter,drier,and less predictable climates,resulting in a significant drop in water run- off in most of the Middle East and North Africa by

A)2060.
B)2050.
C)2040.
D)2020.
E)2030.

Question 20

Corrective action should do all of the following except

A)avoid external threats.
B)capitalize upon internal strengths.
C)avoid external opportunities.
D)improve internal weaknesses.
E)strengthen an organization's competitive position.

Question 21

What is the best way to overcome individuals' resistance to change in strategy evaluation?

A)Emotional reactions
B)Participation
C)Rational argument
D)Command- and- control
E)Laissez- faire

Question 22

What is happening to strategy evaluation with the passage of time?

A)It is becoming much simpler.
B)It is becoming less important.
C)It is becoming an unnecessary activity.
D)It is becoming increasingly difficult.
E)It is becoming very convenient.

Question 23

Which of the following is not included in measuring organizational performance?

A)Examining progress being made toward meeting stated objectives.
B)Evaluating individual performance.
C)Comparing expected results to actual results.
D)Comparing results to competitors' expectations.
E)Investigating deviations from plans.

Question 24

If success for one organizational department means failure for another department,then strategies may be

A)advantageous.
B)synergistic.
C)inconsonant.
D)failures.
E)inconsistent.

Question 25

What occurs when the nature,types and speed of changes overpower an individual's or organization's ability and capacity to adapt?

A)Corporate agility
B)Future shock
C)Corporate downfall
D)Corrective actions
E)Measuring performance

Question 26

Strategy evaluation is based on

A)objective data.
B)qualitative and quantitative criteria.
C)intuition.
D)qualitative criteria.
E)empirical data.

Question 27

All of the following are reasons to be completely open with the strategy process except

A)visibility promotes democracy whereas secrecy promotes autocracy.
B)investors,creditors and other stakeholders have greater basis for supporting a firm that is open.
C)managers,employees and other stakeholders can readily contribute to the process.
D)openness limits rival firms from imitating or duplicating the firm's strategies.
E)participation and openness enhances understanding,commitment and communication within the firm.

Question 28

Changes in the organization's management,marketing,finance/accounting,R&D and CIS strengths and weaknesses should be the focus of a revised

A)IFE matrix.
B)EPM matrix.
C)vision.
D)mission.
E)EFE matrix.

Question 29

Product design,manufacturing,transportation,customer use,packaging,product disposal and corporate rewards should reflect considerations to develop constructive relations with employees,consumers,suppliers and distributors.

A)union
B)environmental
C)top- management
D)customer
E)profit

Question 30

By 2050,the water run- off in the Middle East and North Africa region is predicted to drop by percent.

A)50
B)10 to 20
C)20 to 30
D)less than 10
E)30 to 40

Question 31

What corrective actions should a firm take during strategy evaluation?

A)Selling a division
B)Revising objectives
C)Issuing stock
D)Revising the business mission
E)all of the above

Question 32

An organization's ability to adapt successfully to changing circumstances refers to its

A)future shock.
B)corporate agility.
C)revision power.
D)liquidity.
E)dynamism.

Question 33

A final broad test of strategy is its

A)distinctiveness.
B)advantage.
C)consonance.
D)consistency.
E)feasibility.

Question 34

Financial ratios are used to compare a firm's performance over different time periods,compare the firm's performance to industry averages,and compare a firm's performance with

A)the performance of international firms.
B)the performance of competitors.
C)non- financial ratios.
D)overall business standards.
E)the performance of suppliers.

Question 35

What factor determines the final design of a firm's strategy- evaluation and control system?

A)Opportunities
B)The organization's characteristics
C)The competition's characteristics
D)External characteristics
E)Threats

Question 36

What is the basis for quantitative financial evaluation?

A)Financial ratios
B)Present value analysis
C)The EPS/EBIT Analysis
D)Capital Asset Pricing Model
E)Reduction in costs

Question 37

The strategy- evaluation process should foster

A)mutual understanding.
B)profit centers.
C)implementation.
D)contingency plans.
E)corporate culture.

Question 38

What permits quick response to change,prevents panic in crisis situations,and makes managers more adaptable?

A)Measuring performance
B)Taking corrective actions
C)Contingency planning
D)Implementing a balanced scorecard
E)Auditing

Question 39

Which of the following is not a reason for the increasing difficulty of evaluating strategies?

A)Domestic and world economies are less stable than ever.
B)Product development cycles are longer than ever.
C)Product life cycles are longer today than ever.
D)Technological advancement is more rapid.
E)Change is occurring more frequently than ever.

Question 40

The purpose of strategy evaluation is to

A)make budget changes.
B)increase the budget annually.
C)improve R&D programs.
D)alert management to problems or potential problems.
E)evaluate employees' performance.

Question 41

Strategies should try to cover all bases by planning for all possible contingencies.

Question 42

In the important publication used to evaluate a firm's strategy,the Fortune 50 includes all of the following except

A)the top banks.
B)the top transportation companies.
C)the top retailers.
D)the top hospitals.
E)the top utilities.

Question 43

All of the following are reasons strategy evaluation is more difficult today except

A)a dramatic increase in the environment's complexity.
B)the rapid rate of obsolescence of even the best plans.
C)the increase in the number of both domestic and world events affecting organizations.
D)the increasing number of variables.
E)the decreasing difficulty of predicting the future with accuracy.

Question 44

Criteria for evaluating strategies should be measurable and easily verifiable.

Question 45

The Balanced Scorecard approach deals with the question,"How satisfied are the firm's customers."

Question 46

There is no one ideal strategy- evaluation system for all organizations.

Question 47

What is not a characteristic of an effective evaluation system?

A)Economical
B)Timely
C)Information- oriented
D)Providing a true picture of what is happening.
E)Meaningful

Question 48

Contingency plans are alternative plans that can be put into effect if certain key events do not occur as expected.

Question 49

What term refers to a systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence regarding assertions about economic actions and events to ascertain the degree of correspondence between these assertions and established criteria,and communicating the results to interested users?

A)Innovation
B)Strategic Management
C)R&D
D)Accounting
E)Auditing

Question 50

Strategy- evaluation activities should be performed

A)at the onset of a problem.
B)on a periodic basis.
C)upon completion of major projects.
D)on a continuous basis.
E)every two years.

Question 51

The basic form of a Balanced Scorecard is the same for all organizations and industries.

Question 52

Competitive advantages are normally the result of superiority in one of three areas: feasibility,consistency,or consonance.

Question 53

Controls need to be rather than _.

A)qualitative; quantitative
B)universal; diverse
C)action oriented; information oriented
D)cultural; political
E)measurable; timely

Question 54

A revised should indicate how effective a firm's strategies have been in response to key opportunities and threats.

A)vision
B)IFE matrix
C)CPM matrix
D)mission
E)EFE matrix

Question 55

Which of these is not a key financial ratio?

A)Production quality
B)Return on equity
C)Asset growth
D)Earnings per share
E)Market share

Question 56

Strengths,weaknesses,opportunities and threats should continually be monitored for change,because it is less a question of whether these factors will change but rather when they will change and in what ways.

Question 57

When empowered employees are held accountable for and pressured to achieve specific goals and are given wide latitude in their actions to achieve them,there can be

A)dysfunctional behavior.
B)a decreased turnover.
C)a decreased number of complaints.
D)an increased number of litigations.
E)increased productivity.

Question 58

Corrective actions should

A)involve abandoning existing strategies.
B)reduce the staff size.
C)streamline asset holdings.
D)strengthen an organization's competitive position in its industry.
E)all of the above

Question 59

Measuring organizational performance requires making changes to reposition a firm competitively for the future.

Question 60

Most strategy literature advocates that strategic management is

A)based on intuition rather than analysis.
B)based on creativity rather than intuition.
C)based on analysis rather than research.
D)more of an art than a science.
E)more of a science than an art.

Question 61

Regardless of the size of the organization,a certain amount of management by wandering around at all levels is essential to effective strategy evaluation.

Question 62

According to research,participation in strategy- evaluation activities is one of the best ways to overcome individuals' resistance to change.

Question 63

When taking corrective action,you need to compare expected results to actual results.

Question 64

Too much emphasis on evaluating strategies may be expensive and counterproductive.

Question 65

Arab countries in sub- Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable to the risk of environmental changes due to global warming.

Question 66

Increased education and diversity of the workforce at all levels are reasons why the top- down approach should be favored in organizations.

Question 67

Independent auditors,government auditors and IRS auditors are the three groups of people who perform audits.

Question 68

Strategy evaluation is becoming increasingly easier with the passage of time,given the technological advances.

Question 69

Future shock occurs when the type and speed of changes overpower an individual or organization's ability and capacity to adapt.

Question 70

According to Rumelt,consistency and feasibility are largely based on a firm's internal assessment.

Question 71

Small organizations require a more elaborate and detailed strategy- evaluation system because they are still evolving.

Question 72

Alternative strategies not selected for implementation should be discarded,as they have a tendency to contaminate the contingency plans.

Question 73

The strategic management process should be completely open because participation and openness enhance understanding,commitment,and communication within the firm.

Question 74

Public accounting firms,especially foreign ones operating mostly in the GCC area,often have a consulting arm that provides strategy- evaluation services.

Question 75

Taking corrective action does not necessarily mean that existing strategies will be abandoned,or even that new strategies must be formulated.

Question 76

According to Richard Rumelt,consonance and consistency are based on a firm's external assessment.

Question 77

Organizations should prepare contingency plans only for unfavorable events.

Question 78

Contingency plans should be as simple as possible.

Question 79

Moving environmental affairs from the line side of the organization to the staff side is required when instituting an environmental audit.

Question 80

The test of an effective evaluation system is its usefulness and complexity.