Deck 7: Evaluation of Alternatives and Strategic Choice

Question 1

Which of the following weaknesses of SWOT analysis and the TOWS matrix give rise to the strategic thinking map for matching external issues and internal competitive advantages and disadvantages?

A)The designation of external issues as opportunities or threats is often arbitrary.
B)Opportunities are often presented as strategic alternatives rather than independent external issues affecting the organization.
C)Many external issues may be both opportunities and threats.
D)All of the above.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Within the context of BCG portfolio analysis, how are cash cows identified?

A)Products and services that appear in the high market growth and high market share quadrant.
B)Products and services that appear in the low market growth and high market share quadrant.
C)Products and services that appear in the low market growth and low market share quadrant.
D)Products and services that appear in the high market growth and low market share quadrant.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Strategic position and action evaluation (SPACE) analysis evaluates strategic alternatives based on factors relating to four dimensions:

A)Aggressive, competitive, conservative, and defensive.
B)Numerical, qualitative, speculative, and geographical.
C)Service category strength, environmental stability, relative competitive advantage, and financial strength.
D)Elements of the external environment, internal strengths, competitive opportunities, and ability of the organization to attract venture capital.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Q-sort is a formal method of differentiating the importance of programs through a ranking procedure that forces choices along a continuum in situations where the difference between the choices may be quite small.

Question 5

Product life cycle (PLC) analysis can be useful in:

A)Developing an external/internal strategy matrix.
B)Identifying long-term competitive disadvantages.
C)Selecting strategic alternatives based on the principle that all products and services go through several distinct stages.
D)Identifying threats posed by competitors supplying or producing identical products.

Question 6

Program priority setting is significant because community needs (both the need itself and the severity of the need) are constantly changing and organizational resources, in terms of funding and organization capacity, are almost always limited.

Question 7

Organizational capacity is the organization's ability to initiate, maintain, and enhance its set of adaptive strategy programs.

Question 8

Summarize the evaluation of adaptive strategy alternatives.

Question 9

The Q-sort method is one of the methodologies used in what process?

A)Measuring internal strengths and weaknesses.
B)Measuring profitability.
C)Measuring market and environmental stability.
D)Program priority setting.

Question 10

What are the generic competitive strategies?

A)Acquisition, licensing, venture capital investment, merger, and alliance.
B)Internal development, internal venture, and reconfiguring the value chain.
C)Cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.
D)Re-engineering, restructuring, and quality improvement.

Question 11

What is the characteristic of health care organizations that suggests using extended portfolio matrix analysis rather than BCG portfolio analysis?

A)Health care organizations operate in a highly regulated environment.
B)Health care organizations employ the same strategies.
C)Health care organizations have larger pools of stakeholders than other organizations.
D)An underlying assumption of BCG portfolio analysis is that high market share means high profitability; however, for health care organizations it is quite possible to have a high market share and no profit.

Question 12

Describe the four strategic postures associated with strategic position and action evaluation (SPACE).

Question 13

Which of the following questions would NOT be helpful in monitoring signals that the basic strategy for the organization needs to be changed?

A)What is the relative market share?
B)Has the strategy been tested with appropriate strategic thinking tools?
C)Have the major stakeholders, inside and outside the organization that will be most influential in ensuring the success of the strategy been identified and evaluated?
D)If the adaptive strategy is to fill a currently unfilled niche in the market, has the organization investigated whether the niche will remain open long enough to return the capital investment?

Question 14

The appropriateness of a specific market entry strategy is dependent upon which of the following?

A)The strategy having been tested with appropriate strategic thinking tools.
B)The major stakeholders, inside and outside the organization that will be most influential in ensuring the success of the strategy having been identified and evaluated.
C)The external conditions, the pertinent internal strengths and weaknesses based on the organization's resources, competencies, and capabilities, and the goals of the organization. Each of these three areas should be scrupulously evaluated.
D)The strategy fills an unfilled niche in the market and the organization investigated whether the niche will remain open long enough to return the capital investment.

Question 15

Describe the Q-sort procedure.

Question 16

Program evaluation is appropriate for organizations with which of the following sets of characteristics?

A)Organizations where market share, service category strength, and competitive advantage are not particularly important or not relevant.
B)Organizations exhibiting low market share, high growth, and low-profitability products and services.
C)Organizations that are highly regulated and well capitalized.
D)Organizations with the dominant market share, low or stagnant growth, and low profitability.

Question 17

The purpose of market entry strategies is to break into or capture more of a market.

Question 18

Managing strategic momentum associated with adaptive, market entry, and competitive strategies is simply a matter of keeping the organization on track.

Question 19

Identify the principal weakness of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis and explain how the TOWS (threats, opportunities, weaknesses, strengths) matrix overcomes the
weakness of SWOT.

Question 20

Community need is a function of (1) clear community requirements (environmental, sanitation, disease control, and so on) and personal health care (primary care) gaps, (2) the degree to which other institutions (private and public) fill the identified health care gaps, and (3) public/community
health objectives.

Question 21

Short-term competitive advantages are not easily duplicated by competitors, especially in the service areas.

Question 22

Extended portfolio matrix analysis includes a sustainability dimension to the market share and market growth dimensions of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) portfolio analysis.

Question 23

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) portfolio analysis graphically portrays differences among the various products/services (stars, cash cows, problem
children, and dogs) in terms of relative market share and market growth rate.

Question 24

The evaluation of products and services in portfolio analysis is a static process best suited for short- and medium-term planning of service and product life cycles.

Question 25

Program evaluation is especially useful in organizations where market share,
service category strength, and competitive advantage are not particularly important or not relevant.

Question 26

Product life cycle (PLC) analysis can be useful in selecting strategic alternatives based on the principle that all products and services go through several distinct stages.

Question 27

Positioning strategies must be selected based on resources, competencies, and capabilities (competitive relevant strengths), as well as environmental risks.

Question 28

The decomposition and critical review of market characteristics in conjunction with the PLC can serve as a guideline for strategy development.

Question 29

Needs/capacity assessment and program priority setting are two program evaluation methods.

Question 30

Of the adaptive strategies (expansion, contraction, and maintenance of scope), only expansion of scope requires explicit strategic posture and positioning strategies.

Question 31

During the growth stage of the product life cycle, prices increase in order to
solidify the market position of specific brands.

Question 32

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a way to display pertinent external issues and internal strengths and weaknesses.

Question 33

In Boston Consulting Group (BCG) portfolio analysis, problem children
exhibit low market growth (probably in maturity and decline stages of the PLC) but the organization has a high relative market share.

Question 34

Strategies developed by matching the long-term competitive advantages with issues from the three external environments - general, health care, and service area and competitive - represents the primary adaptive strategies of an organization.

Question 35

In extended portfolio matrix analysis, problem children are characterized by high growth and a high market share but low profitability.

Question 36

A canon of strategic management is the need to change strategies over time.

Question 37

The adaptive strategy of a not-for-profit organization is independent of and not related to the programs maintained and emphasized by the organization.

Question 38

Following the completion of strategy formulation decision, program evaluation is used to measure the logic and fit of the strategies.

Question 39

Strategic position and action evaluation (SPACE) analysis suggests the appropriateness of strategic alternatives based on factors relating to four dimensions: service category strength, environmental stability, the organization's relative competitive advantage, and the organization's
financial strength.