Deck 8: Strategy Formulation and Execution

Question 1

Core competence is the plan of action that prescribes resource allocation and other activities for dealing with the environment.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Top managers and chief executives have the final responsibility for strategic planning.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Threats are characteristics of the internal environment that may prevent the organization from achieving its strategic goals.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Executives acquire information about external opportunities and strengths from a variety of reports, including budgets, financial ratios, profit and loss statements and surveys of employee attitudes and satisfaction.

Question 5

The interaction of Production and Sales working together to produce profit greater than the total of both working separately is an example of synergy.

Question 6

Corporate-level strategy pertains to the organization as a whole.

Question 7

The task environment sectors are the most relevant to strategic behaviour and include the behaviour of competitors, customers, suppliers and the labour supply.

Question 8

Research has shown that strategic thinking and planning positively affect a firm's performance and financial success.

Question 9

Competitive advantage refers to the set of decisions and actions used to formulate and implement strategies.

Question 10

Some companies hire competitive intelligence professionals to scan the external environment and provide data and research on relevant domestic and global trends.

Question 11

The three levels of strategy are business, corporate and global.

Question 12

The administration and implementation of the strategic plan is strategy execution.

Question 13

Strategy implementation involves the planning and decision making that lead to the establishment of the firm's goals.

Question 14

Strategic partnerships are the current trend, rather than mergers and acquisitions.

Question 15

Strategic thinking is more important for-profit organizations than for non-profit organizations.

Question 16

The essence of formulating strategy is choosing how the organization will conform to become like its key competitors in the industry.

Question 17

The "How do we compete?" question concerns functional-level strategy.

Question 18

The combination of benefits received and costs paid by the customer refers to value.

Question 19

In a turbulent business climate, managers should focus on strategic stability rather than flexibility.

Question 20

Front-line managers have the final responsibility for strategic planning.

Question 21

The transnational strategy handles markets independently for each country.

Question 22

Vertical integration means a firm expands into businesses that either produce the supplies needed to make products or that distribute and sell those products to customers.

Question 23

Differentiation, cost leadership and focus are three of Porter's competitive strategies.

Question 24

The question mark exists in a new, rapidly growing industry but has only a small market share, according to the BCG Matrix.

Question 25

Diversification is a strategy of moving into new lines of business.

Question 26

Organization's with a focus strategy concentrate on a specific regional market or buyer group.

Question 27

The mix of business units and product lines that fit together in a logical way to provide synergy and competitive advantage for the corporation pertains to portfolio strategy.

Question 28

The dog, according to the BCG Matrix, is a poor performer.

Question 29

A director of finance would most likely be interested in executing functional level strategies.

Question 30

According to the BCG Matrix, the cash cow has a large market share in a rapidly growing industry.

Question 31

Business-level strategies include all of the major functions, including finance, research and development, marketing and manufacturing.

Question 32

The BCG (Boston Consulting Group) matrix evaluates SBUs with respect to their business growth rate and geographical location.

Question 33

A transnational strategy combines degrees of both global standardization and national responsiveness.

Question 34

Cost leadership is a type of competitive strategy with which the organization seeks to distinguish its products or services from that of competitors.

Question 35

With a multidomestic strategy, a company will achieve the globalization or standardization of marketing and production approaches.

Question 36

Unrelated diversification occurs when an organization expands into a totally new line of business.

Question 37

An SBU stands for Star Business Unit.

Question 38

The world-wide standardization of product design and advertising refers to globalization.

Question 39

A transnational strategy seeks to achieve both global integration and national responsiveness.

Question 40

Opportunities are characteristics of the internal environment that have the potential to help the organization achieve or exceed its strategic goals.

Question 41

When properly managed, _____ can create additional value with existing resources, providing a substantial boost to the bottom line.

A) synergy
B) competitors
C) government contacts
D) command structure
E) cooperation among customers

Question 42

In order to protect an organization's mission, the human resource functions are removed from strategic goals.

Question 43

The set of decisions and actions used to formulate and implement strategies that will provide a competitively superior fit between the organization and its environment, so as to achieve organizational goals is known as:

A) strategy formulation.
B) strategic planning.
C) strategic management.
D) strategy implementation.
E) strategy evaluation.

Question 44

Which of the following pertains to the organization as a whole?

A) Business-level strategy
B) Functional-level strategy
C) Corporate-level strategy
D) Operational-level strategy
E) Competitive-level strategy

Question 45

For successful execution, alignment of everyone in the organization must occur.

Question 46

A corporate-level strategy is most concerned with the question of:

A) what business are we in?
B) how do we compete?
C) how do we support our chosen strategy?
D) where do we market our products?
E) should we promote from within?

Question 47

Decisions regarding the proper amount of advertising for a particular good or service are related to:

A) corporate-level strategies.
B) functional-level strategies.
C) tactical-level strategies.
D) business-level strategies.
E) retrenchment strategies.

Question 48

Which of the following lists the strategic management process in proper order?

A) Formulate strategy; Evaluate strategy; Perform SWOT analysis; Define new mission/goals; Execute strategy; Control strategy.
B) Perform SWOT analysis; Evaluate current mission/goals; Formulate strategy; Execute strategy; Define new mission/goals.
C) Evaluate current mission/goals; Define new mission/goals; Formulate strategy; Execute strategy; Perform SWOT analysis.
D) Evaluate current mission/goals; Perform SWOT analysis; Define new mission/goals; Formulate strategy; Execute strategy.
E) Define new mission/goals; Execute strategy; Formulate strategy; Evaluate new mission/goals; Perform SWOT analysis.

Question 49

_____ level strategy pertains to the planning for major functional departments within the business unit.

A) Operational
B) Corporate
C) National
D) Business
E) Functional

Question 50

Which of the following refers to the planning and decision making that lead to the establishment of the organization's goals and of a specific strategic plan?

A) Strategy formulation
B) Strategy implementation
C) Strategy coordination
D) Strategy control
E) SWOT

Question 51

The condition that exists when the organization's parts interact to produce a joint effect that is greater than the sum of the parts acting alone is known as:

A) core competence.
B) synergy.
C) value creation.
D) business-level strategy.
E) multidomestic strategy.

Question 52

Where does the information come from concerning environmental opportunities and threats

A) An analysis of the organization's internal environment
B) A department by department study of the organization
C) Scanning the external environments
D) Employee grievances
E) Financial ratios of the organization

Question 53

To remain market competitive, companies should develop strategies that focus on core competencies, providing synergy and creating value for _____.

A) customers
B) suppliers
C) stockholders
D) employees
E) board members

Question 54

In strategy implementation, leadership is the ability to influence people to adopt the new behaviours needed.

Question 55

Which of the following is an intangible asset that an organization derives considerable competitive advantage from relative to its industry competition?

A) Strategy
B) Synergy
C) Cash cow
D) Core competence
E) Multi domesticity

Question 56

Techniques used to monitor external environments include:

A) hiring scanning organizations.
B) hiring the competitive intelligence professionals.
C) government reports.
D) professional journals.
E) all of the above.

Question 57

Which of these questions is central to a functional-level strategy?

A) What business are we in?
B) How do we compete?
C) How do we support our chosen business strategy?
D) What businesses do we buy?
E) Where to market our products?

Question 58

_____ refers to the use of managerial tools to direct resources toward the achievement of strategic goals.

A) Strategy formulation
B) Strategy coordination
C) Strategy execution
D) Strategy control
E) Strategy planning

Question 59

_____ can be defined as the combination of benefits received and costs paid for by the customer.

A) Organizational benefits
B) Value
C) Cost-benefit diversity
D) Synergy
E) Core competence

Question 60

The plan of action that prescribes resource allocation and other interrelated activities for dealing with the environment and helping the organization attain its goals is known as a(n) _____.

A) goal
B) objective
C) mission
D) vision
E) strategy

Question 61

Which marketing strategy could be profitable for an organization when customers are loyal and willing to pay higher prices?

A) Focus
B) Globalization
C) Overall cost leadership
D) Customer differentiation
E) Liquidation

Question 62

The star product has a:

A) large market share in a rapidly growing industry.
B) large market share in a slow growth industry.
C) small market share in a rapidly growing industry.
D) small share of a slow growth market.
E) moderate market share in a slow growth industry.

Question 63

Which of the following strategies involves an attempt to distinguish the firm's products or services from others in the industry?

A) Cost leadership
B) Differentiation
C) Focus
D) Internal growth
E) Liquidation

Question 64

Which of the following portfolio categories is made up of poor performers who command only a small share of a slow growth market?

A) Star
B) Cash cow
C) Question mark
D) Dog
E) Cat

Question 65

Which of these is mostly true about the cash cow sector of the BCG matrix

A) It generates tremendous profits in a rapidly growing industry.
B) It has a small market share in a rapidly growing industry.
C) It has a small market share in a slow growth industry.
D) It has a large market share in a slow growth industry.
E) It is generally a dead business that should be divested.

Question 66

Which of these is true about the dog division?

A) It has a large market share in a rapidly growing industry.
B) It has a large market share in a slow growth industry.
C) It has a small market share in a rapidly growing industry.
D) It has a small share of a slow growth market.
E) It has a moderate market share in a rapidly growing industry.

Question 67

Which of the following is NOT one of Porter's competitive forces?

A) Potential new entrants
B) Bargaining power of suppliers
C) Bargaining power of shareholders
D) Bargaining power of customers
E) Rivalry among competitors

Question 68

The assumption that a single global market exists would encourage a corporate :

A) globalization strategy.
B) multidomestic strategy.
C) diversity strategy.
D) domestic strategy.
E) liquidation strategy.

Question 69

If ABC International has standardized its product lines throughout the world markets it is pursuing a:

A) multidomestic strategy.
B) retrenchment strategy.
C) diversity strategy.
D) globalization strategy.
E) liquidation strategy.

Question 70

Which of the following strategies refers to moving into a new business that is related to the company's existing business activities?

A) Horizontal integration
B) Vertical integration
C) Unrelated diversification
D) Related diversification
E) Strategic partnership

Question 71

Four of the following are Porter's competitive forces EXCEPT:

A) Differentiation.
B) Bargaining power of buyers.
C) Bargaining power of suppliers.
D) Threat of substitute products.
E) Potential new entrants.

Question 72

The BCG matrix organizes along which of the following dimensions?

A) Market share and profit
B) Sales and market share
C) Business growth rate and market share
D) Business growth rate and profit
E) Sales and profits

Question 73

The purpose of _____ is to expand the firm's business operations to generate profits from valuable new products and services?

A) retrenchment
B) diversification
C) liquidation
D) cash cow
E) internal growth

Question 74

The _____ strategy involves seeking efficient facilities, cutting costs and using tight cost controls to be more efficient than competitors.

A) cost leadership
B) differentiation
C) focus
D) internal growth
E) liquidation

Question 75

When an organization expands into a totally new line of business, it is implementing a strategy of:

A) Related diversification
B) Unrelated diversification
C) Cross-functional diversification
D) Product line diversification
E) Industry diversification

Question 76

According to the BCG Matrix, which of the following exists in a mature, slow-growth industry, but is a dominant business in the industry, with a large market share?

A) Question mark
B) Asterisk
C) Dog
D) Star
E) Cash cow

Question 77

The question mark product has a:

A) large market share in a rapidly growing industry.
B) large market share in a slow growth industry.
C) small market share in a rapidly growing industry.
D) small share of a slow growth market.
E) moderate market share in a slow growth industry.

Question 78

What type of organizational unit has a unique business mission, product line, competitors and markets relative to other units in the same corporation?

A) Product unit
B) Functional unit
C) Strategic business unit
D) Operational unit
E) Business consulting group unit

Question 79

How various business units and product lines fit together in a logical way is the essence of:

A) business-level strategy.
B) portfolio strategy.
C) competitive strategy.
D) financial strategy.
E) functional strategy.

Question 80

With a(n) _____ strategy, the organization concentrates on a specific regional market or buyer group.

A) cost leadership
B) differentiation
C) focus
D) internal growth
E) liquidation