Deck 1: What Is Strategy

Question 1

There is agreement that the role of strategy is to achieve _________ for an organization.

Answer 1

Competitive advantage

Question 2

To be sustainable, competitive advantage must be difficult for competitors to _________________.

Answer 2

imitate

Question 3

Strategy involves matching an organization's resources to the environment. It also involves an understanding of the different relationships in which the organization is involved. These relationships are made up of:

A) Collaborators
B) Stakeholders
C) Competitors
D) Shareholders

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Successful strategy is based on doing well what your competitors cannot do or cannot easily do.

Question 5

Factors in the general or macro environment include: Please select all that apply.

A) Competitors
B) Issues that could affect all industries
C) Issues that could affect customer demand
D) Supplier relationships

Question 6

The strategic management process involves three main phases. These are:

A) Strategy analysis, strategy formulation, strategy review
B) Strategy formulation, strategy implementation, strategy review
C) Strategy analysis, strategy formulation, strategy implementation
D) Strategy analysis, strategy implementation, strategy review

Question 7

Strategy formulation is a conscious process that is based on the results of the strategy analysis.

Question 8

When we ask the question 'why does the organization exist', we are trying to understand the _____________ of the organization.

Question 9

Effective implementation of strategies requires:

A) Flexible organizational structure and design.
B) Proper coordination with stakeholders.
C) That all managers and the leaders of an organization will ultimately be responsible for a strategy's success or failure.
D) Empowerment of managers to respond to opportunities.

Question 10

A vision statement will usually express:

A) Why the organization exists
B) The aspirations of the organization
C) What the organization believes
D) The values and purpose of the organization

Question 11

An organization's _______ seeks to answer the question why an organization exists or "What business are we in?" as Peter Drucker argued.

Question 12

Jim Collins and Jerry Porras argue that the __________ of an organization do not change as competitive condition changes but remain largely unchanged.

Question 13

Mission could be expressed as employees' emotional commitment towards the organization.

Question 14

An organization's purpose can be defined as the reason an organization exists beyond ________________.

Question 15

The 'theory of the business' (Drucker 1995) consists of: Please select all that apply.

A) An organization's assumptions
B) An organization's decisions
C) The environmental conditions in which the organization operates
D) The desires of the organization's customers

Question 16

Organizations are being encouraged to take an interest in business model innovation for three reasons: Please select all that apply.

A) Product life cycles
B) Organizational values can adapt
C) Competition from unexpected sources
D) Disruptions from competitors

Question 17

A decision regarding whether to acquire a business in an unrelated industry would be the concern of:

A) Corporate level strategy
B) Business level strategy
C) Functional level strategy
D) Parent level strategy

Question 18

Business level strategy is sometimes known as _________________ strategy.

Question 19

Strategy in the 1960s was characterized by: Please select all that apply.

A) Unstable markets
B) Strategic planning with a long-term view
C) Stable markets
D) Very little strategic planning

Question 20

The resource-based view of the firm considers competitive advantage to come from appropriate positioning in a particular industry.

Question 21

The work of Andrews (1971) and Ansoff (1965) is associated with which approach?

A) The learning school
B) The positioning school
C) The resource-based view
D) The design school

Question 22

Dynamic capability approach increasingly gains its popularity in the strategic management field: Please select all that apply.

A) Organizations have to constantly develop new capabilities as old ones become less effective.
B) Dynamic capabilities allow an organization to sustain competitive advantage based on market barriers.
C) Dynamics of organizational capabilities are determined by the change in organizational strategy.
D) Organizational capabilities co-evolve with the market.

Question 23

According to the chaos and complexity theory, over time, linear rational approaches to decision-making may be insufficient to meet the context in which organizations operate.

Question 24

The oil company Shell developed scenario planning. This allows the company to formulate its strategic alternatives. Which of the below applies to this approach of strategy formulation? Please select all that apply

A) The model cannot represent reality because it is too complex to be adequately described.
B) The model is useful for analysing data and provides a background for strategic decisions.
C) It falls into the same school of thought with Porter's generic strategies.
D) It is rational.

Question 25

The selection of 'generic' strategies is most associated with which approach to strategy?

A) The emergent approach
B) The learning school
C) The resource-based view
D) The design school

Question 26

An intended strategy can be: Please select all that apply.

A) Realized
B) Deliberate
C) Emergent
D) Unrealized

Question 27

Mintzberg (1996) stated 'We all know we shall get nowhere without emergent learning alongside ___________________'.

Question 28

A shareholder is an example of a ___________________ that could be internal and external.

Question 29

In the framework of strategic management, values determine: Please select all that apply

A) Organizational goals
B) Resources and capabilities
C) Competitive environment
D) Macro environment

Question 30

The approach to strategy that is characterized by fitting the organization to the environment is also known as: Please select all that apply.

A) The positioning approach
B) The inside-out approach
C) The stretch approach
D) The outside-in approach

Question 31

In general, a firm can substitute its business strategy with a business model.