Deck 3: Strategic Direction: Vision and Mission

Question 1

Both Google and Wal-Mart have created simple, easily understood missions.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A mission statement is oriented to the future while a vision statement is oriented to the present.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Companies are in business just to make money and their mission statements should be written in such a way that this is emphasized.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Every organization's mission statement should have a clause that reads something like "...and it is our fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder value."

Question 5

Profitability and shareholder value are the results of a strategically focused organization, not its reason for being.

Question 6

The strategy planning hierarchy is topped by a vision and has as its foundation the organization's activities and routines.

Question 7

Effective vision statements are short, memorable, and incorporate both foresight and the company's enduring values.

Question 8

Henry V, just before the battle of Agincourt, asked his men to see themselves being rewarded in heaven. With this vision in their minds the men fought valiantly but were defeated by a French force that greatly outnumbered Henry's soldiers.

Question 9

Typically the time horizon for a vision will be about three to five years.

Question 10

Amazon changed its vision after several years from wanting to be the "biggest bookstore" to a vision of Amazon as "earth's most customer-centric company ... a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online."

Question 11

There is no single best way to develop effective vision statements.

Question 12

Microsoft developed a vision in which it saw a personal computer in every office running Microsoft software.

Question 13

Having a small group of employees who are nominated by their colleagues work along side top management to develop a vision statement brings an understanding of core values and present capabilities to the process.

Question 14

The answers to questions such as "Where should our company be in ten years?" and "At the core, what are we particularly good at doing?" are a critical part of the process of developing a vision statement.

Question 15

It is a wise manager who creates a mission in which a company tries to be all things to all people.

Question 16

An effective mission statement is short, simple, and specific to the company, but need not imply activities and goals that are measurable.

Question 17

A mission statement should be short enough to fit on a coffee mug.

Question 18

An effective mission statement does not explain in detail how the mission will be accomplished.

Question 19

"Keeping it simple" means that a well-designed mission statement is something that every employee can learn and understand.

Question 20

Parker Hannifin's stated mission, "To be the leading supplier of precision miniature fluid control products," is not an example of an effective mission statement.

Question 21

An ideal mission statement could be adopted by any company in the world if it is thoughtfully written and easily understood.

Question 22

A mission statement with very specific financial goals may lock management and employees into specific targets and cause them to bypass strategic actions that will better position the company for the long-term.

Question 23

The design of an effective mission statement is both and art and a science.

Question 24

Visions and missions can be communicated by way of a narrative or story. One advantage of this method of communication is that people are much more likely to recall the contents of a good story than they are to remember a bulleted list.

Question 25

According to the opening vignette for Chapter 3 of the text, what do Google and Wal-Mart have in common?

A) Each company hires the smartest people that it can find.
B) Each company generates about the same cash flow per employee.
C) Each company has a simple mission.
D) Neither company desires to be a technology leader.

Question 26

A brief statement that summarizes how and where the firm will compete in the present is called a

A) mission statement.
B) vision statement.
C) values statement.
D) business definition.

Question 27

A statement that presents an image of the organization in the future that motivates employees to focus their actions toward a common point is called a

A) mission statement.
B) vision statement.
C) values statement.
D) practical ideal.

Question 28

It is the job of ________ to provide fundamental guidance to all of the organization's employees by laying out the unique purpose of the organization and its defining competitive approach.

A) the vision
B) the mission
C) corporate values
D) the mission and vision statements combined

Question 29

What is the glue that binds employees' collective actions on a daily basis into a consistent and unified effort for the company?

A) The mission statement serves this function.
B) The vision and mission statements both serve this function.
C) A values statement serves this function.
D) Financial objectives serve this function.

Question 30

What proportion of Fortune 500 companies have developed and published comprehensive mission statements?

A) about one-quarter
B) about half
C) fewer than one-third
D) over 90%

Question 31

Profitability and shareholder value are the ________ a strategically focused organization.

A) reasons for the existence of
B) explicit goals written by
C) results achieved by
D) audited inputs of

Question 32

Which of the following are components of the strategy planning hierarchy?

A) A vision
B) A mission
C) A strategic plan
D) All of the above are components of the strategy planning hierarchy.

Question 33

Which of the following is not a characteristic element of an effective vision statement?

A) It incorporates foresight.
B) It offends no stakeholders.
C) It is short.
D) It is memorable.

Question 34

The typical time horizon for a vision statement is

A) about a decade.
B) 200 years, as illustrated by Matsushita's vision.
C) roughly seven years.
D) no more than a single year.

Question 35

President John F. Kennedy is famous for having espoused a vision of

A) a "Great Society."
B) an America without billboards.
C) putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.
D) diminishing the power of the military-industrial complex.

Question 36

Management author Jim Collins coined the abbreviation "BHAG." BHAG stands for

A) Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal.
B) Bold Heroes with Articulate Grand plans.
C) Brands Having Aural "Grab"
D) Balanced Habits Against Groupthink

Question 37

This step is crucial in the initial development of a vision statement.

A) Identifying those who don't share the corporation's values
B) Working out the details for a "visioning" retreat
C) Selecting a market share target
D) Gaining buy-in from the entire organization

Question 38

It is recommended that a group comprising ________ be created to write an organization's vision statement.

A) all willing employees
B) five to seven peer-selected employees together with top management
C) senior-level managers
D) three employees from each functional area of the company

Question 39

A mission statement should create a focus on

A) areas where the business possesses extraordinary resources that it can bring to bear on the market.
B) areas where the business can create value in ways that competitors cannot.
C) a narrower, rather than a broader, set of activities.
D) all of the areas and activities identified immediately above.

Question 40

Which of the following is not a characteristic element of an effective mission statement?

A) It is short.
B) It is company-specific.
C) It is oriented to the future.
D) It is measurable.

Question 41

A rule of thumb that one might use to evaluate a mission statement for proper length is:

A) Does it need more than one page?
B) Does it have fewer than 100 words?
C) Does it fit on a coffee mug?
D) Will it look good if it is written entirely in capital letters?

Question 42

Which of the following is not an effective way to communicate a vision or mission?

A) Create a "phone tree" and use it once a week to reiterate the mission and vision to all employees.
B) Create a narrative or story.
C) Model behavior consistent with the vision and mission.
D) Create objects that display the vision and mission.