Deck 5: Planning and Goal Setting

Question 1

Prevention and preparation are the two stages of crisis management.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Goals should be easy for employees to feel motivated so that they can achieve them easily,which in turn increases their motivation level.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

If Renae,manager at Leak Free Roofing,wanted to develop a contingency plan for Leak Free,she would need to look at factors such as new equipment,the economy,and the company workers' compensation cases.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

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

Question 5

Operational plans and goals are those that focus on the outcomes that major divisions and departments must achieve in order for the organization to reach its overall goals.

Question 6

Defining operational goals and plans occurs in the execution phase of the organizational planning process.

Question 7

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 8

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

Question 9

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

Question 10

The CEO of Andre's Autos,Inc.must do all of the planning for the company because that is the way to do things in today's workplace.

Question 11

Trend management is looking at trends and discontinuities and imagining possible alternative futures.

Question 12

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

Question 13

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that,in turbulent environments,plans create greater organizational flexibility.

Question 14

A broad definition of the organization's values,aspiration and reason for being,along with a recognition of the scope and operations that distinguishes the organization refers to a business plan.

Question 15

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

Question 16

Goals are typically stated in quantitative terms.

Question 17

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

Question 18

A desired future state that the individual or organization attempts to realize is a goal.

Question 19

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

Question 20

Goals are most effective when they are specific,measurable,challenging and linked to rewards.

Question 21

Alabama Airlines has three planning specialists who help division managers develop their own division plans.Serving as consultants to the divisions,the planning specialists give advice about strengths,weaknesses,opportunities,and threats.Alabama Airlines is utilizing what approach to the planning function?

A)Centralized planning department
B)Decentralized planning staff
C)Planning task force
D)Centralized planning committee
E)TQM

Question 22

A long-term time frame is most closely associated with:

A)operational plans.
B)tactical plans.
C)strategic plans.
D)mission plans.
E)tactical goals.

Question 23

The planning process begins with which of these?

A)The development of operational goals
B)The development of a mission statement
C)Communication of goals to the rest of the organization
D)A company-wide meeting
E)Brainstorming

Question 24

The plan of action that prescribes resource allocation and other 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 25

Jeff is a top manager at a textile factory.He is developing a crisis plan in the event that the company has a toxic spill or accident.Which of the following should Jeff undertake to prepare for such a crisis?

A)Building relationships with neighboring businesses
B)Detecting signals from the natural environment
C)Polling employees on the likelihood of an environmental disaster
D)Designating a crisis management team in the event of an environmental disaster
E)Dismantling the company's ties to the external media

Question 26

Sarah is a middle manager at Stylin' Sneakers Corporation.She is most likely responsible for the achievement of _____ goals.

A)operational
B)tactical
C)strategic
D)lower-level
E)top-level

Question 27

Of executives whose companies had no formal strategic planning process,about half said they were dissatisfied with the company's development strategy.

Question 28

"We respect our employees and value their diversity" is an example of a statement you are most likely to find in the organization's:

A)mission.
B)strategic goals.
C)tactical goals.
D)strategic plans.
E)tactical plans.

Question 29

A blueprint specifying the resource allocations schedules,and other actions necessary for attaining goals is referred to as a(n):

A)goal.
B)plan.
C)mission.
D)vision.
E)objective.

Question 30

Where does the information about opportunities and threats comes from?

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 31

Darren set goals for each of his employees.Each employee ended up with at least twenty-five goals.This process violates which of the following criteria for effective goals?

A)Specific and measurable
B)Challenging but realistic
C)Covers key result areas
D)Defined time period
E)Linked to rewards

Question 32

_____ 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 33

Focusing manager and employee efforts on activities that will lead to goal attainment is a benefit of what management method?

A)Tactical planning
B)Contingency planning
C)Single-use planning
D)Management by objectives
E)Management by walking around

Question 34

One of the limitations of setting goals and making plans is that they can get in the way of creativity.

Question 35

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

Question 36

Fred has been assigned to conduct a SWOT analysis for his organization,Acme,Inc.As part of this assignment,Fred will:

A)conduct an external wage survey.
B)search for the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that impact his firm.
C)choose a grand strategy for his firm.
D)do a cost/benefit analysis.
E)develop a mission.

Question 37

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

Question 38

Which of the following is a commonly-cited limitation of planning?

A)Plans limit employee motivation and commitment.
B)Plans make resource allocation more difficult.
C)Plans make it more difficult to measure standards of performance.
D)Plans boost intuition and creativity.
E)Plans can create a false sense of security.

Question 39

Of the strategic management functions,which is considered the most fundamental?

A)Executing
B)Analyzing
C)Controlling
D)Planning
E)Leading

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT one of the benefits of MBO?

A)Performance can be improved at all company levels.
B)Employees are motivated.
C)Efforts are focused on activities that will lead to goal attainment.
D)Operational goals are able to displace strategic goals.
E)Individual and department goals are aligned with company goals.

Question 41

Broad statements describing where the organization wants to be in the future are called _____.

Question 42

_____ assess what is important to the organization and how well the organization is progressing toward attaining its strategic goal.

Question 43

_____ involves activities that managers undertake to try to prevent crises from occurring and to detect warning signs of potential crises.

Question 44

In the BCG matrix,the dog has _____ market share and _____ business growth rate.

Question 45

Double Click,Inc.has a number of strategic business units.Their hand-held computer unit has a large market share in this rapidly growing industry.Their hand-held computer business would be classified as:

A)a dog.
B)a star.
C)a question mark.
D)a cash cow.
E)stuck in the middle.

Question 46

_____ is 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.

Question 47

A group of planning specialists assigned to major departments and divisions to help managers develop their own strategic plans is called _____.

Question 48

Mingles,Inc.concentrates its efforts on its target market of 18 to 25 year olds.It is using a(n)_____ strategy.

A)focus
B)differentiation
C)cost leadership
D)multidomestic
E)universal

Question 49

Which of the following strategies involves rewarding an employee's innovation?

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

Question 50

Which of these is true about the cash cow?

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 51

A business activity that an organization does particularly well relative to its competition is known as a(n)_____.

Question 52

Plans that define company responses to specific situations,such as emergencies,setbacks,or unexpected conditions are called _____ plans.

Question 53

The use of managerial and organizational tools to direct resources toward accomplishing strategic results is known as _____.

Question 54

Goals that define the outcomes that major departments must achieve in order for the organization to reach its overall goals are known as _____ goals.

Question 55

A(n)_____ is a blueprint for goal achievement and specifies the necessary resource allocations,schedules,tasks,and other actions.

Question 56

A special type of contingency plan that is used when events are sudden and devastating and require immediate response is called _____.

Question 57

List the five characteristics of effective goals.

Question 58

When top executives work with managers in major divisions or departments to develop their own goals and plans,it is known as _____ planning.

A)interdepartmental
B)crisis
C)focus
D)decentralized
E)competitive

Question 59

_____ is a method whereby managers and employees define goals for every department,project,and person and use them to monitor subsequent performance.

Question 60

With a(n)_____ strategy,the organization aggressively seeks efficient facilities,pursues cost reductions,and uses tight cost controls to produce products more efficiently than competitors.

Question 61

In what ways do plans and goals benefit an organization?

Question 62

List the four major activities that must occur in order for MBO to succeed.

Question 63

List the four components of a SWOT analysis.

Question 64

Compare the four levels of goals and plans.

Question 65

Briefly discuss Porter's three competitive strategies.