Deck 4: Foundations of Planning

Question 1

One criticism of formal planning is that it focuses on how to beat the competition rather than how to _________.

A)create a win-win situation with the competition
B)replicate the competitor's success
C)have cordial relationships with the competition
D)focus on new opportunities

Answer 1

focus on new opportunities

Question 2

All managers formally plan, however, few informally plan.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

One effect of planning on managers is that it forces them to _________.

A)ignore any change that does not directly affect them
B)work to prevent change
C)anticipate and consider the effect of change
D)fear change

Answer 3

anticipate and consider the effect of change

Question 4

A key function of planning is to create the SWOT analysis.

Question 5

In informal planning, goals are usually _________ shared with others in the organisation.

A)written, but little is
B)written and much is
C)unwritten, but much is
D)unwritten and little is

Question 6

Planning is often referred to as _________.

A)an informal strategy
B)the primary management function
C)the organisation's unwritten goals
D)an employee hierarchy

Question 7

An organisation's creative ability is independent of its formal planning process.

Question 8

The four reasons that organisations plan is to provide direction, set standards, reduce threat, and reduce uncertainty and the impact of change.

Question 9

Planning gives organisations direction that primarily helps them improve _________.

A)morale of all employees
B)teamwork and coordinate activities
C)morale of middle managers
D)their image in the business community

Question 10

Failing to discard successful plans from the past is likely to lead to _________.

A)failure because of the low quality of the plans
B)more success because conditions are unlikely to change in the future
C)success because of the high quality of the plans
D)failure because conditions are likely to change in the future

Question 11

Which type of planning does the textbook focus on?

A)Informal
B)Primary
C)Formal
D)Secondary

Question 12

Reduced uncertainty and improved coordination are reasons managers should _________.

A)deal with change
B)minimise waste
C)control morale
D)engage in planning

Question 13

Organisations that do not formally plan may be more likely to have _________.

A)multiple departments performing the same task
B)a single department carrying out all company functions
C)a strong sense of direction
D)legal problems

Question 14

Studies of planning show that the key to successful planning is to make sure that the plans _________.

A)are high in quality and appropriately implemented
B)are only shared with top level managers
C)cover every possible detail
D)are easily achievable

Question 15

Planning gives organisations a way to deal with change that _________.

A)reduces certainty
B)increases ambiguity
C)reduces uncertainty
D)eliminates all uncertainty

Question 16

A major argument in support of formal plans is that they can replace intuition and creativity.

Question 17

Contemporary research shows that planning and performance _________.

A)have a generally bidirectional relationship
B)are not generally related
C)have a generally positive relationship
D)have a generally negative relationship

Question 18

Which statement is consistent with the research on planning in organisations?

A)Evidence generally supports the position that organisations should have formal plans.
B)Evidence suggests that informal plans are more advantageous to an organisation than formal plans.
C)Evidence indicates that formal planning has a negative impact on an organisation's financial results.
D)Evidence is inconclusive about the effectiveness of planning on an organisation.

Question 19

An organisation's ability to assess its progress is not affected by its planning abilities.

Question 20

Which of the following is a criticism of planning discussed in the textbook?

A)It stimulates change
B)It encourages managers to focus on future survival
C)It creates rigidity
D)It enhances intuition and creativity

Question 21

Managers can often point to environmental factors when explaining how their formal plan did not lead to better organisational performance.

Question 22

The three different types of strategies that managers implement are _________.

A)corporate, competitive and functional
B)public, private and functional
C)long term, short term and functional
D)competitive, non-competitive and long term

Question 23

An external analysis helps identify _________.

A)a company's opportunities and threats
B)the financial ratios the company should use
C)a company's strengths and weaknesses
D)the short-term goals for a company

Question 24

All of the following are components of a mission statement except _________.

A)customers
B)markets
C)sustainability
D)technology

Question 25

A major strength of formal planning is that it reinforces past successes and incorporates them into the future.

Question 26

In a short essay, define planning and compare formal and informal planning as they are used in various organisations.

Question 27

When a company has competitive capabilities that assist in creating market value, these are known as _________.

A)core competencies
B)internal strengths
C)market capabilities
D)sustainable capabilities

Question 28

Describe three ways formal planning helps manage for sustainability.

Question 29

A corporate strategy focuses primarily on _________.

A)an organisation's key competitors
B)an organisation's core competencies
C)an organisation's mission
D)an organisation's strengths

Question 30

Formal planning often results in ground-breaking visions that help reinvent the industry.

Question 31

Once SWOT analysis is complete, managers _________ strategies to address the issues that came up during the analysis.

A)eliminate
B)implement
C)formulate
D)evaluate

Question 32

Which term refers to an organisation's capital, workers and patents?

A)Core competencies
B)Competitive advantage
C)Internal strengths
D)Resources

Question 33

The first step in the six-step strategic management process is to _________.

A)analyse the organisation's strengths and weaknesses
B)identify the organisation's mission, goals and strategies
C)identify strategies to reach the organisation's goals
D)implement strategies

Question 34

Which step of the strategic management process helps identify an organisation's resources and capabilities?

A)Formulating strategies
B)Doing an internal analysis
C)Evaluating results
D)Identifying the mission

Question 35

A mission statement includes identification of an organisation's _________.

A)strengths and weaknesses
B)directional and specific plans
C)products and philosophy
D)short-term and long-term plans

Question 36

Together, an organisation's resources and core competencies make up which of the following?

A)Core assets
B)Fundamental beliefs
C)Core philosophy
D)Competitive weapons

Question 37

Explain the paradox of formal planning.In other words, how can it reinforce success, yet still lead to failure?

Question 38

Many organisations are finding that customers are increasingly making decisions based on a supplier's sustainability efforts.A major strength of formal planning is that it generally correlates with higher profits.

Question 39

SWOT analysis identifies and analyses an organisation's _________.

A)human resource assets
B)opportunities, threats, weaknesses and strengths
C)long-term goals
D)strategy for competing in the market

Question 40

Successful planning depends more on what managers plan than the quality of their planning.

Question 41

A company that is on the verge of collapse or bankruptcy is most likely to employ which strategy?

A)Retrenchment
B)Hunker down
C)Incremental improvement
D)Turnaround

Question 42

Up to now your success has been based on selling high-quality, gourmet sandwiches at a price that others cannot match.Your business is pursuing which of Porter's strategies?

A)Cost leadership strategy
B)Differentiation strategy
C)Competitive advantage strategy
D)Focus strategy

Question 43

This term describes an electric shaver company that carefully observes its competitor's production line to look for ways to improve its own manufacturing process.

A)Reverse marketing
B)Trademarking
C)Benchmarking
D)Quality engineering

Question 44

You are thinking of buying a bread factory in a nearby state.This action would be an example of _________.

A)vertical integration
B)diversification
C)horizontal integration
D)concentration

Question 45

Two movie studios combining to form one larger studio is an example of which of the following?

A)Forward vertical integration
B)Backward vertical integration
C)Diversification
D)Horizontal integration

Question 46

An egg-producing company decided to expand and open its own retail outlets.This is an example of _________.

A)horizontal integration
B)sideway integration
C)concentration
D)vertical integration

Question 47

Growth strategies include _________.

A)integration, allocation, horizontal diversification and vertical diversification
B)diversification, concentration, integration and stabilisation
C)vertical integration, horizontal integration, lateral integration and horizontal concentration
D)vertical integration, horizontal integration, concentration and diversification

Question 48

A company with a differentiation strategy focuses on making its products or services _________.

A)affordable
B)familiar
C)similar to its competitors
D)unique and special

Question 49

When Google purchased YouTube, a company that featured different but related products, Google was engaging in which of the following?

A)Backward vertical integration
B)Concentration
C)Diversification
D)Forward vertical integration

Question 50

Competitive advantages for a high-prestige, premium coffee franchise like Gloria Jean's are likely to include all of the following except _________.

A)high quality
B)pleasant venues
C)lowest prices
D)well-trained employees

Question 51

A company that looks for a niche in the market is following which strategy?

A)Retrenchment
B)Focus
C)Differentiation
D)Corporate

Question 52

Which of the following is a competitive strategy?

A)Differentiation
B)Growth
C)Renewal
D)Stability

Question 53

Which of the following would you expect to find in a clothing store that follows a cost leadership strategy?

A)Pampered, personalised service
B)Only finest, most expensive materials
C)Basic, no frills and practical items
D)State-of-the-art design

Question 54

Troubled companies seek _________ to address serious problems.

A)corporate strategies
B)competitive strategies
C)vertical and horizontal strategies
D)renewal strategies

Question 55

Metcash (owner of the IGA supermarket group) increasing its supermarket holdings is an example of which of the following?

A)Vertical integration
B)Concentration
C)Horizontal integration
D)Diversification

Question 56

The _________ strategy occupies the level below the corporate strategy.

A)functional
B)performance
C)competitive
D)business unit

Question 57

To address limited, short-term problems, a company is most likely to employ a _________ strategy.

A)retrenchment
B)turnaround
C)doomsday
D)self-critical

Question 58

A cost leadership competitive strategy focuses on which of the following?

A)Innovation
B)Luxury
C)Elegant design
D)Lowest prices

Question 59

Two companies that both sell surfing gear combine.What are they doing?

A)Backward vertical integration, because they are sharing distribution
B)Diversifying, because they both sell the same products
C)Integrating vertically, because they both sell the same products
D)Integrating horizontally, because they both sell similar products

Question 60

Virgin Blue acquiring Tiger Air is an example of which of the following?

A)Diversification
B)Horizontal integration
C)Vertical integration
D)Concentration

Question 61

Core competencies include an organisation's major capabilities and its resources.

Question 62

SWOT analysis includes the identification of an organisation's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Question 63

Which of the following best defines goals?

A)Desired outcomes for the future.
B)Unlikely outcomes for the future.
C)Likely outcomes for the future.
D)Short-term targets.

Question 64

A company with a stability strategy will plan to dramatically increase market share in a highly competitive market.

Question 65

When going through the strategic management process, a company first formulates the strategy, and then undertakes a SWOT analysis.

Question 66

The final three steps in the strategic management process involve the creation, implementation and evaluation of strategies for realising organisational goals.

Question 67

Recently, Taste has considered buying a local competitor and the two would combine under the Taste name.This is an example of which of the following?

A)Diversification
B)Horizontal integration
C)Vertical integration
D)Stability

Question 68

Strategic management aims to enable the organisation's departments to work independently to achieve structural goals.

Question 69

Discuss how Kraft Foods used big data to increase its sale of Vegemite.

Question 70

List and briefly describe the three strategic options involved in a corporate strategy

Question 71

Capabilities are 'what' an organisation has; resources are 'how' it uses what it has.

Question 72

A focus strategy seeks to appeal to a narrow segment of a market.

Question 73

Strategic management is the act of figuring out how an organisation will compete in the marketplace and attract loyal customers.

Question 74

For a limited time, Taste is thinking of coming out with a new sandwich that is 100 per cent vegan.Catering to the small segment of the market that is vegan is an example of a _________.

A)long-term strategy
B)focus strategy
C)differentiation strategy
D)cost leadership strategy

Question 75

The most drastic renewal strategy an organisation can carry out is a retrenchment strategy.

Question 76

What are the six steps of the strategic management process?

Question 77

An external analysis will identify the threats to a company's well-being, but not opportunities for success.

Question 78

'Build a better mousetrap' is a way of describing a competitive advantage.

Question 79

The first step in the strategic management process is analysing the external environment.

Question 80

Briefly describe the questions involved in formulating a mission statement.Provide an example of a real or fictitious mission statement.