Deck 9: Strategic Choice

Question 1

One of ways of limiting cognitive biases is to

A) ask lots of questions
B) restrict the amount of time spent on data collection
C) accept that events which are concurrent are probably related
D) count on the capabilities of the senior management team

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Shared understandings in organizations emerge from

A) the minutes of the Board of Directors' meetings
B) industry reports
C) employee opinion surveys
D) dialogue

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The relationship between strategic planning and performance is

A) positive
B) subject to interpretation
C) undetermined
D) negative

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Some would argue that the only sustainable competitive advantage for an organixation stems from its

A) financial strength
B) relationships
C) learning ability
D) supplier base

Question 5

One of the problems associated with organizational resiliency is the

A) process takes too long to complete
B) need to divert resources to untested possibilities
C) responsiveness of competitors
D) regulatory burden

Question 6

Errors in judgment with respect to decision making are the result of

A) a perspective shift
B) inexperience
C) cultural norms
D) cognitive biases

Question 7

When strategy is viewed as a learning process, the

A) decision making is top down
B) number of individuals involved decreases
C) timeframe becomes longer
D) range of perspectives considered increases

Question 8

What mechanism can be used to improve the strategic planning process?

A) discuss at the weekly operations meeting
B) include customers and suppliers in the process
C) use an internal facilitator
D) limit the number of people involved in the process

Question 9

Unlike the budgeting process, strategic planning

A) is a routine process
B) is carried out at the unit level
C) is highly standardized
D) occurs at the organizational level

Question 10

An emergent strategy is

A) planned and controlled
B) analytical and future oriented
C) opportunistic and intuitive
D) episodic and action-oriented

Question 11

One of the key organizational functions of strategy is to

A) reduce ambiguity
B) anticipate market trends
C) assist with governance
D) coordinate activities and behaviours

Question 12

One of the elements of a formal strategic plan should be

A) a contingency plan
B) employee opinion survey
C) statement from the Chair of the Board of Directors
D) a list of the officers of the company

Question 13

A tendency to seek information that confirms what the management believes to be true is a bias referred to as

A) confirmatory
B) framing
C) availability
D) anchoring

Question 14

In situations of environmental uncertainty, a pre-determined strategic direction

A) helps the organization negotiate the environment
B) limits the organization
C) promotes stability within the organization
D) meets the expectations of stakeholders

Question 15

One of the drawbacks of strategy is that it

A) increases ambiguity
B) over-simplifies
C) increases complexity
D) can be a negotiating ploy

Question 16

Including sunk costs when analyzing the merits of strategic options is an example of a managerial bias known as

A) overconfidence
B) representativeness
C) framing
D) escalation of commitment

Question 17

An intended strategy is

A) controlled and focused on the present
B) action-oriented and opportunistic
C) planned and controlled
D) episodic and spontaneous

Question 18

One of the functions of the strategic planning process is to

A) assess the internal and external environment
B) set the annual budget
C) prepare for the annual shareholders' meeting
D) satisfy the shareholders

Question 19

Critics of the strategic planning process argue that the outcomes are flawed due to

A) the stability of most industries
B) environmental turbulence
C) inexperienced managers
D) organizational resistance to change

Question 20

Which one of the following is a principal reason the expected outcomes of many strategies are not realized?

A) flawed decision-making
B) poor implementation
C) government policy change
D) negative shareholder reaction

Question 21

The strategic planning process and the budgeting process have similar purposes.

Question 22

One of the tensions that exists between intended and emergent strategy relates to

A) commitment and resources
B) mission and vision
C) exploration and exploitation
D) supply and demand

Question 23

A tendency to collect supporting information is a cognitive bias known as illusory correlation.

Question 24

An internal facilitator who knows the organization well is the best choice for facilitating the strategic planning process.

Question 25

Strategy coordinates activities and behaviours.

Question 26

An intended strategy is one that emerges by trial and error over time.

Question 27

When strategy is viewed from a learning perspective, the scope of individuals involved in the process is reduced.

Question 28

The performance benefits associated with strategy are often dependent on the quality of the conversation that takes place during the planning process.

Question 29

Groupthink signals the absence of cognitive biases among the management team.

Question 30

Intended and emergent strategies are oriented towards the future.

Question 31

Incorporating sunk costs into the analysis of a strategic option is an example of escalation of commitment.

Question 32

In many organizations, strategic planning tools have been replaced with financial tools.

Question 33

One of the barriers to strategic renewal is

A) feedback processes
B) diagnostic systems
C) cognitive maps
D) transference of learning

Question 34

In situations that require managing the processes of feedback and exploitation, the most appropriate style of leadership is

A) managerial
B) transformational
C) visionary
D) transactional

Question 35

Decision makers tend to be more risk-seeking when evaluating the potential for losses.

Question 36

One of the advantages of strategy is that it reduces ambiguity.

Question 37

Mature organizations tend to need

A) better feedback systems
B) more planning
C) stronger feed-forward systems
D) bigger bureaucracies

Question 38

Entrepreneurial organizations tend to need

A) better feed-forward systems
B) fewer procedures
C) more networks
D) stronger feedback systems

Question 39

Strategy enables an organization to negotiate its environment successfully.

Question 40

It would be unusual for a well-formulated strategy to fail during execution.

Question 41

Strategic leadership takes on the key tasks of the visionary and the managerial leader.

Question 42

There is an inverse relationship between an executive's emotional maturity and firm performance.

Question 43

Strategic leaders are future oriented and concerned with risk taking.

Question 44

Entrepreneurial organizations could benefit from more intended strategy.

Question 45

Transactional leaders are an appropriate choice for managing the processes of feedback and exploitation.

Question 46

Organizational learning takes place at the employee, group, and enterprise level.

Question 47

Root cause analysis is a good technique for avoiding information biases.

Question 48

Improvisation is a strategic renewal technique appropriate primarily for the entrepreneurial firm.

Question 49

In the strategic renewal process, strong feedback mechanisms are more important than feed-forward systems.

Question 50

With respect to strategic renewal, the feed-forward process is the mechanism by which the organization is able to leverage its learning.