Deck 5: Strategic Management

Question 1

Examples of business strategy include all the following EXCEPT:

A) Help keep existing customers
B) Grow its business by moving into new markets and taking customers from competitors
C) Determine how to keep profit level demanded by the stock market
D) Looking at the organization as a portfolio

Answer 1

D

Question 2

______________ is essentially about understanding choices organizations make in order to achieve specific goals and objectives to fulfill a firm's mission and vision.

Answer 2

Strategic management

Question 3

Where does strategy formulation fit within the POLC framework?

A) Planning
B) Organizing
C) Leading
D) Controlling

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Goals and objectives are the indicators of how well the ______________ is succeeding.

Question 5

Strategy formulation answers the question:

A) How do we execute a chosen strategy?
B) What should be our strategy?
C) Where does strategy fit in?
D) How is strategy applied to me?

Question 6

________________ is sometimes called business planning or strategic planning.

Question 7

The best straegies, corporate and business, are based on a thorough SWOT analysis.

Question 8

_______________ tells managers how they should go about putting the desired strategy into action.

Question 9

A firm's strategy includes which of the following:

A) Captures how vision and mission will be achieved
B) Communicates to stakeholders the hierarchical corporate structure.
C) Sets specific operating procedures to be followed by front line managers.
D) Establishes systems and processes used to implement the goals and objectives

Question 10

Planning starts with vision and mission, and concludes with strategizing.

Question 11

Which of the following forms of diversification occurs when a firm operates multiple businesses within the same industry?

A) Related diversification
B) Hierarchical diversification
C) Conglomerate diversification
D) Horizontal diversification

Question 12

Strategy is a pattern of resource allocation choices and organizational arrangements that result from managerial decision making.

Question 13

Strategy is about making choices that provide an organization with some measure of ____________ that allows them to outperform competitors.
Section 1: Strategic Management in the P-O-L-C Framework

Question 14

_____________________ answers strategy questions related to "what business or businesses should we be in?"

Question 15

It is important to note that the concept of strategy is relevant to only large, public companies like GE.

Question 16

An assessment of strengths and weaknesses occurs as a part of organizational analysis.

Question 17

_________________ reflects what a firm is doing to achieve its mission and vision, as seen by its achievement of specific goals and objectives.

Question 18

The purpose of diversification is:

A) To capture more consumers
B) To satisfy the mission and vision
C) To build a portfolio of businesses much like a portfolio of stock
D) To spread out risk and opportunities over a larger set of businesses

Question 19

Strategic management process is the coordinated means by which an organization chooses its mission and vision.

Question 20

Not all organizations need strategies to survive and thrive.

Question 21

____________________focuses on how a given business needs to compete in order to be effective.

Question 22

_____________ exists when an organization participates in multiple businesses that are in some way distinct from each other, as Taco Bell is from Pizza Hut.

Question 23

Examining opportunities and threats is part of _____________ analysis.

Question 24

According to Mintzberg, the percent of intended strategy that becomes a reality is:

A) Less than 10
B) 10-30
C) 30-50
D) more than 50

Question 25

_________________ is strategy as conceived of by the top management team and is the result of a process of negotiation, bargaining, and compromise.

Question 26

What questions about a company and its environment did the original conception of the strategy model answer

Question 27

_____________ include factors beyond the control of a firm that could place the strategy at risk.

Question 28

____________ exists when the interaction of two or more active activities, such as those in a business, create a combined effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.

Question 29

What questions do corporate and business strategies answer

Question 30

The est thing for an organization to do is to develop its competitive advantage into ______________ competitive advantage, where the organization's strengths cannot be easily duplicated or imitated by other firms, nor made redundant or less valuable by changes in the external environment.

Question 31

______________ assess factors external to the business that could enable a business to exist and/or prosper.

Question 32

The primary determinant of realized strategy is what Mintzberg terms emergent strategy.

Question 33

Where the value chain might suggest internal areas of strength, __________ helps predict whether those strengths will give it a competitive advantage.

Question 34

What are the two internal analysis tools discussed in the text

Question 35

Within the strategic plans that are decided, divisional and business unit managers do not have considerable freedom to adjust, adapt, and experiment.

Question 36

Why did McDonald's sell Chipotle

Question 37

________________ stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Question 38

When you can identify certain strengths that set an organization well apart from actual and potential competitors, that strength is considered a source of ______________ advantage.

Question 39

What is the strategic management process

Question 40

The different aspects of strategy as distinguished by Mintzberg include which of the following?

A) Consequential
B) Differentiate
C) Realized
D) Permanent

Question 41

What are the two schools of thought regarding strategy

Question 42

An organization pursuing a strategy as discipline seeks competitive advantage by offering products or services that are unique from those offered by rivals.

Question 43

Firms utilizing a competitive scope strategy can tailor advertising and promotional efforts to a particular market niche.

Question 44

Superiority in competitive advantage refers to all of the following factors EXCEPT:

A) Low cost
B) Customer service
C) Product quality
D) Unique style

Question 45

The primary determinant of realized strategy is what Mintzberg terms _________________.

Question 46

For a differentiation strategy to be effective, the product difference should NOT be based on:

A) Product design
B) Method of distribution
C) Price
D) Broad market group of consumers

Question 47

Straddling strategies as an approach to strategic management is not recommended for which reason:

A) It is an attempt to gain competitive advantage based on over-all low-cost provider of a product or service
B) Research shows that straddling strategies leads to confusion among managers about the direction of the company.
C) It is an indication that the firm's managers have not made necessary choices about the business and its strategy
D) According to Porter straddling strategies is recommended for narrow scope firms that have been successful in the past.

Question 48

What is the best way to develop a strategy

Question 49

A cost-focus strategy is a low-cost, narrowly focused market strategy.

Question 50

_______________ refers to the strategy where a firm's competitive advantage is based on the bet that it can develop, manufacture, and distribute products more efficiently than competitors.

Question 51

The strategic planning systems of most companies involve a combination of design and _____________.

Question 52

Cost leadership is a low-cost, broad-based market strategy.

Question 53

Cost leaders must maintain their marketing or face the possible entry of more cost-effective competitors.

Question 54

Firms pursuing a differentiation strategy are vulnerable to different competitive threats than firms pursing a cost leader strategy.

Question 55

The actual strategy that is implemented in a firm is called ________________.

Question 56

While there are different schools of thought about how strategy comes about, researchers generally agree the common characteristic across successful organizations is:

A) Strategy trade-off
B) Strategic focus
C) Strategic process
D) Strategy discipline

Question 57

One approach to focusing is to service either industrial buyers or consumers, but not both.

Question 58

________________ is seen when an organization is very clear about its mission and vision, and has a coherent, well-articulated strategy for achieving those.

Question 59

Two or more firms competing for differentiation may engage in price wars that drive profits to very low levels.

Question 60

_______________ refers to the strategy where competitive advantage is based on superior products or service.

Question 61

Knowledge possessed by human capital is among the most significant of an organization's capabilities.

Question 62

How has Southwest Airlines combined cost-cutting measures with differentiation

Question 63

Almost anything a firm possesses can be considered a core competency.

Question 64

Many firms have valuable and rare resources that they fail to exploit.

Question 65

Why do firms pursing a differentiation strategy become vulnerable to different competitive threats more than firms pursing a cost leader strategy

Question 66

A cost-leadership strategy is more likely to generate a(n) _____________ in market share.

Question 67

A ________________ strategy is the marketing of a differentiated product to a narrow market, often involving a unique product and a unique market.

Question 68

_______________ defines the breadth of a company's target market.

Question 69

By exploiting internal resources and capabilities and meeting the demanding standards of global competition, firms create value for customers.

Question 70

A firm's tangible resource includes which of the following?

A) Knowledge
B) Capacity for innovation
C) Organizational routines
D) Production equipment

Question 71

Which of the following is considered an intangible resource?

A) Scientific capabilities
B) Production equipment
C) Manufacturing plants
D) Formal reporting structures

Question 72

Owning resources which do not meet the VRIO test of value puts the firm at a competitive advantage.

Question 73

A firm that possesses a valuable and rare resource will not gain a competitive advantage unless it can actually put that resource to effective use.

Question 74

By drawing on external analysis and emphasizing core competencies when formulating strategies, companies learn to compete primarily on the basis of firm-specific differences.

Question 75

What industry environments may call for combination strategies

Question 76

Explain Martin-Brower's focus strategy as the third-largest food distributor in the United States.

Question 77

Why does a differentiation strategy require a firm to give attention to costs

Question 78

A ______________ strategy refers to the strategy where competitive advantage is based on superior products or service.

Question 79

A firm's performance relative to industry peers is likely to vary according to the level to which resources, capabilities, and ultimately core competences satisfy VRIO criteria.

Question 80

Can forms of competitive advantage be combined