Deck 7: Strategy and Strategic Management

Question 1

Corporate strategy focuses on the strategic question: "In what industries and markets should we compete?"

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Functional strategy addresses the question: "How are we going to compete for customers within this industry and market?"

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A strategic business unit describes a major business that operates with some autonomy within a larger enterprise.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Strategic intent refers to an organization focusing its energies on a unifying and compelling target.

Question 5

Corporate strategy directs the organization as a whole toward sustainable competitive advantage.

Question 6

A sustainable competitive advantage is one that is difficult for competitors to imitate.

Question 7

Functional strategy guides the use of resources to implement business strategy.

Question 8

A strategy is a comprehensive action plan that identifies long-term direction for an organization and guides resource utilization to accomplish goals with sustainable competitive advantage.

Question 9

Business strategy describes the strategy for a single business unit or product line.

Question 10

Every strategy maker must remember that at the same time he/she is trying to create a competitive advantage for an organization,competitors are attempting to do the same.

Question 11

Typical sources of competitive advantage include cost and quality,knowledge and speed,barriers to entry,and financial resources.

Question 12

Strategic implementation is the processes of putting strategies into action.

Question 13

A strategy is a specific method for accomplishing an organization's goals.

Question 14

In single-product enterprises,business strategy is the corporate strategy,but in large conglomerates,a variety of business strategies will be followed.

Question 15

Howard Schultz's vision for Starbuck's was to build it into a national chain of stores.

Question 16

Functional strategy,business strategy,and corporate strategy should be integrated in a means-end fashion to accomplish objectives and create sustainable competitive advantage.

Question 17

Strategy is a "best guess" about what must be done for future success in the face of rivalry and changing conditions in a competitive environment.

Question 18

Corporate strategy answers the question: "How can we best utilize resources to implement our business strategy?"

Question 19

An organization with a competitive advantage is operating with an attribute or combination of attributes that allows it to outperform its competitors.

Question 20

Strategic management is the process of formulating and implementing strategies to accomplish long-term goals and sustain competitive advantage.

Question 21

Strong core values give character to an organization,back up the mission statement,and help guide members' behavior in meaningful and consistent ways.

Question 22

Strategy formulation and strategy implementation are the two major managerial responsibilities of the strategic management process.

Question 23

Organizational culture refers to the predominant value system for an organization as a whole.

Question 24

As part of the strategic management process,strategy implementation involves executing strategies through corporate governance,management systems and practices,and strategic leadership.

Question 25

As part of the strategic management process,strategy formulation involves identifying and analyzing the existing mission,objectives,and strategies;analyzing the industry and external environment as well as organizational resources and capabilities;and revising the mission and objectives and selecting new strategies.

Question 26

According to Peter Drucker,the common operating objectives for businesses include: profitability,market share,human talent,financial health,cost efficiency,product quality,innovation,and social responsibility.

Question 27

Michael Hammer recommends that an organization's mission statement should address the following questions: What are we moving to? What is our dream? What kind of difference do we want to make in the world? What do we want to be known for?

Question 28

A good mission statement should describe the organization's underlying philosophy and should clearly identify the domain in which the organization intends to operate.

Question 29

An organization's mission is its basic reason for existence in society.

Question 30

Stakeholders are individuals and groups who are directly affected by the organization and its strategic accomplishments.

Question 31

A business can use a strategic SWOT analysis to assess its sustainability,wealth,operations,and technology.

Question 32

Important strategic management tasks include: identifying organizational mission and objectives;assessing current performance in relation to mission and objectives;creating strategic plans to accomplish mission and objectives;and implementing those plans.

Question 33

The essence of strategic management is looking ahead,understanding the environment and the organization,effectively positioning the organization for competitive advantage in changing times,and then achieving it.

Question 34

A SWOT analysis involves an assessment of organizational strengths and weaknesses as well as environmental opportunities and threats.

Question 35

The strategic management process begins with a careful assessment and clarification of the organization's mission,values and objectives.

Question 36

Peter Drucker indicates that managers should ask five questions in the process of formulating an organization's strategy.These questions are: What is our business mission? Who are our customers? What do our customers consider value? What have been our results? What is our plan?

Question 37

Operating objectives are shorter-term targets against which actual performance results can be measured as indicators of progress and continuous improvement.

Question 38

As part of the strategic management process,strategy formulation involves exercising strategic control and reviewing the strategic management process.

Question 39

Operating objectives reflect the organization's basic purpose in society.

Question 40

As part of the strategic planning process,a strategic constituencies analysis is concerned with assessing the interests of each group of stakeholders as well as the organization's record in responding to them.

Question 41

In conducting a SWOT analysis,the presence of manufacturing efficiencies,a skilled workforce,a good market share,strong financing,and a superior reputation would be identified as a company's strengths.

Question 42

In conducting a SWOT analysis,a company's opportunities should be assessed in terms of new competitors,possible resource shortages,changing market tastes,substitute products,and new regulations.

Question 43

A renewal strategy seeks to correct weaknesses by making changes to the current ways of operating.

Question 44

In a SWOT analysis,industry environmental factors include developments in technology and government,social structures and population demographics,the global economy,and the natural environment.

Question 45

Any growth strategy must be well planned and well managed to achieve the desired results.

Question 46

In conducting a SWOT analysis,issues regarding outdated facilities,inadequate research and development,obsolete technologies,weak management,and past planning failures would be addressed in analyzing the company's weaknesses.

Question 47

Renewal strategies are sometimes also called "offense" strategies.

Question 48

A stability strategy maintains current operations without substantial change.

Question 49

Core competencies refer to special strengths that the organization has or things the organization does exceptionally well in comparison with competitors.

Question 50

From the perspective of Porter's five forces model,an unattractive industry is one with less intense competition,few threats from new entrants or substitutes,and low bargaining power among suppliers and buyers.

Question 51

From the perspective of Porter's five forces model,an attractive industry is one in which intense rivalry already exists among competitors,there are substantial threats in terms of new competitors and substitute products,and suppliers and buyers are very powerful in bargaining over prices and quality.

Question 52

An attractive industry is one with businesses focusing on cosmetics and high fashion.

Question 53

Related diversification involves growth by acquiring new businesses or entering business areas that are related to what the organization already does.

Question 54

In evaluating the organizational resources and capabilities,a major goal is to identify core competencies.

Question 55

Potential opportunities and threats can be in identified in the macro environment and the industry environment.

Question 56

Terms such as "acquisition," "merger," "diversification," and "global expansion" signal an underlying growth strategy.

Question 57

A diversification strategy involves growth through expansion within the same business area.

Question 58

Liquidation involves selling off parts of an organization to refocus on core competencies,cut costs,and improve operating efficiencies.

Question 59

According to Michael Porter,the five strategic forces that should be considered in conducting an industry analysis are: industry competitors,new entrants,suppliers,customers,and substitutes.

Question 60

A combination strategy incorporates one or more of the other strategies simultaneously.

Question 61

A multi-domestic strategy tries to customize products and their advertising as much as possible to fit the local needs of different countries or regions.

Question 62

Concentration is growth within the same business area.

Question 63

Diversification through vertical integration occurs where a business acquires suppliers or distributors.

Question 64

A globalization strategy reflects an ethnocentric view that assumes everyone everywhere wants the same thing that one has developed and sold successfully at home.

Question 65

An e-business strategy is the strategic use of the Internet to gain competitive advantage.

Question 66

Unrelated diversification involves growth by acquiring new businesses or entering business areas that are different from what the organization already does.

Question 67

A strategic alliance that involves the development of preferred supplier relationships to guarantee a smooth and timely flow of quality materials among partners is known as an outsourcing alliance.

Question 68

A multi-domestic strategy reflects a geocentric view that respects diversity and values talents around the world.

Question 69

Downsizing is a retrenchment strategy that decreases the size of operations to reduce costs and improve operating efficiency.

Question 70

A turn-around strategy attempts to improve performance by maintaining a stable mix and/or scale of operations

Question 71

A globalization strategy seeks balance among efficiencies in global operations and responsiveness to local markets.

Question 72

A transnational strategy tries to operate without a strong national identity and to blend with the global economy.

Question 73

Strategic alliances occur when two or more organizations join together in partnership to pursue an area of mutual interest.

Question 74

B2B strategies use information technology and Web portals to link organizations with their customers.

Question 75

Downsizing with a strategic focus is sometimes referred to as "rightsizing."

Question 76

A transnational strategy reflects a polycentric view that that shows respect for both market diversity and the capabilities of locals to best interpret their strategic implications.

Question 77

A strategic alliance that involves firms joining together for sales and distribution of products or services is known as a distribution alliance.

Question 78

A restructuring strategy is used where changes in the scale and/or mix of operations are implemented in order to gain both short-term efficiencies and time to prepare new strategies for improving future performance.

Question 79

Co-opetition is the strategy of working with competitors on mutually beneficial projects.

Question 80

Diversification brings the difficulties of complexity and the need to manage and integrate very dissimilar operations.