Question 1

SWOT is an acronym for:

Accepted Answer

SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT analysis is used in developing strategic plans for an organization.

Question 2

The guiding framework that describes the organization's purpose and future direction is the:

Accepted Answer

The organizational mission and vision collectively is a guiding framework that describes the organization's purpose and future direction.

Question 3

Answering questions such as "What business are we in?" and "What business do we want to be in?" can lead the organization to define the:

Accepted Answer

The core purpose can be defined and refined by asking, "Why are we in business?" As a result, the initial response, "We are in the business of health care," may be further refined to "We want to contribute to the community in which we exist." Thus asking "why" may result in the core purpose of providing needed health care services to the community in which the organization is located.

Question 4

Objectives are:

Accepted Answer

Objectives are defined as the targets that an organization wants to achieve.

Question 5

The 2011 Future of Nursing report published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), calls for:

Accepted Answer

The leadership role of nurses has become an area of increasing focus since the Institute of Medicine (IOM, now called the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Health and Medicine Division), in its 2011 Future of Nursing report, called for increased leadership development and participation in leadership among nurses.

Question 6

Addressing the strategic planning process questions involves considering environmental factors. An example of an external environmental factor to be considered is:

Accepted Answer

A key component of the strategic planning process is to assess the environment. This assessment, called environmental scanning, consists of analyzing both internal and external environmental factors. External opportunities and threats may include changes in industry, marketplace, economy, political climate, technology, and competition.

Question 7

The concept of strategic management includes strategic planning and the implementation of:

Accepted Answer

The concept of strategic management includes strategic planning and strategy implementation.

Question 8

A nurse manager enjoys implementing new programs and beginning new projects. She is beginning to find herself overwhelmed and needs to decrease her workload. Which of the following ideas might best help decrease her workload?

Accepted Answer

Strategic objectives provide a way of converting the rather abstract mission of an organization into concrete terms. Following the mission of the hospital will help keep the nurse manager focused.

Question 9

Part of the evaluation design process when developing a strategic plan includes:

Accepted Answer

The final step in the strategic planning process is developing the evaluation design. Planning for evaluation is imperative to ensure that systems and measurements are in place to determine whether the strategic plan has been achieved. During the strategic planning process, measures of success are delineated, responsible individuals are identified, and frequency of evaluation and reporting of these measures is determined.

Question 10

Characteristics of strategic management include: (Select all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

According to Jasper and Crossan (2012), the five characteristics of strategic management are engagement of the entire workforce in organizational leadership, alignment with the external environment, future orientation, use of change management strategies to achieve performance goals, and facilitation of decision making with well-communicated decisions.

Question 11

The statement, "We will provide high-quality care and services to our patients. We are committed to maintaining excellence, respect, and integrity in all aspects of our operations and our professional and business conduct," is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The mission defines what the organization does; the core purpose delineates why.

Question 12

A new cancer center is being built in the local hospital. A patient survey has revealed that patients are not certain which caregiver is the registered nurse (RN) during their hospital stay. A group is formed to recommend methods to help patients identify which caregiver is their RN for the new cancer center. Which of the following groups best represents those who should be involved in forming recommendations?

Accepted Answer

Involving individuals at all levels of the organization will ensure a variety of perspectives and more buy-in to the final product. Including the patient's perspective may provide additional insight about the issue. Ideally, those involved in all levels of patient care, such as the vice president of nursing, nurse manager, oncology clinical nurse specialist, LPN/LVNs, and nurses' aides, as well as patients of the RN, may need to be included to gain additional perspective.

Question 13

Strategic management, long used in business to ensure a competitive advantage over similar enterprises, involves: (Select all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

Strategic management involves conducting an environmental scan, knowing the competition, establishing goals, setting targets, developing an action plan, implementing the plan, and evaluating success. This approach has long been used in business to ensure a competitive advantage over similar enterprises. The core purpose is the reason the organization is in business.

Question 14

The statement, "We will increase our profit by 8% each year," is an example of a(n):

Accepted Answer

Objectives are defined as the targets an organization wants to achieve. These can be financial or performance based with short-range or long-range targets.

Question 15

A hospital with a large surgery department is concerned about surgeons starting their own surgical centers. In relation to the environmental assessment process, this is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The external components are described as opportunities and threats, and they are identified in the same manner as the internal factors. Opportunities and threats may include changes in industry, marketplace, economy, political climate, technology, and competition.

Question 16

A highly respected staff RN on the medical-surgical unit has volunteered to be the champion for the implementation of a new nursing protocol. What does champion mean in this situation? The staff nurse will:

Accepted Answer

A champion is an individual who is passionate and committed to the implementation process and who can inspire others. Often a champion appears as the strategic planning process unfolds; generally, this individual contributes freely, is engaged in the work groups, and expresses interest in the process. Champions can be selected as well, but those who volunteer are usually more enthusiastic about the work than those who are "drafted."

Question 17

Operational choices for action that are made to implement a strategy are called:

Accepted Answer

Tactics are operational choices for action that are made to implement a strategy.

Question 18

The purpose of strategic management is to: (Select all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

Strategic management involves strategic planning and implementation. It provides a blueprint for operating a business, establishing a competitive position, ensuring customer satisfaction, and reaching strategic objectives or goals.

Question 19

The first step of the strategic planning process is to:

Accepted Answer

The first step of the strategic planning process is to formulate or review and update as needed the organization's mission and vision in alignment with the organization's core purpose and values. The mission delineates what the organization does, while the vision articulates the preferred future state of the organization.

Question 20

An action plan:

Accepted Answer

An action plan breaks a strategic plan into manageable parts.

Quiz 14: Strategic Management