Deck 9: Strategic Choice

Question 1

An intended strategy is

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

Answer 1

C

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

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 3

A

Question 4

An emergent strategy is

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

Question 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

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 11

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 12

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 13

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 14

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 15

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 16

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 17

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 18

The relationship between strategic planning and performance is

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

Question 19

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 20

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 21

Strategy coordinates activities and behaviours.

Question 22

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

Question 23

Mature organizations tend to need

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

Question 24

The Strategic Learnings Assessment Map (SLAM) depicts the tensions in strategic renewal between

A) employees, management and customers
B) employees, suppliers and customers
C) individuals, groups, and management
D) individuals, groups and organizations

Question 25

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

Question 26

One of the barriers to strategic renewal is

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

Question 27

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 28

If an individual tends to overestimate the degree to which he/she would have predicted the correct outcome, he/she exhibits:

A) hindsight bias
B) illusory correlation
C) false consensus
D) overconfidence

Question 29

Underestimating the complexity of problems, creating an illusion that we have management capabilities, is an example of which cognitive bias?

A) false consensus
B) framing
C) overconfidence
D) representativeness

Question 30

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

Question 31

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 32

Strategy enables an organization to negotiate its environment successfully.

Question 33

Shared understandings, mutual advancement and interactive systems are common integrating processes at the _______ level

A) business unit
B) group
C) organization
D) individual

Question 34

Many organizations host annual offsite strategic planning sessions to

A) promote creative thinking and reduce distractions from day-to-day business
B) protect the privacy of the meeting from employees
C) celebrate the success of the existing plan
D) keep the process as routine and clear as possible

Question 35

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

Question 36

Entrepreneurial organizations tend to need

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

Question 37

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

Question 38

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

Question 39

Intended and emergent strategies are oriented towards the future.

Question 40

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

Question 41

Entrepreneurial organizations could benefit from more intended strategy.

Question 42

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

Question 43

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

Question 44

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

Question 45

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

Question 46

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

Question 47

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

Question 48

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

Question 49

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

Question 50

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

Question 51

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

Question 52

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

Question 53

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

Question 54

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

Question 55

Strategic leaders are future oriented and concerned with risk taking.