Deck 5: Strategic Management and Corporate Public Affairs

Question 1

For the public affairs function to be effective in representing issues affecting business decision making,they should have influence at the middle management level.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)is attempting to overcome one of the major obstacles to the advance of effective social auditing by providing standardized measures for social reporting.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The public affairs function is an increasing component of the overall strategic management process.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

A social audit is a systematic attempt to identify,measure,monitor,and evaluate an organization's performance with respect to its social efforts,goals,and programs.

Question 5

Social auditing is very new.

Question 6

Some management scholars believe that the successful firms of the future will be those that can meet stakeholders' social expectations and investment advisors' financial expectations.

Question 7

The social audit can be an effective component of a firm's strategic control system.

Question 8

Public affairs evolved from public relations.

Question 9

Because public affairs management often appears nebulous and inconclusive,PA managers must make dealing with these issues easier for managers in other departments.

Question 10

Corporate public policy takes place primarily at the corporate level of strategy.

Question 11

Social performance reporting should be isolated in assessing social performance.

Question 12

Social audits can be thought of as a planning and control system.

Question 13

One of the reasons that public affairs departments have seen extensive growth over the past three decades is because they have been able to easily measure and document their results.

Question 14

As environmental uncertainty increases,firms tend to increase their buffering and bridging activities.

Question 15

There is a growing consensus that ethics should be a central component of strategic management.

Question 16

To be most effective,a social audit should be isolated from other aspects of the strategic management process.

Question 17

The steps of the strategic management process are most effective if done sequentially in the order specified in the textbook.

Question 18

Enterprise-level strategy and societal-level strategy are synonymous.

Question 19

Public affairs management focuses on the formalization and institutionalization of corporate public policy.

Question 20

Corporate public policy is a firm's posture or position regarding the public,social,global,and ethical aspects of stakeholders and corporate functioning.

Question 21

Which of the following is not one of the steps in the strategic management process?

A)goal formulation
B)strategy implementation
C)problem identification
D)environmental analysis

Question 22

Which of the following terms does not refer to the same thing?

A)social audit
B)social performance report
C)social accounting
D)social impact statement

Question 23

The deeply ingrained principles that guide all of a company's actions and decisions are the firm's

A)vision statements.
B)guiding lights.
C)core values.
D)mission statements.

Question 24

A systematic attempt to identify,measure,monitor,and evaluate a firm's performance with respect to its social efforts,goals,and programs is a(n)

A)Triple Bottom Line audit.
B)environmental audit.
C)social audit.
D)social impact statement.

Question 25

Which of the following is not one of the levels of strategy mentioned in the textbook?

A)enterprise-level
B)department-level
C)corporate-level
D)functional-level

Question 26

A social audit can be thought of as

A)the first step in planning
B)a narrow list of activities
C)planning and control system
D)a brief experimentation

Question 27

The concept of enterprise-level strategy is the idea that best links

A)ethics to performance.
B)strategy to performance.
C)public policy to performance.
D)ethics to strategy.

Question 28

The enterprise-level strategy may addresses the firm's

A)Obligations to stockholders.
B)Role in society.
C)Implications of cohesion.
D)Competition strategy.

Question 29

All of the following represent examples of enterprise-level thinking except

A)how a firm responds to a public crisis.
B)the extent to which a firm attempts to identify social issues,analyze them,and integrate them into its strategic management process.
C)the extent to which a firm has established board or senior management committees to grapple with social issues.
D)the extent to which a firm has studied its functional structure and made changes necessary to make its operations more efficient.

Question 30

The overarching strategy level that asks what role the firm plays in society and what the firm stands for is the ____ level.

A)enterprise
B)corporate
C)business
D)functional

Question 31

____ level strategy attempts to integrate the firm's activities to accomplish its goals.

A)Enterprise
B)Corporate
C)Business
D)Functional

Question 32

All of the follow are used to describe social performance reports except

A)CSR reports
B)Corporate citizenship reports
C)Social audits
D)Sustainability reports

Question 33

The impetus of social performance reports has come from

A)Societal and public interest groups expectations
B)Financial investment advisors
C)Marketing firms
D)Domestic companies

Question 34

Management control includes all of the following steps except

A)setting standards.
B)revising budgets.
C)comparing actual performance to standards.
D)taking corrective action.

Question 35

Corporate-level strategy decisions include all of the following except

A)mergers
B)acquisitions
C)divestitures
D)broad or narrow markets

Question 36

The main idea behind corporate public policy is that

A)a firm must give specific attention to issues in which basic questions of right,wrong,justice,fairness,or public policy reside.
B)a firm must look out for its own best interests.
C)a firm should have a say in setting the political direction of the country.
D)a firm should be able to influence public policy when it can.

Question 37

____ level strategy seeks to determine how a firm should compete in a given industry.

A)Enterprise
B)Corporate
C)Business
D)Functional

Question 38

The strategy level that asks what business the firm should be in is the ____ level.

A)enterprise
B)corporate
C)business
D)functional

Question 39

Which of the following terms does not have the same basic meaning?

A)corporate public policy
B)corporate social policy
C)corporate social performance
D)corporate citizenship

Question 40

Which of the steps in the strategic management process informs all the rest?

A)goal formulation
B)strategy formulation
C)strategic control
D)environmental analysis

Question 41

All of the competencies listed below are needed for global public affairs except

A)understanding local public policy institutions
B)specific applications of PA functions in particular countries
C)understanding
D)understanding global currency exchange rates

Question 42

Which of the following is not a reason that the public affairs function grew in stature in the United States?

A)the growing magnitude and impact of government
B)the changing nature of the political system
C)increased pressure to meet quarterly earnings projections
D)the increasing influence of competing interests

Question 43

The overall management process that strives to identify corporate purpose and to position a firm relative to its market environment is

A)corporate public affairs
B)collaborative / problem-solving strategy
C)strategic management
D)social performance report

Question 44

All of the following are factors in the rise of corporate global public affairs except

A)more public affairs challenges were occurring in the global arena.
B)there were few consulting firms with effective international PA capabilities.
C)international PA programs are more difficult than domestic programs.
D)corporations were able to cut costs by moving the international PA function overseas.

Question 45

Which of the following did not contribute to the development of the public affairs function?

A)community relations
B)lobbying
C)public relations
D)marketing

Question 46

The "product" of the public affairs department is

A)legislation that aids the firm.
B)increased awareness of the company's brand.
C)smooth relationships with external stakeholders.
D)input into public policy decisions.

Question 47

One way to make public affairs thinking truly relevant to the manager is to

A)show how it can help improve the firm's bottom line.
B)link achievement of the manager's goals to public affairs.
C)provide clear assessments of the public affairs facing the manager.
D)invite managers to regular public policy debates.

Question 48

Issues management and crisis management are ____ processes in corporate public policy.

A)planning
B)evaluative
C)defensive
D)offensive

Question 49

Three broad ways corporations intersect with society include each of the following except:

A)generic social issues
B)value chain social impacts
C)strategic social integration
D)social dimensions of competitive context

Question 50

Which of the following is not one of the ways to integrate public affairs thinking into all managers' jobs?

A)make it interesting
B)make it truly relevant
C)make it easy for managers
D)develop a sense of ownership among managers

Question 51

Which of the following is not a competency needed for global public affairs?

A)intercultural competence
B)language skills
C)knowing the impact of societal factors on public affairs
D)governmental foreign policy

Question 52

Public relations deals with government

A)as one of many publics.
B)as its exclusive focus.
C)primarily through lobbying efforts.
D)primarily through campaign contributions.

Question 53

Social performance reports help companies

A)By disrupting their communications systems
B)Managing their finances
C)Isolating their performance
D)With their competitive positions

Question 54

The results of business exposure,top management philosophy,external affairs,and external affairs design affect which of the following?

A)corporate social performance
B)corporate awareness of business opportunities
C)brand awareness
D)government regulation

Question 55

Studies of external affairs strategies have revealed all of the following except

A)top corporate social performers have top management philosophies that are institution oriented.
B)top corporate social performers see a need for a collaborative/problem-solving strategy.
C)the worst corporate social performers have an adversarial external affairs strategy.
D)top corporate social performers see the firm as an independent economic franchise.

Question 56

The management function responsible for monitoring and managing the business environment is

A)corporate public affairs.
B)corporate public relations.
C)corporate social responsibility.
D)corporate social responsiveness.

Question 57

Public affairs management encompasses all of the following processes except

A)environmental analysis.
B)issues management.
C)crisis management.
D)political lobbying.

Question 58

Planning for the turbulent social/ethical stakeholder environment encompasses each of the following EXCEPT

A)strategic management process
B)strategic affairs analysis
C)environmental analysis
D)public affairs management

Question 59

Which of the following activities is a major function in corporate public affairs?

A)government relations
B)issues management
C)public relations
D)consumer affairs

Question 60

Which of the following is not a metaphor for the public affairs function?

A)a window
B)a door
C)a bridge
D)a buffer

Question 61

Provide a short answer to each of these questions.Be sure to fully explain your answer.
Describe how corporate public policy fits into strategic management.

Question 62

Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions.Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it.
In what do value-based companies believe?

Question 63

Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions.Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it.
Compare the public affairs office of today with its predecessor from twenty years ago.

Question 64

Provide a short answer to each of these questions.Be sure to fully explain your answer.
One view of the public affairs function is that it serves as a window.Explain why this analogy is used to describe public affairs.

Question 65

Provide a short answer to each of these questions.Be sure to fully explain your answer.
Describe some of the ways in which the public affairs office can help an operating manager to understand that public affairs are truly relevant to what he or she does.

Question 66

Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions.Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it.
A current issue that holds significant public policy implications is the economic meltdown and its consequences Discuss some of the public policy implications associated with this.

Question 67

Provide a short answer to each of these questions.Be sure to fully explain your answer.
Why would a firm elect to perform a social audit,when it is not required? What benefits can accrue from a social audit?

Question 68

Provide a short answer to each of these questions.Be sure to fully explain your answer.
Describe what the text means by "sustainable strategic management."

Question 69

Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions.Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it.
Assume that you manage the public affairs office for a large American financial investment firm.Your company has decided to pay incentive bonuses to individuals for the number and volume of investment exchanges made.Using the knowledge that you have gained so far in this class (i.e. ,from all chapters and discussions),develop a policy on incentive bonuses for the firm's public affairs office.

Question 70

Provide a short answer to each of these questions.Be sure to fully explain your answer.
Describe what is meant by "buffering" and "bridging."

Question 71

Provide a short answer to each of these questions.Be sure to fully explain your answer.
Review Johnson & Johnson's Credo,in which it lists its duties to its stakeholders.Do you notice anything unusual in the priorities given to those duties?

Question 72

Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions.Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it.
The authors indicate that the key difference between public affairs and public relations is the goals of the client.What do they mean by the goals of the clients when both have the same goals?

Question 73

Provide a short answer to each of these questions.Be sure to fully explain your answer.
Describe some of the types of evidence that a firm displays enterprise-level strategic thinking.

Question 74

Provide a short answer to each of these questions.Be sure to fully explain your answer.
The textbook mentions that global public affairs must balance externally and internally focused activities.Describe some of the activities in which an global public affairs department would be interested.

Question 75

Utilize the knowledge you have gained to respond to the following essay questions.Your answers should state your position and use logical arguments and content from this and other chapters in the textbook to support it.
Explain Porter and Kramer's perspective that interdependence between business and society takes two forms.

Question 76

The scorecard approach,in which operating managers can see that their efforts have helped to avoid or prevent problems,is one way to

A)make public affairs truly relevant.
B)help managers develop a sense of ownership of public affairs thinking.
C)make it easy for the managers to use public affairs thinking.
D)show how public affairs makes a difference.