Crafting and Executing Strategy, 22e (Thompson)
Chapter 10 Building an Organization Capable of Good Strategy Execution
1) Once company managers have decided on a strategy, the emphasis turns to
A) building the core competencies and competitive capabilities needed to execute the strategy.
B) developing a detailed implementation plan that sets forth exactly what every department and
every manager needs to do to proficiently execute the company’s strategy.
C) establishing policies and procedures that instruct company personnel in the ways and means
of executing the strategy.
D) converting the strategy into actions and good results.
E) empowering employees to revise and reorganize value chain activities to match the strategy.
2) Strategy execution
A) requires revamping the value chain in order to maximize operating efficiency.
B) depends on management’s ability to direct organizational change.
C) involves selecting a capable management team.
D) consists of choosing among broad or narrow low-cost and differentiation strategies to
compete against rivals.
E) requires deciding which core competencies and value chain activities to leave as is and which
ones to overhaul and improve.
3) Deloitte’s successful execution of its talent management strategy does NOT involve
A) sponsorship to help rising leaders navigate the firm, develop new competencies, expand their
network, and hone the skills needed to accelerate their careers.
B) formal training programs, including mandatory training hours for all of its employees to
ensure that individuals continue to further their professional development.
C) punishment for missed deadlines, misdirected or wasteful efforts, and managerial ineptness.
D) special programs for high performers, such as its Global Fellows program and its Emerging
Leaders Development Program.
E) a clear path to partnership that serves as a motivational tool for top performers, often leading
to career acceleration.
4) The managerial approach to implementing and executing a strategy should always
A) be customized to fit the particulars of a company’s situation.
B) involve only minor changes to the existing strategy.
C) require radical strategy changes for successful execution.
D) rely on the active support of frontline employees.
E) focus on market conditions and the company’s resources and capabilities.
5) The approach to identifying the items needed to be placed on management’s action agenda of
the strategy execution plan always involves
A) generalized activities that will underscore the particulars of the company’s situation.
B) some definitive managerial recipe for successful strategy execution that works for all
company situations and all types of strategies, or that works for all types of managers.
C) a set of unimportant managerial tasks that must be covered no matter what the circumstances.
D) senior management’s judgment about how to proceed in light of prevailing circumstances.
E) a high-end differentiation strategy for proficient implementation and execution.
6) What does a good strategy execution require?
A) a team effort with all managers having strategy executing responsibility in their areas of
authority, and making all employees active participants in the strategy execution process
B) incremental changes to current operating practices be implemented to ensure existing resource
capabilities are not impacted too severely
C) little consensus building, despite the magnitude of the proposed changes, because employees
know the benefits gained from the planning process
D) the strategy-critical value chain activities to be simplified so that all company personnel can
be cognizant of the benefits of the execution parameters
E) additional investments in capital projects rather than adding to a company’s talent base and
building intellectual capital
7) The three components of building a capable organization are
A) optimizing the number of core competencies and competitive capabilities, making sure that
all managers and employees are empowered, and maximizing internal operating efficiency.
B) putting a centralized decision-making structure in place, determining who should have
responsibility for each value chain activity, and aligning the corporate culture with key policies,
procedures, and operating practices.
C) staffing the organization, building core competencies and competitive capabilities, and
structuring the organization and work effort.
D) making periodic changes in the firm’s internal organization to keep people from getting into a
comfortable rut, instituting a decentralized approach to decision-making, and developing the
appropriate competencies and capabilities.
E) hiring a capable top management team, empowering employees, and establishing a strategy-
supportive corporate culture.
8) What are the principal managerial components of the strategy execution process developed by
Zara, the world’s largest fashion retail chain?
A) producing and marketing high fashion clothing that retail for luxury prices
B) using periodic deep discounting to move unsold clothing inventory
C) tightly aligning design, production, advertising, and real estate with the overall strategy of fast
fashion
D) meeting industry standards in how value chain activities are performed
E) spending no money on advertising, which is a hallmark of cost-effective strategy execution
9) Building an organization capable of good strategy execution entails
A) investing heavily in employee training, using an empowered organization design and
organization structure in order to maximize labor productivity, and employing effective incentive
compensation systems.
B) staffing the organization, building core competencies and competitive capabilities, and
structuring the organization and work effort.
C) empowering employees, maximizing internal operating efficiency, and optimizing core
competencies.
D) decentralizing authority for performing strategy-critical value chain activities, establishing at
least two distinctive competencies, and hiring talented employees.
E) centralizing authority in the hands of a chief strategy implementer so as to create the
leadership authority for driving implementation forward at a rapid pace.
10) While outsourcing has allowed Apple to reap the benefits of lower cost and more flexible
manufacturing, its lack of direct control has proven to be a challenge. How did Apple step in to
improve working conditions at Foxconn, one of its major suppliers?
A) Apple paid for the installation of suicide prevention nets below Foxconn’s factory windows
B) Apple discontinued its relationship with Foxconn in the best interests of Apple customers who
were concerned over labor practices at the factories that manufacture the iPhone.
C) Apple tightened its supplier standards and increased its efforts at monitoring conditions and
enforcing its standards, such as over 700 comprehensive site audits each year to ensure
compliance
D) Apple used its immense sales volume and strong cash position and preferred treatment from
suppliers as leverage to induce Foxconn to increase the salaries of the 1.3 million people on its
payroll
E) Apple discontinued all outsourcing activities in Asia and transferred the manufacture and
production of its products to low wage countries in Latin America.
11) In formulating an action agenda to implement and execute a new or different strategy, the
place for managers to begin is with
A) the task of revising and enhancing the company’s core competencies.
B) choosing which leadership style to employ in trying to carry out the strategy successfully.
C) evaluating whether existing policies and procedures are adequately strategy-supportive.
D) allocating more resources to strategy-critical parts of the business.
E) a probing assessment of what the organization must do differently and better to carry out the
strategy successfully.
12) When strategies fail, it is often because of
A) poor execution of the strategy.
B) shortfalls exposed with the strategic management design process.
C) inadequate support for the management team responsible for the planning process.
D) secondary operating practices that hinder the required changes.
E) lack of sufficient information about operating systems.
13) The two best signs of good strategy execution are whether
A) the company is challenging its current performance targets and whether value chain activities
are fully integrated within the strategic response criteria.
B) managers are personally leading the change process and whether they are meeting deadlines
set for budgetary requirements.
C) the company is meeting or beating its performance targets and whether it is performing value
chain activities in a manner that is conducive to companywide operating excellence.
D) managers are fully behind the changes and whether the company’s value chain managers are
executing them diligently.
E) the company identifies what the organization must do and how to make the necessary internal
changes.
14) The most important leadership trait in the strategy execution process is
A) a strong, confident sense of what to do and how to do it.
B) strong communication skills (both written and verbal) covering motivating intent.
C) strong management skills to ensure a systematic approach to administration.
D) strong organizational skills so as to make actions structured toward results.
E) strong empathy skills when employees run into challenging moments.
15) Imagine that you are about to become the manager of a local chain consisting of four upscale
restaurants. To prepare for the position, you have been reviewing the 10 managerial tasks of
successful strategy execution. What would NOT be among those tasks?
A) managing the people, talents, and business processes of an operations-driven restaurant chain.
B) directing organizational change and achieving continuous improvement in restaurant
operations and business processes.
C) creating and nurturing a strategy-supportive culture across all restaurant locations.
D) developing and meeting, or exceeding performance targets consistently.
E) focusing on how market conditions impact your restaurant chain’s resources and capabilities.
16) Aimée, owner of The Discerning Equestrian, a local apparel, tack, and equipment outlet, is
facing growing competition from online retailers such as Equestrian.com. She has sought your
advice about the managerial task of executing strategy. What would you NOT be likely to advise
her to do?
A) Be action-oriented, and make things happen.
B) Direct organizational change, achieve continuous improvement in operations and business
processes, create and nurture a strategy-supportive culture, and consistently meet or beat
performance targets.
C) Employ new techniques to overcome managerial resistance to change.
D) Direct a team effort which entails that every manager think through the answer to “What does
my area have to do to implement its part of the strategic plan, and what should I do to get these
things accomplished effectively and efficiently?”
E) Focus solely on your operations, management of people, and business processes.
17) What makes the managerial task of executing strategy so challenging and demanding is the
A) trial-and-error experimentation that is required to come up with a workable organizational
structure.
B) people-management skills required, the resistance to change that has to be overcome, and the
perseverance necessary to get a variety of initiatives launched and kept moving along.
C) time and effort it takes to build core competencies.
D) time, training, and creative effort it takes to empower employees and teach them responsible
decision-making.
E) supervisory requirements associated with getting company personnel to do things the right
way.
18) Implementing and executing strategy successfully requires
A) the same kinds of creative management talent and innovative thinking capabilities as crafting
strategy.
B) a financially driven process aimed at squeezing the most profit out of conducting daily
operations.
C) the efforts of a company’s whole management team, not just a few senior managers.
D) a high caliber CEO that possesses the business vision, industry and competitive analysis
skills, and entrepreneurial creativity needed to navigate the competitive landscape.
E) less managerial expertise and effort to perform well, at least in comparison with crafting a
winning strategy.
19) Practices that the most successful companies like Alphabet, Boston Consulting Group,
Edward Jones, Deloitte, Facebook, Genentech, Intuit, and Salesforce.com use to hire the best
people they can find do NOT include
A) weeding out the 20 percent lowest-performing employees each year.
B) coaching average performers to improve their skills and capabilities.
C) striving to retain talented, high-performing employees via promotions, salary increases, and
other perks.
D) rotating people through jobs that span functional and geographic boundaries.
E) careful screening and evaluation of job applicants.
20) Although ultimate responsibility for implementing and executing strategy falls upon the
shoulders of senior executives,
A) top-level managers still have to rely on the active support and cooperation of middle and
lower-level managers in pushing needed changes in functional areas and operating units.
B) the pivotal and most decisive strategy-implementing actions are carried out by frontline
supervisors who have the day-to-day responsibility of seeing that key activities are done
properly.
C) it is a company’s employees who most determine whether the drive for good strategy
execution will succeed or fail.
D) the success or failure of the implementation/execution effort hinges chiefly on doing an
effective job of empowering employees to make day-to-day operating decisions that support
good strategy execution.
E) the success or failure of the implementation/execution effort hinges chiefly on a company’s
reward system and whether its policies and procedures are strategy-supportive.
21) Implementing and executing a company’s strategy
A) is primarily the job of the company’s board of directors since they direct the actions and
policies of the top senior executives in executing the strategy.
B) is a task for every manager and the whole management team, but ultimate responsibility for
success or failure falls upon the top senior executives, especially the chief executive officer of
the company.
C) is primarily a responsibility of all company personnel because all personnel are active
participants in the strategy execution process and their actions have a huge impact on the
ultimate outcome.
D) should be delegated to a chief strategy implementer appointed by the chief executive officer.
E) is primarily a task for middle and lower-level managers because it is they who have
responsibility for pushing the needed changes all the way down to the lowest levels of the
organization.
22) Management’s handling of the strategy implementation/execution process can be considered
successful
A) when the internal organization develops two or more core competencies in performing value
chain activities.
B) if and when the company meets or beats its performance targets and shows good progress in
achieving its strategic vision for the company.
C) if the company’s culture is strong and strategy-supportive.
D) if management is able to marshal adequate resources to put the strategy in place within 6 to
12 months.
E) if managers and employees express strong support for the company’s strategy and long-term
direction.
23) The three components of building a capable organization are
A) making periodic changes in the firm’s internal organization to keep people from getting into a
comfortable rut, instituting a decentralized approach to decision-making, and developing the
appropriate competencies and capabilities.
B) hiring a capable top management team, empowering employees, and establishing a strategy-
supportive corporate culture.
C) putting a centralized decision-making structure in place, determining who should have
responsibility for each value chain activity, and aligning the corporate culture with key policies,
procedures, and operating practices.
D) staffing the organization, acquiring, developing, and strengthening key resources and
competitive capabilities, and structuring the organization and work effort.
E) optimizing the number of core competencies and competitive capabilities, making sure that all
managers and employees are empowered, and maximizing internal operating efficiency.
24) If management is to match a company’s organization structure to its strategy in an effective
way, then it is essential
A) for strategy-critical value-chain activities to be the main building blocks on the organization
chart.
B) that value chain activities be deliberately organized so as to produce maximum strategic fit.
C) for the company to be organized around cross-functional teams rather than around functional
specialties and functional departments.
D) to define the jobs of company personnel in terms of the functions to be performed rather than
in terms of the results to be achieved.
E) that company personnel be empowered to make both strategic decisions and operating
decisions.
25) The most common building blocks for a company’s organizational structure
A) usually consist of two divisions—a division charged with performing primary value chain
activities and a division charged with performing support activities.
B) involve a functional or departmental structure that includes process, geographic, product, or
customer groups performing one or more major processing steps along the value chain.
C) typically consist of an unempowered employee department, an empowered employee
department, teams of front-line supervisors, teams of middle-level managers and administrators,
and the group of top-level executives that comprise the company’s “executive suite.”
D) are almost always the departments performing such key administrative support functions as
finance, accounting, information technology, human resource management, and R&D.
E) usually consist of supply chain management, components manufacture, assembly,
distribution, and administration.
26) Facebook has hired you to manage its launch team for its new dating app. What would be the
highest priority on your list of activities to ensure a successful launch and implementation of this
new app?
A) staffing the organization, acquiring, developing, and strengthening key resources and
competitive capabilities, and structuring the organization and work effort.
B) decentralizing authority for performing strategy-critical value chain activities, establishing at
least two distinctive competencies, and hiring talented employees.
C) investing heavily in employee training, using an empowered organization design and
organization structure in order to maximize labor productivity, and employing effective incentive
compensation systems.
D) centralizing authority in the hands of a chief strategy implementer so as to create the
leadership authority for driving implementation forward at a rapid pace.
E) empowering employees, maximizing internal operating efficiency, and optimizing core
competencies.
27) Imagine that you are a senior executive of a large organization such as Starbucks that has
geographically scattered operating units. What would NOT be on your agenda?
A) communicating the case for change
B) directing resources to the right places
C) building consensus for how to proceed
D) establishing deadlines and measures of progress
E) orchestrating the action steps and implementation sequence