Which of the following exemplifies location-based advantage for the companies
competing on an international basis?
A. Microsemi Corporation acquires California based Actel Corporation.
B. RBC Wealth Management closes operations in South Florida.
C. Samsung diversifies and ventures into textiles and food processing.
D. Hyundai signs a memorandum of understanding with the government of South
Korea to halt exports.
E. De Beers sets up operations in the mining region of South Africa.
Good intelligence about the strategic direction and likely moves of key competitors
allows a company to determine which competitors have all of the following, EXCEPT:
A. the best strategy.
B. flawed or weak strategies.
C. strong performance objectives.
D. reliable resources and capabilities.
E. similar competitive approaches.
During the 1980s, the YKK Group developed and manufactured all its fastening
products within Japan. Which of the following aspects of the global strategy was YKK
trying to achieve?
A. YKK catered to homogenous buyer needs across countries and regions.
B. YKK centralized its value chain thereby facilitating centralized control.
C. YKK engaged in higher levels of R&D by spreading risks over higher-volume
output.
D. YKK sold the same products under the same brand name everywhere.E. YKK
established a single plant to produce different versions of the same product.
Which of the following is NOT a fundamental part of a company’s culture?
A. The work practices and behaviors that define “how we do things around here”
B. The company’s standard of what is ethically acceptable and what is not, along with
the “chemistry” and “personality” that permeates its work environment
C. The core values and business principles that management preaches and practices
D. The company’s strategic vision, strategic intent, and culture strategy
E. The legends and stories that people repeat to illustrate and reinforce the company’s
core values, traditions, and business practices
In a diversified company, the strategy-making hierarchy consists of:
A. corporate strategy and a group of business strategies (one for each line of business
the corporation has diversified into).
B. corporate or managerial strategy, a set of business strategies, and divisional strategies
within each business.
C. business strategies, functional strategies, and operating strategies.
D. corporate strategy, business strategies, functional strategies, and operating strategies.
E. its diversification strategy, its line of business strategies, and its operating strategies.
Installing well-conceived, state-of-the-art support systems is an important managerial
component of implementing and executing strategy because:
A. such systems are essential to being able to engage in effective benchmarking and
continuous improvement.
B. such support systems not only enable better strategy execution but also strengthen
organizational capabilities (perhaps enough to provide a competitive edge over rivals).
C. they help managers run a tight ship and preserve strong, centralized control over
internal activities.
D. they are the basis for revamping value chains, boosting labor productivity, and
reducing operating costs.
E. decentralized decision making and employee empowerment cannot work well
without having well-conceived information and operating systems to accurately
benchmark internally performed value chain activities against best-in-industry and
best-in-class performers.
The leadership challenges that top executives face in making corrective adjustments
when things are not going well include:
A. knowing when to replace poorly performing workers and when to do a better job of
coaching them to do the right things.
B. being able to discern whether to emphasize adjustments that will promote better
achievement of strategic performance targets or whether to emphasize adjustments that
will promote better achievement of financial performance targets.
C. undertaking a thorough analysis of the situation, exercising good business judgment
in deciding what actions to take, and then ensuring good implementation of the
corrective actions that are initiated.
D. having the analytical skills to separate the problems due to a bad strategy from the
problems due to bad strategy execution.
E. deciding whether the company would be better off making adjustments that curtail
the achievement of strategic objectives or that curtail the achievement of financial
objectives or that curtail the achievement of some of both.
Which of the following is NOT a common type of driving force?
A. Reductions in uncertainty and business risk
B. Changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles
C. Diffusion of technical know-how across companies and countries
D. Increasing efforts to collaborate closely with suppliers
E. Advances in technology and manufacturing process innovation
Which of the following makes use of Six Sigma programs to improve quality and
strategy execution?
A. Memphis & Company applies advanced statistical methods to identify and remove
the causes of defects.
B. Milwaukee Hospital relocates its pathological lab to reach out to consumers in
suburbs.
C. LG Electronics reengineers its value chain activities by creating cross-functional
teams.
D. La Tagliata Boutiques offers a different range of products at different outlets across
London.
E. Duke Energy replaces work depots by mobile repair vans reducing operational costs
by 40 percent.
A company that has competitive assets that are central to its company strategy and
superior to those of rival firms creates a:
A. long-term derivative strategy.
B. cash flow feasibility analysis.
C. competitive advantage over other companies.
D. resource deployment strategic plan.
E. cost underestimation and benefit overestimation.
A sound, well-communicated strategic vision matters, and the related payoffs occur in
several respects, EXCEPT in connection with:
A. reducing the risks of rudderless decision-making.
B. helping the organization prepare for the future.
C. avoiding strategic inflection points and management’s reaction in aligning decision
choices.
D. helping to crystallize top management’s own view about the firm’s long-term
direction.
E. providing a tool for winning the support of organizational members for internal
changes that will help make the vision a reality.
Building an organization capable of good strategy execution entails:
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.
Well-conceived, state-of-the-art information and operating systems:
A. are essential because business process reengineering efforts, TQM, Six Sigma, and
benchmarking programs can’t be carried out effectively without them.
B. not only enable better strategy execution but also strengthen organizational
capabilities (perhaps enough to provide a competitive edge over rivals).
C. make it simple and easy to spot cost overruns and inefficiencies.
D. are valuable tools for shortening a company’s value chain, boosting workforce
morale and productivity, and simplifying the task of adopting best practices.
E. help managers run a tight ship and preserve strong, centralized control over internal
activities
In analyzing driving forces, the strategist’s role is to:
A. identify the driving forces and evaluate their impact on (1) demand for the industry’s
product, (2) the intensity of competition, and (3) industry profitability.
B. predict future marketing innovations and how fast the industry is likely to globalize.
C. evaluate what stage of the life cycle the industry is in and when it is likely to move
to the next stage.
D. determine who is likely to exit the industry and what changes can be expected in the
industry’s strategic group map.
E. forecast fluctuations in product demand and how buyer needs will most likely
change.
A decentralized organizational structure is predicated on the belief that:
A. top executives should establish a collegial, collaborative culture where decisions are
made by general consensus on what to do and when.
B. strict enforcement of detailed procedures backed by rigorous managerial oversight is
necessary because company personnel cannot be counted on to act wisely or keep costs
to a bare bones level.
C. decision-making authority should be pushed down to the lowest organizational level
capable of making timely, informed, and competent decisions.
D. most company personnel have neither the time nor the inclination to direct and
properly control the work they are performing and that they lack the knowledge and
judgment to make wise decisions about how best to do their work.
E. lower-level managers and employees should go up the ladder of command for
approval on most all strategic and operating issues of much importance.
Briefly discuss when it makes good strategic sense for a company to consider
diversification.