Chapter 13 – Strategic Control
Chapter 13
Strategic Control
Multiple Choice Questions
1. (p. 382) _______________ is concerned with tracking a strategy as it is being implemented,
detecting problems or changes in its underlying premises and making necessary adjustments.
2. (p. 382) Which of the following is typically not a question asked by managers who are
responsible for the success of their strategy?
3. (p. 382) The rapid, accelerating change of the global marketplace has made the need for
____________ key in managing a company.
4. (p. 383) The control of strategy can be characterized as a form of:
5. (p. 383) Which of the following is NOT one of the basic types of strategic control?
6. (p. 384) Which of the following types of strategic control has a low degree of focusing?
7. (p. 384) Which of the following types of strategic control has a low degree of formalization?
8. (p. 384) Which of the following types of strategic control has a low degree of centralization?
9. (p. 384) Which of the following types of strategic control seldom is used with environmental
factors?
10. (p. 383) ___________ is designed to check systematically and continuously whether the
premises on which the strategy is based are still valid.
11. (p. 383) ________ is the systematic recognition and analysis of assumptions upon which a
strategic plan is based, to determine if those assumptions remain valid in changing
circumstances and in light of new information.
12. (p. 386) ___________ is designed to monitor a broad range of events inside and outside the
firm that are likely to affect the course of its strategy.
13. (p. 386) Strategic surveillance must be kept:
14. (p. 384) _______ should be a loose “environmental scanning” activity.
15. (p. 387) A(n) _____________ is the thorough and often rapid, reconsideration of the firm’s
strategy because of a sudden, unexpected event.
16. (p. 387) The 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami would trigger what kind of control?
17. (p. 384) Which of the following types of strategic control has a low degree of focusing?
18. (p. 387) _____________ is designed to assess whether the overall strategy should be changed
in light of the results associated with the incremental actions that implement the overall
strategy.
19. (p. 387) __________ provide managers with information that helps them determine whether
the overall strategy is progressing as planned or needs to be adjusted.
20. (p. 388) The __________ that take place usually involve a full-scale reassessment of the
strategy and of the advisability of continuing or refocusing the firm’s direction.
21. (p. 390) Which of the following is NOT one of the steps necessary for operational control
systems to be effective?
22. (p. 390) The _______ is of particular interest because it provides a basis for examining
suggested actions and for finalizing decisions on changes or adjustments in the firm’s
operations.
23. (p.391) Robert Kaplan and David Norton created the _________, a management control
system that enables companies to clarify their strategies, translate them into action and
provide quantitative feedback as to whether the strategy is creating value, leveraging core
competencies, satisfying the company’s customers and generating a financial reward to its
shareholders.
24. (p. 393) The ___________ typically uses measures like cash flow, return on equity, sales and
income growth as part of the balanced scorecard approach.
25. (p. 395) A ______ is a user interface that organizes and presents information from multiple
digital sources simultaneously in a user-designed format on the computer screen.
26. (p. 396) Strategic controls and comprehensive control programs like the _________ bring the
entire management task into focus.
27. (p. 396) The overriding goal of a control system is to enable the ____ and ________ of the
business.
Chapter 13 – Strategic Control
Essay Questions
28. Define strategic control. What questions does it help managers answer?
Learning Objective: 1
29. How is strategic control different from postaction control?
Learning Objective: 1
30. What is premise control? Identify and give examples of some environmental and industry
factors.
Learning Objective: 1
31. Define strategic surveillance. How does the nature of strategic surveillance differ from
that of premise controls?
13–10
32. What is special alert control? Use an example to show its importance.
Learning Objective: 1
33. What is implementation control? Identify the two basic types.
Learning Objective: 1
34. Identify and discuss the steps common to all postaction controls.
Learning Objective: 1
35. Describe the balance scorecard methodology. Why is it used?
Learning Objective: 2
36. What is a dashboard? How does it help monitor performance?