Which of the following is NOT likely to be effective in trying to gain employees’
wholehearted commitment to good strategy execution?
A. Strictly enforcing all rules in the employee handbook with the use of fines.
B. Giving awards and public recognition to high performers and showcasing company
successes.
C. Providing a comfortable and attractive working environment
D. Providing opportunities for promotion from within wherever possible
E. Providing attractive perks and fringe benefits
The decision to pursue diversification requires management to resolve which industries
to enter and whether to enter, and includes such decisions as the following, EXCEPT:
A. selecting the appropriate value chain operating practices to improve the financial
outlook.
B. starting a business from the ground up.
C. acquiring a company already established in the target industry.
D. forming a joint venture or partnership with another company.
E. structuring a strategic alliance with another company to take advantage of the
opportunity.
Calculating quantitative competitive strength ratings for each of a diversified company’s
business units involves:
A. determining each industry’s key success factors, rating the ability of each business to
be successful on each industry KSF, and adding the individual ratings to obtain overall
measures of each business’s ability to compete successfully.
B. identifying the competitive forces facing each business, rating the strength of these
competitive forces industry by industry, and then ranking each business’s ability to be
profitable, given the strength of the competition it faces.
C. selecting a set of competitive strength measures, weighting the importance of each
measure, rating each business on each strength measure, multiplying the strength
ratings by the assigned weight to obtain a weighted rating, adding the weighted ratings
for each business unit to obtain an overall competitive strength score, and using the
overall competitive strength scores to evaluate the competitive strength of all the
businesses, both individually and as a group.
D. determining which businesses possess good strategic fit with other businesses,
identifying the portion of the value chain where this fit occurs, and evaluating the
strength of the competitive advantage attached to each of the strategic fits to get an
overall measure of competitive advantage potential. Businesses with the highest/lowest
competitive advantage potential have the most/least competitive strength.
E. rating the caliber of each businesses strategic and resource fit, weighting the
importance of each type of strategic/resource fit, calculating weighted strategic/resource
fit scores, and adding the weighted ratings for each business to obtain an overall
strength score for each business unit that indicates whether the company has adequate
strategic/resource fits to be a strong market contender in each of the industries where it
competes.
Managers must chart a company’s strategic course by:
A. focusing on the local environment in which they are operating.
B. ensuring excess production capacity and/or inventory.
C. competing fiercely for a share in the market.
D. building a bigger dealer network.
E. developing a thorough understanding of the company’s external and internal
environment.
A company’s strategy consists of the action plan management is taking to:
A. stake out a unique market position and achieve superior profitability.
B. compete against rivals and establish a transitory competitive advantage.
C. concentrate on improving the existing product offering irrespective of the changing
and turbulent markets.
D. develop a more appealing business model than rivals.
E. identify its strategic vision, its strategic objectives, and its strategic intent.
A motivation and incentive system that is aimed at spurring stronger employee
commitment to good strategy execution:
A. should focus on incorporating more positive than negative motivational elements.
B. should be tied first and foremost to whether employees satisfactorily perform their
assigned duties in an ethical and honorable manner.
C. must involve deliberately assigning employees heavy workloads and tight deadlines.
D. D. needs to put top priority on making employees happy and secure in their jobs.
E. must avoid the potential for negative consequences if performance is subpar.
Whether a broad differentiation strategy ends up enhancing a company’s profitability
depends mainly on whether:
A. many buyers view the product’s differentiating features as having value.
B. most buyers have similar needs and use the product in the same ways.
C. most buyers accept the customer value proposition as unique and the product can
produce sufficient unit sales to cover the costs of achieving the differentiation.
D. buyer switching costs are low and customer loyalty to any one brand is low.
E. buyers are prone to shop the market for sellers offering the best price.
When firms are involved in a mix of in-house and outsourced activity in any given
stage of the vertical chain, it is called:
A. tapered integration.
B. partial integration.
C. full integration.
D. forward integration.
E. backward integration.
Breaking down resistance to a new strategic vision typically requires that management,
on an as needed basis:
A. institute a balanced scorecard approach to measuring company performance, with
the “balance” including a mixture of both old and new performance measures.
B. inform company personnel about forthcoming changes in the company’s strategy.
C. reiterate the company’s need for the new direction, while addressing employee
concerns head-on, calming fears, lifting spirits, and providing them with updates and
progress reports as events unfold.
D. explain all updates and merits of the company’s business model to align strategy with
employee concerns.
E. raise wages and salaries to win the support of company personnel for the company’s
new direction.
To deeply ingrain core values and ethical standards, a company must:
A. provide every employee with a copy of the company’s statement of core values and
code of ethics.
B. turn the espoused core values and ethical standards into strictly enforced cultural
norms.
C. encourage company personnel to observe the core values and ethical standards.
D. give big pay raises and bonuses to individuals and groups who display the
company’s core values and observe its ethical standards.
E. fire employees who do not live up to the core values or who are found guilty of
violating the code of ethics.
Which of the following is NOT a reason why crafting a strategy to compete in one or
more foreign markets is inherently complex?
A. Because factors that affect industry competitiveness vary from country to country
B. Because of the potential for location-based advantages to conducting value chain
activities in certain countries
C. Because different government policies and economic conditions make the business
climate more favorable in some countries than others
D. Because of the risks for shifts in currency exchange rates
E. Because similarities in buyer tastes and preferences facilitate standardization of
products and services
Which of the following is NOT among the intended outcomes of horizontal merger and
acquisition strategies?
A. Expanding a company’s geographic coverage
B. Gaining quick access to new technologies or complementary resources and
capabilities
C. Leading the convergence of industries whose boundaries are being blurred by
changing technologies and new market opportunities
D. Extending the company’s business into new product categories
E. Suppressing a rival’s breakthroughs in management or technology
What are the distinctive features of adaptive corporate cultures?
What is the strategy-making hierarchy for a diversified company? How does it differ
from the strategy-making hierarchy for a single business company?
What is the role of managerial leadership in changing a problem corporate culture?
Compare and contrast the advantages for entering and competing in foreign markets for
the strategic options of exporting, licensing, and franchising.
What are the six key questions that form the framework of thinking strategically about a
company’s industry and competitive environment?
Why does an organization need both financial and strategic objectives?
With an example, explain how the Six Sigma process of define, measure, analyze,
improve, and control (DMAIC) works.