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61) Who is a key stakeholder in an organization?
A) a person who is directly affected by the organization’s activities
B) a person who is only indirectly affected by the organization’s activities
C) a person who can directly influence an organization’s activities
D) a person who can only indirectly influence an organization’s activities
62) Which of the following is a major drawback of SWOT analysis?
A) Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are not weighted and prioritized.
B) Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are not identified in separate categories.
C) Strengths and weaknesses are weighted and prioritized, but opportunities and threats are not
weighted or prioritized.
D) Opportunities and threats are weighted and prioritized, but strengths and weaknesses are not
weighted or prioritized.
63) According to the BCG matrix, a company that has low market share in a slow-growing
industry is a ________.
A) star
B) cow
C) question mark
D) dog
64) Which two criteria does the BCG matrix measure?
A) market share and market growth
B) external markets and internal markets
C) business strength and market opportunities
D) market segmentation and market share
65) Which type of employee has the least chance of being rehired?
A) an employee who has been laid off
B) an employee who has been terminated for cause
C) an employee who has been downsized
D) an employee who has lost his or her job due to a reduction in force
66) Google offers its search capabilities for free and earns revenue from advertising. New Web
search engines appear frequently on the Internet, but few are successful. Considering Porter’s
five forces model, how would you rate the threat of new entrants for Google?
A) low, because new entrants usually fail
B) low, because new entrants are frequent
C) high, because new entrants are frequent
D) high, because new entrants usually fail
67) Last semester, Hop Dog was the only food truck on campus. This semester four other trucks
have located on the quad offering a variety of lunchtime options and daily deals. Which of
Porter’s five forces has the LEAST impact on the Hop Dog truck?
A) bargaining power of customers
B) bargaining power of suppliers
C) threat of substitutes
D) competitive rivalry within the industry
68) Fern Farms is a wholesaler of landscaping plants and materials. The company’s executive
team has ordered a 7% increase in product prices across the board. Who are the secondary
stakeholders and how will they be affected?
A) Fern Farms suppliers, who will experience increased sales
B) landscaping companies, who will pay more for products
C) landscaping companies, who will charge clients less
D) homeowners, who will pay more for landscaping
69) New Leaf Produce grows organic lettuces in seaside farms for premium restaurants and
health food stores. Which environmental factor may require New Leaf to develop a contingency
plan and risk management strategies to guide actions when unpredictable events occur?
A) sociocultural environment
B) legal and tax environment
C) natural environment
D) technological environment
70) Every year, the Syracuse University basketball team starts its season with one thing in mind,
to win the NCAA championship. Players begin the year by getting in the best shape possible and
practicing hard. The practice sessions correspond to ________.
A) goals
B) subgoals
C) action steps
D) milestones
71) Rosa started her catering business last year, with a dream to one day be one of the top
caterers in the tri-state area. Her gigs have all been small dinner parties and company business
meetings, but last week she booked her first wedding for 300 people! From a planning
perspective, what is the wedding?
A) a goal
B) a subgoal
C) a milestone
D) an action step
72) MacDowell’s Fine Steaks is a traditional chophouse. Over the past two years it has lost
market share to new restaurants offering more ethnic flavors. MacDowell’s management has
decided to tweak its menu by cutting low margin, less popular items, reducing unnecessary
expenses, and upgrading the decor in an effort to retain longtime clientele while drawing in new
visitors. What type of strategy is MacDowell’s implementing?
A) stability
B) growth
C) differentiation
D) retrenchment
73) After reading an article about the growing taste for American foods in Iraq, the CEO of
Build-a-Burger has decided to open some outlets there. Given the turmoil in the country and the
region, what will be the most important factor to consider during the planning team’s
environmental scan?
A) economic environment
B) technological environment
C) legal and tax environment
D) political environment
74) Doc Xpress has an in-house staff of 35 people who provide transcriptions of phone and video
conferences for a range of clients. Given the tight economy, the CEO has frozen all hardware and
software upgrades for the last five years. In a SWOT analysis, how would this issue be
categorized?
A) external opportunity
B) external threat
C) internal weakness
D) internal strength
75) Marcus is working for a venture capital firm evaluating various investments. He sees that
SuperLand, a supermarket chain, has an excellent market share in the slow-growing grocery
industry. Which BCG matrix category does SuperLand fit?
A) cow
B) dog
C) star
D) question mark
76) Brain Freeze has a healthy market share in the fast-growing online education industry. In
which BCG matrix category does Brain Freeze fit?
A) dog
B) question mark
C) star
D) cow
77) After requesting a SWOT analysis of his fitness club business, Malik received the following
results:
Internal Strength: skilled personal trainers
External Opportunity: high-income local residents
Internal Weakness: lack of popular fitness classes
External Threat: discount memberships at a competitor’s club
What should Malik do first to help grow the business?
A) offer competitor price matching
B) expand class offerings
C) prepare a BCG matrix
D) weight the SWOT results
78) Your company seems highly focused on short-term objectives. From a planning perspective,
what can you do to correct the situation?
A) Increase your plan’s reliance on goals and metrics, and decrease emphasis on the company’s
mission and vision.
B) Reduce your plan’s reliance on goals and metrics, and increase emphasis on the company’s
mission and vision.
C) Reduce your plan’s emphasis on strategic objectives, and increase emphasis on the operational
objectives.
D) Reduce your plan’s emphasis on strategic objectives, and increase emphasis on the
contingency objectives.
79) Which of the following would create the most work for a scenario planner?
A) an NBA (National Basketball Association) championship game at an indoor stadium in
Detroit in May
B) an NFL (National Football League) playoff game at an outdoor stadium in New Jersey in
February
C) an Ironman triathlon (three-sport athletic competition) in Seattle in March
D) a surfing competition in Hawaii in October
80) The European Union faces a long period of economic hardship and uncertainty as it attempts
to recover from the financial crisis of the 2010s. As the CEO of a successful large organization in
the EU, what would be a logical corporate strategy for the near future?
A) growth
B) stability
C) retrenchment
D) divestiture
81) When Dunkin’ Donuts introduced premium coffee drinks nationally to compete with
Starbucks, which business strategy was the company implementing?
A) differentiation — because it was providing a unique product
B) cost leadership — because its product was less expensive than competitors’
C) niche — because it was catering to a very small segment of the market
D) vertical integration — because it owned the plantations growing premium coffee
82) ZipCar allows customers to reserve rental cars online and pay for them by the hour —
picking up and dropping off vehicles at convenient neighborhood spaces without entering an
office to do paperwork. Since its inception, ZipCar has experienced extremely fast growth. Why?
A) niche strategy
B) cost leadership strategy
C) differentiation strategy
D) vertical integration strategy
83) You are the CEO of a major metropolitan hospital. Which of the following is NOT a primary
stakeholder?
A) doctors and nurses
B) patients
C) neighborhood clinics
D) pharmaceutical companies
84) You are the CEO of a luxury car manufacturer. Which of the following constitutes an
internal weakness that might be detected in a SWOT analysis of the company?
A) A rival has begun selling models that are similar to your models, but lower in price.
B) In a survey, your brand name was associated with “expensive” first and “high quality” second.
C) The currency in your home country has increased in value; making your products more
expensive overseas.
D) A survey by your HR department shows that morale among workers is at an all-time low.
85) Which phrase best defines “fuzzy logic?”
A) thinking in vague terms that are not logical and don’t make sense
B) understanding that real-world patterns don’t always match remembered patterns and must be
recognized and clarified
C) recognizing false patterns as significant and important, then using logic and reasoning to
make them seem meaningful
D) understanding that random patterns can be misunderstood and must be recognized as
significant and meaningful
86) The U.S. market for vegetarian and vegan foods has experienced considerable growth over
the past decade. What is the key factor driving this change?
A) natural environment
B) sociocultural environment
C) economic environment
D) technological environment
87) Shrimp are the star attraction at your seafood restaurant. Recently you’ve heard reports that
toxic red-tides are wiping out shrimp beds near your East Coast suppliers. What kind of plan can
you create to prepare for possible disaster?
88) You are product development manager at a video game company. How can you use 3M’s
lead customers methodology to help create an innovative new game?
89) You are driving from Boston to San Francisco. Describe any goals, subgoals, milestones, and
action steps you would be likely to take or reach along the way.
90) Explain how scenario planning can help a baseball manager; knowing that his team is likely
to experience injuries, trades, and other changes during the six-month season.
91) Think of a product you like and use regularly. Which business-level strategy does the
product’s manufacturer employ? Why?
92) What are the major drawbacks of SWOT analysis? How would you correct them?
93) You are general manager of a high-end kitchen and home design store. The district manager
has informed you that the first Sunday in December the store will be trying out a new Taste of
the Holidays concept with product demos and food tastings in all departments. How will you
plan for this event?
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94) Write a paragraph that describes your personal vision.