Management: A Focus on Leaders, 2e (McKee)
Chapter 5 Planning and Strategy: Bringing the Vision to Life
1) Most plans for organizations focus almost entirely on goals.
2) Creativity has little role in organizational planning.
3) Directional planning involves starting at your goal and moving step-by-step to where you are
now.
4) Too much reliance on goal setting in organizational planning often results in ignoring the
organization’s long-term goals.
5) Good plans should be both rational and creative.
6) Contingency plans are usually long-term plans.
7) A standing plan can be reused repeatedly.
8) Once devised, plans should be permanent and not subject to change.
9) A milestone is a major goal that is more important than an ordinary goal.
10) Directional planning is a dynamic, systematic process where people envision all of the “what
if” scenarios for given situations and plan for several likely possibilities.
11) A mission statement identifies an organization’s plans for the future.
12) A mission statement and a vision statement are essentially the same thing.
13) A growth strategy is a corporate strategy that focuses on increasing market share.
14) Both cost leadership and vertical integration business strategies are based on efficiency.
15) An activity that an organization performs very well is called a primary capability.
16) Environmental scanning includes assessing the political environment as well as the economic
environment.
17) A primary stakeholder is any person who is indirectly affected by an organization’s
actions.
18) A SWOT analysis is a technique that examines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats that may affect achievement of the strategic mission and vision.
19) An HR inventory identifies qualified candidates who are located both within and outside of
an organization for jobs.
20) Layoff involves the dismissal of an employee for breaking a company policy, failing to
perform, or failing to adjust to company values, norms, or culture.
21) Planning is the process of developing a sequence of activities that is intended to ________.
A) establish a vision
B) create competitiveness
C) achieve a goal or move toward an imagined future state
D) produce a mission statement that defines an organization’s goals and purpose
22) According to scholar Henry Mintzberg, formal planning includes all of the following
EXCEPT:
A) analysis of current conditions and likely future conditions.
B) taking action to carry out important tasks and meaningful activities.
C) being creative in developing ideas to meet future challenges.
D) synthesizing ideas in order to meet future challenges.
23) Typically, planning involves too much ________ and not enough creative thinking and
synthesis of ideas.
A) goal setting
B) measurement
C) thinking about the future
D) long-term thinking
24) How often do most managers plan?
A) quarterly
B) monthly
C) annually
D) continuously
25) In goal-oriented planning, ________ is the goal.
A) the distance
B) the destination
C) the domain
D) action
26) In directional planning, ________ is the goal.
A) the path
B) the destination
C) the distance
D) action
27) Action-oriented planning avoids ________ and focuses on ________.
A) the task at hand; goals
B) goal-setting; the path or direction
C) the path or direction; goals
D) goal-setting; the task at hand
28) Overreliance on goal setting can result in ________.
A) too much attention to long-term priorities
B) not enough attention to short-term priorities
C) too much attention to short-term priorities
D) not enough attention to both long- and short-term priorities
29) Which statement is TRUE?
A) As long as an organization sticks to its goals and metrics, it doesn’t need a strong vision.
B) As long as an organization has a strong vision, it doesn’t need goals and metrics.
C) If an organization has a strong vision, it doesn’t need a meaningful mission.
D) An organization needs both a strong vision and adherence to goals and metrics.
30) Which type of plan presents a detailed outline for how goals will be achieved?
A) strategic plan
B) operational plan
C) project plan
D) contingency plan
31) Which statement is TRUE?
A) Good planning attends closely to an organization’s mission and vision.
B) Good planning puts goals and objectives before the organization’s mission and vision.
C) Good planning needs to be concerned exclusively with an organization’s mission.
D) Good planning is short-term planning.
32) Vintage, an e-commerce clothing store, plans to open actual storefronts in four cities over the
next three years. Which kind of plan is the company implementing?
A) single-use plan
B) strategic plan
C) project plan
D) contingency plan
33) Lots of Boxes, a container store, takes inventory three times a year. Which kind of plan does
it need for this task?
A) single-use plan
B) operational plan
C) short-term plan
D) standing plan
34) The NBA All-Star Game is held in a different city each year. Which kind of plan does each
host city need for this event?
A) single-use plan
B) short-term plan
C) contingency plan
D) strategic plan
35) Setting up pitch presentations with venture capital firms would be a key component of an
organization’s ________.
A) long-term plan
B) contingency plan
C) financial plan
D) scenario plan
36) Which of the following is most likely to be implemented by one person?
A) long-term plan
B) project plan
C) financial plan
D) contingency plan
37) A subgoal is a(n) ________.
A) goal that leads to a larger goal
B) unimportant goal
C) unseen goal that leads to a smaller goal
D) minor goal
38) Today, the term ________ refers to a marker that indicates how far we have come.
A) goals
B) action steps
C) subgoal
D) milestone
39) Which will be fewest in number in an organization’s single-use plan?
A) goals
B) action steps
C) milestones
D) subgoals
40) In the twenty-first century, managers should expect ________ change in the business
environment.
A) constant and dramatic
B) little
C) no fundamental
D) only positive
41) Which of the following lessons can blackjack players teach managers?
A) Ignore the past in planning for the future.
B) Risk need not be part of doing business.
C) You can plan for change.
D) You cannot anticipate change.
42) An organization’s mission statement describes ________.
A) what it stands for only
B) its philosophy
C) who and what it is, what it does, and what it stands for
D) its style
43) An organization’s mission statement always reflects ________.
A) values and priorities
B) differentiation
C) environmental scanning
D) a SWOT analysis
44) A vision statement describes ________.
A) how an organization views the future
B) how an organization views the current climate
C) the organization’s purpose and reason for existing
D) a set of SMART strategic goals
45) Both mission statements and vision statements can be used ________.
A) to insulate an organization from change
B) as a detailed road map of the future
C) to protect an organization from outside interference
D) to guide an organization
46) A mission statement sets an organization apart by articulating its ________.
A) objectives
B) competitive advantage
C) differentiation factors
D) core products
47) In general, a vision statement is ________.
A) more informative
B) aspirational and inspirational
C) less inspirational but more action step oriented
D) very specific with numbers and percentages
48) Systems thinking examines ________ affecting the outcome of an event.
A) all possible factors
B) all people
C) technological factors
D) market forces
49) Which of the following should be involved in creating the mission and vision statement of an
organization?
A) the founder(s) only
B) top managers and leaders only
C) non-managerial employees only
D) founder(s) and all employees
50) Strategy expert Tom Malnight thinks that a good strategy ________ assumptions and takes
risks.
A) confirms
B) makes reasonable
C) challenges
D) rejects
51) What is the philosophy behind 3M’s “lead customers methodology”?
A) Innovation is driven by customers.
B) Customers should lead environmental scanning.
C) Corporate vision is defined by customer needs.
D) Customers must be persuaded to embrace innovation.
52) A restaurant’s planning document includes the statement, “Buy van to enter food truck
market at start of next school year.” What is this statement?
A) the restaurant’s mission
B) a tactic
C) a long-term strategic goal
D) the restaurant’s vision
53) Which of the following is NOT a business-level strategy?
A) cost leadership
B) niche
C) divestiture
D) vertical integration
54) Which type of strategy would be focused on the quality control department of a
manufacturer?
A) corporate strategy
B) functional strategy
C) niche strategy
D) business strategy
55) A growth strategy would likely include which of the following?
A) a defensive posture
B) acquisition of a rival
C) getting rid of divisions
D) maintaining current market share
56) Which strategy would normally help a company maintain its current market position?
A) stability strategy
B) retrenchment strategy
C) divestiture strategy
D) joint-venture strategy
57) McDonald’s is known for selling quality products at low prices. This is an example of a
successful ________ business strategy.
A) niche
B) cost leadership
C) differentiation
D) vertical integration
58) Traditionally, Apple has followed a ________ business strategy because it sells unique
products.
A) niche
B) cost leadership
C) differentiation
D) vertical integration
59) A chain of Chinese food restaurants is exploring a vertical integration strategy. Which of the
following would the planning team be LEAST interested in?
A) an organic tofu manufacturer
B) a restaurant reservation mobile app developer
C) an industrial stove manufacturer
D) an oolong tea plantation
60) Which environment has had the greatest impact on changes in telecom companies in the past
four decades?
A) natural
B) economic
C) political
D) technological