Chapter 6: Organizational Strategy
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following is a condition that must be met if a firm’s resources are to be used to achieve a
sustainable competitive advantage?
a.
differentiation
b.
imperfectly imitable resources
c.
diversification
d.
entrepreneurial orientation
e.
a matrix organizational structure
2. The first step in the strategy-making process is to:
a.
assess the need for strategic change
b.
conduct a situation analysis
c.
choose strategic alternatives
d.
evaluate the impact of changes on the internal environment
e.
create a strategic budget
3. In a situational analysis, a strategic group is a group of __________ that top managers choose for
comparing, evaluating, and benchmarking their company’s strategic threats and opportunities.
a.
non-industry-specific companies
b.
expert managers
c.
trade journals and other relevant periodicals
d.
other firms within an industry
e.
consulting firms that use the Delphi technique
4. Which of the following is a mechanism used to examine external threats and opportunities facing a
firm as well as its internal strengths and weaknesses?
a.
organizational scanning
b.
internal marketing
c.
shadow-strategy task forces
d.
benchmarking
e.
a situation analysis
5. In any organization, the __________ are the less visible, internal decision-making routines,
problem-solving processes, and organization cultures that determine how efficiently inputs can be
turned into outputs.
a.
imperfectly imitable resources
b.
valuable resources
c.
distinctive competencies
d.
core capabilities
e.
sources of innovation
6. The term __________ refers to the overall organizational strategy that addresses the question “What
business or businesses are we in or should we be in?”
a.
firm-level strategy
b.
corporate-level strategy
c.
industry-level strategy
d.
portfolio strategy
e.
vision
7. The __________ is a portfolio strategy that managers use to categorize their corporation’s businesses
by growth rate and relative market share. This strategy them to decide how to invest corporate funds.
a.
investment matrix
b.
SWOT matrix
c.
BCG matrix
d.
portfolio management matrix
e.
Maslow grid
8. The research on diversification in portfolio management indicates that the best approach is probably:
a.
related differentiation
b.
related diversification
c.
unrelated diversification
d.
repositioning
e.
no diversification
9. Significant cost reductions, layoffs of employees, closing of poorly performing stores, offices, or
manufacturing plants, or closing or selling entire lines of products or services would be characteristic
of a __________ strategy.
a.
portfolio
b.
retrenchment
c.
stability
d.
firm-level
e.
rehabilitation
10. According to Michael Porter, five industry forces determine an industry’s overall attractiveness and
potential for long-term profitability. Which of the following is one of those forces Porter identified?
a.
existence of complementary products
b.
organizational structure
c.
existing benchmarks
d.
span of management
e.
bargaining power of suppliers
11. An organization implementing a(n) ____________________ strategy would NOT follow a consistent
strategy.
a.
defender
b.
pioneer
c.
analyzer
d.
reactor
e.
prospector
12. Resource similarity and __________ are factors that determine the extent to which firms will be in
direct competition with each other.
a.
market commonality
b.
resource similarity
c.
related diversification
d.
product differentiation
e.
customer autonomy