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76) You have been asked by a new a hair salon, Twist & Braid, to identify whether or not they
should expand the business either by opening a new salon or expanding the current salon to offer
new services. As a first step, you interview the owner and clients as they come in for their
appointments. You also visit a few other local businesses and conduct interviews of people as they
pass by. You also review Yelp and Facebook for reviews of the salon. Which of the following best
describes the process you are implementing?
A) re-envisioning
B) branding
C) VRIO
D) MBO
E) SWOT
77) In a staff meeting, Mark is employing Dr. De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats. Doug expresses all the
positives about being open on Thanksgiving. Rashmi presents the data from the last three years on
sales from that day. Rafael explains why staying open late on Thanksgiving will not be in the
employees or client’s best interests. Sophie explores using the Internet only and not having the
brick and mortar stores open. Which color hat would Rafael wear?
A) black
B) red
C) yellow
D) green
E) blue
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78) You are the CEO of a major corporation. You have been tasked by the board of directors to
turn the company around as they just let the last CEO go for a difference in opinion. Being new,
where would you focus your attention first?
A) finding qualified employees
B) stimulating innovation
C) customer loyalty
D) profit growth
E) execution
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79) This question contains two parts; be sure to answer both.
First, list the three sources from which strategic position emerges, providing an example of a
company with each strategic position. (You will be providing three examples.)
Second, select either McDonald’s or Apple Computer and discuss the company’s strategic position.
80) Explain whether strategic management works as well for small companies as it does for large
organizations, providing an example of how a small company can offer personal connections as a
source of competitive advantage.
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81) Imagine that you are the CEO of Smiley’s, a chain of family-style restaurants. You are
interested in implementing the strategic-management process in your restaurants. Discuss the
strategic-management process and explain how you would execute each of the steps and the
feedback loop of the strategic-management process in your restaurant chain.
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Copyright 2020 © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior
written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
4. Implement the strategy. To implement the strategies you’ve chosen, you will overcome
roadblocks in the organization’s structure and culture, keeping an eye on personnel who may feel
that the plans threaten their influence or livelihood. You will win over these employees by actively
selling your plans to them and making them feel like an important part of the company’s success.
5. Maintain strategic control. To maintain strategic control, you will engage people, keep it simple,
stay focused, and keep moving. You’ll focus on the three core business processes: people, strategy,
and operations.
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Topic: Strategic Management
Learning Objective: 06-02 Outline the five steps in the strategic-management process.
Bloom’s: Apply
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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82) This question has two parts; be sure to answer both.
First, describe each of the three common grand strategies.
Next, provide an example of how a company (real or hypothetical) might execute each strategy.
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83) Evaluate the following business idea using the VRIO framework: Your parents want to open a
mobile pet-grooming company and they have asked you for your opinion about whether they
should invest in the concept. They investigated the opportunity and found a vehicle that contains
all the necessary equipment. Conduct a VRIO analysis and state your recommendation to your
parents.
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84) You are the executive chef at an exclusive restaurant in Manhattan, New York. You want to
know how your restaurant compares to others in the area. Describe how you would use
benchmarking.
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85) Utilizing the four elements of a SWOT analysis, develop a SWOT for a fast-food restaurant or
diner.
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86) Define and describe a trend analysis. How would a department store like Macy’s or JC
Penney’s use a trend analysis?
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87) Imagine you are the CEO of Noodle Soup, a company that sells ramen noodles. Give an
example of each of the five primary competitive forces in Noodle Soup’s environment.
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88) This question contains two parts; be sure to answer each.
First, describe Porter’s four competitive strategies, giving examples of companies that use each of
the strategies.
Next, suppose you are CEO of Simply Paper, a company that produces reams of copy paper.
Which strategy would you use, and why?
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89) Explain how a company would utilize a diversification strategy (including a vertical
integration strategy). Provide an example of a company that uses the strategy.
90) Explain the difference between a cost-leadership strategy and a differentiation strategy.
Provide an example of a company that uses each type of strategy.
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91) This question contains multiple parts; be sure to answer all of them.
First, define and explain strategic control.
Next, summarize Bryan Barry’s suggestions for keeping strategic planning on track.
Finally, suppose you are the owner of a dog-walking service with eight dog-walkers on staff.
Explain how you would implement each of Barry’s suggestions.