Each year, Fortune publishes strategy-evaluation research on both the United States and
other countries.
In a multidivisional firm, objectives should be established for the overall company but
not for each division.
Only 15 percent of formulated strategies are successfully implemented.
Segmenting industrial markets is generally simpler and easier than segmenting
consumer markets.
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, cost and threats should continually be monitored
for change because it is not really a question of whether these factors will change, but
rather when they will change and in what ways.
The IE Matrix can be divided into three major regions that have different strategy
implications: grow and build, hold and maintain, and harvest or divest.
Strategy formulation requires coordination among a few individuals, but strategy
implementation requires coordination among many.
Contingency plans should be as simple as possible.
Firms can continue to get away with placing “green” terminology on their products and
labels because there are still no legal or generally accepted definitions of terms like
“organic,” “green,” ‘safe,” or “earth-friendly.”
More and more firms believe that ethics training and an ethics culture create strategic
advantage.
When developing a mission statement, it is usually advisable to involve as few
managers as possible.
A code of business ethics is
A) a document that provides behavioral guidelines that cover daily activities and
decisions within an organization.
B) concerned with what responsibilities the firm has to employees, consumers,
environmentalists, minorities, communities, and other groups.
C) a report that reveals how the firm’s operations impact the natural environment.
D) a set of strict regulations requiring firms to conserve energy.
E) a series of voluntary standards in the environmental field.
Which of the following is NOT a reason why some firms prefer to conduct
strategic-planning in secret?
A) Dissemination of a firm’s strategies may translate into competitive intelligence for
rival firms.
B) It enhances understanding, commitment and communication within the firm.
C) It limits criticism, second-guessing, and hindsight.
D) Participants in a visible strategy process become more attractive to rival firms, who
may lure them away.
E) Secrecy limits rival firms from imitating or duplicating the firm’s strategies.
All of the following are reasons strategy evaluation is more difficult today EXCEPT
A) a dramatic increase in the environment’s complexity
B) the increasing number of variables
C) the increase in the number of both domestic and world events affecting organizations
D) the decreasing difficulty of predicting the future with accuracy
E) the rapid rate of obsolescence of even the best plans
Selling all of a company’s assets, in parts, for their tangible worth is called
A) joint venture.
B) divestiture.
C) concentric diversification.
D) liquidation.
E) unrelated integration.
Most strategy literature advocates that strategic management is
A) more of a science than an art.
B) more of an art than a science.
C) based on analysis rather than research.
D) based on intuition rather than analysis.
E) based on creativity rather than intuition.
Each of the nine techniques included in the strategy formulation framework rely on the
use of
A) strictly factual data.
B) luck.
C) financial formulas and statistics.
D) intuition and analysis.
E) synergy.
Without assumptions, planning would be
A) impossible.
B) easier.
C) difficult.
D) inexpensive.
E) intuitive.
The two positive-rated dimensions on the SPACE Matrix are
A) FP and CP.
B) CP and SP.
C) FP and IP.
D) IP and SP.
E) FP and SP.
All of the following are potential disadvantages to initiating, continuing, or expanding
business across national borders EXCEPT
A) Firms confront different social, cultural, and political forces when doing business
internationally, which can make communication in the firm difficult.
B) Keeping informed about the number and nature of competitors is more difficult
when doing business internationally.
C) Foreign operations can absorb excess capacity, reduce unit costs, and spread
economic risks over a wider number of markets.
D) Dealing with two or more monetary systems can complicate international business
operations.
E) Foreign operations could be seized by nationalistic forces.
The strategic-management process is becoming more widely used by
A) small firms.
B) nonprofit institutions.
C) governmental organizations.
D) multinational conglomerates.
E) all of the above
Tyson Foods opening a manufacturing plan that makes diesel and jet fuel from chicken
fat, beef tallow, and leftover food grease from the firm’s meat-processing plants is an
example of
A) backward integration.
B) divestiture.
C) retrenchment.
D) unrelated diversification.
E) forward integration.
Agree or disagree with and discuss the following statement: “Corporate intelligence is
not corporate espionage because 95 percent of the information a company needs to
make strategic decisions is available and accessible to the public.”
There are three major approaches for managing and resolving conflict in an
organization. Define these three approaches and give an example of each.
Name five examples of marketing decisions that may require policies.
Describe the positive features and limitations of QSPM.
Compare and contrast the five types of bankruptcy: Chapters 7, 9, 11, 12 and 13.
Describe the tactics that have been used by politicians that can also aid strategists.
Identify five key economic variables that could represent major opportunities or threats
to a bank in your town or city.
What are some of the reasons for and against the U.S. adopting international financial
reporting standards (IFRS).
List 10 major benefits of strategic management, as stated by Greenley.