Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Instructor Manual
Chapter 5: Strategic and Operational Planning
Work Application Sample Answers
Most of the answers are actual student answers or based on student answers. You may give
these answers as part of your lecture before, after, or in place of getting student answers.
5-1. Give an example of a strategic objective and an operational objective from an
organization you work for or have worked for.
I worked for the Shawmut Bank in Boston, and one of its strategic objectives was to become
5-2. Does a business you work for or have worked for have one or multiple lines of
business? List the line(s).
I worked as an intern for Honda in Connecticut, and I didn’t realize it had all the various lines
5-3. Conduct a simple five-force competitive analysis for a company you work for or
have worked for. Use Exhibit 5-4 as an example.
I work part time for Springfield College.
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
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5-4. List a couple of the major strengths and weaknesses of an organization you work
for or have worked for.
Springfield College’s major strength is its small classes, which enable faculty to take a personal
5-5. State one or more goals of an organization you work for or have worked for.
5-6. Using the model for writing objectives, write one or more objectives for an
organization you work for or have worked for, making sure they meet the “must”
criteria.
5-7. State the grand strategy for an organization you work for or have worked for.
I worked part time for Sims Drug Store, an independent pharmacy. The grand strategy was a
5-8. Identify any growth strategies used by an organization you work for or have
worked for. Be sure to identify the type of growth strategy and note if any mergers,
acquisitions, joint ventures, or strategic alliances were used.
In high school, I worked for an old, downtown movie theater that showed movies for $2 after
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
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5-9. Identify the adaptive strategy used by an organization you work for or have worked
for. Be sure to describe how it used the strategy.
I used to work for Friendly’s Ice Cream, which was sold to Hershey. When Hershey took over,
5-10. Identify one functional area of an organization you work for or have worked for.
What was its operational strategy?
I work for the Springfield College Police Department. The strategy is to have student patrol
5-11. Give an example of a policy, a procedure, and a rule from an organization you
work for or have worked for.
I work at the New England Health Club.
5-12. Give an example of a program you were involved in at work.
5-13. Describe a situation in which a contingency plan is appropriate. Explain the plan.
If you were planning a company picnic, you would need to set a contingency date, or place
5-14. Review your time log to identify your three biggest time wasters. How can you cut
down or eliminate these time wasters?
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
5-15. From the time management techniques listed in the Self-Assessment, choose the
three most important ones you should be using. Explain how you will implement each
technique.
1. Get an early start on top-priority items. I need to stop procrastinating.
5-16. How would you assess your use of multitasking in your personal life? In your
professional life? How can you improve?
In my personal life, I multitask on a daily basis. When I get home from work, I usually watch
Review Question Answers
5-1. What are the five planning dimensions?
5-2. What are the two types of plans?
The two types of plans are strategic plans and operational plans.
5-3. Is there a difference between a plan and a strategy?
5-4. Which planning levels and their strategies are part of strategic planning?
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
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5-5. What are the steps in the strategic planning process?
5-6. What is the relationship between the mission statement and developing strategies?
5-7. Why is a company situation analysis part of the strategic planning process?
A company situation analysis is used at the business level to determine the strategic issues and
5-8. What is the “writing effective objectives” model?
The “writing effective objectives” model includes (1) the word to followed by (2) an action
5-9. What criteria should an objective meet?
An effective objective conforms to four “must” criteria: It expresses a single result that is
5-10. What are the grand strategies?
The grand strategies are growth, stability, and turnaround and retrenchment.
5-11. What is the difference between a merger and an acquisition?
5-12. What are the adaptive strategies?
The adaptive strategies are prospecting, defending, and analyzing.
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
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5-13. What is the relationship between grand strategies and adaptive strategies?
The adaptive strategies (prospecting, defending, and analyzing) correspond to the corporate
5-14. What are the competitive strategies?
The competitive strategies are differentiation, cost leadership, and focus.
5-15. What are the common functional strategy areas?
5-16. What is the difference between standing plans and single-use plans?
Standing plans are policies, procedures, and rules developed for handling repetitive situations.
5-17. Explain the use of a time log.
A time log is a daily diary used to analyze how time is spent and wasted. Time log analysis can
reveal ways to improve time use.
5-18. List and briefly describe the three steps in the time management system.
The steps in the time management system are: (1) Plan each week by determining the objectives
5-19. Explain what multitasking is and how to practice it effectively.
Multitasking is the practice or capability of handling more than one task at a time. Effective
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
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Communication Skills Answers
5-1. Why are strategic and operational planning important?
Answers will vary, but students should realize the importance of planning. Planning includes
5-2. Should all businesses have corporate, business, and functional strategies?
No. A business with only one line of business does not need a corporate strategy.
5-3. Should a mission statement be customer focused?
5-4. Should all businesses formally analyze the environment?
Answers will vary, but students should realize the importance of analyzing the environment
5-5. Should all businesses have a competitive advantage?
Answers will vary.
5-6. Is it ethical to copy other companies’ ideas through benchmarking?
5-7. Are both goals and objectives necessary for a business?
5-8. Is it important to write objectives?
Yes. Writing objectives helps to make sure they meet the criteria of being effective, and it
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
5-9. As a manager, would you use management by objectives?
5-10. Which growth strategy would you say is the most successful?
5-11. Why would a business use a focus strategy rather than try to appeal to all
customers?
Trying to be all things to all people often creates customer value for none of them. For example,
5-12. Give examples of functional departments other than those mentioned in the text.
Answers will vary.
Applying the Concept Answers
Applying the Concept 5-1: Objectives
For each objective, state which “must” criterion is not met.
1. To be perceived as the highest quality hotel in the Tri-State by the end of 2020
C. Measurable. How will you know if you are perceived as the best?
2. To write objectives next week
3. To double profits in Mexico
4. To sell 10% more nachos and 5% more beer at the hockey game on February 20,
2018
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
5. To increase sales in 2020
Applying the Concept 5-2: Growth Strategies
Identify the type of growth strategy described by each statement.
A. Concentration
6. PepsiCo’s Sprite soda buys lemon and lime groves.
E. Backwards integration. Sprite is a manufacturer going backwards to supply its own lemon
and limes to flavor its soda.
7. Dell Computer starts making printers.
8. Home Depot acquires a tool manufacturer to make its own brand name tools.
9. Facebook buys Toys R US.
D. Unrelated diversification. Retail toy stores are very different lines of businesses.
10. Apple opens a new Apple Store in a mall.
11. Tesla starts opening its own dealerships to sell its cars.
12. New Age Diamond Mines starts to cut its stones into diamond shapes for jewelry.
13. Pizza Hut opens one of its fast-food restaurants in China.
A. Concentration. Opening another Pizza Hut is staying in the same line of business.
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Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
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14. Netflix acquires a small upscale restaurant in New York.
D. Unrelated diversification. Taxi rides and restaurants are not related products.
15. Boeing buys the Johnson Custom Jets company.
Applying the Concept 5-3: Adaptive Strategies
Identify the type of strategy represented in each statement.
16. Dell pioneers a laptop-powered computer that can be folded up to the size of a
smartphone.
A. Prospecting. As pioneers, Dell would be prospecting.
17. Domino’s used this strategy after Pizza Hut started to copy delivering pizza.
18. This is the primary strategy of Walmart in the saturated U.S. market as the number
of dollar stores increased.
19. When McDonald’s came out with a new Angus Burger to compete with Burger
King’s successful Angus Burgers, it was using this strategy.
20. 7-Eleven expands globally by opening stores in Vietnam.
Applying the Concept 5-4: Identifying Plans
Identify the type of plan exemplified by each statement.
A. Policy
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
21. A helmet must be worm on the football field.
C. Rule. It tells you specifically what to do.
22. Forms for a leave of absence must be filled out, approved, and signed by the
supervisor, and submitted to the HR office one month in advance of the planned leave.
23. We follow the “Humanics Philosophy” at Springfield College.
A. Policy. This is a general guide. No information is given on how to implement the policy.
24. We will make a driverless car within five years.
25. Here is an Excel sheet describing how much I need to run my division next year?
Join the Discussion Answers
Join the Discussion 5-1: Insider Trading
Insiders are people who have confidential information about upcoming events that will affect
the price of a stock. It is common for the price of a stock to go up when investors learn that
the company is negotiating a merger or acquisition of another company. Insiders are not
supposed to buy or sell any stock they have confidential information about or to tell anyone
this information to avoid illegal profit from stock dealing. This process, known as “tipping,”
is illegal. However, many government public officials have access to insider information and
legally get rich from tipping.
1. If you were “tipped” by an insider, would you buy/sell the stock?
2. What are the implications of using insider information? Is anyone hurt by the
practice? If yes, who is hurt, and how are they hurt?
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
3. Without using insider information, some speculators try to predict which companies
are likely to merge or be acquired and buy stock options. This is a legal way of making
money, but is it ethical?
4. Is it ethical for government officials to use insider information to make money?