Q&A Hero

Q: Which statement best describes intuition? A) It represents the marginal factor in decision-making. B) It represents a minor factor in decision-making integrated with analysis. C) It should be coupled with analysis in decision-making. D) It is better than analysis in decision-making. E) It is management by ignorance.

Q: Discuss some of the reasons why strategy evaluation is becoming increasingly difficult with the passage of time.

Q: The primary benefit sought from restructuring is A) employee involvement. B) cost reduction. C) increased morale. D) increased number of hierarchical levels in the organization. E) increased innovation.

Q: Which level of strategy is most likely not present in small firms? A) Company B) Functional C) Divisional D) Operational E) All of the above are present in small firms.

Q: Who are the world's longest-living people? A) Americans B) Mexicans C) Indians D) Filipinos E) Japanese

Q: Strategy evaluation is necessary because A) internal and external factors are constantly changing. B) the SEC requires strategy evaluation. C) success today is a guarantee of success tomorrow. D) the IRS requires strategy evaluation. E) firms have limited resources.

Q: Explain why strategy evaluation can be a complex and sensitive undertaking.

Q: Which of these involves comparing a firm against the best firms in the industry on a wide variety of performance-related criteria? A) Restructuring B) Process redesign C) Reengineering D) Delayering E) Benchmarking

Q: All of the following are listed among the "softer" factors in the Balanced Scorecard EXCEPT A) customer service B) employee morale C) product quality D) business ethics E) stockholder equity

Q: Hawaii, California, and ________ already have no majority race or ethnic group. A) New York B) New Jersey C) New Hampshire D) New Mexico E) all of the above

Q: ________ is NOT a strategy-implementation activity. A) Taking corrective actions B) Establishing annual objectives C) Devising policies D) Allocating resources E) Motivating employees

Q: 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.

Q: Which term is primarily concerned with shareholder well-being rather than employee well-being? A) Benchmarking B) Reengineering C) Product redesign D) Process management E) Restructuring

Q: What principle is built on the idea that there is no general plan for which way to go and what to do? A) Managing by crisis B) Managing by extrapolation C) Managing by objectives D) Managing by hope E) Managing by subjectives

Q: The world population is expected to grow to an estimated ________ billion in 2054. A) 6 B) 7 C) 8 D) 9 E) 10

Q: Which phase of strategic management is called the action phase? A) Strategy formulation B) Strategy implementation C) Strategy evaluation D) Allocating resources E) Measuring performance

Q: All of the following are reasons to be completely open with the strategy process EXCEPT A) Managers, employees and other stakeholders can readily contribute to the process. B) Investors, creditors and other stakeholders have greater basis for supporting a firm that is open. C) Visibility promotes democracy whereas secrecy promotes autocracy. D) Participation and openness enhances understanding, commitment and communication within the firm. E) Openness limits rival firms from imitating or duplicating the firm's strategies.

Q: Restructuring is also referred to as A) reengineering. B) delayering. C) diversifying. D) upsizing. E) integrating.

Q: What principle is based on the belief that the true measure of a really good strategist is the ability to solve problems? A) Managing by crisis B) Managing by objectives C) Managing by extrapolation D) Managing by exception E) Managing by hope

Q: The United States' population is ________. A) getting younger and less white B) getting younger and more white C) getting older and less white D) getting older and more white E) remaining stable as to age and racial make up

Q: What types of skills are especially critical for successful strategy implementation? A) Interpersonal B) Marketing C) Technical D) Conceptual E) Visionary

Q: 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.

Q: When developing an organizational chart, you should A) recommend dual titles for executives. B) use the title "president" for the top person. C) make sure that the chief financial officer is not at the same level as the chief operating officer. D) have division presidents report to a chief operating officer. E) have the controller or treasurer report directly to the president.

Q: Financial objectives involve all of the following EXCEPT A) growth in revenues B) larger market share C) higher dividends D) greater return on investment E) a rising stock price

Q: It is predicted that the United States will have how many racial or ethnic majorities by the year 2075? A) None B) One C) Two D) Three E) Five

Q: What step in the strategic development process involves mobilizing employees and managers to put strategies into action? A) Strategy formulation B) Strategy evaluation C) Strategy implementation D) Strategic advantage E) Competitive advantage

Q: Discuss the economic outlook for Africa.

Q: Increased education and diversity of the workforce at all levels are reasons why A) the top-down approach is preferred. B) the bottom-up approach is untenable. C) only top executives have the experience and acumen to make strategy decisions. D) middle- and lower-level managers, and even nonmanagers, should be involved in the strategic planning process. E) the horizontal approach is the most pragmatic choice.

Q: What is the most complex form of organizational structure? A) Divisional B) SBU C) Matrix D) Functional E) Geographic

Q: Long-term objectives are needed at which level(s) in an organization? A) Corporate B) Divisional C) Functional D) All of the above E) None of the above

Q: In general, what happens to American goods in overseas markets when there is a strong dollar? A) They are less expensive. B) They are more attractive. C) They are cheaper. D) They are more expensive. E) They are desirable.

Q: An important activity in ________ is taking corrective action. A) strategy evaluation B) strategy implementation C) strategy formulation D) strategy leadership E) all of the above

Q: Compare and contrast the culture in the U.S. with Mexico.

Q: A particularly important twenty-first-century challenge facing all strategists today is A) deciding whether the process should be more an art or a science. B) deciding whether strategies should be visible or hidden from stakeholders. C) deciding whether the process should be more top-down or bottom-up in their firm. D) all of the above E) none of the above

Q: Which organizational structure has the disadvantage of ambiguous roles for senior executives? A) Functional B) Divisional C) Strategic business unit D) Matrix E) Process

Q: Research shows strategic management in small firms is more formal than in large firms.

Q: What effect do trends in the dollar's value have on companies in different industries and in different locations? A) Significant and equal B) Marginal and equal C) Significant and unequal D) Insignificant and unequal E) No significant impact

Q: During what stage of strategic management are a firm's specific internal strengths and weaknesses determined? A) Formulation B) Implementation C) Evaluation D) Feedback E) Goal-setting

Q: Describe some key features of the European work environment.

Q: Proponents of the top-down approach contend that ________ are the only persons in the firm with the collective experience, acumen, and fiduciary responsibility to make key strategy decisions. A) top executives B) divisional managers C) middle-level managers D) lower-level managers E) non-management employees

Q: What is the best divisional structure when a few major customers are of paramount importance and many different services are provided to these customers? A) By geographic area B) By customer C) By product D) By process E) By cost

Q: All sizes and types of organizations can utilize and benefit from strategic-management concepts and techniques.

Q: What happens when interest rates rise? A) Discretionary income increases B) The demand for discretionary goods increases C) Discretionary income is unchanged D) The demand for discretionary goods decreases E) Discretionary income increases and the demand for discretionary goods decreases

Q: ________ is used to refer to strategic formulation, implementation and evaluation, with ________ referring only to strategic formulation. A) Strategic planning; strategic management B) Strategic planning; strategic processing C) Strategic management; strategic planning D) Strategic management; strategic processing E) Strategic implementation; strategic focus

Q: Explain some of the forces leading companies to pursue international operations.

Q: The first time U.S. issuers would report under the international financial reporting standards (IFRS) would be approximately _______. A) 2011 or 2012 B) 2012 or 2013 C) 2013 or 2014 D) 2014 or 2015 E) 2015 or 2016

Q: A divisional structure by geographic area is most appropriate when A) organizations have similar branch facilities located in widely dispersed areas. B) an organization offers only a limited number of products or services. C) consumption patterns for its products and/or services are the same worldwide. D) the company's customers in different geographic locations have similar needs and characteristics. E) the firm serves one geographic area.

Q: Public enterprises generally cannot diversify into unrelated businesses or merge with other firms.

Q: The high unemployment rate in the U.S. is an example of a(n) ________ force affecting business. A) social B) economic C) cultural D) technological E) historical

Q: What can be defined as the art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives? A) Strategy formulation B) Strategy evaluation C) Strategy implementation D) Strategic management E) Strategic leading

Q: Explain the concept of protectionism.

Q: International financial reporting standards (IFRS) comprise approximately ________ pages. A) 1,000 B) 5,000 C) 10,000 D) 25,000 E) 100,000

Q: How would Hershey's current divisional structure most likely be classified? A) By geographic area B) By product C) By service D) By customer E) By process

Q: Strategists in governmental organizations operate with far more strategic autonomy than their counterparts in private firms.

Q: According to I/O theorists, which of the following contributes least to firm's performance? A) Economies of scale B) Barriers to market entry C) Product differentiation D) Internal resources E) Level of competitiveness

Q: Strategic management focuses on integrating management, ________, and information systems to achieve organizational success. A) marketing B) finance/accounting C) production/operations D) research and development E) all of the above

Q: How do the economies of China and the United States compare?

Q: What term is defined as "a systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence regarding assertions about economic actions and events to ascertain the degree of correspondence between these assertions and established criteria, and communicating the results to interested users?" A) Auditing B) Innovation C) R&D D) Strategic Management E) Accounting

Q: A divisional structure by product is most effective when A) special emphasis needs to be placed on specific products. B) an organization offers few products. C) an organization's products or services differ substantially. D) special emphasis needs to be placed on specific services. E) all of the above

Q: The nonprofit sector is America's largest employer.

Q: The I/O approach to competitive advantage advocates that external factors are ________ internal factors in a firm achieving competitive advantage. A) less important than B) equally important as C) more important than D) more common than E) less common than

Q: The goal of strategic management is to A) achieve competitive advantage. B) maintain competitive advantage. C) achieve and maintain competitive advantage. D) eliminate competitive advantage. E) eliminate and abolish competitive advantage.

Q: Discuss at least five potential disadvantages to initiating, continuing, and/or expanding international operations.

Q: What has been shown to permit quick response to change, prevent panic in crisis situations, and make managers more adaptable? A) Auditing B) Implementing a Balanced Scorecard C) Contingency planning D) Taking corrective actions E) Measuring performance

Q: What is NOT one of the basic ways a divisional structure can be organized? A) By geographic area B) By product C) By customer D) By process E) By cost

Q: While outsourcing manufacturing, tech support, and back-office work is quite common, it is still unheard of for companies to outsource product design.

Q: Freund emphasizes that key external factors should be all of these EXCEPT A) important to achieving long-term and annual objectives B) measurable C) relatively few in number D) applicable to all competing firms E) hierarchical in the sense that some will pertain to the overall company while others will be more narrowly focused

Q: Firms can be more proactive with strategic management.

Q: Discuss at least five potential advantages to initiating, continuing, and/or expanding international operations.

Q: Which of the following statements about contingency plans is NOT true? A) Contingency plans should be as simple as possible. B) Only high-priority areas require the insurance of contingency plans. C) Contingency plans should be developed for favorable and unfavorable events. D) Strategists should plan for all possible contingencies. E) Contingency plans minimize the impact of potential threats.

Q: Medium-sized firms tend to use which type of structure? A) Divisional B) Matrix C) SBU D) Functional E) Centralized

Q: Companies are avoiding outsourcing more and more because it is more expensive than traditional methods and it does not allow a firm to concentrate on core competencies.

Q: To perform an external audit, a company first must A) get an approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. B) perform an internal audit. C) gather competitive intelligence and information about external trends. D) hire a consultant to develop a comprehensive strategic plan. E) all of the above

Q: All firms have a strategy, even if it is informal, unstructured, and sporadic.

Q: List some of the diverse and unique risks that face multinational corporations.

Q: What activity is defined as having alternative plans that can be put into effect if certain key events do not occur as expected? A) Corporate agility B) Scenario planning C) Strategy evaluation D) Contingency planning E) Forecasting

Q: Which organizational structure is the most widely used? A) Departmental B) Strategic business unit C) Functional D) Decentralized E) Matrix

Q: First mover advantage refers to the benefits a firm may achieve by entering a new market or developing a new product or service prior to rival firms.

Q: The process of performing an external audit needs to include A) only top level managers, as it is a planning function. B) as many managers and employees as possible. C) primarily front-line supervisors. D) between 15 to 20 managers for it to be valid. E) stockholders and external government agencies.

Q: Superior strategy formulation is well and good, but it cannot overcome an opponent's superiority in numbers and resources.