Q&A Hero

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.

Q: Discuss some things firms can do to diminish the risk of doing business internationally.

Q: ________ organizations require more elaborate and detailed strategy-evaluation systems than ________ ones because it is more difficult to coordinate efforts among different divisions and functional areas. A) Non-profit; for-profit B) For-profit; non-profit C) Large; small D) Small; large E) Foreign; domestic

Q: What type of organizational structure promotes specialization of labor and allows rapid decision making? A) Divisional structure by product B) Functional structure C) Divisional structure by customer D) Strategic business unit E) Matrix structure

Q: A leveraged buyout occurs when a firm's management and other private investors use borrowed funds to buy out the firm's shareholders.

Q: Identifying and evaluating key social, political, economic, technological and competitive trends and events comprise A) developing an effective mission statement. B) conducting an internal audit. C) performing an external audit. D) formulating strategy. E) implementing strategy.

Q: Both military and business strategy are formulated, implemented, and evaluated with an assumption of competition.

Q: President Obama recently said, "________ progress in just two decades is one of the most stunning achievements in human history." A) the Philippines' B) India's C) Taiwan's D) Brazil's E) China's

Q: Which of the following is true regarding the design of a firm's strategy-evaluation system? A) There is a one-size-fits-all system that works for all companies. B) It does not need to take into account the organization's size. C) The management style of a firm has no bearing on the design. D) It should be determined based on the unique characteristics of a company. E) There is one ideal system.

Q: Why do changes in company strategy often require changes in the way an organization is structured? A) Structure dictates how goals and objectives will be established. B) Structure dictates how resources will be allocated. C) Structure should be designed to facilitate the strategic pursuit of a firm. D) All of the above E) None of the above

Q: White knight is a term that refers to a firm that agrees to acquire another firm when the other firm is facing a hostile takeover by some company.

Q: ________ is NOT part of an external audit. A) Analyzing competitors B) Analyzing financial ratios C) Analyzing available technologies D) Studying the political environment E) Analyzing social, cultural, demographic and natural environment forces

Q: The element of surprise provides great competitive advantages in both military and business strategy.

Q: Which of the following nations has the highest corporate tax rate? A) Ireland B) The United States C) Great Britain D) France E) Germany

Q: The strategy-evaluation process should foster A) mutual understanding. B) doubt. C) corporate culture. D) complexity. E) division.

Q: Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves playing down differences between conflicting parties, while accentuating similarities and common interests? A) Avoidance B) Resistance C) Compliance D) Defusion E) Confrontation

Q: The year 2010 saw a 13 percent increase in mergers and acquisitions in the U.S.

Q: The critical success factors in a Competitive Profile Matrix are often the same as those in an EFE Matrix.

Q: In most respects, business strategy is very different than military strategy.

Q: Which group generally softens up executives with praise before they criticize? A) Americans B) Italians C) Germans D) French E) All of the above

Q: Controls need to be ________ rather than ________. A) action-oriented; information-oriented B) cultural; political C) qualitative; quantitative D) measurable; timely E) universal; diverse

Q: Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves ignoring the problem in hopes that the conflict will resolve itself? A) Avoidance B) Resistance C) Compliance D) Defusion E) Confrontation

Q: When an acquisition or merger is not desired by both parties, it can be called a takeover or hostile takeover.

Q: The weights and total weighted scores in both a Competitive Profile Matrix and an EFE Matrix have the same meaning.

Q: Military success is usually the happy result of accidental strategies, but business success is the product of continuous attention to changing conditions and insightful adaptations to those conditions.

Q: Which of the following is NOT true concerning the Japanese concept of Wa? A) Nearly all corporate activities in Japan encourage Wa among managers and employees. B) Discussions potentially disruptive to Wa are generally conducted in very formal settings. C) The potential attractiveness of alternative business decisions are evaluated in terms of their long-term effect on the group's Wa. D) Entertaining is an important business activity in Japan because it strengthens Wa. E) The Wa concept involves group loyalty and consensus.

Q: The strategy-evaluation process should A) dominate decisions. B) be complex. C) be cumbersome. D) foster mutual understanding and trust. E) be restrictive.

Q: Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves exchanging members of conflicting parties so that each can gain an appreciation of the other's point of view? A) Avoidance B) Resistance C) Compliance D) Defusion E) Confrontation

Q: An acquisition occurs when a large organization purchases a smaller one or vice versa.

Q: A Competitive Profile Matrix allows strategists to summarize and evaluate economic, social, cultural, demographic, environmental, political, governmental, legal, technological, and competitive information.

Q: For the strategic planning process to be effective, organizations must continually strengthen the "good ethics is good business" policy.

Q: Which of the following is NOT a typical characteristic of most Japanese managers? A) Reserved B) Quiet C) Distant D) Impulsive E) Introspective

Q: Which of the following is NOT a key attribute that serves as one of the evaluative criteria for Fortune's "America's Most Admired Companies?" A) People management B) Innovativeness C) Financial soundness D) Amount of physical resources E) Use of corporate assets

Q: What are the three categories of approaches for managing and resolving conflict? A) Avoidance, defusion, and confrontation B) Avoidance, apathy, and defusion C) Ignorance, indifference, and apathy D) Defusion, apathy, and avoidance E) Indifference, avoidance, and role-playing

Q: Divestiture would be an appropriate strategy when a need exists to introduce a new technology quickly.

Q: Regardless of the number of key opportunities and threats included in an External Factor Evaluation Matrix, the highest possible total weighted score for an organization is 4.0, and the lowest possible total weighted score is 0.0.

Q: The most effective strategic management is ritualistic, predictable and formal.

Q: How does life in Mexico compare to life in the United States? A) It is faster. B) It is more hectic. C) It is more punctuality-driven. D) It is slower. E) It is more competitive.

Q: The Fortune 50 includes all of the following EXCEPT A) the largest retailers B) the largest transportation companies C) the largest utilities D) the largest banks E) the largest hospitals

Q: Conflict in an organization is A) always bad. B) always good. C) not always bad. D) a sign of bankruptcy. E) completely avoidable.

Q: Joint ventures tend to fail when managers who must collaborate daily in operating the venture are not involved in forming or shaping the venture.

Q: In an EFE Matrix, opportunities often receive higher weights than threats, but threats too can receive high weights if they are especially severe or threatening.

Q: Strategic-management must be a self-reflective learning process that familiarizes managers and employees in the organization with key strategic issues and feasible alternatives for resolving those issues.

Q: Whereas ________ businesses embody individualism, achievement, competition, and informality, ________ businesses stress collectivism, continuity, cooperation, and formality. A) Japanese; Mexican B) Mexican; Japanese C) Mexican; American D) American; Mexican E) Japanese; American

Q: What aims to balance long-term with short-term concerns, financial with nonfinancial concerns, and internal with external concerns? A) Contingency planning B) The Balanced Scorecard approach C) Taking corrective action D) Benchmarking E) Consonance

Q: A disagreement between two or more parties on one or more issues is called a(n) A) integrated solution. B) conflict. C) compromise. D) diffusion. E) avoidance.

Q: Cooperative arrangements and joint ventures between competitors are becoming increasingly popular.

Q: A total weighted score of 1.0 for an EFE Matrix indicates that the firm is responding in an outstanding way to existing opportunities and threats in its industry.

Q: Many organizations mistakenly spend more time and effort on the implementation of a plan, than on the formulation of the plan itself.

Q: Desire for ________ is a part of the social fabric in worker-manager relations in Mexico. A) harmony B) friction C) conflict D) independence E) punctuality

Q: Which of the following is NOT one of the four perspectives from which the Balanced Scorecard allows firms to evaluate strategies? A) Social responsibility B) Financial performance C) Customer knowledge D) Internal business processes E) Learning and growth

Q: _______ is NOT a major factor that commonly prohibits effective resource allocation. A) Underprotection of resources B) Organizational politics C) Having vague strategy targets D) A reluctance to take risks E) A lack of sufficient knowledge

Q: In a turbulent, high-velocity market, a lead-change strategy is best whenever the firm has the resources to pursue this approach.

Q: Wild guesses should never be part of the planning process.

Q: Managers must be very formal in strategic planning because formality induces flexibility and creativity.

Q: U.S. managers in Japan have to be careful about ________, whereby Japanese workers expect supervisors to alert them privately of changes rather than informing them in a meeting. A) feng shui B) nemaswashio C) wa D) guanxi E) inhwa

Q: Corrective action should do all of the following EXCEPT A) capitalize upon internal strengths B) avoid external opportunities C) avoid external threats D) improve internal weaknesses E) strengthen an organization's competitive position

Q: Which term is best defined as a central management activity that allows for strategy execution? A) Avoidance B) Furlough C) Competition D) Resource allocation E) Conflict

Q: A differentiation strategy can be especially attractive when the industry has many different niches and segments, thereby allowing a focuser to pick a competitively attractive niche suited to its own resources.

Q: Organizations never develop their own projections.

Q: Making many intuitive decisions that conflict with the formal plan is one pitfall top managers should avoid in strategic planning.

Q: All of the following are things that many cultures around the world value more than the competitiveness that is so important in the U.S. EXCEPT A) modesty B) team spirit C) individualism D) collectivity E) patience

Q: According to researchers, all of the following encourage individuals to accept change EXCEPT A) when they have a cognitive understanding of the changes B) when they have a sense of control over the situation C) when they have an awareness that necessary actions are going to be taken to implement change D) when they participate in strategy-evaluation activities E) when the nature, types, and speed of changes overpower their ability and capacity to adapt

Q: Policies A) let both employees and managers know what is expected of them. B) provide a basis for management control. C) allow coordination across organizational units. D) reduce the amount of time managers spend making decisions. E) all of the above

Q: A low-cost focus strategy can be especially attractive when the target market niche is small.

Q: While forecasts might not be perfect, they are never wildly inaccurate.

Q: Crises and firefighting in an organization allow managers the training and time for effective strategic planning.

Q: Americans place an exceptionally high priority on ________ whereas many foreigners place more worth on ________. A) time; relationships B) relationships; time C) silence; time D) silence; relationships E) formality; informality

Q: Research suggests that which of the following is one of the best ways to overcome individuals' resistance to change in strategy evaluation? A) Participation B) Command-and-control C) Laissez-faire system D) Rational argument E) Emotional reactions

Q: What term is used to describe specific guidelines, methods, procedures, rules, forms and administrative practices established to support and encourage work toward stated goals? A) Long-term objectives B) Policies C) Annual objectives D) Strategies E) Values

Q: The most effective differentiation bases are those that are hard or expensive for rivals to duplicate.

Q: Without reasonable assumptions, the strategy-formulation process could not proceed effectively.

Q: The poor reward structure is one reason managers do not engage in strategic planning.

Q: Marketing managers in Japan see making a sale ________ the selling process. A) as the beginning of B) as the end of C) as the midpoint of D) as unrelated to E) None of the above

Q: Corrective actions should always A) strengthen an organization's competitive position in its industry. B) streamline asset holdings. C) have no risk. D) involve abandoning existing strategies. E) all of the above

Q: Which phrase would most likely be incorporated into written objective statements? A) Maximize B) Minimize C) 10% increase D) Adequate E) All of the above

Q: Differentiation guarantees competitive advantage.

Q: Assumptions have no place in planning.

Q: According to Greenley, strategic management provides a cooperative, integrated, and enthusiastic approach to tackling problems and opportunities.