Q&A Hero

Q: In general, U.S. managers feel the day has been productive if it is spent A) rushing to meetings and conferences. B) resting. C) listening. D) meditating. E) thinking.

Q: According to author Alvin Toffler, what occurs when the nature, types, and speed of changes overpower an individual's or organization's ability and capacity to adapt? A) Corporate insecurity B) Corrective actions C) Future shock D) Corporate agility E) Projected performance

Q: Which of the following is NOT true about objectives? A) They should be communicated throughout the organization. B) They should have an appropriate time dimension. C) They should use terms like "maximize," "minimize," and "as soon as possible." D) They should be measurable. E) They should be consistent.

Q: A differentiation strategy can only be achieved with a large target market.

Q: Linear regression is based on the assumption that the future will be different from the past.

Q: Low-performing firms typically underestimate their competitor's strengths and overestimate their own firm's strengths.

Q: Which of the following is NOT true regarding European workers and workplaces? A) Most European workers are unionized. B) Most European workers enjoy more frequent vacations and holidays than U.S. workers. C) Guaranteed permanent employment is typically a part of employment contracts in Europe. D) Many Europeans respond enthusiastically to pay-for-performance, commission salaries, and objective measurement reward systems. E) Many Europeans find the notion of team spirit difficult to grasp.

Q: What corrective actions might a firm take during strategy evaluation? A) Revising the business mission B) Issuing stock C) Revising objectives D) Selling a division E) All of the above

Q: Considerable time and effort should be devoted to assuring objectives are well conceived because they represent the basis for A) monitoring progress toward long-term objectives. B) establishing divisional priorities. C) allocating resources. D) evaluating managers. E) all of the above

Q: A cost leadership strategy can be especially effective when most buyers use the product in the same ways.

Q: Quantitative forecasts become less accurate as historical relationships become less stable.

Q: Firms with planning systems more closely resembling strategic-management theory generally exhibit superior long-term financial performance relative to their industry.

Q: In Europe it is generally true that the farther ________ on the continent, the more participatory the management style. A) south B) east C) west D) north E) southeast

Q: Most quantitative criteria are geared to ________ objectives rather than ________ objectives. A) top-management; employee B) short-term; annual C) annual; long-term D) environmental; community E) profit; social

Q: Establishing objectives is a A) top-level activity. B) centralized activity. C) decentralized activity. D) centralized-decentralized activity. E) command-and-control activity.

Q: Jiffy Lube International would be a good example of a firm seeking the best-value focus strategy.

Q: Qualitative forecasts are most appropriate when historical data are available and when the relationships among key variables are expected to remain the same in the future.

Q: The best thing strategists can do is develop strategic plans themselves and then present them to operating managers to execute.

Q: In South Korea, activities involve concern for ________, or harmony based on respect of hierarchical relationships, including obedience to authority. A) guanxi B) inhwa C) feng shui D) nemaswashio E) wa

Q: Financial ratios are used to compare a firm's performance over different time periods, to compare the firm's performance to industry averages, and to compare a firm's performance with A) overall business standards. B) projected goals. C) the performance of suppliers. D) non-financial ratios. E) the performance of competitors.

Q: Which of the following is a management issue central to strategy implementation? A) Devising policies B) Revising reward and incentive plans C) Minimizing resistance to change D) Developing an effective human resources function E) All of the above

Q: A low-cost focus strategy offers products or services to a small range of customers at the lowest price available on the market.

Q: Forecasts are educated assumptions about future trends and events.

Q: Followed by commitment, understanding is the most important benefit of strategic management.

Q: ________ is a process of doing business worldwide, so strategic decisions are made based on global profitability of the firm rather than just domestic considerations. A) Multinational corporation B) Protectionism C) Globalization D) Assimilation E) World recession

Q: Also important in evaluating strategies are ________ criteria, like high absenteeism and turnover rates, or low employee satisfaction. A) numerical B) qualitative C) quantitative D) accounting E) financial

Q: Which of these is true about strategy implementation? A) It is positioning forces before the action. B) It focuses on effectiveness. C) It is primarily an operational process. D) It is primarily an intellectual process. E) It requires intuitive skills.

Q: A best-value strategy offers products or services to a wide range of customers at the best price-value available on the market.

Q: The bargaining power of consumers can be the most important force impacting competitive advantage.

Q: Application of the strategic-management process is typically more formal in larger and well-established organizations.

Q: The lowest cost source for precision machinery is A) Japan. B) Sri Lanka. C) Malaysia. D) Europe. E) Mexico.

Q: Which of these is NOT a key financial ratio? A) Market share B) Production quality C) Earnings per share D) Asset growth E) Return on equity

Q: Strategy formulation A) is managing forces during the action. B) requires coordination among a few individuals. C) is primarily an operational process. D) requires special motivation and leadership skills. E) all of the above

Q: For consumers who are price-sensitive, cost leadership emphasizes producing standardized products at a very low per-unit cost.

Q: A forward integration strategy is used by firms to gain control or ownership of suppliers.

Q: Once an effective strategy is designed, modifications are rarely required.

Q: Which U.S. industry is already greatly challenged by foreign competitors? A) Printing B) Retailing C) Retail banking D) Consumer packaged goods E) None of the above

Q: Quantitative criteria commonly used to evaluate strategies are A) ash budgets. B) Balanced Scorecards. C) Capital Asset Pricing Models. D) financial ratios. E) present value analyses.

Q: The United States leads the world in promoting women and minorities into mid- and top-level managerial positions in business.

Q: According to Porter, strategies allow organizations to gain competitive advantage from three different bases: cost leadership, differentiation, and decentralization.

Q: Laser eye surgery would be considered a substitute product for eyeglasses and contact lenses.

Q: Identifying an organization's existing vision, mission, objectives, and strategies is the final step for the strategic management process.

Q: Which of the following U.S. industries is NOT yet greatly challenged by foreign competitors? A) Aircraft manufacturing B) Auto manufacturing C) Heavy equipment manufacturing D) Tire manufacturing E) Furniture manufacturing

Q: Which of the following is a corrective action a company might take to correct unfavorable variances? A) Divesting a division B) Revising objectives C) Raising capital with stock or debt D) Allocating resources differently E) All of the above

Q: The work/family issue is strictly a women's issue.

Q: Liquidation is often appropriate when retrenchment and divestiture have failed.

Q: Significant barriers to entry are not always sufficient to keep some new firms from entering industries with higher-quality products, lower prices, and substantial marketing resources.

Q: According to research, a healthier workforce can more effectively and efficiently implement strategies.

Q: What percent of the world's population lives in the United States? A) 5 B) 10 C) 15 D) 85 E) 95

Q: Which of the following is NOT included in measuring organizational performance? A) Comparing results to competitors' expectations B) Examining progress being made toward meeting stated objectives C) Investigating deviations from plans D) Evaluating individual performance E) Comparing expected results to actual results

Q: ESOPs work well even in firms with fluctuating payrolls and profits.

Q: Divestiture has become a popular strategy for firms to focus on their core business and become more diversified.

Q: Bargaining power of consumers is usually the most powerful of Porter's five competitive forces.

Q: Annual objectives are especially important in strategy formulation.

Q: Joint ventures and partnerships between domestic and foreign firms are A) falling out of favor. B) increasingly difficult to engineer. C) the exception rather than the rule. D) extremely commonplace. E) subject to too many regulations to be feasible.

Q: A revised ________ should indicate how effective a firm's strategies have been in response to key opportunities and threats. A) IFE matrix B) mission C) EFE matrix D) vision E) CPM matrix

Q: Besides reducing worker alienation and stimulating productivity, ESOPs allow firms other benefits, such as substantial tax savings.

Q: Divestiture is the selling of all of a company's assets, in parts, for their tangible worth.

Q: The first step for using Porter's Five-Forces Model is to evaluate the relative strength of each competitive force.

Q: Annual objectives are long-term milestones that organizations must achieve to reach short-term objectives.

Q: The domestic food industry ________ , so Kraft Foods is focusing on foreign acquisitions. A) is falling 5% per year B) is falling 1% per year C) is stagnant D) is growing 3% per year E) is growing 7% per year

Q: Changes in the organization's management, marketing, finance/accounting, production/operations, R&D, and MIS strengths and weaknesses should be the focus of a revised A) mission. B) IFE matrix. C) vision. D) EFE matrix. E) EPM matrix.

Q: JIT significantly increases the costs of implementing strategies.

Q: According to Michael Porter, five competitive forces create vital opportunities and threats to organizations: 1) new entrants, 2) substitute products or services, 3) bargaining power of suppliers, 4) bargaining power of buyers, and 5) rivalry among existing firms.

Q: Objectives should be measurable, challenging, reasonable, consistent, and clear.

Q: Foreign revenue as a percentage of total company revenues ________ in hundreds of U.S. firms, including ExxonMobil, Gillette, and Citicorp. A) is almost 10 percent B) approaches 20 percent C) is 25 percent D) exceeds 50 percent E) is nearly 70 percent

Q: If you discover during the course of strategy evaluation that major changes have occurred in the firm's internal strategic position, you should A) continue on the present strategic course. B) wait until the next quarter to see if things revert. C) take corrective actions. D) follow the original strategic plan. E) none of the above

Q: Production processes typically constitute less than 50 percent of a firm's total assets.

Q: There were only 106 public U.S. companies filing bankruptcy in 2010, less than half the 211 public firms that filed the prior year.

Q: Market commonality is the extent to which the type and amount of a firm's internal resources are comparable to a rival.

Q: In a multidivisional firm, objectives should be established for the overall company but not for each division.

Q: High corporate tax rates ________. A) encourage investment in new factories B) provide strong incentives to avoid and evade taxes C) attract foreign investors D) makes a nation a desirable location for investment E) have been a growing trend since the 1980s

Q: Corrective actions are almost always ________ except when external and internal factors have not significantly changed and the firm is progressing satisfactorily toward achieving stated objectives. A) unnecessary B) needed C) undesirable D) prohibitively expensive E) futile

Q: When attachments to a culture are severed in an organization's attempt to change direction, employees and managers often experience deep feelings of grief.

Q: Intelligence gathering is an unethical business practice.

Q: Strengths and weaknesses are determined relative to competitors.

Q: ________ recently cut its corporate tax rate by five percentage points, leaving ________ with the highest corporate tax rate among all the nations in the world. A) The U.S.; Brazil B) Brazil; Japan C) Japan; Brazil D) Brazil; the U.S. E) Japan; the U.S.

Q: Strategy-evaluation activities should ideally be performed A) just on a periodic basis. B) only at the onset of a problem. C) on a continuous basis. D) solely upon completion of major projects. E) annually only.

Q: Recruitment, promotion, and mentoring are ways to alter an organization's culture.

Q: Running a competitive intelligence program requires lots of people, computers, and other resources.