Final Exam- randomized quiz

Why is a company's corporate culture important?

Because it influences the organizations actions and approaches to conducting business

Critics of companies that use outsourcing contend that shifting responsibility for performing value chain activities to outside specialists

Can hollow out a company's knowledge base and capabilities leaving it at the mercy of outsider suppliers and short of the resource strengths to be a master of its own destiny

What hurdles are present in calculating industry attractiveness scores?

Deciding whether a business is related or unrelated

The hallmarks of a high-performance corporate culture include

I can't do spirit pride in doing things right no excuses accountability and a pervasive results oriented work climate where people go the extra mile to meet or beat stretch objectives

How is a functional structure or unitary structure organized?

Into functional departments with departmental managers who report to the CEO and small corporate staff

The company wants to plan a state of the art information and operating system to enable better strategy execution. Which of the following is the most likely reason for the companies move?

It wants to gain a competitive edge over arrivals

Why do companies decide to enter a foreign market?

To capture economies of scale in product development manufacturing or marketing

The implementation process is likely to be hampered by missing deadlines misdirected efforts in managerial ineptness if

a capable results oriented management team is not in place

What is the hallmark of an adaptive corporate culture

a clear willingness on the part of organizational members to except change and take on the challenge of a introducing and executing new strategies

The notion of social responsibility as it applies to business is concerned with

a companies duty to operate in an honorable manner and provide good working conditions for employees

Sharing and transferring resources and capabilities across borders may also contribute to the development of brighter or deeper competencies and capabilities there for helping the company achieve

a dominating depth and some competitively valuable area

Companies engaged in a single line of business most commonly utilize an organizational structure that Can be

a functional departmental organizational structure

Transferring core competencies and resource strength from one country market to another is

a good way for companies to develop broader or deeper competencies in competitive capabilities that can become a strong basis for sustainable competitive advantage

Unhealthy company cultures typically have such characteristics as

a politicized internal environment hostility to change in an aversion to looking outside the company for best practices new managerial approaches and innovative ideas

In formulating an action agenda to implement and execute a new or different strategy to place for managers to begin is within

a probing assessment of what the organization must do differently and better to carry up the strategy successfully

Which of the following contribute to the emergence and sustainability of a strong culture

a sincere long-standing company commitment to operating the business according to establish traditions thereby creating an internal environment that supports decision making and strategies based on cultural norms

Studies done on the correlation of between good corporate behavior and goods financial performance have generally found

a small positive correlation

When a corporate parent creates an an independent company and diverse it by distributing to its stockholders new shares in a business it is called

a spin off

Retrenching to a narrower diversification base is

a strategy that allows the diversified firms energies to be concentrated on building strong positions in a smaller number of businesses rather than stretching its resources in managerial attention to thin across many businesses

Which of the following builds a moral case for corporate social responsibility and environmentally sustainable business practices

a strong commitment to socially responsible behavior reduces the risk of reputation damaging incidents

The most important leadership trait in the strategy execution process is

a strong confident sense of what to do and how to do it

Managements most powerful tool for winning employee commitment to a good strategy execution is

a structure of rewards and incentives tied tightly to the achievement of the organization strategic priorities

What does a good strategy execution require

a team effort with all managers having strategy executing responsibility in their areas of authority and making all employees active participants in the strategy execution process

Which of the following is a benefit of closely aligning the corporate culture with the requirements for a proficient strategy execution

a tight strategy culture fit steers company personnel into displaying behaviors in adopting operating practices that promote good strategy execution

What strategies considered more conducive to transferring and leveraging subsidiary skills and capabilities across borders

a transnational strategy

From the standpoint of promoting successful strategy execution it is important that the firms motivation and reward system

accentuate positive rewards but also carry out the up or out policy for performance that does not meet expectations

The strength of integrated social contract theory is that it

accommodates the best parts of ethical universalism and ethical relativism

A company can best accomplish diversification into new industries by

acquiring a company already operating in the target industry creating a new business from scratch or forming a joint venture with one or more companies to enter the target industry

In which of the following steps does updating the companies capabilities to match changing market conditions and customer expectations take place

acquiring developing and strengthening key resources and capabilities

The statistical thinking underlying six sigma is based on which of the following three principles

all work is a process all processes have variability in all processes create data that explains variability

The six Sigma process of define measure analyze improve in control is

an improvement system for existing processes falling below specification and meeting incremental improvements

The contentions that many of the same standards of what ethical and what's an ethical resonate with peoples of most societies regardless of local traditions and cultural norms and to the extent there is common morale agreement about right and wrong actions

and ethical standards can be used to judge the conduct of personal at companies operating in a variety of country markets and cultural circumstances are defining beliefs of which of the following, the school of ethical universalism but not the school of ethical relativism

The strategic role of a company's reward system is to

and list employees commitment to successful strategy execution by rewarding them both monetarily and non-monetarily for their valuable contributions

The basic premise of unrelated diversification is that

any company that can be acquired on good financial terms and that has satisfactory growth and earnings potential represent a good acquisition and a good business opportunity

When a company's culture is out of sync with what is needed for strategic success and good strategy execution

any unhealthy or dysfunctional cultural traits must be changed as fast as possible and management needs to be aggressively striving to ingrain new behaviors and work practices that will enable first rate strategy execution

Which of the following statements about companies in their corporate cultures is incorrect

apples employee centric culture fosters openNess and sharing of company developed technology

Many executives want the work climate at their companies to mirror certain values and ethical standards because they

are committed to improving the company strategy execution performance and reputation

Ethical principles in business

are not materially different from ethical principles in general

Notions of right and wrong fair and unfair moral and immoral ethical and unethical

are present in all societies organizations and individuals

The advantages of manufacturing goods in a particular country and exporting them to foreign markets

are weakened when the countries currency grows stronger relative to the currencies of the countries where the output is being sold

Is strongly implanted culture provide a huge assist in executing strategy because company managers can use the traditions beliefs values common bond or behavioral norms

as levers to mobilize commitment to executing the chosen strategy

The overriding aim and building a management team should be to

assemble a critical mass of talented managers who can function as agents of change work well together as a team and produce organizational results that are dramatically better than what one or two star managers acting individually can achieve

The three tests for judging whether a particular diversification Move can create value for shareholders are the

attractiveness test the cost of entry test and the better off test

Firms generally leverage the expertise of their talent pool and building capabilities by

augmenting or we combining well-established capabilities with existing resources

The essence of socially responsible business behavior is

balancing strategic actions to benefit shareholders against the duty to be a good corporate citizen

Even if the company has a strong culture the culture and work climate may or may not

be compatible with what is needed for affective implementation of the chosen strategy

The managerial approach to implementing and executing a strategy should always

be customized to fit the particulars of a company situation

From a strategy implementing/strategy executing perspective operating budget allocation should

be strategy driven and based on how much organizational unit needs to carry out its piece of the strategic plan efficiently and effectively

The advantages of using a licensing strategy to participate in foreign markets include

being able to leverage the companies technical know how appealing brand or patents without committing the resources or capabilities to foreign markets

The back bone of the process of identifying studying and implementing best practices is

benchmarking

The moral case for why companies should actively promote the betterment of society and act in a manner benefiting all its stakeholders

boils down to is the right thing to do

One high ethical principles are deeply ingrained in the corporate culture of a company culture can function as a powerful mechanism for all of the following except

boosting short termism

The nine cell attractiveness strength matrix provides clear strong logic for considering using

both industry attractiveness and business strength and allocating resources and investment capital to its different businesses

Which of the following is most likely to be morally valid from the perspective of ethical relativism

bribing a government official in an under developed country to obtain a permit to build a hospital

A think global act with global strategic theme put emphasis on

building a global brand-name and aggressively pursuing opportunities to transfer ideas products and capabilities from one country to another

Core competencies in competitive capabilities are usually

bundles of skills and know how that most often grow out of the collaborative efforts of cross functional work groups and departments performing complementary activities at different locations in a firms value chain

Which of the following is the best guideline for deciding what the priorities should be for an allocating resources to the various businesses of a diversified company

business subsidiaries with the brightest profit and growth prospects attractive positions on the nine cell matrix and solid strategic and resource fits generally should had the list for corporate resource support

New strategies often entail budget reallocations because

business units important in the prior strategy but having a lesser role in the new strategy may need downsizing while units and activities that now have a figure in more critical strategic role may need more people new equipment additional facilities and above average increases in their operating budgets

Providing top down guidance can eat the task of implementing strategy

by helping align the actions and behavior of company personnel with the requirements for good strategy execution placing limits on independent action and helping overcome resistance to change

Relative market share is

calculated by dividing a companies percentage share of total industry sales volume by the percentage share held by its largest rival

Using domestic plants as a production base for exporting goods to selecting foreign country markets

can be an excellent initial strategy to test the international waters and learn if a tractive market positions can be established in foreign markets

Six sigma processes

can be used for both improving existing business processes and for developing new processes or products

With A strategy of unrelated diversification and acquisition is deemed to have potential if it

can pass the industry attractiveness test in the cost of entry test and if it has good prospects for profit growth

Company folktales and stories frequently

capture a significant part of a company's culture

A company's ability to Marshal adequate resources in support of new strategic initiatives and steer them to the appropriate organizational units is important to the strategy execution process because

changes in strategy often require resource reallocation and organizational units need the proper funding to carry out their part of the strategic plan effectively and efficiently

Cultural demands to employee unethical means if circumstances become challenging can prompt

clever ways to operate outside establish policies to boost profits

Which of the following topics would least likely be contained in a companies code of ethics

committing to a no layoff policy into adequate funding of employee retirement programs

Which of the following statements concerning the effects of fluctuating exchange rates on companies competing in foreign markets is true

companies that are manufacturing goods in a particular country and are exporting much of what they produce are benefited when the country's currency grows weaker relative to the currencies of the countries that the goods are being exported to

Which of the following companies incurs mainly internal administrative costs due to unethical practices

company D must retain its employees who are using their Twitter accounts to post workplace frustrations

The single most visible factor that distinguishes success culture change efforts from failed attempts is

competent leadership at the top

Which structure combines two or more organizational forms with multiple reporting relationships and is used to foster across the unit collaboration

composite structure

To use location to build competitive advantage a company that operates transnationally or globally must

consider whether to concentrate each activity performs in a few select countries or disperse performance of the activity to many nations and consider in which countries to locate particular activities

Six sigma quality control

consists of a disciplined statistic based system aimed at producing that more than 3.4 defects per million iterations for any business process

Once company managers have decided on a strategy the emphasis turns to

converting the strategy into actions and good results

What is the name of the process for developing new businesses as an outgrowth of a companies established business operations

corporate venturing

I think global act global approach to strategy making is preferable to a think local act local approach when

country by country differences are small enough to be accommodated within the framework of a mostly uniform global strategy

Delegating greater Authority to subordinate managers and employees

creates a more horizontal or flatter organizational structure with a few management layers and usually asked to shorten organizational response times

What supports competitive offenses in one market with resources and profits diverted from operations in another market

cross market subsidization

Company strategies and value creating processes can't be effectively executed without internal information systems that include

customer data employee data supplier partner data operations that are in financial performance data

Ethical principles as they apply to the conduct of personnel and business decisions

deal primarily with the companies duty to comply with legal requirements and conform to ethical norms of society in general

Which of the following is part of strategy supportive resources and capabilities

deciding how much authority to delegate

What is the four most strategic issue that must be addressed by firms when operating in two or more foreign markets

deciding on the degree to various competitive approach to fit the specific market conditions and buyer preferences in each host country

Organizing a companies work effort to promote successful strategy execution involves

deciding which value chain activities to perform in-house in which to outsource making internally perform strategy critical value chain activities the main building blocks and the organization structure

Hey do you centralized organizational structure is predicted on the belief that

decision making authority should be pushed down to the lowest organizational level capable of making timely informed and competent decisions

When a company uses outsourcing to zero in on even better performance of those truly strategy critical activities where is expertise is most needed then it may also be able to

decrease internal bureaucracies flatness organizational structure and shorten the time it takes to respond to changing market conditions

The contention that since there are cross country or cross cultural differences and ethical standards it is appropriate to judge behavior as ethical or unethical in the light of local customs and social mores should take presidents over a single set of ethical standards or what may be applicable in a companies home market

defines what is meant by ethical relativism

Market size and growth rates in different countries can be influenced positively or negatively by:

differing population sizes cultures income levels infrastructure and distribution networks among countries

It becomes particularly urgent for a company to consider diversification when there are

diminishing market opportunities and stagnating sales and its principal business

And expanding into foreign markets a company can strive to gain competitive advantage or offset domestic disadvantages by

dispersing its activities among various countries in a manner that lowers costs or else helps achieve greater product differentiation in transferring competitively valuable competencies and capabilities from its domestic operation to its operations in foreign markets

To create value for shareholders via diversification a company must

diversify into businesses that can perform better under a single corporate umbrella then they could perform operating as independent standalone businesses

One strategic fit-based approach to related diversification would be to

diversify into new industries that present opportunities to transfer specialized expertise technological know-how or other valuable resources and capabilities from one's business value chain to another

Strategies to restructure a diversified company's business lineup involved

divesting low performing businesses that do not fit in acquiring new ones were opportunities are more promising to put a new face on the company's business makeup

A multi divisional structure consists of a

do you centralize structure with a set of operating divisions organized along business product customer groups or geographic lines in a central corporate headquarters to allocate resources provide support functions and monitors divisional activities

Which of the following is a diversified business with one major core business and a collection of small related or unrelated businesses

dominant business enterprise

Which of the following would increase the likelihood of an ethical lapse as well as poor long-term company performance

dramatic cuts in research and development expenditures in years when low earnings are reported by the company

What is it called when a company sells its goods in foreign markets at prices that are below the prices at which it normally sells in its home market or well below its full cost per unit

dumping practices

The triple bottom line refers to what three performance metrics a company should simultaneously succeed in

economical social and environmental

Sometimes a company can short-circuit the task of building an organizational capability in-house by

either acquiring a company that has already developed the capability or else acquiring that desired capability through collaborative effort's with outsiders having the requisite skills know how and expertise

Which of the following is unlikely to be a primary building block and a companies organizational structure

empowered employee departments

To build a total quality culture and achieve full value from the use of TQM or six sigma initiatives managers can take such actions such as

encouraging quality supportive behaviors from the part of employees well empowering employees to make changes to improve quality

Well conceived policies and operating procedures facilitate good strategy execution by

enforcing consistency and her strategy critical activities are performed

Diversification into a new industry can not be considered a success and less it results in

enhanced shareholder value

Total quality management

entails creating a total quality culture that strives for continuously improving the performance of every value chain activity and is driven by a philosophy of managing a set of business practices 100% accuracy in performing tasks involvement and empowerment of employees at all level team-based work design benchmarking and total customer satisfaction

Motivational and incentive compensation practices the email winning the commitment of company personnel to good strategy execution typically

entails decidedly positive rewards for meeting or beating performance targets but also impose sufficiently negative consequences when actual performance fell short of the target

Putting together capable top management team with the right mix of experience skills and abilities

entails filling key managerial slots with smart people who are clear thinkers good at figuring out what needs to be done and who are skilled in making it happen and delivering good results

Successfully leading the effort to instill a spirit of high achievement into a company's culture and put constructive pressures on the organization to achieve good results

entails such actions as treating employees with dignity and respect celebrating individual group and company successes and setting stretch objectives

Which of the following statements about implementing and executing a new strategy is true

executing strategy is a job for a company's home management team not just a few senior managers

Multinational companies that forbid the payment of bribes and kickbacks in their codes of ethical conduct and that are serious about enforcing this prohibition

face a particularly vexing problem of losing business to competitors that have no scrambles an outcome that penalize ethical companies and company personnel

Without a strategic framework managers like the context in which two

fix things that really matter to business unit performance and competitive success

Strategic fit between two or more businesses exists when one or more activities comprising their respective value chains present opportunities

for cross business collaboration to build valuable new resources strength and competitive capabilities

If management is to match a companies organization structure to it strategy in an effective way that it is essential

for strategy critical value chain activities be the main building blocks on the organization chart

If management is to match a companies organization structure to it strategy in an effective way that it is essential

for strategy critical value chain activities to be the main building blocks on the organization chart

The two culture building roles of a company stated values and ethical standards are too

foster a work climate we are company personnel share common and strongly held convictions about how the company's business is to be conducted into provide them with guidance about how to do their jobs steering them toward both doing things right and doing the right things

The primary reasons that companies opt to expand into foreign markets are to:

gain access to new customers achieve lower costs enhance the companies competitiveness capitalize on core competencies and spread business risk across a wider market base

Acquisition of an existing firm rather than via internal development may be the least risky and cost efficient means of overcoming entry barriers such as

gaining access to local distribution networks building supplier networks and establishing working relationships with key government officials

The purpose of managing by walking around or MBWA is to

gather information about what is happening from people at different organizational levels and learn firsthand how well the strategy execution process is proceeding

Companies racing for global market leader ship

generally have to consider establishing competitive positions in the markets of emerging countries

The business case for why companies should act in a socially responsible manner include such reasons as it

generates internal operating benefits as concerns employee recruiting workforce retention employee morale and training costs

The first principle in designing an effective compensation system in the most dependable way to keep people focused on strategy execution and the achievement of performance targets is to

generously reward and recognize people who meet or beat performance targets and two tonight rewards and recognition to those who don't

I think local act local multi domestic strategy and tails

giving local managers considerable strategy making latitude and often producing different product versions for different countries

Good corporate citizen's

go beyond meeting societies expectations for ethical strategies in business behavior by fostering social benefit and balancing the interest of all

The more a manager understands what motivate subordinates in the more here she relies on motivational incentives as a tool for achieving the targeted strategic and financial result the

greater the employees commitment to day by day strategy execution and achievement of performance targets

Superior strategy execution capabilities are

hard to imitate

A reward system that accentuate the positive rewards for good performance

has considerable appeal when cooperation is positively enlisted and rewarded rather than strong-armed by orders and threats implicit or explicit people tend to respond with more enthusiasm dedication creativity and initiative

A localized or multi domestic strategy

has two big drawbacks it hinders transfer of a company's competencies and resources across country boundaries because it's strategies in different host countries can be grounded and bearing competencies and capabilities and it does not promote building a single unified competitive strategy advantage especially one based on low cost

Unrelated businesses

have dissimilar value chains and resource requirements with no competitively important cross business commonalities at the value chain level

The advantages of using an acquisition strategy to pursue opportunities in foreign markets include

having a high level of control and speed as an entry strategy to overcome trade barriers

The advantages of using a franchising strategy to pursue opportunities in foreign markets include

having franchisees bear most of the costs and risks of establishing foreign locations and requiring the franchise or to expand only the resources to recruit train and support and monitor franchisees

A companies value statement and code of ethics

helped to mold the culture and communicate what kind of actions and behaviors are expected of all company personnel

A best practice standard

helps a company move toward performing its value chain activities more effectively and efficiently

The organizing challenge of a decentralized structure that stresses employee empowerment is

how to exercise control over the actions and decisions of empowered employees so that the business is not put at risk while trying to capture the benefits of empowerment

The idea behind benchmarking and best practices is to you

identify companies that are the best performers of an activity and then adapt their practices to fit the companies on specific circumstances and operating requirements

When trying to change the problem culture management should undertake such steps as

identifying facets of the present culture that are supportive a good strategy execution and which ones are not and then specifying what new actions behaviors and work practices are needed in the new culture to improve performance

The place for management to begin in trying to change the problem culture is

identifying facets of the present culture that our obstacles to executing the company strategy and meeting performance targets

Management handling of the strategy implementation/execution process can be considered successful

if and when the company meet or beat performance targets and shows good progress in achieving it strategic vision for the company

The strategic importance of deliberately trying to develop organizational competencies and capabilities is

improved strategy execution in a potential for competitive advantage

It is ideal for key management slots to be filled from outside

in turn around in rapid growth situations

Reward and incentive system serves as a

indirect type of control mechanism that conserves on more costly control mechanisms of supervisory oversight

Although it is relatively easy for rivals to implement process management tools it is much more difficult and Time consuming for them to

instill a deeply ingrained culture of operating excellence

The contention that ethical standards should reflect the collective use of multiple societies in establishing a set of universal ethical principles that are widely recognized as languages and Messi to ethical boundaries on actions and behavior in all situations and in allowing inclusion of a set of prevailing customary actions of local cultures or groups with their traditions and shared values that further prescribed to what represents ethically permissible behavior and what does not constitute the basic principles of

integrated social contract theory

The contention that ethical standards should be governed valve by a limited number of universal ethical principles that are widely recognized as putting legitimate ethical boundaries on actions and behavior in all situations and the circumstances of local cultures traditions and shared values that further prescribe what constitutes ethically permissible behavior and what does not are the basic principles of

integrative social contract theory

Following a public outery the CEO of a nationwide consumer bank was forced to apologize to and route we compensate customers for him the bank and set up false credit card and auto loans accounts over 100000...

internal administrative costs tangible cost and intangible costs

A primary drawback of a global strategy is that it

involves higher coordination costs due to more complex tasks of managing a globally integrated enterprise

Business process reengineering

involves radically redesigning and streamlining the workflow typically enabled by cutting it edge use of online technology and informative systems with the goal of achieving quantum gains in performance of the activity

And umbrella brand

is a generalized resource that can be leveraged and unrelated diversification

A corporate culture founded on ethical business principles and socially approved values

is a positive force underlying a companies long-term financial success and reduces the likelihood of lapses in ethical and socially approved behavior that can damage the company's reputation

Implementing and executing company strategy

is a task for every manager in the whole management team but ultimate responsibility for success or failure falls upon the top senior executives especially the chief executive officer of the company

The process of recruiting and retaining capable employees

is always an essential ingredient of successful strategy execution

A diversified company has a parenting advantage on it

is more able than other companies to boost the combined performance of its individual businesses through its high-level guidance general oversight and other corporate level contributions

Do you think local act local multi domestic type of strategy

is more appealing when the country to country differences in buyer tastes cultural traditions and market conditions are diverse

The degree of cross country variability in paying bribes and kickbacks to Grease business transactions

is one of the thorniest ethical problems that multinational companies face because paying bribes is normal and customary in some countries and ethically or legally forbidden and others

Changing a problem culture

is one of the toughest managerial tasks because of the heavy anchor of ingrain behaviors and ways of doing things

What can happen when international rivals compete against one another in multiple country markets

it could initiate a deterrence affect that encourages mutual restraint in taking aggressive action against one another due to the fear of a retaliatory response that might escalate the battle into a cross-border competitive war

How does a companies an ethical behaviors risk doing direct damage to a company's creditors

it could lead to default on loans due to potential business fallout

The strength of the belief underlying ethical universalism is that

it draws upon the collective use of multiple societies and cultures to put some clear boundaries on what constitutes article business behavior and what constitutes an ethical business behavior no matter what country or culture a company is operating in

A diversified company's business units exhibits good financial resource fit when

it has the resources to adequately support the requirements of its businesses as a group without spreading it self too thin and when it's individual businesses add to a company's overall strength

What is a primary drawback of a localized multi domestic strategy

it hinders the transfer of a company's competencies and resources across country boundaries and hinders the pursuit of a single uniform competitive advantage in all country markets where a company operates

A company strategy needs to be ethical because

it is good business and in the best interest for shareholders

The strength of a think local act local multi domestic strategy is that

it matches a companies competitive approach to prevailing market and competitive conditions in each country market country by country

What is the function of the global reporting initiative

it promotes greater transparency and facilitates benchmarking CSR efforts across firms and industries

A work environment where the culture is in sync with the chosen strategy and is conducive to good strategy execution is considered a valuable managerial ally because

it provides company personnel with clear guidance regarding how we do things around here and produces significant peer pressure from coworkers to conform to culturally acceptable norms

Which of the following is an activity a company engages in to enhance the quality of life for its employees in an attempt to fulfill its corporate social responsibility

it provides work at home opportunities

What is the best way to achieve the efficiency potential of a global strategy

it requires that resources are best practices be shared value chain activities be integrated and capabilities be transferred from one location to another as they are developed

A company's culture is in part defined and identified by

it's internal work climate and personality is shaped by its shared values work practices traditions and ingrained attitudes and behaviors that define how we do things around here

The character of a company's corporate culture is a product of all of the following except

it's lack of mechanisms for aligning constraining and regulating the actions decisions and behaviors of company personnel

For a diversified company to be a strong performer

it's principal business must be in industries with a good outlook for growth and above average profitability

The most important symbolic actions are those the top executives take to

lead by example

When concentrating production in a few locations which of the following can allow a manufacturer to lower unit cost boost quality or master in new technology more quickly

learning curve effects

Outsourcing value chain activities has such strategy executing advantages as

less internal bureaucracy speedier decision making and quicker responses to changing market conditions

When a company social responsibility initiatives become part of the way it operates its business every day these initiatives are

likely to be fully effective in creating a competitive advantage

Companies that compete internationally can perceive competitive advantage in world markets or offset domestic disadvantages by

locating value chain activities in whatever nations prove most advantageous in a manner that uses location to lower cost or achieve greater product differentiation allow for the transfer of competitively valuable competencies and capabilities from one country to another and allow for cross-border coordination

The big problem a franchisor faces is

maintaining quality control due to lack of commitment to consistency and standardization

Once values and ethical standards have been formally adopted a company must

make it unequivocally clear that the company's core values and ethical standards are strictly enforced cultural norms

A company that successfully in methodically apply six Sigma methods to its value chain activities by activity can

make major strides in improving the proficiency with which strategy is executed without sacrificing innovation

An important consideration in designing a strategy supportive reward system is to

make non-monetary rewards and recognition an integral part of the reward system

Triple bottom line reporting is emerging as an important way for companies to you

make the results in their CSR strategies apparent to stakeholders and for stakeholders to hold companies accountable for their impact on society

The guidelines for designing an incentive compensation system that will help drive successful strategy execution include

making the performance pay off a major not minor piece of the total compensation package

What technique can be utilized by leaders to stay informed on how well the strategy execution process is progressing

managing by walking around

Which of the following topics would least likely be contained in a company statement and its core values

mandating full compliance with all laws and regulations

What is the rule for organizing the work effort to support good strategy execution

match the firms organizational structure to its unique strategy

Companies that adopt the principle of ethical relativism in providing ethical guidance to company personnel

may quickly find themselves on a slippery slope with no higher order moral compass if they operate in countries were ethical standards vary considerably from country to country

Changing a problem culture

means illuminating unhealthy or dysfunctional traits as fast as possible

The company stated core values and ethical principles are

meant to foster a work climate were guiding personnel share common and strongly held convictions about how the company's business is to be conducted and provide guidance in displaying the core values in their actions and behavior

And environmental sustainability strategy consists of a companies deliberate actions to

meet the current needs of customers suppliers shareholders employees and other stakeholders in a manner that protects the environment provides for a longevity of natural resources maintains ecological support systems for future generations and guards against ultimate endangerment of the planet

Larger firms with more complex organizational structures are

more decentralized and their decision making them smaller firms

Companies with multinational operations and or newly acquired businesses typically have

multiple cultures or subcultures rather than a single culture

Well conceived state of the art information and operating systems

not only an able better strategy execution to also strengthen organizational capabilities perhaps enough to provide a competitive edge over rivals

A big advantage of related diversification is that

offers ways for a firm to realize 1+1 = 3 benefits because the value chain of the different businesses present competitively valuable cross business relationships

A companies environmental sustainability strategy consists of its deliberate actions to

operate the business in a manner that promotes the longevity of sustainability affects

Economies of scope

or cost reductions that flow from operating in multiple related businesses

According to integrated social contract theory the ethical standards a company should try to uphold

or govern both by a limited number of universal ethical principles and circumstances of local cultures traditions and shared values

The advantages of manufacturing goods in a particular country and exporting them to foreign markets

our weekend when the countries currency grows stronger relative to its currencies of the countries where the output is being sold

When is it difficult or impossible to out strategize rivals beat them with a superior strategy the other main avenue to competitive advantage is to

out execute them or beat them by performing certain value chain activities in superior fashion

Unethical managerial behavior tends to be driven by such factors as

overzealous or obsessive pursuit of personal gain wealth and other self interest a company culture that puts the profitability in good business performance ahead of ethical behavior and heavy pressures on company managers to meet or beat performance targets

The big dilemma and acquisition minded firm faces as whether to

pay a premium price for a successful company or buy a struggling company at a bargain price

Leading the drive for good strategy execution and operating excellence calls upon senior executives to

personally lead the implementation process and drive the pace of progress

The one factor that company executives need not worry about when their company is managing many diverse and related firms is to

pick business units heads having the requisite combination of managerial skills and know how to motivate people

Prescribing policies and operating procedures aids the task of implementing strategy by

placing limits on ineffective independent action and channeling efforts of individuals along a path more conducive to good strategy execution and operating excellence

The difference between political risks and economic risks is that

political risks stem from instability or weakness and national governments while economic risks stand from the stability of a countries monetary system and its economic and regulatory policies

When strategies fail it is often because of

poor execution of the strategy

An acquisition premium is the amount by which the price offered for an existing business exceeds the

pre-acquisition market value of the target company

The better off test for evaluating whether a particular diversification move is likely to generate added value for shareholders involves assessing whether the move well

produce a synergistic outcome such that the companies different businesses perform better together than apart and the whole ends up being greater than the sum of the parts

Sourcing a supply from a small women owned business is an example of corporate social responsibility action two

promote workforce diversity

A weak company culture

promotes greed driven and unethical behavior's

Companies with change resistant cultures are

prone to be preoccupied with avoiding risks and are unlikely to pursue actions to capture emerging opportunities

Management is most powerful tool for mobilizing organizational commitment to competent strategy execution and operating excellence is the

proper use of a reward structure with motivational incentives

A company that promotes carpooling a monkey boys has cut it's printer paper usage in half and has installed solar panels on its roof is an example of a corporate social responsibility action to

protect and sustain the environment

The chief purpose of calculating quantitative industry attractiveness scores for each industry a company has diversified into is to you

provide a basis for drawing analysis based conclusions about the attractiveness of the industries a company has diversified into both individually and as a group in further to provide an indication of which industries offer the best and worst long-term prospects

The approach of a firm using a think global act global version of a trans national strategy and tails

pursuing the same basic competitive strategy theme in all countries where the firm does business but giving local manager some latitude to adjust product attributes to better satisfy local buyers and to adjust production distribution and marketing to be responsive to local market conditions

Management ranking of business units in establishing a priority for resource allocation should

put business units with the brightest profit and growth prospects and solid strategic and resource fit at the top of the investment priority list

Which of the following is one of the first steps to take in launching the Strategy execution process

put together a talented management team with the right mix of experiences skills and abilities to get things done

Business process reengineering is a tool for

radically redesigning and streamlining how an activity workflow is performed by pulling the pieces of strategy critical activities out of different departments and unifying their performance in a single department or cross functional work group

The value of determining the relative competitive strength of each business a company has diversified into is to have a quantitative basis for

reading them from the strongest to weakest and contending for market leadership in their respective industries

Which of the following is an advantage of a decentralized organizational structure

reducing the layers of management and encouraging lower level managers and rank and file employees to exercise initiative and act responsibly

The big difference between business processes reengineering and continuous improvement programs like TQM or six sigma is that

reengineering is a tool for achieving one time quantum improvement whereas TQM and six sigma programs aimed at ongoing incremental improvements

The strategic option for expansion into foreign markets do not include

relying on home country governments to restrict imports via raising tariffs and local content requirements

Once established company cultures can be perpetrated by

relying on word-of-mouth indoctrination in the power of tradition to instill the cultures fundamentals as well as frequent reiteration of core values by senior managers and group members and regular ceremonies honoring members who displayed desired cultural behaviors

Enlisting in please sustained and energetic commitment to good strategy execution and achievement of the strategic priorities in financial objectives is best done by

resource full and effective use of motivational incentives above monetary and nonmonetary

Which of the following statements about a high-performance culture is true

results oriented high-performance cultures are permeated with a spirit of achievement and have a good track record and meeting or beating performance targets

Which of the following is a substantive culture changing action that accompanies managers can undertake to alter a problem culture

revise policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change and replace senior executives who are resisting and obstructing needed organizational and cultural change

To create a strategy supportive system of rewards and incentives a company must

reward people for accomplishing results not just for dutifully performing assigned tasks

Calculating quantitative competitive strength ratings for each of a diversified company's business units involves

selecting a set of competitive strength measures waiting the importance of each measure rating each business on each strength measure multiplying the strength ratings by the assigned...

Calculating quantitative attractiveness ratings for the industries a company has diversified into involves

selecting a set of industry attractiveness measures waiting the importance of each measure rating each industry on each attractiveness measure multiplying the industry ratings by the assigned weight to obtain a waiting rating adding the weighted ratings for each industry to obtain an overall industry attractiveness score and using the overall industry attractiveness scores to interpret the attractiveness of all industries both individually and as a group

Codes of ethics and statements of core values

serve as yardsticks for gauging the appropriateness of particular actions decisions and behaviors

A motivation and incentive system that is aimed at spring stronger employee commitment to good strategy execution

should focus on incorporating more positive than negative motivational elements

Visible actions to reallocate operating funds and move people into different and new organizational units

signal a determined commitment to strategic change and can help catalyze a give credibility to the implementation process

When an organization is referred to as a line and staff structure or a flat structure it is normally considered a

simple structure

Diversification into new industries deserve strong consideration when a

single business company encounters diminishing market opportunities and stagnating sales in its principal business

What is the difference between a con amazing scale and economies of scope

skill refers to cost savings to occur directly from larger sized operations wall scope stems directly from strategic fit along the value chain of related businesses

What is the advantage of acquiring capabilities through merger and acquisition's

speed because developing new capabilities internally can take many years of effort

Building an organization capable of good strategy execution entails

staffing the organization building core competencies and competitive capabilities and structuring the organization and work effort

To obtain maximum benefits from benchmarking best practices reengineering TQM and six sigma programs aimed at facilitating better strategy execution managers need to

start with a clear idea of what specific outcomes really matter such as a six sigma defect rate for superior customer satisfaction and then build a total quality culture that is genuinely committed to achieving these outcomes

There is evidence that six sigma can

stifle innovation and creativity in organizations

With an unrelated diversification strategy the types of companies that make particularly attractive acquisition targets are

struggling companies with good turnaround potential undervalued companies that can be acquired at a bargain price in companies that have great growth prospects but are short on investment capital

What makes the managerial task of executing strategy so challenging and demanding is the

supervisory requirements associated with getting company personnel to do things the right way

A company that sets aside 2% of its pretax profits to build and then fund a cancer recovery facility for teens is an example of corporate social responsibility action to

support philanthropy

Which of the following is something to look for in identifying company's culture

the atmosphere spirit in character the pervades the work climate in the values business principles and ethical standards that management preachers and practices

The two best signs a good strategy execution or weather

the companies meeting or beating its performance targets and whether it is performing value chain activities in a manner that is conducive to companywide operating excellence

The theory of corporate social responsibility concerns

the company's responsibility to balance between strategic actions to benefit shareholders against the duty to be a good corporate citizen

The two biggest drawbacks or disadvantages of unrelated diversification are

the demanding managerial requirements and a limited competitive advantage potential due to lack of cross business strategic fit benefits

Two important negatives of unrelated diversification are

the difficulties of competently managing a set of fundamentally different businesses and having a very limited competitive advantage potential that cross businesses strategic fit provides

The litmus test of a companies code of ethics is

the extent to which it is embraced and crafting strategy and in the day-to-day operations of the business

What defines an insular inwardly focused culture

the firm believes they have all the answers because of their past great market success and thus overconfident

In terms of strategy making what is the difference between a one business company and a diversified company

the first use is a business level strategy while the second uses a set of business strategies in a corporate strategy

A firms organizational structure is comprised of

the formal and informal arrangement of tasks responsibilities lines of authority and reporting relationships by which the firm is administered

When calculating the weighted industry attractiveness scores we find the more intensely competitive and industry is

the lower the attractiveness weighting for that industry

A global strategy allows for

the markets in various countries to be part of the world market and competitive conditions across country markets to be strongly linked

The school of ethical universalism holds that

the most fundamental conceptions of right and wrong are universal and apply to members of all societies all companies and all business people

What makes related diversification and attractive strategy

the opportunity to convert cross business strategic fit into competitive advantage over business rivals who's operations don't offer comparable strategic fit benefits

Senior executives can ensure compliance with the ethical code of conduct by considering whether

the proposed action is fully compliant and in harmony with the code of ethical conduct and whether stakeholders would consider anything ethically objective

A companies operating budget must

the strategy driven in order to ampullae fund the performance of key value chain activities

Short termism is defined as

the tendency for managers to focus on immediate performance objectives at the expense of long longer-term strategic objectives

The essential difference between a think global act global and think global act local approach to strategy making is that

the thing Global act global approach gives local managers more latitude to make minor strategy variations when necessary to better satisfy local buyers and to better match local market conditions

A weighted industry attractiveness assessment is generally analytically superior to an unweighted assessment because

the various measures of attractiveness are not likely to be equally important in determining overall attractiveness

In order to coordinate and control the complex set of activities managers must ensure

the various parts of the organizational structure are aligned with one another and also matched to the requirements of the strategy

The essential requirement for different businesses to be related is that

their value chain exhibits competitively valuable cross business commonalities

Because functional organization structures often result in pieces of strategically relevant activities and capabilities being scattered across many different functional departments companies have found that

there is merit in using business processes reengineering to radically redesign and streamline strategy critical processes and workflow from different departments and unifying their performance into a single department or cross functional work group that has charge over the whole process

In adaptive corporate cultures

there's a spirit of doing what's necessary to ensure long-term organizational success provided that court values and business principles are not compromised and provided top management undertake the changes in a manner that exhibits genuine concern for the legitimate interest of stakeholders

How do good corporate citizen function

they pursue discretionary activities that contribute to the betterment of society especially in areas or government has chosen not to focus it's efforts or has fallen short

A weaker US dollar is an economically favorable exchange rate shift for manufacturing plants based in the United States

this is a true statement

The rationale for making strategy critical value chain activities the primary building blocks in a companies organizational scheme is based on the

this is that if activities crucial to strategic success are to have the resources decision making influence and organizational impact they have to be centerpieces in the organizational scheme

The task of top executives and making corrective adjustments includes

thoroughly analyzing the situation and exercising good business judgment and deciding what actions to take

There is ample room for companies to customize their diversification strategies and be defined as being either narrowly or broadly diversified and when combination related unrelated diversification strategy options are adopted they have particular appeal to

those companies with a mix of valuable competitive assets covering the spectrum from generalized to specialized resources and capabilities

A well designed reward system

ties rewards to performance outcomes directly linked to good strategy execution and the achievement of financial and strategic objectives

Companies that compete on an international basis have a competitive advantage over the purely domestic rivals

to benefit from coordinating activities across different countries domains

Checking the competitive advantage potential of cross business strategic fit in a diversified company involves evaluating the extent to which sister businesses present opportunities

to create a positive image in the industry irrespective of the financial performance of its businesses

The big issue an acquisition minded firm must consider is whether

to pay a premium price for a successful local company or by struggling firm at a discount price

A useful guideline in designing strategy facilitating policies and operating procedures is

to prescribe enough policies to give organizational members clear direction and implementing strategy into place reasonable boundaries on their actions. This then empowers them to act within these boundaries in pursuit of company goals A best practice refers to a, method of performing an activity or business process that consistently deliver superior results compared to other approaches and that at least one company has demonstrated works particularly well in terms of delivering operating excellence

Which of the following rationales for pursuing unrelated diversification is likely to increase shareholder value

to restructure an underperforming business

Well ultimate responsibility for implementing and executing strategy falls upon the shoulders of senior executives

top level managers still have to rely on the active support and cooperation of middle and lower level managers in pushing needed changes in functional areas and operating units

A key approach for a company to grow sales and profits in several country market is too

transfer is valuable competencies and resource strengths among these markets to aid in the development of broader competencies and capabilities

All of the following are examples of leadership actions or managerial practices taken to foster a results oriented high-performance culture except

treating employees as individuals with no regard for the rank or contributions

Merely fine-tuning the execution of a companies existing strategy normally requires

trimming costs and shifting resources to activities that have a higher priority

The leadership challenges the top executive space in making corrective adjustments when things are not going well include

undertaking a thorough analysis of the situation exercising good business judgment and deciding what actions to take and then ensuring good implementation of the correct of actions that are initiated

Total quality management programs

until creating a corporate culture bent on continuously improving the performance of every task in every value chain activity

What actions behaviors and work practices that are conducive to good strategy implementation support the strategy execution effort

using peer pressure to company personnel to perform enhancing worker productivity and buying and focusing the attention of employees and what is most important

Six sigma programs

utilize advanced statistical methods to improve quality by reducing defects and variability in the performance of business processes

The Basic strategy options for local companies in competing against global challengers include

utilizing understanding of local consist customer needs and preferences to create customize products or services developing business models to exploit shortcoming in local infrastructure in using acquisitions and rapid growth to defend against expansion minded multinationals

The process of making corrective adjustments in strategy execution

varies according to the situation

A manufacturer and marketer of prescription pharmaceuticals decided to raise the price of an anti-malaria drug from $15 per does to $750 per does a price increase a 5000%. Following a public Adderly the CEO was forced to resign the company was forced to retract the price hike and the company stock price sharply to declined. Which of the following has the company incurred

visible and intangible class

A multinational automobile manufacturer issues a public statement the company's vehicle emissions test had been falsified to meet environmental compliance standards over recent years using software specifically designed for that purpose following the news the CEO is replaced vehicle sales plumber in the company stock price sharply to clients which of the following has the company incurred

visible and intangible costs

Which of the following statements about a weak company culture is true

weak cultures provide little assistance and executing strategy because there are no traditions values or behavioral norms that management can use as lovers to mobilize commitment to executing the chosen strategy

Which of the following statements about six sigma quality programs is true

well six sigma programs often improve the efficiency of numerous operating processes there is evidence that the approach can stifle innovative activities

Striving to be socially responsible and tails touching such bases as

what if any actions to take to protect or enhance the environment beyond what is legally required

In which of the following situation is implying a think local act local multi domestic strategy highly questionable

when a company desires to transfer competencies and resources across country boundaries in a striving to build a single uniform competitive advantage worldwide

When should a culture be changed as rapidly as it can be managed

when a strong culture is unhealthy or otherwise out of sync with the actions and behaviors needed to execute the strategy successfully

Which of the following is a condition that makes an internal start up strategy appealing over an acquisition

when an internal start up has the necessary scale and resource strengths to compete with rivals

When are capabilities motivated acquisition essential

when industry conditions like technology advances are central to the growth and rivalry is intense

The school of ethical relativism holds that

when there are cross country or cross cultural differences in what is deemed ethical or unethical in business situation it is appropriate for local moral standards to take precedence over what the ethical standards may be elsewhere

When are multiple subcultures most problematic

when they embrace conflicting business philosophies that are inconsistent with superior strategy execution

When is a think local act local approach to strategy making appropriate

when they need for local responsiveness is high due to significant cross country differences in demographic cultural and market conditions and where benefits from standardization is limited

A greenfield venture in a foreign market is one

where the company creates a wholly owned subsidiary every business by setting up all aspects of the operation upon entering the market from the ground up

I believe in ethical relativism leads to the conclusion that

whether the use of underage labor in the payment of bribes and kickbacks should be deemed as Ethical or unethical depends on the moral standards and values in business forms that prevail in particular culture societies countries or circumstances

One of the biggest strategic challenges to competing in the international arena includes

whether to offer a standardized product worldwide or a customize product offering in each different country market

When a company operates in the markets of two or more different countries is formal strategic decision is

whether to very the company's competitive approach to fit specific market conditions and buyer preferences in each house country or to employ essentially the same strategy in all countries

A related diversification strategy involves building the company around businesses

with strategic fit with respect to key value chain activities in competitive assets