Management 1-5

An industrial chemical manufacturer had a company culture and mission statement that emphacized cutting costs and increasing revenue by any legal means. A new executive to the company begins requiring each department to come up with specific goals and objectives to become more socially and environmentally responsible. Each department supplies the new executive with their plans to match her criteria, but after three months, none have been implemented. This is an example of:

A company whose mission and culture are not aligned

When customers perceive the product differentiation as valuable, they will prefer to purchase the business's product over a competitor's products. This is called

A competitive advantage

Anson Dorrance, coach of the UNC women's soccer team, fostered an almost family-like sense of the team while also bringing out his players' aggressiveness. This created ________ that was not easily duplicated by other teams.

A competitive advantages

Wells Fargo is a US national bank. Their very long values statement includes: "We want our customers to trust us as their financial resource—whether it's giving them sound guidance, helping them reach their financial goals, completing transactions accurately and promptly, or providing them with products and services to meet their needs." In 2016 and 2017, investigators found extensive fraud where employees put customers into unwanted accounts or charged unnecessary fees. What was missing at Wells Fargo?

A culture that reflected the organization's stated goals

Happy Socks sells high-quality socks online. Potential customers go through a three-step process online to complete a sale. First, they find Happy Socks, usually through advertising—a Google ad, for example. Customers decide to click on the ad or not. Second, they search for socks they may like and decide to put something in their "cart" or not. Finally, they decide to complete the transaction or not. Happy Socks can invest more in advertising, or in its online store, or in speeding up its checkout process. If Happy Socks wanted to use a decision tree to help them decide where to invest, each of these steps in the customer's journey would be?

A decision node

When you can break a decision down into stages or decision nodes with branches representing possible outcomes, which tool can you use to help you visualize your options?

A decision tree

Melat, Daria, and Lexus initially thought it would be easy to start an ice cream business. They planned to open Watermelon Point Ice Cream with the backing of Watermelon Point Dairy farm, which had a longtime presence in the area. They quit their jobs, bought equipment, and made commitments for deliveries. But customers told them they needed licenses for food preparation and for serving food. This meant months of waiting to get the licenses. A detailed plan would have given them

A guide for their actions before the first customer entered the door

Competitive advantage can be summarized best by which of the following?

A product or service that is perceived as having a higher value relative to competitive offerings

The advantage of ________ plan is that it can be very specific in how it addresses the needs of a particular situation.

A single-use

Guillaume carefully planned his budget for graduate school because he would need to borrow the money. Tuition was $30,000, and he would need living expenses for 16 months in Orlando, Florida. This was

A single-use plan

Archie told Michael, his son-in-law, to get a job, any job. Michael had a bachelor's degree, so he had a good chance. Unemployment was low and there were job openings. What is missing to make this a SMART goal?

A time frame

Joe, a salesperson for Stratasys, is proposing a 3D printer to MacIntyre Engineering Inc., which makes gyroscopes for aeronautical applications including satellites. A 3D printer would speed up the design process by prototyping new designs. He meets with several people. Mike asks about running the machinery. Steve asks about the competition, any legal issues, and supplier interests. Joe suspects Steve is

A top manager

Bharti Airtel is the largest cellular provider in India, with more than 300 million customers as of 2014. It also supplies broadband and telephone services, as well as many other telecommunications services to both domestic and corporate customers. Until a few years ago Airtel did not own its own towers, which was a particular strength of some of its competitors, such as Hutchison Essar. Towers are important if your company wishes to provide wide coverage nationally. In a SWOT analysis, this point would be ________.

A weakness

Amazon has hired a strategic consultant to consider a partnership with Porsche. Amazon would sell Porsche's cars. As part of a VRIO analysis, the consultant would realize that

Amazon is not organized to realize the value of partnering with Porsche because Porsche must sell through local dealers

META is an engineering firm that manufactures electronic gyroscopes for rockets and satellites. META has patents on key features of the design. The device itself is easy to build, so competitors could easily duplicate the device, but for the patent protection. META's sole competitive advantage is

An intagible asset

Think again about the activity of planning a family vacation. Imagine you've just arrived at the airport, and you check the departures schedule only to find that your flight is delayed by 3 hours. You realize this will cause you to miss your connecting flight and eventually arrive at your destination well after midnight, so you decide to call the airline's customer service number to see if they can get you on a different flight. Which management activity are you primarily engaging in?

Analyzing and adapting to the environment

You are looking for a used car, and you're focused on finding one that has under 100k miles and is no older than 2006. In your search, you take little notice of the state of the engine or transmission. A month after buying the 2007 Busaru Scoutbeck with 98k miles, your transmission freezes on the way home from work. Which bias trap did you get yourself into that created this scenario?

Anchoring bias

Although it may seem straightforward, the management process is complex. The management functions include:

Applying and distributing organizational resources effectively

What action can help a group avoid groupthink?

Assign a rotating devil's advocate role at every meeting

The threat of new entrants in Porter's Five Forces analysis is often the most important force affecting an industry. In the food truck industry, for example, it is easy for new firms to enter and compete. The food truck industry would benefit if there were ________, such as required and restricted licenses.

Barriers to entry

An important implication of prospect theory is that the way people subjectively frame an outcome affects their decision. Narrow framing is when people evaluate new gambles in isolation, ignoring other relevant risks. This is an example of

Bounded rationality

Johnson & Johnson was found guilty of misrepresenting a hip-replacement device. Executives knew there was a problem with the device but continued selling it for years. Better attention to Johnson & Johnson's ________ might have saved the company from litigation and penalties.

Code of ethics

You and some friends are on vacation, and you have just found out that a hurricane is approaching the island you are staying on. Your vacation group must decide between staying on the island or leaving immediately. The last flight leaves in one hour. The group needs to stay together, but if the group discusses this, it could take awhile to reach consensus. Which decision style is appropriate?

Command or autocratic style

Financial strength can be a competitive advantage. In the Great Recession, General Motors went bankrupt, but Ford had acquired long-term financing beforehand that carried it through the downturn. This insight is part of

Competitive advantage

Turnover is very expensive for SAS, a software company. It takes a year or two to train a new engineer in the details of their systems. SAS goes to extremes to retain employees. Their turnover rate is 3 percent, well below the industry average of 20 percent. SAS creates ________ through its employees.

Competitive advantages

Financial strength can be a competitive advantage. In the Great Recession, General Motors went bankrupt, but Ford had acquired long-term financing beforehand that carried it through the downturn. This insight is part of

Competitive analysis

Sally and Aamir's company are celebrating a hard-won deal. Sally manages the team who created the product, and believes it was the high quality of the product that cinched the deal. Aamir manages the sales team, and he believes it was the long hours of work put in by his salespeople that sealed the deal. These are examples of

Confirmation bias

Kelly has experience and knows there is only one way to run her business—full steam ahead! Dr. Kelly will struggle with the planning cycle that recommends

Considering alternatives

Mitchell's plan is to get a master's degree and then a Ph.D. in systems engineering. If he finds the academic work too difficult, he may stop after the Master's degree and look for work in the consulting field. This description is Mitchell's

Contigency plan

The Deepwater oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was made much worse because BP Oil did not have plans in place for surprises. Planning for unexpected events is called

Contingency planning

Walmart has exceptional logistics, but in 2014, Walmart was criticized for unusual shortages. Customers complained, saying they could not buy the product if it was not on the shelves. Management failed to

Control the inventory process

As you're walking out the door to head to the airport for your vacation, you go down a checklist in your head (or maybe on paper, if you're really prepared): Did you bring your pajamas? Do you have your toothbrush? Does anyone need to visit the bathroom? These checks represent the management function of

Controlling

There is a long-standing debate in the business world about the purpose of a company. Milton Friedman, a famous economist, argued that the only responsibility of company is to increase profits within the rules. But this leads to excesses like dumping pollutants that damage the community. One way to temper the profit goal is an explicit statement of

Corporate values

Dominion Electric in Virginia has proposed a 600-mile gas pipeline running through the George Washington National Forest. The forest attracts tourists and tourist spending to West Virginia and Virginia. Environmental groups have demonstrated against the proposed pipeline. Regulators are investigating the risks. Politicians have taken positions for and against it. Who else should be included in an industry environment analysis?

Customers, competitors, and suppliers

The five components of industry environment are

Customers, competitors, suppliers, regulations, and advocacy groups

Dean lives in Silver Spring, MD. His 15-year-old car has broken down, and he thinks he needs a new car. He remembers that the first step of the rational decision-making process is "define the problem." What should he consider?

Dean should consider all his transportation options, such as the Metrorail, Uber, or taxis, not just getting a new car

What are distinct advantages of group decision making?

Decisions can be drawn from a larger number of individual perspectives and experiences

Bert landed a good job in the defense consulting industry after graduation. It pays very well, but, after 2 years, he has learned to despise the customer's inability to make decisions. He wants to do something else. Where is he in the planning cycle?

Defining objectives

Kelly is a pediatrician who opened her own office three years ago. She took a goal-setting class and created seven goals for her organization and managers. This first step in her planning cycle is called

Defining objectives

Analytics that try to understand and describe what has taken place are ________. The analyst attempts to explain what the data reveals about the events that have occurred, the relationships between different events and market forces, and why the numbers are what they are.

Descriptive

Companies strive to provide a product or service that is distinct, or ________, in some way from their competitors.

Differentiated

Digit is a personal finance app that connects to users' bank accounts, analyzes their regular spending habits, and automatically deposits money into a savings account for them. Users can just install the app, set it up, and start saving money. Digit's value proposition is "Save money, without thinking about it." What does this statement emphasize in the effort to differentiate Digit from its competitors?

Digit makes it easier to save money than other tools

Planning activities provide an opportunity for input from the departments and people affected. Some organizations establish planning committees that intentionally include people from ________ backgrounds to bring ________ perspectives into the planning process.

Diverse, new

In the summer of 1998, Dr. Rumelt, a professor and consultant, got an opportunity to talk with Steve Jobs about strategy. Rumelt argued that everything we know about the PC business says that Apple cannot really push beyond a small niche position. The network effects are just too strong to upset the PC standard. He then asked for Jobs' strategy. Jobs said, "I am going to wait for the next big thing." Nearly twenty years later, Apple is the most valuable publicly traded company in the world. This story shows that in the context of strategy, the tech market is ________.

Dynamic

Amazon initially stole business from Best Buy. Customers would visit Best Buy to see the products and then look for the lowest prices online, often finding them at Amazon.com. Best Buy gradually found a way to compete. First, they committed to match prices with Amazon. Best Buy's salespeople are knowledgeable and helpful, something Amazon cannot offer. And they learned to showcase and ship, using their stores as warehouses for quick delivery to the local area. Best Buy's strategy mixed "brick-and-mortar" and

E-commerce

Domestic U.S. companies conducting a PESTEL analysis consider national growth, employment, inflation, and interest rates. These are aspects of which macro term?

Economic

Although Microsoft is highly profitable, Microsoft struggled to grow under CEO Steve Ballmer. Satya Nadella succeeded him in 2014. For Microsoft's annual executive retreat in 2015, CEO Nadella included the heads of companies Microsoft had recently acquired, such as Mojang, the maker of the Minecraft video game, and Acompli, an email app. Nadella broke with the tradition that only longtime executives could attend the retreat. Which essential planning activity is Nadella performing here?

Encouraging diverse participation

In 2004, Eric Ries co-founded IMVU, a social network. IMVU members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat, and create and play games. It is instant messaging with visuals. Eric needed to risk his own money to start the firm, and he made decisions about what the product would be. Customers did not care about some features, and the firm quickly moved on, a process called the lean startup approach. Eric's role, as described here, is

Entrepreneur

Amir goes to industry conferences twice a year. The prepared speeches contain few surprises, but the side conversations give him a read on what other firms are doing and perhaps the trade-offs that they see in the industry. Amir is engaged in

Environmental scanning

Freddie Mac needed a new loan system. The current system uses COBOL code written 30 years ago. The system was rigid, meaning it could not be easily adapted to new loan types or new customer demands. The IT department planned to replace it over 3 years at a cost of $600,000. After 3 years, development was bogged down with changes and disputes over how to proceed. The project managers thought completing the project would take another 3 years and $1,000,000. What advice would you give management at this point?

Evaluate whether it makes sense to follow through on the original plan or pursue another sloution

In 2015, Walmart's revenue fell for the first time in its 45-year run as a public company. Shoppers were fed up. They complained about dirty bathrooms, empty shelves, endless checkout lines, and impossible-to-find employees. Only 16 percent of stores were meeting the company's customer service goals. Walmart decided to conduct an experiment. They raised wages, increased training, and provided employees with consistent regular schedules. Early test results showed a strong positive response from customers. By early 2016, the proportion of stores hitting their targeted customer-service ratings had rebounded to 75 percent. Sales were rising again! Walmart executives switched from the norm—cutting costs—to ________.

Evidence-based decision making

Uber has an algorithm for setting prices. It increases prices during periods of high demand in part to attract more drivers to participate. Recently, the company is experimenting with route-based pricing. Some routes will pay more. Uber is using

Evidence-based decision making

E-commerce creates a great deal of data on how consumers interact with a website. L.L.Bean keeps records that show how quickly consumers make decisions, how many alternatives they explore, and whether they stop without completing a purchase. When a manager sees an issue and proposes a solution, the company can easily test the solution. This is an example of

Evidence-based decision-making

Controlling may be the most important management function. The control process is also described as

Feedback loops

A ________ budget does not change or flex when sales or some other activity increases or decreases.

Fixed

Cavanagh Altar Breads makes communion wafers or crackers for Catholic services. Historically, the wafers were made by local nuns or sisters, but automation and mass production lowered costs significantly. The sisters buy the wafers wholesale and resell them to local churches. From the perspective of the bakery industry, Cavanagh's strategy is

Focused and low cost

Computer CORE offers computer education to adults. Volunteers teach the classes. When CORE needed to update the presentations, the executive director created a committee of teachers. Each teacher had taken unique approaches to the presentations. The teachers were slow to agree, but they eventually chose a format and structure for new presentations. What were the advantages of using a committee?

Greater expertise, and group buy-in and support for the choices

What are distinct disadvantages of group decision making?

Groups may suffer from process losses, such as coordination or communication problems

Suresh owns a shoe store, and he likes to give his employees a lot of say in management decisions. He's deciding what styles to carry for the upcoming back-to-school rush, so he calls a meeting with his eight part-time employees to get their ideas. Three of his employees come to the meeting sporting sneakers from a new brand Suresh has never heard of before. They tell him that they heard about the brand on Instagram, and they think it's going to be the next big thing. Several of the other employees get excited about the shoes and ask where they can get them. Suresh's most experienced employee, Delilah, tries to ask about the company making the shoes and its marketing strategy, but she eventually gets swept up in the excitement, too. Suresh orders 1,000 pairs to stock for the back-to-school rush, but he quickly realizes that what people really wanted was the newest sneaker from Nike. The trend his employees pred

Groupthink

DeBeers controls many of the world's most productive diamond mines, selling more than one-third of the world's rough diamond production. When analyzing the fine jewelry industry according to Porter's Five Forces, DeBeers' control over diamond supplies reveals ________within the industry.

High bargaining powers of suppliers

Looking to the past and incorrectly believing you can predict the future based on past knowledge or understanding is the definition of:

Hindsight bias

Sun Tzu was a Chinese military strategist whose classic treatise, The Art of War, continues to influence both military and business strategy. Which of Sun Tzu's sayings explains competitor analysis?

If your know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles

A robust competitive analysis will allow you to focus on those companies that will compete for customers

In your target market

Apple's current vision statement was introduced by CEO Tim Cook, who stated, "We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products." This is part of the ________ role of managers.

Informational

Managers must motivate employees, negotiate salaries, and encourage employees toward innovation and creativity. Sheryl Sandberg, now COO of Facebook, is great at encouraging fellow employees, but this is usually the ________ role of middle management.

Interpersonal

Which statement best captures the meaning of a value proposition?

It explains why the customer would choose the firm's product over alternatives or no product at all

Southwest Airlines is famous for operating at low cost. They achieve low costs because they are very selective in the people they hire and they create a friendly and supportive environment. In return, the employees support the company. Competitors have failed to duplicate this and Southwest has retained

Its competitive advantage

Management by objectives is Peter Drucker's version of goal setting. His concept was to engage the employee's intrinsic motivation. A manager should discuss the corporate goals with his employees and then

Jointly agree on goals, so that the employee commits to the goals

Nokia transitions caused disruptions in its labor force. New skills were needed and old skills were less important. Managers needed to motivate employees to adapt to the changes. Managers needed to be

Leaders

Google's motto is "Don't be evil." When the company neglects this to make more money, consumers are quick to criticize. Management has neglected its function of

Leading

Boeing is planning a new aircraft. Customers want more fuel efficiency without sacrificing any features of the current models. To make improvements, Boeing will need several years to develop new methods and tools. Their plans are

Long term

Macy's online store differs from the in-store experience. The online store offers free delivery on larger purchases, free returns, extensive information about the products, and reviews from other customers. Why might Macy's do business this way?

Many of the strategies needed to succeed in e-commerce are very different from competing in a non-digital environment

Royal Dutch Shell is an oil company with the vision statement "to make a difference through our people, a team of dedicated professionals, who value our customers, deliver on our promises and contribute to sustainable development." Their mission is much clearer about what they do: "To safely market and distribute energy and petrochemical products while offering innovative value-added services." Compared to the mission, the vision is

Meant to inspire

Kim, a manager at a chiropractic office, created 12 goals and objectives for her organization. Each objective is linked to a specific report, and she has reports of those measures from the past three years. However, she has no marketing goal or patient referral projections for the future. This is an example of:

Measuring that past and not planning for future growth

Managers encourage, support, and foster talented employees. The managers who focus in this area are

Middle managers

From the inception of his electric car company, Tesla, Elon Musk has emphasized innovation and quality above all else. Part of the company's strategy is to never discount products, a policy that extends to all levels of the company. Upon hearing that some salespeople were offering promotional discounts in 2016, Musk sent an email to all Tesla employees that stated, "There can never—and I mean never—be a discount on a new car coming out of the factory in pristine condition. This is why I always pay full price when I buy a car and the same applies to my family friends, celebrities, no matter how famous or influential." Why did Musk feel the need to remind the entire company about the policy rather than just disciplining the offending salespeople?

Musk wanted to protect the business's overall strategy, and he recognized that the employees needed to be reminded of the company's luxury/performance vehicle positioning

Meetings to generate ideas favor first speakers. People hoping to look smart and productive will blurt out obvious ideas first. Everyone else then rallies around those ideas both internally and externally. The best thinking is often undeveloped. Professors Nordgren and Thompson favor a write first, talk second approach. Thompson calls this "brainwriting." Another name is

Nominal group technique

Google has unusual work teams. Each team is 3 to 4 people who work independently of other teams, but each team posts weekly to a company blog about what they are doing. Google's management has chosen an unusual

Organiational structure

To maintain peace, you've noted in the vacation plan that each family member will pick a restaurant for one night of the trip. Each person will be able to pick a favorite food or style. Deciding to handle meals this way represents the management function of

Organzing

Mouna has a goal to provide solar flashlights to Mauritania, a country in Africa. Her budget includes raising $10 million from the Gates Foundation. She has no connection with the Gates Foundation and has not contacted them yet. If she proceeds with this budget, she risks

Overstating budget revenue and potential impact

Management can be approached as either

People or a process

People are not motivated when they do not have clear goals and do not know what is expected of them. ________ reduces uncertainty and indicates what everyone is expected to accomplish.

Planning

What does "death by planning" mean?

Planning can delay or prevent action

Management activities are often grouped into four categories. These are

Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling

Management as a process means

Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling resources and people to meet organizational goals

Research shows that when actions are coordinated and focused on specific outcomes, they are much more effective. The primary mechanism for coordinating and focusing staff is

Plans, which can directl everyone's actions toward disired outcomes

Companies need consistency in their HR practices to avoid charges of discrimination. Senior management usually approves broad guidelines for HR activities, like hiring and firing, performance appraisals, promotions, and discipline. These are

Policies

The general environment analysis considers broad societal dimensions influencing the industry or firms within it. The general environment areas include

Political, economic, social, technological environment, and legal

Frederick Corey, the vice provost of undergraduate education at Arizona State University, argues that colleges are driving by looking in the rear-view mirror. They use descriptive statistics on alumni to make policy about future students, so the data is years behind today's event. He advocates for

Predictive analytics

If current trends are projected to continue in the future, decision makers will have access to rich insight. This work of projecting future trends is known as

Predictive analytics

The second step of the strategy process, Strategy Formulation, includes

Prioritizing the tactic most important to achieve the objectives

The second step of the strategy process, Strategy Formulation, includes

Prioritizing the tactics most important to achieve the objectives

The derivatives trading desk at Lehman followed rules about counterparties. "Counterparty" means the firm on the other side of a trade, usually a customer but sometimes another bank. The credit department had to approve the firm before the first trade, and the legal department would write the agreements. These actions are examples of

Procedures

Planning is a

Process of continual adjustment

Kahneman and Tversky used experiments to examine how people actually make decisions about risk. The researchers found a multi-step process with editing and evaluating phases. People showed a strong preference to avoid losses, much more than probability or expected value would suggest. Their name for this process is

Prospect theory

Compare the way a novice and an experienced driver make decisions. The novice needs to rely on controlled processing, requiring focused concentration on a sequence of operations that require mental effort and are easily disrupted by any distractions. In contrast, the well-practiced driver, relying on automatic processes, can carry out the same task efficiently while engaged in other activities (such as chatting with a passenger or tuning in to a radio station). Of course, he or she can always switch to more deliberative processing when necessary, such as conditions of extreme weather, heavy traffic or mechanical failure. The two processes for decision making are ________.

Rational and intuitive

Bob is very analytical in his approach to decisions. He looks at the available data and weighs each factor. His approach takes more time but often finds cost savings or improves quality. His approach is called

Rational decision making

Natalie, a location scout, has been very busy with work and noticed her cell phone is breaking down. She likes her old Pamsung phone but needs to get one that has faster network abilities, is not more than two hundred dollars, has international roaming capabilities, and is water-resistant if possible. She thinks maybe the latest Phonei would work, but then she realizes the most important criteria are water resistance and international roaming. After visiting five stores and spending countless hours online researching the various phones, she evaluates her options and decides to go with the Yons Aperix Z3v. She buys the phone and sets out to find her latest movie location. What decision model did Natalie use to pick her new phone?

Rational decision-making model

Derek Muller of Veritasium offers a bet. He will flip a coin. On heads, you will win $10, and on tails, you will pay him $10. The expected value is $0, so the bet is fair. According to prospect theory, most people will

Reject this bet as too risky

Mintzberg classified management decision roles into four types. These include

Resource allocator, disturbance handler, and negotiator

The cash-strapped Cuban government cut back deliveries of high-octane gasoline in April 2017. Cuba depends on crisis-racked ally Venezuela for about 70 percent of its fuel needs, including oil for refining and re-exports. Better-off Cubans scrambled to locate fuel and to wait in long lines to fill up their cars. A Miami car dealer came to the rescue, offering to sell electric vehicles shipped from the United States. The dealer's strategy is shaped by

Resource scarcity

Meg is picking classes for college. She wants a career where she can help people, and she likes languages. She signs up for Arabic classes. In case this doesn't work out, she also takes economics classes. Economics majors have more success getting jobs after college than language majors. Her decision is

Robust

Experts disagree how quickly self-driving cars will arrive in showrooms or how many customers will want them. Managers at General Motors must choose a path where GM does reasonably well in all scenarios. This is called

Robust decision making

For most of our decisions, we do not try to optimize the decision but simply make a good decision and move on. This is called

Satisficing

Shell, an energy company, creates very long range forecasts about energy. The oil and gas businesses require large upfront investments against long-term paybacks. They want to understand the risks to those paybacks. This is called

Scenario planning

American Spoon is a small company in Petoskey, Michigan that uses fruit from local farmers to handcraft gourmet fruit preserves and condiments in small batches since 1982. The company has expanded slowly and now has six stores in towns along Lake Michigan and a catalogue. It has grown and maintained its customers by continuing to make its products in small batches to ensure freshness and flavor, and to make seasonal and unique product offers possible. In the Strategic Evaluation and Control stage of the strategy process, American Spoon should

Set up routine checks of the freshness of its inventory

Employees that understand how their company operates and competes can make better decisions. Therefore management can create a competitive advantage by

Sharing information with employees

Even when a group's decision process is well-organized, there is no way around the process being

Slower and more expensive than individual decision making

When talking about goals, the acronym SMART stands for

Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound

In 2011, JCPenney, a retail store, replaced its CEO with Ron Johnson, the genius behind both Apple's Genius Bar and attractive retail stores. Johnson eliminated all sales and discounts at JCPenney. According to D Magazine, "Sixteen months later, the company's stock had cascaded nearly 50 percent, 19,000 employees had lost their jobs, and sales had fallen by more than 25 percent—an almost unheard of slide for a major retailer." The next stage in JCPenney's strategy process is

Strategic Evaluation and Control

________ decides how best to attain a company's mission and vision through the coordinated efforts to achieve specific goals and objectives.

Strategic management

In conducting its situation analysis, the New England Patriots, a professional football team, sees that most of its players are individually top competitors and their coach had been a great player. Where does this information belong in a SWOT analysis?

Strengths

Strategic management's first function is deciding how to compete. The second function is to make sure

That the people in the organization support the strategy

Procedures are steps to be followed in established and repeated operations. An investment advisor should write procedures for

The proper method for wiring funds to JP Morgan bank

If group members have a legitimate opportunity to participate in the decision-making process,

They will be far more likely to support the decision

Managers pay careful attention to the external environment of the organization: the economy, proposals for laws that would affect profits, stakeholder demands, and consumer and public relations. The managers most involved in these activities are

Top managers

Google has a flatter organization chart than most large companies. Engineers talk to each other across the organization. But Google still has the basic levels of management, including

Top, middle, and first-level management and team leaders

A company wishes to convince customers that its product or service provides more value to them than a competitor's product or service. That is, it offers a

Value proposition

In the resource view of strategy, VRIO stands for:

Value, rare, inimitable, and organized

Google's motto is "Don't be evil." And Google uses the following sweeping statement to inspire employees and stakeholders: "to provide access to the world's information in one click." This is Google's

Vision

The aircraft industry and the tech world have very different ideas of long-term plans. An aircraft can take 10 to 20 years to plan, build, and commercialize. A new app may take 3 months to hit the market. In the app industry, then, the short term may be

Weeks or a month

The Gilbreths have a large family with 12 children. They need to pick a new car that will serve everyone, including 4 teenagers who are driving age or approaching it. Their criteria include safety, gas mileage, reliability, and seating for 14. They are following the rational decision-making process so that they can have a family discussion without heated words. What is the next step?

Weight the decision criteria

________ look at each budget as if it were brand new and require managers to justify each of the budgeted items. This process ensures that budgets are closely tied to the latest organizational goals.

Zero-based budgets