MGT 489 | Final Exam Study Guide
Multinational corporations face unique and diverse risks, which include all of the following EXCEPT
Answer: Options: social/political disturbances. import/export restrictions. favorable foreign court interpretations of contracts and agreements. tariffs. currency losses through exchange rate fluctuations.
If total fixed costs are $10,000, variable costs per unit are $5, and the price per unit is $15, what is the breakeven quantity?
Answer: 1,000 Options: 5,000 1,000 500 2,000 667
The average level of union membership across the whole of the European Union, weighted by the numbers employed in the different member states, is ________ percent compared to about ________ percent in the United States.
Answer: 23;11 Options: 15; 44 70; 30 11; 23 51; 26 23; 11
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, _________ percent of all firms sampled had no restrictions on boss-subordinate love affairs at work.
Answer: 5 Options: 80 5 24 13 39
________ is a commonly used approach to determine R&D budget allocations.
Answer: All of these Options: Deciding how many successful new products are needed and working backward to estimate the required R&D investment Using a percentage-of-sales method Financing as many project proposals as possible Budgeting for R&D about what competitors spend All of these
Why do changes in company strategy often require changes in the way an organization is structured?
Answer: All of these Options: None of these Structure should be designed to facilitate the strategic pursuit of a firm. Structure dictates how resources will be allocated. Structure dictates how objectives and policies will be established. All of these
A divisional structure by product is most effective when
Answer: All of these Options: an organization offers few products. an organization's products or services differ substantially. special emphasis needs to be placed on specific services. special emphasis needs to be placed on specific products. All of these
The ________ competitive opportunities and threats that face a multinational corporation are almost limitless.
Answer: All of these Options: environmental All of these political cultural social
Modern organizational realities demand that employees demonstrate greater
Answer: All of these Options: flexibility All of these creativity initiative innovation
Communication between domestic headquarters and overseas operations is often made difficult by
Answer: All of these Options: national differences geographic differences cultural differences variations in business practices All of these
Long-term objectives are needed at which level(s) in an organization?
Answer: All of these Options: Functional Divisional Corporate & divisional levels, but not functional level Corporate All of these
Which of the following is NOT a key attribute that serves as one of the evaluative criteria for Fortune's "America's Most Admired Companies"?
Answer: Amount of physical resources Options: Innovativeness Social responsibility Amount of physical resources People management Financial soundness
Which ratio would be considered an activity ratio?
Answer: Average collection period Options: Net profit margin Earnings per share Current ratio Average collection period Debt-to-equity
What are the three categories of approaches for managing and resolving conflict?
Answer: Avoidance, defusion, and confrontation Options: Ignorance, indifference, and apathy Indifference, avoidance, and role-playing Avoidance, defusion, and confrontation Avoidance, apathy, and defusion Defusion, apathy, and avoidance
If suppliers are unreliable or too costly, which of these strategies may be appropriate?
Answer: Backward integration Options: Horizontal integration Backward integration Market penetration Forward integration Concentric diversification
Which of the following is NOT included in measuring organizational performance?
Answer: Comparing results to competitors' expectations Options: Comparing results to competitors' expectations Evaluating individual performance Examining progress being made toward meeting stated objectives Comparing expected results to actual results Investigating deviations from plans
The strategic-management process for multinational firms is ________ for purely domestic firms, but the process is ________ for the purely domestic firms.
Answer: Conceptually the same as; more simple Options: Conceptually the same as; more simple Conceptually the same as; more complex Conceptually different than; more simple Conceptually different than; more complex Conceptually the same; less important
Selling includes all of these marketing activities EXCEPT
Answer: Customer analysis Options: publicity. customer analysis. dealer relations. sales promotion. advertising.
________ can reveal the demographic characteristics of an organization's customers.
Answer: Customer profiling Options: Telemarketing Market development The vision statement Customer profiling Test marketing
After completing an EPS/EBIT analysis, what conclusions would you make if the debt line is above the stock line throughout the range of EBIT on the graph?
Answer: Debt appears to be the best financing alternative. Options: The company should be privately owned. Dividends must be considered before conclusions can be made. A combination of debt and stock is probably the best financial alternative. Debt appears to be the best financing alternative. Stock would be the best financing alternative.
Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves playing down differences between conflicting parties, while accentuating similarities and common interests?
Answer: Defusion Options: Defusion Compliance Resistance Confrontation Avoidance
Which of the following is NOT a way that companies can help create an ethical culture in their organization?
Answer: Discouraging whistle-blowing Options: Creating interactive exercises that pose hypothetical ethical dilemmas Outlining ethical expectations Providing code-of-conduct manuals Giving examples of ethical situations that commonly occur in their business Discouraging whistle-blowing
Medium-sized firms tend to use which type of structure?
Answer: Divisional Options: Divisional SBU Functional Centralized Matrix
Which of the following are NOT mentioned as an example of cultural products?
Answer: Emotions Options: Emotions Rituals Rites Sagas Symbols
The aim of an external audit is to develop an exhaustive list of every possible factor that could influence the business.
Answer: False Options: T/F
While vision and mission statements are part of numerous internal reports, they should never be displayed in a firm's premises.
Answer: False Options: T/F
According to Richard Rumelt, consonance and consistency are mostly based on a firm's external assessment.
Answer: False Options: T/F
Distribution becomes especially important when a firm is striving to implement a product development or diversification.
Answer: False Options: T/F
Horizontal integration is an appropriate strategy when the competitors of an organization are doing poorly.
Answer: False Options: T/F
Proponents of the resource-based view argue that external factors are more important than internal factors for a firm in achieving and sustaining competitive advantage.
Answer: False Options: T/F
While interesting, organizational culture does not significantly affect business decisions.
Answer: False Options: T/F
________ are quantitative criteria commonly used to evaluate strategies.
Answer: Financial ratios Options: Capital Asset Pricing Models Financial ratios Present value strategic analyses Balanced Scorecards Cash budgets
Amazon's start of rapid delivery services in some U.S. cities is an example of which type of strategy?
Answer: Forward integration Options: Backward integration Horizontal integration Related diversification Forward integration Unrelated diversification
What type of organizational structure promotes specialization of labor and allows rapid decision making?
Answer: Functional structure Options: Functional structure Matrix structure Divisional structure by customer Divisional structure by product Strategic business unit
According to author Alvin Toffler, what occurs when the nature, types, and speed of changes overpower an individual's or organization's ability and capacity to adapt?
Answer: Future shock Options: Corporate insecurity Corrective actions Corporate agility Projected performance Future shock
________ is a process of doing business worldwide, so strategic decisions are made based on global profitability of the firm rather than just domestic considerations.
Answer: Globalization Options: Multinational corporation World recession Protectionism Assimilation Globalization
A revised ________ should focus on changes in the organization's management, marketing, finance and accounting, production and operations, research and development (R&D), and management information systems (MIS) strengths and weaknesses.
Answer: IFE Matrix Options: vision EFE Matrix EPM Matrix IFE Matrix mission
________ is a set of standards in fields such as environmental auditing, performance evaluation, and labeling, that is adopted by thousands of firms worldwide to certify to their constituencies that they are conducting business in an environmentally friendly manner.
Answer: ISO 14001 Options: SEC 100 UN 5000 EMS 14000 A sustainability report ISO 14001
Which stage of the strategy-formulation framework includes the IFE Matrix?
Answer: Input stage Options: Input stage Matching stage Output stage Decision stage Analysis stage
According to I/O theorists, which of the following contributes LEAST to firm's performance?
Answer: Internal resources Options: Economies of scale Barriers to market entry Product differentiation Internal resources Level of competitiveness
Why is market segmentation an important variable in the strategy-implementation process?
Answer: It directly affects marketing mix variables. Options: It allows a firm to minimize per-unit profits and per-segment sales. All of these Company strategies do not require increased sales through new markets and products. It allows a firm to operate with no resources. It directly affects marketing mix variables.
Which of the following is a limitation associated with a SWOT Matrix?
Answer: It is a static assessment in time. Options: Other variables besides relative market share position and industry growth rate in sales need to be considered. Many businesses fall right in the middle of the matrix. It is a static assessment in time. The matrix does not reflect whether or not various divisions or their industry are growing over time. Viewing every business as a Star, Cash Cow, Dog, or Question Mark is an oversimplification.
Which of the following is the first step in developing a QSPM?
Answer: Make a list of the firm's key external opportunities and threats and internal strengths and weaknesses in the left column of the QSPM. Options: Determine the Attractiveness Scores. Make a list of the firm's key external opportunities and threats and internal strengths and weaknesses in the left column of the QSPM. Examine the Stage 2 matrices and identify alternative strategies the organization should consider implementing. Assign weights to each key external and internal factor. Compute the Total Attractiveness Scores.
What principle is based on the belief that the true measure of a really good strategist is the ability to solve problems?
Answer: Managing by crisis Options: Managing by exception Managing by crisis Managing by extrapolation Managing by objectives Managing by hope
Gap's opening of its first five stores in China is an example of which type of strategy?
Answer: Market development Options: Market development Horizontal integration Backward integration Product development Forward integration
Which strategy seeks to increase market share for present products or services in present markets through greater marketing efforts?
Answer: Market penetration Options: Market penetration Backward integration Forward integration Product development Market development
Which two variables rank as marketing's most important contributions to strategic management?
Answer: Market segmentation and product positioning Options: Product development and market development Marketing penetration and competition Market segmentation and product positioning Diversification and budgeting Competition and collaboration
Which stage in the strategy-formulation framework focuses on generating feasible alternative strategies?
Answer: Matching Options: Matching Throughput Output Input Decision
Which of the following is the process of influencing people to accomplish specific objectives?
Answer: Motivating Options: Staffing Planning Motivating Organizing Controlling
The ideal length of a vision statement is
Answer: One Sentence Options: One Page Several Paragraphs One Sentence Several Sentences As long as is necessary to convey the message.
Which function of management is concerned with span of control and chain of command?
Answer: Organizing Options: Controlling Motivating Planning Staffing Organizing
In preparing projected statements, to project cost of goods sold in the income statement, which of these methods is recommended?
Answer: Percentage-of-Sales Method Options: Net Worth Method Net Income Method Price-Earnings Ratio method Outstanding Shares Method Percentage-of-Sales Method
Which of the following is NOT a management issue central to strategy implementation?
Answer: Performing an internal audit Options: Revising reward and incentive plans Minimizing resistance to change Devising policies Developing an effective human resources function Performing an internal audit
What term is used to describe specific guidelines, methods, procedures, rules, forms and administrative practices established to support and encourage work toward stated goals?
Answer: Policies Options: Strategies Values Long-term objectives Annual objectives Policies
When an industry relies heavily on government contracts, which forecasts can be the most important part of an external audit?
Answer: Political Options: Economic Political Technological Competitive Multinational
Which method of determining a firm's net worth divides the market price of the firm's stock by the annual earnings per share, and multiplies this number by the firm's average net income for the past five years?
Answer: Price-Earnings Ratio Method Options: Debt/Equity Method Long-term Asset Method Current Ratio Method Price-Earnings Ratio Method Outstanding Shares Method
Which of the following variables is NOT directly affected by market segmentation?
Answer: Process Options: Product Price Process Promotion Place
Which strategy generally entails large research and development expenditures?
Answer: Product development Options: Divestiture Product development Forward integration Retrenchment Market penetration
Which of the following is NOT a reason for the increasing difficulty of evaluating strategies?
Answer: Product life cycles are longer. Options: Product development cycles are shorter. Product life cycles are longer. Domestic and world economies are less stable. Technological advancement is more rapid. Change is occurring more frequently.
________ management deals with inputs, transformations, and outputs that vary across industries and markets.
Answer: Production and operations Options: Financial Information systems Research and development Marketing Production and operations
What category of ratios includes return on total assets and return on stockholders' equity?
Answer: Profitability Options: Growth Activity Leverage Profitability Liquidity
What action involves reconfiguring or redesigning work, jobs, and processes for the purpose of improving cost, quality, service, and speed?
Answer: Reegineering Options: Reengineering Downsizing Delayering Restructuring Recruiting
Which strategy should an organization use when its products are currently in the declining stage of the product's life cycle?
Answer: Related diversification Options: Unrelated diversification Related diversification Divestiture Backward integration Retrenchment
Who should perform an internal audit?
Answer: Representative managers and employees from throughout the firm Options: The organization's accounting department A small team of top-level managers A private auditing firm The chief executive officer Representative managers and employees from throughout the firm
Which term is primarily concerned with shareholder well-being rather than employee well-being?
Answer: Restructuring Options: Restructuring Process management Benchmarking Reengineering Product redesign
According to Porter, what is usually the most powerful of the five competitive forces?
Answer: Rivalry among competing firms Options: Potential development of substitute products Bargaining power of suppliers Bargaining power of consumers Rivalry among competing firms Potential entry of new competitors
All of the following are mentioned as places where vision and mission statements can often be found EXCEPT
Answer: SEC reports. Options: SEC Reports Annual Reports Customer Service Agreements Supplier Agreements Business Plans
Which is NOT a required step in perceptual mapping?
Answer: Serve two segments with the same strategy. Options: Serve two segments with the same strategy. Develop a marketing plan to position the company's products and services appropriately. Select key criteria that effectively differentiate products or services in the industry. Identify areas in the positioning map where the company's products or services could be most competitive in the given target market. Plot major competitors' products or services in the resultant matrix.
Which of the following is NOT one of the four perspectives from which the Balanced Scorecard allows firms to evaluate strategies?
Answer: Social responsibility Options: Social responsibility Financial performance Internal business processes Learning and growth Customer knowledge
Which organizational structure has the disadvantage of ambiguous roles for some senior executives?
Answer: Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Options: Divisional Process Functional Matrix Strategic Business Unit (SBU)
Which state generates the greatest number of megawatts of wind power?
Answer: Texas Options: Iowa Texas California Minnesota New Jersey
What aims to balance long-term with short-term concerns, financial with nonfinancial concerns, and internal with external concerns?
Answer: The Balanced Scorecard approach Options: Contingency planning Benchmarking The Balanced Scorecard approach Taking corrective action Consonance
The current attitude of U.S. firms toward research and development is best described by which of the following?
Answer: The veil of secrecy is being lifted, resulting in more collaboration. Options: Firms are less interested in working with universities. Firms are more cutthroat than ever and less cooperative with each other. Firms are feeling less competitive pressure. Firms are less involved with research consortia than ever. The veil of secrecy is being lifted, resulting in more collaboration.
Which statement is TRUE?
Answer: The vision statement should be established before the mission statement. Options: Companies must choose between having a mission statement or a vision statement. A company can't have a mission statement unless it has a vision statement. A vision statement cannot be established until a company has developed its mission statement. The vision statement should be established before the mission statement. Companies are required by law to have both mission and vision statements.
In general, what happens to American goods in overseas markets when there is a strong dollar?
Answer: They are more expensive. Options: They are less expensive. They are more attractive. They are cheaper. They are more expensive. They are desirable.
Which one of the following statements regarding stock issuances is true?
Answer: They are not always better than debt for raising capital. Options: None of these statements regarding stock issuance is true Dilution of ownership is not a special concern. They are not always better than debt for raising capital. Their effect on stock price is not a concern. They do not require a company to share future earnings with new shareholders.
Which of the following is NOT true about objectives?
Answer: They should use terms like "maximize," "minimize," and "as soon as possible." Options: They should have an appropriate time dimension. They should be measurable. They should be communicated throughout the organization. They should use terms like "maximize," "minimize," and "as soon as possible." They should be consistent.
Which of the following is NOT given as an example of a decision that may require finance/accounting policies?
Answer: To be a price leader or a price follower Options: To extend the time of accounts receivable To be a price leader or a price follower To establish a certain percentage discount on accounts within a specified period of time To lease or buy fixed assets To use LIFO, FIFO, or a market-value accounting approach
Industry analysis is also referred to as external strategic management audit.
Answer: True Options: T/F
Alternative strategies don't come out of the blue; they are derived from the firm's vision, mission, objectives, external audit, and internal audit.
Answer: True Options: T/F
Geographic distance and cultural differences are two of the factors that can make communication between domestic headquarters and overseas operations difficult.
Answer: True Options: T/F
Good intuitive judgment is always needed to determine appropriate weights and ratings in the input stage matrices.
Answer: True Options: T/F
Intuitive judgments are almost always involved in deriving quantitative criteria.
Answer: True Options: T/F
The cash account is used as the plug figure in projected balance sheets.
Answer: True Options: T/F
When developing an organizational chart, it is not wise to recommend that any executive have a dual title.
Answer: True Options: T/F
Which is NOT a major factor that commonly prohibits effective resource allocation?
Answer: Underprotection of resources Options: Organizational politics A lack of sufficient knowledge A reluctance to take risks Having vague strategy targets Underprotection of resources
A pasta manufacturer's purchase of some pet food brands is an example of
Answer: Unrelated diversification Options: Unrelated diversification Retrenchment Divestiture Backward integration Forward integration
Which is NOT a step in performing a projected financial analysis?
Answer: Use the revenue account as the plug figure Options: Forecast sales as accurately as possible Use the percentage-of-sales method to project CGS Prepare the projected income statement before preparing the balance sheet Use the revenue account as the plug figure Subtract from the net income any dividends to be paid for that year and bring this retained earnings amount over to the balance sheet
Life-directing attitudes that serve as behavioral guidelines are called
Answer: Values Options: Rites. Beliefs. Values. Legends. Metaphors.
Which type of statement should be created first and foremost?
Answer: Vision Options: Creed Vision Objectives Mission Competitive Advangtage
Which strategies aim at improving internal weaknesses by taking advantage of external opportunities?
Answer: WO Options: SW WT SO WO
Which basic question should the vision statement answer?
Answer: What do we want to become? Options: What is our business? How can we improve ourselves? What do we want to become? Who are our stakeholders? How can we increase profitability?
Which of these basic questions should a vision statement answer?
Answer: What do we want to become? Options: What is our business? What is our core strength? What are our challenges? What do we want to become? Who are our competitors?
In the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, which element represents the industry growth rate in sales, measured in percentage terms?
Answer: Y-axis Options: Y-axis First quadrant Second quadrant Third quadrant X-axis
In the context of a balance sheet, goodwill represents
Answer: a premium paid over the book value for an acquisition. Options: the value associated with benefits from environmental programs. the excess of current assets over liabilities. the excess of assets over liabilities. the value attached to a firm's reputation. a premium paid over the book value for an acquisition.
Controls need to be ________ rather than ________.
Answer: action-oriented; information-oriented Options: universal; diverse cultural; political measurable; timely action-oriented; information-oriented qualitative; quantitative
External audits attempt to identify key variables that offer ________ responses.
Answer: actionable Options: actionable authoritative profitable strategic terminal
Staffing involves all of these activities EXCEPT
Answer: analyzing customers Options: training and developing employees. analyzing customers. recruiting employees. managing union relations. rewarding employees.
Most quantitative criteria are geared to ________ objectives rather than to ________ objectives.
Answer: annual; long-term Options: annual; long-term long-term; short-term short-term; annual environmental; community top-management; employee
The process of performing an external audit should involve
Answer: as many managers and employees as possible. Options: key representatives from each stakeholder group. as many stakeholders as possible. only strategists. primarily strategists. as many managers and employees as possible.
A disagreement between two or more parties on one or more issues is called a(n)
Answer: conflict. Options: defusion. integrated solutions. avoidance. compromise. conflict.
Mass communication and high technology have ________ in diverse cultures worldwide.
Answer: created similar patterns of consumption Options: created similar patterns of consumption ignored patterns of consumption rendered patterns of consumption identical had little to no effect on patterns of consumption resulted in highly individualized patterns of consumption
In low-earning periods, too much ________ in the capital structure of an organization can endanger stockholders' return and jeopardize company survival.
Answer: debt Options: liquidity cash tax liability equity debt
Just-in-time describes
Answer: delivering materials just as they are needed. Options: a scheduling method for meetings. implementing strategies just before bankruptcy. a process for improving quality. delivering materials just as they are needed. a personnel planning method.
Bad ethics can __________ strategic plans.
Answer: derail even the best Options: never affect derail even the best derail only ill-conceived derail all but the best derail only poorly-intentioned
All of these are Richard Rumelt's criteria to evaluate a strategy EXCEPT
Answer: distinctiveness. Options: consonance distinctiveness feasibility consistency advantage
The initial step to implementing value chain analysis is
Answer: dividing a firm's operations into specific activities or business processes. Options: dividing a firm's operations into specific activities or business processes. establishing costs in terms of time. converting the cost data into information by looking for competitive cost strengths and weaknesses. attaching a cost to each discrete activity. establishing costs in terms of money.
Organizational resources include all of the following EXCEPT
Answer: employee training. Options: planning processes. employee training. copyrights. information systems. firm structure.
In Rumelt's work, the final broad test of strategy is its
Answer: feasibility Options: distinctiveness feasibility consistency advantage consonance
The first step in performing projected financial analysis is to
Answer: forecast sales as accurately as possible. Options: estimate increases in debt. take an inventory of goods. forecast sales as accurately as possible. calculate the projected net income. prepare the projected balance sheet.
All of the following are potential advantages to initiating, continuing, and/or expanding international operations EXCEPT
Answer: foreign operations could be seized by nationalistic factions. Options: foreign operations may result in reduced tariffs, lower taxes, and favorable political treatment. firms can gain new customers for their products. foreign operations can absorb excess capacity, reduce unit costs, and spread economic risks over a wider number of markets. foreign operations can allow firms to establish low-cost production facilities in locations close to raw materials and/or cheap labor. foreign operations could be seized by nationalistic factions.
The strategy-evaluation process should
Answer: foster mutual understanding and trust. Options: be complex. be cumbersome. be highly restrictive. foster mutual understanding and trust. dominate decisions.
To perform an external audit, a company first must
Answer: gather competitive intelligence and information about external trends. Options: get an approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. perform an internal audit. gather competitive intelligence and information about external trends. hire a consultant to develop a comprehensive strategic plan. All of these
An organization's present strategies, objectives, vision, and mission, coupled with the external and internal audit information, provide a basis for
Answer: generating and evaluating feasible alternative strategies. Options: generating and evaluating feasible alternative strategies. evaluating feasible alternative strategies, but not generating those strategies. generating feasible alternative strategies, but not evaluating those strategies. evaluating structural strategies, but not generating those strategies. generating structural strategies, but not evaluating those strategies.
When developing an organizational chart, you should
Answer: have division presidents report to a chief operating officer (COO). Options: use the title "president" for the top executive of the firm. have employees report to more than one person in the chain of command. make sure that the chief financial officer is not at the same level as the chief operating officer (COO). recommend dual titles for executives. have division presidents report to a chief operating officer (COO).
All of the following are true EXCEPT
Answer: in 2015 the number of LinkedIn users was closer to the number of Facebook users than to the number of Twitter users. Options: marketing has evolved to be more about building a two-way relationship with consumers. the online community of customers is much quicker, cheaper, and effective to reach than traditional focus groups and surveys. successful strategy implementation requires a firm to know what people are saying about it and its products. in 2015 the number of LinkedIn users was closer to the number of Facebook users than to the number of Twitter users. company websites should enable customers to interact with the firm on a variety of social media networks.
If success for one organizational department means failure for another department, then strategies may be
Answer: inconsistent Options: feasible synergistic inconsistent advantageous trendy
All of the following are reasons that workplace romance can be detrimental to workplace morale and productivity EXCEPT
Answer: increased quality and quantity of work can occur Options: whispering secrets can lead to tensions and hostilities among coworkers personal arguments can lead to work arguments favoritism complaints can arise sexual harassment charges may ensue, either by the involved female or a third party increased quality and quantity of work can occur
Projected financial analysis is an important strategy-implementation technique because
Answer: it allows an organization to examine the expected results of strategies being implemented. Options: it is an exact measurement of financial costs in the future. it allows an organization to examine the expected results of strategies being implemented. None of these it is an exact measurement of future company profits. insurance needs can be computed.
It has become _________, since uniform standards defining environmentally responsible company actions are rapidly being incorporated into our legal landscape.
Answer: more and more difficult for firms to make "green" claims when they actions are not substantive, comprehensive, or even true Options: customary for firms to use terms like "organic", "green", or "earth-friendly" when their products don't warrant it impossible for firms to omit "green" terminology from their labels more and more difficult for firms to make "green" claims when they actions are not substantive, comprehensive, or even true more common for consumers to be cynical about corporate environmental claims increasingly easy for firms to get away with placing "green" terminology on their products without any oversight
Environmental advocacy groups now have ________ Americans as members.
Answer: over 20 million Options: approximately 100,000 almost a billion just under a million close to 5 million over 20 million
Multidimensional scaling is used in
Answer: perceptual mapping. Options: determining the size of a new department. perceptual mapping. market segmentation. determining the size of a new building. evaluating the amount of high-tech equipment a firm needs.
"All of our locations will be open at least two evenings per week until 8:30 p.m." is an example of a(n)
Answer: policy Options: goal policy procedure administration objective
All of the following are political, governmental, and legal variables that can represent key opportunities or threats to organizations EXCEPT
Answer: population changes by race, age, sex, and level of affluence. Options: tariffs. environmental regulations. level of defense expenditures. legislation on equal employment. population changes by race, age, sex, and level of affluence.
All of the following business actions are considered to be unethical EXCEPT
Answer: preventing environmental harm Options: preventing environmental harm overpricing insider trading dumping banned or flawed products in foreign markets sexual harassment
The Robinson-Patman Act affects a company's
Answer: pricing. Options: marketing research. distribution. pricing. product/service planning. customer analysis.
A change strategy that attempts to convince people that the change is to their personal advantage is
Answer: rational Options: compromise defusion rational force educative
Which is NOT a characteristic of policies?
Answer: represent the basis for allocating resources Options: reduce the amount of time managers spend making decisions allow coordination across organizational units let both employees and managers know what is expected of them provide a basis for management control represent the basis for allocating resources
R&D employees and managers perform all of the following tasks EXCEPT
Answer: researching resource availability. Options: transferring complex technology. adapting processes to local markets. researching resource availability. altering products to particular tastes and specifications. adjusting processes to local raw materials.
Business ethics, ___________, and sustainability issues are interrelated and impact all areas of the comprehensive strategic-management model.
Answer: social responsibility Options: None of these Social responsibility Social networking Cultural indifference Fiscal irresponsibility
The match an organization makes between its internal resources and skills and the opportunities and risks created by its external factors can be defined as
Answer: strategy Options: Concept formulation Input Strategy SWOT Weakness
Collecting and evaluating information on competitors is essential for successful
Answer: strategy formulation. Options: Internal Analysis Strategy Evaluation Strategy Formulation Strategy Implementation Strategy Correction
If you discover during the course of strategy evaluation that major changes have occurred in the firm's internal strategic position, you should
Answer: take corrective actions. Options: wait until the next quarter to see if things revert. follow the original strategic plan. None of these continue on the present strategic course. take corrective actions.
The historical trend of people moving from ________ has dramatically slowed.
Answer: the Northeast to the Sunbelt Options: the Northeast to the Sunbelt the West to the Midwest the Northeast to the Midwest the Sunbelt to the West the West to the Northeast
All of the following are reasons strategy evaluation is more difficult today EXCEPT
Answer: the increasing time span for which planning can be done with any degree of certainty. Options: a dramatic increase in the environment's complexity. the increase in the number of both domestic and world events affecting organizations. the increasing time span for which planning can be done with any degree of certainty. the rapid rate of obsolescence of even the best plans. the increasing number of variables.
All of the following are strategic marketing issues or decisions EXCEPT
Answer: to use operating leverage. Options: to use heavy, light, or no TV advertising versus online advertising. to use exclusive dealerships or multiple channels of distribution. to be a price leader or a price follower. to offer a complete or limited warranty. to use operating leverage.
Rumelt's criteria of consonance refers to the need for strategists to examine
Answer: trends Options: the costs associated with particular strategies trends impractical objectives competitive advantages inconsistent goals
Strengths of competitors in foreign lands are often ________, and weaknesses are often ________.
Answer: underestimated; overestimated Options: overestimated; overestimated underestimated; underestimated None of these overestimated; underestimated underestimated; overestimated
Distribution includes
Answer: warehousing. Options: customer analysis. warehousing. test marketing. pricing. advertising.
Backward integration is effective in all of these cases EXCEPT
Answer: when the advantages of stable prices are not particularly important. Options: when an organization needs to acquire a needed resource quickly. when present suppliers have high profit margins. when an organization competes in an industry that is growing rapidly. when an organization has both capital and human resources to manage the new business of supplying its own raw materials. when the advantages of stable prices are not particularly important.