MGMT 309 - Exam #2

what is the defender strategy?

A strategy in which the firm focuses on lowering costs and improving the performance of current products

what is the analyzer strategy?

A strategy in which the firm tries to maintain its current businesses and to be somewhat innovative in new businesses

what is computer assisted manufacturing?

A technology that relies on computers to design or manufacture products

what is service technology?

Service technology is also changing rapidly. And it, too, is moving more and more toward automated systems and procedures

what are the types of goals?

-strategic goals -tactical goals -operational goals

what are the type of plans?

-strategic plans -tactical plans -operational plans

what is the planning time frame of a short range plan?

1 year or less

what is crisis management?

The set of procedures the organization uses in the event of a disaster or other unexpected calamity

what is technology?

The set of processes and systems used by organizations to convert resources into products or services

what is a business level strategy?

set of strategic alternatives from which an organization chooses as it conducts business in a particular industry or market

what are the levels of management?

-line -middle -top

what is a scope?

Range of markets were we can compete

what is organizational layout?

-need efficiency and to be effective -based on corporate, business, and marketing strategies

what are the types of decision?

-programmed decisions -nonprogrammed decision

what are the levels of the miles and snow typology?

-prospector -defender -analyzer -reactor

what is a strategic plan?

-A general plan outlining decisions of resource allocation, priorities, and action steps necessary to reach strategic goals -More precisely, its a general plan outlining decisions of resource allocation, priorities, and action steps necessary to reach strategic goals.

what are operational goals?

-A goal set by and for lower-level managers of the organization -Their concern is with shorter-term issues associated with the tactical goals

what are tactical goals?

-A goal set by and for middle managers of the organization -Their focus is on how to operationalize actions necessary to achieve the strategic goals.

what are strategic goals?

-A goal set by and for top management of the organization -They focus on broad, general issues. For example, Starbucks has a strategic goal of increasing the profitability of each of its coffee stores by 20 percent over the next five years

what is a tactical plan?

-A plan aimed at achieving tactical goals, developed to implement parts of a strategic plan -this plan typically involve upper and middle management and, compared with strategic plans, have a somewhat shorter time horizon and a more specific and concrete focus.

what is a operational plan?

-A plan that focuses on carrying out tactical plans to achieve operational goals -Developed by middle - and lower-level managers, these plans have a short-term focus and are relatively narrow in scope

what are service operations?

-An organization that transforms resources into an intangible output and creates time or place utility for its customers -can't hold in hand stocks)

what does SWOT stand for?

-Strengths -weaknesses -opportunities -threats

what is operational management?

-The total set of managerial activities used by an organization to transform resource inputs into products, services, or both -want efficiency and effectiveness

what are the decision making decisions?

-certainty -risk -uncertainty

what are the porter generic strategies?

-differentiation -overall cost leadership -focus

what is the overall cost leadership strategy?

A strategy in which an organization tries to gain a competitive advantage by reducing its costs below the costs of competing firms

steps in rational decision making?

1. Recognizing and defining the decision situation 2. Identifying alternatives 3. Evaluating alternatives 4. Selecting the best alternative 5. Implementing the chosen alternatives 6. Evaluate the results of the implementation of the decision

what is the prospector strategy?

A strategy in which the firm encourages creativity and flexibility and is often decentralized

what describes the state of risk?

A condition in which the availability of each alternative and its potential payoffs and costs are all associated with probability estimates

what describes the state of uncertainty?

A condition in which the decision maker does not know all the alternatives, the risks associated with each, or the consequences each alternative is likely to have

what describes the state of certainty?

A condition in which the decision maker knows with reasonable certainty what the alternatives are and what conditions are associated with each alternative

what is a programmed decision?

A decision that is fairly structured or recurs with some frequency (or both)

what is a non-programmed decision?

A decision that is relatively unstructured and occurs much less often than a programmed decision

what is manifacturing?

A form of business that combines and transforms resource inputs into tangible outcomes

what is the product life cycle?

A model that portrays how sales volume for products changes over the life of products

what is fixed position layout?

A physical configuration of facilities arranged around a single work area; used for the manufacture of large and complex products such as airplanes

what is process layout?

A physical configuration of facilities arranged around the process; used in facilities that create or process a variety of products

what is product layout?

A physical configuration of facilities arranged around the product; used when large quantities of a single product are needed

what is cellular layouts?

A physical configuration of facilities used when families of products can follow similar flow paths

what is classical decision making?

A prescriptive approach to decision making that tells managers how they should make decisions; assumes that managers are logical and rational and that their decisions will be in the best interests of the organization

what are some organizational weaknesses?

A skill or capability that does not enable (and may limit) an organization to choose and implement strategies that support its mission

what are some organizational strenghts?

A skill or capability that enables an organization to conceive of and implement its strategies

what is the reactor strategy?

A strategy in which a firm has no consistent approach to strategy

what is the focus strategy?

A strategy in which an organization concentrates on a specific regional market, product line, or group of buyers

what is the differentiation strategy?

A strategy in which an organization seeks to distinguish itself from competitors through the quality of its products or services

who sets goals?

All managers should be involved in the goal-setting process. Each manager, however, generally has responsibilities for setting goals that correspond to his or her level in the organization

what are threats?

An area in the environment that increases the difficulty of an organization's achieving high performance

what are opportunities?

An area in the environment that, if exploited, may generate higher performance

what is robot?

Any artificial device that is able to perform functions ordinarily thought to be appropriate for human beings

what is optimizing?

Balancing and reconciling possible conflicts among goals

what is product service mix?

How many and what kinds of products or services (or both) to offer

what is line management?

Line managers are those persons with formal authority and responsibility for the management of the organization. They play an important role in an organization's planning process for two reasons.

what is capacity?

The amount of products, services, or both that can be produced by an organization

what is contingency planning?

The determination of alternative courses of action to be taken if an intended plan is unexpectedly disrupted or rendered inappropriate

what is layout?

The physical configuration of facilities, the arrangement of equipment within facilities, or both

what is facilities?

The physical locations where products or services are created, stored, and distributed

what is location?

The physical positioning or geographic site of facilities

what is automation?

The process of designing work so that it can be completely or almost completely performed by machines

what is competitive advantage?

a condition or circumstance that puts a company in a favorable or superior business position

what is a mission statement?

a statement of an organization's fundamental purpose

what is the planning time frame of a intermediate plan?

between 1 to 5 years

what is the planning time frame of a long range plan?

covers many years perhaps decades (over 5)

what is the decline stage?

demand for the product or technology decreases, the number of organizations producing the product drops, and total sales drop. Demand often declines because all those who were interested in purchasing a particular product have already done so.

what is the introduction stage?

demand may be very high, sometimes outpacing the firm's ability to supply the product. At this stage, managers need to focus their efforts on "getting product out the door" without sacrificing quality

what is middle management?

do the tactical plans

two ways to address weaknesses

invest to obtain

what is distinctive competence?

is a strength possessed by only a small number of competing firms. Distinctive competencies are rare among a set of competitors

what is the growth stage?

more firms begin producing the product, and sales continue to grow. Important management issues include ensuring quality and delivery and beginning to differentiate an organization's product from competitors' products

what is the maturity stage?

overall demand growth for a product begins to slow down, and the number of new firms producing the product begins to decline.

what is top management?

provide input to the CEO and review strategic plans

what is a corporate level strategy?

set of alternatives from which an organization chooses as it manages its operations simultaneously across several industries and markets