Test 1 Cornerstone

You can think of three competing demands as variables in the equation:

quality=time+cost

It is realistic to assess whether your goals are what 3 things?

realistic, timely and relevant

Most experts agree that it is important to limit the number of messages and main ideas covered in a single presentation. What is this generally agreed upon number?

5

What is the difference between a critical goal and an enabling goal?

A critical goal must be accomplished in order for your unit to continue to run successfully. an enabling goal may not be essential, but it creates a more desirable long-term business situation or takes advantage of a new opportunity

What is persuasion?

A process by which you change or reinforce other people's attitudes, opinions, or behavior

"SMART" is an acronym representing criteria for expressing goals in clear terms. What does the A stand for?

Achievable

In the best of all possible worlds, who conducts the evaluation of a completed project?

An independent person who can be objective.

Creative thinking constitutes an important strategic thinking skill. Which of the following is a valuable outcome of creative thinking?

An open attitude toward seemingly bizarre ideas that your company hasn't considered before.

What is an organizing metaphor?

An organizing metaphor is an overarching worldview that shapes a person's everyday actions and decisions. People reveal their organizing metaphors through the phrases and word pictures they use while speaking about the issue at hand. For example, a person who sees management as a minefield might say things like, "You never know when things are going to explode" or "You have to step gingerly when managing large projects." To change someone's organizing metaphor, you identify a compelling replacement metaphor (for example, "Management is a playing field"). You then highlight the weaknesses of your audience's current metaphor, and provide examples of people who have achieved success using your replacement metaphor.

What is strategic thinking?

Analyzing opportunities and problems from a broad perspective and understanding your actions' potential impact on others.

How long should a presentation be?

As long as it needs to be to convey one message clearly and completely

During the body of a presentation, what is an effective way to involve the audience?

Ask your audience for suggestions and questions.

Your boss has just defined an urgent strategic objective for you: "Enhance quality to improve company performance." As a strategic thinker, how might you best respond to your boss's mandate initally?

Ask your boss QUESTIONS, such as "What do you mean by enhanced quality?" Where should we focus our quality-enhancement efforts?

The research and development team has set a goal of making the company's software product easier to update. in the middle of its implementation, the lead programmer leaves to take a job at another firm. Which of the following should the team do first?

Assess whether the project is still realistic.

Identifying relationships, patterns and trends is an important strategic thinking skill. Which of the following is an example of this skill in action?

At a conference, you hear a presenter describe a new process-improvement approach being used in a different industry. you consider adapting that process in your own company.

When is an appropriate time to distribute handouts during a presentation?

Before or after the presentation

Analyzing information is another key strategic thinking skill. which of the following is an example of how you might apply this skill?

Borrow from previously developed solutions that proved useful for addressing problems such as one you're dealing with currently.

To prioritize and select goals, you first assign your goals a ranking: an A(high value and importance) B (medium value and importance) and C (little value and importance). what should you do next with your be level goals?

Break B-level goals into A goals or C goals, and eliminate the C's

A financial tool that you could use to show the point at which the business or venture is expected to neither be lowing money or making money is a :

Break even analysis

In a Venn diagram, the area of overlap between analysis of the industry and the market is called:

Business opportunity....the terms industry and market describe parts of the total business environment.

The area of intersection between industry and market in a Venn diagram represents your " "?

Business opportunity...that space in which the customer need and the product or service meet.

How can delegating increase overall productivity and efficiency?

By matching skills with people, you make the best use of organizational resources.

What approaches might you consider using to determine what and how to delegate?

By task, project or by function

In terms of importance, what 3 categories to goals fall under?

Critical, Enabling, or Nice to Have

Other characteristics that are personal traits to strategic thinkers?

Curiosity, Flexibility, Focus on the Future, and breadth of knowledge and experience

During the opening of your presentation, you describe the importance of the topic to your audience, establish your credibility, and preview the main points you will cover. What else do you need to do during the opening?

Define the purpose of the presentation

Which of the following is an example of how to establish your trustworthiness in the minds of your intended audience?

Demonstrate your conviction and your openness to others' perspectives.

What is a botttom up goal setting strategy?

Direct reports develop individual goals, and their manager integrates them into broader goals.

What's an effective way to handle a question from an audience member for which you don't have the answer?

Direct the person to a source or offer to find the answer after the presentation.

In deciding what to say during your presentation, what's an important "don't" to keep in mind?

Don't talk just about facts

When writing the business description part of your business plan, it is advisable to maintain a business like tone and to avoid infusing the summary with your own enthusiasm. True or False?

False....while you want to use a professional, business like tone, the business description section of your business plan also provides you with an opportunity to incorporate some of your enthusiasm and conviction that this business concept will be a successful venture.

A business plan is typically written once to secure funding and is not the type of plan to be monitored or updated since it cannot help direct operations..true or false?

False....you need to routinely monitor and update the business plan as needed.

What are different examples on establishing trustworthiness in the minds of your intended audience?

Following through on promises and commitments, sharing or giving credit to those who contribute good ideas, putting others' best interests before your own, and candidly admitting your weaknesses or faults.

In scheduling your project, you need to track what tasks have to be done, how long they will take, and the order in which they need to be completed. Which project management tool helps you do this?

Gantt chart

______ is the minimum rate of return that is expected of all projects in a company?

Hurdle rate

How might a strategic thinker best approach accomplishing long list of to-do's facing him or her at the start of a work day?

Identify and schedule the most critical items on the list first, while delegating or leaving undone any peripheral items.

Which of the following is not a recommended strategy to help prepare yourself mentally and physically to make a presentation?

Ignore feelings of severe nervousness or consider counteracting them through muscle relaxants or a glass of wine.

What happens if a project or venture doesn't pass the company's "HURDLE RATE" (or minimum rate of return that expected of all projects in a company)?

It may not get approved or funded,.

Define the purpose of the executive summary

It should be a concise presentation of the major points in your business plan, best written last.

In addition to using disturbing questions to activate audience self-persuasion, you can used what type of questions to shape what your listeners remember?

Leading questions such as "How do you like the easy filing feature in this software?"

What are three types of questions that are involved in audience self persuasion?

Leading, Disturbing and Rhetorical

What can disturbing questions to an audience do?

Magnify your listeners' problem in their minds, motivating them to persuade themselves of the value of your proposed solution.

When developing a project budget, which of the following variables do many managers mistakenly overlook>?

Maintenance

How many of your own goals as a manager shouuld be related to your unit?

Man of them but not all....

What is one critical task in the first phase of managing a project?

Meld stakeholders' expectations into a coherent and manageable set of project objective.

As you clarify each stakeholder's definition of success, you may get caught up in trying to solve problems that lie beyond the scope of your project....should you try to expand the project's scope?

No....resist the temptation to expand the project's scope without ensuring that the added objectives are critical to a majority of stakeholders.

The part of the business plan that details the daily flow of activities and work of the business such as how raw materials will be turned into finished goods to be sold is called the:

Operations plan

What is the next step after determining specific tasks to be done in order to accomplish each goal?

Place those tasks you've identified in order

If you've determined that most or all of your audience will be opposed to the idea you plan to propose, how might you best structure your presentation?

Present your opponents' position, then refute their case by challenging their evidence and disproving their arguments.

The parts of the financial plan that show the profit margins you expect your business to achieve are the:

Pro forma income statements...

Besides using disturbing questions to activate audience self-persuasion and leading questions to shape what your listeners remember, what type of questions give the answer you want your listeners to arrive at?

Rhetorical (You've seen the mess our files are in...how else will we get organized if we don't start using this software?)

Examples of different presentations are:

Sales, Persuasion, Status report, product demonstration, and business plan or strategy.

What are the 2 phases of the strategic thinking process?

Setting the stage and applying your skills.

Before you delegate what must you consider?

Skills needed, actual physical activities, and whether interpersonal skills are needed.

Which of the following describes reverse delegation?

Someone to whom you delegated an assignment wants to return it to you or expects you to solve problems and make decisions related to the assignment.

What is the best advice you can give a new manager who is trying to help set goals for her unit?

Start small----it is better to define several small targets than one or more broad ones

Occasionally, you may need to consider bringing in resources from outside your organization. In addition to checking references and getting written proposals, what should you examine?

The additional time needed to manage any outside consultants or temporary workers`

Ideally what is the first thing you should tell your audience?

The purpose

You need to select a system to monitor and control the the project during its execution. What essential function should your control system perform?

The system should trigger responses to problems.

A project charter is a concise, written document that spells out the nature and scope of the project work. Which of the following items should not be captured in a project charter?

The ways in which the project team will accomplish its objectives.

How do strategic thinkers continually improve their view of the larger "business ecosystem" in which they operate?

They understand their company's and unit's strategies; consider what's going on with customers, competitors, and their industry; and take into account how their actions might affect others in their organization.

Why should you spend time identifying all the stakeholders for your project?

To ensure that the project objectives meet everyone's expectations of success.

What are the two most common methods for goal setting?

Top down and bottom up

What are other commonly overlooked variables that should be factored into a budget?

Training costs, insurance costs, licensing fees, and costs for outside support such as accounting or legal counsel

If the control data you collect doesn't trigger a response, all you are doing is monitoring the project, not actually controlling it.

True

T or F....prioritizing your actions helps keep your eye on the big picture (a key element of strategic thinking)

True

The executive summary portion of your business plan is best written after your draft the rest of the plan. True or false?

True

When delegating, it is usually better to delegate responsibility or project to one person rather than dividing it among a number of people. True or false?

True

When your boss defines strategic objectives for you, it's important to ensure that you understand those objectives in the most specific terms possible....true or false?

True

What are the two sources of credibility?

Trust and expertise

What is a top down goal setting strategy?

Unit management sets broad goals, and each direct report sets goals that support those of the unit.

When developing the milestone portion of your business plan, it is generally advisable to do all of the folloiwng except?

Using actual dates....use general dates such as 6 months, 1 year.

Which of the following is a personal trait that is characteristic of strategic thinkers?

Viewing challenges as opportunities

How can you prepare mentally and physically for a presentation?

Visualizing a successful presentation and identifying and preparing for possible problems are both strategies that can help you prepare mentally.

Knowing how to make smart trade-offs is a vital strategic thinking skill.. Which of the following approaches can help you apply this skill?

Weighing the short-and long term consequences of a proposed course of action.

Audience self persuasion counts among the most powerful persuasion techniques available. Which of the following is an example of something you might say to your audience that represents this technique?

What effect will losing 10 clients have on your annual revenue generation?

What set of questions might you want to first ask yourself about a task that could help you delegate it appropriately to the right person?

What thinking skills are needed for this task? What activities must be performed? What interpersonal skills are needed?

What do readers of business plans prefer to know when it comes to analyzing a business?

When and at what level of sales the breakeven point will occur.

Which of the following is a situation which it might be best to take back a delegated assignment from an employee?

When critical deadlines might be missed without assistance from you or others.

Which of the following delegations is not an example of delegating by project?

Writing a memo requesting feed back on a recent group presentation.

Does building on existing knowledge help to apply your skill at analyzing information?

Yes

Is it okay to use delegation as a way of testing an employee's capabilites before proceeding with a promotion?

Yes....it's a way to check the match between the employee's skill sets and the requirements of the new position.

What are you doing when you conduct a WBS analysis?

You are subdividing the overall project into smaller tasks and then subdividing the smaller tasks until you get to the desired task size.

What aspects of your presentation most affect how persuasive you are?

Your enthusiasm, credibility and personal belief in the subject

What do pro-forma income statements represent?

Your most honest analysis of the financial progress of the business.

The type of presentation you choose depends on

Your purpose

What is a Gannt chart?

a tool that many project managers use to schedule work. it lists project tasks in the left-hand column and indicates time blocks for each. These blocks indicate when each task should begin, based on task relationships, and when it should end.

What do you do in phase 2 of the strategic thinking process?

apply strategic thinking skills, which include identifying relationships, patterns, and trends; thinking creatively; analyzing information; prioritizing your actions; and making trade-offs

Other approaches of making wise trade-offs include:

assessing pros and cons of alternative courses of action, considering whether actions that benefit your group will also benefit the rest of your organization, and specifying what you won't do to resolve a problem or achieve a goal.

Once you've identified the parameters of the task, you should compare the skills the task requires with the.....

availability, capabilities and developmental needs of each of the staff members.

You've been assigned to a project that seems to have explicit, set expectations and clearly outlined responsibilities. Before you begin developing a plan for implementing the project, what should u do first?

confirm that the project would solve an important business problem...`

Does it make more sense to delegate to the most experienced individual available or to the person with the lowest possible skill level required to perform the task effictively?

delegate to the person with the lowest possible skill level required to perform the task.

You're developing a plan that will help your unit achieve its key goals. What is your first step?

determine what specific tasks will have to be done in order to accomplish each goal.

Reaching your goal is not the end of the process...what is?

evaluating the goal's impact

Income statements show what?

expected profit margins, revenue, operating margin and income

T or false....creative thinking doesn't boost your chances of ultimately selecting the best possible course of action

false....it does

What should the operations plan on a business plan show

how work would be accomplished, with a focus on the critical operating factors that will make your proposed business a success.

How frequently should you set goals for your unit?

once or twice a year

Every project has what 3 competing demands?

quality, Time and Cost

In defining and organizing phase of a project, you need to beware of "scope creep". What does this term mean?

scope creep occurs when a project team unwittingly gives into pressure to do more than what was originally planned for the project.

What do you do in phase 1(setting the stage) of the strategic thinking process?

seek to understand the broader business environment in which you operate and clarify your strategic objectives.

After you've selected the appropriate presentation type, you should consider other factors such as:

size of audience and formality of the setting.

What does S.M.A.R.T stand for?

specific, measurable, action oriented, realistic, and time limited

The outcomes of a WBS(Work breakdown structure) give you a sense of what?

staff, budget and time constraints

Writing a memo requesting feedback on presentation is what type of delegation?

task delegation

Define business opportunity

that space in a Venn Diag. in which the customer need and the product or service meet.

What does a good project charter indicate?

the desired outcomes of the project, but not the means by which a group will achieve those ends. The means should be left to the project manager, team leader, and members to determine once the project is under way.

You're drafting a business plan and have defined who your colleagues and competitors will be. you're providing information on which of the following?

the industry....because it is the group of companies that produces and sells products or services to the market, so it determines who your colleagues and competitors will be.

Change time cost and quality and you change what?

the project's outcome

When you are defining project objectives, what 3 variables

time cost and quality

T or F...spotting opportunites to leverage best practices from industries very different from yours is an example of the ability to identify relationships, patterns and trends---particularly in seemingly unrelated arenas.

true

When does reverse delegation occur and should you avoid it?

when the person whom you have delegated a task wants to give it back or expects you to fix the problems assocatied with it. and you should try to avoid taking back a delegated task.

One way to win your audience's heart is to change their organizing metaphor. Which of the following is an example of an organizing metaphor?

• "Management is a minefield."

To win your audience's mind, you need to communicate the benefits of your proposition. Which of the following is an example of communicating benefits?

• "This new process enables you to save time and acquire more customers."

In any persuasion situation, your audience will likely consist of decision makers, key stakeholders, and influencers. Who are key stakeholders?

• People who stand to be most affected by the change you're proposing

In a persuasion situation, what should you do first to overcome resistance to your proposal?

• Understand the interests and emotions behind the resistance

Psychologists have identified seven persuasion triggers—mental shortcuts your audience might take to decide quickly whether to support your proposal. Which of the following is an example of how to activate the Liking trigger?

• You discover common interests with your intended audience; express compliments; and make positive statements about your audience's ideas, abilities, and qualities.