Intl Mkt Ch 10
According to the text, changes in the way corporate planning is done: A. include greater attention being paid to sociopolitical developments. B. include the use of advanced computing techniques to make detailed five year forecasts. C. include heavy emphasis on the use of variables that can be quantified. D. include greater attention being paid to sociocultural developments. E. include the use of advanced computing techniques to make detailed half-yearly forecasts.
A
According to the text, the strategic planning process provides a formal structure in which managers will: A. set corporate objectives. B. implement strategies. C. manage relationships with government and society. D. improve and promote cultural ties. E. plan the corporate controllable variables to be implemented.
A
In analyzing the corporate controllable variables, management must address the question: A. who are the company's target customers? B. what will be the costs that the company will incur in delivering value to its target customers? C. how much will the company be able to charge for the value it creates for its target customers? D. who are the company's direct investors?
A
Scenarios: A. has an objective of envisioning possible futures that might lie outside their traditional frame of reference. B. is based on stories about possible futures that are presented to line managers by the strategic planners. C. extrapolates from past data to make predictions. D. is based on past stories that are presented to line managers by the strategic planners. E. rarely used because future decisions are always contingency based.
A
To create a competitive advantage that is sustainable over time, the international company should try to develop competencies that: A. create value for customers and for which they are willing to pay. B. are easy to imitate or substitute for. C. are expensive to develop and maintain. D. create value for manufactures and for which they are willing to pay. E. require only man power.
A
When a company faces strong pressures for reducing costs and limited pressure to adapt products for local markets, it should tend to use a: A. global strategy B. multidomestic strategy C. transnational strategy D. differentiation strategy E. home replication strategy
A
A broad statement that defines the organization's purpose and scope is known as a: A. strategic plan. B. mission statement. C. vision statement. D. values statement. E. valued visionary statement
B
Action plans to enable organizations to reach their objectives are known as: A. strategic plans. B. competitive strategies. C. policies. D. procedures. E. values statement.
B
An itemized projection of revenues and expenses for a future time period is a: A. sales forecast. B. budget. C. marketing plan. D. strategic plan. E. venture capital forecast.
B
In planning, there has recently been a decided move among many firms: A. to use advanced statistical techniques to help produce voluminous and detailed strategic plans. B. toward a less-structured format and a shorter plan. C. to concentrate on factors which can be easily quantified. D. to make detailed forecasts and project them out at least five years. E. toward a highly-structured format and a longer plan.
B
In the new strategic planning process: A. top management is assigning strategic planning to teams of line and staff managers from the same business. B. interaction with important customers and suppliers should be included. C. governments and other stakeholder activities should be direct participants. D. any interaction with important competitor groups should be included. E. governments and other stakeholder activities are key to the implementation of the plan.
B
Performance measures are done to: A. measures the time the company takes to acculturate new employees. B. determine if the strategy and its implementation are proceeding successfully. C. assess assumptions about how the strategic lists affect the business. D. assist lower level managers to handle recurring problems. E. Performance measures are done to measures the time the company takes to identify new clients.
B
Policies: A. prescribe how certain activities will be carried out. B. are broad guidelines used to assist lower level managers to handle recurring problems. C. assure that all budgets will be prepared using the same format. D. itemized projection of revenues and expenses for a future time period. E. are broad guidelines used to assist top level managers to handle recurring problems.
B
Tactical plans A. are fairly broad compared to strategic plans. B. spell out in detail how objectives will be reached. C. are broad guidelines to assist in handling recurring problems. D. are less specific than strategic plans. E. are time-based guidelines to handle recurring problems.
B
The new directions in planning: A. have made strategic planners dominant in the planning process. B. have brought operating managers into the planning process. C. have relieved the firm's chief executive officer of the responsibility for strategic planning. D. have made the use of computers and professional planners essential for the planning process. E. have brought foreign direct investors into the planning process.
B
When there is strong pressure for a company to adapt its products or services for local markets, it should tend to use a: A. global strategy. B. multidomestic strategy. C. transnational strategy. D. differentiation strategy. E. home replication strategy.
B
A description of the company's desired future position if it can acquire the necessary competencies and successfully implement its strategy is known as a: A. strategic plan. B. mission statement. C. vision statement. D. values statement. E. strategic value statement.
C
According to a survey by Bain & Company, the most commonly used management tool among global executives is: A. value chain analysis. B. industry and competitor analysis. C. strategic planning. D. environmental analysis. E. environmental planning.
C
According to the text, competencies: A. are skills or abilities required in order to achieve competitive advantage. B. refer to the ability of a company to have higher rates of profits than its competitors. C. create value for customers and for which customers are willing to pay. D. create value for manufactures and for which customers are willing to pay. E. refer to the ability of a company to have higher rates of FDI.
C
According to the text, the firm's ultimate manager of strategic planning is the: A. vice president for planning. B. chief operating officer. C. firm's chief executive officer. D. director of strategic planning department. E. chief strategic planning officer.
C
According to the text, value chain analysis focuses primarily on what question(s)? A. Who are the company's target customers? B. What does the customer value and how much is the customer willing to pay for this value? C. How will this customer value be created? D. Who are the company's foreign direct investors? E. How will the company double its profits?
C
An assessment conducted on the chain of interlinked activities of an organization or set of interconnected organizations, intended to determine where and to what extent value is added to the final product or service is known as: A. economic value added. B. internal analysis. C. value chain analysis. D. SWOT analysis. E. internal SWOT analysis.
C
Historically, more aspects of _______ have been standardized and coordinated worldwide by companies than has been the case for other value chain activities such as _______. A. research and development, manufacturing B. marketing, manufacturing C. manufacturing, marketing D. marketing, research and development E. hiring, research and development
C
Knowledge that an individual has but that is difficult to express clearly in words, pictures, or formulae, and therefore difficult to transmit to others is known as: A. explicit B. implicit C. tacit D. intangible E. valuable
C
Managers of international companies that are attempting to develop a competitive advantage face a formidable challenge because: A. resources are always scarce. B. there are not many equally attractive alternative ways to use the company's scarce resources. C. managers are forced to make choices regarding what to do and what not to do. C. resources are always scarce, there are not many equally alternative ways to use the company's scarce resources and are forced to make choices. D. Two of A, B and C.
C
Most top managers: A. prefer non-quantifiable, directional goals. B. prefer non-quantifiable, but verifiable goals. C. prefer verifiable objectives. D. have no preference as to quantifiable and non-quantifiable goals. E. prefer non-directional, but verifiable goals.
C
Plans for the best- or worst-case scenarios or for critical events that could have a severe impact on the firm are known as: A. scenario plans. B. strategic plans. C. contingency plans. D. emergency plans. E. visionary plans.
C
To set corporate objectives, management must first: A. select a viable market segment. B. quantify them. C. define the firm's mission. D. research the market. E. talk to the head honchos.
C
When a company faces strong pressures for both reducing costs and adapting products for local markets, it should tend to use a: A. global strategy B. multidomestic strategy C. transnational strategy D. differentiation strategy E. home replication strategy
C
International firms have found it necessary to institute formal global planning: A. to eliminate the practice of informal planning. B. to provide top management with a means to identify threats and opportunities worldwide. C. to provide consistency of action among the firm's managers. D. to provide top management with a means to identify threats and opportunities worldwide and to provide consistency of action among the firm's managers. E. to provide consistency of decision among the firm's stockholders.
D
The planning method that is becoming more popular is: A. top down. B. bottom up. C. sequential. D. a combination of top down and bottom up. E. centralized planning.
D
To fully understand why, how, and where they intend to do business, now and over time, managers must have: A. a clear understanding of the company's mission. B. a vision for how they intend to achieve the company's mission. C. an understanding of how the company plans to compete with other companies. D. a clear understanding of the company's mission, a vision on how to achieve the mission and how the company plans to compete.
D
A strategic plan: A. will be prepared when the tactical plan is finalized. B. describes how the firm's goals will be met. C. contains sales forecasts and budgets. D. gives time-based guidelines to handle recurring problems. E. describes how the firm's goals will be met and contains sales forecasts and budgets.
E
According to the text, the strategic planning process provides a formal structure in which managers will: A. analyze the company's external and internal environments. B. define the company's business and mission. C. formulate scenarios. D. will make tactical plans but quantify goals. E. analyze the company's external and internal environments and define the company's business and mission.
E
Frederick Gluck, management consultant, says for firms to develop the flexibility to compete, managements must make the following changes in their planning methods: A. top management must dedicate more time to deciding how things ought to be done. B. the nature of planning must change from being an exercise in forecasting to an exercise in creativity. C. planning processes and tools that assume a future much like the past must be replaced. D. strategic planning must be restored to strategic planning departments. E. top management must dedicate more time to deciding how things ought to be done and nature of planning must change from being an exercise in forecasting to an exercise in creativity.
E
In the traditional strategic planning approach: A. the CEO and the head of planning got together to devise a corporate plan, which would then be handed to the operating people for execution. B. interaction with important customers and suppliers was included. C. governments and other stakeholder activities were direct participants. D. tended to fall victim to collective mind-sets about the competitive environment. E. the CEO and head of planning together devise a corporate plan, which would then be handed to the operating people for execution and this tended to fall victim to collective mind-sets about competitive environment.
E
International strategy: A. needs to be consistent among the various functions, products, and regional units of the company. B. needs to be consistent with the demands of the international competitive environment. C. is concerned with the way firms make fundamental choices about developing and deploying scarce resources internationally. D. has a goal of achieving and maintaining competitive advantage. E. has to achieve and maintain competitive advantage. It also needs to be consistent among various functions, products, regional units of the company, and with the demands of international competitive environment.
E
Procedures: A. prescribe how certain activities will be carried out. B. are broad guidelines used to assist lower level managers to handle recurring problems. C. assure that all budgets will be prepared using the same format. D. are global guidelines used to assist lower level managers to handle recurring problems. E. prescribe how certain activities will be carried out and assure that all budgets will be prepared using the same format.
E
Scenarios assist managers: A. in becoming aware of the critical elements of the external forces. B. in brainstorming various "what-if" situations. C. in preparing budgets. D. in manufacturing, and marketing. E. in becoming aware of the critical elements of the external forces and in brainstorming various "what-if" situations.
E
Tactical plans A. are operational plans. B. are broad, operational plans on which strategic plans are based. C. are specific and short-term compared to strategic plans. D. are specific and long-term compared to strategic plans. E. are operational plans and are specific and short-term compared to strategic plans.
E
When a company faces relatively weak pressures for local responsiveness and cost reductions, it should tend to use a: A. global strategy. B. multidomestic strategy. C. transnational strategy. D. differentiation strategy. E. home replication strategy.
E
A benefit of global strategies is their ability to adjust quickly and effectively to changes in customer needs across national or regional markets.
F
A multidomestic strategy tends to be used when a company simultaneously confronts pressures for cost effectiveness and local adaptation.
F
According to Frederick W. Gluck, formal strategic planning teams must assume a more explicit strategic decision making role in strategic planning, including dedicating a large amount of time to deciding how things ought to be instead of listening to analyses of how they are.
F
According to a study by McKinsey & Company, most executives worldwide agree that environmental, social, and business trends are less critical to company strategy than was the case five years ago.
F
After setting corporate objectives, the company management must define the company's vision and mission.
F
Although strategic planning is not a widely used management tool among global executives, according to a Bain and Company's survey there is a high level of satisfaction among those executives who do utilize strategic planning.
F
An analysis of the forces controlled by the firm will include a situational analysis and control analysis.
F
Because of the rapidity of changes in the uncontrollable variables, many managers have turned to contingency plans, which are multiple, plausible stories for probable futures.
F
Companies need to consider two types of measures when assessing strategic performance: (1) measures of the company's success in obtaining and applying the required resources, such as financial, technological, and human resources, and (2) measures of the effectiveness of the company's personnel, within and across the firm's international network of operations, in performing their assigned jobs.
F
Due to developments such as a rapid rise in the level of uncertainty in many areas of international business, many firms have moved toward more structured strategic planning formats and longer planning documents.
F
Historically, more aspects of marketing have been standardized and coordinated worldwide by companies than has been the case for other value chain activities such as research and development and manufacturing.
F
International strategy involves decisions that deal with a single area, such as marketing or production.
F
Knowledge that an individual has but that is difficult to express clearly in words, pictures, or formulae, and therefore difficult to transmit to others, is called explicit knowledge.
F
Objectives must be quantified in order to be useful.
F
Procedures are broad guidelines issued by upper management for the purpose of assisting lower-level managers in handling non-recurring problems.
F
Repetition of the bottom-up or top-down planning process until all differences are reconciled is sequential planning.
F
Scenarios are a particularly useful approach for international companies that face high levels of change and uncertainty, because they allow management to anticipate and prepare for opportunities and threats by predicting and controlling for these developments.
F
Strategic planning processes are something that only the company's most senior executives are involved with.
F
The first step in the process of strategic planning is to define the company's business and mission.
F
The goal of international strategy is to achieve and maintain a unique and valuable competitive position both within a nation and globally, a position that has been termed comparative advantage.
F
The ultimate managers of strategic planning and strategy making are the executive board of a corporation.
F
There is a growing tendency for firms to use strategic planners to devise the corporate plan, which is then handed to operations people for execution.
F
To create a sustainable competitive advantage, an international company should try to develop competencies that are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and readily substitutable.
F
Two prominent features of the strategic plan are sales forecasts and the mission statement.
F
Value chain analysis focuses primarily on the question, "What value does the company want to deliver to these customers?"
F
A broad statement that defines the organization's scope is the mission statement.
T
A global strategy tends to be used when a company faces strong pressures for reducing costs and limited pressure to adapt products for local markets.
T
An advantage of bottom-up planning is that the people responsible for attaining the goals are formulating them.
T
Companies have the potential to achieve competitive advantages through leveraging their organizational knowledge across national boundaries.
T
Companies pursuing a home replication strategy typically centralize product development functions in their home country and then transfer innovations to foreign markets in order to capture additional value.
T
Competencies are skills or abilities required in order to adequately complete a task.
T
Contingency plans are developed in some firms for the best and worst case scenarios and for critical events.
T
Global strategic plans help to ensure that decision makers have a common understanding of the business and to think through the impact of their decisions and actions
T
International strategy helps firms to make choices about how to deploy scarce resources in order to achieve their international objectives.
T
Objectives direct the firm's course of action, maintain it within the boundaries of the stated mission, and ensure its continuing existence.
T
Policies are broad guidelines issued by upper management for the purpose of assisting lower-level managers in handling recurring problems.
T
Sales forecasts are both a control and planning technique.
T
Scenario analysis can help managers to break away from their existing view of the world and envision alternatives that might lie outside their traditional frame of reference.
T
Scenarios are multiple, plausible stories for probable futures.
T
Tactical/operational plans are more detailed than strategic plans.
T
The basic concept behind strategic planning is to help ensure that managers have a sound understanding of the business, the strategy, the assumptions behind the strategy, the external business environment pressures, and the company's strengths and weaknesses.
T
The planning process that begins at the highest level in the organization and continues downward is top-down planning.
T
Top management of companies generally accept the fact that, to be effective, strategic planning processes should permit ideas to surface from anywhere in the organization and at any time.
T
Value chain analysis is an assessment conducted on the chain of interlinked activities of an organization or set of interconnected organizations, intended to determine where and to what extent value is added to the final product or service.
T
Value chain linkages must be examined not merely across activities within the company but also in terms of managing relationships with external entities such as suppliers, alliance partners, distributors, or customers within and across nations.
T
When developing and assessing strategic alternatives, it is important to remember that companies competing in international markets confront two opposing forces: reduction of costs and adaptation to local markets.
T
With a multidomestic strategy, the cost and complexity of coordinating a range of different strategies and product offerings across national and regional markets can be substantial.
T