MKTG 3302 Exam 2

According to the text, which of the following is a pitfall of planning?

(1) planning may produce a false sense of security, (2) planning may impede change and adaptation, and (3) planners may operate detached from "ground level" reality of the company and its environment.

Which of the following statements about the strategic reference point theory is true?

A strategic reference point is defined as the strategic targets that managers use to measure whether a firm has developed the core competencies it needs to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. None of these statements are accurate regarding strategic reference points.

Which of the following statements is true about how the portfolio strategy can be used to help managers acquire companies that fit well with the rest of their corporate portfolio?

It is possible to reduce risk through diversification, particularly through moderate levels of related diversification. However, contrary to the predictions of portfolio strategy, research evidence does not support the usefulness of acquiring unrelated diversification. Categorization of businesses can prove dysfunctional because it relies on past performance and tends to weaken cash cows

According to the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines, goals should be

Timely

The positioning strategy that is always paired with one of the other two positioning strategies to produce a specialized product or service is ____.

focus

One of the benefits of planning is how it ____.

four benefits from planning: (1) intensified work effort, (2) increased persistence toward goals, (3) direction, and (4) creation of task strategies that lead to stronger performance.

For options-based planning to work, the organization must ____.

have slack resources

Groupthink occurs in ____.

highly cohesive groups where there is a great deal of pressure to agree with each other

A(n) ____ strategy is a corporate strategy that addresses the question "How should we compete in this industry?"

industry-level

Who is responsible for the creation of tactical plans?

middle managers

Which of the following is a disadvantage of face-to-face brainstorming that is overcome by electronic brainstorming?

production blocking

Marie-Helene de Taillac is a well-known European designer of understated, very delicate jewelry. Once she determined that further growth was impossible without changing how she distributed her product, she decided to open her own retail outlet to sell her products rather than letting department stores sell it. Since she made the decision without really examining how much the costs involved in implementing her decision, she has engaged in ____ behavior.

satisficing

A department store is experiencing greater than usual losses due to theft and management wants it stopped. Middle management decided to hire a security company to study the problem and develop the best plan for dealing with it. Middle management have implemented a(n) ____ plan.

tactical

Which of the following is NOT one of the five industry forces that determine an industry's overall attractiveness and potential for long-term profitability?

Porter's Five Industry Forces model includes: (1) character of the rivalry, (2) threat of new entrants, (3) threat of substitute products or services, (4) bargaining power of suppliers, and (5) bargaining power of customers.

While ____ is a problem strongly associated with top managers, ____ is a problem more likely to be associated with middle and lower-level managers.

competitive inertia; strategic dissonance

In any organization, the ____ are the less visible, internal decision-making routines, problem-solving processes, and organizational cultures that determine how efficiently inputs can be turned into outputs.

core capabilities

Imagine Dow Chemical is conducting a situational analysis. According to its sales, Dow is the second largest chemical company in the world. BASF is the largest. Both companies use a similar strategy. Within Dow's situational analysis, BASF would be classified as a ____.

core firm

The ____ approach to decision-making is a method in which an individual or a subgroup is assigned the role of a critic

devil's advocacy