Strategic Management Exam 1 (Chapters 1-6)
A meta-analysis of 20 years of empirical research on mission statements concluded there is a positive relationship between mission statements and ______.
measures of financial performance
Some firms view planning as a waste of time because ______.
no product or service is produced
Guidelines, rules, and procedures established to support implementation efforts are called _____.
policies
According to the chapter, the worst thing strategists can do is to develop strategic plans and then ____.
present the plans to operating managers to execute
One benefit of strategic planning is that it allows a firm to be _______ in shaping its own future.
proactive
In forecasting, strategists identify future occurrences that could have a major effect on the firm, and, based on that make __________.
reasonable assumptions
One broad skill students can gain by taking this course is ______.
to define and solve problems and make decisions about a particular situation
Quality mission statements identify the ______ of a firm's products to its customers.
utility
A mission statement reveals ______.
what an organization wants to be and whom it wants to serve
According to Drucker, the most important time to ask seriously, "What do we want to become?" and "What is our business?" is ______.
when a company has been successful
When identifying and prioritizing key external factors in strategic planning, four criteria should be met to the extent possible. What are these four criteria?
actionable, quantitative, comparative, and divisional
The CEO of LinkedIn is Jeff Weiner, a highly respected corporate leader. What does Weiner say is the most important philosophy of a great leader?
Be clear about the organization's vision.
According to Vern McGinnis, a mission statement should do what?
Be limited enough to exclude some ventures and broad enough to allow for creative growth
Which of the following is a pitfall of strategic planning?
Being so formal in planning that flexibility and creativity are stifled
Chapter 2
Business Vision and Mission
Under which condition can consumers gain increasing bargaining power?
If they can inexpensively switch to a substitute
Which of the following is NOT a pitfall of strategic planning?
Involving key employees in all phases of planning
Which of the following is a characteristic of a good mission statement?
It reveals that the firm is socially responsible.
For industries and firms that depend heavily on government contracts or subsidies, which forecasts can be the most important part of an external audit?
Political
Why are both profit and vision needed to motivate a workforce effectively?
Profit is viewed negatively by some stakeholders of a firm.
Which of the following four types of strategies are developed in a SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) Analysis?
SO, WO, ST, WT
Recent research by Rose and Cray examined the strategic-management process and concluded that perhaps the most important "activity" is what?
The feedback loop
Historically, where did strategic planning originate?
The military
What should a vision statement reveal?
The type of business a firm conducts
A meta-analysis of 20 years of empirical research on mission statements came to what conclusion?
There is a positive relationship between mission statements and measures of financial organizational performance.
Which of the following statements is TRUE? Chapter 2
There is no one best mission statement for a particular organization.
Which of the following is a reason some firms do not engage in strategic planning?
They receive no formal training in strategic management.
Unskilled leaders work out their conflicts in courtrooms and battlefields. Brilliant strategists rarely go to battle or to court. How do they usually achieve their objectives?
Through tactical positioning well in advance of any confrontation
What is the most important part of an external audit?
To develop a finite list of opportunities that could benefit a firm as well as threats that should be avoided or mitigated
King and Cleland recommend that organizations carefully develop a written mission statement in order to reap which benefit?
To provide a basis for the allocation of resources
Generally, in war, the best policy is to take a state intact rather than to ruin it. Likewise, the best objective is to capture the enemy's army, regiment, company, or squad intact rather than destroy them. Winning 100 victories in 100 battles is not the epitome of skill. What is the epitome of skill?
To subdue the enemy without fighting
According to recent research by Cuddy, Fiske, and Glick, what ethics variable(s) is most important in doing business?
Trustworthiness
Who said, "Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence"?
Vince Lombardi, Head Coach Green Bay Packers (1959-67)
In a business, which of the following should be established first?
Vision statement
Which statement is FALSE?
Vision statements are more important than mission statements.
Regarding vision statements, which statement below is FALSE?
Vision statements should answer the question "What is our mission?"
The vision statement answers which of the following questions?
What do we want to become?
What question does a mission statement answer?
What is our business or reason for being?
Asking the question, ______ is synonymous with asking, "What is our mission?"
What is our business?
According to the model used in this text, what should be answered when developing a strategic plan?
Where are we now, where do we want to go, and how are we going to get there?
In multidivisional organizations, should divisional units perform strategic-management tasks, including the development of their own statement of vision and mission?
Yes
Is the following statement TRUE? A benefit of developing a comprehensive mission statement is that divergent views among managers can be revealed and resolved through the process.
Yes
Strengths and weaknesses can be determined by elements of being rather than performance. For example, ______.
a strength may involve ownership of natural resources
Which of the following EFE scores indicates that a firm is weak at responding to external factors?
1.2
The recommended length of a mission statement is fewer than _____ words.
100
Most practitioners and academicians of strategic management feel that an effective statement should include ______ mission statement components.
9
What element of strategic management answers the question "What do we want to become?"
A vision statement
When should a vision statement reveal the type of business in which the firm engages?
Always
Which statement FALSE?
An outside person with expertise in developing vision and mission statements who has unbiased views should always manage the statement-development process.
Which of the following statements is FALSE?
Apple Computer's mission statement should open the possibility for diversification by Apple into pesticides.
What characteristic(s) are included among the 5 out of 5 test for vision statements to be exemplary?
Clear and unique
An effective vision statement should exhibit 5 characteristics. What are they?
Clear, futuristic, concise, unique, inspiring
Dale McConkey said, "Plans are less important than planning." What does this statement mean?
Communication, understanding, and commitment are vitally important in strategic planning.
Business strategy is based on the assumption of competition. Upon which assumption is military strategy based?
Conflict
All elements of the strategic planning process can change over time except one element that almost never changes. What is that element?
Core value statement
Which of the following is considered an unpublished source for external information?
Customer surveys
Which of the following activities is included in strategy implementation?
Develop a strategy-supportive culture and create an effective organizational structure.
What is often considered the first step in strategic planning?
Developing a vision statement
Which of the following is considered a published source for external information?
Directories
According to the authors of the text, what is the most important component of a mission statement?
Distinctive competence
When comparing mission statements of rival firms, perhaps the most important component to examine is what?
Distinctive competence
According to the chapter, a pitfall to watch for and avoid in strategic planning is:
Doing strategic planning only to satisfy accreditation or regulatory requirements
______ is the act of strengthening employees' sense of effectiveness by encouraging them to participate in decision making and to exercise initiative and imagination, and then rewarding them for doing so.
Empowerment
Which of the following is listed in the chapter as a reason often given for poor or no strategic planning in a firm?
Laziness
Which of the following best describes the vision, "To become the best retailing firm in the USA"?
Much too broad
Does including the word "customer" in a mission statement ensure the statement includes the customer component?
No
If included in a mission statement, the phrase, "We follow the golden rule in all that we do" would satisfy what component?
Philosophy
Which of the following is NOT true concerning forecasts?
Sometimes, wild guesses are acceptable as forecasts.
Which of the following is NOT identified as a component of mission statements?
Stock price
The term strategic planning is used synonymously in this text with what other term?
Strategic management
_____ is the science of planning and directing large-scale military operations, of maneuvering forces into the most advantageous position prior to actual engagement with the enemy.
Strategy
In which stage of the strategic management process is an organization likely to develop a mission statement?
Strategy formulation
A mission statement should include the following components:
Survival/growth/profitability, philosophy, self-concept, and public image
Chapter 3
The External Assessment
Chapter 1
The Nature of Strategic Management
In great companies, core values ______.
almost never change
To survive and prosper, a business must gain and sustain ______ major competitive advantages over rival firms.
at least several
Official business failure calculations include _____.
liquidations and court-mandated receiverships
According to Chapter 1, ______ may be the most important word in management.
communication
Apple's financially lean position with regard to manufacturing facilities provides the firm with a _______ over Sony, which invests heavily in manufacturing facilities.
competitive advantage
Analytical thinking and intuitive thinking ______.
complement each other
Strategic management is based on the idea that organizations should monitor internal and external trends _____.
continually
To create an excellent vision and mission, a firm needs core values. These core values ______ for the vision and mission.
create an ethical foundation
In generating the list of critical success factors in a CPM, a firm should strive to include factors that ______.
differentiate firms within the industry
A firm can achieve sustained competitive advantage by _____.
effectively formulating, implementing, and evaluating strategies that capitalize on changes in trends and internal capabilities
Three primary intrinsic benefits of strategic planning include ______.
enhanced communication, deeper understanding, and greater commitment
The EFE Matrix provides an empirical assessment of how well a firm is handling ______.
external factors overall
One specific skill students can gain from this course is ________.
formulating strategies using a SWOT analysis
A mission statement should be written ______.
from a customer perspective
The logical starting point for strategic management is to ______.
identify the existing vision, mission, objectives, and strategies
The strategic-management process can be described as an objective, logical, systematic approach for making major decisions in an organization. However, it is generally recognized that ______ is essential to making good strategic decisions.
intuition
The "markets" component of mission statements refers to the_____.
regions in which the company operates
A fundamental strategy-evaluation activity includes_____.
reviewing external and internal factors that are the bases for current strategies, measuring performance, and taking corrective actions
Building four new manufacturing plants in Europe is an example of a(n) ______.
strategy
The strategic management process begins with______.
strategy formulation
Perhaps the best way to develop a skill for writing and evaluating mission statements is to ______.
study actual company missions
The focus of strategic management is ______.
the integration of all the functional areas of the business to achieve its organizational objectives
The principal benefit of vision and mission statements as tools of strategic management is derived from ______.
their specification of the ultimate aims of a firm