Planning and Strategic Management

According to the BCG matrix, what should a company do with a question mark? - Invest the cash it generates into stars. - Hold it but stop investing in it. - Divest it. - Invest in it carefully. - Invest in it aggressively.

Invest in it carefully.

What does an organization use to manage its operations across several industries and several markets simultaneously? - Corporate-level strategy - SWOT analysis - Business-level strategy - Distinctive competence - Tactical plans

Corporate-level strategy

Most grocery stores carry a wide variety of national brands in addition to their own private-label brands. The private-label brands are often made by the same national brands they are competing with. Which type of strategy is a firm using when it creates a lower-priced private-label brand in addition to its other, higher-priced brands? - Cost leadership - Portfolio management - Differentiation - Distinctive competence - Focus

Cost leadership

What can be described as the number of different businesses that an organization is engaged in and the extent to which these businesses are related to one another? - Economy of scale - Divestiture - Competency - Diversification - Entropy

Diversification

Which of the following strategies can help companies during the maturity stage of a product life cycle? - Sacrificing the quality of products - Manufacturing more products in small quantities intermittently than in bulk - Focusing more on strategies to slow the entry of competitors - Focusing on keeping costs low - Drastically increasing product prices

Focusing on keeping costs low

Which of the following is used to provide a source of motivation for an organization's employees? - Tactics - Strategic plans - Missions - Operational plans - Goals

Goals

Due to an explosion at a supplier's plant, L'Meese will no longer be able to achieve goals set by her division manager. What should L'Meese remember about goals? - If goals are not met, the mission must be changed. - There are several ways to achieve the same goals. - Goals are targets, not absolute objectives. - Goals focus only on general issues, not specific issues. - Goals will not affect the planning process for other divisions.

Goals are targets, not absolute objectives.

Alpha Inc. is a large shoe manufacturer that has a large online customer base. In addition to the high volume of shoes it manufactures, the company sells simply designed sneakers for low prices. Many customers buy Alpha shoes because they are durable and inexpensive. Which of the following strategies is illustrated in the scenario? - Market diversification strategy - Overall cost leadership strategy - Market development strategy - Differentiation strategy - Divesting strategy

Overall cost leadership strategy

Which techniques can be used by organizations that have diversified to determine in which businesses to engage and how to manage these businesses to maximize corporate performance? - Deskilling - Entropy - Divestiture - Process gain - Portfolio management

Portfolio management

What is the component of a strategy that specifies the range of markets in which an organization will compete? - Deskilling - Scope - Divestiture - Resource deployment - Competency

Scope

Which of the following specifies the range of markets in which an organization will compete? - SWOT analysis - Distinctive competence - Business-level strategy - Resource deployment - Scope

Scope

Gnomatics sells just one type of product in the local marketplace. The staff works hard to ensure its product is successful, even though there really are no other companies that compete with it. Which type of strategy does Gnomatics use? - Cash cow - Focus - Related diversification - Differentiation - Single-product

Single-product

Rumi has found that selling gluten-free products at her bakery has been an effective strategy and has allowed her to achieve some of her strategic goals for sales. Which of the following makes this an effective strategy for Rumi? - A comprehensive plan for accomplishing her goals - SWOT analysis - Better identification of the scope ofher competition - Strong resource deployment - Superior alignment with her environment

Superior alignment with her environment

What does the ultimate success of a tactical plan depend on? - Whether a joint venture is set up - The way it is carried out - The number of people involved - Whether franchises are used - Use of unrelated diversification

The way it is carried out

Why is it important to identify weaknesses in a SWOT analysis? - To turn them into opportunities - To correct them - To neutralize threats - To focus on strengths - To exploit them

To correct them

In which way can managers use information from the product life cycle? - To conduct an accurate SWOT analysis - To shift the focus strategy to more specific regional markets - To determine which products are not logically associated with others - To reduce overhead and administrative costs within the organization - To determine which strategies for products need to evolve

To determine which strategies for products need to evolve

What does proper execution of tactical plans depend on? - A SWOT analysis - Maximizing inconsistent activities - Evaluating just one course of action - Vertical and horizontal communication - Maximizing conflict

Vertical and horizontal communication

During the introduction phase of the product life cycle,________. - sales volume is the highest - demand may be very high - most companies tend to downsize - companies must sacrifice product quality - competition is at its peak

demand may be very high

An organizational strength that is possessed by only a small number of competing firms is a firm's_______. - distinctive competency - scope - operational goal - mission - strategy

distinctive competency

Jones International is a large organization with holdings in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The corporation's mix of strategic business units (SBUs) allows the company to exploit its strengths and capabilities in more than one line of business and to exploit synergies across business lines. One of the disadvantages of Jones International's strategy is that it________. - increases economic risk - increases management complexity - increases the company's dependence on the success of its largest SBU - exploits the strengths of competitors - increases overhead costs

increases management complexity

An organization's _____ is a statement of its fundamental, unique purpose that sets a business apart from other firms of its type and identifies the scope of the business's operations in product and market terms. - operational goal - article of incorporation - mission - tactical plan - code of ethics

mission

An organization that pursues a single-product strategy______. - manufactures a range of products that are related to each other in some way - clusters related products in a single strategic business unit - operates in a single geographic market - creates a separate business unit for each product it sells - uses a single marketing strategy for all its products

operates in a single geographic market

Goals set for and by lower-level managers are called _____ goals. - tactical - organizational - strategic - developmental - operational

operational

In the context of the GE Business Screen, a determinant of an organization's competitive position is_______. - market growth - product quality - market size - capital requirements - government policies

product quality

In a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix, _____ are businesses that have only a small share of a quickly growing market. - dogs - entropies - stars - cash cows - question marks

question marks

A(n) _____ is an operational plan that is developed to carry out a course of action that is not likely to be repeated in the future. - rule or regulation - standing plan - single-use plan - SOP - policy

single-use plan

A standing plan that outlines the steps to be followed in a particular circumstance is called a______. - program - standard operating procedure - project - contingency plan - single-use plan

standard operating procedure

The area that increases the difficulty of an organization performing at a high level is a_______. - lack of resource deployment - differentiation strategy - threat - strategy - weakness

threat

Which of the following statements is true about a differentiation strategy? - It involves making simple, low-priced products for the mass market. - It is aimed at reducing production costs by using inexpensive raw materials. - It enables a firm to sell products at lower prices and still make profits. - It enables a firm to charge more for its products. - It cannot be used by companies that offer services only.

It enables a firm to charge more for its products.