Stategic Management Final Exam
____________ are obstacles associated with a managerial tendency to look at issues from a biased or limited perspective. Barriers to entry Political barriers Behavioral barriers Systemic barriers
Behavioral barriers
Which statement characterizes Steve Jobs' and Tim Cook's contributions to Apple accurately? Steve Jobs has been a much better leader than Tim Cook because Apple was much more innovative under the leadership of Tim Cook. Tim Cook is a much better leader than Steve Jobs because Cook focused on culture, while Jobs relied on boundaries. Both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook made much needed contributions to Apple, but they did it in different areas. None of them had a lasting positive impact on Apple.
Both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook made much needed contributions to Apple, but they did it in different areas.
In choosing sides concerning CEO duality, two schools of thought exist. Which of the following would not be a consideration for the Unity of Command school of thought? One person holding both roles will be able to act more efficiently and effectively. CEO duality provides smoother strategic decision making. CEO duality creates unity across the board of directors and managers of a company. CEO duality slows down decision making.
CEO duality slows down decision making.
Refreshing previous learnings on leadership and teamwork (covered in Class 16): Which leadership type is not discussed by Plato? Captain Sower Artist Weaver
Captain
Which of the following is not an example of how organizational culture exerts behavioral control? Culture helps maintain control by creating behavioral norms. Culture generates unwritten standards of acceptable behavior. Culture encourages individual identification with the organization and its objectives. Culture sets explicit boundaries.
Culture sets explicit boundaries.
How did Procter & Gamble understand innovation under the leadership of AG Lafley? Creating new products. Investing in new technology. Customer experience in product shopping, marketing, design, and usage. Coming up with new ideas on how to do business at P&G.
Customer experience in product shopping, marketing, design, and usage.
Which major moral theory does the idea of "acting on those principles whose universal acceptance you could prescribe" belong to? Utilitarianism Ethics of Care Deontology Virtue Ethics
Deontology
Which strategic framework can explain why Alibaba originated from China, and not from another country? Stakeholder Theory Porter's 5 Forces Two Opposing Pressures Diamond of National Advantage
Diamond of National Advantage
AG Lafley served as CEO at Procter & Gamble during two terms. How did his strategy differ during these two terms? During his first term, AG Lafley focused on P&G core brands. In this second term, he expanded core brand by pursuing related diversification. During his first term, AG Lafley pursued the strategy of "the consumer is boss". In his second term, he focused on "purpose-inspired growth". During his first term, AG Lafley pursued growth through acquiring brands. During his second term, he focused on divesting brands. AG Lafley was consistent during his two terms and his strategy did not change much.
During his first term, AG Lafley pursued growth through acquiring brands. During his second term, he focused on divesting brands.
Which major moral theory has been developed in stark contrast to the idea that moral development is based on moral reasoning? Virtue Ethics Pragmatism Deontology Ethics of Care
Ethics of Care
What are Big Five Personality traits? Extroversion, Introversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Honesty, Openness to Experience Extroversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience
Extroversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience
Focused corporate venturing permeates all parts of the organization and involves every member of the organization. True False
False
What is the role of choosing a framework in resolving the Danville Airlines issue? Anything that helps resolve an issue is the right framework in that situation. A utilitarian approach is the most useful framework for resolving the Danville Airlines problem. Framing a problem (e.g., as a legal, business, or ethical one) can lead us to different solutions, so it's important to spend time on framing the issue. It doesn't matter much what framework you use, what really matters is one's willingness to resolve an issue.
Framing a problem (e.g., as a legal, business, or ethical one) can lead us to different solutions, so it's important to spend time on framing the issue.
What generic business-level strategy did Zynga pursue? Cost leadership Differentiation Focused Got stuck in the middle
Got stuck in the middle
What was the attitude of Mark Pinkus, the founder and CEO of Zynga, to creativity? He was a strong believer in creativity and constantly inspired his team to come up with their own innovative video games. He believed in creativity but didn't do much to foster an innovative culture in his firm. He didn't appreciate any innovative ideas and instead asked his team to copy whatever their competitors did. It's not clear from the Zynga case what its founder thought about creativity.
He didn't appreciate any innovative ideas and instead asked his team to copy whatever their competitors did.
What did Morris Chang do at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) that demonstrated his strong leadership? He followed his vision and persuaded stakeholders (investors, government, employees, etc.) to support his invention of semiconductors. He followed his vision and persuaded stakeholders (investors, government, employees, etc.) to support him in building large manufacturing facilities for producing semiconductors for other companies. He had strong emotional intelligence by empathizing with his employees. As a result, employees at his production facilities were more productive compared to those at competitor sites. He had exceptional emotional intelligence that allowed him to leverage his social capital in finding new customers.
He followed his vision and persuaded stakeholders (investors, government, employees, etc.) to support him in building large manufacturing facilities for producing semiconductors for other companies.
What key takeaway can we derive from the Danville Airlines case? Information obtained illegally, even if it's important, should be ignored in managerial decision-making. Customer satisfaction (i.e. Daville's passengers) should be of the utmost importance for the management of the company. In decision-making, the Danville management needs to account for the interests of all the stakeholders such as the pilot, the future of the company, the passengers (and their families), the coworkers, etc. There are no takeaways, it's just an interesting story to read
In decision-making, the Danville management needs to account for the interests of all the stakeholders such as the pilot, the future of the company, the passengers (and their families), the coworkers, etc.
Informational control systems are concerned with which of the following questions? Is the organization doing the right things? Is the organization doing things right? Are rules and regulations being followed as information is processed? Is the environment of the organization a necessary and sufficient condition for success?
Is the organization doing the right things?
When implementing the One Ford strategy, which brands (or their stocks) did Ford sell off or discontinue? Saab, Porsche, Subaru, Buick, and Opel Renault, Peugeot, and Citroen Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, and Oldsmobile Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Volvo, Mercury, and Mazda
Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Volvo, Mercury, and Mazda
The renowned American philosopher who worked in the area of justice as fairness and developed the concept of the veil of ignorance: _________ John Rawls John Stuart Mill William James Benjamin Franklin
John Rawls
What is the key factor that makes a leadership action ethical according to deontology? Ethical behavior Ethically-praiseworthy consequences Moral character Moral intent
Moral intent
Alibaba is considering expanding in the US market. Taking into account the two opposing pressures for international expansion, which strategy should Alibaba choose? Transnational Multidomestic International Global
Multidomestic
________ occurs when a firm decides to utilize other firms to perform value-creating activities that were previously performed in-house. A global strategy A transnational strategy Outsourcing Offshoring
Outsourcing
A typical advantage of a functional organizational structure lies in Decentralized decision-making enhances an organization-wide perspective across functions. It facilitates the development of general management talent. Pooling of specialists enhances coordination and control. It is easy to establish uniform performance standards.
Pooling of specialists enhances coordination and control.
What is the key factor in developing a good character in virtue ethics? Being born virtuous Reading literature on organizational leadership Practicing good actions and making such behavior a habit Learning about heroes and saints through books, movies, and stories.
Practicing good actions and making such behavior a habit
Effective boundaries and constraints tend to inhibit organizational efficiency. help employees focus on organizational priorities. minimize improper and unethical conduct. tend to limit organizational growth.
minimize improper and unethical conduct.
When deciding on an organizational structure, it is important to consider the ________ and ________ of growth. accessibility and nature definition and accessibility nature and magnitude nature and definition
nature and magnitude
According to Drucker, what should be the ultimate test? one's strengths and weaknesses what one does well one's values one's score on the final exam in COB 487
one's values
When it comes to organizational structure, it is defined as the formalized patterns of interactions that connect a firm's ________, ________, and ________. people, processes, and tasks tasks, mechanisms, and techniques people, processes, and mechanisms people, tasks, and technologies
people, tasks, and technologies
A diversification strategy in large firms requires to reorganize around ________ or ________. product lines or geographic markets geographical markets or competition competition or product lines all of the above
product lines or geographic markets
Which of the following does not constitute organizational bases of a leader's power? legitimate power reward power referent power coercive power
referent power
Key leadership behaviors include relational behavior, transformational behavior, and change behavior relational behavior, task behavior, and change behavior visionary behavior, task behavior, and transformational behavior relational behavior, role-modeling behavior, and visionary behavior
relational behavior, task behavior, and change behavior
Which of the following approaches to behavioral strategic control would be the least appropriate for an organization in which there is a great need for innovation and a high degree of autonomy? culture rewards rules incentives
rules
Which is an advantage of a holding company organizational structure? savings in personnel and overhead expenses associated with a small corporate office. a high level of awareness at the corporate office of issues facing individual divisions. a high level of control of division executives by executives at the corporate level. gaining synergistic benefits across businesses.
savings in personnel and overhead expenses associated with a small corporate office.
Product champions are strong supporters of the status quo. are typically senior executives. are usually inventors of some sort. scavenge for resources and encourage others to back promising new ideas.
scavenge for resources and encourage others to back promising new ideas.
CEO duality refers to a situation in which the CEO formulates and implements strategies. serves as both the CEO and the chair of the board of directors. is responsible for acting as CEO and serving on the compensation committee. is responsible for acting as CEO and Chief Operating Officer (COO).
serves as both the CEO and the chair of the board of directors.
Aristotle is well-known for his work on character traits. He argues that people should develop traits to their maximum like being as much courageous as possible. should practice the golden mean in their behavior like displaying courage. can do nothing as traits, such as courage, are inherited and cannot change over time. should not bother much about their character traits.
should practice the golden mean in their behavior like displaying courage.
Firms following a global strategy strive to offer ________ products and services as well as locate manufacturing, research and development, and marketing activities in a limited number of locations. standardized more expensive local widely differentiated internationally differentiated
standardized
Which of the following is not a key control lever of behavioral control? structure culture rewards boundaries
structure
Which of the following do corporate business incubators typically not provide? physical space student interns mentoring funding
student interns
The source of referent power is derived from the fact that the manager can potentially act as a reference when the employee applies for another job. derived from the manager's ability to provide effective incentives to employees. subordinate's identification with the leader. leader's identification with the subordinates.
subordinate's identification with the leader.
The main idea of Peter Drucker's reading is that managing oneself is a top priority in the second half of one's life. success comes to those who know themselves. managing others is what really matters. it's worth developing your personality traits
success comes to those who know themselves.
Innovations that extend sales in an existing market, usually by enabling new products or services to be sold at higher margins, are known as ________ innovations. radical sustaining disruptive technology
sustaining
When Target offered online purchasing of groceries for in-store pick up and then store delivery to customer locations, it realized that their supply chain logistics no longer matched with the demands of this new offer. This is an example of what kind of barrier to change? vested interests in the status quo personal time constraints systemic barrier behavioral barrier
systemic barrier
New knowledge involves the continual interaction between ________ and ________ knowledge. intellectual; pragmatic tacit; explicit theoretical; practical technical; financial
tacit; explicit
There is some dissatisfaction in work or personal relationships if one partner scores lower than the other on agreeableness, stability, and openness. This means that one of the partners needs to quit. there was a hiring mistake. one or both partners need to change to reach the same level of agreeableness, stability, and openness. the partners have to openly discuss their modes of behavior to manage their expectations better.
the partners have to openly discuss their modes of behavior to manage their expectations better.
Real options analysis (ROA) is an investment analysis tool from the field of finance. When applied to entrepreneurship, it suggests a path that companies can use to manage the ________ associated with launching ________ ventures. interests; new uncertainty; new risk; stable certainty; large
uncertainty; new
Susan took a project after the entire team left the company and she mananged to reconstruct what the team had accomplished through reading emails exchanged by the members of the team. This is an example of inefficient use of information management. using explicit knowledge. using tacit knowledge. using email knowledge.
using explicit knowledge.
The main idea of the veil of ignorance is that we have limited knowledge and cannot comprehend the world fully. people should not use their lack of knowledge as an excuse for wrongdoing. we should develop fair governing norms for our society from behind a "veil of ignorance" - without knowing our places in the social order, gender, race, status, etc. ignorance prevents people from building a fair society.
we should develop fair governing norms for our society from behind a "veil of ignorance" - without knowing our places in the social order, gender, race, status, etc.
If we apply the Myers-Briggs personality dimensions to the Strategic Management context, then Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N) describe how one prefers to analyze external and internal environments make strategic decisions approach strategic management overall recharge one's energy
analyze external and internal environments
If we apply the Myers-Briggs personality dimensions to the Strategic Management context, then Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P) describe how one prefers to recharge one's energy make strategic decisions analyze external and internal environments approach strategic management overall
approach strategic management overall
To build strong human capital in a today's knowledge economy, it's important to hire best talent. invest in performance evaluation of employees. offer stock options to employees. attract, develop, and retain employees.
attract, develop, and retain employees.
In the today's knowledge economy, the difference between the market value and book value of the company should ________ than its physical and financial assets. be equal to not be correlated with be greater than be smaller than
be greater than
Dynamic capabilities include all of the following except learning and innovating. becoming more efficient in operational processes. the ability of an organization to challenge the conventional industry in its industry and market. continuously adopting new ways of serving the evolving needs of the market.
becoming more efficient in operational processes.
What determines power in network structure? centrality, essentiality, rigidity, partnerships centrality, essentiality, flexibility, visibility, coalitions, transparency centrality, criticality, flexibility, visibility, coalitions centrality, criticality, rigidity, visibility, coalitions, transparency
centrality, criticality, flexibility, visibility, coalitions
The innovation dilemma known as "seeds versus weeds" refers to choosing to pursue radical rather than incremental innovations. promoting organizational stars onto innovation teams rather than involving all employees in innovation efforts. choosing to pursue product rather than process innovations. choosing to pursue investment in one innovative idea over another.
choosing to pursue investment in one innovative idea over another.
Leadership task behaviors deal with working on one's own tasks in a diligent and timely manner. expressing a compelling vision and being open to communication and insight from elsewhere clearly structuring the work, having well-thought tasks that different merbers perform, and knowing and clarifying for others how the task interrelate making the team a nice place to be, including settling conflicts, getting to know people, building trust, and expressing concerns and consideration
clearly structuring the work, having well-thought tasks that different merbers perform, and knowing and clarifying for others how the task interrelate
According to the article on "The Secrets of Great Teamwork", which are the enabling conditions of efficient teamwork? compelling strategy, organizational structure, internal environment, stakeholder mindset compelling strategy, strong structure, supportive context, stakeholder mindset compelling direction, strong structure, supportive context, shared mindset compelling direction, organizational structure, internal environment, shared mindset
compelling direction, strong structure, supportive context, shared mindset
Which of the following is not a part of the three broad sets of capabilities that a leader should possess? competitive advantage acuity technical skills cognitive abilities emotional intelligence
competitive advantage acuity
Project ________ involves justifying whether an opportunity is attractive in the marketplace; project ________ involves evaluating the strategic and economic impact of a new venture. reward; development development; focus definition; impetus impetus; definition
definition; impetus
To be responsive to local pressures, companies must ________ their offerings and strategies from country to country to reflect local consumer preferences. standardize globalize internationalize differentiate
differentiate
Both a holding company organizational structure and a strategic business unit (SBU) organizational structure are a result of extensive ______________ vertical integration. diversification. international expansion. organizational flattening.
diversification.
Which of these points is the strongest indicator for global competitive success according to Porter's diamond of national advantage? global rivalry foreign rivalry domestic rivalry international rivalry
domestic rivalry
Which of the following does not explain why organizations are prone to inertia and slow to change? vested interests in the status quo personal time constraints political barriers entry barriers
entry barriers
Which of the following describes the most typical order of entry into foreign markets? exporting, franchising, licensing, joint venture, and wholly owned subsidiary exporting, licensing, franchising, joint venture, and wholly owned subsidiary licensing, exporting, franchising, joint venture, and wholly owned subsidiary franchising, licensing, exporting, joint venture, and wholly owned subsidiary
exporting, licensing, franchising, joint venture, and wholly owned subsidiary
In a 360-degree evaluation and feedback system, who does not rate the skills and performance of an individual? family superiors direct reports colleagues
family
When Drucker talks about "how do I perform?", he means paying a thorough attention to your performance evaluation. constantly checking the Balance Scorecard in the strategic simulation (btw, Round 4 is due Monday). figuring out whether you are more a listener or a reader. never isolating yourself from your team and treating the team results as your own.
figuring out whether you are more a listener or a reader.
The primary participants in corporate governance do not include the shareholders. financial institutions. management. board of directors.
financial institutions.
If a firm with a simple organizational structure grows significantly, it is most likely to develop a ________ organizational structure. divisional functional product-market geographic
functional
A matrix organizational structure is characterized by a combination of the ________ structure and ________ structure. simple and functional functional and divisional simple and divisional holding and divisional
functional and divisional
One of the important limitations of social capital is that it can lead to ________ whereby people do not question shared beliefs. skunkworks think tanks isolation groupthink
groupthink
Organizations need to develop appropriate control mechanisms in order to control employees' actions and minds. implement their strategies. expand internationally. control their competitive advantage.
implement their strategies.
According to Peter Drucker, when it comes to one's strengths and weaknesses, it makes sense to do a SWOT analysis. develop one strength a year, and overcome one weakness a year. focus on improving your weaknesses. improve your strengths to excellence.
improve your strengths to excellence.
Which of the following is a reason for the rise in regional expansion? increasing national trade restrictions increase in the number of trading blocs and free trade zones increasing local taxes and tariffs decrease in the number of trading blocs and free trade zones
increase in the number of trading blocs and free trade zones
The conscientiousness trait is about being "mindful" of what you are doing this particular moment. following traditional values. individual differences in carefulness, self-discipline, and dutifulness. displaying ethical behavior.
individual differences in carefulness, self-discipline, and dutifulness.
The relationship between the personality traits and gender is a cornerstone in behavioral strategy. is not explored enough. shows that women are more prone to certain traits than men, and vice versa. is limited because variation within genders is much bigger than the difference between genders.
is limited because variation within genders is much bigger than the difference between genders.
What agreement entails the creation of a third-party legal entity? licensing exporting joint venture strategic alliance
joint venture
Managing oneself is about building the right personality traits. practicing an efficient time management. giving tasks to oneself when your boss is absent. knowing one's strengths, values, and how one best performs.
knowing one's strengths, values, and how one best performs.
When Yun Jong Yong because the CEO of Samsung, one of the first things he did was: investing into the pagers and coffeemakers as new promising directions of strategic development. piling up large inventories to avoid stock out causing substantial lost sales. inviting for lunch a new employee each day to learn more about their work specifics. locking himself in a hotel room for an entire day with nine other senior managers.
locking himself in a hotel room for an entire day with nine other senior managers.
If we apply the Myers-Briggs personality dimensions to the Strategic Management context, then Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F) describe how one prefers to recharge one's energy approach strategic management overall make strategic decisions analyze external and internal environments
make strategic decisions
Leadership relational behaviors deal with clearly structuring the work, having well-thought tasks that different members perform, and knowing and clarifying for others how the tasks interrelate. expressing a compelling vision and being open to communication and insight from elsewhere. making the team a nice place to be, including settling conflicts, getting to know people, building trust, and expressing concerns and consideration. all of the above
making the team a nice place to be, including settling conflicts, getting to know people, building trust, and expressing concerns and consideration.
What is the main idea(s) of pragmatism? Being pragmatic means that each person should focus on one's own wellbeing because this is what really matters at the end of the day. The consequences of an action are more important than its context; and we should avoid emotions in evaluating an action. Any discussion should be focused on bettering our lives, and the context of an issue matters. People should be pragmatic in their decision making, thus reasoning should prevail over emotions.
Any discussion should be focused on bettering our lives, and the context of an issue matters.
To meet market needs companies sometimes change product names so that the name in the local language is culturally meaningful. This is an example of a company using ________ strategy. an international a multidomestic a single country a customized
a multidomestic
What is the main idea of the Samsung case discussed in class? The rivalry between Samsung and Apple in the smartphone market. Samsung's expansion from the smartphone industry into unrelated diversification such as televisions and refrigerators. A successful transition of Samsung from an underperforming business into a leading innovation company. Organizing innovative boot camps for new hires.
A successful transition of Samsung from an underperforming business into a leading innovation company.
Which CEO has had a long lasting impact on Ford due to implementing the "One Ford" strategy and creating a smaller but more profitable Ford? Jacques Nasser Allan Mulally Mark Field Jim Hackett
Allan Mulally
Real options analysis is most appropriate when a small investment up front can be followed by a series of subsequent investments. there is no prospect of obtaining additional knowledge before making subsequent investments. the investment required can be justified by Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) techniques. the total investment required is small, but the environment is uncertain.
a small investment up front can be followed by a series of subsequent investments.
_____________ are obstacles in which the design of organization structure, information processing, and reporting relationships, impede the proper flow and evaluation of information. Barriers to entry Political barriers Behavioral barriers Systemic barriers
Systemic barriers
What is the main idea of "structured unstructured time"? It is a process of structuring value chain phases in time as they otherwise would be a mess (unstructured) if applied at the same time It is an example of a paradox faced by managers: structuring what cannot be structured by definition (e.g., time) Time blocked off in the schedule to talk about matters not directly related to the task at hand Structuring Strategy Development in an unstructured (uncertain) environment
Time blocked off in the schedule to talk about matters not directly related to the task at hand
Refreshing previous learnings on leadership (covered in Class 16): Which leadership style focuses on inspiring followers? Servant Leadership Transformational Leadership Transactional Leadership Delegative Leadership
Transformational Leadership
Which moral theory focuses on consequences of a leadership decision? Deontology Utilitarianism Virtue Ethics Ethics of Care
Utilitarianism
