Capstone Chap.1 The Nature of Strategic Management

3) What can be defined as the art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating crossfunctional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives? A) Strategy formulation B) Strategy evaluation C) Strategy implementation D) Strategic management E) Strategic leading

D

2) Strategic management focuses on integrating management, ________, and information systems to achieve organizational success. A) marketing B) finance and accounting C) production and operations D) research and development E) all of the above

E

24) Annual objectives are especially important in strategy formulation.

False

16) Strategy implementation is often considered to be the most difficult stage in the strategic management process.

True

12) During what stage of strategic management are a firm's specific internal strengths and weaknesses determined? A) Formulation B) Implementation C) Evaluation D) Feedback E) Goal-setting

A

13) What types of skills are especially critical for successful strategy implementation? A) Interpersonal B) Marketing C) Technical D) Conceptual E) Visionary

A

15) In which phase of strategic management are long-term objectives especially important? A) Formulation B) Control C) Evaluation D) Implementation E) Management

A

21) Generally, external opportunities and threats are A) uncontrollable by a single organization. B) unable to have a significant impact on an organization. C) not worth monitoring and evaluating. D) key functions in strategy implementation. E) key functions in strategy exploitation.

A

29) The Internet has transferred power from ________ to ________. A) businesses; individuals B) governments; businesses C) individuals; businesses D) businesses; governments E) individuals; governments

A

35) All of these are pitfalls an organization should avoid in strategic planning EXCEPT A) using plans as a standard for measuring performance. B) using strategic planning to gain control over decisions and resources. C) failing to involve key employees in all phases of planning. D) too hastily moving from mission development to strategy formulation. E) being so formal in planning that flexibility and creativity are stifled.

A

38) Terms such as objectives, mission, strengths, and weaknesses were first formulated to address problems A) on the battlefield. B) in the boardroom. C) on the trading floor. D) in the military hierarchy. E) in interpersonal relationships.

A

36) Which of the following is NOT a pitfall an organization should avoid in strategic planning? A) Failing to communicate the plan to employees B) Involving all managers rather than delegating planning to a "planner" C) Top managers not actively supporting the strategic-planning process D) Doing strategic planning only to satisfy accreditation or regulatory requirements E) Failing to create a collaborative climate supportive of change

B

39) Military strategy is based on an assumption of ________, whereas business strategy is based on an assumption of ________. A) conflict; cooperation B) conflict; competition C) cooperation; conflict D) competition; conflict E) cooperation; competition

B

1) The goal of strategic management is to A) achieve competitive advantage. B) maintain competitive advantage. C) achieve and maintain competitive advantage. D) eliminate competitive advantage. E) eliminate and abolish competitive advantage.

C

11) Sometimes ________ is used to refer to strategic formulation, implementation and evaluation, with ________ referring only to strategic formulation. A) strategic planning; strategic management B) strategic planning; strategic processing C) strategic management; strategic planning D) strategic management; strategic processing E) strategic implementation; strategic focus

C

14) In which phase of strategic management are annual objectives are especially important? A) Reduction B) Formulation C) Implementation D) Evaluation E) Policy

C

18) Which statement best describes intuition? A) It alone should be used in decision-making. B) It represents a minor factor in decision-making integrated with analysis. C) It should be coupled with analysis in decision-making. D) It is better than analysis in decision-making. E) It is management by ignorance.

C

22) The act of strengthening employees' sense of effectiveness by encouraging and rewarding them for participating in decision-making and exercising initiative and imagination is referred to as A) authoritarianism. B) proaction. C) empowerment. D) transformation. E) delegation.

C

25) How do line managers become "owners" of the strategy? A) By attending top manager meetings ) By executing plans formulated by other people C) By involvement in the strategic-management process D) By becoming a shareholder of the firm E) By buying off top managers

C

4) The strategic-management process represents a(n) ________, ________, and ________ approach for determining an enterprise's future direction. A) logical; systematic; subjective B) intuitive; disorganized; subjective C) logical; systematic; objective D) intuitive; disorganized; objective E) inconsistent; systematic; subjective

C

5) The strategic-management process A) occurs once a year. B) is a semiannual process. C) is a continuous process. D) applies mostly to companies with sales greater than $100 million. E) applies mostly to small businesses.

C

26) Annually, ________ businesses in the United States fail. A) exactly 100 B) less than 1,000 C) about 10,000 D) more than 100,000 E) almost 10 million

D

29) In mass retailing, big-box companies like Walmart, Best Buy, and Sears are A) gaining competitive advantage over smaller stores. B) participating in a dramatic shift to becoming bigger. C) increasing the square-footage of their retail locations. D) finding that less brick and mortar is better. E) noticing a sharp decline in online purchases.

D

There is a dramatic shift in mass retailing to A) "trading up" and taking customers from more exclusive stores. B) selling only the most expensive merchandise. C) opening dramatically larger supercenters. D) operating stores with less square footage. E) cutting back on their online presence.

D

10) The most effective strategic management is ritualistic, predictable, and formal.

False

17) Many organizations mistakenly spend more time and effort on the implementation of a plan, than on the formulation of the plan itself.

False

19) Management by intuition can be defined as operating from the "I've-already-made-up-mymind-don't-bother-me-with-the-facts mode."

False

20) An objective, logical, systematic, & non intuitive approach for making major decisions in an organization is a way to describe the strategic-management process.

False

23) Because the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has assumed much responsibility for strategic management in the last five years, the number of firms with the position of Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) has diminished drastically during this period.

False

34) Once a firm acquires a competitive advantage, it is usually able to sustain it indefinitely.

False

6) Optimizing for tomorrow the trends of today is the purpose of strategic management.

False

7) U.S. firms are not being aggressively challenged in the computer industry.

False

8) By occasionally monitoring external events, companies should be able to identify when change is required.

False

33) According to Greenley, some of the benefits of strategic management are increased discipline, enhanced communication, and more effective allocation of time and resources.

True

37) Making many intuitive decisions that conflict with the formal plan is a pitfall in strategic planning.

True

9) To be effective, strategic-management must be a process that familiarizes managers and employees with the key strategic issues facing an organization and the feasible alternatives for resolving those issues.

True