MGMT 3340 Exam 3 Ch 7,8,&9

When discussing solutions for increasing profitability of a new product, Dale raises a concern that one of the alternatives may negatively impact sales for other products. Dale's concern demonstrates a focus on the _______ of the alternative.

practicality

Game Play sells gaming systems and allows customers to mix and match individual components when placing a system order. Which type of facilities layout would best serve Game Play's production needs?

process

A firm manufactures custom-made furniture. Which facilities layout would best suit the firm's needs?

process layout

Ethan and his peers developed an entirely new set and sequence of order fulfilment tasks that improved organizational efficiency by 20%. The team's efforts demonstrate

process reengineering.

For an organization to obtain a competitive advantage through superior innovation, it should

produce products with technologies that have not been used previously.

An automobile assembly line is arranged in a _______ layout, with a fixed sequence of workstations adding specific components until the full vehicle is assembled

product

To achieve _______, managers must find a way to lower costs and/or increase differentiation

a competitive advantage

Maintaining close coordination of value chain functions such as engineering, manufacturing, and marketing throughout a product development is best achieved through using

a cross-functional team

Each month, a team of managers evaluates new and in-progress projects and determines which ones will receive the necessary functional resources to progress in the coming month. This process demonstrates

a stage-gate development funnel.

Jordan works for a bank and decides whether to approve small business loans. He researches market saturation and the health of existing businesses before deciding how likely the prospective small business owner is to succeed. Jordan is making a(n) _______ decision.

nonprogrammed

The manager of the Dairy Barn must decide whether to introduce a new frozen dessert that has not been previously sold. What type of decision would this represent?

nonprogrammed

In the classical model of decision making, the most appropriate decision possible in light of what is believed to be the most desirable consequences for the organization is known as the _______ decision.

optimum

Julia believes that it is important to find ways to motivate her employees to make decisions that raise effectiveness of the team and overall company. Julia is committed to

organizational learning

The home page for a pet daycare says it strives to "provide an affordable and safe home away from home where your pets are treated like family and our employees love them like their own." This excerpt is part of the business

mission statement

In order to cater to local tastes and culinary traditions, a well-known restaurant chain offers customized versions of its menu in different countries. This is an example of a(n) _______ strategy

multidomestic

When executing an effective decision-making process, it is

necessary to make many subsequent and related decisions in order to implement a chosen alternative.

In a stage-gate development funnel model,

new product ideas are encouraged at stage 1.

A hurricane was approaching Miami, and although there was no evacuation order, the president of a local company decided to close the business and send his employees home. This is an example of a(n) _______ decision.

nonprogrammed

To foster a learning organization, managers should empower employees and allow them to develop a sense of _______ through experimentation, creativity, and exploration.

personal mastery

Although it was not explicitly noted in the employee handbook, Jennie was told at the start of her internship that employees are expected to dress in business casual attire each day. This dress code is a _______ of the organization.

policy

The employee handbook expresses an expectation that employees make every attempt to schedule their vacation time around any existing business commitments. This is an example of a

policy

Judy has thought of a novel solution to her company's recent challenges fulfilling customer orders on time. She must now determine whether the company has the capabilities and resources required to implement the solution. Which criterion of decision making is she addressing?

practicality

The president of Bank Fortuna is attempting to determine whether the bank has both the capability and the resources to open a branch facility in a new location. Which criterion of decision making is the president addressing?

practicality

In order to pool or share resources and know-how with a foreign company and subsequently share the rewards and risks of starting a new venture in a foreign country, an organization would pursue a

strategic alliance

The CEO of Blake's company effectively motivates employees by actively engaging them in her vision of the company's goals and what she believes they can achieve in the industry. The CEO exhibits _______ skills.

strategic leadership

When employees buy into a corporate vision and model their behavior on an executive who compels them to undertake the hard work necessary to achieve big goals, the executive is exhibiting effective

strategic leadership

A(n) _______ is a group of related managerial decisions and actions to help an organization achieve its goals.

strategy

A company that continually improves management of its value chain in order to supply products with the quality, cost, and features desired in the market is demonstrating

superior responsiveness to customers

To decrease product defects, materials managers must work closely with _______ to improve the quality of raw materials and obtained parts.

suppliers

Two divisions of a company decide to consolidate manufacturing facilities to maximize supplier discounts, optimize inventory management, and reduce fixed costs. This is an example of

synergy

Capable managers who repeatedly make the same mistakes that lead to poor decisions are making

systematic errors.

According to the SWOT analysis, an opportunity for a company would be the ability to

take over a bankrupt competitor

Alaina anticipated some controversy getting managers from different functional teams to agree on the best course of action. She convened the managers face-to-face, and after presenting the issue at hand, gave them each 30 minutes to jot down their ideas and solutions. After discussing each idea in turn, each manager ranked the solutions and the one with the highest ranking was selected. Alaina used _______ to facilitate the decision making.

the nominal group technique

Managers pursue functional-level strategies that allow the organization's value chain to provide

the same product attributes at a lower price

During a SWOT analysis, Sweet Treats identifies a growing number of local businesses now offering bakery items to customers. This finding would be characterized as a(n)

threat

A management team considers the organization's strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats in its current marketplace. The team is performing a _______ analysis

SWOT

What could a manager do to promote individual creativity in an organization?

A manager can give employees space to experiment.

A(n) _______ strategy is selling the same standardized product and using the same basic marketing approach in each national market.

A) global

_______ is a corporate-level strategy in which a company expands its business operations into a new industry that produces inputs for the company's products.

Backward vertical integration

_______ is a corporate-level strategy that emphasizes reinvesting a company's profits in strengthening its competitive position in its current industry.

Concentration on a single industry

_______ is a decision maker's ability to discover original and novel ideas that lead to feasible alternative courses of action.

Creativity

In order to succeed, how should an organization respond to customer demands?

Customer demands should drive value chain activities.

_______ increases costs and forces companies to raise the prices of their products

Differentiation

______ is a measure of how well an organization's input resources are used to produce its outputs.

Efficiency

Ashraf wants his company to become a learning organization. What would you advise Ashraf to do to help achieve his goal?

Encourage employees to explore personal mental models and challenge them to consider new approaches.

_______ are intrapreneurial managers who leave their current organizations because of a lack of opportunity and start their own companies.

Entrepreneurs

_______ is a source of bias that causes managers to continue to pursue a course of action even when evidence may indicate the chosen alternative is not advised.

Escalating commitment

_______ is the process of designing the machine-worker interface to increase operating system efficiency.

Facilities layout

Yin observes that several of his employees have valuable creative talent. What could Yin do to promote individual creativity?

Reward employees who come up with creative ideas

Stefan has been tasked with deciding how best to improve his company's manufacturing process. Why should Stefan assemble a team and approach the decision as a group rather than going it alone?

He will be able to draw on the combined skills, competencies, and accumulated knowledge of group members to make the best decision.

_______ results from overestimating one's own ability to influence actions and events.

Illusion of control

_______ is the gradual improvement and refinement of existing products over time as existing technologies are perfected

Incremental product innovation

A recent review of the company's operational costs showed that it needed to achieve dramatic improvements in all aspects of performance to stay competitive. What should the CEO do to best improve performance?

Launch a process reengineering task force

_______ is allowing a foreign organization to take charge of manufacturing and distributing a product in its country or world region in return for a negotiated fee

Licensing

When making nonroutine decisions, how do managers tend to view their decision-making skills?

Managers tend to be overconfident about their intuition and judgments.

When deciding on schedules, the construction manager takes into account probabilities related to delays in materials or the potential for bad weather that could impact progress. The manager is accounting for

Risk

_______ is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business procedures to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed

Process reengineering

_______ is the management of the value chain activities that bring new goods or services to market

Product development

_______ is the development of new, often radically different, kinds of goods and services

Quantum product innovation

_______ is an approach that creates teams of expert change agents known as "green belts and black belts" to take control of problem finding, problem solving, and training other employees in implementing solutions.

Six Sigma

_______ plans are useful to control the way employees perform tasks in cases where situations occur repeatedly.

Standing

_______ is the process of developing an action plan that will allow an organization to achieve its goals, while using techniques such as SWOT analysis and the five forces model.

Strategy formulation

What is one important way that information systems and the Internet have impacted companies?

Suppliers are able to provide components on a just-in-time basis.

_______ is a technique that focuses all functions within an organization on improving the design, features, reliability, and after-sales support of products.

Total quality management

______ refers to a series of functional activities needed to transform inputs into valuable finished goods or services.

Value chain

_______ management is the development of a set of functional-level strategies that support a company's business-level strategy and strengthen its competitive advantage.

Value chain

Jalen always strives to make optimum choices from the known alternatives but accepts that he will never have access to all available information and therefore must strive for the most satisfactory decisions. This realization is consistent with the _______ of decision making.

administrative model

The first step of strategy implementation is

allocating responsibility for implementation to the appropriate individuals or groups

During a performance review discussion, Simone stated that she "could not evaluate Bob too highly." Brenda interpreted Simone's comments as favorable, but Stan believed she was indicating low performance. Simone's statement illustrates the problem of

ambiguous information.

To effectively implement total quality management, managers should

ask employees for suggestions about improvements.

A company's senior management team was discussing moving its operations to a new location; however, the number of variables that would affect the move were so great that they could not begin to evaluate them all. This situation illustrates the concept of

bounded rationality.

Jaleel's work group meets face-to-face and generates numerous alternatives to a product issue, many of them radical and a few out of the box. After identifying all alternatives, the group discusses the pros and cons of each and agrees on a short list of the best solutions. Jaleel's group is using _______ as part of its decision-making process.

brainstorming

A successful total quality management (TQM) program requires

breaking down barriers between functions

Eastern Region Vice President Goodall works with her team of sales managers to develop a _______ plan, which defines the strategies, goals, and structure associated with achieving the company's objectives in the Eastern region of the United States

business-level

A functional-level plan establishes the goals that the managers of each function will pursue to help the division attain its _______ goals, which then allow achievement of _______ goals

business-level; corporate-level

Organizations should refrain from offering too high a level of responsiveness to customers because

company costs may become too high.

Rachel believes strongly that her alternative to a problem is the best solution. When lobbying for her solution with the team, she focuses only on aspects of the evaluation document consistent with her claims. What is Rachel demonstrating?

confirmation bias

Pinnacle Financial Services managers meet annually to create a list of potential future complications and plan how to respond to each possibility. Pinnacle is practicing _______ planning

contingency

It is important that managers consider previous plans and make ongoing modifications that ensure plans at all levels fit together into one framework to achieve

continuity.

A _______ is a written agreement that details project factors such as responsibilities, resources, budgets, timelines, and development milestones.

contract book

Riya is assigned to a new project and has ownership for key project stages from planning, through development, to delivery. Riya is considered a _______ member of the project team

core

In a small developing country, the percentage of the population switching to cellular technology in recent years has been rapidly increasing. A multinational telecommunication services company decides to take advantage of this change by installing network infrastructure and establishing a sales presence in that country. This is an example of a _______ strategy.

corporate-level

A group consists of key representatives from all departments in the product development process, such as marketing, sales, finance, and manufacturing. These core members have primary responsibility for the product, with supporting resources as needed. This is an example of a(n)

cross-functional team

A local newspaper hosts a booth at community events and uses electronic tablets to create new subscriptions on the spot. It also accepts subscription inquiries and article commentary through an online site and regularly sends notices to readers about important updates to the newspaper. This publisher is implementing

customer relationship management

A retailer leverages an integrated IT system to connect information across multiple functions including details surrounding product sales, service calls, and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. The retailer is using _______ to maximize the value it delivers over time

customer relationship management

Tristan conducts service and installation visits for a cable company. He uses an online system to access a client's history and updates the system with results from all interactions. This is an example of using _______ to be responsive and build loyalty

customer relationship management

Over many years, Speedy Delivery has built a strong reputation and a loyal client base by ensuring all delivery issues are quickly resolved to the satisfaction of both senders and receivers. This is an example of an effective _______ function.

customer service

According to TQM philosophy, who is responsible for defining what constitutes quality for a product or service?

customers

Each month, Brian reviews sales data, analyzes market opportunities and threats, and determines organizational goals and actions for the coming month. This is an example of

decision making.

Flexible manufacturing techniques are based on the premise that

decreases in setup time will increase time available for greater production output

Prior to defining an organization's missions and goals, managers must

define its business

To realize improvements in ease of production, a company should

design products with fewer component parts

The first step in planning for an organization is

determining the organization's missions and goals

Susan often defends unpopular or opposing alternatives for the sake of argument when discussing an issue. Susan is demonstrating

devil's advocacy.

Two separate groups of managers are given a problem to solve, and each group then presents its proposed solution to top management in an attempt to determine the best course of action. This process is called

dialectical inquiry.

A local bike shop offers free tune-ups and simple repairs for any bike purchased there and even provides free pickup and delivery service for local customers. The shop is able to provide these exclusive services by selling its bikes at a premium price. The shop is following a _______ strategy.

differentiation

An organization consistently invests above the industry average in research and development. As a result, it is able to offer exclusive product features, although product pricing is higher to account for the additional investment. This organization is using a _______ strategy.

differentiation

Jacob, a marketing manager, is determining if the company budget allows for advertising a new product. Which criterion of decision making is he addressing?

economic feasibility

1) Increasing the efficiency of an operating system has the effect of

enabling an organization to make a greater profit.

The first step in a stage-gate development funnel is to

encourage employees to come up with as many new product ideas as possible

After realizing that members of his rural community regularly drove over 15 miles for a touchless car wash, Ethan took out a small business loan and partnered with a local gas station to provide the service locally. Ethan exhibited traits of a(n)

entrepreneur.

Li believes his destiny is in his own hands and is open to taking risks and trying new things. He is very confident in his abilities and has a strong drive to achieve success for himself. Li demonstrates characteristics of a(n)

entrepreneur.

Rafael, who has committed large amounts of time and money to his house-painting business, continues to keep his business running despite incurring heavy losses. What form of cognitive bias is Rafael demonstrating?

escalating commitment

The marketing manager of ToyBiz indicated that due to manufacturing efficiencies and market buzz, a new toy they were about to launch was likely to generate revenue beyond original projections. The lead designer reported that lab tests showed a risk that the toy could malfunction, possibly injuring a user, but that the design met required industry standards. By deciding to launch the toy as designed, what criterion of decision making were company executives ignoring?

ethicalness

Regan has identified alternatives to a work problem. After considering the pros and cons of each option, she has chosen and implemented a solution. What should Regan do next for an effective decision-making process?

evaluate the results of the solution

Corey, a project manager, is responsible for tracking project issues. Each week, he provides details regarding the effectiveness of solutions and what experiences could be used to guide improved issue resolution in the future. Corey's reporting is an example of the _______ step of the decision-making process.

feedback

The marketing team at TM Co. decides to focus its advertising efforts for a new product on the radio rather than television based on the cost-benefit analysis for each option. After a month, the team reconvenes to review the first month's sales data and radio advertising expenses. This is which step in an effective decision-making process?

feedback

The _______ input resources required to produce a given volume of output are, the _______ efficiency of the operating system will be

fewer; higher

Complex, difficult-to-move products are often produced using a _______ layout.

fixed-position

According to Henri Fayol, an effective plan should have the qualities of unity, continuity, accuracy, and

flexibility

A multinational tire manufacturer introduces a line of premium, high-priced tires that can handle extreme temperatures. The tires are only marketed in the Middle East and were designed with the climatic conditions of that region in mind. The manufacturer is pursuing a _______ strategy.

focused differentiation

With a _______ strategy, managers aim to make their organization the most distinguished company serving just one or a few segments of the overall market.

focused differentiation

In pursuing a _______ strategy, managers aim to make their organization the lowest-cost company serving a select few segments of the overall market.

focused low-cost

After many years of distributing his leather goods through a large chain of department stores, Dominic, a designer, decides to open a boutique to exclusively sell his leather goods directly to consumers. Dominic is following a(n) _______ strategy

forward vertical integration

The intermediate- and short-term plans created within a work group typically address the _______ goals and strategies of an organization.

functional

A _______ strategy is a plan of action to improve the ability of a department to perform its task-specific activities in ways that add value to an organization's goods and services

functional-level

Celia is part of the team responsible for providing human resource planning and services for the rest of the company. Her team would be considered _______ managers

functional-level

Each department within an organization should develop a _______ strategy to outline how the department will improve its ability to perform task-specific activities in ways that add value to the organization's goods and services.

functional-level

The CEO of a restaurant chain announces that the company will be fully compliant with improved nutritional standards within the next three years. As the marketing manager for the restaurant, Brenda is tasked with developing goals and a plan for promoting the changes in concert with other areas within the company. Brenda's efforts are considered _______ planning.

functional-level

The management team of an automobile company's luxury division decides to release a new model a month ahead of the planned date and notifies all departments associated with the division. The departmental managers must alter their _______ plans to accommodate the earlier release.

functional-level

To speed product development and promote innovation, managers should avoid

funding too many project ideas at one time.

Highly innovative and creative companies tend to

give employees freedom to experiment and learn.

Most electronic devices allow the users to select which operating language to utilize. Manufacturers do this so that the same electronic device can be supplied and marketed around the world. In this case, the manufacturers are applying a(n) _______ strategy.

global

When a company boosts product quality, it can also expect

greater employee productivity

According to the five forces model, _______ levels of competition for customers translate to _______ levels of profit in the industry

greater; lower

A company recently implemented strategies to reduce the number of inputs required to produce outputs at various stages of the value chain. This has resulted in _______ efficiency and the cost of outputs is

greater; reduced

When encouraging creativity via the nominal group technique,

group members write down their ideas before sharing them with the group.

Alba is concerned that a proposed alternative may have unforeseen effects elsewhere in the organization. She suggests more time be spent evaluating the consequences, but everyone else on the team rallies behind the lead manager to quickly finalize the decision. Alba's team is experiencing

groupthink.

Steve is part of a production team that has researched and chosen a new manufacturing process to improve product quality. He has discovered data that disputes some of the claims of the production team but decides to ignore the information and support the team's original decision. Steve is being adversely influenced by

groupthink.

Members of a self-managed team often

have some responsibility for hiring, ordering materials, and managing schedules

The final step managers face when implementing a strategy is

holding individuals or groups responsible for the attainment of strategic goals

There is constant, fierce competition between telecommunication companies due to the continuous advances in mobile technology and a wide range of customer tastes. This is called

hypercompetition.

In the classical model of decision making, managers

identify and evaluate all possible alternatives before choosing a course of action

Christian has been a highly valued employee for many years and never failed to deliver on challenging tasks. He is struggling on a recent assignment but has decided not to seek help as he's sure he will succeed in the end. Christian is demonstrating

illusion of control.

Miranda suggests to her company that they should introduce self-managed teams in order to

increase workforce efficiency

A headphone manufacturer uses advancements in technology to continually improve the sound quality of its products. This is an example of

incremental product innovation

Lumen, a manufacturer of theatre lighting, strives to improve the longevity and brightness of its lights by continuously changing designs and trying different combinations of component parts during manufacturing. This is an example of

incremental product innovation

Managers must rely on their _______ to make the best decision when faced with uncertainty and ambiguity.

intuition and judgment

The managers in Julio's company sponsor monthly brainstorming sessions and reward employees with gift cards and recognition when an out-of-the box idea leads to organizational improvements. Julio's company is an example of a(n) _______ organization.

learning

Building a(n) _______ is not easy and requires that managers change their management assumptions radically.

learning organization

To improve decision-making abilities, managers should

list the criteria that are being used to assess and evaluate alternatives and evaluate if the factors are appropriate.

To maintain profits while offering the best industry pricing to customers, a furniture company decides to order materials in larger quantities to realize larger discounts on materials. The company is employing a _______ strategy.

low-cost

When pursuing both a low-cost and differentiation strategy

managers are likely to get stuck in the middle.

In the classical model of decision making, it is assumed that

managers have access to all the information they need.

For successful total quality management (TQM)

managers in every function must cooperate.

A company wants to promote a new line of tools as easy to use and more adaptable than competitors' products. Which value chain function would the company use to develop customer perceptions of the utility of the new tools?

marketing

While facilitating a brainstorming session, Raul noticed periods of confusion and silence during which participants seemed unable to process the many ideas being floated. The efficiency of Raul's decision-making process was thereby limited due to the effects of

production blocking.

Ayan is responsible for quality control for an automobile manufacturer and recently made the decision to suspend production when test results for completed cars fell below the manufacturer's standards. What type of decision is this?

programmed

Six Sigma shares with TQM its focus on improving value chain processes to increase

quality

A company invests considerably in research, with a dedicated team that is challenged to scour the industry for breakthrough ideas that could allow the business to create new products with unique features. This company demonstrates a commitment to

quantum product innovation

A pharmaceutical company's Research and Development lab identified a new way to treat a disease, with expectations that it will improve patients' survival rates. This is an example of

quantum product innovation

The first step in the managerial decision-making process is to

recognize the need for a decision.

To create a competitive advantage through superior efficiency, an organization must

reduce the number of inputs it requires to produce a given amount of outputs

The primary goal of flexible manufacturing is to

reduce the time required to set up production equipment.

A local car dealership sells a minivan to a couple. Three days later, they call the couple to ensure they are happy with the purchase and to address any questions or concerns they may have regarding the new vehicle. This dealership is trying to gain a competitive advantage through superior

responsiveness to customers

A _______ plan is generally reviewed and amended in conjunction with a company's annual financial budget cycle to take into account changing conditions in the external business environment.

rolling

ANC Inc. operates with planning horizons greater than five years. However, it is difficult to predict competitive conditions five years in the future, so the top managers implement a plan that involves regular reviews and updates in all levels of the company. The plan enables the company to respond quickly and to make adjustments as necessary. This is an example of a(n) _______ plan

rolling

Advanco, which completes in a highly competitive, fluctuating market, uses a(n) _______ corporate-level plan so it can make midcourse corrections while keeping its long-term goals in mind

rolling

Programmed decision making is a(n) _______ process.

routine

Jessie's law firm has a formal document that defines a zero-tolerance attitude toward sexual harassment and the consequences of any violations. This is a

rule.

As a member of the _______ function within his company, Arturo visits new businesses to educate them on the features and advantages offered by his company's products.

sales

Elaine, a college professor, needs to select a textbook for an upcoming course. Her time is limited so she plans to review a few books from the many choices and pick an acceptable textbook even though she may not even be reviewing the best book available. What is this strategy called?

satisficing

Juan is faced with multiple choices of suppliers who have the same product at virtually the same price. He also knows there are many more suppliers out there that would be comparable; however, he has a short amount of time to make up his mind, so he chooses Elrood Gasket's product. Why type of decision does this represent?

satisficing

As managers plan for the future, it is important to handle unexpected circumstances. By developing backup plans with alternative courses of action defined in case conditions change, managers are conducting _______ planning.

scenario

Jill's coworkers describe her decision-making approach as satisficing, meaning that she

searches for and chooses acceptable solutions rather than trying to make the optimal decision.

A company that produces business telephones does an audit of customer complaints. The results reveal that the customer support department has the biggest share of complaints. This represents a _______ defect.

service

As an event planner, Nicole prepares a detailed summary of the client's specific requirements, activities to be performed, and target dates for each activity. This is an example of a _______ plan

single-use

Meghan is tasked with leading a project team to quickly prototype an innovative product idea and accelerate its time to market. The team will operate independently of other development groups and report directly to the CEO. Meghan's project is an example of

skunkworks.

While home from college one summer, Jerome rallied his friends to make and deliver sandwiches to homeless individuals in their town. The one-time effort was so well-received, Jerome worked to solicit cash and grocery donations from local businesses so that the following summer his group was able to make deliveries weekly. Jerome could be considered a(n)

social entrepreneur.

Roberta noticed some opportunities to increase literacy in her community so she pursued volunteer support and a government grant to establish an education program. This is an example of

social entrepreneurship.

Within 30 days of receiving a gift valued over $50 from a client, sales representatives in the company are required to submit a written disclosure. This is an example of a

standard operating procedure

Jerrod's company provides a policy document to every new employee that details procedures for time tracking, requesting vacation, and managing 401K enrollment cycles. This document is an example of a _______ plan

standing

When situations occur repeatedly, organizations can develop _______ plans to outline policies, rules, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) on how to handle those situations.

standing

A large pharmaceutical company decides to reduce the price of a medication to encourage physicians to continue prescribing it as generic brands have entered the market. According to the five forces model, which competitive force is the company addressing?

threat of substitute products

The airlines sold fewer tickets to business travelers during the "Great Recession" due to more companies using video conferencing software to save money. According to the five forces model, this type of threat is called the

threat of substitute products.

A company's annual budget has a(n) _______ of one year.

time horizon

Monroe's Machines recently expanded its business by purchasing a bookstore chain. This business expansion is an example of

unrelated diversification.

When generating alternatives to specific problems, it is important for managers to

view problems from a fresh perspective to enable creativity.

A recent SWOT analysis determines that a company's controls allowed inventory levels of some products to rise while other products to consistently be out of stock. The firm would classify this as a potential

weakness

A furniture company establishes production operations in foreign countries to sell its products in those regions. The operations perform as separate entities without any local direct involvement. These production operations are considered

wholly owned foreign subsidiaries