MPAW Test 3
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
focused low-cost strategy
Serving only one segment of the overall market and trying to be the lowest-cost organization serving that segment.
focused differentiation strategy
Serving only one segment of the overall market and trying to be the most differentiated organization serving that segment.
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
The organizers of an upcoming festival conduct a meeting to discuss the steps that would be taken in the event of various weather or community events that may impact the festival. This activity is an example of _______ planning.
Single-use
strategic leadership
The ability of the CEO and top managers to convey to their employees a compelling vision of what they want the organization to achieve.
A technology company decides to redesign key aspects of its products to better leverage the same components and reduce manufacturing overheads. These savings will then facilitate price reductions. What strategy is the company pursuing
Low-cost
strategy formulation
The development of a set of corporate, business, and functional strategies that allow an organization to accomplish its mission and achieve its goals.
scenario planning
The generation of multiple forecasts of future conditions followed by an analysis of how to respond effectively to each of those conditions.
corporate-level plan
Top management's decisions pertaining to the organization's mission, overall strategy, and structure.
_______ 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
To achieve _______, managers must find a way to lower costs and/or increase differentiation.
a competitive advantage
The first step of strategy implementation is
allocating responsibility for implementation to the appropriate individuals or groups.
To effectively implement total quality management, managers should
ask employees for suggestions about improvements.
_______ 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
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
The plastics division managers of a packaging company develops a _______ strategy to outline how it will compete against competitors.
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.
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
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
As CEO of his company, Bill works with a team of executives to make decisions pertaining to the organization's mission, overall strategy, and structure. These decisions are part of the organization's _______ plan.
corporate-level
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
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
An outdoor-furniture company decides to add a line of gas grills. By focusing value chain activities on the quality, cost, and features that will allow the grills to compete favorably in the market, the company is demonstrating
customer responsiveness.
The first step in planning for an organization is
determining the organization's missions and goals.
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
_______ is a measure of how well an organization's input resources are used to produce its outputs.
efficiency
Increasing the efficiency of an operating system has the effect of
enabling an organization to make a greater profit.
Maryska's company asks her to recommend a method of international expansion that would incur the least amount of risk. Which method should she suggest?
exporting
The _______ input resources required to produce a given volume of output are, the _______ efficiency of the operating system will be.
fewer; higher
A furniture company uses an online system to record and monitor orders and, based on trends, redirects production resources to optimize efficiency. This is an example of using _______ to reduce costs.
flexible manufacturing
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
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
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
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
According to an organization's SWOT analysis, a strength of the organization is
having the ability to manage strategic change.
Total quality management (TQM) is a technique that focuses on
improving the quality of an organization's products and services.
Increased quality allows an organization to make greater profits by _______ the product's price due to improved reliability and _______ operating costs due to improved productivity.
increasing; reducing
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.
A _______ is a type of strategic alliance characterized by the creation of a new organization where ownership is shared by two or more companies.
joint venture
A consumer electronics company and a telecommunications company establish a new company to jointly manufacture a new line of mobile phones. This is an example of a(n)
joint venture.
_______ 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
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
For successful total quality management (TQM)
managers in every function must cooperate.
A multidomestic company identifies a risk that regulations in some national markets will likely change over time. Such changes could impact product design and distribution in each market and have varying impacts on the company's financial success. What technique would best address the possible impacts of this risk when formulating strategic plans?
scenario planning
Managers use _______ to analyze how to respond effectively to multiple forecasts of future conditions.
scenario planning
_______ 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
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
_______ plans are useful to control the way employees perform tasks in cases where situations occur repeatedly.
standing
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
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
According to the SWOT analysis, an opportunity for a company would be the ability to
take over a bankrupt competitor.
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 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
According to Henri Fayol, a plan has _______ when the management team develops a single, well-researched, and effective plan.
unity
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
mission statement
A broad declaration of an organization's purpose that identifies the organization's products and customers and distinguishes the organization from its competitors.
functional-level strategy
A plan of action to improve the ability of each of an organization's functions to perform its task-specific activities in ways that add value to an organization's goods and services.
business-level strategy
A plan that indicates how a division intends to compete against its rivals in an industry.
corporate-level strategy
A plan that indicates in which industries and national markets an organization intends to compete.
SWOT analysis
A planning exercise in which managers identify organizational strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and environmental opportunities (O) and threats (T).
related diversification
Entering a new business or industry to create a competitive advantage in one or more of an organization's existing divisions or businesses.
diversification
Expanding a company's business operations into a new industry in order to produce new kinds of valuable goods or services.
vertical integration
Expanding a company's operations either backward into an industry that produces inputs for its products or forward into an industry that uses, distributes, or sells its products.
_______ is the process of designing the machine-worker interface to increase operating system efficiency.
Facilities layout
_______ 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
In order to succeed, how should an organization respond to customer demands?
Customer demands should drive value chain activities.
multidomestic strategy
Customizing products and marketing strategies to specific national conditions.
According to Henri Fayol, an effective plan should have the qualities of unity, continuity, accuracy, and
Flexibility
functional-level plan
Functional managers' decisions pertaining to the goals that they propose to pursue to help the division attain its business- level goals.
_______ increases costs and forces companies to raise the prices of their products.
Differentiation
differentiation strategy
Distinguishing an organization's products from the products of competitors on dimensions such as product design, quality, or after-sales service.
business-level plan
Divisional managers' decisions pertaining to divisions' long-term goals, overall strategy, and structure.
synergy
Performance gains that result when individuals and departments coordinate their actions.
_______ is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business procedures to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed.
Process reengineering
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
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 a stage-gate development funnel model,
new product ideas are encouraged at stage 1.
One of the principal tasks of management is identifying and selecting appropriate goals and courses of action. This is referred to as
planning
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
A firm manufactures custom-made furniture. Which facilities layout would best suit the firm's needs?
process layout
Six Sigma shares with TQM its focus on improving value chain processes to increase
quality
A company that enters a new business area in order to leverage existing expertise and achieve synergy across the newly combined set of products is following a _______ strategy.
related diversification
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