Leadership Quiz Answers – Flashcards

The text addresses two perspectives of leadership as well as their implications. These two perspectives are:

A. romantic and unromantic

B. romantic and internal control

C. external control and unromantic

D. romantic and external control

A CEO made a lot of mistakes in assessing the market and the competitive conditions and improperly redesigning the organization into numerous business units. Such errors led to significant performance declines. According to the text, this example illustrates the __________ perspective of leadership.

A. external control

B. romantic

C. internal mechanism

D. operational

According to the text, the strategic management process entails three ongoing processes:

A. analyses, actions, and synthesis

B. analyses, decisions, and actions

C. analyses, evaluation, and critique

D. analyses, synthesis, and antithesis

Management innovations such as total quality, benchmarking, and business process reengineering cannot lead to sustainable competitive advantage because:

A. companies that have implemented these techniques have lost money

B. there is no proof that these techniques work

C. they cost too much money and effort to implement

D. every company is trying to implement them and hence it does not make a company different from others

The organizational versus the individual rationality perspective suggests that:

A. what is good for a functional area is always good for the organization

B. what is good for the organization is always good for a functional area

C. what is best for a functional area may not be best for the organization

D. the incremental perspective may be best for functional areas while the “rational” perspective may be best for the organization

The four key attributes of strategic management include the idea that:

A. strategy must be directed toward overall organizational goals and objectives

B. strategy must be focused on long-term objectives

C. strategy must be focused on one specific area of an organization

D. strategy must focus on competitor strengths

The four key attributes of strategic management include all of the following EXCEPT:

A. including multiple stakeholder interests in decision making

B. incorporating both short-term and long-term perspectives

C. recognizing the trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency

D. emphasis on the attainment of short-term objectives

Effectiveness is often defined as:

A. doing things right

B. stakeholder satisfaction

C. doing the right thing

D. productivity enhancement

All of the following are ambidextrous behaviors EXCEPT:

A. taking initiative and being alert to opportunities beyond the confines of one’s own job

B. being cooperative and seeking opportunities to combine one’s efforts with others

C. intensely focusing on the responsibilities of one individual and maximizing the output of the department in the organization in which that individual works

D. being brokers, always looking to build internal linkages

According to Henry Mintzberg, the realized strategies of a firm:

A. are a combination of deliberate and emergent strategies

B. are a combination of deliberate and differentiation strategies

C. must be based on the strategic plan of the company

D. must be kept confidential for competitive reasons

According to Henry Mintzberg, decisions following from the strategic analysis of the firm are its:

A. emergent strategy

B. deliberate strategy

C. intended strategy

D. realized strategy

__________ may be considered the advance work that must be done in order to effectively formulate and implement strategies.

A. Goal setting

B. Corporate entrepreneurship

C. Strategy analysis

D. Organizational design

__________ involves ensuring proper strategic controls and organizational designs.

A. Corporate governance

B. Corporate-level strategy

C. Strategy implementation

D. Business-level strategy

The three participants in corporate governance are:

A. the shareholders, board of directors, and employees

B. the shareholders, labor unions, and employees

C. the shareholders, board of directors, and management

D. the shareholders, banks and lending institutions, and management

While working to prioritize and fulfill their responsibilities, members of the board of directors of an organization should:

A. represent their own interests

B. represent the interests of the shareholders

C. direct all actions of the CEO

D. emphasize the importance of short-term goals

Members of boards of directors are:

A. appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission

B. elected by the shareholders as their representatives

C. elected by the public

D. only allowed to serve one term of four years

An organization is responsible to many different entities. In order to meet the demands of these groups, organizations must participate in stakeholder management. Stakeholder management means that:

A. interests of the stockholders are not the only interests that matter

B. stakeholders are second in importance to the stockholders

C. stakeholders and managers inevitably work at cross-purposes

D. all stakeholders receive financial rewards

Stakeholders are:

A. a new way to describe stockholders

B. individuals, groups, and organizations who have a stake in the success of the organization

C. creditors who hold a lien on the assets of the organization

D. attorneys and their clients who sue the organization

Procter and Gamble has perfected a technique for compacting cleaning powder into a liquid concentration. Consumers, retailers, shipping and wholesalers, and environmentalists all have benefited from the resulting change in consumer shopping habits and the revolution in industry supply-chain economics. According to the text, this is an example of __________.

A. zero-sum relationship among stakeholders

B. stakeholder symbiosis

C. rewarding stakeholders

D. emphasizing financial returns

There are several perspectives of competition. One perspective is zero-sum thinking. Zero-sum thinking means that:

A. all parts of the organization gain at no loss

B. in order for someone to gain others must experience no gain or benefit

C. one can only gain at the expense of someone else

D. everyone in the organization shares gains and losses equally

Managers should do more than just focus on short-term financial performance. One concept that helps managers do this is stakeholder symbiosis. This means that:

A. stakeholders are dependent on each other for their success

B. stakeholders look out for their individual interests

C. one can only gain at the expense of someone else

D. all stakeholders want to maximize shareholder returns

Firms must be aware of goals other than short-term profit maximization. One area of concern should be social responsibility which is:

A. the expectation that business will strive to improve the overall welfare of society

B. the idea that organizations are solely responsible to local citizens

C. the fact that court costs could impact the financial bottom line

D. the idea that businesses are responsible to maintain a healthy social climate for their employees

According to the text, the triple bottom line approach to corporate accounting includes three components:

A. financial, environmental, and customer

B. financial, organizational, and customer

C. financial, environmental, and social

D. financial, organizational, and psychological

Many organizations have a large number of functional areas with very diverse and sometimes competing interests. Such organizations will be most effective if:

A. each functional area focuses on achieving their own goals

B. functional areas work together to attain overall goals

C. goals are defined at the bottom and implemented at the top

D. management and employees have separate goals

Strategy formulation and implementation is a challenging ongoing process. To be effective, it should not involve:

A. the CEO and the board of directors

B. the board of directors, CEO, and CFO

C. competitors

D. line and staff managers

The text argues that a strategic perspective in an organization should be emphasized:

A. at the top of the organization

B. at the middle of the organization

C. throughout the organization

D. from the bottom up

Peter Senge, of MIT, recognized three types of leaders. __________ are individuals that, although having little positional power and formal authority, generate their power through the conviction and clarity of their ideas.

A. Local line leaders

B. Executive leaders

C. Internal networkers

D. Shop floor leaders

Peter Senge, of MIT, recognized three types of leaders. __________ champion and guide ideas, create a learning infrastructure, and establish a domain for taking action.

A. Local line leaders

B. Executive leaders

C. Internal networkers

D. Shop floor leaders

Leadership is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for organizational success. Leaders should emerge at which level(s) of an organization?

A. only at the top

B. in the middle

C. throughout the organization

D. only during times of change

The hierarchy of organizational goals is in this order (least specific to most specific):

A. vision statements, strategic objectives, mission statements

B. mission statements, strategic objectives, vision statements

C. vision statements, mission statements, strategic objectives

D. mission statements, vision statements, strategic objectives

Vision statements are used to create a better understanding of the overall purpose and direction of the organization. Vision statements:

A. are very specific

B. provide specific objectives

C. set organizational structure

D. evoke powerful and compelling mental images

Effective vision statements include:

A. all strategic directions of the organization

B. a brief statement of the company’s direction

C. strategic posturing and future objectives

D. financial objectives and projected figures

Examples of __________ include: To be the happiest place on earth (Disneyland), and Restoring patients to full life (Medtronic).

A. vision statements

B. mission statements

C. strategic objectives

D. operational objectives

WellPoint Health Network states: WellPoint will redefine our industry: through a new generation of consumer-friendly products that put individuals back in control of their future. This is an example of a:

A. strategic objective

B. vision statement

C. vague statement of direction

D. line manager’s individual goal

In contrast to the vision of an organization, its mission should:

A. be shorter in length

B. encompass both the purpose of the company as well as the basis of competition

C. encompass all the major rules and regulations of the corporate work force

D. be less detailed.

The vision and mission statements of a company set the overall direction of the organization. Strategic objectives serve what role?

A. operationalize the mission statement

B. modify the mission statement

C. are a shorter version of the mission statement

D. are only clarified by the board of directors

Successful organizations are effective in motivating people. Employees work best when:

A. they are asked to do their best

B. work requirements are vague and unclear

C. they are striving toward specific goals

D. they are guided by an abstract mission statement

Fortune Brands states they will cut corporate overhead costs by $30 million a year. This is an example of a:

A. nonfinancial strategic objective

B. financial strategic objective

C. vision statement

D. mission statement

We want to be the top-ranked supplier to our customers. (PPG) This is an example of a:

A. nonfinancial strategic objective

B. financial strategic objective.

C. vision statement

D. mission statement

In large organizations, conflicts can arise between functional areas. In order to resolve these conflicts, strategic objectives:

A. put financial objectives above human considerations

B. align departments toward departmental goals

C. help resolve conflicts through their common purpose

D. cause debate and increase conflict