question

The strategic management process:

answer

Process that involves developing a game plan to guide the company as it strives to accomplish its vision, mission, goals, and objectives and to keep it from straying off its desired course

question

A small business's "aggregation of factors that sets it apart from its competitors" is its:

answer

Competitive advantage

question

How is the strategic planning process for small companies different from that for large

answer

Small companies have natural advantages over large companies; small companies have fewer product lines, more clearly defined customer base, and a limited geographic marker area. Small businesses find that strategic management comes more naturally for them than large companies

question

________ focuses everyone's attention and efforts on the same target market. It is an expression of what the owner believes in.

answer

Vision

question

Answering the question "What business am I in?" defines the company's:

answer

mission statement

question

Once the vision and mission are established, the entrepreneur needs to:

answer

Assess the company's strengths and weaknesses

question

________ are positive internal factors that contribute towards accomplishing the company's objectives.

answer

Strengths

question

When the small business owner assesses her company's strengths and weaknesses, she is dealing with the ________ business environment.

answer

competitive

question

Corey notices a "backlash" against health food among people who eat out. He decides to open a restaurant that stresses "good home cooking," heavy with gravies, breads, oils, etc. Corey has identified and is trying to capitalize on a(n) ________ in the market environment.

answer

opportunity

question

Every business is characterized by a set of controllable variables called ________ that determines the relative success (or lack of it) of market participants:

answer

key success factors

question

A small firm's ability to identify and manipulate the ________ in its business determines its ability to compete effectively.

answer

key success factors

question

A small business owner would conduct a competitive analysis in order to:

answer

Competitor analysis benefits: Avoid surprises from existing competitors' new strategies and tactics, identify potential new competitors and the threats they pose, improve reaction time to competitor's actions, anticipate rivals' next strategic moves, and improve ability to differentiate your company from competitors

question

The information-gathering process in competitive analysis:

answer

Competitive Intelligence Programs

question

________ are the broad, long-range attributes the small business seeks to accomplish; ________ are the specific, measurable milestones the company wants to achieve.

answer

goals; objectives

question

The small firm's "master plan" is its:

answer

Their strategy- a road map that guides a company through turbulent environments as it seeks to fulfill its mission, goals, and objectives

question

A differentiation strategy:

answer

A company following this seeks to build customer loyalty by positioning its good or services in a unique or different fashion. A company that strives to be better than its competitors at something that its customers value

question

What is a danger in choosing a differentiation strategy?

answer

One danger is trying to differentiate a product or service on the basis of something that does not boost its performance or lower its cost to the buyer. Another is trying to differentiate on the basis of something that customers do not perceive as important. Another one is over-differentiating and charging so much that a company prices its products or services out of its target customers' reach. Another risk focusing only on important psychological factors

question

Rather than attempting to serve the total market, the small firm pursuing a ________ strategy specializes in serving a specific target segment.

answer

focus strategy

question

An effective strategic plan does what?

answer

Produces a competitive advantage, the strength factors that sets the company apart from its rivals

question

The most successful strategic plans make the ________ focal.

answer

customers

question

Small bookstores have a giant killer of a competitive advantage in their:

answer

Extensive collections of books, appealing to target customers. Ex) specializing in hard to find books

question

A small business owner needs to remember that when it comes to employee involvement in the strategic planning process:

answer

Delegating authority to them is essential, because these projects affect them most directly.

question

The ________ is a set of measures unique to the company that gives managers a quick and comprehensive view of how the business is doing and includes both financial and operational factors.

answer

balanced scorecards

question

It is important for the small business owner to remember that the strategic planning process is:

answer

An ongoing procedure that owners must repeat and gain experience, so the steps become much easier.

question

In the creation of the balanced scorecard, the entrepreneur needs to:

answer

Identify the right factors and measurements to be included on the scorecard.

question

Intellectual capital of a company is comprised of which components?

answer

Human capital, Structural capital, and Customer capital.

question

Small businesses have a natural advantage over large competitors when it comes to

answer

Developing a strategy for establishing a competitive advantage.

question

What strategy recognizes that not all markets are homogenous?

answer

focus strategy

question

________ are a unique set of capabilities that a company develops in key areas, such as superior quality, customer service, innovation, team-building, flexibility, speed, responsiveness, and others that allow it to vault past competitors.

answer

Core competences

question

To be effective, these competencies should be ________ for competitors to duplicate, and they must provide customers with a valuable perceived benefit.

answer

difficult

question

The idea behind strategic planning is to give the business owner a way to match his/her company's strengths and weaknesses to the opportunities and threats in the business environment.

answer

FALSE

question

"What business am I in?" This is a question the entrepreneur needs to answer when creating the mission statement.

answer

TRUE

question

After a company's strengths and weakness are assessed, the strategic planning process should identify opportunities and threats facing the company and should isolate the key factors for success in the business.

answer

TRUE

question

Key success factors are simply relationships between controllable factors and critical elements that permit a firm to compete in its industry.

answer

TRUE

question

Most small business owners believe it is relatively unimportant to monitor their competitors'

answer

FALSE

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