question

Which one of the following is NOT one of the five basic tasks of the strategy-making, strategy-executing process?

answer

Developing a profitable business model.

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A company's strategic plan:

answer

outlines the competitive moves and approaches to be used in achieving the desired business results.

question

Which of the following tasks of the strategy-making, strategy-execution managerial process make up the company's strategic plan?

answer

Developing a strategic vision, mission, and core values

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Which of the following is an integral part of the managerial process of crafting and executing strategy?

answer

Setting objectives and using them as yardsticks for measuring the company's performance and progress.

question

Which of the following are integral parts of the managerial process of crafting and executing strategy?

answer

Developing a strategic vision, setting objectives, and crafting a strategy

question

The strategy-making, strategy-executing process

answer

embraces the tasks of developing a strategic vision, setting objectives, crafting a strategy, implementing and executing the strategy, and then monitoring developments and initiating corrective adjustments in light of experience, changing conditions, and new opportunities.

question

A company's strategic vision describes:

answer

management's aspirations for the future and delineates the company's strategic course and long-term direction.

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The real purpose of the company's strategic vision:

answer

serves as management's tool for giving the organization a sense of direction.

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A strategic vision constitutes management's view and conclusions about the company's:

answer

long-term direction and what product-market-customer mix seems optimal.

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The managerial task of developing a strategic vision for a company:

answer

involves deciding upon what strategic course a company should pursue in preparing for the future and why this directional path makes good business sense.

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Which one of the following is NOT an accurate attribute of an organization's strategic vision?

answer

Outlining how the company intends to implement and execute its business model.

question

Management's strategic vision for an organization:

answer

charts a strategic course for the organization ("where we are going") and provides a rationale for why this directional path makes good sense

question

Well-conceived visions are ________ and ____________ to a particular organization and they avoid generic, feel-good statements that could apply to hundreds of organizations.

answer

distinctive; specific

question

What a company's top executives are saying about where the company is headed long term and about what the company's future product-market-customer-technology mix will be:

answer

constitutes their strategic vision for the company

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One of the important benefits of a well-conceived and well-stated strategic vision is to:

answer

clearly communicate management's aspirations for the company to stakeholders and help steer the energies of company personnel in a common direction.

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The defining characteristic of a well-conceived strategic vision is:

answer

what it says about the company's future strategic course—"the direction we are headed and what our future product-market-customer-technology focus will be."

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Which one of the following questions is NOT pertinent to company managers in thinking strategically about what directional path should be taken by the company and about developing a strategic vision?

answer

What business approaches and operating practices should we consider in trying to implement and execute our business model?

question

Which one of the following questions is NOT something that company managers should consider in choosing to pursue one strategic course or directional path versus another?

answer

Do we have a better business model than key rivals?

question

Which of the following are characteristics of an effectively worded strategic vision statement?

answer

Graphic, directional, and focused.

question

Which one of the following is NOT a characteristic of an effectively worded strategic vision statement?

answer

Consensus-driven (commits the company to a "mainstream" directional path that almost all stakeholders will enthusiastically support)

question

Which of the following is NOT a common shortcoming when wording a company's vision statement? When the statement is somewhat

answer

flexible—allowing for adjustments to reflect changing circumstances.

question

Which of the following ARE common shortcomings of company vision statements?

answer

Too broad, vague or incomplete, bland/uninspiring, not distinctive, and too reliant on superlatives.

question

Breaking down resistance to a new strategic vision typically requires that management, on an as needed basis:

answer

reiterate the company's need for the new direction, while addressing employee concerns head-on, calming fears, lifting spirits, and providing them with updates and progress reports as events unfold.

question

An engaging and convincing strategic vision

answer

should be done in language that inspires and motivates company personnel to unite behind executive efforts to get the company moving in the intended direction.

question

A strategic vision has enormous motivational value and can usually be stated adequately in one to two paragraphs, and managers should be able to personally:

answer

paint a convincing and inspiring picture of the company's journey and destination effectively.

question

The managerial task of effectively conveying the essence of the strategic vision is made easier by

answer

adopting a catchy slogan and then using it repeatedly to illuminate the direction and purpose of "where we are headed and why."

question

Effectively communicating the strategic vision down the line to lower-level managers and employees has the value of:

answer

inspiring company personnel to unite behind managerial efforts to get the company moving in the intended direction

question

Perhaps the most important benefit of a vivid, engaging, and convincing strategic vision is:

answer

uniting company personnel behind managerial efforts to get the company moving in the intended direction.

question

A sound, well-communicated strategic vision matters, and the related payoffs occur in several respects, except in connection with

answer

avoiding strategic inflection points and management's reaction in aligning decision choices.

question

Which of the following is the result of a well-conceived and communicated strategic vision?

answer

A. Senior executives solidify their own view of the firm's long-term direction. B. The risk of rudderless decision-making is minimized. C. Organizational members support the changes internally that will help make the vision a reality. D. Assists the organization in preparing for the future. E. All of these.

question

A company's mission statement typically addresses which of the following questions?

answer

Who are we and what do we do?

question

The difference between the concept of a company mission statement and the concept of a strategic vision is that:

answer

a mission statement typically concerns a company's purpose and its present business scope ("who we are and what we do and why we are here"), whereas the principal concern of a strategic vision portrays a company's aspirations for its future ("where are we going").

question

The primary difference between a company's mission statement and the company's strategic vision is that:

answer

a mission statement typically concerns a company's present business scope and purpose, whereas a strategic vision sets forth "where we are going and why."

question

A company's mission statement should be sufficiently descriptive and should:

answer

A. identify the company's services and products. B. specify the buyer's needs that the company seeks to satisfy. C. identify the customer or market that the company intends to serve. D. give the company its own identity. E. All of these.

question

A company should not couch its mission in terms of making a profit because a profit is more correctly:

answer

an objective and a result of what a company does

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A company's values or core values concern:

answer

the beliefs, traits, and behavioral norms that company personnel are expected to display in conducting the company's business and pursuing its strategic vision and mission

question

A company's values relate to such things as:

answer

fair treatment, integrity, ethical behavior, innovativeness, teamwork, top-notch quality, superior customer service, social responsibility, and community citizenship.

question

Company managers connect values to the chosen strategic vision and mission by:

answer

making it clear that company personnel are expected to live up to the values in conducting the company's business and pursuing its strategic vision

question

The managerial purpose of setting objectives includes:

answer

A. converting the strategic vision into specific performance targets—results and outcomes the organization wants to achieve. B. using the objectives as yardsticks for tracking the company's progress and performance. C. challenging and helping stretch the organization to perform at its full potential and deliver the best possible results. D. pushing company personnel to be more inventive and to exhibit more urgency in improving the company's financial performance and business position. E. All of these.

question

Well-stated objectives are:

answer

quantifiable or measurable, and contain deadlines for achievement

question

What does a company specifically exhibit when it relentlessly pursues an ambitious strategic objective, concentrating the full force of its resources and competitive actions on achieving that objective?

answer

Strategic intent.

question

A company exhibits strategic intent when:

answer

itrelentlessly pursues an ambitious strategic objective, concentrating the full force of its resources and competitive actions on achieving that objective.

question

Managers can deliberately set challenging performance targets at levels high enough to promote outstanding company performance by establishing:

answer

stretch objectives which challenge the organization to deliver stretch gains in performance.

question

A company needs financial objectives to:

answer

communicate management's targets for financial performance and achieve strategic objectives

question

Which of the following is the best example of a well-stated financial objective?

answer

Increase earnings per share by 15 percent annually.

question

Which of the following is the best example of a well-stated strategic objective?

answer

Overtake key competitors on product performance or quality within three years.

question

Strategic objectives:

answer

relate to strengthening a company's overall marketing standing and competitive position.

question

Adopting a set of "stretch" financial and "stretch" strategic objectives:

answer

is an effective tool for pushing the company to perform at its full potential and deliver the best possible results.

question

Which one of the following is NOT an advantage of setting "stretch" objectives?

answer

Helping clarify the company's strategic vision and strategic intent.

question

Strategic intent refers to a situation where a company:

answer

relentlessly pursues an ambitious strategic objective, concentrating the full force of its resources and competitive actions on achieving that objective

question

A "balanced scorecard" for measuring company performance:

answer

strikes a "balance" between financial and strategic objectives.

question

A "balanced scorecard" that includes both strategic and financial performance targets is a conceptually strong approach for judging a company's overall performance because:

answer

financial performance measures are lagging indicators that reflect the results of past decisions and organizational activities, whereas strategic performance measures are leading indicators of a company's future financial performance and business prospects.

question

Perhaps the most reliable way for a company to improve its financial performance over time is to:

answer

recognize that the achievement of strategic objectives signals that the company is well positioned to sustain or improve its performance.

question

A company that pursues and achieves strategic objectives:

answer

is frequently in a better position to improve its future financial performance because of the increased competitiveness that flows from the achievement of strategic objectives.

question

A company needs performance targets or objectives:

answer

for its operations as a whole and also for each of its separate businesses, product lines, functional departments, and individual work units.

question

Company objectives:

answer

need to be broken down into performance targets for each of its organizational levels—for separate businesses, product lines, functional departments, and individual work units.

question

When trade-offs have to be made between achieving long-term and achieving short-term objectives:

answer

long-term objectives should take precedence unless the short-term performance targets have unique importance.

question

The task of stitching together a strategy

answer

entails addressing a series of how's: how to grow the business, how to please customers, how to outcompete rivals, how to respond to changing market conditions, and how to achieve strategic and financial objectives.

question

Masterful strategies come from:

answer

doing things differently from competitors where it counts—out-innovating them, being more efficient, adapting faster—rather than running with the herd.

question

The faster a company's business environment is changing only makes it imperative for strategy makers to:

answer

pay attention to early warnings of future change and be willing to experiment to establish a market position in the future.

question

Strategy-making is:

answer

more of a collaborative group effort that involves all managers and sometimes key employees, as opposed to being the function and responsibility of a few high-level executives.

question

Which of the following is NOT an accurate description of the task of crafting a company's strategy?

answer

The task of crafting strategy is best done by a company's chief strategic planning officer, who should report directly to the company's CEO and board of directors.

question

Managerial jobs with strategy-making responsibility:

answer

extend throughout the managerial ranks and exist in every part of a company—business units, operating divisions, functional departments, manufacturing plants, and sales districts.

question

Which of the following most accurately describes the task of crafting a company's strategy?

answer

The more a company's operations cut across different products, industries, and geographical areas, the more that headquarters executives have little option but to delegate considerable strategy-making authority to down-the-line managers in charge of particular subsidiaries, product lines, geographic sales offices, and plants.

question

A company's overall strategy:

answer

is really a collection of strategic initiatives and actions devised by managers and key employees up and down the whole organizational hierarchy

question

In a diversified company, the strategy-making hierarchy consists of:

answer

corporate strategy, business strategies, functional strategies, and operating strategies.

question

Corporate strategy for a diversified or multibusiness enterprise:

answer

is orchestrated by senior corporate executives and centers around the kinds of initiatives the company uses to establish business positions in different industries and efforts to boost the combined performance of the set of businesses the company has diversified into and the means of capturing cross-business synergies and turning them into competitive advantages.

question

Business strategy concerns:

answer

how to gain and sustain a competitive advantage for a single line of business.

question

Business strategy, as distinct from corporate strategy, is chiefly concerned with:

answer

deciding how to build competitive advantage and improve performance in a particular line of business.

question

Functional-area strategies:

answer

concern the actions, approaches, and practices to be employed in managing particular functions within a business.

question

The primary role of a functional strategy is to:

answer

determine how to support particular activities in ways that support the overall business strategy and competitive approach

question

The primary operating strategies are concerned with:

answer

how to manage initiatives of strategic significance within each functional area, and adding detail and completeness) in ways that support functional strategies and the overall business strategy.

question

In a single-business company, the strategy-making hierarchy consists of:

answer

business strategy, functional strategies, and operating strategies.

question

A company's strategic plan:

answer

lays out its future direction and business purpose, performance targets and strategy

question

Which of the following is NOT among the principal managerial tasks associated with managing the strategy execution process?

answer

Surveying employee's opinions on how costs can be reduced and how employee morale and job satisfaction can be improved.

question

Which of the following principal aspects should be included in managing the strategy execution process?

answer

Organizing the company along the lines of best practice

question

Good strategy execution requires management's:

answer

diligent pursuit of operating excellence.

question

Management is obligated to monitor new external developments, evaluate the company's progress, and make corrective adjustments in order to:

answer

decide whether to continue or change the company's strategic vision, objectives, strategy and/or strategy execution methods

question

The leadership challenges that top executives face in making corrective adjustments when things are not going well include:

answer

deciding when adjustments are needed and what adjustments to make.

question

The task of top executives when the company faces disruptive changes in its environment is to not only raise questions about the appropriateness of its direction and strategy but also to:

answer

ferret out the causes and decide when adjustments are needed and what adjustments are needed for improved performance and operating excellence.

question

In the strategy-making, strategy-executing process, effective corporate governance requires a company's board of directors to:

answer

oversee the company's strategic direction, evaluate the caliber of senior executives' skills, handle executive compensation, and oversee financial reporting practices.

question

The key duties of a company's board of directors in the strategy-making, strategy-executing process include:

answer

overseeing the company's financial accounting and financial reporting practices and evaluating the caliber of senior executives' strategy-making/strategy-executing skills.

question

Which one of the following is NOT among the chief duties/responsibilities of a company's board of directors insofar as the strategy-making, strategy-executing process is concerned?

answer

Hiring and firing senior-level executives and working with the company's chief strategic planning officer to improve the company's strategy when performance comes up short of expectations.

question

Every corporation should have a strong independent board of directors that:

answer

A. is well informed about the company's performance and exercises their fiduciary duty to protect shareholders responsibly. B. guides management in choosing a strategic direction and to make independent judgments about the validity and wisdom of managements proposed strategic actions. C. evaluates the leadership skills of the CEO and other senior executives promote management actions the board believes are inappropriate or unduly risky. D. has the courage to curb management actions deemed inappropriate or unduly risky, curtails insight and advice to management. E. All of these.

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