Deck 2: Strategy, Organization Design, and Effectiveness

Question 1

The top management role in organization effectiveness involves examination of the external environment which includes:

A) threats.
B) mission.
C) production technology.
D) strengths.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

____ refers to what sets the organization apart from others and provides it with a distinctive edge for meeting customer or client needs in the marketplace.

A) Organizational goals
B) Strategic intent
C) Mission
D) Competitive advantage

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Mission is the same thing as:

A) operative goals.
B) decision guidelines.
C) official goals.
D) performance standards.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

____ pertain to internal flexibility and readiness to adapt to unexpected changes in the environment.

A) Market goals
B) Profitability goals
C) Innovation goals
D) Productivity goals

Question 5

____ pertains to the training, promotion, safety, and growth of employees.

A) Market share
B) Innovation
C) Productivity of the industry
D) Employee development

Question 6

Successful organizations use a carefully balanced set of ____ goals.

A) operating
B) innovation
C) visionary
D) generic

Question 7

A(n) ____ is a desired state of affairs that the organization attempts to reach.

A) organizational goal
B) marching goal
C) operative goal
D) resource-based goal

Question 8

A company's ____ is something the organization does especially well in comparison to its competitors.

A) operative goal
B) organizational goal
C) core competence
D) balanced scorecard

Question 9

____ means that all the organization's energies and resources are directed toward a focused, unifying, and compelling overall goal.

A) Strategic intent
B) Resource-based approach
C) Emergent goals
D) Stakeholder approach

Question 10

The goal of Short Stop Markets to capture 25% of the convenience market business in Arizona is an example of a(n) ____ goal.

A) official
B) operative
C) generic
D) legitimacy

Question 11

Which of the following describes the organization's shared values and beliefs and its reason for being?

A) Strategic intent
B) Mission
C) Official goals
D) Organizational goals

Question 12

The choices top managers make about goals, strategies, and organizational design have a tremendous impact on organizational:

A) profitability.
B) efficiency.
C) effectiveness.
D) market share.

Question 13

The top management role in organization effectiveness involves examination of the internal situation which includes:

A) opportunities
B) threats
C) governmental resource accessibility
D) leader style

Question 14

Which of the following pertains to the acquisition of needed material and financial resources from the environment?

A) Resource goals
B) Profitability
C) Market goals
D) Productivity goals

Question 15

Official goals provide ____, while operative goals and strategies provide ____.

A) measurable objectives, legitimacy
B) legitimacy, employee direction
C) employee direction, decision guidelines
D) decision guidelines, legitimacy

Question 16

When looking for strengths and weaknesses, top management is:

A) assessing the external environment.
B) analyzing the competition.
C) evaluating the internal situation in order to define its distinctive competence.
D) wasting its time since it has no control over these things.

Question 17

The primary responsibility of top management is to:

A) perform the organization's SWOT analysis.
B) determine goals, strategy, and design, in adaptation to environment.
C) set a motivating culture for all employees.
D) formalize and centralize the firm.

Question 18

The top management role in organization effectiveness involves examination of internal environment which includes:

A) opportunities.
B) weaknesses.
C) uncertainty.
D) resource availability.

Question 19

Which of the following reflects the overall performance of profit organizations?

A) Efficiency
B) Profitability
C) Innovation goals
D) Productivity

Question 20

The leader of one religious denomination emphasizes converts to the denomination, whereas the previous leader felt converts should play a backseat role while they "paid their dues." This illustrates ____ influence on the selection of effectiveness criteria.

A) goal measurability
B) top management
C) environmental conditions
D) that almost anything can have

Question 21

Which of the following is true about Porter's competitive strategies?

A) Differentiation strategies address whether the market scope is broad or narrow.
B) Differentiation can be broken down into low cost or broad scope categories.
C) An airline using the differentiation strategy would be likely to offer travelers refreshments at a reasonable price, rather than serve bounteous meals.
D) Apple, Inc. is a company that has benefited from a differentiation strategy and never tried to compete on price because it likes being perceived as an "elite" brand.

Question 22

The differentiation strategy:

A) was developed by Frederic Taylor.
B) was popularized by Henri Fayol.
C) is one of Michael Porter's competitive strategies.
D) is K. D. Bowerman's "Strategy for Empowerment."

Question 23

Organization ____ needs to support the firm's competitive approach.

A) financial standings
B) design characteristics
C) informal communication channel
D) environment for green movement

Question 24

Miles and Snow's Strategy Typology is based on the notion that:

A) strategy should correspond to technology.
B) strategy should be congruent with external environment.
C) strategy should be based on human resource capability.
D) strategy should be a "fit" to economic resource base.

Question 25

When using the goal approach to effectiveness, it is best to use ____ goals.

A) operational
B) official
C) low-level
D) non-measurable

Question 26

The slogan, "We're a no-frills business! When we save, you save!" exemplifies the strategy of:

A) low-cost leadership.
B) differentiation.
C) focus.
D) legitimacy.

Question 27

Two comparably sized colleges are located in adjacent towns. The admissions counselors of College A have been telling prospective students that College A is better than College B because their latest freshman class has 150 more students than the freshman class at College B. The admissions counselors of College A are using the ____ effectiveness approach.

A) resource-based
B) goal
C) internal process
D) competing values

Question 28

A(n) ____ strategy is concerned primarily with stability rather than taking risks or seeking new opportunities for innovation and growth.

A) focused
B) low-cost leadership
C) differentiation
D) intensive

Question 29

The ____ approach to organizational effectiveness is concerned with the output side and whether the organization achieves its goals in terms of desired levels of output.

A) goal
B) resource-based
C) analytical
D) internal process

Question 30

One strength of the internal process approach is the fact that it:

A) Tells management how well the internal processes mesh with the external environment.
B) Considers human resources and employee-oriented processes.
C) Emphasizes inputs into the organization.
D) Emphasizes outputs of the organization.

Question 31

Models for formulating organizational strategies include:

A) Perrow's typology and Porter's model.
B) Daft's model and Pfeiffer's typology.
C) Porter's model and Miles and Snow's typology.
D) Bowerman's typology and Miles and Snow's model.

Question 32

The ____ strategy is concerned with stability or retrenchment.

A) defender
B) prospector
C) differentiation
D) low-cost leadership

Question 33

The ____ strategy tries to maintain a stable business while innovating on the periphery.

A) reactor
B) prospector
C) analyzer
D) defender

Question 34

The resource-based approach emphasizes the:

A) Input into an organization.
B) Output of an organization.
C) Achievement of profitability.
D) Amount of inventory left idle by the organization.

Question 35

Which of the following is true regarding the goal approach?

A) Full assessment of effectiveness should consider several goals simultaneously because high achievement on one goal may mean low achievement on another.
B) Priority setting requires that only one goal at a time can be achieved.
C) There is no place for subjective assessment of goal achievement in organizations today.
D) The most common goal stated by U.S. corporations today deals with management development.

Question 36

In Miles and Snows's Strategy Typology, the prospector:

A) attempts to maintain a stable business environment by finding a middle ground between stability and innovation.
B) most closely resembles Porter's Low-Cost Leadership strategy.
C) responds to environmental threats in an ad hoc fashion without revealing a clear strategy.
D) seeks innovation or risk taking and is therefore best suited to the dynamic environment.

Question 37

A ____ strategy can reduce rivalry with competitors and fight off the threat of substitute products because customers are loyal to the company's brand.

A) low-cost leadership
B) focused
C) defensive
D) differentiation

Question 38

A plan for interacting with the competitive environment to achieve organizational goals is referred to as:

A) strategy.
B) design.
C) culture.
D) structure.

Question 39

The extent to which goals are obtained is a traditional definition of the degree of ____ in the organization.

A) efficiency
B) scientific management
C) strategy
D) effectiveness

Question 40

Which approach measures progress toward attainment of those goals?

A) The open systems approach
B) The goal approach
C) The internal process approach
D) The human relations approach

Question 41

The two value dimensions of the competing values model are:

A) the internal environment of the organization and the external environment of the organziation.
B) low-cost leadership and differentiation.
C) focus and structure.
D) profitability and productivity.

Question 42

The _____ model tries to balance a concern with various parts of the organization rather than focusing on one part.

A) internal process
B) rational goal
C) open systems
D) competing values

Question 43

Strategic intent means that all the organization's energies and resources are directed toward a focused, unifying, and compelling overall goal.

Question 44

A productivity goal could be stated in terms of "cost for a unit of production," "units produced per employee," or "resource cost per employee."

Question 45

Before the mission is defined and goals are set, top management should assess its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Question 46

Jason is employed at XYZ Company. At XYZ Company, management's primary goals are productivity, efficiency, and profit. What emphasis does XYZ Company utilize?

A) The rational goal emphasis
B) The open systems emphasis
C) The internal process emphasis
D) The human relations emphasis

Question 47

The primary responsibility of top management is to determine an organization's goals, strategy, and design, therein adapting the organization to a changing environment.

Question 48

_____ goals relate to the market share or market standing desired by the organization.

A) Employee development
B) Market
C) Productivity
D) Innovation

Question 49

Organization direction is the administration and execution of the strategic plan.

Question 50

Operative goals refer to the formally stated definition of business scope and outcomes the organization is trying to achieve.

Question 51

A combination of external focus and flexible structure leads to a(n) _____. Management's primary goals are growth and resource acquisition.

A) rational goal emphasis
B) open systems emphasis
C) internal process emphasis
D) human relations emphasis

Question 52

A company's core competence is something the organization does especially well in comparison to its competitors.

Question 53

Organizational mission and operational goals are the same thing.

Question 54

Innovation and change goals are decreasingly important, even though they initially cause a large increase in profits.

Question 55

Core competence refers to what sets the organization apart from others and provides it with a distinctive edge for meeting customer or client needs in the marketplace.

Question 56

_____ goals describe specific measurable outcomes and are often concerned with the short run.

A) Employee development
B) Market
C) Operating
D) Resource

Question 57

If one is measuring work climate, group loyalty, and worker-management communication as a measure of effectiveness, what approach is most likely being used:

A) Internal process.
B) Strategic human resources.
C) Quality control.
D) Stakeholder approach.

Question 58

Growth and output volume are examples of overall performance goals.

Question 59

Goals and strategies are usually fixed and remain unchanged once top management agrees upon them.

Question 60

The competing values model was originally developed by:

A) Robert Quinn and John Rohrbaugh.
B) Henry Ford and Frederick Taylor.
C) Raymond Miles.
D) Michael Porter.

Question 61

A strategy is a plan for achievement of organizational goals.

Question 62

Numerous studies have shown that specific high goals can significantly decrease employee performance.

Question 63

Government and nonprofit organizations such as social services agencies or labor unions do not have goals of profitability, but they do have goals that attempt to specify the delivery of services to clients or members within specific expense levels.

Question 64

Differentiation is the strategy that is specifically designed to innovate, take risks, and above all, grow in its dynamic environment.

Question 65

Indicators of effectiveness are quantitative but not qualitative in nature.

Question 66

Stability reflects a management value for efficiency and top-down control, whereas flexibility represents a value for learning and change.

Question 67

All organizations exist for a purpose.

Question 68

Organizations using the differentiation strategy try to distinguish their products or services from others in the industry.

Question 69

The mission statement communicates legitimacy to stakeholders.

Question 70

You have just been hired by a large organization to serve as a first line supervisor, but because you are in an influential department, you have the opportunity to meet the top managers at a company party and to dialogue with the CEO on his responsibilities. Knowing the responsibilities and types of decisions made by top management as we studied them in organization theory, what would you discuss about the organization with the CEO?

Question 71

The reactor strategy is a strategy because it responds to environmental threats and opportunities in a strategic fashion.

Question 72

One would expect the effectiveness criteria of a football team to be affected by goal measurability.

Question 73

The internal process approach looks at the input side of the transformation process.

Question 74

A defender strategy is concerned with internal efficiency and control to produce reliable, high-quality products for steady customers.

Question 75

The resource-based approach combines several indicators of effectiveness into a single framework, balancing traditional financial measures with operational measures relating to a company's critical success factors.

Question 76

Organizational goals represent the reason for an organization's existence and the outcomes it seeks to achieve.

Question 77

The low-cost leadership strategy is known for requiring skills based on strong marketing ability, creative flair, strong capability in basic research, and corporate reputation for technological leadership.

Question 78

The internal process emphasis represents management values of structural control and external focus.

Question 79

The competing values model of effectiveness makes two contributions. First, it integrates diverse concepts of effectiveness into a single perspective. Second, the model calls attention to how effectiveness criteria are socially constructed from management values and shows how opposing values exist at the same time.

Question 80

The internal process approach to effectiveness utilizes both cultural and economic measures.