Deck 7: Implementing Strategies: Management, Operations, and Human Resource Issues

Question 1

Considerable time and effort should be devoted to assuring objectives are well conceived because they represent the basis for

A) monitoring progress toward long-term objectives.
B) establishing divisional priorities.
C) allocating resources.
D) evaluating managers.
E) all of the above

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Effective strategy formulation can usually guarantee successful strategy implementation.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

List three of the primary reasons annual objectives are essential for strategy implementation.

Answer 3

Students should list three of the following: 1) represent the basis for allocating resources; 2) are a primary mechanism for evaluating managers; 3) are the major instrument for monitoring progress toward achieving long-term objectives; 4) establish organizational, divisional, and departmental priorities; and 5) they are essential for keeping a strategic plan on track.

Question 4

Undesirable conduct such as distorting the records can be a result of overemphasis on achieving objectives.

Question 5

A firm's annual objectives can be stated by business segment.

Question 6

It is always easier to say you are going to do something (strategy formulation) than to actually do it (strategy implementation).

Question 7

Unlike strategy formulation, strategy implementation varies considerably among different types and sizes of organizations.

Question 8

Which word or phrase would be most suitable to use in written objective statements?

A) Maximize
B) Minimize
C) 10 percent increase
D) Adequate
E) As soon as possible

Question 9

Horizontal consistency is less important than vertical consistency in developing annual objectives, but it still contributes to improved objectives.

Question 10

What are five differences between strategy formulation and strategy implementation?

Question 11

What term is used to describe specific guidelines, methods, procedures, rules, forms and administrative practices established to support and encourage work toward stated goals?

A) Long-term objectives
B) Policies
C) Annual objectives
D) Strategies
E) Values

Question 12

Which of the following is a management issue central to strategy implementation?

A) Devising policies
B) Revising reward and incentive plans
C) Minimizing resistance to change
D) Developing an effective human resources function
E) All of the above

Question 13

Implementing strategy affects all the functional areas of a business and may influence some divisional areas of a business.

Question 14

"All of our locations will be open at least two evenings per week until 8:30 p.m." is an example of a(n)

A) administration.
B) goal.
C) objective.
D) policy.
E) procedure.

Question 15

Which is NOT a characteristic of policies?

A) let both employees and managers know what is expected of them
B) provide a basis for management control
C) allow coordination across organizational units
D) reduce the amount of time managers spend making decisions
E) represent the basis for allocating resources

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a management issue central to strategy implementation?

A) Devising policies
B) Revising reward and incentive plans
C) Performing an internal audit
D) Minimizing resistance to change
E) Developing an effective human resources function

Question 17

Annual objectives are key components in the strategic-management process because they dictate how resources will be allocated.

Question 18

Policies

A) let both employees and managers know what is expected of them.
B) provide a basis for management control.
C) allow coordination across organizational units.
D) reduce the amount of time managers spend making decisions.
E) all of the above

Question 19

Policies refer to specific guidelines, methods, procedures, rules, forms, and administrative practices established to support and encourage work toward stated goals.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT true about objectives?

A) They should be communicated throughout the organization.
B) They should have an appropriate time dimension.
C) They should use terms like "maximize," "minimize," and "as soon as possible."
D) They should be measurable.
E) They should be consistent.

Question 21

Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves ignoring the problem in hopes that the conflict will resolve itself?

A) Avoidance
B) Resistance
C) Compliance
D) Defusion
E) Confrontation

Question 22

Conflict in an organization is

A) always bad.
B) always good.
C) not always bad.
D) a sign of bankruptcy.
E) completely avoidable.

Question 23

A disagreement between two or more parties on one or more issues is called a(n)

A) integrated solution.
B) conflict.
C) compromise.
D) defusion.
E) avoidance.

Question 24

Name at least six issues indicated by the authors that may require a management policy.

Question 25

Why do changes in company strategy often require changes in the way an organization is structured?

A) Structure dictates how objectives and policies will be established.
B) Structure dictates how resources will be allocated.
C) Structure should be designed to facilitate the strategic pursuit of a firm.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 26

Structure dictates how resources will be allocated.

Question 27

An absence of conflict can signal ________ within an organization.

A) indifference and apathy
B) insight and apathy
C) indifference and indignation
D) disputes
E) all of the above

Question 28

Which is NOT a major factor that commonly prohibits effective resource allocation?

A) Underprotection of resources
B) Organizational politics
C) Having vague strategy targets
D) A reluctance to take risks
E) A lack of sufficient knowledge

Question 29

In the context of conflict management and resolution, ignoring the problem in the hopes that the conflict will resolve itself is classified as a defusion technique.

Question 30

Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves exchanging members of conflicting parties so that each can gain an appreciation of the other's point of view?

A) Avoidance
B) Resistance
C) Compliance
D) Defusion
E) Confrontation

Question 31

Avoidance, defusion, and confrontation are the classifications for the various types of conflict that can arise in organizations.

Question 32

The approaches for managing and resolving conflict in an organization can be classified into three categories. Name these three categories and give an example for each.

Question 33

Four types of resources that can be used to achieve desired objectives are financial, physical, human, and technological.

Question 34

Holding a meeting at which conflicting parties present their views and work through their differences is part of the defusion technique of managing conflict.

Question 35

"Beginning in March, production employees will have the option of working up to 12 hours of overtime per week." is an example of a procedure.

Question 36

Exchanging members of conflicting parties so each can gain an appreciation of the other's point of view exemplifies a confrontation approach.

Question 37

Conflict is highly unusual in well-run organizations.

Question 38

Strategies clarify what can and cannot be done in pursuit of an organization's objectives.

Question 39

Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves playing down differences between conflicting parties, while accentuating similarities and common interests?

A) Avoidance
B) Resistance
C) Compliance
D) Defusion
E) Confrontation

Question 40

What are the three categories of approaches for managing and resolving conflict?

A) Avoidance, defusion, and confrontation
B) Avoidance, apathy, and defusion
C) Ignorance, indifference, and apathy
D) Defusion, apathy, and avoidance
E) Indifference, avoidance, and role-playing

Question 41

Tasks and activities are grouped together by business function in a divisional organizational structure.

Question 42

A functional structure can be effective at eliminating short-term and narrow thinking.

Question 43

With a divisional structure, it is possible that competition between divisions may become so intense that it leads to improved sharing of ideas and resources for the common good of the firm.

Question 44

Which organizational structure is the most widely used?

A) Departmental
B) Strategic business unit
C) Functional
D) Decentralized
E) Matrix

Question 45

What is the most complex form of organizational structure?

A) Divisional
B) SBU
C) Matrix
D) Functional
E) Geographic

Question 46

Which divisional structure stands out for effectiveness when a few major customers are of paramount importance and many different services are provided to these customers?

A) By geographic area
B) By customer
C) By product
D) By process
E) By cost

Question 47

With the matrix structure it is common for functional resources to be duplicated.

Question 48

Policies largely dictate how structure will be established.

Question 49

Which organizational structure has the disadvantage of ambiguous roles for some senior executives?

A) Functional
B) Divisional
C) Strategic Business Unit (SBU)
D) Matrix
E) Process

Question 50

Most large companies have abandoned the functional structure in favor of decentralization.

Question 51

Medium-sized firms tend to use which type of structure?

A) Divisional
B) Matrix
C) SBU
D) Functional
E) Centralized

Question 52

Because activities are organized according to the way work is actually performed, a divisional structure by process is similar to the matrix structure.

Question 53

A divisional structure by geographic area is most appropriate when

A) organizations have similar branch facilities located in widely dispersed areas.
B) an organization offers only a limited number of products or services.
C) consumption patterns for its products and/or services are the same worldwide.
D) the company's customers in different geographic locations have similar needs and characteristics.
E) the firm serves one geographic area.

Question 54

With a divisional structure by customer, an organization can effectively cater to the requirements of clearly defined customer groups.

Question 55

A divisional structure by product is most effective when

A) special emphasis needs to be placed on specific products.
B) an organization offers few products.
C) an organization's products or services differ substantially.
D) special emphasis needs to be placed on specific services.
E) all of the above

Question 56

What is NOT one of the basic ways a divisional structure can be organized?

A) By geographic area
B) By product
C) By customer
D) By process
E) By cost

Question 57

The most complex of all organizational structures is a matrix structure.

Question 58

According to Alfred Chandler "changes in strategy lead to changes in organizational structure."

Question 59

What type of organizational structure promotes specialization of labor and allows rapid decision making?

A) Divisional structure by product
B) Functional structure
C) Divisional structure by customer
D) Strategic business unit
E) Matrix structure

Question 60

Medium-sized firms tend to be divisionally structured, whereas large firms tend to use an SBU (strategic business unit) or matrix structure.

Question 61

What action involves reconfiguring or redesigning work, jobs, and processes for the purpose of improving cost, quality, service, and speed?

A) Restructuring
B) Downsizing
C) Reengineering
D) Delayering
E) Recruiting

Question 62

List the four basic ways a divisionally structured firm could be organized.

Question 63

What change strategy involves giving orders and enforcing those orders?

A) Self-interest
B) Educative
C) Force
D) Rational
E) Defusion

Question 64

People's anxieties are raised with the thought of change because they fear economic loss, inconvenience, uncertainty, and a break in normal social patterns.

Question 65

When developing an organizational chart, you should

A) recommend dual titles for executives.
B) use the title "president" for the top executive of the firm.
C) make sure that the chief financial officer is not at the same level as the chief operating officer (COO).
D) have division presidents report to a chief operating officer (COO)
E) have employees report to more than one person in the chain of command.

Question 66

The focus of restructuring is changing the way work is actually carried out.

Question 67

The primary benefit sought from restructuring is

A) employee involvement.
B) cost reduction.
C) increased morale.
D) increased number of hierarchical levels in the organization.
E) increased innovation.

Question 68

When developing an organizational chart, the title president should be reserved for the top executive of the firm.

Question 69

Which term is primarily concerned with shareholder well-being rather than employee well-being?

A) Benchmarking
B) Reengineering
C) Product redesign
D) Process management
E) Restructuring

Question 70

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a divisional organizational structure?

Question 71

In developing an organizational chart, avoid having a particular person reporting to more than one person in the chain of command.

Question 72

Six Sigma is generally equally successful in retail firms and manufacturing firms.

Question 73

Which of the following is in keeping with the current view of organizational change?

A) Organizational change is a project.
B) Organizational change is a continuous process.
C) Organizational change is an event.
D) Organizational change involves unfreezing behavior, changing the behavior, and then refreezing the new behavior.
E) All of the above

Question 74

In publicly held U.S. companies it is becoming increasingly common to combine the positions of chairperson of the board and the CEO.

Question 75

In terms of number of employees, restructuring usually involves increasing the size of the firm.

Question 76

Resistance to change can manifest itself through

A) absenteeism.
B) sabotaging production machines.
C) filing unfounded grievances.
D) unwillingness to cooperate.
E) all of the above

Question 77

A change strategy that attempts to convince people that the change is to their personal advantage is

A) defusion.
B) force.
C) educative.
D) rational.
E) compromise.

Question 78

Reengineering does not usually affect the organizational structure or chart, nor does it imply job loss or employee layoffs.

Question 79

Just-in-time describes

A) implementing strategies just before bankruptcy.
B) delivering materials just as they are needed.
C) a scheduling method for meetings.
D) a personnel planning method.
E) a process for improving quality.

Question 80

When developing an organizational chart, it is not wise to recommend that any executive have a dual title.