Deck 7: Implementing Strategies: Management and Operations Issues

Question 1

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

Answer 1

True

Question 2

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

Answer 2

True

Question 3

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

Answer 3

True

Question 4

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 5

Horizontal consistency is more important than vertical consistency in developing annual objectives.

Question 6

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

Question 7

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

Question 8

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

Question 9

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 10

A recent study reports that nearly 90 percent of employers today offer some kind of wellness incentives or prizes to employees who "get healthier."

Question 11

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

Question 12

Strategy formulation is the managing of forces during the action, whereas strategy implementation is the positioning of forces before the action.

Question 13

A bottom-up flow of communication is essential for developing bottom-up support.

Question 14

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

Question 15

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

Question 16

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

Question 17

Well-run organizations are able to completely avoid conflict.

Question 18

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

Question 19

Effective strategy formulation can usually guarantee successful strategy implementation.

Question 20

Strategy formulation requires coordination among a few individuals, but strategy implementation requires coordination among many.

Question 21

In Japan, performance rather than seniority has traditionally been the key factor in determining pay.

Question 22

Resistance to change can be considered the single greatest threat to successful strategy implementation.

Question 23

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

Question 24

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 25

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

Question 26

Restructuring in many firms has made a manager's job an invisible, thankless role.

Question 27

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

Question 28

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

Question 29

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

Question 30

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

Question 31

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 32

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

Question 33

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

Question 34

Restructuring is also called rightsizing.

Question 35

A dual bonus system based on both annual objectives and long-term objectives is becoming common.

Question 36

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

Question 37

When developing an organizational chart, it is not wise to recommend a dual title for just one executive.

Question 38

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

Question 39

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

Question 40

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

Question 41

Strategy formulation

A) is managing forces during the action.
B) requires coordination among a few individuals.
C) is primarily an operational process.
D) requires special motivation and leadership skills.
E) all of the above

Question 42

JIT significantly increases the costs of implementing strategies.

Question 43

The United States leads the world in promoting women and minorities into mid- and top-level managerial positions in business.

Question 44

Changing a strategy to fit an existing culture is not as effective as changing a firm's culture to fit a new strategy.

Question 45

Production processes typically constitute less than 50 percent of a firm's total assets.

Question 46

Organizational change today should be viewed as a project or event rather than as a continuous project.

Question 47

ESOPs work well even in firms with fluctuating payrolls and profits.

Question 48

The rational change strategy is one that presents information to convince people of the need for change.

Question 49

Strategists should strive to create a work environment in which change is recognized as necessary and beneficial so that individuals can more easily adapt to change.

Question 50

Strategists should strive to preserve, emphasize, and build upon aspects of an existing culture that are antagonistic to a proposed strategy.

Question 51

When attachments to a culture are severed in an organization's attempt to change direction, employees and managers often experience deep feelings of grief.

Question 52

A force change strategy is plagued by low commitment and high resistance.

Question 53

A rational change strategy means giving orders and enforcing those orders.

Question 54

Besides reducing worker alienation and stimulating productivity, ESOPs allow firms other benefits, such as substantial tax savings.

Question 55

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 56

The advantage of the educative change strategy is that implementation is quick and relatively easy.

Question 57

The work and family issue is strictly a women's issue.

Question 58

When the rational type change strategy is successful, strategy implementation can be relatively easy.

Question 59

Which of these is true about strategy implementation?

A) It is positioning forces before the action.
B) It focuses on effectiveness.
C) It is primarily an operational process.
D) It is primarily an intellectual process.
E) It requires intuitive skills.

Question 60

Recruitment, promotion, and mentoring are ways to alter an organization's culture.

Question 61

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

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

Question 62

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 63

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

Question 64

Which term is best defined as a central management activity that allows for strategy execution?

A) Avoidance
B) Furlough
C) Competition
D) Resource allocation
E) Conflict

Question 65

Conflict in an organization is

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

Question 66

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

A) Structure dictates how goals and objectives 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 67

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 68

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

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

Question 69

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 70

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 71

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 72

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 73

Establishing objectives is a

A) executive-only activity.
B) centralized activity.
C) decentralized activity.
D) centralized-decentralized activity.
E) command-and-control activity.

Question 74

Which organizational structure is the most widely used?

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

Question 75

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 76

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 77

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 78

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

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

Question 79

________ 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 80

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