Deck 8: Strategy Formulation and Execution

Question 1

Competitive advantage refers to the set of decisions and actions used to formulate and implement strategies.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Strategy implementation involves the planning and decision making that lead to the establishment of the firm's goals.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Better-Than-The-Rest,Inc.'s ability to market its products better than its competitors is an example of its core competence.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Strategic management largely determines which organizations succeed and which ones struggle.

Question 5

Research has shown that strategic thinking and planning positively affect a firm's performance and financial success.

Question 6

The interaction of Production and Sales working together to produce profit greater than the total of both working separately is an example of synergy.

Question 7

The "How do we compete?" question concerns functional-level strategy.

Question 8

Corporate-level strategy pertains to the organization as a whole.

Question 9

Strategic decisions at the business level concern amount of advertising,direction and extent of R & D,product changes,new product development,equipment and facilities,and expansion or contraction of product lines.

Question 10

The administration and implementation of the strategic plan is strategy execution.

Question 11

The essence of formulating strategy is choosing how the organization will be identical to its key competitors in the industry.

Question 12

The combination of benefits received and costs paid by the customer refers to value.

Question 13

Executives acquire information about external opportunities and strengths from a variety of reports,including budgets,financial ratios,profit and loss statements,and surveys of employee attitudes and satisfaction.

Question 14

Front-line managers have the final responsibility for strategic planning.

Question 15

The three levels of strategy are business,corporate,and global.

Question 16

SWOT analysis includes a review of the internal threats and opportunities.

Question 17

Value occurs when the organizational parts interact to produce a joint effect that is greater than the sum of the parts acting alone.

Question 18

Core competence is the plan of action that prescribes resource allocation and other activities for dealing with the environment.

Question 19

Top managers and chief executives have the final responsibility for strategic planning.

Question 20

Internal analysis examines overall organization structure,management competence and quality,and human resource characteristics.

Question 21

A differentiation strategy can increase rivalry with competitors if buyers are loyal to a company's brand.

Question 22

The BCG (Boston Consulting Group)matrix evaluates SBUs with respect to their business growth rate and geographical location.

Question 23

According to the BCG Matrix,the cash cow has a large market share in a rapidly growing industry.

Question 24

Strategic partnerships are the current trend,rather than mergers and acquisitions.

Question 25

Organization's with a focus strategy concentrate on a specific regional market or buyer group.

Question 26

With the leveling force of the Internet and information technology,it has become easier for many companies to find ways to distinguish themselves from their competitors.

Question 27

According to Porter,the bargaining power of the government is one of the five competitive forces affecting an organization's competitive environment.

Question 28

Cost leadership is a type of competitive strategy with which the organization seeks to distinguish its products or services from that of competitors.

Question 29

The task environment sectors are the most relevant to strategic behavior and include the behavior of competitors,customers,suppliers,and the labor supply.

Question 30

In BCG Matrix,the circle size represents the relative profit made by each business in the company's portfolio.

Question 31

Differentiation,cost leadership,and focus are three of Porter's competitive strategies.

Question 32

The question mark exists in a new,rapidly growing industry but has only a small market share,according to the BCG Matrix.

Question 33

The mix of business units and product lines that fit together in a logical way to provide synergy and competitive advantage for the corporation pertains to portfolio strategy.

Question 34

Threats are characteristics of the internal environment that may prevent the organization from achieving its strategic goals.

Question 35

Diversification is a strategy of moving into new lines of business.

Question 36

The world-wide standardization of product design and advertising refers to globalization.

Question 37

The Internet tends to lower the bargaining power of suppliers.

Question 38

The dog,according to the BCG Matrix,is a poor performer.

Question 39

Vertical integration means a firm expands into businesses that either produce the supplies needed to make products or that distribute and sell those products to customers.

Question 40

The bargaining power of customers is one of Porter's five competitive forces.

Question 41

For successful execution,alignment of everyone in the organization must occur.

Question 42

As a result of the growth of the Internet,barriers to entry into new markets are now much higher than ever before.

Question 43

An SBU stands for Star Business Unit.

Question 44

In strategy implementation,leadership is the ability to influence people to adopt the new behaviors needed.

Question 45

Human resources,in strategy implementation,are the ability to influence people to adopt the new behaviors need.

Question 46

Strategic thinking is more important -profit businesses than for non-profit organizations.

Question 47

The export strategy treats the world as a single global market.

Question 48

Opportunities are characteristics of the internal environment that have the potential to help the organization achieve or exceed its strategic goals.

Question 49

Effective implementation is not a necessity if the strategies are truly creative.

Question 50

Business-level strategies include all of the major functions,including finance,research and development,marketing,and manufacturing.

Question 51

With a multidomestic strategy,a company will achieve the globalization or standardization of marketing and production approaches.

Question 52

The final stage of the strategic management process is execution of the new strategy.

Question 53

The transnational strategy handles markets independently for each country.

Question 54

Unrelated diversification occurs when an organization expands into a totally new line of business.

Question 55

A director of finance would most likely be interested in executing functional level strategies.

Question 56

Communication is one of the most important methods for effective strategy execution.

Question 57

Some companies hire competitive intelligence professionals to scan the external environment and provide data and research on relevant domestic and global trends.

Question 58

A multidomestic strategy standardizes global products/advertising strategies.

Question 59

A firms' leadership is responsible for recruiting,selecting,training,transferring,promoting,and laying off employees.

Question 60

A transnational strategy seeks to achieve both global integration and national responsiveness.

Question 61

Which of the following is a business activity that an organization does especially well relative to its competition?

A)Strategy
B)Synergy
C)Cash cow
D)Core competence
E)Multidomestic

Question 62

The set of decisions and actions used to formulate and implement strategies that will provide a competitively superior fit between the organization and its environment so as to achieve organizational goals is known as

A)strategy formulation.
B)strategic planning.
C)strategic management.
D)strategy implementation.
E)strategy evaluation.

Question 63

When properly managed,____ can create additional value with existing resources,providing a big boost to the bottom line.

A)synergy
B)competitors
C)government contacts
D)command structure
E)cooperation among customers

Question 64

The condition that exists when the organization's parts interact to produce a joint effect that is greater than the sum of the parts acting alone is known as

A)core competence.
B)synergy.
C)value creation.
D)business-level strategy.
E)multidomestic strategy.

Question 65

For the social networking site Facebook,technological know-how and an aggressive and innovative culture are significant strengths to include in its SWOT analysis.

Question 66

When Philip-Morris,the tobacco giant,bought Kraft,Inc. ,it was pursuing a

A)corporate-level strategy.
B)business-level strategy.
C)functional-level strategy.
D)multidomestic strategy.
E)retrenchment strategy.

Question 67

Which of the following pertains to the organization as a whole?

A)Business-level strategy
B)Functional-level strategy
C)Corporate-level strategy
D)Operational-level strategy
E)Competitive-level strategy

Question 68

In a turbulent business climate,managers should focus on strategic stability rather than flexibility.

Question 69

A transnational strategy combines degrees of both global standardization and national responsiveness.

Question 70

A multidomestic strategy helps an organization reap efficiencies by standardizing product design and manufacturing,using common suppliers,and eliminating overlapping facilities.

Question 71

A top-down management style has been identified as a silent killer of strategy.

Question 72

The plan of action that prescribes resource allocation and other activities for dealing with the environment and helping the organization attain its goals is known as a(n)

A)goal.
B)objective.
C)mission.
D)vision.
E)strategy.

Question 73

Sears' decision to sell off much of its financial services division is an example of a

A)corporate-level strategy.
B)business-level strategy.
C)functional-level strategy.
D)growth strategy.
E)stability strategy.

Question 74

Ford's decision to completely redesign its Ford Taurus can be classified as a

A)corporate level strategy.
B)business level strategy.
C)functional level strategy.
D)retrenchment strategy.
E)stability strategy.

Question 75

A corporate-level strategy is concerned with the question

A)what business are we in?
B)how do we compete?
C)how do we support our chosen strategy?
D)where do we market our products?
E)should we promote from within?

Question 76

____ can be defined as the combination of benefits received and costs paid by the customer.

A)Organizational benefits
B)Value
C)Cost-benefit diversity
D)Synergy
E)Core competence

Question 77

When AT&T decided to buy Media One,a cable company,it was pursuing a

A)functional-level strategy.
B)internal growth strategy.
C)multi-domestic strategy.
D)corporate-level strategy.
E)business-level strategy.

Question 78

The concentration of suppliers and the availability of substitute suppliers are significant factors in determining supplier power.

Question 79

Cost leadership firms are more likely to reward employee innovation than differentiation firms or focus firms.

Question 80

When Coca-Cola introduced Surge,a new citrus soft-drink,what type of strategy was being pursued?

A)Functional-level strategy
B)Multi-domestic strategy
C)Corporate-level strategy
D)Retrenchment strategy
E)Business-level strategy