Deck 2: Analysing Business Strategy: Creating Value

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true regarding an organisation's vision statement?

A)The vision statement should be focused on an organisation's short-term strategic position.
B)The vision statement should be all-purpose or generic.
C)The vision statement should be focused on the company's most outstanding past achievements.
D)The vision statement should be memorable and enduring.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The creation of value for customers requires:

A)a 'supply side' perspective
B)a 'demand side' perspective
C)an 'input/output' perspective
D)a 'reverse engineering' perspective

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The behavioural theory approach of the firm:

A)allows for the existence of a variety of stakeholders
B)controls the power of strategic stakeholders
C)simplifies the process of monitoring strategy
D)explains why key stakeholders' differing expectations are always in agreement

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A vision statement is a statement that:

A)tells it like it is
B)is thorough and exhaustive
C)represents a realistic concept of the short-term position of the company
D)should be memorable and inspire employees

Question 5

The recommended ways to outperform competitors do NOT include providing a:

A)bigger range of products or services
B)better range of products or services
C)cheaper range of products or services
D)different range of products or services

Question 6

Which of the following is the best explanation why 'Corporate social responsibility' is increasingly being used by organisations?

A)Because corporations are trying to attract younger employees
B)Because corporations seek to focus on meeting current needs
C)Because CR is not catching on as a replacement term for CSR
D)Because corporations must balance the needs of the different stakeholders affected by corporate actions

Question 7

The five questions (5Qs)of business strategy do NOT include:

A)What products and services does the company plan to produce?
B)What customer and geographic markets does the company plan to service?
C)What generic strategy must the company avoid in a differentiated market?
D)What position in the industry does the company plan to hold in the future?

Question 8

The value proposition rests on the requirement that:

A)the company can charge what it likes for its products
B)the customer is 'price insensitive' to the company's offering
C)the company's employees have their own prestige invested in its processes
D)the company can supply what the customers want at a price they will pay

Question 9

According to Hubbard,Rice and Galvin,competitive advantage is:

A)profit maximisation
B)making profits similar to the competitors
C)making more profits than competitors for similar activities
D)achieving bigger market share than the competitors

Question 10

Typical 'stakeholders' of an organisation do not include its:

A)employees
B)board of directors
C)suppliers
D)World Trade Organization

Question 11

Tests for a good business strategy do NOT include the requirement that the strategy:

A)creates value for customers
B)will confuse competitors
C)is unique compared with competitors
D)is enduring

Question 12

The function(s)of key stakeholders is/are to:

A)constitute the effective corporate governance of the company
B)influence the major decisions the company will make
C)determine the current and future strategy of the company
D)all of the above

Question 13

Petris argues that public sector organisations can be divided into three types except those:

A)concerned with profit maximisation
B)setting directions
C)transforming directions into specific policies and programs
D)implementing policies and programs

Question 14

A mission statement is a statement that:

A)should be used instead of a vision statement
B)was always different from the vision statement
C)over time,became commonly focused on mundane matters
D)operationalises the vision statement for the current business situation

Question 15

In the shareholder value/value-based management theory,management seeks to maximise:

A)market share
B)value for the shareholders
C)their retirement benefits
D)prices in the marketplace

Question 16

Reasons why business strategy may be misunderstood within an organisation do NOT include:

A)employees may not be interested in the business strategy
B)employees may not understand the business strategy
C)employees may not be convinced that the business strategy is right
D)employees may get mixed messages from a variety of managers

Question 17

The business model of an organisation:

A)takes the value proposition and incorporates it into a specific value chain of activities
B)is a process for modelling the success of the organisation's strategy
C)determines how the organisation will create customer value
D)can be difficult to identify in low-cost manufacturing firms

Question 18

Petris's model of the 'phases in the strategy-making process in the public sector' does NOT include:

A)setting direction through strategic frameworks
B)consulting with strategic stakeholder groups to achieve working consensus
C)transforming strategic frameworks into policies and programs
D)implementing policies and programs

Question 19

The value chain of an organisation:

A)includes only those activities that are profitable
B)is determined by what competitors choose not to do
C)is the set of activities that the organisation undertakes or organises to deliver the product to the customer
D)is determined by collaborating firms such that value-adding activities are arranged in a chain of value creation between collaborators

Question 20

Value is the difference between:

A)what the customer pays for and deserves
B)what the 'office of fair trading' decides a customer has a right to expect
C)what the customer pays in costs and receives in benefits
D)the customer's buying price and the company's sale price

Question 21

What are the features of a good 'vision statement'? Explain.

Question 22

'Does the organisation plan to grow?' is an unnecessary first question of business strategy.

Question 23

A 'demand side' perspective refers to the overall demand for a particular product or service.

Question 24

According to Kim and Mauborgne,there are four utility levers.

Question 25

A vision statement is a succinct statement that identifies long-term strategic purpose of the organisation.

Question 26

What is a value proposition for customers and what is it based on?

Question 27

Only private sector organisations develop strategies.

Question 28

Hay and Williamson argued that for a strategy to be effectively understood and accepted:

A)the strategy should provide direction in the form of a worthwhile,relevant goal
B)it should help work teams see the leverage provided by the interaction of their own tasks and initiatives occurring elsewhere in the organisation
C)it can be used by shop stewards as guidance for trade-offs in collective bargaining deals
D)it facilitates communication by establishing a common language which everyone can use

Question 29

'Value' for customers is the additional benefits that are provided by the organisation.

Question 30

Who is more important for a strategic planner - shareholders or stakeholders? Comment.

Question 31

Competitive advantage is not just making a profit.

Question 32

Sustainability covers the current period and the effect on future generations.

Question 33

Hamel and Prahalad criticised many organisations as having strategies that are too focused on the current business and not enough on the future.

Question 34

Identifying the current business strategy of an organisation is not always easy.

Question 35

Explain the difference in strategies in the public sector between policy-direction setters and transformers.Use at least one example of each in your answer.

Question 36

Strategy refers to those decisions that have a medium- to long-term impact on the activities of the organisation.

Question 37

One of the challenges that the emergent strategy approach identifies for planned strategy is:

A)where possible,involve key stakeholders and managers in setting the strategy
B)convince the board of directors and the organisation that the emergent strategy is good
C)be flexible when unplanned but valuable opportunities emerge that are inconsistent with the planned direction
D)allow for expected problems that will undoubtedly emerge as the organisation tries to implement its plan

Question 38

Strategic analysis is not concerned with the current or existing business strategy.

Question 39

What are some of the reasons why employees,who understand a company's strategy,might not assist with implementing it?

Question 40

Why is it difficult to identify the existing business strategy of an organisation? Discuss.

Question 41

What are the four challenges to planned strategy under the emergent strategy approach?