Question 1

Which of the following summarizes the difference between a firm's vision and mission?

Accepted Answer

A vision defines what an organization wants to accomplish ultimately. A mission describes how the vision is accomplished.

Question 2

Which of the following statements is true of customer-oriented visions?

Accepted Answer

It is important not to confuse customer-oriented vision statements with listening to the customer. They are not the same thing. Customer-oriented visions identify a critical need but leave open the means of how to meet that need.

Question 3

Strategic commitments are actions that are

Accepted Answer

Strategic commitments are actions that are costly, long-term oriented, and difficult to reverse.

Question 4

Upper management at Softstep Inc., a manufacturer of insoles for shoes, wants to work on improving the product lines it already has without taking on other challenges at this time. Which of the following vision statements reflects that goal?

Accepted Answer

Because it of its goals, Softstep would choose a product-oriented vision statement, which focuses employees on improving existing products and services without consideration of underlying customer or employee problems to be solved.

Question 5

Which of the following statements about product-oriented visions is true?

Accepted Answer

A product-oriented vision defines a business in terms of a good or service provided. Product-oriented visions tend to force managers to take a myopic view of the competitive landscape.

Question 6

Visionary companies are able to outperform their competitors because

Accepted Answer

An inspiring vision helps employees find meaning in their work, beyond monetary rewards. It allows employees to experience a greater sense of purpose and taps into people's intrinsic motivations to make the world a better place through their work activities. Visionary companies provide more aspirational ideas that are not exclusively financial.

Question 7

Fuentes Electronics is a major manufacturer of microwave ovens. Which of the following statements will best inspire the organization with a shared vision for Fuentes Electronics?

Accepted Answer

A strong vision pervades the organization with a sense of winning and motivates employees at all levels to aim for the same target. Therefore, all employees at Fuentes Electronics being motivated to make the best microwaves ovens on the market reflects a strong vision. Also, a vision captures an organization's aspiration and spells out what it ultimately wants to accomplish. In addition, it helps employees find meaning in their work.

Question 8

Free Winds, Inc. is a company that manufactures a variety of generators that run on wind power. The company envisions that wind technology will replace all forms of exhaustible energy sources in the near future. Which of the following statements will make an accurate vision for Free Winds?

Accepted Answer

"In the future, all nations around the globe should have access to a sustainable energy source." will make an appropriate vision statement for Free Winds Inc. An effective vision talks about what an organization ultimately wants to accomplish; it captures the company's aspiration.

Question 9

Which of the following is a customer-oriented vision?

Accepted Answer

A customer-oriented vision defines a business in terms of providing solutions to customer needs. The statement "to enable businesses to improve their employee communications" is a customer-oriented vision.

Question 10

A customer-oriented vision statement focuses employees to think about how best to

Accepted Answer

A customer-oriented vision statement focuses employees to think about how best to solve a problem for a consumer.

Question 11

The Founder of Teach for America, Wendy Kopp, wants to make teaching an attractive option for promising young professionals. Identify the phrase that represents the vision she developed for Teach for America.

Accepted Answer

A vision is a statement about what an organization ultimately wants to accomplish; it captures the company's aspiration. Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America, declared the organization's vision to be "One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education." By developing this vision, she helped to attract promising college graduates and get them interested in teaching. Klopp's vision attempts to inspire the best and brightest young professionals to contribute to society by becoming teachers.

Question 12

Why is it better for firms to keep their vision statements customer-oriented rather than product-oriented?

Accepted Answer

Customer-oriented visions tend to be more flexible when adapting to changing environments.

Question 13

Soil and Sod Gardening Supplies has a vision of helping every American learn how to grow their own food. Its management team recently unveiled the mission statement "A garden at every home." What is wrong with this mission statement?

Accepted Answer

A mission describes what an organization does; it defines how the vision is accomplished and is often introduced with the preposition by. Soil and Sod's mission statement does not indicate how the company will achieve its goal of helping to place a garden at every home, and is thus more suited as a vision statement.

Question 14

True Help is a nonprofit organization that works toward rehabilitating the homeless. The credo of the organization is "help us help you." For an organization like True Help, which of the following statements would make an appropriate mission?

Accepted Answer

Building on the vision, organizations establish a mission, which describes what an organization actually does-that is, the products and services it plans to provide, and the markets in which it will compete. "We help the homeless gain and sustain financial independence by providing employment opportunities" would make an appropriate mission for True Help.

Question 15

The Founder of Teach for America, Wendy Kopp, established a mission by building on her vision, which is "One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education." Considering this, how did Klopp implement the mission of Teach for America?

Accepted Answer

Building on the vision, organizations establish a mission, which describes what an organization actually does-that is, the products and services it plans to provide, and the markets in which it will compete. A mission defines the means "by" which vision is accomplished. Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach for America, built on her vision by enlisting, developing, and mobilizing as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence.

Question 16

The first step to gain and sustain a competitive advantage is to

Accepted Answer

The first step to gain and sustain a competitive advantage is to define a firm's vision, mission, and values. With these principles in place, strategic leaders consider how to formulate strategy across different levels: corporate, business, and functional.

Question 17

Bubble Buddy is a company that manufactures hot tubs. Which of the following best illustrates a product-oriented vision for Bubble Buddy?

Accepted Answer

"To be the pioneering manufacturer of hot tubs" best illustrates a product-oriented vision for Bubble Buddy. A product-oriented vision defines a business in terms of a good or service provided.

Question 18

Pioneer Pharma Inc. and GH Medicines Corp. are two competing firms in the pharmaceutical industry. While Pioneer Pharma Inc.'s vision is "to be a preeminent drug manufacturer in the industry," GH Medicines Corp.'s vision is "to make good health a reality for everyone around the world." Which of the following is an implication of these different visions?

Accepted Answer

Companies that have customer-oriented visions tend to be more flexible when adapting to changing environments. In contrast, companies that define themselves based on product-oriented statements tend to be less flexible and thus more likely to fail.

Question 19

Strategic commitments are actions that are

Accepted Answer

To be effective, firms need to back up their visions and missions with strategic commitments, actions that are costly, long-term-oriented, and difficult to reverse. The company's vision needs to be backed up by a powerful strategic commitment. Without such commitments, a firm's vision and mission statements are just words.

Question 20

To be effective, firms need to

Accepted Answer

To be effective, firms need to back up their visions and missions with strategic commitments, actions that are costly, long-term-oriented, and difficult to reverse.

Quiz 1: What Is Strategy

Which of the following summarizes the difference between a firm's vision and mission?

Which of the following statements is true of customer-oriented visions?

Strategic commitments are actions that are

Upper management at Softstep Inc., a manufacturer of insoles for shoes, wants to work on improving the product lines it already has without taking on other challenges at this time. Which of the following vision statements reflects that goal?

Which of the following statements about product-oriented visions is true?

Visionary companies are able to outperform their competitors because

Fuentes Electronics is a major manufacturer of microwave ovens. Which of the following statements will best inspire the organization with a shared vision for Fuentes Electronics?

Free Winds, Inc. is a company that manufactures a variety of generators that run on wind power. The company envisions that wind technology will replace all forms of exhaustible energy sources in the near future. Which of the following statements will make an accurate vision for Free Winds?

Which of the following is a customer-oriented vision?

A customer-oriented vision statement focuses employees to think about how best to

The Founder of Teach for America, Wendy Kopp, wants to make teaching an attractive option for promising young professionals. Identify the phrase that represents the vision she developed for Teach for America.

Why is it better for firms to keep their vision statements customer-oriented rather than product-oriented?

Soil and Sod Gardening Supplies has a vision of helping every American learn how to grow their own food. Its management team recently unveiled the mission statement "A garden at every home." What is wrong with this mission statement?

True Help is a nonprofit organization that works toward rehabilitating the homeless. The credo of the organization is "help us help you." For an organization like True Help, which of the following statements would make an appropriate mission?

The Founder of Teach for America, Wendy Kopp, established a mission by building on her vision, which is "One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education." Considering this, how did Klopp implement the mission of Teach for America?

The first step to gain and sustain a competitive advantage is to

Bubble Buddy is a company that manufactures hot tubs. Which of the following best illustrates a product-oriented vision for Bubble Buddy?

Strategic commitments are actions that are

To be effective, firms need to