Assignment: Essentials of Strategic Management
Charting a Company's Direction: Vision and Mission, Objectives, and Strategy-
1.Which one of the following is not an integral part of the managerial process of crafting and executing strategy?
A)
Developing a strategic vision.
B)
Choosing a strategic intent.
C)
Setting objectives and crafting a strategy to achieve them.
D)
Evaluating performance and initiating ive adjustments in the company's long-term direction, objectives, strategy, or execution in light of actual experience, changing conditions, new ideas, and new opportunities.
E)
Implementing and executing the chosen strategy efficiently and effectively.
2
A company's strategic plan consists of ________________
A)
the actions and market maneuvers it plans to use to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.
B)
management's vision mapping out where a company is headed, the company's financial and strategic objectives, and management's strategy to achieve the objectives and move the company along the chosen strategic path.
C)
a company's strategic vision, strategic objectives, strategic intent, and strategy.
D)
an organization's strategy and management's specific, detailed plans for implementing it.
E)
the specific actions management intends to take in detouring strategic inflection points and executing its overall strategy.
3
A strategic vision for a company ________________
A)
involves how fast to pursue the chosen strategy and reach the targeted levels of performance.
B)
consists of thinking through what it will take to make the chosen strategy work as planned.
C)
describes "where we are going" by delineating the course and direction management has charted for the company's future product-customer-market-technology focus.
D)
spells out how the company is going to get from where it is now to where it wants to go and when it is expected to arrive.
E)
concerns management's view of how to transition the company's business model from where it is now to where it needs to be.
4
The difference between a company's mission statement and the concept of a strategic vision is that ________________
A)
the mission statement lays out the desire to make a profit, whereas the strategic vision addresses what strategy the company will employ in trying to make a profit.
B)
a mission statement deals with "where we are headed " whereas a strategic vision provides the critical answer to "how will we get there".
C)
a mission statement deals with what a company is trying to do and a vision concerns what a company ought to do.
D)
a mission statement typically concerns an enterprise's present business scope and purpose -"who we are, what we do, and why we are here" - whereas the focus of a strategic vision is on the direction the company is headed and what its future product-customer-market-technology focus will be.
E)
a mission statement is about what to accomplish for shareholders whereas a strategic vision concerns what to accomplish for customers.
5
Which one of the following is not a characteristic of an effectively worded strategic vision statement (see Table 2.2)?
A)
Directional (is forward-looking; describes the strategic course that management has charted and the kinds of product-market-customer-technology changes that will help the company prepare for the future).
B)
Concrete and unambiguous (leaves no doubt as to what the company is trying to accomplish for shareholders).
C)
Graphic (paints a clear picture).
D)
Easy to communicate (ideally, explainable in 10 minutes).
E)
Focused and flexible (specific enough to provide managers with guidance in making decisions and allocating resources but stops short of a once-and-for-all-time statement because the strategic path may need to be changed as market-customer-technology circumstances change).
6
According to both the text discussion and the summary in Table 2.3, which of the following is not a common shortcoming of company vision statements?
A)
Incomplete or vague-short on specifics.
B)
Too reliant on superlatives (best, most successful, recognized leader, global or worldwide leader, first choice of buyers).
C)
Too broad-so umbrella-like and all-inclusive that the company could head in most any direction, pursue most any opportunity, or enter most any business.
D)
Lacking in analysis-based more on managerial emotion and excessive ambition than on what is realistically achievable.
E)
Not distinctive-provides no unique company identity; could apply to companies in any of several industries (or at least several rivals operating in the same industry or market arena).
7
A company's objectives ________________
A)
convert the strategic vision into specific performance targets-well-stated objectives are quantifiable, or measurable, and contain a deadline for achievement.
B)
are typically established after a company decides on a strategic vision and strategy so that they will entail performance targets that truly signal business success.
C)
are best stated in general terms (maximize profits, reduce costs, increase sales) rather than quantifiable terms (increase after-tax profits by 10 percent in two years, grow sales revenues by 20 percent annually) so that managers will have the latitude to adjust target outcomes to levels that can be achieved.
D)
should place far more emphasis on financial performance targets than strategic performance targets.
E)
All of these.
8
Establishing and achieving strategic objectives merits very high priority on management's agenda because ________________
A)
strategic outcomes provide better benefits to shareholders in both the short run and the long run.
B)
a company can't have a shrewd strategic vision without having aggressive and competitively astute strategic objectives.
C)
strategic outcomes are leading indicators of a company's future financial performance and business prospects.
D)
well-chosen strategic objectives help managers craft a good strategy.
E)
a company cannot achieve its strategic intent and strategic vision or gain a competitive advantage over rivals without having and achieving strategic objectives.
9
A balanced scorecard for measuring company performance ________________
A)
entails balancing the pursuit of good bottom-line profit against the pursuit of nonprofit objectives (although achieving profitability targets is nearly always given greater emphasis).
B)
involves putting equal emphasis on the achievement of financial objectives, strategic objectives, and social responsibility objectives.
C)
entails setting both financial and strategic objectives and putting balanced emphasis on their achievement.
D)
helps prevent the pursuit of strategic objectives from dominating the pursuit of financial objectives.
E)
is necessary to prevent the drive for achieving financial objectives from weakening the attention paid to social responsibility, community citizenship, and other worthy goals.
10
Company objectives ________________
A)
need to be broken down into performance targets for each of its separate businesses, product lines, functional departments, and individual work units.
B)
are needed only in those areas directly related to a company's short-term and long-term profitability.
C)
help answer the question "Where do we want to go."
D)
determine the geographic and business scope of the company's operations.
E)
should be set in a manner that does not conflict with the performance targets of lower-level organizational units.
11
The task of crafting a strategy is ________________
A)
the function and responsibility of a few high-level executives.
B)
more of a collaborative group effort that involves all managers and sometimes key employees striving to arrive at a consensus on what the overall best strategy should be.
C)
the function and responsibility of a company's strategic planning staff.
D)
a job for a company's whole management team-senior executives plus the managers of business units, operating divisions, functional departments, manufacturing plants, and sales districts (as per the strategy-making hierarchy shown in Figure 2.2).
E)
first and foremost the function and responsibility of a company's board of directors.
12
Strategy making is ________________
A)
primarily the responsibility of the company founder or CEO.
B)
the responsibility of a company's chief executive officer and outside consultants.
C)
primarily the responsibility of a company's strategic planning staff.
D)
first and foremost the responsibility of a company's board of directors.
E)
more of a collaborative group effort that involves managers and key employees throughout the company.
13
As Figure 2.2 shows, the strategy-making hierarchy in a single business company consists of ________________
A)
business strategy, divisional strategies, and departmental strategies.
B)
business strategy, functional area strategies, and operating strategies.
C)
business strategy and operating strategy.
D)
managerial strategy, business strategy, and divisional strategies.
E)
corporate strategy, divisional strategies, and departmental strategies.
14
Functional strategies ________________
A)
describe the mission and strategic intent of each key functional piece of the business.
B)
concern what to do about resolving the specific strategic issues and operating problems a business confronts in each key part of its business-R&D, production, sales and marketing, finance, information technology, human resources, and so on.
C)
are normally crafted by the executive in charge of the overall business and approved by the company's board of directors.
D)
add detail to the overall business strategy and specify what resources and organizational capabilities are needed to put the business strategy into action.
E)
are concerned with what competitive capabilities to build in support of the overall company strategy and what to do to unify the firm's skills, competencies, and resource strengths across all the various key pieces of a company's business.
15
Operating strategies concern ________________
A)
what a company's various operating departments plan to do to help execute the company's overall strategy.
B)
the strategic intent of each operating unit.
C)
the relatively narrow strategic initiatives and approaches for managing key operating units (plants, distribution centers, geographic units) and specific operating activities (the management of specific brands, supply chain-related activities, and website sales and operations).
D)
the specific actions a company's various operating departments plan to take to unify efforts to achieve a sustainable competitive.
E)
what a company will do once its strategic plan is adopted and approved by the company's board of directors.
16
Which of the following is not among the principal managerial tasks associated with managing the strategy execution process?
A)
Ensuring that policies and procedures facilitate rather than impede effective execution.
B)
Installing information and operating systems that enable company personnel to perform essential activities.
C)
Exerting the internal leadership needed to drive implementation forward.
D)
Engaging the services of staffing firms to maintain the company's personnel data.
E)
Tying rewards and incentives directly to the achievement of performance objectives.
17
Management is obligated to monitor new external developments, evaluate the company's progress, and make ive adjustments in order to ________________
A)
decide whether to continue or change the company's strategic vision, objectives, strategy and/or strategy execution methods.
B)
determine whether the company has a balanced scorecard for judging its performance.
C)
determine what changes should be made to its strategy map.
D)
determine whether the company's business model is well matched to changing market and competitive circumstances.
E)
stay on track in achieving the company's mission and strategic vision.
18
Accounting scandals that led to investigations of such well-known companies as AOL Time Warner, Global Crossing, Enron, Qwest Communications, and WorldCom resulted in the conviction of a number of corporate executives and the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. In these cases, the board of directors did not fulfill which of the following important obligations?
A)
All of these.
B)
Institute a compensation plan for top executives that rewards them for actions that serve stakeholder interests.
C)
Critically appraise the company's direction, strategy, and business approaches.
D)
Institute a compensation plan for top executives that rewards them for actions that serve stakeholder interests.
E)
Oversee the company's financial accounting and financial reporting practices.
19
Every corporation should have a strong, independent board of directors that ________________
A)
is well informed about the company's performance.
B)
guides and judges the CEO and other top executives.
C)
certifies to shareholders that the CEO is doing what the board expects.
D)
is intensely involved in debating the pros and cons of key decisions and actions.
E)
All of these.
20
Which one of the following is not among the chief duties/responsibilities of a company's board of directors insofar as the strategy-making, strategy-executing process is concerned?
A)
Directing senior executives as to what the company's long-term direction, objectives, business model, and strategy should be and, further, closely supervising senior executives in their efforts to implement and execute the strategy.
B)
Overseeing the company's financial accounting and financial reporting practices.
C)
Evaluating the caliber of senior executives' strategy-making/strategy-executing skills.
D)
Being inquiring critics and exercising strong oversight over the company's direction, strategy, and business approaches.
E)
Instituting a compensation plan for top executives that rewards them for actions and results that serve stakeholders' interests, most especially those of shareholders.