Strategic Management: Practice questions

Multiple Choice Questions
 1. (p. 3) Which of the following is an element of a firm's remote external environment? 

A. Competition
B. Suppliers
C. Government agencies
D. Economic and social conditions

2. (p. 3) Which of the following is NOT a part of a firm's immediate external environment?
A. Technological development
B. Competitors
C. Suppliers
D. Government agencies

3. (p. 3) The immediate external environment includes:
A. Competitors
B. S. B. U. s
C. Divisions
D. Management

4. (p. 3) The _______ comprises economic and social conditions, political priorities and technological developments, all of which must be anticipated, monitored, assessed and incorporated into the executive's decision making.
A. Remote external environment
B. Task environment
C. Operating environment
D. Internal environment

5. (p. 3) The set of decisions and actions resulting in the formulation and implementation of plans designed to achieve a company's objectives is defined as:
A. Strategic policy
B. Business policy
C. Strategic management
D. Tactics

6. (p. 3) Strategic management compromises nine critical tasks. Which of the following is NOT one of the tasks?
A. Development of annual objectives compatible with grand strategies
B. Assessment of the company's external environment
C. Selection of a particular set of long-term objectives and grand strategies
D. Evaluate the success of the strategic process

7. (p. 4) Strategic management involves the _____, directing, _____ and controlling of a company's strategy-related decisions and actions.
A. Financing; marketing
B. Planning; financing
C. Marketing; planning
D. Planning; organizing

8. (p.4) Large-scale, future-oriented plans, for interacting with the competitive environment to achieve company objectives refers to its
A. Strategy
B. Goals
C. Competitive analysis
D. Dynamic policies

9. (p. 4) A strategy is a company's
A. Game plan
B. Pricing policy
C. Value statement
D. Long-term objective

10. (p. 4) A(n) _____ reflects a company's awareness of how, when and where is should compete, against whom it should compete and for what purpose it should compete.
A. Vision
B. Organizational structure
C. Strategy
D. Long-term objective

11. (p. 4) Strategic issues require which level of management decisions?
A. Operative
B. Top
C. Front-line
D. Middle

12. (p. 5) Strategic decisions ostensibly commit the firm for
A. 1-2 years
B. The short term
C. 3-4 years
D. A long time, typically five years

13. (p. 4-5) Some business decisions are strategic and therefore deserve strategic management attention. Which of the following is one of the six strategic issue dimensions?
A. Requires front-line employee decisions
B. Is not likely to have a significant impact on long-term prosperity of the firm
C. Necessitates considering factors in the firm's external environment
D. Is spontaneous

14. (p. 5) Which of the following applies to strategic issues?
A. Consider only the firm's internal environment
B. Are future oriented
C. Concern allocation of insignificant amounts of company resources
D. Do not have long-term impact on the firm's prosperity

15. (p. 5) Strategic decisions are based on what managers _____, rather than on what they _____.
A. Forecast; know
B. React to; anticipate
C. Know; forecast
D. Compromise with; analyze

16. (p. 5) In a turbulent and competitive free enterprise environment, a firm will succeed only if it takes a(n) ____ stance towards change.
A. Reactive
B. Anti-regulatory or anti-government
C. Proactive
D. Vision and not mission

17. (p. 6) Typically how many strategic decision levels are in the corporate decision-making hierarchy?
A. 5 or more
B. 4
C. 3
D. 2

18. (p. 6) To a large extent, attitudes at the corporate level reflect the concerns of
A. Stockholders and society at large
B. Top managers
C. The CEO
D. The federal government

19. (p. 6) The top of the decision-making hierarchy comprises all of these EXCEPT
A. Board of directors
B. Front-line managers
C. The CEO
D. Administrative officers

20. (p. 6) In a multi-business firm, ______ -level executives determine the businesses in which the firm should be involved.
A. Business
B. Functional
C. Corporate
D. Operative

21. (p. 6) At Office Supply, Inc., ____ -level managers would be responsible for determining whether the company should be involved in home furnishings or electronic appliance businesses, where as ____ -level managers would be responsible for determining how the firm will compete in the selected product-market arena.
A. Business; corporate
B. Corporate; functional
C. Functional; business
D. Corporate; business

22. (p. 6) In the middle of the decision-making hierarchy is the _____ level.
A. Corporate
B. Functional
C. Business
D. Strategic

23. (p. 6) Who determines the basis on which a company can compete in the selected product-market arena?
A. Functional-level strategic managers
B. Corporate-level strategic managers
C. Business-level strategic managers
D. Operational managers supervising operative

24. (p. 6) Which of these managers tries to identify and secure the most profitable and promising market segment?
A. Functional managers
B. Corporate managers
C. Business managers
D. Operative

25. (p. 6) The functional level of decision making is characterized by:
A. The board of directors deriving corporate goals
B. Managers of product, geographic and functional areas
C. The CEO developing a company profile
D. Business managers interpreting the mission into operational objectives 

26. (p. 6) Which strategic level is typically responsible for developing annual objectives and short-term strategies?
A. Functional level
B. Corporate level
C. Business level
D. Board of Directors level 

27. (p. 6) Which of the following is NOT a level in the decision-making hierarchy of a firm?
A. Business
B. Corporate
C. Operative
D. Functional

28. (p. 6) Functional managers are typically responsible for which of the following?
A. Annual objectives
B. Tactics
C. Corporate goals
D. Mission

29. (p. 6) Whereas corporate and business-level managers center their attention on _____, managers at functional-level center their attention on ____.
A. Operational issues; strategic issues
B. Doing things right; doing the right things
C. Entrepreneurial mode; adaptive mode
D. Doing the right things; doing things right

30. (p. 6) Decisions at which level of management tend to be more value-oriented and conceptual?
A. Functional
B. Corporate
C. Operative
D. Business

31. (p. 7) Dividend policies are decided at the
A. Corporate level
B. Business level
C. Functional level
D. Operational level

32. (p. 7) Which level of decisions encompasses greater risk, cost and profit potential?
A. Business
B. Lower echelon
C. Corporate
D. Functional

33. (p. 8) Corporate-level decisions are characterized by:
A. Decreased risk
B. Doing things right
C. Short-time horizons
D. Greater profit

34. (p. 7) Decisions concerning plant location, distribution channels, geographic coverage and market segmentation are typically made at:
A. The corporate level
B. The business level
C. The functional level
D. The front-line operational level

35. (p. 8) The degree to which participation, responsibility, authority and discretion in decision-making are specified is called:
A. Informality
B. Formality
C. Functional tactic
D. Dynamic mode

36. (p. 8) Which of these is usually positively correlated with the cost, comprehensiveness, accuracy and success of planning?
A. Greater formality
B. Functional structure
C. Organizational matrix
D. Functional tactics

37. (p. 8) According to Henry Mintzberg, very large firms typically use the _____ mode of strategic management.
A. Adaptive
B. Entrepreneurial
C. Informal
D. Planning

38. (p. 8) Henry Mintzberg identified a mode which he associates with medium-sized firms in relatively stable environments. This is referred to as a(n) ____ mode.
A. Entrepreneurial
B. Adaptive
C. Business
D. Planning

39. (p. 8) Firms that are basically under the control of a single individual and produce a limited number of products/services are referred to as following ______ mode.
A. Entrepreneurial
B. Intrapreneurial
C. Managerial
D. Corporate

40. (p. 8) The informal, intuitive and limited approach to strategic management associated with owner-managers of smaller firm refers to the ____ mode of formality, according to Mintzberg.
A. Entrepreneurial
B. Functional
C. Planning
D. Adaptive

41. (p. 8) The planning mode refers to the
A. Strategic formality associated with the large firms that operate under a comprehensive, formal planning system
B. Strategic formality associated with medium-sized firms that emphasize the incremental modification of existing competitive approaches
C. Strategic formality associated with global firms that emphasize cultural value systems
D. Informal, intuitive and limited approach to strategic management with owner-manager of smaller firms

42. (p. 8) According to Mintzberg, the adaptive mode refers to
A. Strategic formality associated with the large firms that operate under a comprehensive, formal planning system
B. Strategic formality associated with medium-sized firms that emphasize the incremental modification of existing competitive approaches
C. Strategic formality associated with global firms that emphasize cultural value systems
D. Informal, intuitive and limited approach to strategic management with owner-manager of smaller firms

43. (p. 8) Which of these is NOT a mode of formality identified by Mintzberg?
A. Adaptive
B. Planning
C. Functional
D. Entrepreneurial

44. (p. 9) The ideal strategic management team includes decision makers from
A. All three company levels (corporate, business and functional)
B. Just the functional level since they are closest to the customers
C. Just the corporate and business levels given that they focus on doing the right thing
D. Just the top management since they understand the big picture

45. (p. 8) Managers at the _____ level typically have principal responsibilities for developing environmental analysis and forecasting, establishing business objectives and developing business plans prepared by staff groups.
A. Corporate
B. Functional
C. Operational
D. Business

46. (p. 9) When the dominance of the CEO approaches autocracy, the effectiveness of the form's strategic planning and management processes are likely to:
A. Enhance strategic planning but diminish its processes
B. Be greatly enhanced
C. Have no effect
D. Be diminished

47. (p. 11) Which of these is NOT true about the behavioral effect of strategic management?
A. Strategy formulation activities enhance the firm's ability to prevent problems
B. Resistance to change is reduced
C. Gaps and overlaps in activities among individuals and groups are increased to ensure the checks and balance
D. The employee involvement is strategy formulation improves their understanding of the productivity reward relationship in every strategy plan

48. (p. 11) Managers must be trained to guard against all of the following types of unintended negative consequences of involvement in strategy formulation EXCEPT
A. Managers must be trained to minimize the negative impact on operational responsibilities by scheduling their duties to allow the necessary time for strategic activities
B. Managers must be trained to limit their promises to performance that the decision makers and their subordinates can deliver
C. Managers must be trained to anticipate and respond to the disappointment of participating subordinates over unattained expectations
D. Managers must be trained to disregard the productivity-reward relationship since strategy implementation makes it invalid

49. (p. 11) Which of the following is a major function of the strategic management model?
A. It helps make profits for the firm
B. It helps in identifying key issues faced by the firm
C. It helps in deciding which products to sell
D. It depicts the sequence and relationships of the major components of the strategic management process

50. (p. 13) Social responsibility is a critical consideration for a company's strategic decision makers since
A. Stockholders demand it
B. The mission statement must express how the company intends to contribute to the societies that sustain it
C. It increases a company's profits
D. It helps make decisions

51. (p. 13) Analysis of the quantity and quality of the company's financial, human and physical resources is a part of
A. Internal analysis
B. Mission statement
C. External environment analysis
D. Corporate goals

52. (p. 13) The external environment consists of:
A. The operating environment
B. Managers
C. Employees
D. Owners

53. (p. 13) Which one of the following is NOT an interactive segment of a firm's external environment?
A. Functional
B. Remote
C. Industry
D. Operating

54. (p. 12) Description of the company's product, market and technological areas of emphasis is contained in the
A. Assessment of the external environment
B. Company profile
C. Company mission
D. Interactive opportunity analysis

55. (p. 13) The results that an organization seeks over a multiyear period are its
A. Generic strategies
B. Grand strategies
C. Mission statements
D. Long-term objectives

56. (p. 13) The doubling of EPS within 5 years with increases in each intervening year is called a(n):
A. Long-term goal
B. Long-term objective
C. Short-term goal
D. Short-term objective

57. (p. 13-14) The difference between long-term and short-term objectives is principally:
A. Greater attainability
B. Greater flexibility
C. Greater measurability
D. Greater specificity

58. (p. 14) Grand strategies include:
A. Market turnaround
B. Vertical diversification
C. Conglomerate integration
D. Concentric diversification

59. (p. 14) Which of the following is an example of a grand strategy?
A. Decentralization
B. Policy making
C. Conglomerate integration
D. Innovation

60. (p. 14) Long-term objectives are principally attained through:
A. Annual goals
B. Functional strategies
C. Short-term goals
D. Grand strategy

61. (p. 14) The minimum equity position required for all new McDonald's franchises is an example of:
A. A goal
B. A procedure
C. A policy
D. An objective

62. (p. 14) The general plan of major actions through which a firm intends to achieve is long-term objectives is called its:
A. Corporate plan
B. Long-term goal
C. Grand strategy
D. Mission

63. (p. 14) Broad, precedent-setting decisions that guide or substitute for repetitive or time-sensitive managerial decision making are called
A. Goals
B. Strategies
C. Objectives
D. Policies

64. (p. 13) Which of the following is a generic strategy option?
A. Narrow margins
B. Diversification
C. Differentiation
D. Retrenchment

65. (p. 14) Horizontal integration is an example of a
A. Generic strategy
B. Grand strategy
C. Functional level strategy
D. SBU strategy

66. (p. 14) Specific actions that need to be undertaken to achieve short-term objectives, usually by functional areas, refers to
A. Policies
B. Formality
C. Tactics
D. Process

67. (p. 14) Which of these refers to short-term, narrow scoped plans that detail "means" or activities that a company will use to achieve short-term projects?
A. Policies
B. Formality
C. Vision
D. Functional tactics

68. (p. 15) _____ is a critical stage in strategy implementation wherein managers attempt to recast their organization.
A. Continuous improvement
B. Reengineering
C. Strategic control
D. Strategy formulation

69. (p. 15) _____ is concerned with tracking a strategy as it is being implemented, detecting problems or changes in its underlying premises and making necessary adjustments.
A. Restructuring strategy
B. Strategic control
C. Internal analysis
D. Functional tactics

70. (p. 15) Which of these is a form of strategic control in which managers are encouraged to be proactive in improving all operations of the firm?
A. Continuous improvement
B. Adaptive mode
C. Functional tactics
D. Planning mode

71. (p. 16) A flow of information through interrelated stages of analysis toward achievement of an aim is:
A. A process
B. A procedure
C. A policy
D. A system

72. (p. 16) Influential individuals and groups that are vitally interested in the actions of the business are called
A. Stockholders
B. Stakeholders
C. Strategists
D. Customers

73. (p. 16) Strategic formulation and implementation of a plan are:
A. Sequential
B. Simultaneous
C. Random
D. Reversible

74. (p. 16) Strategic management processes need which of the following to enhance future decision making?
A. Testing
B. Feedback
C. Discontinuity
D. Projecting

75. (p. 17) The strategy management process is:
A. Stationary
B. Dynamic
C. Static
D. Radical

Essay Questions
 

76. Define strategic management. Identify any five of the nine critical tasks of strategic management? 

Please refer to discussion on "The Nature and Value of Strategic Management" on page 3.

77. Strategic issues have several key dimensions. Briefly describe any four of them? 

Please refer to the discussion on "Dimensions of Strategic Decisions" on page 4-5.

78. Describe the three levels of strategy in an organization. Provide an example of each? 

Please refer to the discussion on "Three levels of Strategy" on pages 5-6.

79. With regards to the levels of strategy, compare and contrast single-business firms versus multiple-business firms? 

Please refer to Exhibit 1.3 on page 7.

80. Describe the three different modes of formality, according to Mintzberg? 

Please refer to discussion on "Formality in Strategic Management" on pages 8-9. 

81. Discuss the benefits and risks of strategic management? 

Please refer to the discussion on "Benefits and Risks of Strategic Management" on pages 9-10.

82. Define and briefly describe any five components of the strategic management model? 

Please refer to the discussion on "Components of the Strategic management Model" on pages 12-15.

83. Differentiate between generic and grand strategies? 

Please refer to the discussion on "Generic and Grand Strategies" on page s 13-14.

 84. Define strategic control. Give an example of strategic control from a managerial perspective? 

Please refer to the discussion on "Strategic Control and Continuous Improvement" on page 15.

85. What implications can be drawn from viewing strategic management as a process? Explain? 

Please refer to the discussion on "Strategic Management as a Process" on page 15-16.

 

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