ch 1 Flashcards
T/F
Strategic management focuses on integrating management, marketing, finance/accounting, production/operations, research and development, and information systems to achieve organizational success.
TRUE
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Optimizing for tomorrow the trends of today is the purpose of strategic management.
FALSE
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Even though useful, strategic planning has been cast aside by corporate America since the early 1990s.
FALSE
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Resource allocation is included in strategy-formulation activities.
TRUE
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The terms strategic management and strategic planning are synonymous in this text.
TRUE
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A vision statement is, in essence, a company’s game plan.
FALSE
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Strategy implementation is often considered to be the most difficult stage in the strategic management process because it requires personal discipline, commitment, and sacrifice.
TRUE
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The final stage in strategic management is strategy implementation.
FALSE
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Strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation activities occur at three hierarchical levels in a large diversified organization: corporate, divisional and functional.
TRUE
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One of the fundamental strategy evaluation activities is reviewing external and internal
factors that are the bases for current strategies.
TRUE
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An objective, logical, systematic approach for making major decisions in an organization is a way to describe the strategic-management process.
TRUE
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Strategic management is an attempt to organize qualitative and quantitative information in a way that allows effective decisions to be made under conditions of uncertainty.
TRUE
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Anything the firm does especially well compared to rival firms could be considered a competitive advantage.
TRUE
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Once a firm acquires a competitive advantage, they are usually able to sustain the competitive advantage indefinitely.
FALSE
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Although the Internet has increased in popularity, it has actually led to increases in company expenses.
FALSE
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While the number of people shopping online has increased, the average amount spent online has decreased.
FALSE
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One of the ways in which the Internet has transferred power from businesses to individuals is by making comparison-shopping quick and easy.
TRUE
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Most traditional retailers have tried in vain to use their online sales to boost in-store sales.
FALSE
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In order for a firm to achieve sustained competitive advantage, a firm must continually adapt to changes in external trends and events and effectively formulate, implement, and evaluate strategies that capitalize upon those factors.
TRUE
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Strategists are usually found in higher levels of management and have considerable authority for decision-making in the firm.
TRUE
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The middle manager is the most visible and critical strategic manager.
FALSE
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All strategists have similar attitudes, values, ethics and concerns for social responsibility.
FALSE
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A vision statement answers the question, “What is our business?” whereas a mission statement answers, “What do we want to become?”
FALSE
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A clear mission statement describes the values and priorities of an organization.
TRUE
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Strengths and weaknesses are determined relative to competitors.
TRUE
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In a multidivisional firm, objectives should be established for the overall company and not
for each division.
FALSE
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Objectives should be measurable, challenging, reasonable, consistent and clear.
TRUE
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Annual objectives are long-term milestones that organizations must achieve to reach short-
term objectives.
FALSE
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Annual objectives are especially important in strategy formulation.
FALSE
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According to research, a healthier workforce can more effectively and efficiently implement
strategies.
TRUE
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Identifying an organization’s existing vision, mission, objectives and strategies is the final
step for the strategic management process.
FALSE
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Once an effective strategy is designed, modifications are rarely required.
FALSE
T/F
Application of the strategic-management process is typically more formal in larger and well-
established organizations.
TRUE
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Followed by commitment, understanding is the most important benefit of strategic management.
TRUE
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The best thing strategists can do is develop strategic plans themselves and then present them to operating managers to execute.
FALSE
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The changes that occurred at Disney after Robert Iger took over as CEO exemplify the fact
that more and more organizations are centralizing the strategic-management process.
FALSE
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Firms with planning systems more closely resembling strategic-management theory
generally exhibit superior long-term financial performance relative to their industry.
TRUE
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Low-performing firms typically underestimate their competitor’s strengths and overestimate their own firm’s strengths.
TRUE
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According to Greenley, strategic management provides a cooperative, integrated and
enthusiastic approach to tackling problems and opportunities.
TRUE
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The poor reward structure is one reason managers do not engage in strategic planning.
TRUE
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Crises and fires in an organization allow managers the training and time for effective
strategic planning.
FALSE
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Making many intuitive decisions that conflict with the formal plan is one pitfall top managers should avoid in strategic planning.
TRUE
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Managers must be very formal in strategic planning because formality induces flexibility and creativity.
FALSE
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Many organizations mistakenly spend more time and effort on the implementation of a plan,
than on the formulation of the plan itself.
FALSE
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Strategic-management must be a self-reflective learning process that familiarizes managers
and employees in the organization with key strategic issues and feasible alternatives for
resolving those issues.
TRUE
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Effective strategic management is ritualistic, predictable and formal.
FALSE
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For the strategic planning process to be effective, organizations must continually strengthen
the “good ethics is good business” policy.
TRUE
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All firms have a strategy, even if it is informal, unstructured, and sporadic.
TRUE
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Firms can be more proactive with strategic management.
TRUE
The goal of strategic management is to
A) achieve competitive advantage.
B) maintain competitive advantage.
C) achieve and maintain competitive advantage.
D) eliminate competitive advantage
E) eliminate and abolish competitive advantage.
C) achieve and maintain competitive advantage.
Strategic management focuses on integrating management, ________, and information
systems to achieve organizational success.
A) marketing
B) finance/accounting
C) production/operations
D) research and development
E) all of the above
E) all of the above
What can be defined as the art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating
cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives?
Strategic management
________ is used to refer to strategic formulation, implementation and evaluation, with
________ referring only to strategic formulation.
Strategic management; strategic planning
During what stage of strategic management are a firm’s specific internal strengths and
weaknesses determined?
Formulation
An important activity in ________ is taking corrective action.
strategy evaluation
What step in the strategic development process involves mobilizing employees and managers
to put strategies into action?
Implementing strategy
What types of skills are especially critical for successful strategy implementation?
Interpersonal
________ allows firms to sell products, advertise, purchase supplies, bypass intermediaries,
track inventory, and eliminate paperwork.
E-commerce
The Internet has transferred power from ________ to ________.
businesses, individuals
The one factor that has most significantly impacted the nature and core of buying and selling
in nearly all industries has been
the Internet.
Which individuals are most responsible for the success and failure of an organization?
Strategists
The first step in strategic planning is generally
developing a vision statement.
An organization’s vision statement
A) is a constant reminder to its employees of why the organization exists.
B) broadly charts the future direction of an organization.
C) addresses the basic question: “What is our business?”
D) answers the question: “What do we want to become?”
E) none of the above
D) answers the question: “What do we want to become?”
Usually, external opportunities and threats are
uncontrollable by a single organization.
What are the means by which long-term objectives will be achieved?
Strategies
The strategic-management process
is a continuous process.
According to research, organizations using strategic management are ________ than those
that do not.
more profitable
What is not a reason given for poor or no strategic planning in organizations?
Trust of management
All of these are pitfalls an organization should avoid in strategic planning except:
A) using plans as a standard for measuring performance.
B) using strategic planning to gain control over decisions and resources.
C) failing to involve key employees in all phases of planning.
D) too hastily moving from mission development to strategy formulation.
E) being so formal in planning that flexibility and creativity are stifled.
A) using plans as a standard for measuring performance.
What is not a pitfall an organization should avoid in strategic planning?
A) Failing to communicate the plan to employees
B) Involving all managers rather than delegating planning to a “planner”
C) Top managers not actively supporting the strategic planning process
D) Doing strategic planning only to satisfy accreditation or regulatory requirements
E) Failing to create a collaborative climate supportive of change
B) Involving all managers rather than delegating planning to a “planner”
