Kafli 8 Flashcards
Which of the following is a distinctive strategic issue that is likely to affect large multi-national corporations (MNCs)?
A.
The need to balance ideology with interests of funding sources
B.
The allocation of resources between units
C.
The need for rapid innovation
D.
The lack of capital
B.
The allocation of resources between units
Weston Oneness is a non-profit organisation for children. A strategic issue that managers at Weston Oneness face while developing strategies is maintaining a balance between the objectives of the organisation and the interests of its funding sources. On the other hand, Learners Limited is a multinational organisation that owns a chain of schools. While developing strategies, the managers of Learners Limited are required to consider ways to structure and control activities across various branches of the school and allocate resources where necessary. Both Weston Oneness and Learners Limited want to attract and retain capable workers but face different issues because of their different internal and competitive environments. Which of the following statements does this scenario best exemplify?
A.
An organisation’s context influences the issues that strategy developers face.
B.
An organisation’s strategy is developed and managed in a sequential rather than an iterative manner.
C.
Strategy is similar to processes in that it is something that people do.
D.
Strategy is similar to tasks in that it is something that organisations have.
A.
An organisation’s context influences the issues that strategy developers face.
A manufacturing firm had been using a cost leadership strategy for the past 10 years. This meant that the firm mass produced its standard products at a minimal cost per unit. However, an idea for a new product led the senior management to question the existing strategy, redefine it and support it with suitable resources. This eventually led the firm to adopt a cost-focused strategy. Which of the following statements does this scenario best exemplify?
A.
Strategy is similar to processes in that it is something that people do.
B.
Strategy is similar to tasks in that it is something that organisations have.
C.
Strategies are managed using a scientific and rational rather than an incremental process.
D.
Strategies are managed in a sequential rather than an iterative manner.
B.
Strategy is similar to tasks in that it is something that organisations have.
Maura, a manager, follows a systematic, formal approach to develop organisational strategies. She identifies the organisation’s goals, performs a SWOT analysis to understand the organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, formulates a strategy, implements it and evaluates the results. Maura assumes that people respond logically to events and facts. Which of the following views of strategy does Maura adopt in this scenario?
A.
The intuitive view of strategy
B.
The judgmental view of strategy
C.
The rational view of strategy
D.
The adaptive view of strategy
C.
The rational view of strategy
Diane is the head of the research and development team of a multinational company. She often faces unstructured strategic choices related to new technologies. This makes it difficult for her to develop clear goals and, as a result, evaluate her options. Therefore, even though she pays attention to the limited computational data that is available, she makes decisions based on intuition. Which of the following views of strategy does Diane most likely use in this scenario?
A.
The objective view of strategy
B.
The rational view of strategy
C.
The judgmental view of strategy
D.
The planning view of strategy
C.
The judgmental view of strategy
Identify a statement that is most likely to be true about the adaptive view of strategy.
A.
It reflects the idea that planning cannot give managers complete foresight.
B.
It is best used when managers face strategic choices that are structured.
C.
It requires managers to rely on analysis and not on judgment and intuition while formulating a strategy.
D.
It assumes that people respond logically to information.
A.
It reflects the idea that planning cannot give managers complete foresight.
In the context of the study of Healey et al. (2015), which of the following is the single most significant influence on outcomes of strategy workshops?
A.
The broadness and flexibility of the workshop goals
B.
The extent to which the workshop goals are clarified and communicated
C.
The ability of the managers in the workshops to focus on their daily management activities
D.
The method of analysis used to formulate the workshop goals
B.
The extent to which the workshop goals are clarified and communicated
Identify the most important feature of the strategy loop.
A.
The implication that the five steps of the strategy loop occur in a sequential rather than in an iterative manner
B.
The fact that the strategy loop reflects the rational view of strategy rather than the adaptive view
C.
The connotation that managers integrate and use new information as it becomes available
D.
The fact that the strategy loop reflects the planning view of strategy rather than the adaptive view
C.
The connotation that managers integrate and use new information as it becomes available
Hart, a senior manager in a thermal power producing company, wants to gather information related to new developments in a rival company. He calls his contact in that company and tactfully obtains the required information. Which of the following scanning modes does Hart use in this scenario?
A.
Impersonal and external
B.
Personal and internal
C.
Impersonal and internal
D.
Personal and external
D.
Personal and external
Finch & Co. is a tobacco company that holds monopoly in the cigarette market. However, the management of Finch & Co. is worried that a recent launch of e-cigarettes will take away part of its market share because e-cigarettes can be an alternative to cigarettes and deter customers from purchasing the latter. Which of the following Porter’s forces does this scenario best exemplify?
A.
The threat of substitutes
B.
The bargaining power of customers
C.
The threat of entry
D.
The bargaining power of suppliers
A.
The threat of substitutes
The PESTEL framework enables a company to identify certain factors that may affect its strategy. Which of the following factors does this framework focus on?
A.
Factors in a company’s internal environment
B.
Factors in a company’s micro-environment
C.
Factors in a company’s competitive environment
D.
Factors in a company’s general environment
D.
Factors in a company’s general environment
Which of the following terms refers to unstructured information about business activities gathered from sources such as social media that give insights into people’s perceptions about a new brand or product?
A.
Economies of scale
B.
Big data
C.
Cultural intelligence
D.
Data lineage
B.
Big data
Identify a difference between relational and unique resources.
A.
Unlike relational resources, unique resources can be obtained by interacting with influential customers.
B.
Relational resources are resources that are available to a company from its interaction with its environment, whereas unique resources are those that are vital to the competitive advantage of a company.
C.
Unlike unique resources, relational resources help a company define its strategic capabilities.
D.
Relational resources are physical resources such as land, people, money and equipment, whereas unique resources are abstract resources such as company reputation and relationships with clients.
B.
Relational resources are resources that are available to a company from its interaction with its environment, whereas unique resources are those that are vital to the competitive advantage of a company.
Which of the following concepts divides an organisation into the discrete activities it performs at each stage of its manufacturing or service process to identify sources of competitive advantage for the organisation and improve upon them?
A.
A value chain
B.
Corporate governance
C.
Market segmentation
D.
A marketing mix
A.
A value chain
Which of the following tools most likely helps a manager identify potential opportunities for his or her organisation by understanding the organisation’s internal capabilities and limitations and changes in its external environment?
A.
SWOT analysis
B.
A marketing mix
C.
The PESTEL framework
D.
Value chain analysis
A.
SWOT analysis
