Planning, Controlling and Business Strategy Test Review

Question 1

How does planning fit into the four functions of a manager?

Answer 1

Planning is the platform for other management functions, without planning the rest of the management process is less effective and much more difficult
It “Sets the Direction”

Question 2

What is an objective? What is a plan?

Answer 2

An objective is a goal or a benchmark that a company works towards
A plan is a way to organize a way to reach said objective and make work more efficient by guiding all line of work towards the objective.

Question 3

What is a SMART objective?

Answer 3

Specific - Measurable - Attainable - Referred to regularly - Timely

Question 4

What are the 5 steps in the Planning Process?

Answer 4

1. define objectives
   2. Determine where you stand in relation to your objectives
   3. Anticipate future events
   4. Analyze alternatives and make a plan
   5. Implement the plan and evaluate the results

Question 5

What are the 6 benefits of planning?

Answer 5

Focus
Flexibility
Action Orientation
Coordination
Control
Time Management

Question 6

Planning process activities:

Answer 6

How hard is it to create and implement a good plan? How successful have you been in your life? Which aspects of the process do you find most challenging?

What are some of the effects on a business that poor planning can have?

Question 7

Whats short range plans?

Answer 7

Completed in year or less
Policies
Operational plans - day-to-day tasks
Outside in - Finds niche markets and exploits them
Inside out - focuses on current productions to tries to resch maximum productivity
Top-down - management sets broad goals and lower makes plans
Bottom-up - the opposite

Question 8

Whats long range plans?

Answer 8

Longer than a year
Budgets
Strategic plans
Simulations
Forecasting

Question 9

What are some examples of long term? Which do you use more often? How do you use them?

Answer 9

grow customer population - improve profit

Question 10

What are some short term plans? Which do you use more often? How do you use them?

Answer 10

simply improving productivity with broad goals

Question 11

What are the two aspects of planning approaches? Explain how all four approaches work.

Answer 11

Outside in - Finds niche markets and exploits them
Inside out - focuses on current productions to tries to resch maximum productivity

Top-down - management sets broad goals and lower makes plans
Bottom-up - plans are developed by lower level then passed up hierarchy and “buy in”

Question 12

Explain some of the tools or techniques that managers use to plan?

Answer 12

Participatory planning
Benchmarking
Scenario Planning
Contingency Planning

Question 13

Participatory planning

Answer 13

Just makes the plan with more feedback and “hands on deck” from the people who will actually be doing the work

Question 14

Benchmarking

Answer 14

Observing other people and other companies preforming the same tasks to compare and incorporate new ideas

Question 15

Scenario Planning

Answer 15

This is trying to predict and plan around possible hiccups in future stages of the plan

Question 16

Contingency Planning

Answer 16

This is the creating back up plans during the scenario planning

Question 17

What is the control process and why is it important?

Answer 17

The process of measuring performance and taking action to ensure desired results.
Controlling helps maintain the right path to achieve the objectives, make sure things happen the right way, and that all rules and procedures are followed

Question 18

List the 4 steps in the control process – provide an example of the control process being used in your life

Answer 18

1.Establish Objectives and standards
2.Measure actual performance
3.Compare results with objectives and standards
4.Take corrective action

Question 19

What are some examples of internal and external controls that are commonly used?

Answer 19

Internal: Goal Alignment occurs when individual and group goals are integrated in order to make them co-dependant, if individuals achieve their goals, the group will achieve its goal
Focusing on yourself and internally motiving and disiciping yourself

External: Controlling the employees using discipline and motivation

Question 20

What are some examples of internal and that are commonly used?

Answer 20

Internal: Goal Alignment occurs when individual and group goals are integrated in order to make them co-dependant, if individuals achieve their goals, the group will achieve its goal
Focusing on yourself and internally motiving and disiciping yourself

Question 21

What are some examples of external controls that are commonly used?

Answer 21

External: Controlling the employees using discipline and motivation

Question 22

Outline some of the general concepts of the “Hot stove” Rules of discipline. Which rules do you believe are most important to follow for effective discipline.

Answer 22

The hot stove is just instant dicispine, so if someone messes something up or does something wrong they are instantly reprimanded - Instant action -

Question 23

List and explain the 3 types of control systems. Explain how they work and provide examples of each.

Answer 23

FeedForward - Solves problems before they happen

Concurrent - Solve problems while they are happening

Feedback - Solve problems after they happen

Question 24

FeedForward

Answer 24

Solves problems before they happen

Question 25

Concurrent

Answer 25

Solve problems while they are happening

Question 26

Feedback

Answer 26

Solve problems after they happen

Question 27

What is strategic planning and why is it important to a business’s success?

Answer 27

A strategy is a comprehensive plan guiding resource allocation to achieve long-term organizational goals.
Focuses on the external competitive environment and internal competencies and creates a “best guess” about what must be done to ensure future success and develop a “Competitive Advatage”

Question 28

What is a competitive advantage? Provide some examples

Answer 28

A competitive advantage occurs when an organization performs better than their competitors in some essential facet of business allowing them to secure more customers.

Question 29

What are some different levels of strategic planning that occur in a business?

Answer 29

Corperate strategey

Business strategy

Functional strategy

Question 30

Corperate strategey

Answer 30

Directs company towards competitive advantage, sets directions and and quides resource allocation - “What businesses and markets should we compete?” - The major focus is deciding what the corporation does and will continue doing.

Question 31

Business strategy

Answer 31

More concerned with how the organizationis going to compete within one unit or product line

Question 32

Functional strategy

Answer 32

Functional strategy takes a business strategy and focuses it even more by planning how to use and allocate resources in order to implement the business strategies.

Question 33

What is the SWOT analysis and how does businesses use it?

Answer 33

It’s a way for a business to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats so they can plan around them.

What are some examples of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in your own life?

What are some examples for businesses?

Question 34

What is the PEST analysis and how do businesses use it?

Answer 34

Political - Existing laws/regulations, Government policies, wars/conflicts

Economic - Finanical market, Inflation, employment, intreset

Socio-cultural - Media trends, Major events, ehtical, moral, or religious issues

Technological -Provide examples of issues that would fall under each category

Question 35

how do businesses use PEST analysis

Answer 35

Analysis of organization’s environment, trying to answer the question:

“What are the trends or new developments in these areas within our industry which will affect the way we compete moving forward?”

Question 36

Note: BCG Matrix
What is it?

Answer 36

Its a strategy that allows for strategic focus by analyzing business opportuintes based on idustry or market growth rate and market share.
It helps managers decide where scarce resources should be allocated.

Question 37

Note: BCG Matrix
how is it used?

Answer 37

Its useful for multicompanies because they own so many companies that they need to know which ones to invest in and which ones to drop.