1) What is the first step in the strategic management process? Show Answer: B 2) During the strategic planning process, environmental scanning worksheets are used for ________. Answer: B 3) A ________ statement indicates the firm's intended direction and evokes emotional feelings in organization members. Answer: D 4) Vision statements focus on the ________. Answer: C 5) A ________ lays out what a business strives to be while a ________ lays out what it should be now. Answer: B 6) A team of managers has been assigned the task of developing and
implementing a strategic plan using the strategic management process. The team has already defined the current business and mission. What should the team most likely do next? Answer: B 7) Holt Tractor Company needs a new strategic plan as a result of losing market share to other farm equipment companies. A management team at the firm is following the steps of the
strategic management process. So far, the team has performed external and internal audits. What is the next step in the strategic management process? Answer: C 8) Which of the following is a simple guide used to compile relevant information about economic, competitive, and political trends that may affect a firm?
Answer: D 9) The sales director at WebMD is developing goals regarding sales revenue targets and the number of new medical-related content providers that the firm needs to maintain a competitive advantage. In which step of the strategic management process is the sales director most likely involved? Answer: C 10) Last year, General Motors began a strategy to improve product quality and customer satisfaction. Recent reports show that GM's product recalls for the first half of the year are higher than for the entire previous year. GM explains that the figures support the corporate commitment to quality and satisfaction. In which step of the strategic management process is GM currently focusing? Answer: D 11) Which of the following summarizes a company's main tasks at the
present time? Answer: A 12) The ________ of the California Energy Commission indicates that the organization assesses and acts
through public and private partnerships to improve energy systems that promote a strong economy and a healthy environment. Answer: A 13)
The primary tool used by managers who are performing external and internal audits as part of the strategic management process is the ________. Answer: C 14) A company's ________ strategy identifies the portfolio of businesses that comprise the company and the ways in which these businesses relate to each other. Answer: C 15) What does a company's corporate-level strategy identify? Answer: B 16) Which type of strategy identifies how to build and strengthen a firm's
long-term competitive position in the marketplace? Answer: B 17) What does a company's business-level strategy identify? Answer:
A 18) A company's ________ strategy identifies the basic courses of action that each department will pursue in order to help the business attain its competitive goals. a 19) What does a company's functional-level strategy identify? c 20) A diversification corporate strategy implies that a firm will ________. b 21)
Marriott Hotels is considering the acquisition of a furniture-making business. What type of strategy is Marriott most likely pursuing? b 22) Harley-Davidson sells a line of boots, helmets, and leather jackets indicating that the firm is most likely pursuing which of the following strategies? b 23) Winchester Rugs operates a website called www.buyrugsdirect.com, so Winchester Rugs is most likely implementing a strategy of ________. c 24) A
firm that expands by producing its own raw materials or acquiring a retail outlet to sell its own products is most likely using a strategy of ________. c 25) Starbucks announced that it will be closing approximately 600 of its stores. This information suggests the firm is most likely using a(n) ________
strategy. a 26) Sweet Leaf Tea, a Texas-based maker of bottled iced tea, is a small but fast-growing firm that has gained a loyal following for its use of fresh, organic ingredients in its beverages. Although beverage industry experts recommended that Sweet Leaf replace the organic cane sugar and honey it uses with less costly high-fructose corn syrup, Sweet Leaf refused because of the company's mission to provide a high-quality, organic beverage to consumers. The 11-year-old company has 50 employees, and its products are available in 30% of the U.S. market. Sweet Leaf Tea recently received multimillion dollar investments which will enable the business to expand its national presence. Which of the following, if true, would best support the argument that Sweet Leaf Tea should implement a corporate-level strategy of
concentration? d 27) Sweet Leaf Tea, a Texas-based maker of bottled iced tea, is a small but fast-growing firm that has gained a loyal following for its use of fresh, organic ingredients in its beverages. Although beverage industry experts recommended that Sweet Leaf replace the organic cane sugar and honey it uses with less costly high-fructose corn syrup, Sweet Leaf refused because of the company's mission to provide a high-quality, organic beverage to consumers. The 11-year-old company has 50 employees, and its products are available in 30% of the U.S. market. Sweet Leaf Tea recently received multimillion dollar investments which will enable the business to expand its national presence. Which of the following, if true, would most likely undermine the argument that Sweet Leaf Tea should implement a corporate-level strategy of vertical integration?
a 28) Sweet Leaf Tea, a Texas-based maker of bottled iced tea, is a small but fast-growing firm that has gained a loyal following for its use of fresh, organic ingredients in its beverages. Although beverage industry experts recommended that Sweet Leaf replace the organic cane sugar and honey it uses with less costly high-fructose corn syrup, Sweet Leaf refused because of the company's mission to provide a high-quality, organic beverage to consumers. The 11-year-old company has 50 employees, and its products are available in 30% of the U.S. market. Sweet Leaf Tea recently received multimillion dollar investments, which will enable the business to expand its national presence. Which of the following, if true, best supports the idea that Sweet Leaf Tea has implemented a competitive strategy of differentiation? c 29) Walmart competes on price, while Target competes on style. Walmart follows a competitive strategy
based on ________ while Target follows a strategy based on ________. a 30) Which term refers to any factors that allow a firm to differentiate its product or service from those of its competitors to increase market share? b 31) Companies like Ferrari are known as ________ because they carve out a market niche and compete by providing a product that customers can obtain in no other way. b 32) A firm's functional
strategies identify the broad activities that each ________ will pursue in order to help the firm accomplish its competitive goals. c 33) When mergers and acquisitions fail, it is most likely a result of ________ issues. d 34) All of the following are services that human resource consulting companies provide during mergers and acquisitions EXCEPT ________. b The basic steps in the management planning process include setting objectives, reviewing alternative courses of action, and evaluating which options are best. true 36) A mission statement is a general statement of a company's intended direction that evokes emotional feelings in the organization's members. false 37) A vision statement is broader and more future-oriented than a mission statement. true 38) Securing the top team and key talent is the only task assigned to most HR departments during mergers and acquisitions false 39) The first step in the strategic management process involves defining the current business and mission. true 40) Compiling information about a company's environment is more easily accomplished with a SWOT chart than an environmental scanning worksheet f 41) A diversification corporate strategy involves expanding a firm by producing necessary raw materials. f 42) Firms that open facilities overseas are implementing a functional strategy of geographic expansion. f 43) By emphasizing the safety of its cars, Volvo stands out as an example of a firm that is implementing a differentiation strategy. true Consolidation keeps the company's strategy up-to-date by assessing progress toward strategic goals and taking corrective action as needed. false 45) Cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategies are types of corporate-level strategies false 46) A vertical integration strategy means that the firm will expand by adding new product lines. false 47) McDonald's addressed its lagging profitability by first closing stores operating below its guidelines. McDonald's used a consolidation strategy. true 48) A business-level strategy is implemented by Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's, and Little Caesar's in their competition with each other for pizza customers. true 53) Linking HR policies and practices with strategic goals in order to improve business
performance is known as ________. a 54) Which of the following is the most likely source of a company's hierarchy of goals? c 55) Which of the following best describes the general purpose of a strategic plan? c 56) Which of the following is NOT part of strategic planning? d 57) Which of the following is a course of action that answers the question, "How do we get from here to there?" c 58)
The primary purpose of strategic human resource management is to ________. b 59) In order to
generate the desired workforce skills, competencies, and behaviors that a firm needs to achieve its strategic goals, human resource management must first develop ________. b 60) Which term refers to the employee skills and behaviors that a firm needs to achieve its strategic goals? d 61) All of the following are HR tools used to translate a firm's strategic goals into HR policies and activities EXCEPT ________. a 62) As an HR manager, you would most likely use a strategy map
to ________. c 63) Which term refers to a process for assigning financial and nonfinancial goals to the chain of activities required for achieving the
company's strategic aims? d 64) Mona, an HR manager, is using the HR scorecard process to quantify a strategy map. Which of the following tasks is Mona LEAST likely to perform? b 65) As an HR manager with Northern Airlines, Stan reviews graphs and charts on his computer to understand the relationship between HR activities, employee behaviors, and strategic outcomes. Which of the following tools does Stan most likely use? c 66) Human resource strategies are the ________ used to produce the desired workforce skills, competencies, and behaviors needed to support a firm's strategic goals. b 67) The employee manual at Go-Tech states
that the firm "complies with all laws, regulations, and principles of ethical conduct." This statement is an example of a Go-Tech ________. a 68) Suzanne, an employee at Sound Wave Systems, believes that the firm's warehouse is an unsafe environment due to slippery floors and faulty stair rails. After consulting the employee manual, Suzanne writes a
letter about the situation to her immediate supervisor. Suzanne is most likely following the firm's ________. d 69) Goals are initiated by the bottom level of an organization according to the hierarchy of goals approach to strategic planning. false 70) The specific human resource policies and practices used to support a firm's strategic goals are known as human resource strategies. true 71) HR scorecards present managers with desktop graphs and charts of how a firm's HR strategies compare to those of other firms in the same industry. f 72) Employees' skills and commitment create a competitive advantage in service industries, but technology is the primary key to a competitive advantage in manufacturing industries. f 73) Strategic human resource management means formulating and executing HR systems that produce the employee competencies and behaviors the company needs to achieve its strategic aims. true 76)
Which of the following terms refers to a set of human resource management policies and practices that promote organizational effectiveness? d 77) All of the following are commonly used HR metrics EXCEPT ________. d 78) A ________ metric focuses on measuring the activities that contribute to achieving the company's strategic aims. a 79) An HR specialist conducting an HR audit should review which of the following when
auditing recruitment and selection practices? d 80) Which area of an HR audit is most likely being assessed by an HR specialist who is reviewing job descriptions and the employment status of current employees? b 81) An HR specialist conducting a compliance audit should most likely have a solid understanding of ________. b 82) Which of the following terms refers to the quantitative measure of a human
resource management yardstick such as employee turnover or qualified applicants per position? c 83) Which of the following terms refers to the process of comparing and analyzing the practices of one firm with those of a high-performing company? a 84) Using data, facts, scientific rigor, and case studies to support HR management proposals and practices is best known as ________. a 85) With evidence-based HR
management, the evidence is LEAST likely to come from ________. c 86) Which of the following refers to an analysis by which an organization measures where it currently stands and determines what it has to accomplish to improve its HR functions? c 87) As an HR manager, you have been given the task of conducting an HR audit. Which of the following areas would you be LEAST likely to address in the audit process? d 88) Which of the following is most likely a true
statement about high-performance companies? a 89) Which of the following is a software application used to evaluate data about employee backgrounds, capabilities, and performance for the purpose
of predicting employee retention? c 90) Which term refers to the set of activities used to find new, hidden, or unexpected patterns in data? b 94) The
primary purpose of implementing high-performance practices such as recruiting, screening, and training is to ________. b 95) Empowerment, teamwork, and extensive training are primarily
characteristics of ________. a 96) MAX Computers manufactures affordable laptops and desktops at its factory in Arizona. MAX has experienced a moderate amount of financial success, but upper management wants the firm to grow at a faster rate and become a bigger player in the highly competitive computer market. The firm's greatest problems relate to its employees. Employee turnover is high—most employees at MAX leave within 2 years or less of being hired. In addition, the rate of productivity among employees is not as high as executives would like. The vice president of human resources is considering moving MAX towards a high-performance work system. Which of the following best supports the argument that MAX should move towards a high-performance work system? b 97) MAX Computers manufactures affordable laptops and desktops at its factory in Arizona. MAX has experienced a moderate amount of financial success, but upper management wants the firm to grow at a faster rate and become a bigger player in the highly competitive computer market. The firm's greatest problems relate to its employees. Employee turnover is high—most employees at MAX leave within two years or less of being hired. In addition, the rate of productivity among employees is not as high as executives would like. The vice president of human resources is considering moving MAX towards a high-performance work system. Which of the following questions is most relevant to MAX's decision to move toward a high-performance work system? a 98) High-performance work organizations are most likely characterized by all of the following EXCEPT ________. a 99) All of the following practices are most likely implemented by companies with high-performance work systems EXCEPT ________. c 100) High performance companies are more likely than low-performance companies to ________. b 101) Which of the following is true of companies
with high-performance HR systems compared to low-performance companies? b 102) Reese Enterprises seeks to fill upper-level positions internally whenever possible and uses validated selection tests when considering external hires. This most likely suggests the company
is developing a ________. b 103) Which of the following is NOT an organizational outcome discovered from studies conducted on employee engagement? b 104) Companies with highly engaged employees are more likely to be unionized, according to some research. false What are the 4 types of business strategies?What are the Types of Business Strategy?. Organizational (Corporate) Strategy.. Business (Competitive) Strategy.. Functional Strategy.. Operating Strategy.. What strategies will you set to build your business?Developing a business strategy in 10 steps. Develop a true vision. Vision is an abstract word that means different things to different people. ... . Define competitive advantage. ... . Define your targets. ... . Focus on systematic growth. ... . Make fact-based decisions. ... . Think long term. ... . But, be nimble. ... . Be inclusive.. What strategy is a long term strategy?What is a long-term strategy? A long-term strategy is a comprehensive plan for a business that defines goals for the future. During this process, you're setting and completing goals to achieve an overarching goal for the company.
What are the strategies for competitive advantage?Michael Porter, the famous Harvard Business School professor, identified three strategies for establishing a competitive advantage: Cost Leadership, Differentiation, and Focus (which includes both Cost Focus and Differentiation Focus)[1].
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