Introduction and Overview (Strategic Business Management) Textbook: book - Strategy Crafting and Executing Strategy: Competitive Advantage . 1. Good strategy and good strategy execution together provide A. a surefire guarantee for avoiding periods of weak financial performance. B. the two best signs that a company is a true industry leader. C. the most trustworthy signs of good management. D. signs of a company having a superior business model. 2. Which one of the following questions is not something that company managers should consider when choosing to pursue one strategic course or directional path versus another? A. Is the company stretching its resources too thinly by trying to compete in too many markets or segments, some of which are unprofitable? B. Do we have a better business model than key rivals? C. Are changing market and competitive conditions acting to enhance or weaken the company's business outlook? D. Will our present business generate sufficient growth and profitability in the years ahead to please shareholders? 3. Business strategy, as distinct from corporate strategy, is chiefly concerned with A. deciding what new businesses to enter, which existing businesses to get out of, and which existing business to remain in. B. forging actions and approaches to compete successfully in a particular line of business. C. coordinating the competitive approaches of a company's different business units. D. making sure the strategic intent of a particular business is in step with the company's overall strategic intent and strategy. 4. Which of the following is not one of the basic reasons that a company's strategy evolves over time? A. An ongoing need to abandon those strategy features that are no longer working well B. The need to make regular adjustments in the company's strategic vision so employees don't become bored executing the same strategy month after month C. The proactive efforts of company managers to fine-tune and improve one or more pieces of the strategy D. The need to keep strategy in step with changing market conditions and changing customer needs and expectations 5. Which of the following is an integral part of the managerial process of crafting and executing strategy? A. Setting objectives and using them as yardsticks for measuring the company's performance and progress B. Deciding how much of the company's resources to employ in the pursuit of sustainable competitive advantage C. Communicating the company's mission and purpose to all employees D. Developing a proven business model 6. Which one of the following questions can be used to test the merits of one strategy over another and distinguish a winning strategy from a mediocre or losing strategy? A. Does the company have low prices in comparison to rivals? B. How well does the strategy fit the company's situation? C. How good is the company's business model? D. Is the company putting too little emphasis on behaving in an ethical and socially responsible manner.

1. Introduction and Overview (Strategic Business Management)
Textbook: book - Strategy Crafting and Executing Strategy:
Competitive Advantage
.
1. Good strategy and good strategy execution together provide
A. a surefire guarantee for avoiding periods of weak financial
performance.
B. the two best signs that a company is a true industry leader.
C. the most trustworthy signs of good management.
D. signs of a company having a superior business model.
2. Which one of the following questions is not something that
company managers should consider when choosing to pursue
one strategic course or directional path versus another?
A. Is the company stretching its resources too thinly by trying
to compete in too many markets or segments, some of which are
unprofitable?
B. Do we have a better business model than key rivals?
C. Are changing market and competitive conditions acting to
enhance or weaken the company's business outlook?
D. Will our present business generate sufficient growth and
profitability in the years ahead to please shareholders?
3. Business strategy, as distinct from corporate strategy, is
chiefly concerned with
A. deciding what new businesses to enter, which existing
businesses to get out of, and which existing business to remain
in.
B. forging actions and approaches to compete successfully in a
particular line of business.
C. coordinating the competitive approaches of a company's
different business units.

2. D. making sure the strategic intent of a particular business is in
step with the company's overall strategic intent and strategy.
4. Which of the following is not one of the basic reasons that a
company's strategy evolves over time?
A. An ongoing need to abandon those strategy features that are
no longer working well
B. The need to make regular adjustments in the company's
strategic vision so employees don't become bored executing the
same strategy month after month
C. The proactive efforts of company managers to fine-tune and
improve one or more pieces of the strategy
D. The need to keep strategy in step with changing market
conditions and changing customer needs and expectations
5. Which of the following is an integral part of the managerial
process of crafting and executing strategy?
A. Setting objectives and using them as yardsticks for
measuring the company's performance and progress
B. Deciding how much of the company's resources to employ in
the pursuit of sustainable competitive advantage
C. Communicating the company's mission and purpose to all
employees
D. Developing a proven business model
6. Which one of the following questions can be used to test the
merits of one strategy over another and distinguish a winning
strategy from a mediocre or losing strategy?
A. Does the company have low prices in comparison to rivals?
B. How well does the strategy fit the company's situation?
C. How good is the company's business model?
D. Is the company putting too little emphasis on behaving in an
ethical and socially responsible manner?
7. What is the difference between a company's mission
statement and its strategic vision?
A. A mission statement deals with "where we're headed,"

3. whereas a strategic vision provides the critical answer to "how
will we get there?"
B. A mission statement deals with what to accomplish on behalf
of shareholders, and a strategic vision concerns what to
accomplish on behalf of customers.
C. A mission statement typically concerns a company's present
business scope, whereas the principal concern of a strategic
vision is with the company's long-term direction and future
product-market-customer-technology focus.
D. The mission statement is always to make a profit, whereas a
strategic vision concerns what business model to employ in
striving to make a profit.
8. What separates a powerful strategy from a run-of-the-mill or
ineffective strategy is
A. whether it allows the company to maximize shareholder
value in the shortest possible time.
B. the proven ability of the strategy to generate maximum
profits.
C. the speed with which it helps the company achieve its
strategic vision.
D. whether it sets the company apart and produces sustainable
competitive advantage over rivals.
9. Excellent execution of an excellent strategy is
A. the best test of managerial excellence and the best recipe for
making a company a standout performer.
B. the best test of whether a company enjoys sustainable
competitive advantage.
C. a solid indication if whether managers are maximizing
profits and looking out for the best interests of shareholders.
D. the best test of whether a company is a "true" industry
leader.
10. Corporate strategy for a diversified or multi-business
enterprise

4. A. is orchestrated by senior-corporate executives and focuses on
how to create a competitive advantage in each specific line of
business that the total enterprise is in.
B. deals chiefly with what the strategic intent of each of its
business units should be.
C. concerns how best to allocate resources across the
departments of each line of business that the company is in.
D. is orchestrated by senior-corporate executives and center
around the kinds of initiatives the company uses to establish
business positions in different industries and efforts to boost the
combined performance of the business into which the company
has diversified.
11. Which of the following is a correct description of the
process of crafting a strategy?
A. Doing everything possible (in the way of price, quality,
service, warranties, advertising, and so on) to make sure the
company's product/service is very clearly differentiated from
the offerings of rivals
B. Stitching together a proactive strategy and then adapting it as
circumstances surrounding the company's situation change or
better options emerge
C. Trying to imitate as much of the market leader's strategy as
possible so as not to end up at a competitive disadvantage
D. Developing a five-year strategic plan and then fine-tuning it
during the remainder of the plan period; big changes in strategy
are thus made only once every five years
12. Which one of the following is not one of the five basic tasks
of the strategy-making, strategy-executing process?
A. Setting objectives to convert the strategic vision into specific
strategic and financial performance outcomes for the company

5. to achieve
B. Crafting a strategy to achieve the objectives
C. Developing a profitable business model
D. Forming a strategic vision of where the company must head
and what its future business make-up will be
13. Which of the following is the purpose of a company's
business model?
A. It's management's storyline for how the strategy will result in
achieving the targeted strategic objectives.
B. It describes how the business will generate revenues
sufficient to cover costs and produce attractive profits and
return on investment.
C. It details the ethical and socially responsible nature of the
company's strategy.
D. It sets forth the actions and approaches that the company will
employ to achieve market leadership.
14. What is one of the important tasks of a well-conceived and
well-stated strategic vision?
A. Clearly communicate management's aspirations for the
company to stakeholders and help steer the energies of company
personnel in a common direction
B. Clearly delineate how the company's business model will be
implemented and executed
C. Help create a "balanced scorecard" approach to objective-
setting and not stretch the company's resources too thin across
different products, technologies, and geographic markets
D. Indicate what kind of sustainable competitive advantage the
company will try to create in the course of becoming the
industry leader

6. 15. Which of the following statements is true of company
objectives?
A. They should be set in a manner that doesn't conflict with the
performance targets of lower-level organizational units.
B. They need to be broken down into performance targets for
each separate business, product line, functional department, and
individual work unit.
C. They're needed only in those areas directly related to a
company's short-term and long-term profitability.
D. They're important because they help guide managers in
deciding what the company's strategic intent should be.
16. Which one of the following questions is not pertinent to
company managers in thinking strategically about their
company's directional path and developing a strategic vision?
A. Are changing market and competitive conditions acting to
enhance or weaken the company's prospects?
B. Is the outlook for the company promising if it continues with
its present product-market-technology-customer focus?
C. What business approaches and operating practices should we
consider in trying to implement and execute our business
model?
D. What, if any, new customer groups and/or geographic
markets should the company get in position to serve?
17. The obligations of an investor-owned company's board of
directors in the strategy-making, strategy executing process
include which of the following?
A. Overseeing the company's financial accounting and
financial-reporting practices, and evaluating the caliber of
senior executives' strategy-making/strategy-executing skills
B. Approving the company's operating strategies, functional-
area strategies, business strategy, and overall corporate strategy

7. C. Coming up with compelling strategy proposals of their own
to debate against those put forward by top management
D. Taking the lead in formulating the company's strategic plan,
then delegating the task of implementing and executing the plan
to the company's senior executives
18. A company's strategic vision is concerned with which of the
following items?
A. Why the company does certain things in trying to please its
customers
B. Management's storyline of how it intends to make a profit
with the chosen strategy
C. The company's directional path and future product-market-
customer-technology focus
D. What future actions the enterprise will likely undertake to
outmaneuver rivals and achieve a sustainable competitive
advantage
19. A set of "stretch" financial and strategic objectives
A. is an effective tool for avoiding ho-hum results.
B. helps convert the mission statement into meaningful
company values.
C. pushes the company closer to true profit maximization.
D. challenges company personnel to execute the strategy with
greater proficiency.
20. A company's strategic plan consists of
A. a vision of where it's headed, a set of performance targets,
and a strategy to achieve them.
B. its strategy and management's specific, detailed plans for
implementing it.
C. its objectives and its strategy for achieving them.
D. its strategic vision, strategic objectives, strategic intent, and
business model.

8. 21. Why should long-run objectives take precedence over short-
term objectives?
A. To satisfy shareholder expectations for progress.
B. Focus is placed on improving performance in the near-term.
C. Long-run objectives force the company to consider what to
do now to perform better later.
D. Long-run objectives are needed for achieving long-term
performance, block focus on short-term results, and put the
company in a position to perform better.
22. One of the keys to successful strategy-making is to
A. come up with a business model that enables a company to
earn bigger profits per unit sold than rivals.
B. develop a product or service with more innovative
performance features than what rivals are offering while
providing customers with better after-the-sale service.
C. come up with one or more differentiating strategy elements
that act as a magnet to draw customers and yield a lasting
competitive edge.
D. charge a lower price than rivals and thereby win sales and
market share away from rivals.
23. Which of the following is the best example of a well-stated
financial objective?
A. Boost revenues by a percentage greater than the industry
average
B. Gradually boost market share from 10% to 15% over the next
several years
C. Achieve lower costs than any other industry competitor
D. Increase earnings per share by 15% annually
24. Which of the following examples are characteristics of an
effectively worded strategic vision statement?
A. Challenging, competitive, and "set in concrete"
B. Realistic, customer-focused, and market-driven
C. Balanced, responsible, and rational

9. D. Graphic, directional, and focused
25. Which of the following statements is true of strategy-
making?
A. It's first and foremost the function and responsibility of a
company's strategic-planning staff.
B. It's more of a collaborative-group effort that involves all
managers and sometimes key employees, as opposed to being
the function and responsibility of a few high-level executives.
C. It's primarily the responsibility of key executives rather than
a task for a company's entire management team.
D. It's first and foremost the function and responsibility of a
company's board of directors.
Testing, Hiring, and Promotion
1 Would you advise an employer that operates retail clothing
stores to drug test?
if so, under what circumstances? Using what procedures? What
should be
Done regarding applicants or employees who test positive?
2 Jobs are being transformed. Employers are increasingly
focusing on
Processes rather than individual jobs. More work is being done
in teams, with team members expected to be capable of taking
on each other’s functions. What are implications of this for
validating tests or other selection criteria? Has it become more
difficult to determine what is “job related?”
3 It is often said that one of the benefits of a diverse workforce
is that employees
Will better understand and relate to their diverse customers.
Does this justify making hiring decisions on protected class
grounds? Assigning work so that the protected class

10. characteristics of employees and customers match? If not, what
should employers do?