Exam 1st Sample Questions TSG17
Answers at end
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1. What a company's top executives are saying about where the company is headed and about what the company's future product-customer-market-technology will be
A) B) C) D) E) indicates what the company's long-term strategic plan is. indicates what kind of business model the company is going to have in the future. constitutes their strategic vision for the company. serves to define the company's mission. signals what the firm's strategy will be.
2. The difference between the concept of a company mission statement and the concept of a strategic vision is that
A) a mission concerns what to do to achieve short-run objectives and a strategic vision concerns what to do to achieve long-run performance targets. B) a mission statement typically concerns a company's present business scope ("who we are and what we do") whereas the principal concern of a strategic vision is with the company's long term direction and future product-market-customertechnology focus. C) a mission statement deals with "where we are headed " whereas a strategic vision provides the critical answer to "how will we get there?" D) the mission is to make a profit, whereas a strategic vision concerns what business model to employ in striving to make a profit. E) a mission statement deals with what to accomplish on behalf of shareholders and a strategic vision concerns what to accomplish on behalf of customers.
3. Breaking down resistance to a new strategic vision typically requires that top management
A) frequently reiterate the basis for the new direction at company gatherings, address employee concerns and fears headon, try to lift the spirits of employees, and provide updates and progress reports as events unfold (particularly information that confirms the wisdom of the new direction). B) institute a balanced scorecard approach to measuring company performance, with the "balance" including a mixture of old performance measures (that company personnel are familiar and comfortable with) and new performance measures (that indicate the progress being made in achieving the new vision). C) keep company personnel well-informed about forthcoming changes in the company's strategy. D) raise wages and salaries to win the support of company personnel for the company's new direction. E) move promptly to update the company's business model and hold meetings with company personnel to explain the merits of the new business model.
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4. A set of "stretch" financial and strategic objectives
A) is an effective tool for avoiding ho-hum results. B) helps create a "balanced scorecard" for judging company performance. C) challenges company personnel to execute the strategy with greater proficiency. D) pushes the company closer to true profit maximization. E) helps convert the mission statement into meaningful company values.
5. A "balanced scorecard" that includes both strategic and financial performance targets is a conceptually strong approach for judging a company's overall performance because
A) it entails putting equal emphasis on good strategy execution and good business model execution. B) it more or less forces managers to put equal emphasis on financial and strategic objectives. C) a balanced scorecard approach pushes managers to avoid setting objectives that reflect the results of past decisions and organizational activities and, instead, to set objectives that will serve as leading indicators of a company's future financial performance. D) financial performance measures are lagging indicators that reflect the results of past decisions and organizational activities whereas strategic performance measures are leading indicators of a company's future financial performance. E) it assists managers in putting roughly equal emphasis on short-term and long-term performance targets.
6. Perhaps the most reliable way for a company to improve its financial performance over time is to
A) recognize that the achievement of strategic objectives fosters better long-term financial performance and that a balanced scorecard approach to objective-setting has much to recommend. B) avoid use of the "balanced scorecard" philosophy--it is foolish to put balanced emphasis on improving the company's financial performance and strategic performance when achievement of financial performance targets is obviously more important than achievement of strategic performance targets. C) put 100% emphasis on the achievement of its short-term and long-term financial objectives. D) not allocate any resources to the achievement of strategic objectives until it is very clear that the company can meet or beat its stretch financial performance targets. E) substitute financial intent for strategic intent and judiciously concentrate on the mission of making a profit.
7. Corporate strategy for a diversified or multi-business enterprise
A) is orchestrated by the CEO and other senior corporate executives and focuses on how to create a competitive advantage in each specific line-of-business the total enterprise is in. B) is orchestrated by the CEO and other senior corporate executives and centers around the kinds of initiatives the company uses to establish business positions in different industries and efforts to boost the combined performance of the set of businesses the company has diversified into. C) involves how functional strategies should be aligned with business strategies in each of the various lines of business the company is in. D) deals chiefly with what the strategic intent of each of its business units should be. E) concerns how best to allocate resources across the departments of each line of business the company is in.
8. Business strategy concerns
A) the actions and approaches crafted by management to produce successful in performance one specific line of business. B) choosing the most appropriate strategic intent for a specific line of business. C) selecting a business model to use in pursuing business objectives. D) selecting a set of stretch financial and strategic objectives for a particular line of business. E) what set of businesses to be in and why.
9. The primary role of a functional strategy is to
A) unify the company's various operating-level strategies. B) create compatible degrees of strategic intent among a company's different business functions. C) support the overall business strategy and competitive approach. D) support and add power to the corporate-level strategy. E) specify how to build and strengthen the skills, expertise, and competencies needed to execute operating-level strategies successfully.
10. The most powerful of the five competitive forces is usually
A) the benefits that emerge from close collaboration with suppliers and the competitive pressures that such collaboration creates. B) the competitive pressures that stem from the ready availability of attractively-priced substitute products. C) the bargaining power and leverage that large customers are able to exercise. D) the competitive pressures associated with the potential entry of new competitors. E) the competitive pressures associated with the market maneuvering for buyer patronage that goes on among rival sellers in the industry.
11. Factors that cause the rivalry among competing sellers to be weak include
A) few industry rivals that any one company's actions can easily be anticipated and countered by its rivals. B) rapid growth in buyer demand and high buyer switching costs. C) slow growth in buyer demand and strongly differentiated products. D) low barriers to entry and weakly differentiated products among rival sellers. E) low buyer switching costs and rival sellers that are relatively equal is size and capability.
12. Competitive pressures associated with the threat of entry are greater when
A) newcomers can expect to earn attractive profits and a number of outsiders have the expertise and resources to hurdle whatever entry barriers exist. B) entry barriers are relatively low and buyer demand for the product is growing fairly rapidly. C) incumbent firms are unable or unwilling to strongly contest the entry of newcomers. D) existing industry members are looking to expand their market reach by entering product segments or geographic areas where they currently do not have a presence. E) All of these conditions heighten the competitive pressures associated with fresh entry into the industry.
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13. The competitive threat that outsiders will enter a market is weaker when
A) the industry's market growth is rapid. B) there are more than 2 entry barriers. C) buyers have little loyalty to the brands and product offerings of existing industry members. D) financially strong industry members send strong signals that they will launch strategic initiatives to combat the entry of newcomers. E) the industry is characterized by the lack of sizable scale economies and learning/experience curve effects.
14. When one or more industry members have unusually effective and mutually advantageous partnerships with their suppliers,
A) there is a strong likelihood such partnerships will put increased competitive pressure on those industry members who lack productive collaborative relationships with their suppliers. B) it is rare for such partnerships to have much competitive impact or put significant competitive pressures on those industry members not having such partnerships. C) there is a high likelihood of such partnerships reducing competitive pressures on all industry members, provided technological change in the suppliers' business is rapid and the item being supplied is a commodity. D) the usual result is to reduce competitive pressures on all industry members, provided the costs of the items furnished by supply chain partners amount to 50% or more of total cost. E) one unfortunate outcome is that it tends to give the supply partners much enhanced bargaining power in their dealings with these industry members.
15. Whether buyer bargaining power poses a strong or weak source of competitive pressure on industry members depends in part on
A) whether entry barriers are high or low and the size of the pool of likely entry candidates. B) whether most buyers possess roughly equal or varying degrees of bargaining power and leverage. C) whether the overall quality of the items being furnished by industry members is rising or falling. D) whether demand-supply conditions represent a buyer's market or a seller's market. E) how many buyers are engaged in collaborative partnerships with sellers.
16. A competitive environment where there is weak to moderate rivalry among sellers, high entry barriers, weak competition from substitute products, and little bargaining leverage on the part of both suppliers and customers
A) gives each industry competitor the best potential for building sustainable competitive advantage over rival firms. B) is conducive to industry members earning attractive profits. C) lacks powerful driving forces. D) makes it hard for industry members to compete successfully unless they can strongly differentiate their products. E) requires that industry members have low costs in order to be competitively successful.
1st Exam Sample Question Answers TSG17
1. C 2. B 3. A 4. A 5. D 6. A 7. B 8. A 9. C 10. E 11. B 12. E 13. D 14. A 15. D 16. B
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445 TSG17e, ch 1-5 SS2 09 Makeup Summary
Category AACSB: Ethics/Legal Responsibilities AACSB: Value Creation Difficulty: Easy Difficulty: Hard Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 1 Learning Objective: 2 Learning Objective: 3 Learning Objective: 4 Learning Objective: 5 Learning Objective: 6 Taxonomy: Comprehension Taxonomy: Knowledge Thompson - Chapter 01 Thompson - Chapter 02 Thompson - Chapter 03 Thompson - Chapter 04 Thompson - Chapter 05 Thompson - Chapter 06 # of Questions 1 14 14 6 34 5 1 3 2 2 2 12 3 8 9 10 8 12 7