Which of the following are steps managers should take when planning an implementation?

- Compare actual performance to planned performance

- Chronologically order the steps necessary to achieve a fully operational decision
- List the resources and activities required to implement each step
- Determine how things will look when the decision is fully operational
- Assign responsibility for each step

___ planning, traditional done by top management, involves making decisions about the organization's
long term goals and strategies

- Functional
- Strategic
- Universal
- Operational

Ideas that have been seen or tried before are called __-made solutions
Ready

Analysis of external opportunities and threats is step ____ in the strategic management process

- two
- one
- three
- four

Employees are included in the implementation step of the planning process because employees who are
included are:

- Better informed
- More motivated
- Cost effective
- More committed

___ are inputs to production that can be accumulated over time to enhance the performance of a firm

- Resources
- Expenses
- Value
- Personnel

Which of the following are some of the components of a mission statement?

- Who the CEO is

- Who it provided its goods/services for
- The company's values
- What the organization does
- How large it expects to be in 10 years

The state that exists when decision makers have accurate and comprehensive information is known as
___ certainty

Rank order the stages of decision making, starting at the first step

- Identify and diagnose the problem

- Generate alternative solutions
- Evaluate alternatives
- Implement the decision
- Make the choice
- Evaluate the decision
A ___ strategy defines the major actions by which a company builds or strengthens it competitive position
in the marketplace

- Business
- Corporate
- Ad hoc
- Vertical

Strategy formulation is the ___ step of the strategic management process; following the analysis of
internal strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats.

- Fourth
- Second
- Third
- First

Which of the following are procedures to manage decisions making in groups?

- Avoid groupthink and satisfying

- Dominate the discussion
- Encourage constructive conflict
- Encourage people's input
- Encourage creativity
- Stay focused on the group's goals

Stakeholders are groups and individuals who affect and are affected by:

- The company's employment policies

- The organization's mission
- The company's stock price
- Government policies

In decision-making terminology, ___ exists when the probability of a successful action is less than 100
percent and losses are possible risk

A ___ identifies the set of business, markets, or industries in which the organization competes and the
distribution of resources among those businesses

- Contingency plan
- Strategical coherence
- Corporate strategy
- Functional analysis

In terms of the planning process, the targets or ends that managers want to reach are know as ___

- Functions
- Capacity
- Production
- Goals

Determining the value or adequacy of the alternatives that were generated, or deciding which solution is
the best, is the primarily task in the __ __ stage of decision making evaluating alternatives
In the __, planners gather, interpret, and summarize all information relevant to the planning issue in
question.

- Resource allocation
- Mission statement
- Strategy Implementation
- Situational analysis
- Situational analysis

An example of a process that operational planning might be concerned with is:

- A production run
- New product development
- A diversification development
- A corporate turnaround
- A production run

If you were asked to lead a decision-making group, which one of these procedures should you use?

- Let the discussion range beyond the set goals

- Avoid all conflict
- Agree with all ideas
- Encourage creativity
- Encourage creativity

Which of the following are barriers to effective decision making?

- Time pressures
- Vigilance in executing the process
- Social realities
- Psychological biases
- Time pressures
- Social realities
- Psychological biases

The sixth step of the formal planning process is to monitor and __

- Control
- Produce
- Schedule
- Revise
Control

Goal __ is a condition that occurs when decision-making group loses sight of its original goal and a new,
less important goal emerges
displacement

An __ plan focuses on the major actions a particular unit or function must take to fulfill its part of the
strategic plan

- Operational
- Strategic
- Tactical
- Business-level
- Tactical

During the fifth step in decision making, implementing the decision, which of the following are actions
taken when planning the implementation?

- Carefully analyze the errors in the implementation process

- Identify potential problems and opportunities with implementation
- Determine how things will look when decision is fully operational
- Diagram the steps necessary to achieve a fully operational decision
- Identify potential problems and opportunities with implementation
- Determine how things will look when decision is fully operational
- Diagram the steps necessary to achieve a fully operational decision

A ___ business strategy is one where companies attempt to be efficient and offer a standard, no frills
product

- Universal
- Experienced
- Specialization
- Low-cost
- Low-cost

The condition in which managers have insufficient information or unknown consequences is __

uncertainty

If you were asked to make a decision, what would the potential advantage of using a group?

- Greater number of perspectives on the issues or different approaches to solving the problem are
available
- More information available
- Participant in the group discussion are more likely to increase their visibility in the organization
- Participants in the group discussions are more likely to understand why decision was made
- Group discussion provides intellectual situation
- Group discussion usually leads to a higher level of commitment
- Greater number of perspectives on the issues or different approaches to solving the problem are
available
- More information available
- Participants in the group discussions are more likely to understand why decision was made
- Group discussion provides intellectual situation
- Group discussion usually leads to a higher level of commitment

The analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses is step ___ in the strategic management process

- two
- three
- four
- one
- three

The fifth step of the strategic management process is:

- Strategy implementation
- Mission and vision creation
- Problem identification
- Control systems
- Strategy implementation

Which of the following characteristics are consistent with nonprogrammed decision?

- Objectively correct answers

- Use simple rules
- New and complex
- Previous encountered
- No proven answers
- No certain outcomes
- New and complex
- No proven answers
- No certain outcomes

What is conscious, systematic process of making decisions about goals and activities that an individual,
group, or organization will pursue in the future?
- Organizing
- Planning
- Leading
- Controlling
- Planning

When decision makers weight short-term costs and benefits more heavily than longer-term ones, they are
guilty of ___ the future, in decision-making terminology
discounting

The actions or means the manager intends to use to achieve goals are known as:

- Outputs
- Resources
- Inputs
- Plans
- Plans

Strategic goals are the major targets that relate to the long-term __ of the organization

- Growth
- Survival
- Brand image
- Employees
- Value
- Recognition
- Growth
- Survival
- Value

SWOT is an acronym that stands for __, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

- Strategy
- Serendipity
- Skills
- Strengths
- Strengths

In the fourth step in decision making, making the choice, the decision will differ according to the criteria
and method used. What are the important methods managers should recognize when choosing from
among the alternatives evaluated?

- Satisficing
- Maximizing
- Analyzing
- Forecasting
- Optimizing
- Satisficing
- Maximizing
- Optimizing

A __ is a pattern of actions and resource allocations designed to achieve the organization's goals

- Strategy
- Function
- Tactic
- Operation
- Strategy

Ideally, a vision statement clarifies the long-term direction of the company and its strategic __

- Intent
- Acquisitions
- Constraints
- Intent

Which of the following statements relate to the role of uncertainty and risk in managerial decision making?

- Good decision makers do everything to anticipate, minimize, and control risk

- Risk and uncertainty are a fact of life in managerial decision making
- Good decision makers eliminate risk when making decisions
- Good decision makers anticipate and eliminate risk
- Good decision makers prefer to manage risk
- Good decision makers do everything to anticipate, minimize, and control risk
- Risk and uncertainty are a fact of life in managerial decision making
- Good decision makers prefer to manage risk

Which of the following are potential problems associated with group decision making?

- One group member dominates the discussion

- Satisficing
- Goal displacement
- Group think
- Intellectual stagnation
- One group member dominates the discussion
- Satisficing
- Goal displacement
- Group think

The mission and vision of the organization drive the __, the second component of the strategic
management process

- Strategy implementation
- Strategy analytical control
- Analysis of the external environment
- Liability and research assessment
- Analysis of the external environment

A business strategy defines the major actions by which a company builds or strengthens its __ in the
marketplace

- Functional strength
- Competitive position
- Brand
- Employer reputation
- Competitive position

Which of the following are among the steps of strategy implementation?

- Create an implementation plan

- Control the process
- Define strategic tasks
- Develop an implementation agenda
- Asses organizational capabilities
- Conduct a SWOT analysis
- Create an implementation plan
- Control the process
- Define strategic tasks
- Develop an implementation agenda
- Asses organizational capabilities

In decision-making terminology, __ exists when the probability of a successful action is less than 100
percent and looses are possible.
risks
Which of the following are among the four conditions necessary for resources to be a source of
competitive advantage?

- They must create customer value

- They must be plentiful
- They must ne easy to use
- They must be well organized
- They must be inexpensive
- They must be difficult to imitate
- They must create customer value
- They must be well organized
- They must be difficult to imitate

The decision-making process does not end once a choice is made. Managers must take action to
operationalize their choice. This step of decision making is called __ the decision

- Implementing
- Influencing
- Planning
- Organizing
- Implementing

In the first stage of decision making, the sources of discrepancies that exist in organizational or unit
performance may be detected when comparing current performance against:

- Future expected performance

- A programmed decision matrix
- Past performance
- Current performance of other organizations or units
- Future expected performance
- Past performance
- Current performance of other organizations or units

Managers are faced with tough decisions daily, and most complex managerial decisions lack structure.
Which of the following characteristics add to the difficulty and pressure managers experience when
making decisions tough?

- Potential for conflict

- Lack of fairness
- Level of uncertainty
- Degree of risk
- Potential for conflict
- Level of uncertainty
- Degree of risk

In order to make timely and high quality decisions under time pressure, on which of the following would
managers rely?

- Daily operating measures

- Futuristic forecasts
- Long-range planning
- Real-time information
- Daily operating measures
- Real-time information

Which of the following are among the levels of organizational planning? (choose all that apply)

- Marketing
- Strategic
- Financial
- Operational
- Tactical
- Strategic
- Operational
- Tactical

A __ is a cluster of decisions about what goals to pursue, what actions to take, and how to use resources
to achieve goals

- Strategy
- Mission statement
- SWOT analysis
- Time horizon
- Strategy

When generating alternative solutions, it is important to consider types of solutions that are:

- Custom-made
- Ready-made
- Impractical
- Unrealistic
- Illegal
- Custom-made
- Ready-made

Which of the following tasks are typically conducted by managers in the goal and plan evaluation step of
the formal planning process?

- Estimate the costs of each plan

- Prioritize and, if necessary, eliminate goals
- Evaluate advantages of each goal and plan
- Create a schedule for plan implementation
- Select the best goal and plan
- Estimate the costs of each plan
- Prioritize and, if necessary, eliminate goals
- Evaluate advantages of each goal and plan

When the resources of the firm meet four particular conditions: they create value for the customer, they
are rare, they are difficult to imitate and they are well organized, then they become a source of __

- Competitive advantage
- Functional assessment
- Resource allocation
- Human production
- Competitive advantage

How do social realities affect decision making?

- Important managerial decisions are marked by conflict among interested parties

- Managers with a high level of authority can ignore social realities to make sound decisions
- A manager must consider the preferences and reactions of many people
- Interpersonal factors decrease decision-making effectiveness
- Many decisions are the result of intensive social interactions, bargaining, and politicking
- Important managerial decisions are marked by conflict among interested parties
- A manager must consider the preferences and reactions of many people
- Interpersonal factors decrease decision-making effectiveness
- Many decisions are the result of intensive social interactions, bargaining, and politicking

Which of the following are characteristics of effective goals?

- Tight
- Measurable
- Specific
- Reliable
- Attainable
- Measurable
- Specific
- Attainable

A company making use of a low-cost business strategy attempts to be ___ and offer a standard product.

- high-end
- efficient
- unique
- different
- efficient

___ are actions or means the manager intends to use to achieve goals
Plans

Personal biases that interfere with objective rationality in decision making are called ___ biases

- psychological
- physiological
- dialectic
- affective
- psychological

The three requirements for effectively managing group decisions include which of the following? (check
all that apply)

- enhancement of creativity
- an appropriate leadership style
- encouraging groupthink
- facilitating satisficing
- the constructive use of disagreement and conflict
- an appropriate leadership style
= the group leader must try to keep process-related problems to a minimum by ensuring that everyone
have a change to participate, not allowing that groups to pressure individuals to conform, and keeping
everyone focused on the decision-making objective
- the constructive use of disagreement and conflict
= total and consistent agreement among group members can be destructive, leading to groupthink,
uncreative solutions, and a wast of the knowledge and diverse viewpoints that individuals bring to the
group
- enhancement of creativity
= to get creativity out of other people, give creative efforts the credit they are due, and don't punish
creative failures.

The conscious, systematic process of making decisions about goals and activities that an organization
will pursue in the future is referred to as ___
Planning

Step one of the basic planning process involves:

- evaluating goals and plans

- generating alternative goals
- selecting goals and plans
- analyzing the situation
- analyzing the situation (situational analysis: a process planners use, within time and resource
constraints, to gather, interpret, and summarize all information relevant to the planning issue under
consideration)

The unique or differentiated position within the industry is often based on: (check all that apply)

- high product quality

- excellent marketing and distribution
- superior service
- low cost produtions
- high product quality
- excellent marketing and distribution
- superior service

The ___ describes the organization as it currently operates while the ___ points to the future
Mission
- an organization's basic purpose and scope of operations
Strategic vision
- the long-term direction and strategic intent of a company

A group or individual who affects or is affected by the achievement of the organization's mission, goals,
and strategies is a ___

- competitor
- organizer
- stakeholder
- collaborator
- stakeholder

Which of the following are actions to take during the sixth and final stage of the decision-making process,
evaluating the decision?

- compare collected information

- extend the feedback gathering process until a positive conclusion is reached
- collect information on how well the decision is working
- use feedback to either continue the decision or go back to the first stage
the final stage in the decision-making process is evaluating the decision:
- collect information on how well the decision is working
- compare collected information
- use feedback to either continue the decision or go back to the first stage

The fourth step of the formal planning process is:

- goal and plan selection

- monitoring and controlling
- cost-benefit analysis
- assessing the situation
- goal and plan selection

Which of the following elements are NOT included in an environmental analysis? (check all that apply)

- industry growth
- internal strengths
- internal weakness
- social issues
- industry forces
Not included:
- internal strengths
- internal weakness

included:
- industry growth
= growth rates for the entire industry and key market segments, and projected changes in patterns and
determinants of growth
- industry forces
= threat of new industry entrants, threat of substitutes, economic power of buyers/customers, economic
power supplier, and internal industry rivalry
- competitor analysis
= goals, strategies, strengths, and weaknesses of each major competitor
- legal trends
= legislation and regulatory activities and their effects on the industry
- political activity
= the level of political activity undertaken by organizations and associations w/in the industry
- social issues
= current and potential social issues and their effects on the industry
- social interest groups:
= consumer, environmental, and other activist groups that try to influence the industry
- labor issues
= key labor needs, shortages, opportunities, and problems confronting the industry
- macro economic conditions
= economic factors that affect supply, demand, growth, competition, and profitability w/in the industry
- technological factors
= scientific or technical methods that affect the industry, particular recent and potential innovations

___ is the condition in which a manger has insufficient information or is unsure of consequences, such as
in a crisis
uncertainty

strategic plans have a strong ___ orientation and cover major portions of the organization.

- short-term
- internal
- external
- tactical
strategic planning involves making decisions about the organization's long-term goals and strategies.
Strategic plans have a strong EXTERNAL orientation and cover major portions of the organization

The fourth step of the strategic management process is:

- conduct a SWOT analysis and formulate strategy

- strategy implementation
- external environmental analysis
- create the mission and vision
- conduct a SWOT analysis and formulate strategy

Choosing an option that is acceptable, although not necessarily preferred, or the best option, is defined in
decision-making terminology as ___
Satisficing is choosing the first option that is minimally acceptable or adequate; the choice appears to
meet a targeted goal or criterion

The second step of the planning process should generate ___ goals and plans for the future
Based on the findings from situational analysis, the planning process should generate ALTERNATIVE
goals that may be pursued and alternative plans for achieving those goals

Using decision-making terminology, a decision bias influenced by the way in which a problem or decision
alternative is phrased or presented is known as a ___ effect.
Framing effect
= phrasing or presenting problems or decision alternatives in a way that lets subjective influences
override objective facts

Which stage in the formal decision making process involves determining the value or adequacy of the
alternatives that were generated?

- sixth
- fourth
- second
- third
- fifth
- first
Third stage

A ___ strategy identifies the set of businesses in which the organization competes and the distribution of
resources among those businesses.

- business-level
- functional-level
- corporate
- cooperative
- corporate

That state that exists when the probability of an action succeeding is less than 100% and losses may
occur is called ___
RIsk

Which of the following are advantages of being an innovative leader? (check all that apply)

- little or no competition
- sustainable advantage
- possible cannibalization of existing products
- establishments of entry barriers
- higher profits
advantages of being an innovative leader
- first-mover advantage
- little or no competition
- greater efficiency
- higher profits margins
- sustainable advantage
- reputation for innovation
- establishments of entry barriers
- occupation of best market niches
- opportunities to learn

disadvantages of being an innovative leader

- greater risks
- cost of technology development
- costs of market development and customer education
- infrastructure costs
- costs of learning and eliminating defects
- possible cannibalization of existing products

The stage of decision making information is collected and compared to goals and plans to determine
success or failure is called:

- making the choice

- identifying and diagnosing the problem
- generating alternative solutions
- evaluating alternatives
- evaluating the decision
- evaluating the decision

The goal and plan evaluation step of the formal planing process is the ___ step

- third
- fifth
- second
- first
step 3: evaluating goals and plans
Evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, and potential effects of each alternative goal and plan

In ___, group members generate as many ideas about a problem as they can in order to elicit creative
ideas.
Brainstorming

What is involved in the final component of the strategic management process?

- leadership
- planning
- control
- implementation
- control
Implementation of the plan is the ___ step of the formal planning process

- fifth
- third
- sixth
- first
Step 5: implement the goals and plans

Which of the following is NOT one of the stages of the formal decision making?

- generate alternative solutions

- implement the decision
- identify and diagnose the problem
- make the choice
- evaluate the decision
- generate a SWOT analysis
1. identify and diagnose the problem
2. generate alternative solutions
3. evaluate alternatives
4. make the chose
5. implement the decision
6. evaluate the decision

A process that involves managers from all parts of the organization in the formulation and implementation
of strategic goals is known as ___

- processing
- planning
- strategic management
- strategic assessment
- strategic management

Which stage of the formal decision making process involves generating alternative solutions?

- first
- second
- third
- fourth
- second

When a(n) ___ is involved in the development of a goal or plan, he/she is usually: better informed, more
committed, and more motivated.
employee

Which of the following are the characteristics of a cash cow, according to the BCG matric? (check all the
apply)

- has a strong competitive position

- operates in the dairy industry
- operates in a low-growth market
- operated in a high-growth market
- has a weak competitive position
Cash Cow
= low-growth business with strong competitive position generate revenues in excess of their investment
needs, so they fund other businesses
Dogs
= low-growth, weak-competitive-position businesses should be divested after their remaining revenues
are realized
Stars
= businesses with high growth and a strong competitive position require heavy investment, but their
strong position lets them generate the needed revenue
Question marks
= these high-growth, weak-competitive-position business require substantial investment to improve their
position, or else they should be divested

When evaluating alternatives, it is important to refer to your original ___ defined in the first stage.
goals

Which of the following are risks associated with technology leadership? (check all that apply)

- cost of technology development

- infrastructure costs
- cannibalizing current products
- cost of entry barriers
- cost of learning
disadvantages of being an innovative leader
- greater risks
- cost of technology development
- costs of market development and customer education
- infrastructure costs
- costs of learning and eliminating defects
- possible cannibalization of existing products

advantages of being an innovative leader

- first-mover advantage
- little or no competition
- greater efficiency
- higher profits margins
- sustainable advantage
- reputation for innovation
- establishments of entry barriers
- occupation of best market niches
- opportunities to learn

Which of the following are methods manager's can implement for encouraging different views? (check all
that apply)

- goal displacement
- dialectic
- groupthink
- devil's advocate
- goal displacement
= a condition that occurs when a decision-making group loses sight of its original goal and a new, less
important goal emerges
Answer - dialectic
= a structured debate comparing two conflicting courses of action
- groupthink
= a phenomenon that occurs in decision making when group members avoid disagreement as they strive
for consensus
Answer - devil's advocate
= a person who has the job of criticizing ideas to ensure that their downsides are fully explored

A(n) ___ control system is designed to support managers in evaluating the organization's progress with
its strategy and, when discrepancies exist, taking corrective action.
Strategic

After a strategy is formulated, it must be ___ efficiently and effectively.

- identified
- implemented
- described
- controlled
- implemented

Which of the following are examples of intangible assets? (check all that apply)
- technological knowledge
- corporate culture
- raw materials
- corporate reputation
- corporate headquarters building
- computer equipment
examples of intangible assets
= company reputation, culture, technological knowledge, and patents, as well as accumulated learning
and experience

examples of tangible assets

= real estate, production facilities, raw materials

Which of the following statements relate to the role if uncertainty and risk in managerial decision making?

- good decision makers eliminate risk when making decisions

- good decision makers prefer to manage risk
- good decision makers anticipate and eliminate risk
- risk and uncertainty are a fact of life in managerial decision making
- good decision makers do everything to anticipate, minimize, and control risk
- good decision makers prefer to manage risk
- good decision makers do everything to anticipate, minimize, and control risk
- risk and uncertainty are a fact of life in managerial decision making

A tactical level plan requires a moderate amount of detail and involves the ___ level of management

- middle
- front-line
- executive
- top
- middle