Introduction to Business Strategy Self Assessment

Planning is important for all of the following reasons except: Planning eliminates uncertainty Planning establishes organizational goals and standards Planning can improve employee engagement throughout the organization Planning provides direction that can align all of the activities of the organization All of the above are reasons why planning is important - answer-Planning eliminates uncertainty Planning reduces uncertainty but does not eliminate it. Which ONE of the following would not be considered to be a function of planning. HINT: Consider Fayol's functions of management when answering this question. Hire the senior executive responsible for strategic planning Define the organization's objectives or goals Establish an overall strategy for achieving the organizational goals and objectives Develop a hierarchy of plans to integrate and coordinate activities All of the above are functions of planning - answer-Hire the senior executive responsible for strategic planning Continuing with Henry Fayol, which function is considered to be the Primary function of management? Planning Organizing Leading Controlling - answer-Planning True or False Operational plans address the "what ifs" of a business - answer-False Developing a marketing strategy based on product, price, place, and promotional considerations is an example of a ____________ plan - answer-Functional In a video lesson we discussed four key players in the airline industry -- Delta, United, American, and Southwest Airlines. Relative to the other three airlines, Southwest Airlines enjoys a sustainable competitive advantage is at competitive parity is at a competitive disadvantage enjoys a temporary but not a sustainable competitive advantage - answer-Enjoys a sustainable competitive advantage True or False A firm that under performs relative to other competitors in the same industry is said to have a temporary but not sustainable competitive advantage. - answer-FALSE According to the topic reading, firm performance is primarily determined by two factors. Select those factors from the list below (must get both correct): Industry effects Product quality Brand recognition Firm effects Uncontrollable macro-forces Government regulation Customer effects - answer-Industry effects and firm effects Organizations, groups, and individuals that can affect or are affected by a firm's actions are called _______. Interested Parties Stakeholders Subjects Targets Co-partners Environmental Players - answer-Stakeholders A ________ is the end results of decisions and tradeoffs made by management in formulating strategy Business Model Business Strategy Business Blueprint Business Concept - answer-Business Model (True/False). Competitive advantage is always judged relative to other competitors or to the industry average - answer-TRUE (True/False). A Functional strategy is one that determines how capital will be allocated across various businesses (or strategic business units). - answer-FALSE Capital allocation across SBUs occurs at the Corporate level of strategy formulation. Which ONE of the following is NOT a growth strategy? Concentration Diversification Divestiture Vertical integration Horizontal integration - answer-Divestiture These strategies address which businesses the firm will be in and how capital will be allocated among those businesses. functional corporate SBU (Strategic Business Unit) Operational Contingency Qualitative - answer-Corporate In order for a firm to formulate an effective business level strategy, it is important to remember that competitive advantage is determined by: the characteristcs of the firm's competition the characteristics of the firm itself the characteristics of both the industry and the firm The characteristics of the industry in which the firm competes the characteristics of the firm's customers - answer-the characteristics of both the industry and