Multiple Choice Questions DAVID

CHAPTER 7

Implementing Strategies: Management and Operations Issues

The Nature of Strategy Implementation

1. Strategy formulation
a. is managing forces during the action.
b. focuses on effectiveness.
c. is primarily an operational process.
d. requires coordination among many people.
e. all of the above.

Ans: b Page: 262

2. Which of these is true about strategy implementation?

a. It is positioning forces before the action.
b. It focuses on effectiveness.
c. It is primarily an operational process.
d. It is primarily an intellectual process.
e. It requires intuitive skills.

Ans: c Page: 262

Annual Objectives

3. Establishing objectives is a
a. top-level activity.
b. centralized activity.
c. decentralized activity.
d. centralized-decentralized activity.
e. command-and-control activity.

Ans: c Page: 264

4. Considerable time and effort should be devoted to assuring objectives are well conceived because they
represent the basis for
a. monitoring processes.
b. establishing divisional priorities.
c. allocating resources.
d. evaluating managers.
e. all of the above.

Ans: e Page: 264

5. Which of the following is not true about objectives?

a. They should be communicated throughout the organization.
b. They should have an appropriate time dimension.
c. They should incorporate policies.
d. They should be measurable.
e. They should be consistent.

Ans: c Page: 266

6. Which term would most likely be incorporated into written objective statements?
 a. Maximize
b. Minimize
c. 10% increase
d. Adequate
e. All of the above

Ans: c Page: 266

Policies

7. What are guidelines, methods, procedures, rules, forms and administrative practices known as?
a. Long-term objectives
b. Policies
c. Annual objectives
d. Strategies
e. Goals

Ans: b Page: 266

8. Which of the following issues may not require a management policy?

a. To establish a high- or low-safety stock of inventory
b. To increase motivation
c. To offer numerous or few employee benefits
d. To discourage insider trading
e. To promote from within to or to hire from the outside

Ans: b Page: 267

Resource Allocation

9. Which term is best defined as a central management activity that allows for strategy execution.
a. Policy-making
b. Goal-setting
c. Establishing annual objectives
d. Resource allocation
e. Conflict

Ans: d Page: 268

10. _______ is not a major factor that commonly prohibits effective resource allocation.
a. Underprotection of resources
b. Organizational politics
c. Vague strategy targets
d. Reluctance to take risks
e. Lack of sufficient knowledge

Ans: a Page: 269

Managing Conflict

11. A disagreement between two or more parties on one or more issues is called a(n)
a. integrated solution.
b. conflict.
c. compromise.
d. diffusion.
e. avoidance.

Ans: b Page: 269

12. Conflict in an organization is
a. always bad.
b. always good.
c. sometimes good and sometimes bad.
d. a sign of bankruptcy.
e. avoidable.

Ans: c Page: 269

13. What are three categories of approaches for managing and resolving conflict?
a. Avoidance, diffusion and confrontation
b. Avoidance, payoff and diffusion
c. Confrontation, ignorance and objectivity
d. Buy, sell and hold
e. There are no good ways to manage conflict

Ans: a Page: 269 - 270

14. Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves exchanging members of conflicting
parties of that each can gain an appreciation of the others point of view?
a. Avoidance
b. Resistance
c. Compliance
d. Diffusion
e. Confrontation

Ans: e Page 269-270

15. Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves ignoring the problem in hopes that the
conflict will resolve itself?
a. Avoidance
b. Resistance
c. Compliance
d. Diffusion
e. Confrontation

Ans: a Page 269-270

16. Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves playing down differences between
conflicting parties while accentuating similarities and common interests?
a. Avoidance
b. Resistance
c. Compliance
d. Diffusion
e. Confrontation

Ans: d Page 269-270

Matching Structure with Strategy

17. Why do changes in company strategy often require changes in the way an organization is structured?
a. Structure dictates how goals and objectives will be established.
b. Structure dictates authority over projects.
c. Structure dictates how resources will be obtained.
 d. Structure dictates strategy.
e. Structure dictates how money is spent.

Ans: a Page: 270

18. What type of organizational structure do most small businesses follow?

a. Divisional structure by product
b. Functional structure
c. Divisional structure by customer
d. Process type structure
e. Matrix structure

Ans: b Page: 271

19. Which organizational structure is the most simple and inexpensive?

a. departmental
b. strategic business unit
c. functional
d. decentralized
e. process

Ans: c Page: 271

20. Medium-sized firms are more likely to use which type of structure.
a. divisional
b. matrix
c. SBU
d. functional
e. process

Ans: a Page: 271

21. What is not one of the basic ways a divisional structure can be organized?
a. By geographic area
b. By product or service
c. By customer
d. By process
e. By cost

Ans: e Page: 272

22. A divisional structure by product is most effective when

a. special emphasis needs to be placed on specific products.
b. an organization offers few products.
c. an organization’s products or services differ substantially.
d. special emphasis needs to be placed on specific services.
e. All of the above

Ans: e Page: 273

23. A divisional structure by geographic area is most appropriate when

a. organizations have similar branch facilities located in widely dispersed areas.
b. an organization offers only a limited number of products or services.
c. strict control and attention to product lines are needed.
d. an organization has many skilled managers.
e. the firm serves one geographic area.

Ans: a Page: 273

24. What is the most complex form of organizational structure?

 a. Divisional
b. SBU
c. Matrix
d. Functional
e. Geographic

Ans: c Page: 275

25. Which organizational structure has ambiguous roles for senior executives as a major disadvantage?
a. functional
b. divisional
c. strategic business unit (SBU)
d. matrix
e. process

Ans: c Page: 276

26. When developing an organizational chart, you should:

a. Recommend dual titles for executives
b. Use the title “president” for the top person
c. Make sure that the chief financial officer is not at the same level as the chief operating officer
d. Have division presidents report to a chief operating officer
e. Have the controller or treasurer report directly to the president

Ans: d Page 277

Restructuring, Reengineering and E-Engineering

27. Restructuring is also referred to as

a. starting over.
b. delayering.
c. diversifying.
d. job security.
e. integrating.

Ans: b Page: 278

28. Which of these involves comparing a firm against the best firms in the industry on a wide variety of
performance-related criteria?
a. Restructuring
b. Process redesign
c. Reengineering
d. Delayering
e. Benchmarking

Ans: e Page: 279

29. The primary benefit sought from restructuring is

a. employee involvement.
b. cost reduction.
c. increased morale.
d. increased number of hierarchical levels in the organization.
e. increased innovation.

Ans: b Page: 279

Managing Resistance to Change

30. What change strategy involves giving orders and enforcing those orders?
 a. self-interest
b. educative
c. force
d. rational
e. diffusion

Ans: c Page: 283

31. Resistance to change can manifest itself through

a. absenteeism.
b. sabotaging production machines.
c. filing unfounded grievances.
d. unwillingness to cooperate.
e. all of the above.

Ans: e Page: 283

32. A change strategy that attempts to convince people the change is to their personal advantage is
a. diffusion.
b. force.
c. educative.
d. rational.
e. compromise.

Ans: d Page: 283-284

Creating a Strategy-Supportive Culture

33. Formal statements of organizational philosophy, charters, creeds, materials used for recruitment and
selection and socialization help an organization
a. abide by SEC laws.
b. link culture to strategy.
c. set guidelines for firing.
d. increase profits.
e. manage conflicts between stakeholders.

Ans: b Page: 287

34. Which strategy could be best defined as an effective, multi-method technique of studying and altering a
firm’s culture?
a. Benchmarking
b. Delivering
c. Triangulation
d. Process management
e. Educative change strategy

Ans: c Page: 287