Question 1

Which of the following does NOT exemplify a policy or procedure that facilitates strategy execution?

Accepted Answer

A)   a nonprofit agency that addresses only specific societal problems through public services
B)   a toy manufacturing company that plans on reaching three different segments of the market
C)   a fast food joint that has an onsite kindergarten and provides afterschool programs for its employees' children
D)   a sporting goods seller that monitors consumers' preferences for gear and accessories on its blog
E)   a bedding linen manufacturing company that recycles its water to cool the machines in the factoryF) A) and B)
G) All of the above

Question 2

Building organizational bridges with external allies is aided by

Accepted Answer

A)   appointing "relationship managers" and giving them responsibility for making particular strategic partnerships or alliances generate the intended benefits.
B)   agreeing with allies to meet frequently and make all decisions pertaining to the alliance on the basis of mutual agreement and consensus.
C)   getting each strategic ally to agree to appoint someone as head of the collaborative effort and to give that person the authority to enforce tight coordination of joint activities.
D)   forming a 50-50 joint venture with each strategic partner, and then assigning people to the joint venture that has the authority and responsibility to enforce tight coordination.
E)   entering into a written agreement detailing the roles and responsibilities of the company and the ally/partner, setting forth the results that are expected, establishing deadlines for achieving these results, and designating the people who are to be responsible for making the collaborative effort work successfully.F) D) and E)
G) C) and E)

Question 3

One of the big weaknesses of organization structures that do not have cross-business collaboration is

Accepted Answer

A)   making it hard to effectively empower employees.
B)   making it difficult to have closely related activities report to a single executive.
C)   that pieces of strategically relevant activities and capabilities often end up scattered across many departments, with each pursuing its own priorities, projects, and agendas.
D)   impeding the use of outsourcing.
E)   making it hard to fix managerial accountability for poor results.F) A) and C)
G) B) and C)

Question 4

Identify four tactics that are common among companies dedicated to staffing jobs with the best people they can find.

Accepted Answer

Tactics common among companies dedicated...

Question 5

What is meant by empowerment of employees? How does it differ from delegation of authority? In what ways can empowerment of employees aid the cause of good strategy execution?

Accepted Answer

The case for empowering down-the-line ma...

Question 6

While ultimate responsibility for implementing and executing strategy falls upon the shoulders of senior executives

Accepted Answer

A)   top-level managers still have to rely on the active support and cooperation of middle and lower-level managers in pushing needed changes in functional areas and operating units.
B)   the pivotal and most decisive strategy-implementing actions are carried out by frontline supervisors who have the day-to-day responsibility of seeing that key activities are done properly.
C)   it is a company's employees who most determine whether the drive for good strategy execution will succeed or fail.
D)   the success or failure of the implementation/execution effort hinges chiefly on doing an effective job of empowering employees to make day-to-day operating decisions that support good strategy execution.
E)   the success or failure of the implementation/execution effort hinges chiefly on a company's reward system and whether its policies and procedures are strategy-supportive.F) A) and E)
G) B) and E)

Question 7

Which of the following statements about recruiting and retaining capable employees is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)   The quality of an organization's people is always an essential ingredient if critical value chain activities are to be performed competently.
B)   Recruiting and retaining capable employees is a particularly important organization-building tasks in enterprises where superior intellectual capital is a key resource and also a basis for competitive advantage.
C)   Recruiting and retaining capable employees are usually much more important to good strategy execution and the achievement of true operating excellence than is assembling a capable top management team.
D)   It is very difficult for a company to competently execute its strategy and achieve operating excellence without a large band of capable employees who are actively engaged in the process of making ongoing operating improvements.
E)   In many industries, adding to a company's talent base and building intellectual capital are more important to good strategy execution than additional investments in plants, equipment, and capital projects.F) B) and C)
G) A) and E)

Question 8

The implementation process is likely to be hampered by missed deadlines, misdirected efforts, and managerial ineptness if

Accepted Answer

A)   a capable results-oriented management team is not in place.
B)   the personnel have different management styles.
C)   top managers start asking tough, incisive questions.
D)   important details require attention.
E)   an additional investment in capital projects is required.F) A) and D)
G) C) and D)

Question 9

When it is difficult or impossible to out-strategize rivals (beat them with a superior strategy) , the other main avenue to competitive advantage is to

Accepted Answer

A)   do a better job of empowering employees and flattening the organization structure.
B)   outcompete rivals with a stronger corporate culture.
C)   out-execute them (beat them by performing certain value chain activities in superior fashion) .
D)   beat them with a healthy corporate culture based on such core values as high ethical standards, a strong sense of corporate social responsibility, and genuine concern for customer well-being.
E)   institute a more motivating and cost-efficient compensation and reward system.F) C) and D)
G) B) and C)

Question 10

Larger firms with more complex organizational structures are

Accepted Answer

A)   less decentralized in their decision making than smaller firms.
B)   more decentralized in their decision making than smaller firms.
C)   less decentralized in their decision making than larger firms with simpler structures.
D)   more centralized in their decision making than smaller firms.
E)   not decentralized due to their operating size.F) None of the above
G) B) and D)

Question 11

Which of the following statements falsely characterizes the managerial task of executing strategy?

Accepted Answer

A)   Executing strategy is an action-oriented, make-things-happen task.
B)   Executing strategy tests a manager's ability to direct organizational change, achieve continuous improvement in operations and business processes, create and nurture a strategy-supportive culture, and consistently meet or beat performance targets.
C)   Implementing new strategic initiatives principally involves employing managerial techniques to overcome resistance to change.
D)   Executing strategy requires a team effort which entails that every manager think through the answer to "What does my area have to do to implement its part of the strategic plan, and what should I do to get these things accomplished effectively and efficiently?"
E)   Implementing and executing strategy is primarily an operations-driven activity revolving around the management of people and business processes.F) B) and D)
G) None of the above

Question 12

When an organization is referred to as a line and staff structure or a flat structure, it is normally considered a

Accepted Answer

A)   simple structure.
B)   functional structure.
C)   matrix structure.
D)   multidivisional structure.
E)   departmental structure.F) A) and B)
G) C) and D)

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT among the principal managerial components of the strategy execution process?

Accepted Answer

A)   building an organization with the competencies, capabilities, and resource strengths needed to execute strategy successfully
B)   instituting policies and procedures that facilitate rather than impede strategy execution
C)   deciding which core competencies and value chain activities to leave as is and which ones to overhaul and improve
D)   adopting best practices and pushing for continuous improvement in how value chain activities are performed
E)   tying rewards directly to the achievement of strategic and financial targets and to good strategy executionF) A) and B)
G) A) and C)

Question 14

A firm's organizational structure is comprised of

Accepted Answer

A)   resource strengths and competitive capabilities that allow it to incorporate attributes at lower costs than rivals whose products have similar attributes.
B)   the formal and informal arrangement of tasks, responsibilities, lines of authority, and reporting relationships by which the firm is administered.
C)   excellent marketing and sales skills to convince buyers to pay a premium price for the attributes/features incorporated in its product.
D)   sustainable distinctive competencies to ensure cost reduction and competitiveness.
E)   a number of independent functional units involved in some common undertaking, with one unit typically in a more central role.F) C) and D)
G) All of the above

Question 15

The overriding aim in building a management team should be to

Accepted Answer

A)   ensure oversight of every step of the value chain.
B)   assemble a critical mass of talented managers who can function as agents of change, work well together as a team, and produce organizational results that are dramatically better than what one or two star managers acting individually can achieve.
C)   choose managers experienced in gathering competitive intelligence.
D)   select people who have similar management styles, leadership approaches, business philosophies, and personalities.
E)   choose managers who are competent in executing a strategy to keep a company's costs lower than rivals and become the industry's low-cost leader.F) A) and B)
G) D) and E)

Question 16

A decentralized organizational structure is more likely to further the cause of good strategy execution than is a centralized organization structure. True or false? Justify your answer.

Accepted Answer

Decentralized organizational structures ...

Question 17

In which of the following steps does updating the company's capabilities to match changing market conditions and customer expectations take place?

Accepted Answer

A)   staffing the organization
B)   recruiting and retaining talented employees
C)   acquiring, developing, and strengthening key resources and capabilities
D)   organizing value chain activities and business processes
E)   structuring the organization and work effortF) C) and D)
G) B) and E)

Question 18

Management's handling of the strategy implementation/execution process can be considered successful

Accepted Answer

A)   when the internal organization develops two or more core competencies in performing value chain activities.
B)   if and when the company meets or beats its performance targets and shows good progress in achieving its strategic vision for the company.
C)   if the company's culture is strong and strategy-supportive.
D)   if management is able to marshal adequate resources to put the strategy in place within 6 to 12 months.
E)   if managers and employees express strong support for the company's strategy and long-term direction.F) A) and B)
G) A) and D)

Question 19

Who has strategy execution responsibility and who is ultimately responsible for making sure that the task of implementing and executing the strategy goes well?

Accepted Answer

Like crafting strategy, executing strate...

Question 20

Managerial actions to develop core competencies and competitive capabilities internally generally take one of two forms. What are they?

Accepted Answer

A)   either strengthening the company's base of skills, knowledge, and experience or coordinating and integrating the efforts of various work groups and departments
B)   either putting in high incentive bonuses to reward individual employees who train hard to develop the desired capability or launching an extensive training effort to develop the capability quickly with newly hired employees
C)   either using benchmarking and the adoption of best practices to imitate a capability that rivals have already developed or empowering a team of employees to develop the capability however they best see fit
D)   either using developed dynamic capabilities or acquiring the capability from outside sources
E)   either by enforcing close cross-business collaboration or by centralizing the performance of functions requiring close coordination at the corporate levelF) C) and E)
G) A) and E)

Exam 10: Building an Organization Capable of Good Strategy Execution

Which of the following is NOT among the principal managerial components of the strategy execution process?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements about recruiting and retaining capable employees is FALSE?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements falsely characterizes the managerial task of executing strategy?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Identify four tactics that are common among companies dedicated to staffing jobs with the best people they can find.

Correct AnswerverifiedTactics common among companies dedicated...View AnswerShow Answer

The implementation process is likely to be hampered by missed deadlines, misdirected efforts, and managerial ineptness if

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In which of the following steps does updating the company's capabilities to match changing market conditions and customer expectations take place?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When an organization is referred to as a line and staff structure or a flat structure, it is normally considered a

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Larger firms with more complex organizational structures are

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

One of the big weaknesses of organization structures that do not have cross-business collaboration is

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A firm's organizational structure is comprised of

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is meant by empowerment of employees? How does it differ from delegation of authority? In what ways can empowerment of employees aid the cause of good strategy execution?

Correct AnswerverifiedThe case for empowering down-the-line ma...View AnswerShow Answer

Managerial actions to develop core competencies and competitive capabilities internally generally take one of two forms. What are they?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following does NOT exemplify a policy or procedure that facilitates strategy execution?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Management's handling of the strategy implementation/execution process can be considered successful

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Who has strategy execution responsibility and who is ultimately responsible for making sure that the task of implementing and executing the strategy goes well?

Correct AnswerverifiedLike crafting strategy, executing strate...View AnswerShow Answer

While ultimate responsibility for implementing and executing strategy falls upon the shoulders of senior executives

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The overriding aim in building a management team should be to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Building organizational bridges with external allies is aided by

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A decentralized organizational structure is more likely to further the cause of good strategy execution than is a centralized organization structure. True or false? Justify your answer.

Correct AnswerverifiedDecentralized organizational structures ...View AnswerShow Answer

When it is difficult or impossible to out-strategize rivals (beat them with a superior strategy) , the other main avenue to competitive advantage is to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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Tactics common among companies dedicated...
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The case for empowering down-the-line ma...
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Like crafting strategy, executing strate...
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Decentralized organizational structures ...
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