n n n
CASES, 9E (DESS)
n n n
CHAPTER 1 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT:
n n n
CREATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
n n n
1) Lands' nEnd's nfailure nunder nthe nleadership nof nMs. nFrederica nMarchionni nwas nsaid
nto nbe na ndirect nresult n of nthe nquality nof nher nleadership. nAccording nto nthe ntext, n this
nwould nbe nan nexample nof nthe n"romantic" nperspective nof nleadership.
Answer: n TRUE
Explanation: n In nthe nromantic nview nof nleadership, nthe nimplicit nassumption nis nthat
nthe nleader nis nthe nkey nforce nin ndetermining nan norganization's n success nor nlack
nthereof. nUnder nMs. nMarchionni's nleadership, nthe ncompany nreported na n19.5-million-
dollar nloss nfor n2016 nafter nhaving nreported na n73.8-million-dollar nprofit nfor nthe
nprevious nyear nunder nits nprevious n CEO.
Difficulty: n2 nMedium
Topic: n Strategy nand nthe nStrategic nManagement nProcess
Learning nObjective: n 01-01 nThe ndefinition nof nstrategic nmanagement nand nits nfour nkey
nattributes. nBloom's: n Understand
AACSB: n Analytical nThinking
nAccessibility: n Keyboard
nNavigation
2) Strategic nmanagement nconsists nof nthe nanalyses, ndecisions, nand nactions nan
norganization nundertakes nin norder nto ncreate n and nsustain ncompetitive
nadvantages.
Answer: n TRUE
Explanation: n According nto nthe ntextbook, nthis nis nthe ndefinition nof nstrategic
nmanagement. nDifficulty: n1 nEasy
Topic: n Strategy nand nthe nStrategic nManagement nProcess
Learning nObjective: n 01-01 nThe ndefinition nof nstrategic nmanagement nand nits nfour nkey
nattributes. nBloom's: n Remember
AACSB: n Knowledge nApplication
nAccessibility: n Keyboard
nNavigation
3) Management ninnovations nsuch nas ntotal nquality, njust-in-time, nbenchmarking,
nbusiness nprocess nreengineering, nand noutsourcing nare nimportant nbut nnot nenough nfor
nbuilding nsustainable ncompetitive nadvantage.
Answer: n TRUE
Explanation: n Sustainable ncompetitive nadvantage ncannot nbe nachieved nthrough
noperational neffectiveness nalone. nPopular nmanagement ninnovations nof nthe nlast ntwo
ndecades nlike ntotal nquality, njust-in-time, nbenchmarking, nbusiness nprocess
nreengineering, nand noutsourcing nare nconcerned nwith noperational neffectiveness.
Difficulty: n2 nMedium
,Topic: n Strategy nand nthe nStrategic nManagement nProcess
Learning nObjective: n 01-01 nThe ndefinition nof nstrategic nmanagement nand nits nfour nkey
nattributes. nBloom's: n Understand
AACSB: n Analytical nThinking
nAccessibility: n Keyboard
nNavigation
4) Trade-off ndecisions nbetween neffectiveness nand nefficiency nare nimportant nin nthe
npractice nof
,strategic nmanagement.
Answer: n TRUE
Explanation: n The nfourth nattribute nof nstrategic nmanagement nis nthat nit ninvolves nthe
nrecognition nof ntrade-offs nbetween neffectiveness nand nefficiency. nSome nauthors nhave
nreferred nto nthis nas n the ndifference nbetween ndoing nthe nright nthing n(effectiveness)
nand ndoing nthings nright n(efficiency).
Difficulty: n2 nMedium
Topic: n Strategy nand nthe nStrategic nManagement nProcess
Learning nObjective: n 01-01 nThe ndefinition nof nstrategic nmanagement nand nits nfour nkey
nattributes. nBloom's: n Understand
AACSB: n Analytical nThinking
nAccessibility: n Keyboard
nNavigation
5) According nto nHenry nMintzberg, na nmanagement nscholar, nmost nfirms ndo nnot nrealize
ntheir noriginal nintended nstrategy.
Answer: n TRUE
Explanation: n Henry nMintzberg nstates nthat nthe nintended nstrategy nrarely nsurvives nin
nits noriginal nform. nUnforeseen nenvironmental ndevelopments, nunanticipated nresource
nconstraints, nor nchanges nin nmanagerial npreferences nmay nresult nin nat nleast n some nparts
nof nthe nintended nstrategy nremaining nunrealized. nOn nthe n other nhand, ngood n managers
nwill nwant nto ntake nadvantage nof na nnew nopportunity npresented nby nthe nenvironment,
neven nif nit nwas n not npart n of nthe noriginal nset n of nintentions.
Difficulty: n2 nMedium
Topic: n Strategy nand nthe nStrategic nManagement nProcess
Learning nObjective: n 01-02 nThe nstrategic nmanagement nprocess nand nits nthree
ninterrelated nand nprincipal nactivities.
Bloom's: n Understand
nAACSB: n Analytical
nThinking
Accessibility: n Keyboard nNavigation
6) The nfinal nrealized nstrategy nof na nfirm nis na ncombination nof ndeliberate nand ntime-
tested nstrategies nonly.
Answer: n FALSE
Explanation: n Realized nstrategy nis nthat nstrategy nof na nfirm nin nwhich norganizational
ndecisions nare ndetermined nby nboth nanalysis nand nunforeseen nenvironmental
ndevelopments, nunanticipated nresource nconstraints, nand/or nchanges nin n managerial
npreferences.
Difficulty: n2 nMedium
Topic: n Strategy nand nthe nStrategic nManagement nProcess
Learning nObjective: n 01-02 nThe nstrategic nmanagement nprocess nand nits nthree
ninterrelated nand nprincipal nactivities.
Bloom's: n Understand
AACSB: n Knowledge nApplication
nAccessibility: n Keyboard
nNavigation
, 7) Strategy nanalysis nis nthe nstudy nof nonly nthe nbig npicture nexternal nenvironments nof nthe
nfirm.
Answer: n FALSE
Explanation: n Strategy nanalysis nis nthe nstudy nof nthe nexternal nand ninternal
nenvironments nof na nfirm, nand ntheir nfit nwith n organizational nvision nand ngoals.
Difficulty: n2 nMedium
Topic: n Strategy nand nthe nStrategic nManagement nProcess
Learning nObjective: n 01-02 nThe nstrategic nmanagement nprocess nand nits nthree
ninterrelated nand nprincipal nactivities.
Bloom's: n Understand
AACSB: n Knowledge nApplication
nAccessibility: n Keyboard
nNavigation
8) All nsuccessful nfirms ncompete nand noutperform ntheir nrivals nby ndeveloping nbases
nfor ncompetitive nadvantage, nwhich n can nbe nachieved nonly nthrough ncost nleadership.
Answer: n FALSE
Explanation: n Successful nfirms nstrive nto ndevelop nbases nfor ncompetitive nadvantage,
nwhich ncan nbe nachieved nthrough n cost nleadership nand/or ndifferentiation nas nwell nas nby
nfocusing non na nnarrow nor nindustrywide nmarket nsegment.
Difficulty: n2 nMedium
Topic: n Strategy nand nthe nStrategic nManagement nProcess
Learning nObjective: n 01-02 nThe nstrategic nmanagement nprocess nand nits nthree
ninterrelated nand nprincipal nactivities.
Bloom's: n Understand
nAACSB: n Analytical
nThinking
Accessibility: n Keyboard nNavigation
9) The nthree nprimary nparticipants nin ncorporate ngovernance nare: n(1) nthe
nshareholders, n(2) nthe nmanagement n(led nby nthe nchief nexecutive nofficer), nand n(3)
nthe nemployees.
Answer: n FALSE
Explanation: n The nprimary nparticipants nare: n(1) nthe nshareholders, n(2) nthe nmanagement
n(led nby nthe nchief nexecutive nofficer), nand n(3) nthe nboard nof ndirectors.
Difficulty: n2 nMedium
Topic: n Corporate nGovernance
Learning nObjective: n 01-03 nThe nstrategic nrole nof ncorporate ngovernance nand
nstakeholder nmanagement, nas nwell nas nhow n"symbiosis" ncan nbe nachieved namong nan
norganization's nstakeholders. nBloom's: n Understand
AACSB: n Knowledge nApplication
nAccessibility: n Keyboard
nNavigation