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Chapter 1 Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages
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1) Lands' End's failure under the leadership of Ms. Frederica Marchionni was said to be a direct
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result of the quality of her leadership. According to the text, this would be an example of the
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"romantic" perspective of leadership.
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Answer: TRUE e r d
Explanation: In the romantic view of leadership, the implicit assumption is that the leader is the
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key force in determining an organization's success or lack thereof. Under Ms. Marchionni's
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leadership, the company reported a 19.5-million-dollar loss for 2016 after having reported a
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73.8-million-dollar profit for the previous year under its previous CEO.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Strategy and the Strategic Management Process
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Learning Objective: 01-01 The definition of strategic management and its four key attributes.
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Bloom's: Understand
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AACSB: Analytical Thinking e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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2) Strategic management consists of the analyses, decisions, and actions an organization
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undertakes in order to create and sustain competitive advantages.
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Answer: TRUE e r d
Explanation: According to the textbook, this is the definition of strategic management.
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Difficulty: 1 Easy
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Topic: Strategy and the Strategic Management Process
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Learning Objective: 01-01 The definition of strategic management and its four key attributes.
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Bloom's: Remember
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AACSB: Knowledge Application e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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3) Management innovations such as total quality, just-in-time, benchmarking, business process
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reengineering, and outsourcing are important but not enough for building sustainable competitive
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advantage.
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Answer: TRUE e r d
Explanation: Sustainable competitive advantage cannot be achieved through operational
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effectiveness alone. Popular management innovations of the last two decades like total quality,
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just-in-time, benchmarking, business process reengineering, and outsourcing are concerned with
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operational effectiveness.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Strategy and the Strategic Management Process
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Learning Objective: 01-01 The definition of strategic management and its four key attributes.
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Bloom's: Understand
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AACSB: Analytical Thinking e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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4) Trade-off decisions between effectiveness and efficiency are important in the practice of
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,strategic management. erd
Answer: TRUE e r d
Explanation: The fourth attribute of strategic management is that it involves the recognition of
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trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency. Some authors have referred to this as the
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difference between doing the right thing (effectiveness) and doing things right (efficiency).
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Strategy and the Strategic Management Process
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Learning Objective: 01-01 The definition of strategic management and its four key attributes.
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Bloom's: Understand
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AACSB: Analytical Thinking e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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5) According to Henry Mintzberg, a management scholar, most firms do not realize their original
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intended strategy.
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Answer: TRUE e r d
Explanation: Henry Mintzberg states that the intended strategy rarely survives in its original
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form. Unforeseen environmental developments, unanticipated resource constraints, or changes in
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managerial preferences may result in at least some parts of the intended strategy remaining
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unrealized. On the other hand, good managers will want to take advantage of a new opportunity
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presented by the environment, even if it was not part of the original set of intentions.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Strategy and the Strategic Management Process
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Learning Objective: 01-02 The strategic management process and its three interrelated and
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principal activities.
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Bloom's: Understand e r d
AACSB: Analytical
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Thinking
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Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation e r d erd
6) The final realized strategy of a firm is a combination of deliberate and time-tested strategies
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only.
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Answer: FALSE e r d
Explanation: Realized strategy is that strategy of a firm in which organizational decisions are
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determined by both analysis and unforeseen environmental developments, unanticipated resource
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constraints, and/or changes in managerial preferences.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Strategy and the Strategic Management Process
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Learning Objective: 01-02 The strategic management process and its three interrelated and
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principal activities.
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Bloom's: Understand e r d
AACSB: Knowledge Application e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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,7) Strategy analysis is the study of only the big picture external environments of the firm.
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Answer: FALSE e r d
Explanation: Strategy analysis is the study of the external and internal environments of a firm,
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and their fit with organizational vision and goals.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Strategy and the Strategic Management Process
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Learning Objective: 01-02 The strategic management process and its three interrelated and
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principal activities.
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Bloom's: Understand e r d
AACSB: Knowledge Application e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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8) All successful firms compete and outperform their rivals by developing bases for competitive
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advantage, which can be achieved only through cost leadership.
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Answer: FALSE e r d
Explanation: Successful firms strive to develop bases for competitive advantage, which can be
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achieved through cost leadership and/or differentiation as well as by focusing on a narrow or
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industrywide market segment.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Strategy and the Strategic Management Process
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Learning Objective: 01-02 The strategic management process and its three interrelated and
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principal activities.
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Bloom's: Understand e r d
AACSB: Analytical
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Thinking
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Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation e r d erd
9) The three primary participants in corporate governance are: (1) the shareholders, (2) the
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management (led by the chief executive officer), and (3) the employees.
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Answer: FALSE e r d
Explanation: The primary participants are: (1) the shareholders, (2) the management (led by the
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chief executive officer), and (3) the board of directors.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Corporate Governance
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Learning Objective: 01-03 The strategic role of corporate governance and stakeholder
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management, as well as how "symbiosis" can be achieved among an organization's stakeholders.
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Bloom's: Understand
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AACSB: Knowledge Application e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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, 10) Decisions by boards of directors are always consistent with shareholder interests.
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Answer: FALSE e r d
Explanation: The board of directors (BOD) are the elected representatives of the shareholders,
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charged with ensuring that the interests and motives of management are aligned with those of the
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owners (i.e., shareholders). Recent scandals have resulted in criticism and cynicism that the BOD
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fulfills this charge.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Corporate Governance
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Learning Objective: 01-03 The strategic role of corporate governance and stakeholder
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management, as well as how "symbiosis" can be achieved among an organization's stakeholders.
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Bloom's: Understand
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AACSB: Analytical Thinking e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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11) Ensuring effective corporate governance requires an effective and engaged board of
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directors, uninvolved shareholders, and proper managerial rewards and incentives.
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Answer: FALSE e r d
Explanation: We focus on three important mechanisms to ensure effective corporate
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governance: (1) an effective and engaged board of directors, (2) shareholder activism, and (3)
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proper managerial rewards and incentives.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Corporate Governance
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Learning Objective: 01-03 The strategic role of corporate governance and stakeholder
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management, as well as how "symbiosis" can be achieved among an organization's stakeholders.
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Bloom's: Understand
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AACSB: Analytical Thinking e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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12) Social responsibility is the idea that organizations are only accountable to stockholders.
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Answer: FALSE e r d
Explanation: Social responsibility is the expectation that businesses or individuals will strive to
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improve the overall welfare of society. From the perspective of a business, this means that
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managers must take active steps to make society better by virtue of the business being in
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existence.
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Difficulty: 2 Medium erd erd
Topic: Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability
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Learning Objective: 01-04 The importance of social responsibility, including environmental
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sustainability, and how it can enhance a corporation's innovation strategy.
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Bloom's: Analyze e r d
AACSB: Analytical Thinking e r d erd
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
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