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MGT 8803: Business strategy
Questions and Answers Latest 2026
Strategic group Ans: the set of companies that pursue a
similar business model and strategy within a specific
industry
Strategic Planning Ans: Long-term, broad planning driven
by the organization's mission, vision, and values, focused
on achieving overall goals and competitive advantage.
Tactical Planning Ans: Short-term, narrow planning
focused on specific activities and resource allocation to
implement functional plans.
Functional Planning Ans: Strategic planning at the level
of specific departments or functions within a business
unit (e.g., marketing, finance, operations).
Competitive Parity Ans: A situation where a firm's
performance is equal to the average of its competitors.
Differentiation Ans: A competitive strategy that aims to
create unique value for customers, allowing the firm to
charge a premium price.
Focus Strategy Ans: A competitive strategy that
concentrates on a narrow market segment and pursues
either a cost leadership or differentiation strategy within
that niche.
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S.M.A.R.T. Goals Ans: Goals that are Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
SWOT Analysis Ans: A framework that combines the
analysis of a firm's internal Strengths and Weaknesses
with external Opportunities and Threats to inform
strategy formulation.
Residual uncertainty Ans: The uncertainty that remains
after all feasible analysis has been conducted; the truly
unknowable.
Open innovation Ans: An approach to innovation where a
firm collaborates with external partners and shares
intellectual property to accelerate development and
adoption.
PESTEL Analysis Ans: Framework analyzing Political,
Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technological, Ecological, and
Legal factors.
How do strategic and tactical plans differ? Ans: Strategic
plans are long-term, broad, and developed at senior
levels, focusing on overall direction.
Tactical plans are short-term, narrow, and developed at
lower levels, concentrating on specific actions to
implement strategic goals.
T or F: Functional plans are strategic plans that are
developed within specific departments. Ans: True
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3 components of a business model Ans: (1) value delivery
(how customers are reached and served)
(2) value creation (how the product/service is made),
(3) value capture (how the firm makes money).
What is the primary aim in cost leadership? Ans: the
lowest costs in a broad market (e.g., Walmart).
Differentiation vs Focus approach Ans: When a company
seeks to offer unique value at a premium price in a broad
market (e.g., Apple). Focus targets a narrow niche with
either cost leadership or differentiation (e.g., Rolex).
What type of planning works well in a stable
environment? Ans: top-down
What type of planning works well in a unstable
environment? Ans: flexible methods like scenario
planning, which develops strategies for multiple plausible
futures
What are some examples of political variables in PESTEL?
Ans: -subsidies
-favorable tax policies
-pricing controls
-regulated access
-grants
© 2025 All rights reserved
MGT 8803: Business strategy
Questions and Answers Latest 2026
Strategic group Ans: the set of companies that pursue a
similar business model and strategy within a specific
industry
Strategic Planning Ans: Long-term, broad planning driven
by the organization's mission, vision, and values, focused
on achieving overall goals and competitive advantage.
Tactical Planning Ans: Short-term, narrow planning
focused on specific activities and resource allocation to
implement functional plans.
Functional Planning Ans: Strategic planning at the level
of specific departments or functions within a business
unit (e.g., marketing, finance, operations).
Competitive Parity Ans: A situation where a firm's
performance is equal to the average of its competitors.
Differentiation Ans: A competitive strategy that aims to
create unique value for customers, allowing the firm to
charge a premium price.
Focus Strategy Ans: A competitive strategy that
concentrates on a narrow market segment and pursues
either a cost leadership or differentiation strategy within
that niche.
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 2 | Page
S.M.A.R.T. Goals Ans: Goals that are Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
SWOT Analysis Ans: A framework that combines the
analysis of a firm's internal Strengths and Weaknesses
with external Opportunities and Threats to inform
strategy formulation.
Residual uncertainty Ans: The uncertainty that remains
after all feasible analysis has been conducted; the truly
unknowable.
Open innovation Ans: An approach to innovation where a
firm collaborates with external partners and shares
intellectual property to accelerate development and
adoption.
PESTEL Analysis Ans: Framework analyzing Political,
Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technological, Ecological, and
Legal factors.
How do strategic and tactical plans differ? Ans: Strategic
plans are long-term, broad, and developed at senior
levels, focusing on overall direction.
Tactical plans are short-term, narrow, and developed at
lower levels, concentrating on specific actions to
implement strategic goals.
T or F: Functional plans are strategic plans that are
developed within specific departments. Ans: True
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 3 | Page
3 components of a business model Ans: (1) value delivery
(how customers are reached and served)
(2) value creation (how the product/service is made),
(3) value capture (how the firm makes money).
What is the primary aim in cost leadership? Ans: the
lowest costs in a broad market (e.g., Walmart).
Differentiation vs Focus approach Ans: When a company
seeks to offer unique value at a premium price in a broad
market (e.g., Apple). Focus targets a narrow niche with
either cost leadership or differentiation (e.g., Rolex).
What type of planning works well in a stable
environment? Ans: top-down
What type of planning works well in a unstable
environment? Ans: flexible methods like scenario
planning, which develops strategies for multiple plausible
futures
What are some examples of political variables in PESTEL?
Ans: -subsidies
-favorable tax policies
-pricing controls
-regulated access
-grants
© 2025 All rights reserved
