MCQ-Strategic Management

Please select the most appropriate answer (only one) and write down your answer in the sheet itself.
1. The pie slices within the circles of a _________ reveal the percent of corporate profits contributed by each division. a. QSPM b. BCG Matrix c. SPACE Matrix d. Grand Strategy Matrix

2. All of the following are stated advantages of a divisional structure except a. it allows local control of local situations. b. it leads to a competitive climate within a firm. c. accountability is clear. d. it promotes specialization of labor.

3. __________ approach involves delivering parts and materials as needed rather than being stockpiled a. JIT b. MBO c. PERT d. CAD-CAM

4. In a large organization, strategic management activities occur at what level(s)? a. Corporate and divisional only b. Divisional c. Strategic business unit only d. Functional, divisional, and corporate

5. Conducting research, integrating intuition with analysis, and making decisions are all __________ activities. a. strategy-formulation b. strategy-implementation c. long-range planning d. short-range planning

6. What are core competences? a. Resources which critically underpin competitive advantage and that others cannot easily obtain. b. Activities and processes needed to meet customers' minimum requirements and therefore to continue to exist. c. Key skills required for success in a particular business. d. Financial capability of an organization

7. The value chain attempts to identify those activities which add value to: a. The organisation's stakeholders. b. The senior strategic managers in the organisation. c. The organisation's shareholders. d. The customer or final user.

8. The value chain is composed of primary & support activities. Which answer below provides the correct components for primary activities? a. Service, human resource management, marketing & sales, operations and outbound logistics. b. Marketing & Sales, Operations, Outbound Logistics and Service. c. Procurement, Firm Infrastructure, Human Resource Management, Technology Development and Marketing & Sales. d. Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing & Sales and Service.

9. Competitive advantage through linkages between the organisation and its value network can be achieved by: a. Vertical integration. b. Adopting common quality standards internally and externally (with suppliers). c. Examining supplier specifications, common merchandising, applying quality management principles or by collaborating with other organisations in the form of strategic alliances or joint ventures. d. Outsourcing customer service to India.

10. Cost efficiency is determined by which of the following drivers? a. Supply Costs, Experience, Product/Process Design and Economies of Scale. b. Supply Costs & Economies of Scale. c. Product/Process Design and Economies of Scale. d. Experience.

11. Which types of organisational knowledge is a source of competitive advantage? a. Explicit knowledge which is classified and formalised in a planned and systematic way. b. Personal knowledge which is hard to communicate and formalise. c. Customer databases, market research reports, management reports. d. Collective and shared experience accumulated through systems, routines and activities of sharing across the organisation.

12. In the resource-based view of strategy, what type of strategic capabilities are the sources of sustainable competitive advantage? a. Unique resources and core competences. b. Dynamic capabilities. c. Operational excellence. d. Strategic capabilities which are valuable to buyers, rare, robust and non-substitutable.

13. What are the three criteria for the robustness of strategic capability? a. Core competences, unique resources and dynamic capabilities. b. Complexity, causal ambiguity and value to customers. c. Complexity, causal ambiguity and rarity. d. Complexity, causal ambiguity and culture/history.

14. Industry/sector benchmarking compares: a. Organisational performance between firms/public sector organisations in different industries or sectors. b. Organisational performance between firms/public sector organisations in the same industry or sector. c. Organisational performance between firms/public sector organisations in different countries. d. Organisational performance between different divisions of the firm.

15. The purpose of a SWOT analysis is to analyse: a. The business environment in which an organisation operates. b. The strategic capability of an organisation. c. The business environment and the strategic capability of an organisation relative to its competitors. d. External and organisational environments.

16. Knowledge that exists in an organization but is difficult to write down and codify is known as: a. Explicit knowledge b. Tacit knowledge c. Virtual knowledge d. Ambiguous knowledge

17. Tacit knowledge is seen as important feature of competitive advantage in which approach to strategy? a. Resource-based view of the firm

b. Competitive positioning approach c. Industrial organization d. Evolutionary approach

18. If a resource is 'inimitable' a competitor finds it: a. Easy to copy b. Easy to acquire c. Easy to copy and easy to acquire d. Difficult to copy

19. The likelihood of entry of new competitors is affected by ________ and ________. a. the profitability of the industry; the market share of its leading firm b. the profitability of the industry; the market share of its leading firm c. barriers to entry; expected retaliation of current industry organizations d. the demand for the product; the profitability of the competitors

20. The existence of high exit barriers such as ownership of specialised assets (e.g., large aircraft) in the airline industry leads to: a. firms leaving the industry quickly when return on capital becomes low or negative. b. firms remaining in the industry when return on capital is high. c. firms leaving the industry quickly when return on capital is high. d. firms remaining in the industry when return on capital becomes low or negative.

21. Competitor intelligence is: a. legally or illegally-gained data about competitors' internal strategic processes, capabilities and competitive decisions. b. strategic information gathered by competitors of an organization, which the organization has tried to keep confidential

c. strategic information gained from industrial espionage targeting international competitors of the organization. d. strategic information gained from industrial espionage targeting international competitors of the organization.

22. An analysis of the economic segment of the external environment would include all of the following EXCEPT: a. interest rates. b. population structure. c. international trade. d. exchange rate analysis.

23. The essential question that a corporate parent needs to ask is all except: a. Is it profitable b. How does it achieve a balanced portfolio c. How does it achieve synergies across business units d. How related should its business units be

24. What is the main reason why organizations enter alliances? a. To find out how the other organization works, and copy it b. To obtain synergies between other organizations' resources and their own c. To increase their capacity to learn d. Because they have not enough cash to acquire the other organization

25. Which of the following is NOT an important element to look for when selecting an alliance partner? a. Very similar culture and resources b. Compatible expectations and objectives c. They should have as much to lose as you do if the alliance fails d. Resources that complement your own

26. Profit Strategy is: a. Artificially support profit when sales are declining b. Ensuring profit at all costs c. Generating profit thorugh sale of assets

27. Diversification in related industry is called: a. Concentric b. Conglomerate c. Business

28. The degree of vertical integration where key inputs are owned by the organization and rest are outsourced is called: a. Quasi integration b. Full integration c. Taper integration c. Long term contract

29. Kinetic Honda company was an example of _______________________ in strategic Management.

30. What would be the most likely generic strategy for Maharaja White line company. a. Focus b. Low cost c. Differentiation

Answer Key 1(b), 2(b), 3(a), 4(d), 5(a), 6(a), 7(d), 8(d), 9(b), 10(a), 11(d), 12(d), 13(a), 14(b), 15(c), 16(b), 17(a), 18(d), 19(c), 20(d), 21(a), 22(b), 23(a), 24(b), 25(a), 26(a), 27(a), 28(c), 29(Strategic alliance), 30(b).