A company's strategic vision concerns

A. A company's directional path and future product-market-customer-technology focus

A company's strategic vision

C. Delineates management's aspirations for the business, providing a panoramic view of "where we are going" and a convincing rationale for why this makes good business sense

Developing a strategic vision for a company entails

A. Prescribing a strategic direction for the company to pursue and a rationale for why this strategic path makes good business sense

The managerial task of developing a strategic vision for a company

D. Involves deciding upon what strategic course a company should pursue in preparing for the future and why this directional path makes good business sense

Which one of the following is not an accurate attribute of an organization's strategic vision?

E. Outlining how the company intends to implement and execute its business model

Management's strategic vision for an organization

A. Charts a strategic course for the organization ("where we are going") and provides a rationale for why this directional path makes good sense

What a company's top executives are saying about where the company is headed and about what the company's future product-customer-market-technology will be

B. Constitutes their strategic vision for the company

One of the important benefits of a well-conceived and well-stated strategic vision is to

B. Clearly communicate management's aspirations for the company to stakeholders and help steer the energies of company personnel in a common direction

The defining characteristic of a well-conceived strategic vision is

D. What it says about the company's future strategic course—"the direction we are headed and what our future product-market-customer-technology focus will be."

Which one of the following questions is not pertinent to company managers in thinking strategically about their company's directional path and developing a strategic vision?

C. What business approaches and operating practices should we consider in trying to implement and execute our business model?

Which one of the following questions is not something that company managers should consider in choosing to pursue one strategic course or directional path versus another?

E. Do we have a better business model than key rivals?

Which of the following are characteristics of an effectively-worded strategic vision statement?

A. Graphic, directional and focused

Which one of the following is not a characteristic of an effectively-worded strategic vision statement?

D. Consensus-driven (commits the company to a "mainstream" directional path that most all stakeholders will enthusiastically support)

Which of the following is not a common shortcoming of company vision statements?

B. Too narrow—doesn't leave enough room for future growth

Which of the following are common shortcomings of company vision statements?

A. Too broad, vague or incomplete, bland/uninspiring, not distinctive and too reliant on superlatives

A company's mission statement typically addresses which of the following questions?

A. "Who are we and what do we do?"

The difference between the concept of a company mission statement and the concept of a strategic vision is that

A. A mission statement typically concerns a company's present business scope ("who we are and what we do") whereas the principal concern of a strategic vision is with the company's long term direction and future product-market-customer-technology focus

The difference between a company's mission statement and the concept of a strategic vision is that

B. A mission statement typically concerns a company's present business scope and purpose whereas a strategic vision sets forth "where we are going and why."

Top management efforts to communicate the strategic vision to company personnel

B. Should be done in language that inspires and motivates company personnel to unite behind executive efforts to get the company moving in the intended direction

The task of effectively communicating the strategic vision is made easier by

E. Capturing the essence of the vision in a catchy slogan or brief phrase and then using it repeatedly as a reminder of "where we are going and why."

Effectively communicating the strategic vision down the line to lower-level managers and employees has the value of

A. Not only explaining where management is trying to take the company and what changes lie on the road ahead but, more importantly, also inspiring company personnel to unite behind managerial efforts to get the company moving in the intended direction

Perhaps the most important benefit of a vivid, engaging and convincing strategic vision is

D. Gaining wholehearted organizational support for the vision and uniting company personnel behind managerial efforts to get the company moving in the intended direction

Breaking down resistance to a new strategic vision typically requires that top management

C. Frequently reiterate the basis for the new direction at company gatherings, address employee concerns and fears head-on, try to lift the spirits of employees and provide updates and progress reports as events unfold (particularly information that confirms the wisdom of the new direction)

When there's an order of magnitude change in a company's environment that dramatically alters its prospects and mandates radical revision of its strategic course, the company is said to have encountered

B. A strategic inflection point

The payoffs of a clear vision statement do not include

A. Greater ability to avoid strategic inflection points

A company's values concern

D. The beliefs, traits and behavioral norms that company personnel are expected to display in conducting the company's business and pursuing its strategic vision and strategy

A company's values relate to such things as

C. Fair treatment, integrity, ethical behavior, innovativeness, teamwork, top-notch quality, superior customer service, social responsibility and community citizenship

Company managers connect values to the chosen strategic vision by

A. Making it clear that company personnel are expected to live up to the values in conducting the company's business and pursuing its strategic vision

Which one of the following statements concerning a company's values is inaccurate?

E. There is seldom a very wide gap between a company's stated values and the reality of how it conducts its business

The managerial purpose of setting objectives includes

E. All of these

A set of "stretch" financial and strategic objectives

B. Is an effective tool for avoiding ho-hum results

Which one of the following is not an advantage of setting "stretch" objectives?

C. Helping clarify the company's strategic vision and strategic intent

A company needs financial objectives

B. Because adequate profitability and financial strength is critical to effective pursuit of its strategic vision, as well as to its long-term health and ultimate survival—weak earnings and a weak balance sheet alarm shareholders and creditors and put executives' jobs at risk

Which of the following is the best example of a well-stated financial objective?

A. Increase earnings per share by 15% annually

Which of the following is the best example of a well-stated strategic objective?

C. Overtake key competitors on product quality within three years

Strategic objectives

D. Relate to strengthening a company's overall business and competitive position

A balanced scorecard for measuring company performance

E. Entails creating a set of objectives that is "balanced" in the sense of including both financial and strategic objectives

A "balanced scorecard" that includes both strategic and financial performance targets is a conceptually strong approach for judging a company's overall performance because

A. Financial performance measures are lagging indicators that reflect the results of past decisions and organizational activities whereas strategic performance measures are leading indicators of a company's future financial performance

Perhaps the most reliable way for a company to improve its financial performance over time is to

B. Recognize that the achievement of strategic objectives fosters better long-term financial performance and that a balanced scorecard approach to objective-setting has much to recommend

A company that pursues and achieves strategic objectives
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D. Is frequently in better position to improve its future financial performance (because of the increased competitiveness and strength in the marketplace that flows from the achievement of strategic objectives)

A company exhibits strategic intent when

B. It relentlessly pursues an ambitious strategic objective, concentrating the full force of its resources and competitive actions on achieving that objective

Strategic intent refers to a situation where a company

A. Relentlessly pursues an ambitious strategic objective, concentrating the full force of its resources and competitive actions on achieving that objective

A company with strategic intent

E. Usually has an exceptionally bold and grandiose long-term objective—like becoming the dominant global market leader—and an unshakable commitment to concentrating its full resources and strategy on achieving that objective even if it takes 10 years or longer

Company objectives

B. Need to be broken down into performance targets for each of its separate businesses, product lines, functional departments and individual work units

A company needs performance targets or objectives

A. For its operations as a whole and also for each of its separate businesses, product lines, functional departments and individual work units

The task of stitching together a strategy

A. Entails addressing a series of hows: how to grow the business, how to please customers, how to outcompete customers, how to outcompete rivals, how to respond to changing market conditions, how to manage each functional piece of the business and develop needed competencies and capabilities and how to achieve strategic and financial objectives

Masterful strategies come from

E. Doing things differently from competitors where it counts—out-innovating them, being more efficient, adapting faster—rather than running with the herd

Strategy-making is

B. More of a collaborative group effort that involves, to some degree, all managers and sometimes key employees, as opposed to being the function and responsibility of a few high-level executives

Managerial jobs with strategy-making responsibility

E. Extend throughout the managerial ranks and exist in every part of a company⎯business units, operating divisions, functional departments, manufacturing plants and sales districts

Which of the following accurately describes the task of crafting a company's strategy?

B. The more that a company's operations cut across different products, industries and geographical areas, the more that headquarters executives have little option but to delegate considerable strategy-making authority to down-the-line managers in charge of particular subsidiaries, divisions, product lines, geographic sales offices, distribution centers and plants

Which of the following is not an accurate description of the task of crafting a company's strategy?

C. The task of crafting strategy is best done by a company's chief strategic planning officer, who should report directly to the company's CEO and board of directors

A company's overall strategy

A. Is really a collection of strategic initiatives and actions devised by managers and key employees up and down the whole organizational hierarchy

In a diversified company, the strategy-making hierarchy consists of

D. Corporate strategy, business strategies, functional strategies and operating strategies

In a single-business company, the strategy-making hierarchy consists of

B. Business strategy, functional strategies and operating strategies

Corporate strategy for a diversified or multi-business enterprise

B. Is orchestrated by the CEO and other senior corporate executives and centers around the kinds of initiatives the company uses to establish business positions in different industries and efforts to boost the combined performance of the set of businesses the company has diversified into

Business strategy concerns

A. The actions and approaches crafted by management to produce successful performance in one specific line of business

Business strategy, as distinct from corporate strategy, is chiefly concerned with

B. Forging actions and approaches to compete successfully in a particular line of business

Functional strategies

A. Concern the actions, approaches and practices to be employed in managing particular functions or business processes or key activities within a business

The primary role of a functional strategy is to

D. Support the overall business strategy and competitive approach

Operating strategies concern

C. The relatively narrow strategic initiatives and approaches for managing key operating units within a business (plants, distribution centers, geographic units) and for performing strategically significant operating tasks (maintenance, shipping, inventory control, purchasing, advertising) in ways that support functional strategies and the overall business strategy

Management's direction-setting, strategy-making effort is not complete until

A. The pieces of a company's strategy up and down the strategy pyramid are cohesive and mutually reinforcing, fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle

A company's strategy is not at full power until

C. Its many pieces are united and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle

A company's strategic plan consists of

B. A vision of where it is headed, a set of performance targets and a strategy to achieve them

Which of the following is not among the principal managerial tasks associated with managing the strategy execution process?

C. Surveying employees on how they think costs can be reduced and how employee morale and job satisfaction can be improved

Management is obligated to monitor new external developments, evaluate the company's progress and make corrective adjustments in order to

B. Decide whether to continue or change the company's strategic vision, objectives, strategy and/or strategy execution methods

The primary roles/obligations of a company's board of directors in the strategy-making, strategy-executing process include

C. Overseeing the company's direction, strategy and business approaches and evaluating the caliber of senior executives' strategy-making and strategy-executing skills

The obligations of an investor-owned company's board of directors in the strategy-making, strategy-executing process include

D. Overseeing the company's financial accounting and financial reporting practices and evaluating the caliber of senior executives' strategy-making/strategy-executing skills

Which one of the following is not among the chief duties/responsibilities of a company's board of directors insofar as the strategy-making, strategy-executing process is concerned?

A. Hiring and firing senior-level executives and working with the company's chief strategic planning officer to improve the company's strategy when performance comes up short of expectations