Corporate Strategy Objective Online MCQ Answer
Corporate Strategy Objective Online MCQ Answer for your amity mba bba courses, ignou mba, imt cdl, smu and upes management program. This is important online mcq question answer for various distance learning program.
Q1: In developing good strategy, which of the following forms a part of the academic rigour assessment
Answer: Delivery of defined purposeAnswer
Relationship with risks and resources
Q2: Which of the following statements most accurately defines ‘corporate strategy’
Answer: Corporate strategy can be described as the identification of the purpose of the organisation and the plans and actions to achieve that purposeAnswer
Q3: What is meant by the term ‘competitive advantage’
Answer: A skill or attribute that will allow the organisation to survive and prosper against the competitionAnswer
Q4: Why does Henry Mintzberg suggest that strategies are better thought of as ‘crafted’ rather than planned
Answer: Because many commercial environments are too unpredictable to allow for reliable forecasting of long-term trendsAnswer
Q5: What do strategists mean when they talk about ‘adding value’
Answer: Transforming inputs into outputs whose value exceeds the combined cost of those inputsAnswer
Q6: Which of the following is not a key element of strategic decisions
Answer: Clear accountabilityAnswer
Q7: Which of the following correctly identify the three core areas of corporate strategy
Answer: Analysis, development and implementationAnswer
Q8: Due to the uncertainties involved in developing strategies, the process also depends on which of the following factors
Answer: Judgement and valuesAnswer
Q9: Which of the following best defines a ‘mission statement’
Answer: A mission statement defines the business that the organisation is in against the values and expectations of the stakeholdersAnswer
Q10: What is meant by a ‘prescriptive approach’ to strategy
Answer: A view of the process as rational and linear and sequential in which strategy development precedes implementationAnswer
Q11: Which of the following statements best describes an ’emergent approach’ to strategy development
Answer: A view of strategy development characterised by small steps and continuous revision as new learning is acquired about a continuously changing environmentAnswer
Q12: Which of the following is not an application-related test of a good strategy
Answer: The effectiveness testAnswer
Q13: What is the key difference between strategy making in the public and non-profit sectors as opposed to the private sector
Answer: Public and non-profit organisations are unlikely to have profit objectives. Their strategy is therefore governed by broader issues such as public policy and values.Answer
Q14: Which of the following is not a key issue in developing international strategies
Answer: Trade unionsAnswer
Q15: Which of the following issues is the key concern of strategy according to Professor John Kay
Answer: RelationshipsAnswer
Q16: John Kay draws an important distinction between two types of management issues – what are they
Answer: Strategic and operationalAnswer
Q17: Which of the following correctly identify the three elements of the strategic decision
Answer: Content, context and processAnswer
Q18: What are the two main levels of corporate strategy
Answer: Corporate and businessAnswer
Q19: Which of the following is not a consideration for public organisations
Answer: Variable sources of financeAnswer
Q20: Which of the following is not a consideration for non-profit organisations
Answer: Monopoly suppliersAnswer
Q21: Who were the two practising managers that initiated the study of management as a distinct discipline around 1900–10
Answer: Henri Fayol and Frederick Winslow TaylorAnswer
Q22: In which decade of the twentieth century did the first explicit writings about strategy as applied to business begin to appear
Answer: 1950sAnswer
Q23: According to Ansoff, environmental changes accelerated the early development of corporate strategy as a discipline. What two trends were especially influential
Answer: The accelerated rate of change and the greater spread of wealthAnswer
Q24: Which of the following statements best explains the basic concept of the prescriptive approach to strategy
Answer: A prescriptive corporate strategy is one where the objective has been defined in advance and the main elements have been developed before the strategy commencesAnswer
Q25: Which of the following is not a key trend shaping corporate strategy as we move into the 21st century
Answer: A flexible and responsive approach to environmental changeAnswer
Q26: Which company (featured in Chapter 2 of the book) adopted a prescriptive approach to strategy by introducing a strategic planning system in 1978–9 and so achieved much greater central control of strategy than had existed before
Answer: Spillers plcAnswer
Q27: Henry Mintzberg has identified six major assumptions underlying the prescriptive approach that may be wholly or partially false. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: Power struggles often mean the strategy adopted is a compromise and may not maximise profitsAnswer
Q28: Which of the following statements best explains the basic concept of the emergent approach to strategy
Answer: Emergent corporate strategy is a strategy whose final objective is unclear and whose elements are developed during the course of its life, as the strategy proceedsAnswer
Q29: Which of the following statements is not a criticism of the emergent approach
Answer: The strategies proposed are, in practice, logical and capable of being managed in the way proposed. Given the political realities of many companies, there may be many difficulties in practiceAnswer
Q30: There are four broad schools within the prescriptive approach to strategy. In which of these would you locate the work of Igor Ansoff, Alfred Chandler, Alfred Sloan, Hofer and Schendel and Michael Porter
Answer: Profit maximising, competition-based theories of strategyAnswer
Q31: Within the emergent approach to strategy, what is meant by ‘survival-based’ theories of strategy
Answer: Theories that see strategy in evolutionary terms according to which winning strategies are selected by the market, and the idea that success is more luck than designAnswer
Q32: What is meant by the term ‘human resource-based’ theories of strategy
Answer: Theories that explicitly deal with issues of motivation, political activity, culture and conflict in the strategy processAnswer
Q33: Who is widely credited as the pioneer of the ‘resource-based’ approach to strategy
Answer: Edith PenroseAnswer
Q34: In the closing case study, which businessman is shown to have guided IBM back to profitability after its disastrous slump in 1991–3
Answer: Louis GerstnerAnswer
Q35: Which of the following is not an advantage of the prescriptive approach
Answer: Considers people issues such as motivationAnswer
Q36: Which of the following is not an advantage of the emergent approach
Answer: Summaries of demands made on resourcesAnswer
Q37: Which of the following is not a disadvantage of the emergent approach
Answer: The chief executive has the knowledge and power to choose between optionsAnswer
Q38: Which of the following are not prescriptive theories of corporate strategy
Answer: Innovation and knowledge-based theoriesAnswer
Q39: Which of the following relates to the philosophies of the uncertainty-based theory
Answer: Strategies must be allowed to react to changing environments and emerge from the events that take placeAnswer
Q40: The dynamics of organisational environments can be classified according to which pair of factors listed below
Answer: Changeability and predictabilityAnswer
Q41: From the list below, identify which factor does not form one of the six key areas of a PESTEL analysis
Answer: Ecological changesAnswer
Q42: Which of the following statements best defines a ‘scenario’ that may be generated by scenario analysis
Answer: A scenario is a picture of a possible future environment for the organisation, whose strategic implications can then be investigated. It is less concerned with prediction and more concerned with developing different perspectives on the futureAnswer
Q43: Why is the concept of the industry life-cycle relevant to corporate strategy
Answer: Because the key strategic issues and hence strategies that should be pursued change with each phase in the life cycleAnswer
Q44: What is meant by the term ‘key factors for success’ (KFS)
Answer: KFS are those resources, skills and attributes of the organisations in the industry that are essential to deliver success in the marketplaceAnswer
Q45: Barriers to entry affect the ability of firms outside an industry to enter and take advantage of profit opportunities. Which of the following is not an example of such a barrier
Answer: The relative size of existing firms in the industryAnswer
Q46: In Porter’s five forces model, what is meant by the term ‘substitute’
Answer: A substitute is an alternative product or service that performs the same function for the consumerAnswer
Q47: What four types of relationships are captured in the four links model
Answer: Government links, informal co-operative links, formal co-operative links and complementorsAnswer
Q48: What are the main areas to include in producing a profile of a competitor organisation
Answer: The organisation’s objectives, resources, market strength and current strategiesAnswer
Q49: Which of the following statements best defines market segmentation
Answer: Market segmentation is the identification of specific parts of a market and the development of different market offerings that will be attractive to those segmentsAnswer
Q50: Which of the following is not a reason why market segmentation is important to strategy development
Answer: Knowing your segments makes it easier to know which customers competitors are targetingAnswer
Q51: Not all aspects of the environmental analysis are equally important. So, what should be the order of priority
Answer: Customers, immediate competitors, then the broader environmentAnswer
Q52: In many respects, the real danger in analysing the environment is to limit the process to examining past events and ways of thinking. It is absolutely essential to break out of the current mould and examine alternative routes and ideas
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q53: What two types of market segments did Michael Porter use in developing his generic strategies model
Answer: Broad target and narrow targetAnswer
Q54: What can an environmental analysis be used to provide an organisation with
Answer: A proactive strategy outcome or a reactive strategic situationAnswer
Q55: Which of the following is not a criticism of the industry life cycle
Answer: Assumes organisation’s own interests come firstAnswer
Q56: Which of the following is not a key factor for success
Answer: Identification of specific parts of a market and the development of different market offerings that will be attractive to those segmentsAnswer
Q57: Which of the following is not one of the three main difficulties in studying the environment
Answer: New products, adoption of new technologies, R&D expenditure etc.Answer
Q58: Which of the following is a reason for why customer service and quality are important
Answer: They may deliver competitive advantageAnswer
Q59: What is the main reason for analysing competitors
Answer: To enable the organisation to develop sustainable competitive advantages against themAnswer
Q60: Which feature of a competitive advantage is considered most desirable
Answer: SustainabilityAnswer
Q61: What do strategists mean when they refer to ‘differentiation’
Answer: The development of unique features or attributes in a product or service that position it to appeal especially to a part of the total marketAnswer
Q62: Firms may seek competitive advantages of greater efficiency and effectiveness through vertical integration. But what does it mean to ‘vertically integrate’
Answer: The backward acquisition of raw material suppliers and/or the forward acquisition of distributorsAnswer
Q63: What is the purpose of the E-S-P paradigm
Answer: To evaluate the role of government in a country’s business environment through analysis of the national environment, political system and government policiesAnswer
Q64: Which of the following is not one of the political trends (cited in the book) that have affected many industries and firms’ corporate strategies
Answer: The reform of the Commission of the European Community following the dismissal of the Commission headed by Jacques Santer in 1999Answer
Q65: What do we mean when we refer to a ‘concentration ratio’
Answer: The degree to which turnover, or value-added, is concentrated in the hands of a few or large number of firms in an industryAnswer
Q66: When discussing innovation strategy, four types are identified. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: Copy a competitorAnswer
Q67: In strategy, reference is often made to ‘rewriting the rules of the game’. What does this mean
Answer: Devising a new innovative ways of satisfying customer needs that dramatically change the way whole industries operateAnswer
Q68: Which of the following is not one of the four main attack strategies noted in the book
Answer: Loose-brick strategyAnswer
Q69: Tkay advises against over-reliance on militaristic notions of strategy (i.e. defend and attack) because, he argues, it leads to overestimating the planning abilities of the ‘generals’ (i.e. leaders) and it overemphasises the importance of size and scale (of resources)
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q70: What axes are used in the portfolio model developed by the Boston Consulting Group (i.e. BCG matrix)
Answer: Relative market share and market growth rateAnswer
Q71: Which of the following is not a criticism of portfolio matrices
Answer: They were developed in the 1970s and are no longer validAnswer
Q72: Which of the following is not a key issue when analysing distributors
Answer: Available choiceAnswer
Q73: Which company’s ice cream products struggled to gain market share in Europe due to problems with distribution
Answer: MarsAnswer
Q74: The internationalisation of companies in recent decades has been prompted by many factors. Which of the following is not one of the three key factors cited in the book
Answer: Subsidies from national governmentsAnswer
Q75: There has been a decline of the centrally directed command economies of Eastern Europe, coupled with the move towards democracy and freer markets
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q76: Which of the following is not a way in which governments can influence companies
Answer: FranchisesAnswer
Q77: ‘Government and industrial policy analysis is conducted at two levels: national economy and industry-level studies’. Which of the following does not form part of national economy analysis
Answer: Competition policyAnswer
Q78: Which of the following statements is not relevant to competitive advantage
Answer: Each market will bring its own strategic opportunities and problemsAnswer
Q79: The concept of a customer-driven strategy is captured in the famous quotation: “The purpose of an enterprise is to create and keep a customer”. Who is credited with this statement
Answer: Theodore LevittAnswer
Q80: A customer-driven strategy has three main strands. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: An obsession with efficiencyAnswer
Q81: Simple financial measures of profitability will not be enough to ensure the growth and survival of a business: they need to be linked to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q82: What is a ‘customer profile’
Answer: A description of the main characteristics of the customers and how they make their purchase decisionsAnswer
Q83: Which famous pair of strategy gurus claimed: “Any company that can do no more than respond to the articulated needs of existing customers will quickly become a laggard”
Answer: Gary Hamel and C. K. PrahaladAnswer
Q84: The customer/competitor matrix groups strategies along two dimensions (axes). What are they
Answer: Customer needs and competitor advantageAnswer
Q85: Which of the following is not a desirable characteristic of a market segment if it is to be useful in strategic customer analysis
Answer: LocationAnswer
Q86: Which of the following statements best defines a product or service’s competitive positioning
Answer: The choice of differential advantage that the product or service will have against its competitorsAnswer
Q87: What five aspects of a brand are relevant in adding value to a product
Answer: Reputation, continuity, distinctive formula, established position and signalAnswer
Q88: Why do organisations communicate with their customers
Answer: To inform them, persuade them to buy and establish a competitive advantage in relation to their product or serviceAnswer
Q89: There is one overriding criterion for the evaluation of marketing communications strategies – what is it
Answer: (blank)Answer
Q90: Which of the following is not an example of the options available for persuading customers to buy the organisation’s product or service
Answer: Price reductionsAnswer
Q91: What two considerations are central to pricing decisions
Answer: Costs and competitor’s pricesAnswer
Q92: What is meant by the term ‘target pricing’
Answer: Target pricing is the setting of prices to match competitors and then setting internal cost targets that must be met to deliver a product to market at the set priceAnswer
Q93: Who’s famous article ‘The globalisation of markets’, published in 1983, argued that the world’s tastes are homogenising due to the global availability of low priced quality products
Answer: Theodore LevittAnswer
Q94: Which of the following is not a benefit of using the emergent approach to developing a customer-driven strategy
Answer: Provides greater clarity and precision in analysis of marketAnswer
Q95: Which of the following is not an aspect of customer profiling
Answer: Identification of gaps in segment provision may provide the basis of new strategic opportunitiesAnswer
Q96: Competitive positioning has four main steps. The first two are perceptual mapping and positioning. Which of the following are the final two steps
Answer: Options development and testingAnswer
Q97: Which of the following statements best describes the function of a brand
Answer: A specific name or symbol used to distinguish a product or service from a functional productAnswer
Q98: Which of the following is not a consideration of international customer analysis
Answer: Needs to communicate with customers in order to inform and persuade them about the merits of products and servicesAnswer
Q99: Japanese strategy guru Kenichi Ohmae stresses that scarce resources must be focused on the ‘key factors for success’. He proposes a simple model known as Ohmae’s 3 Cs for identifying these key areas. What are the 3 Cs
Answer: Customers, competition and the corporationAnswer
Q100: Which of the following is not one of the criticisms of the concept of key factors for success (KFS)
Answer: They are usually too numerous for one organisation to address them allAnswer
