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: Organisational resources can be classified into three broad categories. What are these categories
Answer: Tangible, intangible and organisational capabilityAnswer
Q2: Which of the following statements best defines the concept of ‘value added’
Answer: The difference between the market value of output and the cost of inputsAnswer
Q3: It follows from the definition of value added that value can be added in two ways. Which of the items listed below is not one of those ways
Answer: Charging higher pricesAnswer
Q4: What do strategists mean when they refer to an organisation’s ‘value chain’
Answer: It is a way of viewing organisations as a collection of activities that link together to develop the value an organisation adds to its inputs in transforming them into outputs of value to customersAnswer
Q5: Which of the following is a support activity in the value chain model
Answer: ProcurementAnswer
Q6: Which of the following is not an example of a value chain linkage
Answer: A state-of-the-art quality control system for manufacturingAnswer
Q7: Which of the following statements best defines the concept of economic rent, as developed by David Ricardo (1772–1823)
Answer: Any excess that a factor earns over the minimum amount needed to keep it in its present useAnswer
Q8: What was the main reason for the development of the resource-based view (RBV) of strategy
Answer: The realisation that if industry environment determined firm profits then all firms in an industry should have similar profitability. In fact, wide differences were observedAnswer
Q9: Which of the following statements best explains the essence of the RBV
Answer: A focus on the individual resources of the organisation as the means to gaining competitive advantageAnswer
Q10: Which of the following is not one of the three areas in which Professor John Kay argues organisations can develop ‘distinctive capabilities’
Answer: Human resources: the skills and knowledge of the workforce currently employed or available for hireAnswer
Q11: Hamel and Prahalad suggest core competencies are the basis of competitive advantage. What is a ‘core competence’
Answer: A group of production skills and technologies that enable an organisation to provide a particular benefit to customersAnswer
Q12: Which of the following is a weakness of the resource-based view (RBV) of strategy
Answer: There is a complete lack of consideration of human resourcesAnswer
Q13: Which writer on strategy argues that most strategic management theory makes assumptions about the stability of industry environments which are unrealistic and should be abandoned in favour of a dynamic view of the world characterised by uncertainty and instability
Answer: Ralph StaceyAnswer
Q14: Which of the following statements is applicable only to the prescriptive approach
Answer: The approach regards resources as objects to be moulded for maximum strategic benefitAnswer
Q15: Added value is best analysed by considering groups collectively
Answer: Wrong – FalseAnswer
Q16: Which of the following do key factors for success (KFS) not relate to
Answer: The value chainAnswer
Q17: Which of the following is not a way of improving competitive advantage
Answer: Customer contactsAnswer
Q18: Which of the following is not one of the three areas of the organisation that are broken down when its resources are being analysed
Answer: Added valueAnswer
Q19: The prescriptive and emergent approaches to strategy view the role of human resources very differently. Which of the following statements best captures this difference
Answer: The prescriptive approach sees human resource issues as only relevant to implementation after the key competitive issues have been addressed in the development of the strategy, whereas the emergent approach suggests people issues significantly affect both strategy development and implementationAnswer
Q20: Who was it that said: “The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage”
Answer: Arie De GeusAnswer
Q21: A basic analysis of human resources can be constructed for the company. However, from a strategy viewpoint, it would be more valuable if this were filtered using key factors for success, competitive comparisons and, if appropriate, international considerations
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q22: What is meant by the term ‘organisational culture’
Answer: It refers to the set of beliefs, values and learned ways of managing of an organisation and is reflected in its structures, systems and the approach to developing corporate strategyAnswer
Q23: Which of the following is not one of the influences on culture cited in the text
Answer: Nature of the product or serviceAnswer
Q24: What is the ‘cultural web’
Answer: It is a method of bringing together the basic elements that are helpful in analysing the nature of the culture a particular organisation possessesAnswer
Q25: Which of the following types of cultures did Charles Handy identify
Answer: Power, role, task and personAnswer
Q26: In examining the four main types of organisational culture, there are three important qualifications. Which of the following is not one of these
Answer: (blank)Answer
Q27: What do you understand by the term ‘a prospector organisation’
Answer: An organisation that actively seeks new opportunities and changeAnswer
Q28: Business process re-engineering (BPR) was very popular in the 1990s as a way of improving efficiency and effectiveness in organisations. But what is ‘BPR’
Answer: The process of using information technology to radically simplify the organisation’s handling of administrative tasksAnswer
Q29: What are the two principal reasons for organisational conflict
Answer: (blank)Answer
Q30: Who defined national culture as: “The collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from another”
Answer: Geert HofstedeAnswer
Q31: Which of the following is not one of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s dimensions of national culture
Answer: What is the role of women in society?Answer
Q32: From his analysis of the data from a survey of 116,000 IBM employees, Hofstede identified four (later five) dimensions of culture. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: EthnocentrismAnswer
Q33: In Case 7.3 in the book, reference is made to Keiretsu and Chaebol. What are these
Answer: Informal groups of companies that support each otherAnswer
Q34: Which of the following statements best summarises the view of the relationship between culture and strategy expressed by Andrew Brown in the Key Reading in the book
Answer: Strategy does not merely reflect or externalise culture, but influences and modifies itAnswer
Q35: Which two Japanese companies seriously reduced Xerox’s global share of the photocopier market in the 1970s and 1980s
Answer: Canon and RicohAnswer
Q36: What are the two main elements of a human resource (HR) audit
Answer: People in the organisation, and the role and contribution of human resources to the development of corporate strategyAnswer
Q37: Which of the following is not one of the five main elements of organisational culture
Answer: LocationAnswer
Q38: Which of the four main types of culture requires the organisation to rely on committees, structures, logic and analysis
Answer: The role cultureAnswer
Q39: Which of the following is not a strategic approach to strategy
Answer: InternalAnswer
Q40: Which of the following is not important in the analysis of the political network
Answer: CompetitionAnswer
Q41: Which of the following is not a source of finance for companies
Answer: Government loansAnswer
Q42: What is meant by a ‘rights issue’
Answer: The offer, to existing shareholders, of the right to buy new shares in proportion to their existing voting rightsAnswer
Q43: What is the major drawback of debt financing
Answer: Interest payments must be made before shareholder dividends and irrespective of fluctuations in profits. Thus shareholders bear the risk of profit fluctuationsAnswer
Q44: Which of the following is the correct definition of the ‘gearing ratio’
Answer: Debt finance divided by total shareholders’ fundsAnswer
Q45: Which of the following is not one of the three elements that make up the cost of capital calculation in the capita asset pricing model
Answer: Dividend paymentsAnswer
Q46: What is meant by the term ‘capital structure’
Answer: The balance between debt and equity financeAnswer
Q47: Why is the financial appraisal of strategic options important
Answer: To ensure that post-tax cash flows from the strategy exceed the cost of capital incurred in implementing itAnswer
Q48: Which of the following is not one of the four difficulties associated with the discounted cash flow (DCF) method of investment appraisal
Answer: Changes to tax regimesAnswer
Q49: Whose work in the 1980s was central to emphasising shareholder value added (SVA) as a key concern for strategists
Answer: Alfred RappaportAnswer
Q50: What exactly is shareholder value added (SVA)
Answer: The difference between the return on capital and the cost of capital multiplied by the investment made by the shareholders in the businessAnswer
Q51: Which of the following statements best summarises the relationship between financial and strategic objectives
Answer: Financial objectives aim to ensure satisfactory short-term financial performance while strategic objectives aim to secure long-term survival and prosperityAnswer
Q52: Which of the following is not one of the key aspects of financial resource analysis for international companies
Answer: International inflation ratesAnswer
Q53: What causes differences in the cost of capital between countries
Answer: Differing levels of inflation, currency variations and differences national resource availability (supply and demand)Answer
Q54: According to Professors Glautier and Underdown, what is the single most useful financial measurement for long-range planning and for setting long-term profit targets
Answer: Return on capital employed (ROCE)Answer
Q55: Reassuring stakeholders that their efforts are worthwhile is one of the reasons for calculating the cost of capital. What is the other reason
Answer: It provides a benchmark for assessing the profitability of future strategiesAnswer
Q56: Which of the following is not one of the three questions that shareholder value added (SVA) explores
Answer: Were the corporate objectives met?Answer
Q57: What is regarded as the greatest risk in overseas operations
Answer: Currency fluctuationAnswer
Q58: Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) combines equity and debt in proportion to their use by the company
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q59: Why are companies with higher debt likely more exposed to profit fluctuations
Answer: Because the organisation needs to fund interest payments regardless of the situationAnswer
Q60: What task does the operations function in a manufacturing organisation perform
Answer: The operations function covers all manufacturing processes in an organisation and includes raw materials sourcing, purchasing, production and manufacturing, distribution and logisticsAnswer
Q61: Three general trends have shaped the environment affecting the operations function. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: Changes to health and safety legislationAnswer
Q62: Discontinuities in technological change represent radical breaks with the technologies of the past and are difficult to predict. What two phases characterise the strategic response of firms after such a break, according to Strebel
Answer: The development and consolidation (or cost reduction) phasesAnswer
Q63: Which Japanese company is widely credited with development of such manufacturing techniques as flexible manufacturing, Kaizen and Kanban
Answer: ToyotaAnswer
Q64: What does ‘Kaizen’ mean
Answer: Continuous improvementAnswer
Q65: Operations strategy faces two major structural constraints – what are they
Answer: Operations resources take time to plan and build and are expensive to changeAnswer
Q66: Which of the following is not one of the ways operations can contribute to competitive advantage
Answer: Identifying new product opportunitiesAnswer
Q67: Effective operations strategy depends on strong links with another functional area. Which is it
Answer: MarketingAnswer
Q68: Which of the following are the key issues to consider when devising a manufacturing strategy
Answer: Factory location, processes, capacity, infrastructure and links with other functionsAnswer
Q69: What is meant by the term ‘lean thinking’
Answer: It is an approach to manufacturing that stresses the elimination of all activities that do not add value for the customerAnswer
Q70: Which of the following is not a key focus of the analysis of an organisation’s operations
Answer: Quality managementAnswer
Q71: While most of this chapter of the book and indeed the research on operations focuses on manufacturing of products, service operations account for a large proportion of gross domestic product in the EU, Japan and USA. What is the actual proportion
Answer: 50–54%Answer
Q72: Which of the following is not a distinguishing feature of a service
Answer: TangibilityAnswer
Q73: Who was it that claimed: ‘There is no such thing as service industries. There are only industries whose service components are greater or less than those of other industries. Everybody is in service”
Answer: Theodore LevittAnswer
Q74: In analysing the operations contribution to corporate strategy, which of the following is not an area that is looked into
Answer: Remuneration of employeesAnswer
Q75: Which of the following questions is not one that should be considered when seeking to shape an organisation’s purpose
Answer: How can we maximise profits?Answer
Q76: What do the letters P-P-O stand for in the P-P-O paradigm
Answer: Purpose-process-outcomeAnswer
Q77: Which of the following statements best defines an organisation’s vision
Answer: A mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the organisationAnswer
Q78: Hamel and Prahalad, in their 1994 bestseller Competing for the Future, suggest five criteria for evaluating a vision. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: (blank)Answer
Q79: Which of the following best defines ‘leadership’
Answer: Influence; that is, the art or process of influencing people so that they strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of the group’s missionAnswer
Q80: Which of the following is not a recognised approach to the study of leadership
Answer: Visionary leadershipAnswer
Q81: Which leadership style is reflected in the following quotation: “The wicked leader is he who people despise. The good leader is he who people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, ‘We did it ourselves’.” (Lao Tsu)
Answer: Shared vision approachAnswer
Q82: Which of the following is not one of the factors that influence an organisation’s leadership style
Answer: The type of product or service producedAnswer
Q83: Which two authors stress the importance of trust, enthusiasm and commitment as aspects of effective leadership
Answer: Bennis and NanusAnswer
Q84: What specific issue is the study of ethics concerned with
Answer: Identifying what is morally correct behaviourAnswer
Q85: What is meant by the term ‘corporate governance’
Answer: The selection and conduct of the senior officers of the organisation and their relationships with the owners, employees and others who have an interest in the organisationAnswer
Q86: Three commissions, known by the names of their chairman, have attempted to draw up codes of conduct for corporate governance in the UK. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: The Cannon CommitteeAnswer
Q87: Most codes of conduct are concerned with developing systems of checks and balances to avoid abuses of power. To this end, which two organisational roles are usually recommended for separation
Answer: Chairperson and chief executiveAnswer
Q88: Corporate governance, in large organisations, is typically administered through committees reflecting the key aspects of governance. Which of the following is not one of the committees used at British Petroleum (BP)
Answer: Redundancy and severance committeeAnswer
Q89: Non-executive directors are not truly independent arbiters of organisational conduct because the choice of who to appoint to non-executive positions remains with the company being monitored
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q90: Which of the following is not one of the three elements that make up the P-P-O paradigm
Answer: Deciding on the organisation’s growthAnswer
Q91: Which of the following is not a reason for developing a strategic vision
Answer: The stability of the organisation’s environmentAnswer
Q92: Which of the following does not form part of the role of leadership
Answer: Acting as agents on behalf of the stakeholders in the organisationAnswer
Q93: Which of the following is not one of the three prime considerations in developing business ethics
Answer: Information relayed to stakeholdersAnswer
Q94: One of the four reasons for considering the ethical conduct of businesses is that it is inescapable because there are legal restrictions on what can be done by an organisation. Which of the following is not one of the other reasons for considering the ethical conduct of organisations
Answer: Stability of the organisation’s environmentAnswer
Q95: Who defined knowledge as: “A fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information”
Answer: Davenport and PrusakAnswer
Q96: What is meant by the term ‘intellectual capital’, as used by Swedish financial services firm Skandia
Answer: The future earnings capacity from a deeper, broader and more human perspective than that described in financial statements. It comprises employees as well as customers, business relations, organisational structures and the power of renewal of organisationsAnswer
Q97: Intellectual capital has two main components. What are they
Answer: Human and structural capitalAnswer
Q98: What does the term ‘knowledge management’ mean
Answer: A proactive attempt to gather and share knowledge more widely throughout organisationsAnswer
Q99: Which of the following is not a factor contributing to the success of knowledge management
Answer: A focus on those aspects of knowledge that can be captured and sharedAnswer
Q100: Which of the following statements is the definition of a ‘learning organisation’ offered by Garvin
Answer: An organisation skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behaviour to reflect new knowledge and insightsAnswer
