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: According to Teece, the value of knowledge to sustainable competitive advantage depends on two related mechanisms. What are they
Answer: Replicability and imitability of knowledgeAnswer
Q2: What does Dorothy Leonard Barton mean by the term ‘core resources’
Answer: Resources that are particularly likely to confer sustainable competitive advantageAnswer
Q3: Which of the following is not one of the ways in which information technology (IT) may change the nature of competition in an industry
Answer: Improved communicationsAnswer
Q4: Which of the following is not one of the major contributions that innovation can make to organisational success
Answer: Greater market shareAnswer
Q5: In the context of innovation, what is meant by ‘market pull’
Answer: The idea that successful product innovations are likely to be those that are matched to an identified customer needAnswer
Q6: Utterback has identified three phases to the commercialisation of product innovations. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: Embryonic phaseAnswer
Q7: Who argued in favour of a ‘big-bang’ approach to innovation in order to generate really radical innovations
Answer: Fred GluckAnswer
Q8: Which of the factors below is not one of the ways James Quinn suggests large organisations can promote a ‘controlled chaos’ approach to innovation, as found in small organisations
Answer: Increased spending on R&DAnswer
Q9: Which of the following groups of factors was not found to be important in explaining differences in rates of innovation between countries
Answer: Regulation affecting company behaviour, i.e. red tapeAnswer
Q10: The text identifies two broad public policy approaches to encourage innovation: top-down and diffusion-oriented. Which of the following countries are cited as examples of the latter approach
Answer: GermanyAnswer
Q11: Explicit knowledge is fuzzy and difficult to set out, while tacit knowledge is recorded and structured
Answer: Wrong – FalseAnswer
Q12: Which of the following is not a disadvantage of a knowledge audit
Answer: It is less easy for competitors to comprehend and therefore copyAnswer
Q13: Which of the following is not one of the four methods of converting and communicating existing knowledge
Answer: PeripheralAnswer
Q14: Which of the following is not a method of driving innovation
Answer: The align approachAnswer
Q15: Which of the following statements best describes ‘the impact approach’ to analysing IT
Answer: It is a concentration on specific information projects designed to build competitive advantageAnswer
Q16: Why is it so important to clarify an organisation’s purpose
Answer: Because it is difficult to develop strategies to achieve a purpose that remains unclearAnswer
Q17: What is the ‘polygon of purpose’
Answer: A many sided diagram summarising the key influences shaping an organisation’s purposeAnswer
Q18: An organisation’s mission and objectives need to be developed bearing in mind two sets of interests. What are they
Answer: The interests of those who must implement them and those who are interested in the outcomeAnswer
Q19: In analysing stakeholders, two key dimensions should be considered. What are they
Answer: Stakeholder expectations and stakeholder powerAnswer
Q20: What is meant by an organisation’s ‘mission’
Answer: It outlines the broad directions that the organisation should and will follow and briefly summarises the reasoning and values that lie behind itAnswer
Q21: Which of the following is not one of the five elements involved in developing a mission statement
Answer: The reaction of competitors of the organisationAnswer
Q22: Which of the following best defines ‘organisational objectives’
Answer: Objectives that take the generalities of the mission statement and turn them into more specific commitments; usually, this will cover what is to be done and when the objective is to be achievedAnswer
Q23: Which of the following correctly identifies the three levels at which objectives operate in large organisations
Answer: Corporate, business unit and functional levelsAnswer
Q24: Corporate parenting refers to the role headquarters plays in developing the strategic business units (SBUs) that make up a company. Which of the following is not one of the ways in which HQ might make a contribution
Answer: Provision of market intelligence to business unitsAnswer
Q25: Which of the following is not a reason for viewing total quality management (TQM) as a strategic activity
Answer: TQM seeks the involvement of all members of the organisationAnswer
Q26: The PIMS database of some 3,000 companies shows a strong correlation between the number of staff involved in quality control and profitability
Answer: Wrong – FalseAnswer
Q27: What is the key reason given in the book for the differences in stakeholder power in different European countries
Answer: Differences in shareholding structuresAnswer
Q28: In the Key Reading from Peter Drucker’s The Practice of Management, what does he stress as crucial to using objectives effectively
Answer: The need to balance objectivesAnswer
Q29: Which of the following statements best describes ‘corporate level strategy’
Answer: Corporate-level strategy is the value added contribution of the central headquarters of a group of diversified businesses, each with its own strategyAnswer
Q30: Which of the following is not a benefit of a corporate level strategy
Answer: Cross-sectionalAnswer
Q31: Which of the following is not one of the five discrete steps to analysing stakeholder power
Answer: Outline the broad general directions that an organisation should and will followAnswer
Q32: Which of the following statements best describes the prescriptive and emergent approaches to developing missions and objective
Answer: Prescriptive approaches emphasise the need to set out the mission and objectives for the next few years, while emergent approaches take divergent viewsAnswer
Q33: For corporate parenting to add value, two skills are needed. Which of the following is not one of those two skills
Answer: Laying emphasis on workers being responsible for their own qualityAnswer
Q34: Which of the following strategic options is the odd one out
Answer: HybridAnswer
Q35: Which of the following best describes a strategy of differentiation, according to Porter’s generic strategies model
Answer: When the products are perceived to offer greater satisfaction and for which customers are, consequently, prepared to pay premium priceAnswer
Q36: Which of the following is not a criticism of Porter’s generic strategy model
Answer: A differentiation-based strategy will involve a firm incurring higher costs and so price it out of the marketAnswer
Q37: What is the ‘market options matrix’
Answer: It examines the options available to an organisation in terms of new product launches, entering new markets, as well as withdrawing from present marketsAnswer
Q38: What is meant by the term ‘demerger’
Answer: When a subsidiary company is separated from a group to operate as a legally independent company with no ties to its former parent companyAnswer
Q39: Which of the following is not an option for an organisation pursuing a market development strategy
Answer: Attracting customers directly from competing productsAnswer
Q40: Forward, backward and horizontal integration are forms of what type of strategy
Answer: Related diversificationAnswer
Q41: What is a ‘joint venture’
Answer: The formation of a company whose shares are jointly owned by two parents companies. It usually shares some of the assets and skills of both parentsAnswer
Q42: Resource-based strategic options depend on distinctiveness from competitors in resource capabilities. Which of the following is not a way of achieving such distinctiveness
Answer: Developing a portfolio of products tailored to specific customer groupsAnswer
Q43: Which of the following statements best defines the term ‘core competences’
Answer: Groups of skills and technologies that enable an organisation to provide particular benefits to customersAnswer
Q44: Which of the following is not a method of achieving cost reduction
Answer: Bulk buying raw materialsAnswer
Q45: What is meant by the term ‘economies of scope’
Answer: Cost reductions resulting from two or more products sharing the same resources in their production and/or distributionAnswer
Q46: Which of the following statements best defines the ‘experience curve’
Answer: The experience curve shows the relationship between unit costs and cumulative output of a companyAnswer
Q47: Which of the following is not a downstream method of adding value
Answer: Low-cost raw materials bought in bulkAnswer
Q48: Which of the following is not a tip for an effective SWOT analysis
Answer: Trust the information from the SWOT analysis and act upon itAnswer
Q49: Which of the following is not an upstream method of adding value
Answer: Differentiated productsAnswer
Q50: Which of the following is not an example of a resource-based option for a small business
Answer: Employ voluntary workers who often devote exceptional effort to the organisationAnswer
Q51: Which of the following is not a characteristic of a government-funded organisation
Answer: Each subsidiary has its own resourcesAnswer
Q52: Which of the following is not a criterion against which strategy options should be evaluated
Answer: Acceptability to the workforceAnswer
Q53: Which of the following is not one of the key areas that might limit the feasibility of a strategy option
Answer: Lack of customer need for the proposed productAnswer
Q54: What is ‘sensitivity analysis’
Answer: A technique for evaluating how the outcomes of a strategy vary when its underlying assumptions are changeAnswer
Q55: Which of the following statements best summarises the key difference between strategy selection criteria in commercial and not-for-profit organisations
Answer: Commercial organisations tend to be more narrowly focused on financial performance criteria, whereas not-for-profits often use a broader qualitative set of criteriaAnswer
Q56: Which of the following is not a commonly used method of financial appraisal of strategy options
Answer: Price/earnings ratioAnswer
Q57: Cost/benefit analysis is a favoured method of project appraisal when benefits go beyond simple financial measures to include issues such as reduced pollution, improved service levels, etc
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q58: What is shown in the Arthur D. Little (ADL) matrix
Answer: This 5 x 4 model offers strategy prescriptions according to the competitive position of an organisation and stage of maturity of its marketAnswer
Q59: Which of the following statements is not supported by evidence from the PIMS database
Answer: Investment in mechanisation raises productivity and thus return on investmentAnswer
Q60: According to the PIMS database, companies that have high levels of capital investment as a percentage of their sales tend also to have lower profitability
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q61: Which of the following is not a key stage in the prescriptive approach to strategy according to Wheelen and Hunger
Answer: Defining the mission: this may also involve a vision statementAnswer
Q62: What was the main conclusion Professor John Kay arrived at in reviewing the evidence on the effectiveness of mergers and acquisitions (M&As)
Answer: Most M&As fail to raise profitability significantlyAnswer
Q63: Which of the following conditions is most likely to lead to a successful merger/acquisition
Answer: When the two firms of similar sizeAnswer
Q64: Which company’s planning system was described as follows by its chief executive? “Our planning system was dynamite when we first put it in. The thinking was fresh, the form mattered little — the format got no points. It was idea oriented. We then hired a head of planning and he hired two vice presidents and then hired a planner, and the books got thicker and the printing got more sophisticated, and the covers got harder and the drawings got better. The meetings kept getting larger. Nobody can say anything with 16 or 18 people there.”
Answer: General ElectricAnswer
Q65: Content is one of the elements of strategy selection that needs to be distinguished. What does the term ‘content’ refer to
Answer: The actual strategy selected — what is in the plan?Answer
Q66: Process is one of the elements of strategy selection that needs to be distinguished. What does the term ‘process’ refer to
Answer: The way that the strategy is developed and selectedAnswer
Q67: Any strategic option may lack feasibility in three areas. Which of the following is not one of those areas
Answer: Many options will use business information grounded in background materialAnswer
Q68: Which of the following is not a way of assessing stakeholder reaction
Answer: Evaluating the mission and objectivesAnswer
Q69: Which of the following is the starting point for international strategy selection
Answer: Clarification of the objectives and reasons for international expansionAnswer
Q70: This chapter is mainly concerned with the context in which strategy is developed, but which of the following elements does not relate to the context of strategy
Answer: The relationship structures, such as contracts and contactsAnswer
Q71: Below are the four alternatives to the prescriptive approach to strategy development discussed in the book. Which one is incorrectly explained
Answer: The negotiation-based route forward emphasises the importance of negotiating strong contractual positions, so that costs and quality are maintained during strategy development so as to achieve competitive advantageAnswer
Q72: Which famous scientist’s ideas underpin the survival-based approach to strategy development
Answer: Charles Darwin’s theory of evolutionAnswer
Q73: What is the main implication of the survival-based approach for those developing strategy
Answer: That the best strategy to ensure survival is to cut costs to remain competitive and keep a number of options open so that flexibility can be maintained in the face of unpredictable environmental changes. The rest is a matter of luckAnswer
Q74: What, according to the uncertainty-based strategic route forward, are the two key factors that may increase the chances of corporate success
Answer: Innovation and self-transformationAnswer
Q75: Which of the following statements best summarises the implications of the uncertainty-based approach to strategy development
Answer: In an uncertain environment strategy should be much shorter term and focus on learning how things are changing and achieving flexibility to allow adaptation to changed circumstancesAnswer
Q76: The negotiation-based approach to strategy development stresses the importance of negotiations, inside and outside the organisation, in devising a workable strategy. Which of the following areas is not one of the foundations of this approach
Answer: Industrial relationsAnswer
Q77: How do human resource issues affect the negotiation-based approach to strategy development
Answer: Groups and individuals within organisations are known to have interests of their own that differ from those of others and the organisation’s stated objectives. Negotiations are thus needed to achieve a consensus on the acceptable route forwardAnswer
Q78: What is meant by the term ‘network-based’ strategy
Answer: The value-adding relationships that organisations develop inside their own organisation and outside with other organisationsAnswer
Q79: Which of the following is not one of the advantages game theory offers for strategy development
Answer: It provides rational solutions to complex negotiationsAnswer
Q80: Game theorists have identified a number of different types of ‘games’. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: A network gameAnswer
Q81: One of the following writers has not been a major contributor to developing the learning-based approach to strategy development. Which one is he
Answer: Igor AnsoffAnswer
Q82: Which of the following statements best captures what is meant by the term ‘learning’, according to the learning-based approach to strategy
Answer: The active-creativity to develop new strategies and opportunitiesAnswer
Q83: Which of the following is not one of Peter Senge’s five learning disciplines
Answer: Staff developmentAnswer
Q84: Which of the following statements best summarises the implications of the learning approach for the development of strategy
Answer: The strategy process should involve more people at all levels in the organisation and should seek to be more flexible and not get locked into particular ways of thinkingAnswer
Q85: Major differences exist in the way strategy is developed in different countries. Which of the following is not one of the areas in which such differences arise
Answer: Concern for efficiency of operationsAnswer
Q86: Which of the following is not a problem with the emergent based approach
Answer: The environment is assumed to be predictableAnswer
Q87: What does the term ‘network externalities’ refer to
Answer: The development of an overall standard for a network that allows those belonging to the network to benefit increasingly as others join the same networkAnswer
Q88: What does network co-operation explore
Answer: The links and degree of co-operation present in related organisations and industries, placing a value upon that degree of co-operationAnswer
Q89: Which of the following statements best summarises the prescriptive view of organisational structure
Answer: Organisational structures are mechanisms to allocate work and administrative mechanisms necessary to control and integrate the strategies of the organisation. The importance is placed on how the strategy is implemented, and does not affect its developmentAnswer
Q90: Which two academics are cited as the founders of the prescriptive view that ‘structure follows strategy’
Answer: Alfred Chandler and Oliver WilliamsonAnswer
Q91: Alfred Chandler identified four types of strategy that might prompt a change in an organisation’s structure. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: Product withdrawalAnswer
Q92: Emergent strategists claim it is incorrect to describe the relationship between strategy and structure as being one way only. They have argued that it is possible that a different organisational structure may actually lead to a different corporate strategy
Answer: True – CorrectAnswer
Q93: What reason is given in the book for arguing that organisational structures developed in the early twentieth century (e.g. multidivisional) may be obsolete at the start of the twenty-first century
Answer: Business environments are now more diverse, dynamic and unpredictable and the strongly hierarchical relationships between senior managers and others are less effective and acceptableAnswer
Q94: What argument do proponents of the learning organisation put forward against the top-down, structure-follows-strategy viewpoint on the strategy–structure debate
Answer: Strategy processes now need to be more inclusive and geared to learning and empowerment to achieve the necessary adaptation in dynamic environmentsAnswer
Q95: According to superstar management consultant Tom Peters, strategy should have three main outcomes. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: Maximum efficiency in the use of resourcesAnswer
Q96: Whose empirical research challenged the prescriptive approach to the strategy–structure relationship by proposing that strategy develops incrementally (i.e. in small steps), suggesting the organisation’s structure will evolve as the strategy unfolds
Answer: James QuinnAnswer
Q97: Which advocate of a collegiate (i.e. more inclusive) approach to leadership said: “In an increasingly dynamic, interdependent and unpredictable world, it is simply no longer possible for anyone to ‘figure it all out at the top’. The old model ‘the top thinks and the local acts’ must now give way to integrative thinking and acting at all levels.”
Answer: Peter SengeAnswer
Q98: In analysing organisational structures, Henry Mintzberg suggests that all organisations are made up of six parts. Which of the following is not one of them
Answer: Front-line staffAnswer
Q99: Which of Mintzberg’s organisational configurations is characterised by domination by the operating core and achieves co-ordination via standardisation of skills
Answer: Professional organisationAnswer
Q100: For an organisation to be economically effective there needs to be a matching process between the organisation’s strategy and its structure. What term is used to describe this matching
Answer: Strategic fitAnswer
