Business Policy
Study Guide Questions
Course Introduction
Business Policy is a capstone course that focuses on the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of strategies that shape the long-term direction and scope of an organization. Through the analysis of real-world case studies and strategic management frameworks, students learn to assess internal and external environments, identify organizational strengths and weaknesses, and make informed policy decisions. The course emphasizes the integration of knowledge from various business disciplines, encourages critical thinking, and develops skills in strategic analysis, decision-making, and effective communication to address complex business challenges and drive organizational success.
Recommended Textbook
The Management of Strategy Concepts and Cases International Edition 10th Edition by Michael
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13 Chapters
2023 Verified Questions
2023 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Strategic Management and Competitiveness
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135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18304
Sample Questions
Q1) An effective vision statement will specify the market to be served.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Explain the relationship of the strategic management process to organizational ethics.
Answer: Almost all strategic management process decisions have ethical implications because they affect stakeholders. The decisions of the strategic leaders influence the organization's culture which is based on the organization's core values (which are also influenced by the strategic leaders). The organization's culture can be functional or dysfunctional, ethical or unethical. Consequently, the strategic leader's role has a large impact on whether the organization is a good citizen.
Q3) Corporate-level strategy in a diversified organization requires a common business strategy for each component business.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: The External Environment: Opportunities,
Threats, Competition, and Competitor Analysis
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164 Verified Questions
164 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A manufacturer of washing machines has expanded its plant and has created excess capacity, just as the general economy has taken a downturn. The company is likely to
A) raise prices on washing machines to offset lost sales.
B) be vulnerable to new entrants to an attractive market.
C) suffer from intense rivalry from international manufacturers.
D) offer rebates and incentives for customers who purchase washing machines.
Answer: D
Q2) Competitor intelligence could ethically come from all the following EXCEPT A) court records.
B) financial reports.
C) trade show discussions.
D) eavesdropping.
Answer: D
Q3) The industry environment directly influences the firm and its competitive actions and responses.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 4
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Chapter 3: The Internal Environment: Resources,
Capabilities, Competencies, and Competitive Advantages
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153 Verified Questions
153 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Firms should never outsource a primary activity because of the danger of the activity being imitated by rivals.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The challenge and difficulty of making effective decisions are implied by preliminary evidence suggesting that one-half of organizational decisions fail.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) By emphasizing core competencies when formulating strategies, companies learn to compete primarily on the basis of A) intangible resources.
B) their primary activities.
C) firm-specific differences.
D) efficiency of production.
Answer: C
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Business Level Strategy
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147 Verified Questions
147 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Southwest Airlines' tightly integrated activities make its cost leadership strategy more vulnerable to imitation than if its activities were loosely integrated.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Discuss how a cost leadership strategy can allow a firm to earn above-average returns in spite of strong competitive forces. Address each of the five competitive forces.
Q3) TQM is most helpful to firms following the ____ business strategy.
A) cost-leadership
B) integrated cost-leadership/differentiation
C) focused cost-leadership
D) focused differentiation
Q4) A business-level strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive advantage in specific product markets.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the additional risks undertaken by firms pursuing a focus strategy.
Q6) Describe the risks of a differentiation strategy.
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Chapter 5: Competitive Rivalry and Dynamics
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150 Verified Questions
150 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Goods or services in standard-cycle markets reflect A) organizations that serve a mass market.
B) numerous first mover advantages.
C) an inability to sustain a competitive advantage except for brief periods of time.
D) competitive advantages that are shielded from imitation.
Q2) (Refer to Case Scenario 2) Is the toolbox business a slow-, standard-, or fast-cycle business?
Q3) (Refer to Case Scenario 1) Develop an argument as to why RI should hold back and be a second mover with the new technology.
Q4) Competitive rivalry has the most effect on the firm's ____ strategies than the firm's other strategies.
A) business-level
B) corporate-level
C) acquisition
D) international
Q5) Define slow-cycle, fast-cycle and standard cycle markets.
Q6) (Refer to Case Scenario 1) Develop an argument as to why RI should try to be a first-mover with this new technology.
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Chapter 6: Corporate Level Strategy
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162 Verified Questions
162 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The curvilinear relationship of corporate performance and diversification indicates that
A) dominant-business corporate strategies tend to be higher performing than related constrained or unrelated business strategies.
B) the highest performing business strategy is related constrained diversification.
C) the less related the businesses acquired, the higher performing the organization.
D) none of the strategies consistently outperforms the others.
Q2) Compared with diversification based on intangible resources, diversification based on financial resources is
A) less imitable and less likely to create value on a long-term basis.
B) more imitable and less likely to create value on a long-term basis.
C) less imitable and more likely to create value on a long-term basis.
D) more imitable and more likely to create value on a long-term basis.
Q3) What are the five categories of businesses based on level of diversification?
Q4) What are the two ways that an unrelated diversification strategy can create value?
Q5) (Refer to Case Scenario 2) Why would the acquisition of Plastico be good for JC?
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Strategic Acquisition and Restructuring
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174 Verified Questions
174 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Internal product development is often viewed as
A) carrying a high risk of failure.
B) the only reliable method of generating new products for the firm.
C) a quicker method of product launch than acquisition of another firm.
D) critical to the success of biotech and pharmaceutical firms.
Q2) The March 2011 announcement that AT&T was acquiring T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom is a _________ acquisition and is intended to _________ .
A) vertical; increase diversification
B) horizontal; increase market power
C) vertical; overcome entry barriers
D) related; increase speed to market.
Q3) ____ typically result(s) in the acquiring firm being able to prevent valuable human resources in the acquired firm from leaving.
A) Financial slack
B) Private synergy
C) Friendly acquisitions
D) High compensation
Q4) (Refer to Case Scenario 2) Why would a successful firm like Raptec spin off its most promising business?
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Chapter 8: Global Strategy
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167 Verified Questions
167 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Export, licensing, and the strategic alliance entry modes are also appropriate when firms want to establish a strong presence in an international market.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary provides the quickest access to a new market.
A)True
B)False
Q3) If intellectual property rights in an emerging economy are not well-protected, the number of firms in the industry is rapidly growing, and the need for global integration is high, ____ is the preferred entry mode.
A) exporting
B) strategic alliance
C) a joint venture or wholly-owned subsidiary
D) licensing
Q4) A transnational strategy is difficult to use because of its conflicting goals.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Identify and describe the major risks of international diversification.
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Chapter 9: Cooperative Implications for Strategy
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148 Verified Questions
148 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A competitive advantage that is developed through a cooperative strategy is called a collaborative or a ____ advantage.
A) economic
B) collusive
C) alliance
D) relational
Q2) Dynamic alliance networks work best in industries
A) characterized by frequent product innovations and short product life cycles.
B) that are mature and stable in nature.
C) where the coordination of product and global diversity is critical.
D) that are characterized by predictable market cycles and demand.
Q3) A major risk of a network cooperative strategy is that firms gain access to their partner's partners thus exposing their proprietary processes to loss or theft.
A)True
B)False
Q4) (Refer to Case Scenario 1) Why would a company like NI place such emphasis on alliances as a growth vehicle?
Q5) Identify and define the two different types of network strategies.
Q6) Identify the competitive risks associated with cooperative strategies.
11
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Chapter 10: Corporate Governance and Ethics
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171 Verified Questions
171 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) (Refer to Case Scenario 2) Develop arguments as to why and why not Lex Luthor should be appointed as chairperson of the new board.
Q2) Define the three internal corporate governance mechanisms and how they may be used to control and monitor managerial decisions.
Q3) Agency costs reflect all of the following EXCEPT ____ costs.
A) monitoring
B) enforcement
C) opportunity
D) incentive
Q4) A board comprised primarily of outside directors will have better insights as to the firms intended strategic initiatives, the reasons for the initiatives, and the outcomes expected from them than will inside directors.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Discuss the difficulties in establishing performance-based compensation plans for executives.
Q6) (Refer to Case Scenario 2) What characteristics will you look for in appointing new board members?
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Chapter 11: Structure and Controls with Organizations
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157 Verified Questions
157 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) For firms in a vertical complementary alliance (such as between Toyota and its suppliers), it is more difficult to identify the strategic center firm than in a horizontal complementary alliance (e.g., airline alliances).
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a variation of the multidivisional structure?
A) competitive form
B) regional form
C) cooperative form
D) strategic business unit form
Q3) (Refer to Case Scenario 2) What basic structural form would you recommend for both Pal and Mettolink? What must each firm be careful to avoid with this structure?
Q4) Some experts consider the ____ structure to be one of the 20 century's most significant organizational innovations because of its value to diversified firms.
A) network
B) cooperative
C) multidivisional
D) functional
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13
Chapter 12: Leadership Implications for Strategy
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148 Verified Questions
148 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18315
Sample Questions
Q1) If Virginia Rometty is chosen to replace IBM CEO Sam Palmisano (Chapter 12 Strategic Focus), it would be an example of internal succession as Rometty is currently head of IBM's sales unit. Which effect on strategy does this model of succession suggest?
A) Strategic change
B) Stable strategy or stable strategy with innovation
C) Ambiguous: possible change in top management team and strategy
D) Strategic change with innovation
Q2) A firm's ability to act in a variety of competitively relevant ways is termed competitive agility.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Define human capital and its importance to the firm's success.
Q4) Which of the following factors most encourages stability in a firm's strategy?
A) A new CEO hired from outside the firm but within the industry.
B) Internal CEO succession and a homogeneous top management team.
C) External CEO succession and a heterogeneous top management team.
D) A new CEO hired from outside the industry.
Q5) Discuss how the managerial succession process and the composition of the top management team interact to affect strategy.
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Chapter 13: Entrepreneurial Implications for Strategy
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147 Verified Questions
147 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Firms develop innovations in all the following ways EXCEPT
A) Through autonomous or induced strategic behavior.
B) By acquiring other companies.
C) Through cooperative strategies.
D) Via divestiture of low-performing units.
Q2) Acquisitions are a means of extending the company's product line and increasing revenues. The capital market values growth. Therefore, some firms make acquisitions to improve their standing in the capital markets.
A)True
B)False
Q3) (Refer to Case Scenario 3) Does Bunnywac's development of its core battery technology better fit the notion of autonomous or induced strategic behavior?
Q4) Induced strategic behavior as a form of internal innovation is a(an) ____ process.
A) bottom-up
B) top-down
C) free-flowing
D) external
Q5) (Refer to Case Scenario 1) What resources appear to be missing?
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