Chapter 1: Overview of Strategic Management

The acronym SWOT stands for

• Special Weapons for Operations Timeliness

• Services, Worldwide Optimization, and Transport

• Strengths Worldwide Overcome Threats

• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

Which of the following is not a characteristic of strategic management that makes it different from other types of management?

• It is interdisciplinary.

• It has an external focus.

• It has an internal focus.

• It concerns the present direction of the organization.

Which of the following is an issue considered in developing corporate strategies?

• What business(es) are we in?

• What direction are we going?

• What resources do we have to implement our strategies?

• What businesses are we in and what to do with those businesses?

Which of the following is NOT a major element of the strategic management process?

• Formulating strategy

• Implementing strategy

• Evaluating strategy

• Assigning administrative tasks

Competitive advantage can best be described as:

• increased efficiency.

• what sets an organization apart.

• a strength of the organization.

• intangible resources.

The various organizational routines and processes that determine how efficiently and effectively the organization transforms its inputs into outputs are called:

• strengths.

• core competencies.

• capabilities.

• customer value.

When defining strategic management the most important thing to remember is that it is:

• Not as easy as you think

• Mainly the province of senior managers

• A living evolving process

• More conceptual than practical

An organisation’s strategy:

• remains set in place longer than the mission and objectives

• generally forms over a period of time as events unfold

• tends to be formed at the same time the mission is developed and objectives are formulated

• is usually conceived at a single time when managers sit down and work out a comprehensive strategic plan for the next 3-5 years

The primary focus of strategic management is:

• strategic analysis

• the total organisation

• strategy formulation

• strategy implementation.

Which of the following is not an advantage of strategic management?

• It provides organisations with a clearer sense of direction and purpose

• It helps improve the political, economic, social and technological environment of the organisation

• It helps orientate management decisions to relevant environmental conditions

• It helps organisations be proactive rather than reactive