Although strategic control is the final step in the strategic management process, it should be an ongoing process.

The PIMS program is a government-sponsored effort to improve strategic planning effectiveness in the United States.

The PIMS program is a database that contains quantitative and qualitative information on the performance of thousands of firms and more than 5,000 business units.

Corrective action should usually, but not always, be taken at all levels if actual performance is less than the standard that has been established.

Corrective action should be taken at all levels if actual performance is less than the standard that has been established unless extraordinary causes of the discrepancy can be identified.

Strategic control can be exerted through either the formal or informal organization.

Control can be exerted through either the official, formal organization, or through the informal organization—the norms, behaviors, and expectations that evolve when individuals and groups come into contact with one another.

Crisis management refers to efforts made to eliminate the possibility that the organization can be affected negatively by unforeseen events.

Crisis management refers to the process of planning for and implementing the response to a wide range of negative events that could severely affect an organization.

Crisis management may work to reduce the likelihood of crisis events but cannot eliminate the possibility that they might occur.

Crisis management involves a series of steps that can be taken before a crisis occurs, while it is occurring, and after it has passed.

A number of steps can be taken to facilitate crisis management before, during the crisis, but not after.

Strategic control is important because __________.

Strategic control hinders managers understand how the firm is performing and also assists in addressing changes in an uncertain environment. Strategic control has nothing to do with feedback from lower-level managers..

The strategic control process begins by __________.

In the second step of strategic control, top management determines the focus of control by identifying internal factors that can serve as effective measures for the success or failure of a strategy, as well as outside factors that could trigger responses from the organization.

The process of measuring a firm’s performance against that of the top performers, usually in the same industry, is known as __________.

Benchmarking is the process of measuring a firm’s performance against that of the top performers—usually in the same industry.

Sources of published information for strategic control available to the public include all of the following except __________.

PIMS data is available only to firms participating in the PIMS project.

Benchmarks should be __________.

Benchmarks should be specific, associated with the strategy’s success, and within the firm’s control.

Which of the following approaches bases the measurement of performance on an array of quantitative and qualitative factors instead of a single quantitative measure in the organization, such as profitability?

According to the balanced scorecard approach to measuring performance, measurement is based on an array of quantitative and qualitative factors, such as ROA, market share, customer disloyalty and unsatisfaction, speed, and innovation.

Strategic Control consists o determining the extent to which the firm's strategies are successful in attaining its goals and objectives.

Which of the following is a key factor that lead to strategic control?

Managers should think critically when considering strategic control and look for opportunities to enhance performance when things are going well.

Strategic control can be exerted by the CEO, the board of directors, and even individuals outside the top management team such as mid-level managers.

While Strategic control can be exerted by outside management, typically the function is performed by the top management team.

Which of the following is not a step in the 5 step strategic control process?

Which of the following is not a step in the 5 step strategic control process?

Profitability is the most commonly used performance measure.

Other financial measures can be used to measure performance, they are:

A key problem with measuring performance is that 1 measurement can be pursued to the detriment of another.

When measuring performance, it is important to not focus on past performance, because it ignores several current internal variables.

The process of measuring a firm's performance against that of the top performers in the same industry is known as:

The application of technology and creativity in an effort to eliminate unnecessary operations is known as:

The process or activities that have been successful in other firms, may be adopted as a means of improving performance are known as:

A data base that contains quantitative and qualitative information on the performance of thousands of firms and more than 5,000 business units is known as:

Realistic, unspecific performance targets/benchmarks should be established for managers throughout the firm.

With specificity, it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of a strategy after it is implemented if clear targets are not identified in advance

Published information has 3 useful measures:

PIMS is published by the government.

Product/service quality can include conformance of a product/service to internal standards and the ultimate consumer's perception of the quality.

Publications such as Fortune and Consumer Report, as well as the Internet serve as terrible resources for strategic managers seeking quality assessments for an industry.

Innovation related expenses do not always guarantee success and they are not a good indicator.

Exerting strategical control requires that:

Strategic control can occur directly through the informal organization or indirectly through the formal organization

Which matches: The official structure of relationships and procedures used to manage organizational activity.

When top executives use the formal organization effectively, the informal organization reinforces it and promotes the same values.

Which matches: Refers to the norms, behaviors, and expectations that evolve when individuals and groups con into contact with each other.

Management can influence, but not control the informal organization

When management fails to align the formal organization's reward systems with new expectations, the informal organization typically changes to counterbalance the inconsistencies.

The process of planning for and implementing the response to a wide range of negative events that could severally impact the organization is known as:

A cross functional group within the organization who have been designated to develop and plan for the worst case scenarios and define standard operating procedures to implement prior to the event is known as:

Any substantial disruption in operations that physically affects the organization, its basic assumptions, and core activities is known as:

An approach to measuring performance based on an array of quantitative and qualitative data such as ROA, market share, customer loyalty/satisfaction, speed, and innovation is known as:

Proactive firms continually assess their vulnerabilities and threats and develop crisis management plans before the crisis occurs.

During the crisis, an organizational spokesperson should communicate effectively with the public to minimize the effects of the crisis.

Before the crisis, an organizational spokesperson should continue to communicate effectively with the public to minimize the effects of the crisis, as well as discover the cause of the crisis.

Which of the following is NOT a KEY trend in strategic management?

Which of the following is NOT a KEY trend in strategic management?

Market share is a common measure of performance. As market share increases, which are not likely to be enhanced?

Business process reengineering—the application of technology and creativity in an effort to eliminate unnecessary operations or drastically improve those that are not performing well—exerts control through the formal organization.

Examples of crises include

Crises in organizations occur much more frequently than widely reported.

Many firms do not actively engage in crisis planning.

1.Globalization

2.Growing influence of the Internet

3.Sustainability

4.Erosion of the low cost-differentiation dichotomy

5.Effective crisis management

^Above are all trends in strategic management