1.
It is generally agreed that the role of strategy is to:
A.
Make best use of resources
B.
Achieve competitive advantage
C.
Make profits for the organization
D.
Make the best products and services
Correct answer
2. Kay (1993) sees the strategy of an organization as matching internal capabilities with:
A.
The industry life cycle
B.
The external environment
C.
Its external relationships
D.
Its customer needs
Correct answer
3. Strategy formulation takes place at two levels. These are:
A.
Conscious and sub-conscious
B.
Implicit and explicit
C.
Corporate and business
D.
Business and operational
Correct answer
4. The statement of an organization's aspirations can be found in the organization's:
A.
Vision statement
B.
Mission statement
C.
Strategic objectives
D.
Actions
5. Decisions regarding which industries to compete in are the concern of:
A.
Business level strategy
B.
Corporate level strategy
C.
Mergers and acquisitions
D.
Functional level strategy
Correct answer
6. At corporate level, the scope of an organization relates to:
A.
The number of customers served
B.
The breadth of the portfolio of SBUs
C.
The number of SBUs
Correct answer
D.
The size of the SBUs
7. A decision made at the business level of a firm would be:
A.
The degree of synergy between the businesses in the portfolio
B.
Which industries to enter
C.
How to compete in a given market
D.
How to add value to the businesses in the portfolio
8. The purpose of strategy is to provide:
A.
A set of standards which all employees in an organisation should strive to attain.
B.
The strategic direction for an organisation in the foreseeable future.
C.
Direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term, which achieves advantage for an or
changing environment to meet the needs of markets.
D.
Direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term, which achieves advantage in a chan
through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expec
9. An organisation's mission can be defined as:
A.
The overriding purpose in line with the values or expectations of stakeholders.
Correct ans
B.
The overriding purpose regardless of the values or expectations of stakeholders.
C.
The organisation's business plan.
D.
The desired future state of the organisation.
10. The fundamental purpose of an organization's mission statement is to:
A.
Define the operational structure of the organization
B.
Create a good human relations climate in the organization
C.
Define the organization's purpose in society
D.
Define the functional areas required by the organization
E.
Generate good public relations for the organization
11. Which of the following is true regarding Critical Success Factors (CSFs)?
A.
The list of critical success factors is the same from one organization to another.
B.
Use of CSFs is one method of determining the country in which to locate a new facility.
C.
The critical success factors must be weighted equally.
D.
Critical Success Factors are relevant for strategic planning, but not for Global Operations.
Co
12. Which level of strategy impacts the operating staff to the greatest degree during their daily work experien
A.
None of these
B.
Corporate Strategy
C.
Business Strategy
D.
Functional Strategy
Correct answer
13. The Boston Group Portfolio Matrix is used to assess:
A.
The size of a portfolio of businesses
B.
The extent to which the corporate centre can add value to the businesses
C.
The balance of the portfolio of businesses
D.
The scope of the portfolio
Correct answer
14. According to Grant, which of the following is the basis of competitive advantage?
A.
Capabilities
Correct answer
B.
A well-chosen generic strategy
C.
Having the correct mix of businesses
D.
Resources
15. The 'transparency' of competitive advantage refers to the extent to which of the following?
A.
Competitors can identify the reason for the competitive advantage
B.
Competitors can access the same resources and capabilities
C.
Competitors can copy the resources and capabilities
D.
Competitors can find substitute resources and capabilities
16. Three ways of sustaining competitive advantage are:
A.
Monopoly, cartel and market sharing
B.
Price-based strategies, differentiation and diversification
C.
Price-based strategies, differentiation and lock-in
D.
Change, adaptation and efficiency
Correct answer
17. Strategic fit means:
A.
Creating opportunities by building on resources and competences.
B.
Having a balanced portfolio which meets customer requirements.
C.
Tailoring strategies to address forces in the business environment.
Correct answer
D.
Meeting the expectations of stakeholders.
18. Response-based competitive advantage can be
A.
All of these
B.
Flexible response
C.
Reliable response
D.
Quick response
19. A core competence can be defined as:
A.
A cluster of attributes that confers competitive advantage
B.
A cluster of resources that confers competitive advantage
C.
A unique way of configuring an activity
D.
Configuration of the value chain
Correct answer
20. Which of the following are the three areas from which the core competences or distinctive capabilities are
A.
Architecture, innovation and operation
B.
Architecture, flexibility and reputation
C.
Infrastructure, innovation and reputation
D.
Architecture, innovation and reputation
21. The resource-based view is also known as:
A.
The outside-in approach
B.
The positioning approach
C.
The value chain approach
D.
The inside-out approach
22. Reputation in the context of an organization's resources can provide competitive advantage because:
A.
It is explicit
B.
It is difficult to copy
C.
It is based on word-of-mouth
D.
It is a threshold resource
Correct answer
23. The VRIO framework serves as a useful operational control technique by helping the organisation to:
A.
Evaluate capabilities in critical functional areas.
Correct answer
B.
Discover intangible assets lying unutilised within.
C.
Locate the likely areas of continual improvements.
D.
Create synergies across different departments.
24. Which of the following questions is not an integral part of analyzing a company's resources and competit
A.
Are the company's prices and costs competitive?
Correct answer
B.
What does the company's value chain look like?
C.
Is the company competitively stronger or weaker than key rivals?
D.
What are the company's resource strengths and weaknesses and its external opportunities and t
25. A core competence:
A.
Holds the potential for being a cornerstone of a company's strategy because it gives a company
and qualifies as a genuine company strength and resource.
B.
Nearly always resides in the caliber of the company's assets on its balance sheet rather than in
intellectual capital; furthermore, balance sheet-related core competencies tend to be competitively m
competencies grounded in intellectual capital. Correct answer
C.
Is better suited to helping a company defend against external threats than in pursuing external
D.
Is usually tied closer to the calibre of the companys manufacturing capability and/or its propri
know-how.