1. A meeting was being held at a company, and was attended by five executives. A decision needed to be made about the following year's marketing campaign. Paul, an outspoken and aggressive person, insisted that his ideas be followed since there could not be a better alternative. No one else contributed to the discussion, and Paul's views were accepted. This group discussion suffered from:
a) domination.
b) goal displacement.
c) groupthink.
d) satisficing.
e) brainstorming
Scenario C:Use the information given below to answer the following questions. Ufford Inc., a global cosmetics company, is considering its corporate strategy. Several people on the board of directors believe they have the "perfect" strategy for the company. Nick believes that the best option is to continue their present strategy of offering cosmetics to customers who like the "look" of the products. Justin wants the company to expand by purchasing the manufacturing plants that produce Ufford products. Lily wants to add products like perfumes to the product line. Bella wants to develop the company by opening restaurants or setting up an amusement park.
2. Which of the following corporate strategies does Justin advocate?
a. Price skimming
b. Vertical integration
c. Concentration
d. Related diversification
e. Unrelated diversification
3. Which of the following corporate strategies does Lily advocate?
a. Price skimming
b. Vertical integration
c. Related diversification
d. Concentration
e. Unrelated diversification
4. Which of the following corporate strategies does Bella advocate?
a) Vertical integration
b) Unrelated diversification
c) Concentration
d) Price skimming
e) Related diversification
5. In order to reduce production costs, Seuss Inc., an automobile manufacturer, decided to buy out a glass plant and begin manufacturing the glass for the windows of cars on its own. The corporate strategy adopted by the company is known as:
a) related diversification.
b) unrelated diversification.
c) concentration.
d) vertical integration.
e) differentiation.
6. Bolton Inc., a chain of pizzerias, periodically compares the quality of its food and service with its competitors in order to continually improve its performance. This corporate strategy is known as:
a) benchmarking.
b) horizontal integration.
c) brainstorming.
d) vertical integration.
e) diversification.
7. Akins Corp. had focused only on alcoholic beverages for the last two decades. Now, the company is considering entering the soft drink market. Which of the following corporate strategies will most likely be adopted by the company?
a) Concentration
b) Vertical integration
c) Low-cost strategy
d) Unrelated diversification
e) Related diversification
8. Kaplan Corp. is evaluating the purchase of a small firm, Pahl Corp., which manufactures ornamental gadgets, products involving advanced technology. These products are expected to revolutionize the home construction industry. Pahl has only a minor share of this growing market, but the market is expected to grow rapidly. In which of the following categories of business in the BCG matrix would this firm be placed?
a) Question marks
b) Spinoffs
c) Dogs
d) Stars
e) Cash cows
9. Palin Corp., an American company, is trying to decide whether to open its first international branch in Europe or Asia. The managers of the company are operating under a condition of _____.
a) maximization
b) goal displacement
c) uncertainty
d) social reality
e) illusion of control
10. The manager of a restaurant noticed that the number of customers in the evening was decreasing. She promptly ordered the chef to revise the evening menu. Later, customer feedback indicated that the problem was not the menu but poor service from the waitstaff. The manager's decision to have the menu revised suggests that she failed to:
a) evaluate the decision.
b) make a choice.
c) identify and diagnose the problem.
d) evaluate alternatives.
e) generate alternative solutions.
11. In an attempt to make a conflict between two employees less personal and emotional, their manager instructs them to approach the same problem from a different viewpoint. They have a structured debate and come to a conclusion that suits both employees. This is an example of using the _____ approach.
a. satisficing
b. brainstorming
c. goal displacement
d. dialectic
e. maximizing
12. Gallaway Inc. recently decided to expand from its original base in real estate to several wide-ranging industries such as trucking, lawn mower manufacturing, and catering. This corporate strategy is known as:
a) low-cost.
b) unrelated diversification.
c) related diversification.
d) concentration.
e) vertical integration.
Scenario A: Use the paragraph given below to answer the following questions.
The senior management of Saturn Corp. has conducted a planning meeting. They need to make decisions about the following questions:
1. How many employees should be hired for the cafeteria this month?
2. Should the company expand into a new region in the next ten years?
3. How can the visibility of their marketing campaign be increased?
4. How can the biggest trucks in the business be scheduled for next week?
5. Should the company allow employees to work from home?
13. Which of the following questions is related to strategic planning?
a) How can the visibility of their marketing campaign be increased?
b) How can the biggest trucks in the business be scheduled for next week?
c) Should the company expand into a new region in the next ten years?
d) How many employees should be hired for the cafeteria this month?
e) Should the company allow employees to work from home?
14. The decision regarding the number of employees to be hired for the cafeteria is part of operational planning because:
a. it has a strong external orientation and covers major portions of the organization.
b. it focuses on the major actions a unit must take to fulfill its part of the strategic plan.
c. it involves a specific procedure that is required at lower levels of the organization.
d. it translates broad strategic goals and plans into specific goals and plans relevant to a particular portion of the organization.
e. it involves making decisions about the organization's long-term goals and strategies.
Scenario D: Use the information given below to answer the following questions. The management team of Dawson Medical Center Inc. has several decisions to make. They are:
1. Determine the patients who have to be admitted the next day.
2. Decide whether to purchase the only other medical center in the region.
3. Select the candidates who will meet the requirements for the training program to be conducted in nursing.
4. Determine whether the medical center should diversify to include more advanced (and substantially more costly) technologies.
15. Decision 4 is an example of a _____ decision.
a) programmed
b) non-programmed
c) risk-free
d) trivial
e) certain
16. Decision 1 is a _____ decision because it can be solved using rules and procedures.
a. risky
b. tactical
c. nonprogrammed
d. strategic
e. programmed
17. In the context of decision 3, if the authorities select the first few candidates who meet the minimum requirements without examining every candidate's file to see if anyone else has better qualifications, they are adopting the method of:
a) maximization.
b) optimizing.
c) constraint.
d) satisficing.
e) constructive conflict.
Scenario B: Raney Pharmaceuticals Corp. has completed a SWOT analysis as part of their ongoing strategic planning process. They have collected the following information:
1. New regulations have been passed limiting their ability to sell certain formulations over the counter.
2. As compared to their competitors, their management team is by far the best in the industry.
3. They have fallen behind in research and development in the last few years.
4. More people are becoming interested in natural alternatives to traditional chemical pharmaceuticals; this trend is expected to continue over the next decade.
5. The company has inadequate financial resources to invest in their operations.
18. In the context of the given scenario, which of the following is a strength of Raney Pharmaceuticals Corp.?
a) As compared to their competitors, their management team is by far the best in the industry.
b) The company has inadequate financial resources to invest in their operations.
c) They have fallen behind in research and development in the last few years.
d) New regulations have been passed limiting their ability to sell certain formulations over the counter.
e) More people are becoming interested in natural alternatives to traditional chemical pharmaceuticals; this trend is expected to continue over the next decade.
19. In the context of the given scenario, which of the following is an opportunity for Raney Pharmaceuticals Corp.?
a) They have fallen behind in research and development in the last few years.
b) The company has inadequate financial resources to invest in their operations.
c) More people are becoming interested in natural alternatives to traditional chemical pharmaceuticals; this trend is expected to continue over the next decade.
d) New regulations have been passed limiting their ability to sell certain formulations over the counter.
e) As compared to their competitors, their management team is by far the best in the industry.
20. In the context of the given scenario, which of the following is a threat for Raney Pharmaceuticals Corp.?
a) As compared to their competitors, their management team is by far the best in the industry.
b) They have fallen behind in research and development in the last few years.
c) New regulations have been passed limiting their ability to sell certain formulations over the counter.
d) More people are becoming interested in natural alternatives to traditional chemical pharmaceuticals; this trend is expected to continue over the next decade.
e) The company has inadequate financial resources to invest in their operations.