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International Business : The Challenge of Global Competition, 8/e

Donald Ball
Wendell H. McCulloch, California State University Long Beach
Paul L. Frantz, California State University Long Beach
Michael Geringer, California Polytechnic State University
Michael S. Minor, University of Texas Pan American

Strategic Planning, Organization Design and Control of the Firm

Multiple Choice Quiz


1	The new strategic planning process differs from the old one in that now:
		A)	only top management is involved.
		B)	it is a company activity done in seclusion.
		C)	the process is described as "groupthink."
		D)	strategic planning is assigned to teams of line and staff managers from different businesses and functional areas.


2	To succeed in today's global market place, a company must:
		A)	have ample supplies of financing.
		B)	be able to quickly identify and exploit opportunities whenever they may occur.
		C)	world-wide sources of cheap raw materials.
		D)	form strategic alliances with competitors.


3	To create a competitive advantage that is sustainable over time, the international company should try to develop skills, or competencies that:
		A)	create value for customers, and for which customers are willing to pay.
		B)	shared among many competitors.
		C)	that are easy to substitute for.
		D)	all of the above.


4	The process of strategic planning provides a formal structure in which managers:
		A)	analyze the company's external environments.
		B)	define the company's business and mission.
		C)	set corporate objectives.
		D)	all of the above.


5	Global and domestic planning processes are:
		A)	dissimilar.
		B)	carried out by different groups.
		C)	similar.
		D)	carried out simultaneously.


6	The value chain concept:
		A)	has been credited to Wroe Alderson.
		B)	is a relatively new concept.
		C)	has been around for decades.
		D)	is no longer considered viable.


7	Amazon.com's mission is to be the world's:
		A)	largest supplier of reading material.
		B)	most customer-centric company.
		C)	most efficient on-line business.
		D)	leader in incorporating computer technology into day-to-day business.


8	At the corporate level, strategies:
		A)	should be specific.
		B)	should be quantifiable.
		C)	may be general.
		D)	should not be specific.


9	A contingency plan is for:
		A)	the best-case scenario.
		B)	the worst-case scenario.
		C)	critical events that could have a severe impact on the firm.
		D)	all of the above.


10	According to a survey taken of 9,000 American managers, the most commonly used management tool is:
		A)	the mission statement.
		B)	the customer satisfaction survey.
		C)	total quality management.
		D)	competitor profiling.


11	A long-term strategic plan covers a period of:
		A)	five years.
		B)	ten years.
		C)	fifteen years.
		D)	all of the above.


12	The planning process that begins at the highest level in the organization and continues downward is known as:
		A)	executive planning.
		B)	upper-level management planning.
		C)	top-down planning.
		D)	corporate planning.


13	Repetition of the bottom-up or top-down planning process until all differences are reconciled is known as:
		A)	repetition planning.
		B)	iterative planning.
		C)	reconciliation planning.
		D)	repeat planning.


14	Planning during the 1960s and 1970s commonly consisted of a company's CEO and the head of planning getting together to devise a corporate plan. Changes in the business environment, however, caused changes to be made in the area of:
		A)	who does the planning.
		B)	how the planning is done.
		C)	contents of the plan.
		D)	all of the above.


15	A concern that management faces in designing the organizational structure is:
		A)	finding the most effective way to departmentalize to take advantage of the efficiencies gained from the specialization of labor.
		B)	coordinating the activities of those departments to enable the firm to meet its overall objectives.
		C)	both "a" and "b".
		D)	none of the above.


16	An organizational structure composed of one or more superimposed organizational structures in an attempt to mesh product, regional, functional, and other expertise is known as a:
		A)	matrix organization.
		B)	hybrid organization.
		C)	conglomerate organization.
		D)	functional organization.


17	An organizational form in which product divisions have been defined as though they were distinct, independent businesses is known as:
		A)	a matrix overlay.
		B)	a strategic business unit.
		C)	an independent business unit.
		D)	none of the above.


18	An organization that coordinates economic activity to deliver value to customers using resources outside the traditional boundaries of the organization is known as:
		A)	a non-traditional corporation.
		B)	a virtual corporation.
		C)	an outsourcing corporation.
		D)	a horizontal corporation.


19	An Industry Week survey of senior executives in large manufacturing firms revealed that the primary strategy adopted by respondents to become more competitive globally was to:
		A)	expand into the Asian markets.
		B)	change its organizational structure.
		C)	concentrate on core businesses.
		D)	adopt value chain strategies.


20	With less than 50 percent of the voting stock and even with no voting stock an IC can maintain control by:
		A)	a management contract.
		B)	control of the finances.
		C)	control of the technology.
		D)	all of the above.

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