MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS*

CHAPTER 2: HIERARCHY OF STRATEGIC INTENT

1. What is meant by the term strategic intent?

(a) The intent that the organisation possesses
(b) The strategies that the organisation plans
(c) The purposes that the organisation strives for
(d) The intention of stakeholders of organisation

2. Hamel and Prahalad are credited with coining the term ‘strategic intent’. What is
interpretation of the term ‘strategic intent’?
(a) A passion of setting missions and goals such that these are not attainable with ease
(b) An obsession of having ambitions out of proportion to resources and capabilities
(c) A fascination with designing strategies that are unique and first-of-their kind
(d) An intention expressed by strategists to motivate the organisational members

3. Stretch is a misfit between _____ and _____.

(a) resources; aspirations
(b) aspirations; objectives
(c) objectives; missions
(d) missions; resources

4. When organisational resources are matched to what the environment demands it means
there is a/n:
(a) leverage
(b) complementarity
(c) harmony
(d) fit

5. The term ‘leveraging resources’ could be best expressed as:

(a) allocating resources to meet objectives
(b) stretching resources to meet aspirations
(c) apportioning resources to achieve fit
(d) distributing resources to achieve balance

6. When an organisation articulates the position it would like to attain in the distant future, it
is stating its:
(a) vision.
(b) aspiration.
(c) positioning.
(d) mission.

7. Ideally, a vision should not just be a/n:

(a) organisational charter.
(b) puller into the future.
(c) declaration of independence.
(d) plan or a strategy

8. This is certainly NOT one of the benefits of having a vision:

(a) inspiring and exhilarating
(b) continuity from the past
(c) creating common identity
(d) long-term thinking

9. According to Collins and Porras, the process of envisioning consists of two components.
What are these two components?
(a) Core ideology and core values
(b) Core ideology and core purpose
(c) Core ideology and envisioned future
(d) Core ideology and audacious goals

10. While vision relates to the long-term future of an organisation, mission is about:
(a) what the organisation is and why it exists
(b) what the organisation does and why it does it
(c) what is the organisation’s business model
(d) what is the organisation’s business activities

11. What is the basic thrust of an organisation’s mission?

(a) To outline the set of activities an organisation engages in
(b) To identify the means to achieve objectives of organisation
(c) To define the essential purpose of the organisation
(d) To describe the strategies to be used by the organisation

12. Mission statements could be formulated either:

(a) globally or nationally.
(b) explicitly or intuitively.
(c) purposely or unintentionally
(d) formally or informally.

13. All these are means normally used to communicate and disseminate a mission statement
within and outside organisation EXCEPT:
(a) Feeding the rumour mill
(b) Company annual reports
(c) Newsletters
(d) Company websites

14. A mission can be feasible if it has two characteristics. What are these two characteristics?
(a) Popular and interesting
(b) Realistic and achievable
(c) Relevant and credible
(d) Motivating and rewarding

15. An effective mission statement is likely to have all these characteristics EXCEPT:
(a) Feasibility
(b) Precision
(c) Appeal
(d) Clarity
16. Which of these is NOT a question asked in defining a business?
(a) When is it being sa tisfied?
(b) Who is being satisfied?
(c) What is being satisfied?
(d) How is it being satisfied?

17. Which one of these scholars has proposed the idea of business definition?
(a) Henry Mintzberg
(b) Igor Ansoff
(c) Derek Abell
(d) Michael Porter

18. What does the dimension of ‘alternative technology’ of business definition deal with?
(a) The different types of technologies used to manufacture a product
(b) The methods adopted to satisfy customer needs
(c) The ways in which customer groups can be idetified
(d) The manner in which customer function can be performed

19. What is most likely to happen when an organisation ventures away from its business
definition?
(a) It may experience ineffectiveness.
(b) It might hurt its corporate identity.
(c) It could lose its sense of direction.
(d) It can face risks of wrong diversification.

20. What is meant by the product/service concept?

(a) The idea of research scientists and engineers of how a product or service is to be
designed.
(b) The model of product or service development an organisation adopts to initiate
manufacturing.
(c) The manner in which an organisation assesses the user perception of product/service it
offers.
(d) The theory that works behind the operations management practised by an organisation.

21. The question ‘how does the organisation make money’ lies behind the concept of:
(a) business model.
(b) business definition.
(c) business value chain
(d) business plan

22. Strategies result in choices. Business models can be used to help:

(a) make a selection among these choices.
(b) analyse and communicate these choices.
(c) widen the ambit of choices available.
(d) formalise the chosen strategy to implement.

23. Which of these is a false statement?

(a) Goals are generalise d; objectives are specific.
(b) Goals are usually qualitative; objectives are generally quantitative.
(c) Goals are broadly stated; objectives are narrowly defined.
(d) Goals make the objectives operational.

24. Objectives play different roles in organisations. This is NOT one of such roles:
(a) Define the business of an organisation.
(b) Help in pursuing vision and mission.
(c) Provide the basis for strategic decision-making.
(d) Provide the standards for performance appraisal.

25. How can objectives be made measurable and controllable?

(a) By defining objectives in terms of quantitative measures
(b) By elaborating objectives in terms of what they are meant to achieve
(c) By stating objectives related to a time frame
(d) By expressing objectives in specific comparable terms

26. Which of these is the best example of a constraint to be considered in objective- setting?
(a) Equity capital
(b) Resource availability
(c) Information technology
(d) Operational effectiveness

27. What does the issue of verifiability of objectives deal with?

(a) Measuring the achievement through objectives
(b) Verifying the degree of accuracy of objectives
(c) Checking whether the objective has been met or not
(d) Estimating how well the objectives has been met

28. A good quality objective has all these qualities EXCEPT:

(a) Specific
(b) Relates to performance
(c) Impressive
(d) Measurable

29. Ideally, objectives should be set in all those performance areas which are:
(a) considered as critical by the top managers.
(b) likely to lead to higher profitability.
(c) of high interest to various stakeholders.
(d) of strategic importance to an organisation.

30. Glueck identified four factors to be considered for objective-setting. This is NOT one
of those four factors:
(a) Forces in the environment including stakeholders’ interests
(b) Realities of the enterprises’ resources and internal power relationships
(c) Value system of the top executives
(d) Awareness in management of the future objectives of the firm

31. The technique of balanced scorecard is ‘balanced’ because:

(a) it tries to create stability in the process of objective-setting.
(b) it attempts to balance different perspectives on objective-setting.
(c) it aims to develop equilibrium between conflicting demands.
(d) it seeks to keep steady the organisation from external influences

32. Which perspective is an organisation addressing if it adopts the objective of measuring

the share of revenues gained from new products?