Executive Decision Making Test
Preparation
Course Introduction
Executive Decision Making explores the complex processes and frameworks used by leaders in dynamic business environments to make effective, strategic choices. The course examines decision-making models, the influence of cognitive biases, the role of data and analytics, and approaches to managing uncertainty and risk. Through case studies and real-world scenarios, students will develop skills in critical thinking, ethical judgment, stakeholder engagement, and adaptive leadership, preparing them to confidently navigate high-stakes situations and drive organizational success.
Recommended Textbook Essentials of Strategic Management 5th Edition by John E Gamble
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10 Chapters
708 Verified Questions
708 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/2781
Page 2
Chapter 1: Strategy,Business Models, and Competitive Advantage
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46 Verified Questions
46 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/55422
Sample Questions
Q1) It is normal for a company's strategy to end up being
A) left unchanged from management's original planned set of actions and business approaches since making on-the-spot changes is too risky.
B) a combination of defensive moves to protect the company's market share and offensive initiatives to set the company's product offering apart from rivals.
C) like the strategies of other industry members since all companies are confronting much the same market conditions and competitive pressures.
D) a blend of deliberate planned actions to improve the company's competitiveness and financial performance and as-needed unplanned reactions to unanticipated developments and fresh market conditions.
E) a mirror image of its business model,so as to avoid impairing company profitability.
Answer: D
Q2) What is the connection between a company's strategy and its quest for sustainable competitive advantage?
Answer: Answers may vary.
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Chapter 2: Strategy Formulation, Execution, and Governance
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58 Verified Questions
58 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The primary roles/obligations of a company's board of directors in the strategy-making,strategy-executing process include
A) playing the lead role in forming the company's strategy and then directly supervising the efforts and actions of senior executives in implementing and executing the strategy.
B) providing guidance and counsel to the CEO in carrying out his or her duties as chief strategist and chief strategy implementer.
C) overseeing the company's financial accounting and reporting practices,evaluating the caliber of senior executives' strategy-making and strategy-executing skills,and instituting a compensation plan that rewards top executives for results that serve shareholder interests.
D) working closely with the CEO,senior executives,and the strategic planning staff to develop a strategic plan for the company.
E) reviewing and approving the company's business model,and reviewing and approving the proposals and recommendations of the CEO as to how to execute the business model.
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Evaluating a Companys External Environment
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84 Verified Questions
84 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not an appropriate guideline for developing a strategic group map for a given industry?
A) Variables chosen as axes for the map should indicate big differences in how rivals have positioned themselves to compete in the marketplace.
B) Variables chosen as axes for the map can be quantitative,qualitative,or discrete and defined in terms of distinct classes and combinations.
C) Variables selected as axes for the map should be highly correlated.
D) Several maps should be drawn if more than one pair of variables can help illuminate differences in the competitive positioning of industry members.
E) Sizes of the circles on the map should be drawn proportional to the combined sales of the firms in each strategic group.
Answer: C
Q2) Can an industry be attractive to one company and unattractive to another company? Why or why not?
Answer: Answers may vary.
Q3) Identify and briefly describe five common barriers to entering an industry.
Answer: Answers may vary.
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Chapter 4: Evaluating a Company Resources, Capabilities, and Competitiveness
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The competitive power of a company resource depends on
A) whether it helps differentiate a company's product offering from the product offerings of rival firms.
B) whether the resource is really competitively valuable,if it is rare and something competitors lack,how hard it is to copy or imitate,and how easily it can be trumped by the substitute resource strengths and competitive capabilities of rivals.
C) whether customers are aware of the resource and view it positively enough to boost the company's brand name reputation.
D) whether the resource is something rivals are unable to perform,if it is an important differentiating product or service feature,how strongly it contributes to the company's brand image,and if it is the foundation of a cost-based advantage.
E) whether the resource is technology-based or based on superior marketing know-how.
Q2) What is benchmarking and why is it a strategically important analytical tool?
Q3) Assume a firm is at a cost disadvantage with rivals because its internal costs are higher than those of rivals.Identify several strategic moves that it can make to restore cost parity.
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Chapter 5: The Five Generic Competitive Strategies
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58 Verified Questions
58 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What sets focused (or market niche) strategies apart from low-cost leadership and broad differentiation strategies is
A) the extra attention paid to top-notch product performance and product quality.
B) their concentrated attention on a narrow piece of the overall market.
C) greater opportunity for competitive advantage.
D) their suitability for market situations where most industry rivals have weakly differentiated products.
E) their objective of delivering more value for the money.
Q2) A low-cost leader's basis for competitive advantage is
A) lower prices than rival firms.
B) using a low-cost/low-price approach to gain the biggest market share.
C) high buyer switching costs.
D) lower overall costs than competitors.
E) higher unit sales than rivals.
Q3) Identify cost drivers in a company's value chain.Explain how these drivers impact a firm's generic strategy.
Q4) What are the distinctive features of a focused differentiation strategy? How is it different from a broad differentiation strategy?
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Strength-Ending a Company Competitive
Position: Strategic Moves, Timing, and Scope of Operations
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68 Verified Questions
68 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The two best reasons for investing company resources in vertical integration (either forward or backward) are to
A) speed entry into foreign markets and/or exercise stronger control over operating costs.
B) broaden the firm's product line and/or enable the company to charge a premium price for its product/service.
C) gain a first-mover advantage in adopting new production technologies and/or employ potent defensive strategies.
D) strengthen the company's competitive position and/or boost its profitability.
E) achieve greater product differentiation and/or gain better access to prospective buyers.
Q2) Explain the pros and cons of bypassing regular sales channels in favor of direct sales and Internet retailing.
Q3) What are the merits of outsourcing the performance of certain value chain activities as opposed to performing them in-house? Under what circumstances does outsourcing make good strategic sense?
Q4) What is a blue ocean strategy,what is its appeal,and what is its drawback?
Q5) Identify five objectives of a merger and acquisition strategy.
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Chapter 7: Strategies for Competing in International Markets
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65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/55416
Sample Questions
Q1) Establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in a foreign market to take advantage of all essential value chain activities requires a strategy that
A) establishes a wholly owned subsidiary.
B) acquires a foreign company.
C) supports direct control over all aspects of operating in a foreign market.
D) establishes a start-up operation.
E) All of these choices are correct.
Q2) Which one of the following is not a reason a company decides to enter foreign markets?
A) spreading business risk across a wider geographic market base
B) capitalizing on company competencies and capabilities
C) achieving lower costs and enhance the firm's competitiveness
D) building the profit sanctuary necessary to wage guerrilla offensives against global challengers endeavoring to invade its home market
E) gaining access to new customers
Q3) Explain the importance of competing in emerging markets.
Q4) Explain under what circumstances it becomes necessary for a multinational company to concentrate internal processes in a few locations.
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Chapter 8: Corporate Strategy: Diversification and the
Multi-Business Company
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97 Verified Questions
97 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/55415
Sample Questions
Q1) The options for allocating a diversified company's financial resources include
A) making acquisitions to establish positions in new businesses or to complement existing businesses.
B) investing in ways to strengthen or grow existing businesses.
C) funding long-range R&D ventures aimed at opening market opportunities in new or existing businesses.
D) paying off existing debt,increasing dividends,building cash reserves,or repurchasing shares of the company's stock.
E) All of these choices are correct.
Q2) Identify and briefly discuss each of the three tests for determining whether diversification into a new business is likely to build shareholder value.
Q3) Discuss the pros and cons of a strategy of unrelated diversification.
Q4) Under what circumstances might a diversified firm choose to divest one or more of its businesses?
Q5) What factors should management consider when ranking business units and setting a priority for resource allocation?
Q6) Explain the difference between a cash cow business and a cash hog business.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Ethics,Corporate Social
Responsibility,Environmental Sustainability, and Strategy
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52 Verified Questions
52 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A belief in ethical relativism leads to the conclusion that A) because ethical standards are subjective,it is perfectly appropriate for each company to define and implement its own ethical principles of right and wrong as concerns the use of underage labor and the payment of bribes and kickbacks. B) ethical standards are determined objectively (rather than subjectively).
C) whether the payment of bribes and kickbacks should be deemed ethical or unethical depends on the moral standards,values,beliefs,convictions,and business norms that prevail in particular cultures,societies,countries,or circumstances.
D) ethical standards are objective and universal; thus,whether the use of underage labor and the payment of bribes and kickbacks should be deemed ethical or unethical definitely is not dependent on the moral standards,values,beliefs,convictions,and business norms that prevail in particular cultures,societies,countries,or circumstances. E) standards of right and wrong are governed by what is legal in a given country; thus,whether the use of underage labor and the payment of bribes and kickbacks is ethical or unethical is governed by local law.
Q2) What are the chief causes of unethical strategies and unethical business behavior?
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Chapter 10: Super Strategy Execution-Another Path to Competitive Advantage
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100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/55413
Sample Questions
Q1) Companies with insular,inwardly focused cultures usually
A) tend to possess arrogant overconfident mind-sets,thereby tending to underestimate the competencies and accomplishments of rival companies and overestimate their own progress.
B) tend to concentrate on benchmarking to find out the best methods of doing things.
C) tend to concentrate greed and ego gratification.
D) tend to discount and doubt their own performance statistics.
E) All of these choices are correct.
Q2) Identify types of support systems that a company can install to support the execution of its strategy.How important are these systems to the strategy implementation process?
Q3) Identify four tactics that are common among companies dedicated to staffing jobs with the best people they can find.
Q4) The character of a company's corporate culture is a product of
A) the company's core values and business principles.
B) its style of operating and ingrained behaviors and attitudes.
C) the "chemistry" that permeates its work environment.
D) the work practices and behaviors that define "how we do things around here."
E) All of these choices are correct.
Page 12
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