Chapter 8: Strategy - Creating Purpose

1. Mintzberg (1987) suggested that strategy consisted of which five interrelated concepts?

position, perspective, pattern, ploy, prevention plan, ploy, PEST, position, perspective ploy, PEST, pattern, perspective, plan plan, ploy, pattern, position, perspective

2. Which of the following defines how strategy is formulated in the cognitive school of thought identified by Mintzberg and colleagues?

is an emergent process as the organization learns and adapts to its environment develops through the mental processes in the manager’s mind develops through a process of negotiation between the organization and the environment and between different groups in the organization is a collective and social process where culture can act to restrict strategic change or encourage it, as well as determining the direction of effort

3. A SWOT analysis can provide the organization with an understanding of:

how it fits with its environment and the challenges it will face in the future the important elements in the organization's environment the top five challenges that the organization will face in the next ten years the current skill set of employees

4. The 'experience curve' illustrates how:

the organization is able to innovate more frequently as it gains experience in production the quality of products manufactured increases as the organization gains experience in production the cost per item of manufacturing a product decreases as the organization gains experience the organization gains experience as it diversifies its portfolio

5. Which of the following is NOT an element of the VRIO framework for analysing an organization's resources?

valuable rare innovative organized

6. Schuler (1992) suggested that SHRM is carried out through five main activities. Performance appraisals are an example of which kind of activity?

philosophy practices processes programmes

7. Which of the following is NOT one of the three basic approaches taken to SHRM?

high performance high commitment high engagement high involvement

8. Fixed and explicit job descriptions along with egalitarian compensation are examples of HRM practices that would support a _________-focused organizational strategy.

quality cost leadership innovation commitment

9. Which of the following is a criticism levelled at the contingency or vertical fit approach to SHRM?

it does not consider how practices or strategies might align with the employee interests or wider norms it is focused on flexibility to the exclusion of other considerations it does not take account of how strategy should be fitted to the organization's current stage of development it promotes the use of HR bundles

10. An 'ambidextrous' organization is one which can:

accumulate experience faster than its competitors invest in products that have potential and withdraw others from the market take risks and innovate simultaneously fulfil and shape demand

Check Answers