Question: Can you think of any reasons why

> Identify a long-term objective and two supporting annual objectives for a familiar organization.

> Describe the relationship between annual objectives and policies.

> Discuss relationships among objectives, strategies, and policies.

> Complete the following EPS/EBIT analysis for a company whose stock price is $20, interest rate on funds is 5%, tax rate is 20%, # of shares outstanding is 500 million, and EBIT range is $100 to $300 million. The firm needs to raise $200 million in capita

> Allocating resources can be a political and an ad hoc activity in firms that do not use strategic management. Why is this true? Does adopting strategic management ensure easy resource allocation? Why?

> Explain the importance of a vision and mission statement.

> How can delegation of authority contribute to effective strategic management?

> What are the benefits of establishing an ESOP in a company?

> Why is strategy implementation often considered the most difficult stage in the strategic-management process?

> In order of importance in your opinion, list six techniques or activities widely used to alter an organization’s culture.

> Do an Internet search using the keywords “GAAP to IFRS” to update yourself on this important transition coming soon in the USA.

> How does the external audit affect other components of the strategic-management process?

> Consider the following statement: “Retained earnings on the balance sheet are not monies available to finance strategy implementation.” Is it true or false? Explain.

> Explain why the strategic management class is often is called a “capstone course.”

> Why do many Europeans find the notion of “team spirit” in a work environment difficult to grasp?

> What types of strategies would you recommend for an organization that achieves total weighted scores of 3.6 on the IFE and 1.2 on the EFE Matrix?

> Identify two industries experiencing rapid technological changes and three industries that are experiencing little technological change. How does the need for technological forecasting differ in these industries? Why?

> What is the fundamental difference between business strategy and military strategy in terms of basic assumptions?

> Why should division head persons have the title president rather than vice president?

> How would application of the strategy-formulation analytical framework differ from a small to a large organization?

> Discuss the following statement: Major opportunities and threats usually result from an interaction among key environmental trends rather than from a single external event or factor.

> In developing a BCG or IE Matrix, what would be a good surrogate for revenues for 1) Target Corp., 2) Burger King, 3) Bank of America, and 4) Spirit Airlines.

> Identify a recent economic, social, political, or technological trend that significantly affects the local Pizza Hut.

> Explain why EPS/EBIT analysis is a central strategy-implementation technique.

> Do you believe the reasons to disclose by-segment financial information offset the reasons not to disclose by-segment financial information? Explain why or why not.

> Why are so many firms raising their dividend payout amounts?

> Give an example of “equifinality” as defined in the chapter.

> What is a “retreat” and why do firms take the time and spend the money to have these?

> In accounting terms, distinguish between intangibles and goodwill on a balance sheet. Why do these two items generally stay the same on projected financial statements?

> Why are policies especially important in strategy formulation?

> If you owned and opened three restaurants after you graduated, would you operate from a functional or divisional structure? Why?

> What major limitations of the BCG Matrix does the IE Matrix overcome?

> Note at the www.jcrew.com website, a vision statement is not given. Write a recommended vision statement for J. Crew given their strategies.

> How does strategy formulation differ for a small versus large organization? How does it differ for a for-profit versus a nonprofit organization?

> In an IFEM, would it be advantageous to list your strengths, and then your weaknesses, in order of increasing “weight”? Why?

> In developing an EFE Matrix, would it be advantageous to arrange your opportunities according to the highest weight, and do likewise for your threats? Explain.

> How would the mission statements of a for-profit and a nonprofit organization differ?

> List six characteristics of annual objectives.

> For the Litten Company in Table 8-7, what would the Retained Earnings value have to have been in 2013 on the balance sheet, given that the 2014 NI-DIV value was $4?

> Define and give a hypothetical example of a “white knight” in the fast-food industry.

> List four strategies and a hypothetical example of each.

> In performing an EPS/EBIT analysis, where does the tax rate percentage come from?

> Why is it important for a mission statement to be reconciliatory?

> Do an Internet search using the keywords “Balanced Scorecard Images.” Pick out two images among the hundred available. Compare and contrast the two images/processes as to effectiveness.

> List reasons why objectives are essential for organizational success.

> Explain why consumption patterns are becoming similar worldwide. What are the strategic implications of this trend?

> Strategy evaluation allows an organization to take a proactive stance toward shaping its own future. Discuss the meaning of this statement.

> In performing an EPS/EBIT analysis, where does the first row of (EBIT) numbers come from?

> What are four types of resources that all organizations have? List them in order of importance for your university or business school.

> What is your college or university’s self-concept? How would you state that in a mission statement?

> Even though planning is considered the foundation of management, why do you think it is commonly the task that managers neglect most?

> If a firm has weak financial position and competes in an unstable industry, in which quadrant will the SPACE vector lie?

> Distinguish between the concepts of mission and vision.

> In developing a QSPM, if 10 strategies are being compared simultaneously, what would be a good scale for the AS scores? Why?

> Do some research on Singapore to determine whether you agree that the country merits its #1 ranking globally in attractiveness for doing business.

> Identify the types of organizations that may need to evaluate strategy more frequently than others. Justify your choices.

> Under what conditions are corrective actions not required in the strategy-evaluation process?

> When someone or some company is “on a mission” to achieve something, many times they cannot be stopped. List three things in prioritized order that you are “on a mission” to achieve in life.

> Women now make up 53 percent of the work force in Latin and South America. Do some research to determine how that percentage compares with other parts of the world. What are the implications for a business in doing business globally?

> How important do you think “being adept at adapting” is for business firms? Explain.

> BellSouth Services is considering putting divisional EFE and IFE matrices online for continual updating. How would this affect strategy evaluation?

> List four corporate wellness practices that could be especially effective for a company.

> For a firm that you know well, give an example WT Strategy, showing how an internal weakness can be matched with an external threat to formulate a strategy.

> List three firms you are familiar with and give a distinctive competence for each firm.

> Marketing is becoming much more technical as are the duties and responsibilities of chief marketing officers (CMO’s). Give four examples of increasing technical aspects of marketing.

> Called de-integration, there appears to be a growing trend for firms to become less forward integrated. Discuss why.

> For a firm that you know well, give an example SO Strategy, showing how an internal strength can be matched with an external opportunity to formulate strategy.

> BUSINESS WEEK magazine says firms should “base executive compensation on actual company performance, rather than on the company’s stock price.” For example, Target Corp. bases executive pay on same-store sales growth rather than stock price. Discuss.

> Distinguish between long-range planning and strategic planning.

> College football coaches get paid millions, presumably because there is so much money involved in college football the need to win is paramount. However, head coaches are often fired when a season goes badly, such as Gene Chizik at Auburn University in l

> Define halo error. How can halo error inhibit selecting the best strategies to pursue?

> In order of importance, list six “characteristics of objectives.”

> Rate the five websites provided under the “Sources of External Information” section of the chapter from best to worst for finding information about a company.

> Explain benchmarking.

> Why do you think the SWOT Matrix is the most widely used of all strategy matrices?

> List five financial ratios that may be used by your university to monitor operations.

> If a firm competes in a very unstable industry such as telecommunications, where on the SP axis of the SPACE Matrix would you plot the appropriate point?

> Give a hypothetical example where Company A buys Company B for a 15.0% discount.

> If a firm has the leading market share in its industry, where on the BCG Matrix would the circle lie?

> Define and discuss the “spam” problem in the United States.

> Consider developing a before and after BCG or IE Matrix to reveal the expected results of your proposed strategies. What limitation of the analysis would this procedure somewhat overcome?

> How can a firm best achieve sustained competitive advantage?

> Prepare a BCG Matrix for a two-division firm with sales of $5 and $8 versus profits of $3 and $1 respectively. State assumptions for the RMSP and IGR axes to enable you to construct the diagram.

> Envision a QSPM with no weight column. Would that still be a useful analysis? Why or why not? What do you lose by deleting the weight column?

> Explain why successful strategy implementation often hinges on whether the strategy-formulation process empowers managers and employees.

> Why is it that a firm can sustain a competitive advantage normally for only a limited period of time?

> Do you believe expenditures for childcare or fitness facilities are warranted from a cost/benefit perspective? Why or why not?

> What are the most important characteristics of an effective management information system (MIS)?

> If the CEO of a beverage company such as Dr Pepper/Snapple asked you whether backward or forward integration would be better for the firm, how would you respond?

> Minorities and women each hold less than 15 percent of board seats of S&P 500 companies. Why is this not good?

> Aldina has identified conflicting authorities that address her research question. How should she evaluate these authorities to make a conclusion?

> Stephen transferred $15,000 to an irrevocable trust for Graham. The trustee has the discretion to distribute income or corpus for Graham’s benefit but is required to distribute all assets to Graham (or his estate) not later than Graham’s 21st birthday. W

> Barry transfers $1,000,000 to an irrevocable trust with income to Robin for her life and the remainder to Maurice (or his estate). Calculate the value of the life estate and remainder if Robin’s age and the prevailing interest rate result in a Table S di

> Tim is a plumber who joined a barter club. This year Tim exchanges plumbing services for a new roof. The roof is properly valued at $2,500, but Tim would have only billed $2,200 for the plumbing services. What amount of income should Tim recognize on the

> In constructing a keyword search, what should the keyword search include?

> Identify the sections in the Internal Revenue Code that authorize the use of qualified terminable interests (QTIPs) for gift and estate tax purposes, respectively.

> Explain why Congress allows self-employed taxpayers to deduct the employer portion of their self-employment tax.

> Paul is a widower with several grown children. He is considering transferring his residence into a trust for his children and retaining a life estate in it. Comment on whether this plan will prevent the value of the home from being included in Paul’s gro

> Using the IRS Web site (www.irs.gov/uac/The-Tax-Gap), how large is the current estimated “tax gap” (i.e., the amount of tax underpaid by taxpayers annually)? What group of taxpayers represents the largest “contributors” to the tax gap?

> Sandy has determined that her research question depends upon the interpretation of the phrase “not compensated by insurance.” What type of research question is this?