Question: Do an Internet search using the keywords “

> Mejza Compressors uses a lean production assembly line to make its compressors. In one assembly area, the demand is 100 parts per eight-hour day. It uses a container that holds eight parts. It typically takes about six hours to round-trip a container fro

> If a goal of a supplier partnership is to eliminate acceptance sampling, then who does it?

> Can a process be considered in control but incapable of meeting design requirements? Explain.

> How could P-charts be used in a manufacturing facility?

> Ms. Jane Kim, purchasing manager of Kuantan ATV, Inc., is negotiating a contract to buy 20,000 units of a common component part from a supplier. Ms. Kim has done a preliminary cost analysis on manufacturing the part in-house and concluded that she would

> What are some variable data and attribute data that could be collected to track the quality of education at your university?

> Can a process exhibit sample measurements that are all within the control limits and still be considered out of control? Explain.

> Describe three ways by which your university could improve quality.

> Describe the Lean Six Sigma approach.

> Reducing lot sizes and increasing setups are common practices in most lean production settings. Why?

> Use an example to show how you could use lean thinking with a supplier and a customer.

> Looking at Table 8.1, which stage of supply chain management would you say Wal-Mart is in? How about a locally owned sandwich shop and the university you are attending?

> What does the Toyota Production System have to do with JIT and lean production?

> Briefly explain the primary concerns and objectives of lean production.

> The daily demand of a product can be specified by a normal distribution. The average daily demand is 250 units with a standard deviation of 40 units. The order lead time for this product is also normally distributed with an average of 10 days and a stand

> Given the following production schedule, compute the available-to-promise quantities.

> All players but the retailer should answer this question. What do you think the retailer’s customer demand pattern looked like? How did your customer orders vary throughout the game?

> Explain the difference between data and information in terms of each being useful to strategists.

> Describe the content available on the strategy club website at www.strategyclub.com.

> Would you recommend a divisional structure by geographic area, product, customer, or process for a medium-sized bank in your local area? Why?

> Identify cultural products at your college or university. Do these products, viewed collectively or separately, represent a strength or weakness for the organization?

> Do you think cultural products affect strategy formulation, implementation, or evaluation the most? Why?

> In your opinion, how many separate divisions could an organization reasonably have without using an SBU-type organizational structure? Why?

> Why do you believe cultural products affect all the functions of business?

> In a BCG Matrix or the Grand Strategy Matrix, what would you consider to be a rapid market (or industry) growth rate?

> What procedures could be necessary if the SPACE vector falls right on the axis between the Competitive and Defensive quadrants?

> Describe the organizational culture of your college or university.

> Rather than developing a QSPM, what is an alternative procedure for prioritizing the relative attractiveness of alternative strategies?

> List 10 external areas that give rise to opportunities and threats.

> In your opinion, what approaches to conflict resolution would be best for resolving a disagreement between a personnel manager and a sales manager over the firing of a particular salesperson? Why?

> Define and explain “outsourcing.”

> Describe several reasons why conflict may occur during objective-setting activities.

> Define and explain “first mover advantages.”

> Explain the following statement: Horizontal consistency of goals is as important as vertical consistency.

> Develop a SPACE Matrix for a company that is weak financially and a weak competitor. The industry for this company is pretty stable but the industry’s projected growth in revenues and profits is not good. Label all axes and quadrants.

> Give two examples of staffing strengths and weaknesses of an organization with which you are familiar.

> Identify and discuss three policies that apply to your present strategic-management class.

> How would profit and nonprofit organizations differ in their applications of the strategy-formulation framework?

> Is a capacity utilization rate of 50 percent good? 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.

> 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.

> Can you think of any reasons why not-for-profit firms would benefit less from doing strategic planning than for-profit companies?

> 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?