In the context of the twenty-first-century challenges, the textbook authors advocate for a strategic management process that is primarily what?

Correct answer: A science based on systematic assessment and analysis.

Explanation

The textbook takes a clear stance on the 'art vs. science' debate, promoting a structured, analytical, and deliberate approach to strategic management while still acknowledging that good judgment and intuition are necessary components.

Other questions

Question 1

What are the three fundamental activities that comprise strategy evaluation?

Question 2

According to Richard Rumelt, which criterion for evaluating a strategy addresses the need to examine sets of trends and the adaptive response to the external environment?

Question 3

Which of Rumelt's criteria for evaluating strategies is primarily concerned with whether a strategy overtaxes a firm's resources or creates unsolvable subproblems?

Question 4

In the Strategy-Evaluation Framework, what is the first activity in reviewing the underlying bases of a firm's strategy?

Question 5

What are contingency plans defined as in the context of strategy evaluation?

Question 6

The Balanced Scorecard is a strategy evaluation tool that allows firms to evaluate strategies from four perspectives. Three of these are financial performance, customer knowledge, and internal business processes. What is the fourth perspective?

Question 7

Which of the following is identified as a reason why strategy evaluation is becoming increasingly difficult?

Question 8

What is the primary purpose of an audit as a tool in strategy evaluation?

Question 9

What is meant by the term 'future shock' as described by Alvin Toffler?

Question 10

In the discussion of the twenty-first-century challenge of 'art versus science' in strategic management, what does the 'science' perspective advocate?

Question 11

Regarding the twenty-first-century challenge of whether strategies should be visible or hidden, what is a primary reason given for keeping strategies open and visible to stakeholders?

Question 12

In the debate over top-down versus bottom-up strategy development, what do proponents of the top-down approach contend?

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT listed as one of the eight key attributes used by Fortune magazine in its 'America's Most Admired Companies' evaluation?

Question 14

What is a characteristic of an effective strategy evaluation system?

Question 15

What is the key difference between GAAP and IFRS standards as described by the number of pages they comprise?

Question 16

Based on the Strategy-Evaluation Assessment Matrix in Table 9-3, what should a firm do if major changes have occurred in its internal position, but not in its external position, and it is progressing satisfactorily toward its stated objectives?

Question 17

According to the chapter, which company was ranked by Fortune as the most admired in the food services industry in 2009?

Question 18

What is one of the major benefits of contingency planning reported by Linneman and Chandran for firms like DuPont and Dow Chemical?

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a corrective action listed in Table 9-5 that a firm might need to take in response to unfavorable variances?

Question 20

In the Strategy-Evaluation Assessment Matrix, what outcome is suggested if there have been no major changes in either the internal or external strategic position, and the firm is progressing satisfactorily?

Question 21

Which company, noted for its upscale fashion, experienced lawsuits and fines when employees underreported hours worked to increase their sales per hour, a primary performance criterion?

Question 22

According to the seven-step contingency planning process suggested by Linneman and Chandran, what is the second step after identifying potential events?

Question 23

What is the primary characteristic of the 'top-down' approach to strategy?

Question 24

In the discussion on Rumelt's criteria, which type of advantage is described as being 'self-sustaining' as long as key internal and environmental factors remain stable?

Question 25

What does the text suggest is a major challenge in measuring organizational performance using quantitative criteria like financial ratios?

Question 26

According to the Family Dollar Stores example, what was the company's same-store sales growth in the second quarter of 2009?

Question 28

A key difference between a revised IFE Matrix and a revised EFE Matrix in the strategy evaluation process is that:

Question 29

Which of the following would NOT be considered a qualitative criterion for evaluating strategy?

Question 30

The chapter highlights a significant drop in revenues for Molson Coors Brewing in 2008 vs. 2007. What was the percentage drop?

Question 31

What does Robert Waterman suggest successful companies have a 'voracious hunger' for?

Question 32

In the Strategy-Evaluation Framework presented in Figure 9-2, if significant differences are found when reviewing the underlying bases of strategy, what is the next step?

Question 33

Which company, in response to underperforming, implemented 'lean production/operations' in its 11,000 U.S. stores to eliminate idle employee time and unnecessary motions?

Question 34

What is a primary risk of a strategy evaluation system that relies too heavily on quantitative criteria?

Question 35

According to the chapter, what was the approximate drop in profits experienced by CBS in 2008 versus 2007?

Question 36

What is the primary aim of the Balanced Scorecard approach to strategy evaluation?

Question 37

Which of Rumelt's four criteria for evaluating strategy would most likely be violated if a company's marketing department's success in launching a high-cost, high-quality product means failure for the manufacturing department's goal of minimizing production costs?

Question 38

What is the primary critique of the 'art' or 'crafting' view of strategy, as presented from the 'science' perspective in the textbook?

Question 39

In what year did the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which resulted in scores of boardroom overhauls and increased director accountability, get introduced?

Question 40

Which of the following is an argument for making a firm's strategy visible rather than hidden?

Question 41

Which company, in the chapter's opening vignette, was noted for having a rising stock price in 2008 and targeting women shopping for a family that earns less than 30,000 dollars a year?

Question 42

The text states that the upcoming switch from GAAP to IFRS in the United States could cost businesses millions in fees, software upgrades, and what other major expense?

Question 43

What is the term for a systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence regarding assertions about economic actions to ascertain the degree of correspondence with established criteria?

Question 44

The sample Balanced Scorecard in Table 9-6 lists six key areas of objectives for a company to evaluate its strategies. Which of the following is NOT one of those six areas?

Question 45

According to research by Erez and Kanfer, individuals accept change best under what conditions?

Question 46

Which company, the largest U.S. chemical company by revenue, was cited as pursuing an aggressive retrenchment strategy by closing 20 plants and laying off more than 5,000 employees?

Question 47

Why does the chapter suggest that strategy evaluation should be performed on a continuous basis rather than a periodic one?

Question 48

According to the table on organizational demise, which company experienced a revenue drop of 90 percent in 2008 vs. 2007?

Question 49

What is the final step in the seven-step process for effective contingency planning?

Question 50

The text mentions that in its March issue each year, Fortune magazine publishes its strategy-evaluation research in an article with what title?