CBO Strategic Planning & Leadership 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A business operator conducts a PESTEL analysis. Which factor would include changes in minimum wage laws?
- Political
- Economic
- Social
- Legal (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Legal
Minimum wage laws fall under the Legal category of PESTEL because they are statutory regulations imposed by government.
Question 2: Which leadership style is MOST effective when employees are highly skilled but lack motivation?
- Directive
- Delegative
- Participative (Correct answer)
- Coaching
Correct answer: Participative
Participative (democratic) leadership engages skilled but unmotivated employees by involving them in decision-making, boosting ownership and commitment.
Question 3: A company's strategic plan sets a goal to increase market share by 15% in three years. This is an example of a:
- Vision statement
- Mission statement
- Strategic objective (Correct answer)
- Core value
Correct answer: Strategic objective
A strategic objective is a specific, measurable long-term goal that supports the broader mission and vision of the organization.
Question 4: When evaluating strategic alternatives, the concept of 'sustainable competitive advantage' means the business:
- Temporarily undercuts competitors on price
- Maintains superior value delivery that rivals cannot easily replicate (Correct answer)
- Adopts eco-friendly operations
- Rotates products seasonally
Correct answer: Maintains superior value delivery that rivals cannot easily replicate
Sustainable competitive advantage refers to long-term superior value creation through resources or capabilities that competitors cannot quickly imitate.
Question 5: In Kotter's 8-Step Change Model, what must leaders do BEFORE creating a vision for change?
- Form a powerful coalition (Correct answer)
- Communicate the vision
- Generate short-term wins
- Anchor changes in the culture
Correct answer: Form a powerful coalition
Kotter's model requires establishing a guiding coalition (step 2) before developing the change vision (step 3) to ensure leadership alignment and credibility.
Question 6: A balanced scorecard measures organizational performance across which four perspectives?
- Cost, Quality, Speed, Flexibility
- Financial, Customer, Internal Process, Learning & Growth (Correct answer)
- People, Process, Product, Profit
- Strategy, Structure, Systems, Staff
Correct answer: Financial, Customer, Internal Process, Learning & Growth
Kaplan and Norton's Balanced Scorecard uses Financial, Customer, Internal Process, and Learning & Growth perspectives to give a holistic performance view.
Question 7: A CBO notices that two departments have conflicting priorities that are slowing execution of the strategic plan. The BEST first step is to:
- Restructure both departments immediately
- Facilitate a cross-departmental alignment meeting (Correct answer)
- Increase headcount in both departments
- Outsource one department's function
Correct answer: Facilitate a cross-departmental alignment meeting
Facilitating a cross-departmental alignment meeting addresses the root cause—lack of coordination—before resorting to structural or resource changes.
CBO Strategic Planning & Leadership 2
A business operator conducts a PESTEL analysis.
Which factor would include changes in minimum wage laws?