CBS Strategic Planning & Execution 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which framework helps organizations translate strategic objectives into measurable operational metrics across four perspectives?
- OKR Framework
- Balanced Scorecard (Correct answer)
- SWOT Analysis
- McKinsey 7-S
Correct answer: Balanced Scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard translates strategy into measurable metrics across financial, customer, internal process, and learning & growth perspectives.
Question 2: A company sets a 5-year revenue goal but fails to define quarterly milestones. This is an example of poor:
- Environmental scanning
- Strategic intent
- Execution planning (Correct answer)
- Competitive benchmarking
Correct answer: Execution planning
Execution planning requires breaking long-term goals into actionable, time-bound milestones to enable tracking and accountability.
Question 3: In the context of strategy execution, a 'cascade' refers to:
- Eliminating non-core business units
- Aligning corporate strategy down to team and individual goals (Correct answer)
- Expanding into new geographic markets
- Reducing layers of management hierarchy
Correct answer: Aligning corporate strategy down to team and individual goals
Cascading strategy means translating high-level corporate goals into department, team, and individual objectives to ensure alignment.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes a 'strategic gap'?
- The difference between current performance and desired future performance (Correct answer)
- A missing product in a company's portfolio
- The variance between budgeted and actual costs
- An untapped customer segment
Correct answer: The difference between current performance and desired future performance
A strategic gap is the difference between where an organization currently is and where its strategy requires it to be.
Question 5: An organization uses scenario planning primarily to:
- Identify the single most likely future state
- Reduce the annual planning cycle time
- Prepare for multiple possible futures and build strategic flexibility (Correct answer)
- Standardize processes across business units
Correct answer: Prepare for multiple possible futures and build strategic flexibility
Scenario planning prepares organizations to respond effectively to a range of plausible futures rather than betting on one prediction.
Question 6: The term 'strategic alignment' most accurately means:
- All departments following the same budget template
- Resources, activities, and goals working coherently toward the same strategic objectives (Correct answer)
- Senior leaders agreeing on the corporate mission statement
- Matching competitor pricing and product features
Correct answer: Resources, activities, and goals working coherently toward the same strategic objectives
Strategic alignment ensures that resources, processes, and people across the organization are directed toward the same overarching goals.
Question 7: When a strategic initiative consistently misses targets despite adequate resources, the FIRST step a strategist should take is:
- Increase the budget allocation for the initiative
- Replace the initiative leader immediately
- Diagnose whether the root cause is a flawed strategy or poor execution (Correct answer)
- Extend the deadline by one fiscal year
Correct answer: Diagnose whether the root cause is a flawed strategy or poor execution
Diagnosing whether failure stems from a flawed strategy or poor execution is essential before prescribing any corrective action.
CBS Strategic Planning & Execution 2
Which framework helps organizations translate strategic objectives into measurable operational metrics across four perspectives?