Strategic Planning & Execution Flashcards
7 cards from real CME practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Strategic Planning & Execution flashcards as text
Which of the following is the MOST accurate description of a strategic 'pivot'?
Answer: A fundamental shift in business model or strategy in response to new information
A strategic pivot is a significant, deliberate shift in direction—such as changing the target customer, revenue model, or core offering—based on validated learning or market changes.
A firm operating in a highly turbulent environment should MOST likely adopt which type of planning horizon?
Answer: Rolling short-to-medium term plans reviewed frequently
In turbulent environments, rolling plans with frequent review cycles allow organizations to adapt quickly without abandoning strategic discipline.
The concept of 'strategic fit' refers to the degree to which:
Answer: An organization's strategy aligns with its internal capabilities and external environment
Strategic fit measures the alignment between an organization's chosen strategy and both its internal resources/capabilities and the demands of the external environment.
Which strategic execution barrier occurs when management's time, energy, and attention are not focused on strategic priorities?
Answer: The Management Barrier
The Management Barrier, identified by Kaplan and Norton, occurs when management spends insufficient time on strategy, instead focusing almost entirely on short-term operational issues.
A company acquires a competitor to rapidly gain market share rather than growing organically. In strategic terms, this is an example of:
Answer: Horizontal integration
Horizontal integration involves acquiring a competitor at the same level of the value chain to expand market share and reduce competition.
Which of the following BEST describes the 'resource-based view' (RBV) of strategic planning?
Answer: Competitive advantage stems from valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable internal resources
The RBV argues that sustainable competitive advantage comes from internal resources and capabilities that are Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, and Non-substitutable (VRIN).
A strategic plan includes an initiative to improve customer retention by 20%. Which metric would be the MOST direct measure of progress toward this specific goal?
Answer: Customer churn rate
Customer churn rate directly measures the percentage of customers lost over a period, making it the most direct indicator of whether retention is improving.