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Strategic Planning & Implementation Flashcards

7 cards from real CSM 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 & Implementation flashcards as text

  1. Which of Porter's generic strategies involves targeting a narrow market segment with either low cost or differentiation?

    Answer: Focus

    Porter's Focus strategy concentrates on a specific market niche, applying either cost or differentiation advantages within that segment.

  2. A company conducts a PESTEL analysis primarily to:

    Answer: Identify macro-environmental factors affecting strategy

    PESTEL examines Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors in the external macro-environment.

  3. In the context of strategic management, 'core competencies' are best defined as:

    Answer: Unique capabilities that provide sustainable competitive advantage and are hard to replicate

    Core competencies, as defined by Prahalad and Hamel, are deeply embedded capabilities that differentiate a firm and are difficult for competitors to imitate.

  4. Which tool plots business units on axes of market growth rate and relative market share to guide portfolio strategy?

    Answer: BCG Growth-Share Matrix

    The BCG matrix categorizes business units as Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, or Dogs to inform resource allocation decisions.

  5. When implementing strategy, 'cascading goals' means:

    Answer: Breaking high-level strategic objectives into aligned goals at every organizational level

    Cascading ensures that enterprise-level strategy is translated into department and individual goals, creating alignment throughout the organization.

  6. A firm pursues a 'market development' strategy according to the Ansoff Matrix when it:

    Answer: Sells existing products in new markets

    Market development involves taking current products or services into new geographic regions, customer segments, or distribution channels.

  7. Which of the following is a key reason strategies fail during implementation?

    Answer: Lack of clear communication, accountability, and resource commitment

    Research consistently shows that poor communication, unclear ownership, and insufficient resources are the primary reasons well-formulated strategies fail in execution.