What is the highest number of strategies that can be examined at one time with the QSPM?

121. What is the BCG Matrix ideal for analyzing?
a. Companies with more than one division
b. All companies
c. Companies with annual sales greater than $1 million
d. Companies with annual sales of less than $1 million
c. Large companies
Ans: a Page: 206

122. The BCG measures relative market share position as
a. a division’s sales compared to the sales of similar companies.
b. a division’s market share divided by the market share of the largest rival in that industry.
c. the number of products a division has on the market compared to the competitors.
d. the number of employees in a division compared to the number of employees in the largest rival in the industry.
Ans: b Page: 206

123. __________ should not be included as a factor in the Environmental Stability (ES) computation.
a. Technological changes
b. Competitive pressure
c. Rate of inflation
d. Liquidity
e. Seasonal effects
Ans: d Page: 206

124. What are two external dimensions of SPACE Matrix?
a. Environmental stability and industry strength.
b. Environmental stability and competitive advantage.
c. Industry strength and competitive advantage
d. Competitive advantage and financial strength.
e. Financial strength and industry strength.
Ans: a Page: 206

125. If the SPACE Matrix directional vector falls in the aggressive quadrant, which of these strategies are not appropriate?
a. Intensive
b. Integrative
c. Diversification
d. Defensive
e. Combination
Ans: d Page: 206

126. Which of these quadrants in SPACE Matrix implies staying close to the firm’s basic competencies and not taking excessive risks?
a. Conservative
b. Competitive
c. Defensive
d. Aggressive
e. None of these
Ans: a Page: 206

127. ______________ is common to the defensive and conservative quadrants of a SPACE Matrix.
a. Product development
b. Concentric diversification
c. Divestiture
d. Market penetration
e. Retrenchment
Ans: b Page: 206

128. What type of strategies would you recommend when a firm’s SPACE Matrix directional vector has the coordinates (-2, +3)?
a. Aggressive
b. Conservative
c. Competitive
d. Defensive
e. Integrative
Ans: b Page: 207

129. In the SPACE analysis what does a (+6, +3) strategy profile portray?
a. A strong industry
b. An unstable environment
c. A stable environment
d. A weak industry
e. A weak financial position
Ans: a Page: 207

130. How would a division with a low relative market share position in a high growth industry be described?
a. Question mark
b. Cash cow
c. Star
d. Stuck-in-the-middle
e. Dog
Ans: a Page: 208

131. When a division of an organization has a high relative market share and is in a fast-growing industry, it is called a
a. star.
b. cash cow.
c. question mark.
d. dog.
Ans: a Page: 209

132. A division with a high relative market share position in a low-growth industry can be described as a
a. star.
b. cash cow.
c. question mark.
d. dog.
e. failure.
Ans: b Page: 210

133. Which of these is an attractive strategy for a cash cow division?
a. Concentric diversification
b. Horizontal integration
c. Conglomerate diversification
d. Backward integration
e. Forward integration
Ans: a Page: 210

134. Most likely, a cash cow was what in the past?
a. dog
b. question mark
c. calf
d. star
e. failure
Ans: d Page: 210

135. The BCG Matrix limitations include
a. being a time-consuming and costly analysis.
b. requiring at least three years’ worth of data.
c. not reflecting divisional or industry growth over time.
d. not allowing a company to be classified as somewhere in between two categories.
e. both c & d.
Ans: e Page: 211

136. The BCG Matrix and the IE Matrix are different in all of the following aspects except
a. their axes.
b. the IE requires more information about the divisions than the BCG Matrix.
c. the way they plot organizational divisions.
d. their strategic implications.
Ans: b Page: 212

137. What has four quadrants based on two dimensions: competitive position and market growth?
a. Competitive Profile Matrix
b. TOWS Matrix
c. SPACE Matrix
d. Grand Strategy Matrix
e. QSPM
Ans: d Page: 213

138. Firms located in which quadrant of the Grand Strategy Matrix are in an excellent strategic position?
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
Ans: a Page: 213

139. __________ in the Grand Strategy Matrix is recommended for a firm with rapid market growth and a strong competitive position.
a. Market penetration
b. Conglomerate diversification
c. Joint venture
d. Retrenchment
e. Liquidation
Ans: a Page: 213

140. The Grand Strategy Matrix can be used to evaluate competitive position and market growth for
a. individual products.
b. company divisions and individual products.
c. whole companies and company divisions.
d. just whole companies.
Ans: c Page: 213

141. For companies located in Quadrant III of the Grand Strategy Matrix, the first strategy recommended is
a. extensive cost and asset reduction.
b. asset expansion.
c. employee expansion.
d. immediate liquidation of assets.
Ans: a Page: 214

142. Although Quadrant _____ companies are growing, according to the Grand Strategy Matrix, they are unable to compete effectively, and they need to determine why the firm’s current approach is ineffective and how the company can best change to improve its competitiveness.
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
Ans: b Page: 214

143. Quadrant _____ organizations have a strong competitive position but are in a slow-growth industry, according to the Grand Strategy Matrix.
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
Ans: d Page: 214

144. A(n) __________ strategy could be most effective when a firm has excess production capacity and its basic industry is experiencing declining sales and profits.
a. backward integration
b. forward integration
c. concentric diversification
d. joint venture
e. integration
Ans: c Page: 215
The Decision Stage

145. __________ is included in the decision stage of the strategy formulation framework.
a. Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix
b. Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix
c. BCG Business Portfolio Matrix
d. Grand Strategy Matrix
e. SPACE Matrix
Ans: b Page: 215

146. The top row of a QSPM consists of alternative strategies derived from all of these except
a. TOWS Matrix.
b. BCG Matrix.
c. Space Matrix.
d. CPM Matrix.
e. IE Matrix.
Ans: d Page: 216

147. The __________ determines the relative attractiveness of various strategies based on the extent to which key external and internal critical success factors are capitalized.
a. BCG Matrix
b. SPACE Matrix
c. TOWS Matrix
d. IE Matrix
e. QSPM
Ans: e Page: 216

148. In the QSPM, a minimum of _______ internal and ______ external critical success factors should be included.
a. 2; 2
b. 4; 4
c. 10; 10
d. 40; 40
e. 20; 20
Ans: c Page: 217

149. Which of the following is the first step in developing QSPM?
a. Compute the Total Attractiveness Scores
b. Examine the Stage 2 matrices and identify alternative strategies the organization should consider implementing
c. Assign weights to each key external and internal factor
d. Determine the Attractiveness Scores
e. Make a list of the firm’s key external opportunities/threats and internal strengths/weaknesses in the left column of the QSPM
Ans: e Page: 217-218

150. What term is defined as the product of multiplying ratings by attractiveness scores in each row of the QSPM?
a. Total attractiveness scores
b. Sum total attractiveness scores
c. Weighted scores
d. Total weighted scores
e. Factors
Ans: a Page: 218

151. What should be included in strategies in the QSPM?
a. all strategies suggested by Stage 2 matrices.
b. only the best or most promising strategies suggested by Stage 2 matrices.
b. strategies that will assure organizational success.
c. strategies that encourage corporate expansion.
Ans: b Page: 218
152. What is the highest number of strategies that can be examined at one time with the QSPM?
a. 5
b. 2
c. 1
d. 10
e. There is no limit.
Ans: e Page: 219

153. Which of these do QSPM limitations include?
a. Only a few strategies can be evaluated simultaneously
b. The cost of doing the analysis
c. Subjective judgments and educated guesses are required
d. It is only as good as the prerequisite input information and matching analyses upon which it is based
e. Both c & d
Ans: e Page: 219

The Politics of Strategy Choice

156. __________ is known as the tactic of shifting focus from specific issues to more general ones.
a. Equifinality
b. Focus on higher-order issues
c. Generalization
d. Satisficing
e. None of the above
Ans: c Page: 221

157. __________ means it is possible to achieve similar results using different means or paths
a. Generalization
b. Satisficing
c. Focus on higher-order issues
d. Equifinality
e. Specialization
Ans: d Page: 221
The Role of a Board of Directors
158. Today, boards of directors are composed mostly of __________.
a. outsiders
b. management
c. union
d. employees
e. stockholders
Ans: a Page: 222

159. Except for ________________, the roles and duties of a board of directors include all of these broad categories.
a. control and oversight over management
b. adhering to legal prescriptions
c. consideration of stakeholders’ interests
d. advancement of stockholders’ rights
e. expansion of management stock options
Ans: e Page: 223

160. According to Business Week, a good board of directors performs all of these responsibilities except
a. link the CEO’s pay to specific goals.
b. place the entire board up for election every five years.
c. require directors to retire at age 70.
d. require each director to own a large amount of company stock.
e. compensate board members only in company stock.
Ans: b Page: 223-224

161. What did Business Week conclude a board of directors should do?
a. Ensure no more than two board members are insiders
b. Limit the number of other boards a member can serve on
c. Ban interlocking directorships
d. All of the above
Ans: d Page: 223-224

Essay Questions
162. Explain the concept of matching in the strategy formulation framework. Give at least three examples of matching.
Matching external and internal critical success factors is the key to effectively generating feasible alternative strategies. See Table 6-1 on page 200 for examples of matching.
Page: 199-200

163. If you construct a SPACE Matrix and the directional vector points to the lower left quadrant, what type of strategies would you recommend? Give several examples.
If the directional vector points to the lower-left quadrant of the SPACE Matrix, students should suggest defensive strategies. Defensive strategies include retrenchment, divestiture, liquidation and concentric diversification.
Page: 205

164. Give five coordinates of a SPACE Matrix directional vector that would suggest conservative strategies to be most appropriate.
Student answers will vary. However, five examples they may suggest are (-1,1),
(-2,2), (-3,3), (-4,4), and (-5,5).
Page: 205

165. In a BCG Matrix, all divisions are called question marks, stars, cash cows, or dogs. Define each of these terms.
Question Marks have a low relative market share position, yet they compete in a high-growth industry.
Stars represent the organization’s best long-run opportunities for growth and profitability.
Cash Cows have a high relative market share position but compete in a low-growth industry.
Dogs have a low relative market share position and compete in a slow- or no-market-growth industry.
Page: 208-210

166. Explain the benefits and limitations of developing a Boston Consulting Group Matrix.
The BCG Matrix has one major benefit: draws attention to the cash flow, investment characteristics and needs of an organization’s various divisions.
The BCG Matrix has some limitations: 1) Viewing every business as either a star, cash cow, dog, or question mark is an oversimplification; many businesses fall right in the middle of the BCG Matrix and thus are not easily classified, 2) the BCG Matrix does not reflect whether or not various divisions or their industries are growing over time; that is, the matrix has no temporal qualities, but rather it is a snapshot of an organization as any given point in time and 3) other variables besides relative market share position and industry growth rate in sales are important in making strategic decisions about various divisions.
Page: 210-211

167. Compare and contrast the IE Matrix with the BCG Matrix.
The IE Matrix is similar to the BCG Matrix in that both tools involve plotting organizational divisions in a schematic diagram. Also, the size of each circle represents the percentage sales contribution of each division, and pie slices reveal the percentage profit contribution of each division in both the BCG and IE Matrix.
Some important differences between the IE Matrix and the BCG Matrix include 1) different axes, 2) the IE Matrix requires more information about the divisions than the BCG Matrix and 3) the strategic implications of each matrix are different.
Page: 211-212

168. Using a Grand Strategy Matrix approach, what strategies are recommended for a firm that is a weak competitor in a slow-growing market? Elaborate on what these strategies could mean for a college or university.
A firm that is a weak competitor in a slow-growing market would be located in Quadrant III. Quadrant III strategies include retrenchment, concentric diversification, horizontal diversification, conglomerate diversification, divestiture and liquidation.
Student answers will vary when elaborating on what these strategies could mean for a college or university. However, students should mention that the college or university could possibly have to be closed or facility and staff may have to be drastically reduced which leads to unhappy students in very large classes.
Page: 214

169. Describe the positive features and limitations of QSPM.
There are three positive features of QSPM: 1) Sets of strategies can be examined sequentially or simultaneously, 2) there is no limit to the number of strategies that can be evaluated or the number of sets of strategies that can be examined at once using the QSPM and 3) the last positive feature is that it requires strategists to integrate pertinent external and internal factors into the decision process.
The QSPM is not without some limitations: 1) It always requires intuitive judgments and educated assumptions, 2) The ratings and attractiveness scores require judgmental decisions, even though they should be based on objective information and 3) it can be only as good as the prerequisite information and matching analyses upon which it is based.
Page: 219

170. Discuss the appropriate role of a board of directors in an organization.
Please refer to Table 6-7 on page 223 for Board of Directors Duties and Responsibilities.
Page: 221-224

Can you compare more than two strategies using a QSPM?

Can I compare more than two strategies using a QSPM? Yes, in general, any number of alternative strategies can be included in the QSPM analysis. We included only two alternatives in our example just to keep it simple.

What should be included in strategies in the QSPM?

The six steps that must be followed to develop a QSPM are explained below..
Enumeration. The first step involves making a list of all of an organization's external opportunities and threats. ... .
Weighted Score. ... .
Identify Alternative Options. ... .
Determine Attractiveness Scores (AS).

What is QSPM in strategic management?

The Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix is a strategic tool which is used to evaluate alternative set of strategies. The QSPM incorporate earlier stage details in an organize way to calculate the score of multiple strategies in order to find the best match strategy for the organization.

Which of these is a limitation of QSPM?

The right answer option is C: it requires intuitive informed judgments. A limitation of the quantitive strategic planning matrix is that it requires intuitive informed judgments.