Prin. of Management Ch. 6-10 (Relyea)

What is strategic positioning?

Attempting to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by preserving what is distinctive about an organization.

What are the three principles of strategic positioning?

1) Unique and valuable position, 2) Trade-offs, 3) Fit among activities.

What are the three levels of strategy?

Corporate, business, and functional.

What is corporate-level strategy?

Strategy focused on the overall organization (top executives).

What is business-level strategy?

Strategy focused on how a business unit competes.

What is functional-level strategy?

Strategy for departments supporting higher-level strategies.

What are the 5 steps of the strategic management process?

1. Establish mission, vision, values; 2. Assess current reality; 3. Formulate strategies; 4. Implement strategies; 5. Maintain strategic control.

What is a SWOT analysis?

Assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

What is the internal environment?

Strengths and weaknesses inside the organization.

What is the external environment?

Opportunities and threats outside the organization.

What does VRIO stand for?

Value, Rarity, Imitability, Organization.

What is trend analysis?

Projecting past trends into the future.

What is scenario analysis?

Creating alternative future scenarios.

What is benchmarking?

Comparing performance to best-in-class organizations.

What are the three corporate strategies?

Growth, stability, defensive.

What is a growth strategy?

Expansion in sales, market share, or operations.

What is a stability strategy?

Maintaining current operations.

What is a defensive strategy?

Reducing operations.

What is the BCG matrix?

Tool for evaluating business units based on growth and market share.

What are types of diversification?

Related, unrelated, vertical integration.

What are Porter's Five Forces?

Threat of entrants, supplier power, buyer power, substitutes, rivalry.

What are Porter's four strategies?

Cost leadership, differentiation, cost focus, focused differentiation.

What is execution in strategy?

Aligning strategy with reality and achieving results.

What are the three core processes of execution?

People, strategy, operations.

What is strategic control?

Monitoring strategy and adjusting based on results.

What is decision making?

Choosing among alternatives.

What is the rational model?

Logical, step-by-step decision-making process.

What are the 4 steps of rational decision making?

Identify problem, generate alternatives, evaluate alternatives, implement and evaluate.

What is bounded rationality?

Limits on rational decision-making.

What is satisficing?

Choosing a good enough option.

What is intuition?

Making decisions without conscious reasoning.

What is a decision tree?

Diagram mapping decisions and consequences.

What is evidence-based decision making?

Using data and evidence to guide decisions.

What is big data?

Extremely large datasets requiring advanced tools.

What are the 5 V's of big data?

Volume, variety, velocity, veracity, value.

What is descriptive analytics?

Identifies patterns in data.

What is predictive analytics?

Forecasts future outcomes.

What is AI?

Technology that mimics human intelligence.

What are the 4 AI functions?

Automate, analyze, advise, anticipate.

What are benefits of AI?

Speed, accuracy, efficiency.

What are drawbacks of AI?

Cost, data issues, ethical concerns.

What are decision-making styles?

Directive, analytical, conceptual, behavioral.

What is directive style?

Fast, logical, task-focused.

What is analytical style?

Data-driven, careful.

What is conceptual style?

Creative, long-term.

What is behavioral style?

People-focused.

What is availability bias?

Using only easily available information.

What is confirmation bias?

Seeking supporting evidence only.

What is sunk-cost bias?

Continuing due to past investment.

What is overconfidence bias?

Overestimating accuracy.

What is anchoring bias?

Relying on initial information.

What is groupthink?

Desire for harmony overrides realistic evaluation.

What are advantages of group decision making?

More perspectives, better understanding, commitment.

What are disadvantages of group decision making?

Groupthink, inefficiency, domination.

What is brainstorming?

Generating ideas without criticism.

What is devil's advocacy?

Assigning someone to critique.

What is the dialectic method?

Structured debate.

What are after-action reviews?

Evaluating past decisions.

What is organizational culture?

Shared values, beliefs, and norms.

What are the three levels of culture?

Artifacts, espoused values, basic assumptions.

What are the four functions of culture?

Identity, commitment, stability, sense-making.

What are the four culture types?

Clan, adhocracy, market, hierarchy.

What is clan culture?

Collaborative and family-like.

What is adhocracy culture?

Innovative and risk-taking.

What is market culture?

Competitive and results-driven.

What is hierarchy culture?

Structured and controlled.

What is organizational structure?

Arrangement of jobs and authority.

What are dimensions of structure?

Division of labor, hierarchy, span of control, line vs staff.

What is division of labor?

Assigning tasks.

What is hierarchy of authority?

Chain of command.

What is span of control?

Number of direct reports.

What is line vs staff?

Line = core, staff = support.

What is centralized decision making?

Top-level decisions.

What is decentralized decision making?

Lower-level decisions.

What is mechanistic structure?

Rigid and hierarchical.

What is organic structure?

Flexible and adaptive.

What are organizational designs?

Simple, functional, divisional, matrix, team.

What is a matrix structure?

Dual reporting.

What is contingency design?

Structure depends on situation.

What is HRM?

Managing employees effectively.

What are HRM steps?

Planning, recruitment, selection, training, performance management.

What is workforce planning?

Forecasting employee needs.

What is recruitment?

Attracting candidates.

What is selection?

Choosing best candidate.

What are selection tools?

Interviews, tests, background checks.

What is training?

Teaching skills.

What is development?

Preparing for future roles.

What is performance management?

Evaluating performance.

What are appraisal methods?

Rating scales, 360 feedback, BARS.

What is compensation?

Pay and benefits.

What are types of compensation?

Base pay, incentives, benefits.

What is employee engagement?

Emotional commitment.

What is diversity?

Differences among people.

What is inclusion?

Making people feel valued.

What is EEO?

Fair treatment without discrimination.

What is sexual harassment?

Unwelcome sexual behavior.

What is OSHA?

Workplace safety agency.

What is organizational change?

Altering structure, processes, or culture.

What are forces for change?

External, internal, technology, workforce.

What is innovation?

Creating or improving ideas.