romantic view of leadership - Answers situations in which the leader is the key force detemining the
organization's success -- or lack thereof
external control view of leadership - Answers situations in which external forces -- where the leader
has limited influence -- determine the organization's success
strategic management - Answers the analyses, decisions, and actions an organization undertakes in
order to create and sustain competitive advantages
strategy - Answers the ideas, decisions, and actions that enable a firm to succeed
competitive advantage - Answers a firm's resources and capabilities that enable it to overcome the
competitive forces in its industry(ies)
operational effectiveness - Answers performing similar activities better than rivals
stakeholders - Answers individuals, groups, and organizations that have a stake in the success of the
organization, including owners (shareholders in a publicly held corporation), employees, customers,
suppliers, and the community at large
effectiveness - Answers tailoring actions to the needs of an organization rather than wasting effort, or
"doing the right thing"
efficiency - Answers performing actions at a low cost relative to a benchmark, or "doing things right"
ambidexterity - Answers the challenge managers face of both aligning resources to take advantage of
existing product markets and proactively exploring new opportunities
strategic management process - Answers strategy analysis, strategy formulation, and strategy
implementation
intended strategy - Answers strategy in which organizational decisions are determined only by
analysis
realized strategy - Answers strategy in which organizational decisions are determined by both
analysis and unforeseen environmental developments, unanticipated resource constraints, and/or
changes in managerial preferences
strategy analysis - Answers study of firms' external and internal environments, and their fit with
organizational vision and goals
strategy formulation - Answers decisions made by firms regarding investments, commitments, and
other aspects of operations that create and sustain competitive advantage
strategy implementation - Answers actions made by firms that carry out the formulated strategy,
including strategic controls, organizational design, and leadership
corporate governance - Answers the relationship among various participants in determining the
direction and performance of corporations. the primary participants are (1) the shareholders, (2) the
management (led by the chief executive officer), and (3) the board of directors
stakeholder management - Answers a firm's strategy for recognizing and responding to the interests
of all its salient stakeholders
social responsibility - Answers the expectation that businesses or individuals will strive to improve the
overall welfare of society
triple bottom line - Answers assessment of a firm's financial, social, and environmental performance
hierarchy of goals - Answers organizational goals ranging from, at the top, those that are less specific
yet able to evoke powerful and compelling mental images, to, at the bottom, those that are more
specific and measurable
vision - Answers organizational goal(s) that evoke(s) powerful and compelling mental images
mission statement - Answers a set of organizational goals that includes the purpose of the
organization, its scope of operations, and the basis of its competitive advantage
strategic objectives - Answers a set of organizational goals that are used to operationalize the mission
statement and that are specific and cover a well-defined time frame
perceptual acuity - Answers the ability to sense what is coming before the fog clears
environmental scanning - Answers surveillance of a firm's external environment to predict
environmental changes and detect changes already under way
environmental monitoring - Answers a firm's analysis of the external environment that tracks the
evolution of environmental trends, sequences of events, or streams of activities
competitive intelligence - Answers a firm's activities of collecting and interpreting data on
competitors, defining and understanding the industry, and identifying competitors' strengths and
weaknesses
, environmental forecasting - Answers the development of plausible projections about the direction,
scope, speed, and intensity of environmental change
scenario analysis - Answers an in-depth approach to environmental forecasting that involves experts'
detailed assessments of societal trends, economics, politics, technology, or other dimensions of the
external environment
SWOT analysis - Answers a framework for analyzing a company's internal and external environments
and that stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
general environment - Answers factors external to an industry, and usually beyond a firm's control,
that affect a firm's strategy
demographic segment of the general environment - Answers genetic and observable characteristics
of a population, including the levels of age, density, sex, race, ethnicity, education, geographic region,
and income
sociocultural segment of the general environment - Answers the values, beliefs, and lifestyles of a
society
political/legal segment of the general environment - Answers how a society creates and exercises
power, including rules, laws, and taxation policies
technological segment of the general environment - Answers innovation and state of of knowledge in
industrial arts, engineering, applied sciences, and pure science; and their interaction with society
economic segment of the general environment - Answers characteristics of the economy, including
national income and monetary conditions
global segment of the general environment - Answers influences for foreign countries, including
foreign market opportunities, foreign-based competition, and expanded capital markets
crowdsourcing - Answers practice wherein the internet is used to tap a broad range of individuals and
groups to generate ideas and solve problems
industry - Answers a group of firms that produce similar goods or services
competitive environment - Answers factors that pertain to an industry and affect a firm's strategies
porter's five forces of industry competition - Answers a tool for examining the industry-level
competitive environment, especially the ability of firms in that industry to set prices and minimize
costs
threat of new entrants - Answers the possibility that the profits of established firms in the industry
may be eroded by new competitors
economies of scale - Answers decreases in cost per unit as absolute output per period increases
product differentiation - Answers the degree to which a product has strong brand loyalty or customer
loyalty
switching cost - Answers one-time costs that a buyer/supplier faces when switching from one
supplier/buyer to another
bargaining power of buyers - Answers the threat that buyers may force down prices, bargain for
higher quality or more services, and play competitors against each other
bargaining power of suppliers - Answers the threat that suppliers may raise prices or reduce the
quality of purchased goods and services
threat of substitute products and services - Answers the threat of limiting the potential returns of an
industry by placing a ceiling on the prices that firms in that industry can profitably charge without
losing too many customers to substitute products
substitute products and services - Answers products and services outside the industry that serve the
same customer needs as the industry's products and serivces
intensity of rivalry among competitors in an industry - Answers the threat that customers will switch
their business to competitors within the industry
internet - Answers a global network of linked computers that use a common transmission format,
exchange information, and store data
zero-sum game - Answers a situation in which multiple players interact, and winners win only by
taking from other players
complements - Answers products or services that have an impact on the value of a firm's products or
services
strategic groups - Answers clusters of firms that share similar strategies
value-chain analysis - Answers a strategic analysis of an organization that uses value-creating
activities