Discussion Questions

Chapter 5

1. What are planning, strategy, and strategic management, and why are they important to me as a manager?

 

2. What are mission and vision statements, and what are three types of planning?

 

3. What are the three types of goals, and what are different kinds of plans?

 

4. What are SMART goals and MBO and how can they be implemented?

 

5. How does the planning/control cycle help keep a manager’s plans headed in the right direction?

 

 

Chapter 6

 

1. What is strategic positioning, and what are the three principles that underlie it?

 

2. What’s the five-step recipe for the strategic-management process?

 

3. What are the characteristics of good mission and vision statements?

 

4. What tools can help me describe where the organization stands from a competitive point of view?

 

5. How can three techniques—Porter’s four competitive strategies, diversification and synergy, and the BCG matrix—help me formulate strategy?

 

6. How does effective execution help managers during the strategic-management process?