1. A Brief Warm Up for the Mid Term Exam
Winter 2007

2. Contents of the Mid Term Exam
25 multiple choice questions (2pts each).
5 define terms and 2 strategic financial problems (2 pts each).
2 essay questions.
Choice of two essay questions and required to answer one (10 pts).
1 essay question will be mandatory (26pts).

3. Two Examples of Multiple Choice Questions
The term strategy is defined as
a. an action a company takes to attain superior performance.
b. a rational planning process conducted by upper management.
c. the deliberate pursuit of emergent goals to achieve superior organizational performance.
d. whatever the organization actually does to achieve superior organizational performance.
All of these apply.
Successful companies in a mature industry are most interested in
a. reducing entry barriers.
b. increasing entry barriers.
c. reducing the power of suppliers.
d. reducing the threat of substitute products.
e. reducing the power of buyers.

4. Mandatory Essay Question
Describe the strategic management process in detail up to Chapter 9 of the model. I would like you to identify each of the individual components, to define a strategic term associated with each component, and to provide an example for each of your defined strategic terms using a company and the actual term in the example. In addition, I would like you to define strategy in your answer.

5. Mandatory Essay Question
Example of one component: Strategic Choice (Remember for this component you need to define one term from either Chapters 1, 2 or 3).
Identify: SWOT: Strategic Choice
Define: Icarus Paradox (page 102): Companies dazzled by early success believe that they understand how the market will work in the future and become susceptible to bad choices.
Example: Wang computers demonstrated attributes of the Icarus Paradox, as it was unable to maintain its early success.