To which issue do De Wit & Meyer (2010) refer, when they discuss the broader set of fundamental principles giving direction to strategic decision-making?
The issue of corporate governance
The issue of corporate profitability
The issue of corporate direction
The issue of corporate mission.
Which of the following is NOT listed as an element of corporate mission, by De Wit & Meyer (2010)?
Organizational beliefs
Organizational direction
Organizational values
Business definition.
According to De Wit and Meyer (2010), what are the three important corporate governance functions?
Controlling, monitoring, and supervising
Forming, performance, and conformance
Hiring and firing the CEO, determining the business philosophy, and setting priorities
Networking, organizing, and controlling.
Which of the following questions best reflects the corporate purpose, according to De Wit & Meyer (2010)?
What are the driving ideas and assumptions?
Why does the firm exist?
Where does the firm operate?
What is of fundamental importance?
The corporate mission of a firm defines the boundaries, within which, strategic choices and actions must take place. By specifying the fundamental principles, on which strategies must be based, the strategic options are limited, and set the firm on a particular heading. According to De Wit & Meyer (2010), which function of the corporate mission is described above?
Direction
Legitimization
Motivation
Restriction.
According to De Wit and Meyer (2010), there are three important corporate governance functions. Which of the following describes the ‘forming function’?
To ensure corporate conformance to the stated mission and strategy
To shape, articulate and communicate the fundamental principles that will drive the organization’s activities
To judge the strategy initiatives brought forward by top management and/or, actively, to participate in strategy development
To monitor whether the organization is undertaking the activities as promised, and whether the performance is satisfactory.
According to De Wit and Meyer (2010), there are three important corporate governance functions. Which of the following describes the ‘performance function’?
To ensure corporate conformance to the stated mission and strategy
To monitor whether the organization is undertaking the activities as promised, and whether the performance is satisfactory
To shape, articulate and communicate the fundamental principals that will drive the organizations activities
To judge the strategy initiatives brought forward by top management and/or, actively, to participate in strategy development.
According to De Wit and Meyer (2010), what are the two major topics which raise discussion between proponents of the shareholder value, and stakeholder values perspectives?
The issues of corporate mission and corporate governance
The issues of strategy formulation and strategy implementation
The issues of short-term and long-term goals
The issues of economic, and legal, responsibilities of business organizations.
Discussing the topic of different forms of corporate governance, De Wit & Meyer (2010) refer to Tricker (1994). Which of the following characteristics does Tricker NOT put forward?
Board function
Board structure
Board membership
Board tasks.
According to De Wit & Meyer (2010), there is an obvious paradox in the organizational purpose of firms. What do they call this paradox?
Target vs. vision
Profitability vs. responsibility
Shareholders vs. stakeholders
Charitable vs. societal.
What, according to De Wit and Meyer (2010), is the major emphasis of the stakeholder values perspective?
Means over ends
Worker participation over worker representation
Responsibility over profitability
Instrumentalism over normativism.
Fonterra is a large international trader of milk products, which particularity is to be a farmer-owned cooperative. Read the following quote from the short case (Exhibit 11.1, p.605) and judge, based on De Wit & Meyer (2010), which perspective is emphasized. “The most crucial long-term stakeholder challenge for Fonterra and the dairy industry is its contribution to New Zealand’s emissions of greenhouse gases […]. The board and the management must deal with […] respecting the fundamental values perceived by many owners.”
The stakeholder value perspective and the importance of responsibility
The shareholder value perspective and the importance of profitability
The demand for social responsibility
The demand for economic profitability.
In their initial discussion about organizational purpose, De Wit and Meyer (2010) point out how advocates of the shareholder value perspective argue that:
Business strategies should be developed in accordance with the interests and values of the company’s shareholders, banks, and government
Business strategies should be judged by the economic value created for those who invested risk-taking capital in the enterprise
Business strategies should be implemented so that investors/shareholders take a significant responsibility for the company’s operations
Business strategy formulation and implementation are the responsibility of the corporate board of directors.
According to De Wit & Meyer (2010), when is stakeholder management seen as being instrumental?
When managing stakeholders is seen as a pragmatic approach, or technique, for dealing with the essential participants in the value-adding process
When managing stakeholders is based on the fundamental notion that the organization’s purpose is to serve the stakeholders
When shareholders treat stakeholders with concern and respect
When stakeholders and shareholders have goals that may, or may not, be in alignment with each other.