Amity University Punjab, Mohali

Amity School of Business Administration

BBA (2021-24) & BBA with Research (2021-25) 6 th Semester (March 2024),
Mid Term Test
Business Policy and Strategic Management (CBA315)

Total Marks: 25 Time = 50 mins

Note: All Questions are compulsory. Please write briefly and to the point.

Section A: Each question carries 4 marks.

1. What is a strategic decision and what are its three characteristics?

Strategic decisions are the decisions that are concerned with whole environment in which the
firm operates, the entire resources and the people who form the company and the interface
between the two.
The differences between Strategic, Administrative and Operational decisions can be
summarized as follows-

Strategic Decisions Administrative Decisions Operational Decisions

Strategic decisions are long-term Administrative decisions are Operational decisions are not
decisions. taken daily. frequently taken.

These are considered where the These are short-term based These are medium period-
future planning is concerned. Decisions. based decisions.

Strategic decisions are taken in These are taken according to These are taken in accordance
accordance with organizational strategic and operational with strategic and
mission and vision. Decisions. administrative decision.

These are related to overall These are related to working These are related to
Counter planning of all of employees in an production.
Organization. organization.

These deal with organizational These are in welfare of These are related to production
Growth. employees working in an and factory growth.
organization.

Students can explain any three of the five characteristics of strategic decisions,
mentioned in the first column of the table above.
2. According to Porter’s discussion of industry analysis, is Yippee noodles a substitute for
Maggi noodles? Explain your answer briefly.
 According to Porter’s discussion, Yippee noodles and Maggi noodles belong to the same
industry or strategic group of packaged ready-to-cook food products. Therefore the force
is Competitive Rivalry and not Power of Substitutes to bargain.
3. How do the elements of strategic intent help in strategic choice?
Strategic Intent is the purpose that organisation decides for itself. First mentioned by C.
K. Prahalad and Gary Hammel, the intent also measures the degree of obsession that
firms and their people are willing to either stretch or leverage or find a fit with the
resources in order to fulfil the ambition or the purpose of the firm.
4. How are strategies at the three organizational levels different?
The three organizational levels are corporate, business, and operational in context of
strategies. The strategies at these levels differ in terms of the scope. Corporate level
strategies are very broadly worded and tend to cover all the business that the parent
organisation owns. The business level strategies are confined to a particular business and
not influenced by any other business within the same Corporate Parent. Operational level
strategies are the implementation level of the plans of action as envisaged at the previous
two level.
Section B: Question carries 9 marks.

5. With reference to the PESTEL framework, which one from the following is a social
issue? Explain your answer with logical reasons.
a. Development of 5G phones
b. Rising demand for pre-school nursery places
c. China joining the WTO
d. Rising interest rates
Rising demand for pre-school nursery places is the social issue, from the analysis of the
PESTEL framework. Development of 5G phones is a technological issue. China joining the
WTO can be both political and economic issue as it tends to increase the membership of the
premier global trade body. The political environment gets impacted due to China’s
governance and its criticism by various countries. Rising interest rates is an economic issue.