Lesson 3.10.4

3.10.4 Problems with strategy and why strategies fail Quiz: AQA Business, Unit 10

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.10.4, Problems with strategy and why strategies fail: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Business (7132), Unit 10: Managing strategic change, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is the difference between planned and emergent strategy?

    • Emergent strategy is set by government regulators, whereas planned strategy is set by the managers of the firm
    • Planned strategy is deliberately designed in advance, whereas emergent strategy arises from actions and learning over time
    • Planned and emergent strategy are identical, because both are fully designed in advance by the board
    • Planned strategy arises by chance from daily decisions, whereas emergent strategy is always set in a formal plan

  2. What is strategic drift?

    • A sudden change of strategy that is caused by a government decision to alter the rules on competition
    • A gradual loss of competitive relevance as a business fails to adapt its strategy to changes in its environment
    • A decision by managers to move the business into an entirely new market in a single, planned step
    • A situation in which the firm's strategy is so detailed that staff cannot follow it in practice

  3. Which is a reason why strategic drift can occur?

    • Managers review the strategy every week, so that it is always in line with changes in the market
    • The business has an excessively large number of customers, which makes it unnecessary to revise its approach
    • The business has no competitors, so there is no pressure for the strategy to change over time
    • Managers fail to review the strategy as market conditions change, so it becomes out of step with customer needs

  4. Which of these is a difficulty of strategic decision making?

    • Decisions never affect the firm's long-term performance, so they can be taken without any concern for the outcome
    • Decisions must be made under uncertainty with incomplete information about future conditions
    • Decisions are always made with complete and certain information about every future market and competitor
    • Decisions are made only once a year, so managers never have to consider any change in the business

  5. Why might a firm's strategy fail to be implemented as planned?

    • Strategies are always implemented perfectly because managers are never wrong about what needs to be done
    • Staff may resist the change, resources may be insufficient, or the plan may be unrealistic
    • Resources are always sufficient for any plan, so the implementation of strategy never falls short in practice
    • Staff always carry out every plan exactly as it is written, without any difference from the original intention

  6. Which of these is a reason a business may need strategic planning?

    • It removes all uncertainty about the future, so managers can be confident of every outcome in the market
    • It means that the business never needs to adapt its approach, because the plan will remain valid for ever
    • It replaces the need for performance monitoring, because a plan guarantees that targets will be met
    • It provides direction and co-ordination, helping the business focus resources on agreed goals

  7. Evaluate the value of strategic planning for a business operating in a fast-changing market.

    • Planning should be abandoned entirely, because a business in a fast-changing market should only react to events as they happen
    • Planning guarantees success in every market, so fast change does not affect the value of the plan at all
    • Planning gives direction, but in fast-changing markets the plan must be flexible and reviewed so emergent elements can be included
    • Planning is worthless in a fast-changing market, because managers should never set any direction for the business at all

  8. How can a business evaluate its strategic performance?

    • By asking only the chief executive whether the strategy feels successful, without any measurement or comparison
    • By waiting until the business is closed down to see whether the strategy was effective or not in its life
    • By comparing actual results with objectives and benchmarks, using both financial and non-financial measures
    • By relying only on the profit reported in the most recent year, which shows all that matters about strategy

  9. Why is it important to evaluate strategic performance regularly?

    • It is only needed for legal compliance, so managers can ignore the results of the evaluation for decision making
    • It is unnecessary because the strategy never changes its effectiveness once it has been implemented in full
    • It allows managers to detect drift early and adjust the strategy before its position weakens significantly
    • It is only needed once, at the end of the strategy, so that a final judgement can be recorded for the accounts

  10. What is a limitation of relying only on financial measures to evaluate strategic performance?

    • They are always accurate and complete, so they ignore nothing that matters to the business in any period
    • They may ignore customer, employee and environmental factors that affect long-term success
    • They always measure the same things in every business, so they cannot distort performance judgements
    • They cannot be calculated at all, so managers must rely on non-financial measures for every decision they take

  11. Which of the following is a difficulty in evaluating strategic performance?

    • It can be ignored entirely, because strategies always succeed or fail in an obvious and immediate way
    • It is always simple, because the effect of a strategy is easy to isolate from every other factor in the business
    • It only applies to strategies in the public sector, so private firms face no difficulty when evaluating them
    • It can be hard to separate the effect of the strategy from the effect of external factors such as market changes

  12. Why do some firms adopt a mix of planned and emergent strategy?

    • To make the strategy impossible to understand, which discourages competitors from copying it in the market
    • To avoid making any decisions, so that the business simply reacts to events without any direction at all
    • To ensure that all decisions are made by chance, so that no manager can be held responsible for results
    • To set clear direction while remaining able to learn from events and adjust the approach as it unfolds

  13. A business's strategy was designed three years ago and has not been reviewed since, while competitors have changed their offers. What is the most likely outcome?

    • Strategic drift, leading to a gradual loss of competitive position
    • A sudden increase in market share as competitors are caught out by the stable strategy
    • No change in performance, because the strategy was correct when it was first designed and remains so
    • An automatic improvement in profits because the firm's strategy has been fixed and cannot be changed

  14. Evaluate the claim that most strategies fail because the strategy itself is wrong.

    • Strategies fail only because their logic is flawed, so implementation has no bearing on their success in any case
    • Strategies never fail, because a well-designed strategy will always succeed regardless of how it is delivered
    • Failure often lies in implementation, such as poor communication, weak leadership or inadequate resources, not only in the logic
    • Strategies fail because of luck alone, so managers have no influence on the outcome of any strategy they design

  15. Which of these statements about emergent strategy is most accurate?

    • It is identical to strategic drift, because both mean the business is losing its way and its position
    • It can capture useful learning from experience that a fixed plan would miss
    • It arises only from government decisions, so businesses have no part in its development at all
    • It is always inferior to planned strategy, so firms should never allow any emergent element into their approach

  16. A firm reviews its strategy and finds that its performance targets are unrealistic given resources. What is the most appropriate response?

    • Reduce the monitoring of performance so that the unrealistic targets are less visible to managers and staff
    • Keep the targets unchanged, because unrealistic targets motivate staff to work harder and achieve more in practice
    • Revise the objectives or secure the resources needed, so the strategy is realistic and can be implemented
    • Abandon the strategy immediately without considering whether the targets or the resources could be adjusted

  17. What is the main strength of a planned strategy?

    • It guarantees that the business will never face competition, because the plan blocks new entrants to the market
    • It gives clear direction and allows resources to be co-ordinated around agreed goals
    • It removes the need for managers to communicate with staff, because the plan explains everything in detail
    • It allows the business to ignore changes in its market, because the plan fixes every decision for years ahead

  18. Which is the best example of an emergent strategy?

    • A firm follows a fixed budget that was approved by the board at the start of the year and never revised
    • A firm finds that a product designed for one use is popular with another group of customers, and adjusts its offer to suit them
    • A firm publishes a five-year plan that sets out its target market, product range and pricing before any launch takes place
    • A firm copies the full strategy of its largest rival without any analysis of its own customers or resources

  19. Which measure is most suitable for evaluating a strategy's long-term performance?

    • The cash balance at the end of the most recent month, which shows the position on a single day only
    • The number of meetings held by managers during the last quarter to discuss the progress of the strategy
    • Market share and customer retention tracked over several years and compared with rivals
    • The number of pages in the strategic plan, which indicates how detailed the planning process has been

  20. A strategic plan sets a profit growth target of 10% but ignores changes in the market. What is the main weakness of this plan?

    • It includes a profit target, which is never relevant to a strategic plan in any business context
    • It sets a target that is too precise, so managers are unable to use it to make any decisions at all
    • It sets a target that is too low, so the business will certainly exceed it and waste its resources in the process
    • It does not reflect changes in the environment, so it may become less useful for decisions over time

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