106) The company with the highest rating on a given measure has an implied competitive edge
on that specific measure, with the size of its edge
A) providing the company with an overall net competitive score that is reduced by the weighted
measure.
B) signaling a weak position and competitive disadvantage.
C) reflecting the difference between its weighted rating and rivals’ weighted ratings.
D) reflecting an area of potential improvement in order to achieve a sustainable competitive
advantage.
E) requiring reevaluation of the weighted measure.
107) Calculating competitive strength ratings for a company and comparing them against
strength ratings for its key competitors helps indicate
A) which weaknesses and vulnerabilities of competitors the company might be able to attack
successfully.
B) which competitors are in profitable strategic groups and which competitors are in unprofitable
strategic groups.
C) which competitors are employing offensive strategies and which competitors are employing
defensive strategies.
D) which competitors are likely to make money and which are likely to lose money in the years
ahead.
E) what the industry’s key success factors are.
108) A company’s competitive strength scores pinpoint its strengths and weaknesses against
rivals and
A) suggest the company use its strengths to exploit its own competitive liabilities.
B) point directly to the kinds of offensive/defensive actions it can use to exploit its competitive
strengths and reduce its competitive liabilities.
C) point directly to the company to use its weaknesses as offensive moves to challenge rivals’
weaknesses.
D) suggest receptivity for astute companies to drive their operating practices if the strength
scores are very low.
E) point directly to accepting the competitive strength scores on face value.
109) Conducting a competitive strength assessment does not involve an analysis of
A) factors on which a company is competitively strongest and weakest vis-à-vis key rivals.
B) whether a company should correct its weaknesses by adopting best practices and/or
revamping the makeup of its value chain.
C) which of the rated companies is competitively strongest and what size competitive advantage
it enjoys.
D) whether a company has a net competitive advantage or a net competitive disadvantage
relative to key rivals (with the size of the advantage/disadvantage being indicated by the
differences among the companies’ competitive strength scores).
E) which rival company is competitively weakest and the areas where it is most vulnerable to
competitive attack.
110) Identifying the strategic issues a company faces and compiling a “worry list” of problems
and roadblocks is an important component of company situation analysis because
A) without a precise fix on what problems/issues a company confronts, managers cannot know
what the industry’s key success factors are.
B) the worry list sets the management agenda for taking actions to improve the company’s
performance and business outlook.
C) without a precise fix on what problems/roadblocks a company confronts, managers are less
clear about what value chain activities to benchmark.
D) these issues and obstacles must be cleared before management can focus clearly on what is
the best strategy for the company to pursue.
E) the worry list helps company managers clarify their thinking about how best to modify the
company’s value chain.
111) Pinpointing the strategic issues that SunPower’s management needs to address ordinarily
would not include
A) analyzing SunPower’s external environment.
B) evaluating SunPower’s own resources and competitive position.
C) surveying SunPower’s board members, managers, select employees, and key investors
regarding what strategic issues they think the company faces.
D) developing a worry list of “how to…,” “whether to…,” and “what to do about…” for
SunPower.
E) assessing what challenges SunPower must overcome to be financially and competitively
successful in the years ahead.
112) If you were tasked with identifying the strategic issues and problems that merit front-burner
managerial attention at SunPower, you would most likely not begin by
A) drawing upon the results and conclusions from analyzing SunPower’s external environment.
B) drawing upon the results and conclusions from evaluating SunPower’s own resources and
competitive position.
C) drawing up a worry list for SunPower consisting of “how to…,” “whether to…,” and “what to
do about…”.
D) drawing up a list of strategic issues and problems that SunPower faces first.
E) drawing up a list of issues and problems that SunPower management need to address to
improve the company’s position and prospects.
113) You have been hired to evaluate SunPower’s ability to compete successfully against its
market rivals in the U.S. solar power industry. Briefly list the guiding questions for your strategic
assessment of SunPower.
114) You have chosen as a course project to review CannaCraft, a Northern California integrated
manufacturer and marketer of medical cannabis products. What indicators would you examine to
determine whether or not CannaCraft’s present strategy is working well?
115) Identify one competitive resource strength that a SWOT analysis of Blue Apron and
Domino’s Pizza would reveal.
116) What would a deep look at the cost structure of Boll and Branch (Illustration Capsule 4.1),
a manufacturer and online marketer of luxury linens, reveal?
117) Using value chain analysis, which primary and secondary activities would you consider to
be most and least valuable for a company like Facebook?
118) Why is the simplicity of SWOT analysis also its major limitation? Explain and support your
answer.
119) In conducting a SWOT analysis, is it enough to simply compile lists of the company’s
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? Why or why not?
120) Explain how SunPower used benchmarking to improve its competitive position in the U.S.
solar power industry.
121) What is meant by the term “best practices”? Why does it matter whether a company utilizes
best practices in performing the activities comprising its value chain?
122) Describe a company (real or fictional) that is at a cost disadvantage compared to its rivals.
What strategic moves should this company undertake to restore cost parity?
123) Describe and provide an example of a firm (real or fictional) that is at a differentiation
disadvantage compared to its rivals. What strategic moves should this firm undertake to restore
or capture a differentiation advantage?
124) If you were advising Hilton Hotels, what three main approaches would you suggest to
rectify any weaknesses in this company’s customer value proposition?
125) Explain why a weighted competitive strength assessment is important and useful to
strategic managers.
126) You have been asked to defend why your strategic analysis of StitchFix solely consists of
an assessment of the company’s external environment but not an evaluation of its internal
resources and competitive position. How would you respond?
127) Why is it important for company managers to develop a worry list of strategic issues and
problems that they need to address and resolve? What should they consider to develop this list?