As markets mature the magnitude of differentiation and cost leadership advantages
among competitors decrease.
Leaders are not expected to accept personal responsibility for ethical behavior in an
organization, because ethics is a matter of individual choice.
Co-opetition, where competitors work together behind the scenes, is a form of illegal
tacit collusion.
The aging of the population is a hard trend.
For firms competing in highly unstable and turbulent industries, traditional strategic
controls are most appropriate.
Former Chrysler vice chairman Robert Lutz observed that companies exist to serve the
shareholder and create shareholder value. He insisted that the only person who owns the
company is the person who paid good money for it. This is an example of a symbiotic
approach to stakeholder management.
When a firm has international operations, choosing the most appropriate structure
depends upon the extent of international expansion, the type of strategy, and the degree
of market diversity.
An important idea behind the profit pool concept is that there is always a strong
relationship between the generation of revenues and the capturing of profits.
In value-chain analysis, value is measured by the market value of the total stock
outstanding of the company.
In order to have effective board operations, firms need to cultivate engaged and
committed boards.
Internal benchmarking is discouraged in most organizations, because it creates
competition and internal rivalries that are counterproductive.
A firm striving for cost leadership will typically spend relatively more on product
related R&D than on process related R&D.
Environmental forecasting does not involve plausible projections about the ________
of environmental change.
A. direction
B. scope
C. speed
D. lack of intensity
Tom Monahan, a business creativity coach, says that every new idea is merely a spin of
an old idea. A company that enters the market by offering a product or service that is
somewhat new and sufficiently different in order to create value for customers by
capitalizing on current trends is using which new entry strategy?
A. imitative
B. pioneering
C. adaptive
D. differentiated
Behavioral controls are aspects of strategic change that involve finding the appropriate
______________ and ______________ among the culture, rewards, and boundaries of
the firm.
A. balance; alignment
B. measure; balance
C. alignment; balance
D. measure; outcome
In a given market, key technology no longer has patent protection, experience is not an
advantage, and there is a growing need to compete on price. What stage of its life cycle
is the market in?
A. introduction
B. growth
C. maturity
D. decline
Many successful firms use internal labor markets. The most important reason for doing
this is _____.
A. they want to encourage job rotation
B. they want to keep highly mobile employees motivated and challenged
C. if employees remain in the same department for too long, they would become
indispensable
D. an employee who moves too much can be identified as unreliable and then
eliminated
___________ is/are associated with collecting, storing, and distributing the product or
service to buyers. They consist of warehousing, material handling, delivery operation,
order processing, and scheduling.
A. Services
B. Outbound logistics
C. Inbound logistics
D. Operations
Which of the following is not a primary factor that a large firm with international
operations should consider when choosing the appropriate structure for its organization?
A. the extent of international expansion
B. the type of strategy (global, multidomestic, or transnational)
C. the degree of product diversity
D. the degree of market diversity
PepsiCo leads Coca-Cola in the Indian market. Why?
A. PepsiCo entered the market before Coca-Cola.
B. PepsiCo formed a joint venture with two Indian companies to introduce its products
under their label.
C. Coca-Cola promoted too many products.
D. Coca-Cola created too much direct employment in the beginning of its operation.
When firms expand into global markets, they are faced with the choice of reducing
costs and/or adapting to the local market. When high pressures exist to lower costs,
companies should choose a __________ or __________ in order to compete in the
global marketplace.
A. global strategy; transnational strategy
B. global strategy: multidomestic strategy
C. international strategy; multidomestic strategy
D. international strategy; transnational strategy
______________ produce fundamental changes that can transform a company or even
revolutionize an industry, while ______________ enhance existing practices and often
represent evolutionary applications of fundamental breakthroughs.
A. Technological breakthroughs; product-market breakthroughs
B. New technologies; new paradigms
C. Incremental innovations; radical innovations
D. Radical innovations; incremental innovations
Which of the following is a disadvantage of a functional type of organizational
structure?
A. Differences in functional orientation may impede communication and coordination.
B. Use of managerial and technical talent is inefficient due to pooling of expertise in
functional areas.
C. Decision making is centralized at the top of the organization.
D. Managers tend to be overly concerned with long-term strategies that minimize the
importance of functional area strengths.
What are the characteristics of a disruptive innovation? In what way is a disruptive
innovation similar to and different than a radical innovation? What are the strategic
implications of those differences and similarities?
How does the ethical orientation of a leader affect the ability to promote ethical
behavior in the organization?
According to competitive dynamics, competitors are more likely to respond when
attacked in a market where the competitor relies on that market for a large portion of its
sales. Why is this so? That is, what dynamic is at work in this situation that would cause
that response?
Explain the uses and limitations of portfolio management matrices such as the
growth-share matrix developed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Describe the attributes of a divisional organizational structure. What are the advantages
and disadvantages associated with using the divisional organizational form?
What is meant by the term market for corporate control? How does the market for
corporate control act as an external control mechanism?
Discuss the organizational and personal bases of leader power.
Explain what factors determine the sustainability of company competitive advantage
and provide an example of this in action.
Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of mergers and acquisitions as a means of
diversification.