Portfolio planning was not initially intended to help managers achieve a balanced
portfolio of large stable businesses.
The source of Jet Blue’s low operating costs is its production technology.
Wal-Mart’s management of logistics signifies an important intangible resource.
The stability of a firm’s competitive context will determine the suitability of an alliance.
Costs are minimal in early efforts to internationalize.
The annulment strategy may entail considerable risk.
If companies are promoting consistent images and brands, there is pressure to globalize
in order to realize tremendous economies of scale in their global advertising dollars.
Serial acquirers are companies that engage in frequent acquisitions.
The first form of organizational diversification in the United States was probably
horizontal diversification.
Systems consist of the organizational processes and procedures that a firm uses in its
daily operations, such as controls and incentives, resource-allocation procedures,
budgets, and distribution.
Horizontal alliances encourage learning in the development and innovation of new
products.
The absorption strategy works well when the firm has identified the threat at an early
stage.
The term stereotyping means relying on a conventional conception of another group
based on some common characteristic.
When a firm can amortize R&D costs across many markets, it can, in effect, lower its
average cost per sale.
As firms become more complex, the functional structure becomes even more
appropriate.
A conglomerate is a corporation consisting of many companies in different businesses
or industries.
For a firm to succeed, it is not necessary for international strategy to be reflected in all
five aspects of the firm’s strategy diamond.
The entrepreneurial process encourages middle managers to be externally oriented.
Because it must be externally oriented to be effective, strategy should always be static.
A firm’s structure should seek a balance between control and the delegation of authority
necessary to make timely decisions.
According to the VRINE model, what are the two criteria that must be satisfied in order
to sustain a competitive advantage?
A)value and rarity
B)value and exploitability
C)inimitability and nonsubstitutability
D)inimitability and exploitability
Identifying specific subgroups of buyers who have distinguishable needs is called
________.
A)market segmentation
B)product analysis
C)buyer division
D)market design
Being on a well functioning, self-directed work team leads to greater accountability,
personal growth, and ________.
A) responsibility
B) a larger work force
C) need for more managers
D) stress
Issues that confront a firm but are not found in the macro environment are ________.
A)political
B)social
C)technical
D)managerial
Two processes can generate revenue-enhancement synergy: sharing resources and
________.
A)parenting advantage
B)transferring capabilities
C)learning curves
D)diversification
_____ are an example of downscaling in an industry.
A)microbreweries
B)wineries
C)family farms
D)fast-food restaurants
Decisional roles include all of the following except ________.
A)entrepreneur
B)disturbance handler
C)spokesperson
D)negotiator
Wal-Mart competes with its low prices. It is willing to make a tradeoff between
________.
A)lower sales and greater relative margins
B)greater sales and lower relative margins
C)higher prices and lower cost merchandise
D)lower prices and higher cost merchandise
Foreign outsourcing and offshoring locations tend to be defined by all of the following
except ________.
A)how automated a production process can be made
B)the relative labor costs
C)the transportation costs involved
D)centralized value-chain activities
When board members are asked why they would invest the required time and effort in
another firm’s success, they often respond that it is because of the ________
component.
A) prestige
B) social
C) learning
D) financial
In a truly global industry, all but which is the case?
A)the core product is standardized
B)the marketing approach is relatively uniform
C)the product and services produced are retained locally
D)competitive advantage belongs to the firms that can compete worldwide
The generic strategy typology has managers start by identifying the intended ________
of their strategy.
A)customers
B)human resources
C)discrete components
D)economic logic
Corporate governance is responsible for all except which of the following?
A) distribution of rights and responsibilities
B) spelling out of rules and procedures for making decisions
C) providing the structure through which the company’s objectives are set
D) the day-to-day operation of the company
All of the following are true concerning dictatorial management styles except
________.
A) they can be problematic
B) they delegate authority
C) they are averse to change
D) they create a lack of managerial depth
To remain successful, firms must actively anticipate changes in ________.
A) customer demographics
B) future technologies
C) new products/services
D) all of the above
During the ________ stage of the industry life cycle, incumbent firms increase market
share by taking advantage of pre-established footholds.
A)embryonic
B)growth
C)maturity
D)decline
The potentially conflicting needs of strategic interdependence and ________ can affect
optimal organizational structure following a merger or acquisition.
A)technological interdependence
B)organizational autonomy
C)industry convergence
D)organizational integration
What is the difference between an organization’s vision and mission?
What are the three fundamental lessons learned from the balanced scorecard approach?
What is a takeoff period?
Discuss some of the possible side effects of too much diversification.
What is the difference between intrinsic and market values?
How does business strategy differ from corporate strategy?
What goals can be achieved by predicting competitors’ behaviors?
List several examples of social trends contributing to business failures.
Explain some of the more complex forms of acquisitions.