A private firm is one in which the owner(s) has not listed shares of the firm on a public
exchange.
When managers are owners of the firm, the risk that they will deviate from the
organization’s stated purpose increases.
Strategies are most effective when firms leverage unique, firm-specific resources and
capabilities.
Sometimes the time period between first movers and second movers may be several
weeks or several years.
Firms with weak shared values are usually better at implementing strategies.
Charisma and emotional intelligence are required to be a leader within an organization.
International expansion always provides a remedy for fulfilling corporate growth needs.
Large firms may use funding to pursue shaping strategies.
Usually, strategy formulation problems are the source of performance problems.
The intent to offer a differentiated product generally results in competitive advantage
and above-average profitability.
When analyzing heterogeneous markets, it is best to be extremely inclusive.
The harmful side effects of too little diversification include increasing transaction costs
and managerial complexity.
Two trends that resulted in changes to the bottling industry were building large plants to
serve multiple markets and beverage producers entering the bottling industry.
As social stakeholders, governments have an economic interest in firms doing well.
In market economies where monopolies are allowed, firms should be able to earn only
“normal” profits.
The profit pool reminds us that profit and revenue concentration usually occur at the
same place in an industry.
Some resources cannot be purchased.
When firms make decisions about the arenas in which they will compete, they are
determining their ________.
A)strategic position
B)strategic approach
C)scope of involvement
D)market logic
Four countries that figure greatly into the landscape of developing economies where
there is great opportunity along with great risk are known collectively as BRIC and
include all except ________.
A)Brazil
B)India
C)Russia
D)Congo
Which of the following is an objective/action associated with the evaluation stage of
turnaround?
A) raise cash
B) seek profitable growth
C) identify strategy
D) enhance profitability
In seeking to diversify, many firms try to acquire and ________ complementary
resources and capabilities.
A)build
B)bundle
C)resell
D)divest
A form of foreign direct investment in which a firm starts a new foreign business from
the ground up is called ________.
A)joint venture alliance
B)entrepreneurism
C)greenfield investment
D)50/50 joint venture
The key role managers play in creating competitive advantage is ________.
A)identify resources and capabilities
B)locating attractive industries
C)selecting the most appropriate strategy
D)all of the above
When firms are in relatively ________ competitive environments, the advice and
monitoring of board members is enhanced when outside board members are drawn
from other firms that are strategically related to the firm.
A) stable
B) dynamic
C) unstable
D) complex
All of the following are possible outcomes of strong shared values except ________.
A) better implementation of strategies
B) higher levels of performance
C) higher average levels of return on investment
D) easier adaptation to a strong strategy-culture fit
In a planning meeting, a CEO discusses the main strategic levers that the company
intends to use as part of its strategic implementation efforts. The CEO most likely
mentions all of the following except ________.
A.organizational structure
B.reward systems
C.effectiveness of people management
D.core capability
The Extended DuPont analysis arrives at a firm’s return on ________.
A)equity
B)investment
C)capital
D)losses
A form of organization in which specialists from functional departments are assigned to
work for one or more product or geographic units is referred to as a ________.
A) functional structure
B) multi-divisional structure
C) network
D) matrix
The objective of mapping strategic groups is to identify ________.
A)critical stakeholders
B)suppliers
C)complementors
D)direct competitors
A simplified, widely shared model of an organization and its future, including
anticipated changes in its environment, is called ________.
A)vision and mission
B)an organizational chart
C)strategic purpose
D)a hierarchy model
The corporate strategy whereby a firm takes ownership of a downstream supply or
upstream distribution is called ________ integration.
A)complementary
B)diagonal
C)vertical
D)horizontal
The resources and capabilities that a firm possesses are called their ________.
A)flow
B)stock
C)opportunities
D)capital
One of IKEA’s innovations was to outsource ________ to the end consumer.
A)furniture assembly
B)design layout
C)furniture delivery
D)component gathering
Ideal standards formulated by regulatory, market, and government institutions are called
________.
A) codes of conduct
B) codes of governance
C) codes of behavior
D) codes of ordinance
Which of the following would be least likely to drive a company’s staging decision
regarding expansion into a particular market?
A.a brief, time-bound window of opportunity for the expansion
B.the need for early wins in the proposed expansion market
C.a sense of urgency posed by technological advances in the market
D.significant financial resources made available for the expansion
Board members may provide access to external resources such as ________.
A) access to capital
B) new knowledge
C) the ability to influence external stakeholders
D) all of the above
All of the following are examples of 1980s’ position focused alliances except ________.
A)optimizing total cost by consumer segment
B)building industry stature
C)consolidating position
D)gaining economies of scale and scope
A phenomenon where firms tend to be better at generating new knowledge than at
creating new products based on that knowledge is referred to as the ________.
A) learning curve effect
B) knowledge breach
C) knowledge-doing gap
D) learning-doing gap
The agency problem that can occur between managers and shareholders is sometimes
solved by performing ________.
A) audits
B) mergers or acquisitions
C) incentive alignment
D) restructuring
Synergies can come from all of the following except ________.
A)varied business missions
B)shared tangible resources
C)vertical integration
D)pooled negotiating power
What type of objectives should a firm entering the international arena by the acquisition
vehicle have?
What are the five facets or elements of the strategy diamond?
How does globalization impact a firm’s strategy?
What are the three points that managers need to consider prior to making an acquisition
decision?
What are the four possible international structural solutions? Explain.
Explain some of the possible sources for synergy.
Why do new-venture divisions typically not perform as well as private equity venture
capital firms?