The rivalry among competing sellers tends to be less intense when:
A. industry conditions tempt competitors to use price cuts or other competitive weapons
to boost unit sales.
B. buyer demand is weak and many sellers have excess capacity and/or inventory.
C. industry rivals are not particularly aggressive or active in making fresh moves to
improve their market standing and business performance.
D. rivals have diverse strategies and objectives and are located in different countries.
E. rival sellers have weakly differentiated products.
Building organizational bridges with external allies is aided by:
A. appointing “relationship managers” and giving them responsibility for making
particular strategic partnerships or alliances generate the intended benefits.
B. agreeing with allies to meet frequently and make all decisions pertaining to the
alliance on the basis of mutual agreement and consensus.
C. getting each strategic ally to agree to appoint someone as head of the collaborative
effort and to give that person the authority to enforce tight coordination of joint
activities.
D. forming a 50-50 joint venture with each strategic partner, and then assigning people
to the joint venture that has the authority and responsibility to enforce tight
coordination.
E. entering into a written agreement detailing the roles and responsibilities of the
company and the ally/partner, setting forth the results that are expected, establishing
deadlines for achieving these results, and designating the people who are to be
responsible for making the collaborative effort work successfully.
A European-based company that makes all of its goods at a plant in Brazil and then
exports the Brazilian-made goods to country markets in many different parts of the
world:
A. is competitively disadvantaged when the euro declines in value against the Brazilian
real.
B. is competitively disadvantaged when the Brazilian real declines in value against the
currencies of the countries to which the Brazilian-made goods are being exported.
C. becomes less competitive in foreign markets when the Brazilian real gains in value
against the currencies of the countries to which the Brazilian-made goods are being
exported.
D. is competitively advantaged when the euro appreciates in value against the Brazilian
real.
E. has no interest in whether the euro grows stronger or weaker versus the Brazilian real
unless its chief competitors are other companies located in countries whose currency is
also the euro.
Which of the following does NOT exemplify business process reengineering?
A. Blue Mountain creates teams of mixed-occupation freelancers to design Christmas
cards.
B. Speedmore integrates three distribution units to form a consolidated zonal
distribution center.
C. Bank of America automates global transaction services in a quest for operational
efficiencies.
D. PayPal segregates payment notification operations from mobile transfer operations
to expand its customer base.E. Florida Power eliminates work depots, entrusting the
task of repair to crew members in a mobile van.
Which of the following ARE common shortcomings of company vision statements?
A. Too specific and too flexible
B. Unrealistic, unconventional, and un-businesslike
C. Too broad, vague or incomplete, bland/uninspiring, not distinctive, and too reliant on
superlatives
D. Too graphic, too narrow, and too risky
E. Not customer-driven, out of step with emerging technological trends, and too
ambitious
A dynamic capability is the:
A. ongoing capacity to modify existing resources and capabilities to create new ones.
B. improvement evaluation process for eliminating waste in the firm.
C. functional and operating resources management process.
D. ongoing capability to understand and establish a commitment to resource alignment.
E. improvement evaluation process for repurposing waste in the firm.
Which of the following is NOT one of the positive impacts that a company’s stated
values and ethical standards have on its corporate culture?
A. Communicating the company’s good intentions
B. Validating the integrity and above-board nature of the company’s business principles
and operating methods
C. Steering company personnel toward both doing things right and doing the right thing
D. Establishing a corporate conscience
E. Identifying how best to adapt to changing market conditions
Businesses with strategic fit with respect to their supply chain activities perform better
together because of all of the following EXCEPT:
A. the potential for skills transfer in procuring materials.
B. the sharing of resources and capabilities in logistics.
C. the benefits of added collaboration with common supply chain partners.
D. the added leverage gained with shippers when securing volume discounts on
incoming parts and components.
E. the increased allocation and allotment of support activities and specialized resources
and capabilities.
Which of the following factors does NOT determine whether to employ entry strategy
options?
A. Cross-border transfer activities and home country advantages
B. The nature of the firm’s objectives
C. Whether the firm has a full range of resources and capabilities needed to operate
abroad
D. Country-specific factors such as trade barriers
E. Transaction costs involved (the cost of contracting with a partner and monitoring
compliance with the terms of the contract)
An alliance becomes ‘strategic” as opposed to just a convenient business arrangement
when it serves all of the following strategic purposes EXCEPT:
A. builds, sustains, or enhances a core competence or competitive advantage.
B. blocks a competitive threat.
C. increases the bargaining power of alliance members over suppliers or buyers.
D. opens up important new market opportunities.
E. contracts out certain value chain activities that are normally performed in-house to
outside vendors.
Which of the following statements concerning the effects of fluctuating exchange rates
on companies competing in foreign markets is true?
A. Fluctuating exchange rates do not pose significant risks to a company’s
competitiveness in foreign markets.
B. The advantages of manufacturing goods in a particular country are largely unaffected
by fluctuating exchange rates.
C. Companies that are manufacturing goods in a particular country and are exporting
much of what they produce are disadvantaged when that country’s currency grows
weaker relative to the currencies of the countries that the goods are being exported to.
D. Companies that are manufacturing goods in a particular country and are exporting
much of what they produce are benefited when that country’s currency grows weaker
relative to the currencies of the countries that the goods are being exported to.
E. Domestic companies under pressure from lower-cost imports are hurt even more
when their government’s currency grows weaker in relation to the currencies of the
countries where the imported goods are being made.
Briefly identify three types of unhealthy corporate cultures.
List and briefly discuss at least three obligations of a company’s board of directors in
corporate governance and the strategy-making, strategy-executing process.
In what market and competitive circumstances are focused low-cost and focused
differentiation strategies attractive?
Explain how the strategic target of a low-cost provider differs from the strategic target
of a best-cost provider.
Explain why an organization needs a strategic vision. What purpose does a strategic
vision serve?