For a particular company resource/capability to have real competitive power and
perhaps qualify as a basis for competitive advantage, it should:
A. be hard to copy, be rare and something rivals lack, be competitively valuable, and
not be easily trumped by substitute resource strengths possessed by rivals.
B. be something that a company does internally rather than in collaborative
arrangements with outsiders.
C. be patentable.
D. bean industry key success factor and occupy a prime position in the company’s value
chain.
E. have the potential for lowering the firm’s unit costs.
The objective of differentiation is to:
A. offer customers something rivals can’t, at least in terms of the level of satisfaction.
B. develop strategies that are different from those of rivals.
C. establish objectives that are measurable and meaningful when it comes to sales
growth.
D. offer customers a sustainable competitive advantage.E. offer a diverse range of
comparable products with low switching costs.
The statistical thinking underlying Six Sigma is based on which of the following three
principles?
A. All activities can be controlled, employee empowerment is the best control tool, and
100 percent control is possible.
B. All work is a process, all processes have variability, and all processes create data that
explains variability.
C. All work activities can be done accurately most of the time, empowered employees
are necessary for effective control, and good statistical data is an empowered
employee’s best control tool.
D. All work is a statistically controllable process, 100percent control is possible, and
every well-controlled process is defect-free.E. Most business processes are subject to
control, Six Sigma can totally remove variability in how processes are performed, and
most defects can be eliminated.
Resource and capability analysis is designed to:
A. ascertain the internal marketplace of non-distinct divisions of the company.
B. ascertain which of a company’s resources and capabilities are competitively valuable.
C. stimulate demand for a product.
D. ascertain to what extent a competitor can sustain a competitive advantage.E.
stimulate economic growth for companies within the industry.
Business strategy concerns:
A. how to gain and sustain a competitive advantage for a single line of business.
B. defining what set of businesses to be in and why.
C. selecting a business model to use in pursuing business objectives.
D. selecting a set of stretch financial and strategic objectives for a particular line of
business.
E. choosing the most appropriate strategic intent for a specific line of business.
In mapping strategic groups:
A. one strategic variable and one financial variable should be used as axes for the map.
B. it is important for the variables used as axes to be highly correlated.
C. the best variables to use as axes for the map are those that identify the competitive
characteristics that delineate strategic approaches used in the industry.
D. it is important to use price as the variable for the vertical axis.
E. the primary objective is to determine which strategic groups are profitable and which
are not.
Competitive strength can be determined by assigning measures based on perceived
importance because:
A. it provides a more accurate assessment of the strength of competitive forces.
B. it eliminates the bias introduced for those firms having large market shares.
C. the different measures of competitive strength are unlikely to be equally important.
D. the results provide a more reliable measure of what competitive moves rivals are
likely to make next.
E. weighting each company’s overall competitive strength by the size of its market
share produces a more accurate measure of its true competitive strength.
Low-cost leaders who have the lowest industry costs are likely to:
A. have out managed rivals in finding ways to perform value chain activities more
cost-effectively.
B. be considering exiting the current product market and use their competitive low-cost
strength to gain a competitive advantage in other product arenas.
C. be favorites to win the game of strategy in the long run.
D. understand that driving costs to the lowest possible level is the only way to sell
cheap products to consumers.
E. understand that they have lower bargaining power with suppliers than rivals who
employ a different strategy.
What does business ethics concern?
A. Developing a consensus among companies worldwide as to what ethical principles
businesses should be expected to observe in the course of conducting their operations
B. What ethical behaviors are imposed on company personnel by governments in the
course of doing their jobs
C. The application of general ethical principles to the actions and decisions of
companies and the conduct of their personnel
D. Developing a special set of ethical standards for different types of businesses to
observe in conducting their affairs
E. Picking and choosing among the consensus ethical standards of society to arrive at a
set of ethical standards that apply directly to operating a business
A company wants to plan a state-of-the-art information and operating system to enable
better strategy execution. Which of the following is the most likely reason for the
company’s move?
A. It wants to embrace modern technology.
B. It wants to gain a competitive edge over rivals.
C. It wants to spot cost overruns and inefficiencies.
D. It wants to increase workforce productivity and retention.
E. It wants to boost management morale.