480 Midterm
WeClean Inc., a manufacturer of cleaning agents, supplies its products to Goodings Inc., a supermarket chain. It demands that Goodings create more shelf space in its stores for WeClean s' products. However, Goodings Inc. refuses to do this. Instead, it decides to produce its own range of cleaning agents with its own label "All Wash." In this scenario, Goodings Inc. has exercised its bargaining power as a buyer through
backward integration
Corporate executives at Fly High Inc. decide to compete in the remote model airplane industry by making the largest model planes available. By doing this, they completed part of their ________ strategy.
business
The founder of T-Square Construction strongly believes in the notion of corporate social responsibility, so he has proposed several philanthropic activities that he expects the company to pursue. In order to accomplish this vision, the managers should first
ensure that the company is profitable and has a sustainable competitive advantage.
Farm to Table Inc. is a supermarket chain. Due to strong competition from other stores in the industry, Farm to Table has aggressively used branding, pricing, and superior customer service to uniquely position itself in the market. As a result, the supermarket chain has been able to differentiate itself from its competitors and sell its products at higher prices. Which of the following industry competitive structures does this scenario best illustrate?
monopolistic competition
We Build & Build's' core competency is building multi-family housing in urban areas. This competency is based primarily on the decisions made by the company's top management over several years to focus on building in densely populated cities. Management used the process of
path dependence
Golden Soles has been successful at differentiating itself from competitors by claiming a premium price for its athletic footwear based on superior design and high-quality materials. In this scenario, which of the following is the key value driver?
product features
A firm is said to gain a competitive advantage when it can
provide products similar to its competitors, but at lower prices.
When young start-up entrepreneurs make claims like, "We will be the Uber of X, where X is any other category than ride hailing" or "We will be the Airbnb of Y, where Y is any other category than hospitality services" they are best illustrating which of the following cognitive biases?
representativeness bias
Your company, a small software development firm, has attracted many of the top young programmers in your area. As a result, the apps you produce have been praised for their innovative features and intuitive user experience. According to the bathtub metaphor in the dynamic capabilities perspective, what is the best way for you to protect against resource leakage?
Improve the benefits package to retain key employees and reduce turnover.
Which of the following is an advantage of applying the economic value creation perspective to assess a firm's performance?
In economic value perspective, analysts not only consider historical costs, but also opportunity costs.
Which of the following is a primary feature of the five forces model?
It views competition within an industry broadly to include forces such as buyers, suppliers, and the threat of substitutes.
Which of the following is an advantage of a triple-bottom-line approach?
The approach takes an integrative and holistic view in assessing a company's performance.
The market capitalization of a public company is $5 billion. Each share of the company is traded at $200. What do you infer from this financial data?
The firm's number of outstanding shares is 25 million.
FMC Corp., a chemical manufacturer, has over 5,000 employees spread across several SBUs which collectively generate over $3 billion in annual revenues. FMC's strategic leaders initially focused solely on financial metrics as their key performance measure but is failing to achieve competitive advantage in their industry. Which of the following questions below should their senior leadership not consider while implementing the balanced score card framework?
When should we decide to divest assets and prepare for an exit strategy?
In the context of the SWOT matrix, which of the following best exemplifies a firm's internal strength?
increase in a firm's customer loyalty
According to the resource-based view, a firm's competitive advantage often stems from its
intangible resources
The minimum wage in the country of Hanns is $8 an hour. Delish, a restaurant in Hanns' capital city, pays its servers $8 per hour. However, the management of the restaurant feels that this amount is excessive for workers whose only job is to clear tables. By continuing to adhere to the rules set by the government of Hanns, which of the following responsibilities is Delish satisfying?
legal responsibilities
WeBreak4Bikes Inc. has a new U.S.-based client in the bicycle industry. The client's company produces only bicycles for riding on the road. The bicycles are used for reliable general purpose transportation. When asked to identify a potential substitute for the bicycle industry from the Five Forces perspective, you would select
motorcycles
When a firm operates at an output level of 9,000 units, the per-unit cost is $5. When the production is between 10,000-12,000 units, the per-unit cost is $4. At a production level of 13,000 units, the production cost is again $5 per unit. At 14,000 units and above, the production cost increases further. At what output level does the firm experience economies of scale?
11,000
At a certain output level, the per-unit cost incurred by a firm to manufacture a product was $70. Once the cumulative output doubled, the cost per unit reduced to $63. All other factors remaining constant, the firm has been able to achieve a(n)
90 percent learning curve.
Which of the following examples reflects the strongest vision?
At Desks.com, all employees are motivated to make the best desks on the market.
Which of the following scenarios illustrates a firm that has a sustainable competitive advantage?
Bill and Ted Corp. was able to hold its market share of 68 percent in the social networking industry for more than three years.
Tindel Inc. competes on cost with Nirvana Sites in the web design industry. Both firms operate on a 90 percent learning curve, and neither firm is capable of increasing its cumulative output any further. How might Tindel Inc. achieve a cost-leadership position while maintaining customer satisfaction?
by incorporating new programming techniques to take advantage of experience-curve effects
Competitors have found it extremely difficult to imitate Gene Electronics Inc.'s valuable resources, capabilities, or competencies. This is primarily because the source for the company's success has been unclear. The competitors are uncertain if Gene Electronics Inc.'s success is due to its strong leadership, the skills of its research and development team, or the timing of the company's product introductions. Gene Electronics Inc. has been protected from losing its competitive advantage as a result of
causal ambiguity
A new company named Waves Inc. entered the radio retail business, which is a fairly consolidated industry. In response, two large incumbent radio retailers, SMS Radio and TruRadio, lowered the price of their radios. Also, they spent more money to improve their radios and on additional marketing. By doing this, SMS Radio and TruRadio
decreased industry profit potential
Maria and Tom both serve as SBU managers of their divisions. They have both been asked by the CEO to generate two different courses of action for a new product launch. This strategic decision-making technique can be described as
dialectic inquiry
As the CEO of a conglomerate, Sarah Cane exhibited her strong commitment toward the company's core value that customers' well-being is more important than profit when she convinced the board of directors to liquidate the company's pesticide subsidiary. The pesticide brand sold by her company was a major revenue earner in lesser-developed nations, but studies indicate that it is a carcinogen. Eva persuaded the board that the company had to be responsible toward society. In this scenario, Sarah has demonstrated
strategic leadership.
Which of the following stages of the strategic management process involves an evaluation of a firm's external and internal environments?
strategy analysis
There are several major limitations of employing the balance scorecard framework; which of the following below isnot one of those limitations?
the type of marketing and HR functions used to employ the framework
Ticker Inc. is a wristwatch company known for its luxury watches, and it follows a differentiation strategy. In this scenario, Ticker Inc. should ideally compare its strategic position with a
watch maker that sells high-end, premium watches.