Management 300 HW Ch. 6

grand strategy

A _____ is a broad corporate-level strategic plan used to achieve strategic goals and guide the strategic alternatives that managers of individual businesses or subunits may use.

situational analysis

A _____ is an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in an organization's internal environment and the opportunities and threats in its external environment.

a firm's competitors cannot duplicate the value offered by the firm to its customers.

A sustainable competitive advantage is achieved when:

the bargaining power of suppliers

According to Porter's industry forces, _____ is a measure of the influence that suppliers of parts, materials, and services to firms in an industry have on the prices of these inputs.

"How should we compete against a particular company?"

Firm-level strategies answer the question:

differentiation

Because Theo Chocolate is committed to sustainability, and to treating cocoa growers fairly, customers feel that it is different from other chocolate manufacturers, and they are willing to pay more for what they feel is a higher quality product. This means that Theo Chocolate has adopted a __________________ strategy.

stability strategy

Companies following a _____ would most likely try to improve the way in which they sell the same goods or services to the same customers.

core capabilities

In any organization, _____ are the less visible, internal decision-making routines, problem-solving processes, and organizational cultures that determine how efficiently inputs can be turned into outputs.

rare resources

In the context of sustainable competitive advantage, _____ are those resources that are not controlled or possessed by many competing firms.

Unrelated diversification

Seattle, home to Theo Chocolate, experiences around 155 days of rain per year. CEO of Theo, Joe Whinney, recently purchased a umbrella company which will produce umbrellas in various colors and sizes. This is an example of:

Related diversification

Theo Chocolate is considering opening a cooking school which will teach students techniques for working with chocolate and recipes that feature Theo chocolate as an ingredient. This would be an example of:

Threat of substitute products or services

Theo Chocolate is just one of many high-end chocolate manufacturers today. They compete against brands such as Scharffen Berger, Valrhona, and Godiva. This means that it is easy for customers to choose a different chocolate, passing up the opportunity to buy a Theo Chocolate confection. This problem illustrates which of Porter's five industry forces?

Differentiation strategy

Theo Chocolate produces organic, fair trade chocolate and other candies for not only foodies and green consumers, but also anyone who wants a milk chocolate bar. This indicates that Theo has a:

The USDA releases a report about the potential link between chocolate and cancer. Unlike other chocolate brands, Theo sources their cacao beans directly from farmers in Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo, incurring greater costs than competitors who purchase from suppliers.

When formulating strategy, Theo Chocolate's managers scan the business environment for factors that will or could impact the company's competitive advantage. Which of the following would pose a threat to Theo?

Cost leadership

_____ means producing a product or service of acceptable quality at consistently lower production costs than competitors so that the firm can offer the product or service at the lowest price in the industry.

A response

______ is a countermove, prompted by a rival's attack, that is designed to defend or improve a company's market share or profit.

Prospectors

______ seek fast growth by searching for new market opportunities, encouraging risk taking, and being the first to bring innovative new products to market.