WPC 480 Midterm

A firm incurs $100 to manufacture an office table. It fixes the market price of the table as $250, and discounts the price to $200. However, the maximum a person is willing to pay for it is $180. What is the amount of total perceived consumer benefits in this scenario?

$180

Which of the following statements with regard to industry structures is true?

A consolidated industry tends to be more profitable than a fragmented one.

Igor's Furniture has seen its profit margins shrink over the past several years as increased competition has driven down furniture prices. You have been tasked with improving the company's margins. Which of the following approaches makes the most sense within the context of strategic activity systems?

Install modern manufacturing equipment to improve efficiency.

Trung has been an employee with PureEnergy Inc. for 15 years. He started with an entry-level job, and today he is a manager of an entire division. Over the years, Trung has acquired a reputation for doing the right things in the company. Hence, as an efficient leader, he is capable of effectively communicating and motivating his subordinates to work toward the company's vision and mission. According to the Level-5 leadership pyramid, which is the highest level of leadership Trung has reached so far?

Level 4

________ are the legal owners of public companies.

Shareholders

In which of the following situations is the power of suppliers high in an industry?

Suppliers' industry is more concentrated than the industry it sells to.

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.

Which of the following examples uses a focused differentiation strategy?

a cosmetics brand that offers superior skin lotion for sensitive skin priced at 100 dollars per bottle

Superlative Productions spent 10 million dollars to buy the rights to a best-selling novel. The company then prepared for production by hiring a screenwriter to adapt the novel, casting the main roles, renting cameras and other equipment, and scouting locations in southern Arizona. Which of the following pairs of resources are both intangible?

best-selling novel; screenwriter's experience adapting novels

Pear Tree Electronics is a large conglomerate that operates in 17 different countries. The corporate executives at the headquarters have decided that the company's objective for the next two years will be to increase its customer equity, or the value of potential future revenues generated by all its customers in a lifetime. Based on this guideline received from the top management team, the product leader of the home audio division has decided to adopt a cost-leadership strategy in all his 17 units. Thus, the decision made by the product leader best illustrates a ________ strategy.

business

A firm incurs $400 to manufacture a television. In the market, customers are willing to pay a maximum of $600 for the television priced at $500. The difference of $200 ($600 minus $400) is the

economic value created.

In the aircraft manufacturing industry, at least for large commercial jets, Boeing and Airbus are the only competitors. There is not a significant threat of entry because

entering the aircraft manufacturing industry requires huge capital investments.

The concept of a(n) ________ attempts to capture both learning effects and process improvements at firms.

experience curve

In the context of the resource-based model of competitive advantage, if a successful firm exhibits resource immobility it means that the

firm will have a sustained competitive advantage because of its unique resources that are difficult for others to replicate that are difficult for others to replicate.

Nendry is the owner of a firm that produces sports drinks. Since there are a number of firms in the industry competing on cost, Nendry has decided to pursue a differentiation strategy. In this case, she should

focus on adding unique features to her product that customers will value.

After a firm has identified its key stakeholders in stakeholder impact analysis, the immediate next step is to

identify stakeholders' interests and claims.

Whole Foods differentiates itself from competitors by offering top-quality foods obtained through sustainable agriculture. This business strategy implies that Whole Foods focuses on

increasing the perceived value created for customers, which allows it to charge a premium price.

Green Jeans, Inc. had a mission to become the leading producer of environmentally friendly blue jeans, an emerging and in-demand category in the apparel industry. Its strategy involved leveraging a network of organic cotton farmers and suppliers of environmentally responsible synthetic materials to create a product that is durable, attractive, affordable, and 100% recyclable. However, because it did not upgrade its outdated production facilities, Green Jeans could not assemble its products at a low-enough cost to offer the jeans at a price that was attractive to customers. Green Jeans' strategy failed because

it was not backed up with strategic commitments.

The government of Filvia has mandated that the standard minimum wage in the country be increased to $8,000 per year. Which of the following factors in a firm's general environment does this mandate best indicate?

legal factors

Salubre Pharmaceuticals invested $3.4 billion dollars to develop a new drug for individuals with diabetes. After Salubre receives FDA approval of the drug, its marginal cost to produce the drug for market will be

low

The "Natural Nourishment" granola bars manufactured by Global Good Foods have been the top-selling granola bars in the market. Though the market for granola bars is flooded with competitors, Global Good has been able to maintain its market position for a long time. This is mainly attributed to the pleasant texture of its granola, which comes from a proprietary processing technique used by the company. This competency of Global Good Foods will be considered as a(n) ________ resource in the VRIO framework.

rare

The executives at Red Couture Inc. are developing strategic plans to address plausible future situations like rise in the prices of cotton and synthetic fabrics by 20 percent, appreciation in the value of the dollar, increase in the cost of labor by 30 percent, and increase in demand for the company's products. By doing so, the company will be well prepared with its planned responses if any of these situations occurs in the future. Thus, Red Couture is employing ________ as the approach to the development of strategy.

scenario planning

FindFor Inc. is an e-commerce retail firm that sells a variety of merchandise online. Through services like cash on delivery, easy return, and online tracking, the company has created more customer value than its competitors (brick-and-mortar businesses) at the same price. Also, the company's costs are substantially lower than its competitors because of minimal investments in operation and administration. In this scenario, FindFor Inc. has most likely been able to provide superior value and cost control through

strategic positioning.

Powell Lighting was the first company to start selling LED light bulbs in its country—a product that gained popularity among diverse groups. Soon, other companies started to sell their own brands of LED bulbs, thereby giving Powell Lighting ample competition. In response, Powell Lighting decided to limit its LED light bulbs to outdoor models. However, it ensured that these models were the longest-lasting and lowest-priced on the market. With this innovation, Powell Lighting consistently outperformed its competitors for ten years. In this scenario, Powell Lighting maintained a ________ through its innovative strategy.

sustainable competitive advantage

Which of the following external forces is a part of a firm's task environment?

the composition of the strategic group to which the firm belongs

Who among the following is responsible for making business strategies in a large conglomerate?

the general managers of individual business units

Which of the following best describes a strategic trade-off?

the tension between value creation and the pressure to keep costs in check

Which of the following vision statements is most likely to produce a sustainable competitive advantage for an auto dealership?

to help our customers find the perfect car for their individual needs.

Which of the following is an external performance metric?

total return to shareholders

During strategy implementation, managers primarily focus on deciding the

type of corporate governance that is most effective and ways in which it can put the formulated strategy into practice.