Intergrated Business Test #1

The ___ is a model that links strategy analysis, strategy formulation, and strategy implementation, which together help managers pla and implement a strategy that can improve performance and result in competitive advantage

AFI strategy framework

When performing internal analysis of firms, how would you answer the question, "why do companies exist?"

Companies exist because they create value for customers in ways that customers are unable to replicate on their own.

________________ allow(s) a firm to differentiate its products and services from those of its rivals, creating higher value for the customer or offering products and services of comparable value at lower cost.

Core competencies

In the pyramid of corporate social responsibility, _____ are the foundational building block.

Economic Responsibilities.

Organizational values help people make choices that are ethical and company-goal-oriented. These values answer which strategic management question?

How do we accomplish our goals in the organization?

_____ are barriers to imitation that prevent rivals from competing away the advantage a firm may enjoy.

Isolating mechanisms

Which of the following statements accurately describes a firm's resource stock?

Resource stocks are a firm's current level of intangible resources.

When conducting a _______________, it's best to examine both PESTEL and Porter's five forces analyses because these tools focus on the external environment.

SWOT analysis

_____is best described as a set of goal-directed actions a firm takes to gain and sustain superior performance relative to competitors

Strategy

Which of the following statements about product-oriented visions is true?

They tend to force managers to take a myopic view of the competitive landscape.

Which of the following is the best characterization of sociocultural forces?

a society's culture, norms, and values

Jennifer manages a chain of bars and restaurants in a tri-county area that has recently experienced an economic boom because of fracking and high oil prices. What is most likely to happen when there is too much money in the tri-county economy?

an increase in prices

To be effective, firms need to

back up their visions with strategic commitments that are costly and difficult to reverse.

Which of the following is NOT considered an important macro-environmental influence on businesses (that is, a potential influence beyond that of the industry alone)?

bargaining power of suppliers

A firm always has a competitive disadvantage when its return on invested capital is

below the industry average.

In the five forces model developed by Michael Porter, ________ is not defined narrowly as a firm's closest competitors but rather more broadly to include other factors in an industry like buyers, suppliers, potential new entry of other firms, and the threat of substitutes.

competition

A resource-based view of a firm provides a model that systematically aids in identifying

core competencies

The goal of a good strategy is focused primarily on

creating superior value while containing costs.

In a firm's external environment, ________ trends primarily capture population characteristics related to age, gender, family size, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and socioeconomic class.

demographic

A(n) ________ is best described as the strategic option that top managers decide most closely matches the current reality and which is then executed.

dominant strategic plan

Sam, owner of Sam's Hand Sanitizer Inc., is in the middle of the strategy formulation stage. He has already allocated a substantial amount of money that covered his employees' salaries from the prior year (sunk costs) but has failed to see any positive outcomes. Given the money he has already spent, he feels as if he needs to recover those costs and pushes forward even though the outcome seems dim. This best illustrates the concept of

escalating commitment.

Strategies developed at the departmental level, such as the accounting, human resources, production, and marketing departments, within a strategic business unit are referred to as ________ strategies.

functional

Which of the following is a macroeconomic factor that can affect a firm's strategy?

levels of employment

Strategic commitments are actions that are

long-term oriented

Firms that compete within the same strategic group generally experience

more competitive rivalry than firms outside their strategic group.

The competitive advantage that one firm has will be short-lived in an industry in which

perfect competition exists.

Which of the following strategy plans might work best in an industry that is considered a fast-changing environment with new laws going into effect regularly?

scenario planning

Dynamic capabilities are especially relevant for surviving and competing in markets that

shift quickly.

Top-down strategic planning as an approach to the strategic management process will be most effective when the

size of the firm is large.

A firm's ________ relates to its ability to create value for customers (V) while containing the cost to do so (C).

strategic position

According to AFI strategy framework, in which of the following tasks of strategic management is a firm's vision, mission, and values identified?

strategy analysis

In _____, a firm frames a guiding policy to address the competitive challenge.

strategy formulation

A firm's strategic position is likely to be strong when

the gap between the value the firm's product generates and the cost to produce it is large.

Which of the following was a key motivator for participants in the Occupcy movement of 2011

the issue of income disparity

When automobile magazines face competition from automobile blogs on the web, which of the following forces in Michael Porter's five forces model primarily gets stronger?

the threat of substitutes

When do employees fail to adopt the organizational values of a firm?

when the top managers in the firm are merely paying lip service to the firm's stated values

Which of the following statements is true of customer-oriented visions?

Customer-oriented vision statements are not the same as listening to your customer.

You are the manager in charge of setting the strategy for a fast-casual. Which of the following questions would be appropriate for you to ask during the analysis phase of the AFI strategy framework?A) Should we open our first location in Los Angeles or New York City?

How have consumer preferences in the fast casual restaurant industry changed in the last five years

________ are best described as the ethical standards and norms that govern the behavior of individuals within a firm.

Organizational core values

Which of the following statements should ideally reflect a firms strategy for competitive advantage

Our aim is to create superior customer value while controlling costs

In the context of the resource-based model of competitive advantage, which of the following scenarios best exemplifies resource immobility?

PaluniInc. has been able to outperform its competitors because the uniqueness of its employee experience is difficult for competitors to replicate.

which of the following is typically an economic responsibility of a firm

Paying adequate returns to the firm's stockholders on the capital invested by them

Keeping in mind the five forces in the airline industry, which of the following best explains the difficulty airlines have in generating a profit?

Substitutes are readily available in the form of trains, buses, and cars, thus reducing the profit potential in the industry.

Which of the following statements accurately brings out the difference between tangible and intangible resources?

Tangible assets can be bought on the open market by anyone with the necessary cash, whereas intangible assets cannot be easily purchased.

Which of the following describes a situation in which firms acquire resources at a low cost, laying the foundation for a competitive advantage later?

better expectations of future resource value

Frozen Gold is a fast-growing chain of ice cream shops. It has acquired an edge over its competitors through its ability to provide a wide array of unique flavors and a hip atmosphere in stores. This advantage of Frozen Gold best exemplifies a

core competency.

Firms that can employ and establish _________________, are more likely to protect their competitive advantage from being copied and/or eroding away.

isolating mechanisms

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

In recent years a growing number of U.S. consumers have become more health-conscious about what they eat. According to the PESTEL Framework this trend could best be classified as a ________ trend.

sociocultural