MKT 3360 Chapt 6/7/8/10/12
Which of the following is a feature of a joint venture that differentiates it from other forms of alliances?
It involves a significant equity stake by the partners.
The R&D team of Zelda Technozone Inc. has developed a prototype for a two-seater car that runs primarily on solar energy. Since the firm usually manufactures household appliances, the management acknowledges that it does not have the required competencies to manufacture this car on a large scale. It decides to access another firm's manufacturing competencies. Which of the following collaborative arrangements is most appropriate in this scenario?
Joint venture
If a firm has the option of investing in R&D, the cost of commercializing a new technology that is developed can be considered the:
exercise price.
In a functional team approach to new product development, team members remain in their functional departments and may meet periodically to discuss the project.
False
In heavyweight teams, all team members are dedicated full-time to a project even after the completion of the project. Hence, these teams are permanent in nature.
False
The ratio of R&D expenditures to sales is known as R&D trajectory.
False
Which of the following statements is true of a collective research organization?
It allows a firm to share the cost and risk of basic research.
Which of the following is a limitation of a functional team?
It may have little commitment to the development project.
_____ offers a fast way for a firm to extend the reach of its technology that is nearly free and offers the potential for royalties.
Licensing out a technology
Which of the following statements is true of functional teams?
The functional team structure provides little opportunity for cross-functional coordination.
Solo internal development is, on average, a relatively fast and inexpensive way of developing a technology.
False
The allocation of a finite quantity of resources over different possible uses is known as research rationing.
False
Which of the following statements is true of heavyweight teams?
In heavyweight teams, members are collocated with the project manager.
Product life cycles shorten with high-speed technological changes
True
f the net present value of a project is greater than zero, then the:
project generates wealth.
When technology is progressing rapidly, firms are more likely to:
use linkages with other specialized firms to access resources they do not possess.
Which of the following statements is true of core competencies?
A firm's core competency is more than just a core technology.
Which of the following is a defining characteristic of autonomous teams?
Autonomous teams often do not conform to the operating procedures of the rest of the organization.
Which of the following is an advantage of cross-functional teams?
Cross-functional teams allow a project to draw on a wider mix of information sources in the environment.
A contract book must be developed before a project charter is written
False
A cross-functional team is one that has members of different ethnic backgrounds in a single functional area.
False
A derivative project is designed to serve a core group of consumers, whereas platform projects represent modifications of the basic platform design to appeal to different niches within that core group.
False
Functional teams typically have a project manager or dedicated liaison personnel.
False
Homogeneous teams should possess more information, on average, than heterogeneous groups.
False
In heavyweight teams, the long-term career development of individual members rests with their project managers rather than their functional managers.
False
It is unusual for a company to lack certain complementary assets required to transform a body of technological knowledge into a commercial product
False
Joint ventures offer low potential for leveraging a firm's existing competencies because they typically entail a short-term relationship between two or more firms. Group startsTrue or False
False
Licensing a technology from another firm is typically more expensive for a licensee than developing a new technology in-house
False
Project managers of heavyweight teams are typically junior or middle management employees, who are not able to exert significant authority over team members.
False
Social loafing occurs when, as the size of a team decreases, individuals perceive that they will not receive full credit for their contribution to the group effort and so they make a strong commitment to increase their efforts.
False
Solo internal development is, on average, a relatively fast and inexpensive way of developing a technology
False
Easymake Corp. developed a new Web design software to build Web pages for its clients. However, Easymake soon realized it could make more money by selling this software to those who wish to quickly build Web pages to sell their products. Which of the following would be the most appropriate strategy for Easymake?
It should become a licensor of the new Web design software
_____ offers a fast way for a firm to extend the reach of its technology that is nearly free and offers the potential for royalties.
Licensing out a technolog
At Tech Edge Inc., a special team is set up for designing and developing a robot capable of assisting visually impaired individuals with their daily chores. The members of the team are specialists from various divisions of the firm, including R&D, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution. The new team is put under the charge of a senior manager. This team is most accurately an example of a:
cross-functional team.
Carl owns a software firm, and Mike owns a computer hardware manufacturing firm. They decide to create an alliance in order to manufacture laptops and desktops using the shared competencies of their respective firms. When creating the alliance, they make sure that each of them invests 50% capital and that they would each own a specified right to a percentage of the profits from the alliance. The collaborative relationship in this scenario is known as _____.
equity ownership
Mr. Crunchy Inc. is a firm experiencing severe losses. However, with large initial investment in manufacturing equipment and infrastructure, the firm is finding it difficult to abandon the industry. According to Porter's five-force model, the company is facing a(n):
exit barrier.
Virtual teams are best defined as teams in which members:
may be situated at a great distance from each other and collaborate intensively via advanced information technologies.
Self-enforcing norms based on goodwill, trust, and reputation of partners are known as _____.
relational governance
June is a member of a new product development team. Her supervisor asks her about her experience in the team, and she replies, "Our team seems to be suffering from homophily." This statement means that:
team members only like other people whom they perceive as being similar to themselves
Albert has put together a new product development team based on the functional team structure. Which of the following statements is most likely to be true about this team?
The team structure will be straightforward to implement.
Which of the following statements is true of project charters?
They encapsulate a project's mission and articulate exact and measurable goals for the project.
Which of the following statements is true of lightweight teams?
They offer a small improvement in team coordination and likelihood of success over functional teams.
A contract book is an important mechanism for establishing team commitment to a project and a sense of ownership over the project.
True
A lack of cross-functional communication can lead to a poor fit between product attributes and customer requirements.
True
Heavyweight teams are typically considered appropriate for platform projects.
True
Lightweight teams are appropriate for derivative projects in which low levels of coordination and communication are required.
True
Managers of lightweight teams are normally junior or middle management employees, who are not able to exert significant authority over team members.
True
Proximity and frequent interaction help teams to develop shared norms and a dialect for communicating about a project.
True
Some firms avoid collaboration for fear of giving up their proprietary technologies.
True
Standard discounted cash flow analysis has the potential to severely undervalue a development project's contribution to a firm.
True
Combining the capabilities and other resources of partner firms but not necessarily transferring those resources between the partners is referred to as _____.
capability complementation
Piezo Tech Solutions supplies hospitals with software to track insurance claims. As insurance regulations and policies are always changing, the firm's software needs to have the ability to be agile and responsive to change. In other words, the software needs:
dynamic capabilities.
Greyer Corp. has developed a special drug that kills cancer cells. While the scientists at Greyer have the knowledge, they are short on equipment, money, and marketing know-how. In this situation, the most appropriate step for Greyer would be to:
find a partner to collaborate with to sell the drug.
oolers Inc., a house appliances manufacturer, has upgraded its technology by making all its appliances work on voice sensors instead of remote controls or manual operations. Though the technology is new, Coolers has decided to introduce the product in the market at the same rates as its earlier technology so that its usual customers can purchase these products. This project is a(n) _____ for Coolers Inc.
platform project
In the context of qualitative methods for choosing projects, screening questions are used mainly to:
structure the discussion about project details like potential costs and benefits.
Ample Espresso Corp. is a coffeehouse located across from Tian's Kitchen, a restaurant. According to Porter's five-force model, the services and products provided by both are most accurately classified as:
substitutes.
Ceramic Customs Corp. required a specific type of ceramic to make its tiles. Since there was only one supplier for that particular ceramic, the firm was forced to source all of its supplies from it. The firm tried negotiating the price of the material but failed to get any reduction on the cost. This was because:
the supplier had more bargaining power than the firm.
It is unusual for a company to lack certain complementary assets required to transform a body of technological knowledge into a commercial product.
False
Obtaining some of the necessary capabilities or resources from a partner rather than building them in-house will increase a firm's asset commitment.
False
Red oceans refer to untapped market space that firms create by redefining the dimensions of competition
False
Resources of a tangible nature that can be readily codified are called tacit resources.
False
The drawback to data envelopment analysis (DEA) is that it does not allow comparisons of projects using multiple kinds of measures.
False
Weekly News Inc. bought the paper mill that supplied paper for printing its magazine. This is an example of horizontal integration.
False
When demand is increasing, there is less revenue to go around and firms will experience more competitive pressure.
False
Which of the following is an advantage of using the real options approach of evaluating a project?
It results in better technology investment decisions than a cash flow analysis approach.
The investor is an active driver of the value of an investment.
True
The pooling of supplementary resources can enable partners to achieve market power or economies of scale.
True
Through a strategic alliance, firms can establish a limited stake in a venture while maintaining the flexibility to either increase their commitment later or shift these resources to another opportunity.
True
While the value of a stock is independent of the call holder's behavior, the value of a R&D investment is not independent of the investor's behavior.
True
What is the net present value (NPV) of a project if the present value of cash inflow is $10,000 and the present value of cash outflows is $5,000?
$5,000
_____ refers to the allocation of a finite quantity of resources over different possible uses.
Capital rationing
A firm cannot collaborate with its competitor.
False
According to the net present value method of discounted cash flow analysis, the time required to break even on a project using discounted cash flows is known as period of return.
False
Breakthrough projects typically offer fundamental improvements in the cost, quality, and performance of a technology over preceding generations.
False
From a real options perspective, the value of a call stock option is zero as long as the price of the stock is more than the exercise price.
False
Joint ventures offer low potential for leveraging a firm's existing competencies because they typically entail a short-term relationship between two or more firms.
False
Licensing a technology from another firm is typically more expensive for a licensee than developing a new technology in-house.
False
Low exit barriers intensify rivalry by making firms reluctant to abandon the industry.
False
Path dependency refers to the abilities that make a firm more agile and responsive to change.
False
Which of the following statements is true of contract manufacturing?
It enables a firm to tap the greater economies of scale.
Which of the following is an advantage of collaborating?
It gives firms more flexibility.
Which of the following statements is true of Porter's five-force model?
It is often used in practice to assess a specific firm's external environment.
Easymake Corp. developed a new Web design software to build Web pages for its clients. However, Easymake soon realized it could make more money by selling this software to those who wish to quickly build Web pages to sell their products. Which of the following would be the most appropriate strategy for Easymake?
It should become a licensor of the new Web design software.
Which of the following statements is true of Michael Porter's model of a value chain?
Procurement includes activities such as the acquisition of inputs.
In the _____ method, in order to establish scales of customer preferences, individuals in a group are each given a stack of cards with an object or idea on each card.
Q-sort
In the context of a research and development (R&D) program, which of the following can be considered the exercise price?
The cost of future investment required to capitalize on the R&D program
Which of the following statements is true of angel investors?
They are often wealthy individuals who have been very successful in business.
Which of the following is true of quantitative methods of analyzing new projects, particularly in rapidly changing environments?
They enable managers to use rigorous statistical comparisons of projects.
A firm's emphasis on a scientific discipline that is central to its core competency can make the firm less attractive to individuals from other disciplines.
True
According to Porter's five-force model, the degree to which a firm relies on one or a few suppliers will influence its ability to negotiate good terms.
True
According to Porter's five-force model, the threat of potential entrants is influenced by the height of entry barriers.
True
Firms can use strategic alliances to exploit their own capabilities by leveraging them in another firm's development efforts.
True
Formulating a technological innovation strategy first requires an accurate appraisal of where the firm currently is.
True
Perfecto Espresso Corp. is a chain of coffee shops in the United States. Earlier it used to source its coffee from several coffee suppliers. However, recently it started its own coffee plantation to supply its coffee shops. This is an example of:
backward vertical integration.
Scripts & Scrolls Corp. supplies printing paper to select publishing houses. When its customers asked for a discount in the cost of supplies, the company had to oblige fearing that the customers might withdraw pending contracts. This shows the increased:
bargaining power of buyers.
Jack took part in a survey in which he was asked to rank the importance of certain features of the smart television he had recently purchased. The result was then used by the surveying firm to assess the different attributes of the ranking. This survey would most accurately be termed a _____.
conjoint analysis
Allure Fabrics Corp. supplies cotton, linen, and silk fabrics to various designer wear boutiques in and around Florida. The firm has recently launched a boutique in Florida under its own brand name to sell women's fashion apparel. Allure Fabrics is practicing:
forward vertical integration.
According to Porter's five-force model, if a buyer can threaten to backward vertically integrate, it will:
increase the buyer's bargaining power.
A resource can be extremely difficult to imitate if:
it arises through the complex interaction of multiple people.
llured Architecture Inc. collaborated with Maze & Matiz Corp. to form a new architecture firm called AllureAmaze Inc. Both the firms had a significant equity stake in the new entity. This collaboration would most accurately be termed a(n) _____.
joint venture
Greyer Corp. manufactures surgical instruments. Systems Medico Inc. enters into a contractual arrangement with Greyer that allows it to use Greyer manufacturing methods and management structure to produce and sell surgical instruments. Systems Medico must pay a yearly fee to Greyer for the use of its manufacturing processes. In this scenario, Systems Medico is the _____.
licensee
Allured Cosmetics Corp. enters into a contractual agreement with Pure Cosmetics Inc., a manufacturing firm in the West Coast. According to the contract, Pure Cosmetics can use the manufacturing processes of Allured Cosmetics to produce cosmetics in return for a specific fee. Pure Cosmetics is bound to use the manufacturing process only to make complementary products for the cosmetics manufactured by Allured Cosmetics. This collaborative arrangement is classified as _____.
licensing
The discounted cash inflows of a project minus the discounted cash outflows is referred to as the _____ of the project.
net present value
Alumplus Aluminum Company has come up with a new type of metal. However, producing it would take up 75 percent of its manufacturing capacity and would hinder its ability to continue producing its other products. Alumplus Aluminum hires LM Group of Manufacturers to manufacture the new type of metal. This collaborative arrangement is most likely to be classified as _____.
outsourcing
Socially complex resources are:
resources or activities that emerge through the interaction of multiple individuals.
When Faslow Medical Center in Exeter County changed its name to Faslow Hospital, it also unveiled a plan to build a medical tower that would double its physical facilities by 100 percent within the next 10 years. It also announced that its goal was to not only serve Exeter County but also serve the entire region including the five contiguous counties. This is most accurately an expression of:
strategic intent.
Factors that make it difficult or expensive to change suppliers or buyers are referred to as _____.
switching costs
According to Porter's five-force model, if suppliers of a particular good are very abundant, _____.
their bargaining power will be less
The balanced scorecard is a measurement system that encourages the firm to consider its goals from multiple perspectives (financial, customer, business process, and innovation and learning), and establish measures that correspond to each of those perspectives.
true
A firm that invests heavily in derivative projects that may be immediately commercialized with little risk:
will likely be unable to compete when the market shifts to a newer technology.
Ammunition can be considered a complement for firearms
True
_____ are legally binding contractual arrangements to ensure that partners are fully aware of their rights and obligations in the collaboration and have legal remedies available if a partner should violate the agreement.
Alliance contracts
The Corner Shop Corp. is a leading supermarket chain in Chicago. According to Michael Porter's model of a value chain, which of the following activities of the firm is a primary activity?
An advertising campaign for a new The Corner Shop outlet
Which of the following would be an example of a tacit resource?
An oddsmaker who works for a large casino in Las Vegas and is correct 95 percent of the time
In the context of product development teams, which of the following statements is true?
As the size of a team increases, the potential for social loafing increases.
Noah owns a firm that sells furniture at an affordable cost. As most of the products he sells need to be assembled by the customer, he is able to sell them at prices lower than most competitors. His marketing strategy focuses on providing lower prices for good-quality products. He has also marketed the fact that assembling the products is very easy if the customer follows the instructions and demos given on the firm's website. Considering that most of the customers used to buy furniture from out of town at higher prices, Noah's self-assembled furniture business has become quite successful in his town and he has managed to create and capture this demand in an uncontested market space. Which of the following strategies was used by Noah in his business?
Blue ocean strategy
Fabmark Consultancy was asked by a client to evaluate the attractiveness of a potential project to develop a new product line. The data provided by the client included cash flow estimates (in dollars), ranking of marketability by the sales force, and ranking of different product attributes from a potential customer focus group. Which of the following methods would allow Fabmark Consultancy to combine this information and analyze it?
Breakeven analysis
Which of the following can be classified as an internal perspective and its defining measure under the balanced scorecard approach?
Having a goal such as improving the inventory management system and its defining measure such as inventory costs
Mark is a wealthy private financier who funds projects without utilizing a venture capital limited partnership structure. He typically provides funds for start-up projects that are $1 million or less. There have been instances in the past where Mark lost a huge share of money in some projects, but he also received high returns on some other projects. He is aware of the risks, but that does not stop him from funding start-ups. Which of the following would best describe Mark?
He is an angel investor.
Which of the following is an advantage of heavyweight teams?
Heavyweight teams have strong cross-functional coordination and communication.
Which of the following statements is true of the autonomous team structure?
In autonomous teams, team members are collocated with a senior project manager.
Which of the following statements is true of team leadership?
In heavyweight and autonomous teams, the project manager must act as a concept champion for the team within the organization.
The vice president of Biomedics Inc. is trying to decide the composition of a new product development team. If she chooses members from multiple functional areas in the firm, which of the following disadvantages is she most likely to experience?
Increase in communication and coordination costs
Which of the following statements is true of outsourcing?
It carries a risk of proprietary technology being expropriated by the contract manufacturer.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of using internal rate of return for assessing a project?
It discriminates heavily against long-term and risky projects.
Which of the following statements is true of resource fit?
It encourages collaborations based on the combination of complementary resources to access resources a firm does not possess.
Which of the following is an advantage of lightweight teams?
It is easier to coordinate activities in lightweight teams than in functional teams.
Which of the following is a disadvantage associated with autonomous teams?
It is hard for autonomous teams to fold back into the parent organization when a project is completed.
Which of the following statements is true of conjoint analysis?
It is most commonly used to assess the relative importance to customers of different product attributes.
_____ refers to the degree to which partners have compatible objectives and styles
Strategic fit
_____ refers to the degree to which partners have compatible objectives and styles.
Strategic fit
Karen's supervisor, while discussing her participation in a new product development team, tells her that she has been engaging in social loafing. This means that Karen:
has not been putting much effort into the team's work.
Ruth works in the advertising department of her company. It was observed that she interacted more frequently and more intensely with team members who shared her interests and social background but ignored others. This phenomenon exhibited by Ruth is referred to as:
homophily.
Allured Architecture Inc. collaborated with Maze & Matiz Corp. to form a new architecture firm called AllureAmaze Inc. Both the firms had a significant equity stake in the new entity. This collaboration would most accurately be termed a(n) _____.
joint venture
Allured Cosmetics Corp. enters into a contractual agreement with Pure Cosmetics Inc., a manufacturing firm in the West Coast. According to the contract, Pure Cosmetics can use the manufacturing processes of Allured Cosmetics to produce cosmetics in return for a specific fee. Pure Cosmetics is bound to use the manufacturing process only to make complementary products for the cosmetics manufactured by Allured Cosmetics. This collaborative arrangement is classified as _____. Multiple Choice
licensing
A firm's effectiveness at managing its collaborations will increase with the number of collaborations to which it is committed.
False
A strategic stakeholder analysis emphasizes the stakeholder management issues a firm ought to attend to due to their ethical or moral implications.
False
According to Porter's value chain model, firm infrastructure is a primary activity.
False
Which of the following is a feature of the blue ocean strategy?
The strategy lays emphasis on making the competition irrelevant.
According to Prahalad and Hamel's model, it is possible for a firm to develop core competencies to a set of abilities that enable it to quickly reconfigure its organizational structure and routines in response to new opportunities.
True
After licensing a technology, a firm typically has limited discretion over what it can do with the technology.
True
Both net present value and internal rate of return techniques provide concrete financial estimates that facilitate strategic planning and trade-off decisions.
True
Calculating the internal rate of return of a project typically must be done by trial and error.
True
Collective research organizations can take the form of trade associations.
True
Conjoint analysis enables a subjective assessment of a complex decision to be decomposed into quantitative scores of the relative importance of different criteria.
True
Data envelopment analysis (DEA) utilizes linear programming.
True
Equity ownership helps to align the incentives of the partners and provides a sense of ownership and commitment to the project that can facilitate supervision and monitoring of the alliance.
True
In general, the more firms competing that are of comparable size, the more competitive the industry will be.
True
Options are valuable when there is uncertainty, and because technology trajectories are uncertain, an options approach may be useful.
True
Product life cycles shorten with high-speed technological changes.
True
NewDigger Inc. makes backhoes for digging ditches and trenches. It has developed an environmental-friendly liquid that, when poured on the ground, reduces the time and labor required to dig trenches of various depths, depending on how much is applied. The firm has recently started using this product commercially. This would most probably be considered a(n) _____ project for NewDigger.
breakthrough
TechToTeach Co. has developed and sold a product that can be used by students to take faster notes in a classroom as the teacher speaks. The device automatically records the teacher's voice and converts it into a text format. This new technology has been widely accepted by various universities and has been appreciated by students, thus increasing the company's inflow. This technology can be most accurately described as a(n) _____ project by TechToTeach.
breakthrough
