MAN 4900 Midterm EFSC

A factor that has a strong influence on a company's costs is termed:

a cost driver.

The competitive moves and business approaches a company's management is using to grow the business, stake out a market position, attract and please customers, compete successfully, conduct operations and achieve organizational objectives is referred to as its

. Strategy

A company's strategy is NOT concerned with management's choices about how to:

. stake out the same market position as successful rival companies.

Which of the following is not one of the five generic types of competitive strategy?

A market share dominator strategy

Which of the following generic types of competitive strategies is typically the "best" strategy for a company to employ?

A strategy that is customized to fit the macro-environment and industry and employs resources and capabilities that rivals have trouble duplicating.

Which of the following is NOT an analytical tool for revealing a company's competitiveness and for helping to match the strategy to the company's own particular circumstances?

Best practice concept

Which of the following is NOT a good example of a substitute product that triggers stronger competitive pressures?

Coca-Cola as a substitute for Pepsi

Which one of the following is not one of the basic tasks of the strategy-making, strategy-executing process?

Developing a profitable business model.

Which of the following tasks of the strategy-making, strategy-execution managerial process make up the company's strategic plan?

Developing a strategic vision, mission, and core values.

Which of the following is NOT one of the managerial considerations in determining how to compete successfully?

How can a company modify its entire product line to emphasize its internal service attributes?

The competitive pressure from substitute products tend to be stronger when:

Good substitutes are readily available

. Which of the following is NOT a primary focus of a company's strategy?

How to achieve above-average gains in the company's stock price and thereby meet or beat shareholder expectations.

The managerial task of developing a strategic vision for a company

Involves deciding upon what strategic courses company should pursue in preparing for the future and why this directional path makes good business sense.

The best indicator of how well a company's strategy is working is whether the company:

Is achieving is stated financial and strategic objectives, its financial performance is better than the industry average, and it is gaining customers and increasing its market share.

A company's strategy stands a better chance of succeeding when:

It is predicated on competitive moves aimed at appealing to buyers in ways that set the company apart from rivals.

A strategic vision constitutes management's view and conclusions about the company's

Long-term direction and what product-market-customer mix seem optimal.

All firms are subject to offensive challenges from rivals. The intent of the best defensive move is to:

Lower the risk of being attacked Weaken the impact of any attack that occurs Pressure challengers to aim their efforts at other rivals Help protect a competitive advantage

A company's strategic vision describes:

Management's aspirations for the future and the company's strategic course and long-term direction.

A powerful tool fo sizing up the company's competitiveness assists and determining whether they can provide the foundation necessary for competitive success in the marketplace is termed:

Resource and capability analysis.

Which of the following is NOT a component of evaluating a company's resources and competitive position ?

Scanning the environment to determine a company's best and most profitable customers.

The real purpose of the company's strategic vision:

Serves as management's tool for giving the organization a sense of direction.

Which of the following is an integral part of the managerial process of crafting and executing strategy?

Setting objectives and using them as yardsticks for measuring the company's performance and progress

The most powerful a widely used tool fo diagnosing the principle competitive pressures in a market is:

The five forces framework.

Which one of the following is NOT part of a company's macro-environment?

The immediate industry and competitive environment in which the company operates.

Which of the following is part of a company's macro-environment ?

The pace of technological change factors and legal and regulatory conditions.

What does the scope of the firm refer to?

The range of activities the firm performs internally and the breadth of its product offerings, the extent of its geographic market, and its mix of businesses

A company's "macro-environment" refers to:

The strategically relevant factors to outside a company's industry boundaries—economic conditions, political factors, socio-cultural forces, technological factors, environmental factors, and legal/regulatory conditions.

Which of the following factors represents the strategically relevant political factors in the macro-environment that will influence the performance of all firms across the board?

The strength of the federal banking system.

Which of the following is NOT a purpose of a defensive strategy?

To increase the risk of having to defend an attack

The four tests of a resource's competitive power are often referred to as the:

VRIN test, which asks if a resource is valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable.

Which of the following is NOT an example of a company that uses blue-ocean market strategy?

Walmart's logistics and distribution

Which of the following is generally NOT considered a barrier to entry?

Weak "network effects" in customer demand

Every strategy needs:

a distinctive element that attracts customers and produces a competitive edge.

A company's strategy consists of the action plan management is taking to:

stake out a unique market position and achieve superior profitability.

The difference between a resource and capability is:

a resource is a productive input or competitive asset, while a capability is the capacity of the firm to perform some internal activity competently.

Key "functional" strategies of a company include all of the following EXCEPT:

alliance and partnerships as well as merger and acquisition growth strategies.

One important indicator of how well a company's present strategy is working is whether:

the company is achieving its financial and strategic objectives and whether it is an above-average industry performer.

An offensive to yield good results can be short if:

buyers respond immediately (to a dramatic cost-based price cut or imaginative ad campaign).

The range of product and service segments that the firm serves within its market is known as the firm's:

horizontal scope.

To improve performance, there are many different avenues for outcompeting rivals such as:

confining operations to local or regional markets or developing product superiority or concentrating on a narrow product lineup.

A good example of vertical integration is a:

crude oil refiner purchasing a firm engaged in drilling and exploring for oil.

Tangible resources do not include:

human assets

There are several basic approaches to competing successfully and gaining a competitive advantage over rivals, such as:

delivering more value to its customers than rivals or delivering value more efficiently than rivals (or both).

The objectives of a well-crafted strategy require management to strive to

develop lasting success that can support growth and secure the company's future over the long term

A useful way to identify a company's resources is to view them as:

divided into two main categories, tangible and intangible.

Mergers and acquisitions are often driven by such strategic objectives as:

expanding a company's geographic coverage or extending its business into new product categories.

Strategic offensives should, as a general rule, be based on:

exploiting a company's strongest competitive assets—its most valuable resources and capabilities.

Potential entrants are more likely to be deterred from actually entering an industry when

incumbent firms are willing and able to be aggressive in defending their market positions against entry.

A blue-ocean strategy:

involves abandoning efforts to beat out competitors in existing markets and instead invent a new industry or new market segment that renders existing competitors largely irrelevant and allows a company to create and capture altogether new demand.

A company's strategy concerns:

management's action plan for outperforming competitors and achieving superior profitability.

. A company's strategy is most accurately defined as:

management's commitment to provide direction and guidance, in terms of not only what the company should do but also what it should not do.

A low-cost leader's basis for competitive advantage is:

meaningful lower overall costs than rivals on comparable products.

In crafting a company's strategy, managers:

need to come up with a sustainable competitive advantage that draws in customers and produces a competitive edge over rivals.

A company's strategic plan

outlines the competitive moves and approaches to be used in achieving the desired business results.

Whatever strategic approach is adopted by a company to deliver value, it nearly always requires:

performing value chain activities differently than rivals and building competitively valuable resources and capabilities that rivals cannot readily match.

The two approaches that can make the process of uncovering and identifying a firm's capabilities more systematic are:

resources assessment and the functional approach.

Challenging a struggling rival can do all of the following EXCEPT:

strengthen the rival's loyal following.

Tangible resources include:

technological assets such as patents, copyrights, and innovation technologies.

The main reason that listing or categorizing company resources matters is:

that all the different types of resources are included.

The difference between a merger and an acquisition relates to:

the details of ownership, management control, and the financial arrangements

A company's resources and capabilities represent:

the firm's competitive assets, which are considered determinants of its competitiveness and ability to succeed in the marketplace.

The extent to which a firm's internal activities encompass one, some, many, or all of the activities that make up an industry's entire value chain system is known as:

vertical scope.

. A sustainable competitive advantage is gained:

when a company has durable competitive assets that are central to its strategy and superior to those of rival firms.

Rivalry among competing sellers increases:

when buyer demand is growing slowly

While there are many routes to competitive advantage, the two biggest factors that distinguish one competitive strategy from another are:

whether a company's target market is broad or narrow and whether the company is pursuing a low cost or differentiation strategy.