MGMT ch. 5-9

BoundStar and ClipKlik are two of the biggest companies in the smartphone industry. When BoundStar launched a new ultra-slim smart phone, ClipKlik also shortly launched a super-sleek smartphone. Phones launched by both the companies are similar in quality and build. ClipKlik will be able to remain competitive in the market though BoundStar launched its phone before ClipKlik. Which of the following strategies was used by ClipKlik to defend its market share?

A response strategy

Zavacomp, a company that manufactures sports accessories, earlier manufactured and sold fitness shoes and activity tracking watches as separate units. It observed that customers frequently bought these two accessories together and hence created a new integrated product with a tracking device embedded in its sports shoes. In the context of innovation streams, which of the following concepts does this scenario best illustrate?

A technological discontinuity

Spade and Marcher Corp. manufactures and sells toy guns. These toy guns are a perfect imitation of real weapons. Inspired by Spade and Marcher's success, Hudy & Sons, an arms manufacturer in Korowlla, starts to manufacture toy guns too. Which of the following adaptive strategies is used by Hudy & Sons?

Analyzers

__________are companies using an adaptive strategy that seeks to minimize risk and maximize profits by following or imitating the proven successes of prospectors.

Analyzers

At Auternli, a cosmetics manufacturing company, all major decisions, such as production, marketing, and financial decisions, are made only by the top management. The middle and lower level managers are responsible for implementing these strategies without modifying any of the procedures. In the context of organizational authority, which of the following is best illustrated in this scenario?

Centralization of authority

_____ are forces that produce differences in the form, quality, or condition of an organization over time.

Change forces

Cajemp Inc. is a real estate developer that has been in the market for several years. Most real estate developers are now constructing their projects using concrete blocks as they are more durable and easier to lay out when compared to traditional brick and mortar. Cajemp, however, has been reluctant to use concrete blocks because its brick and mortar houses have been selling well so far. They will continue to sell the same even if new competitors and better products enter the market. Which of the following concepts is illustrated in this scenario?

Competitive inertia

__________are the standards used to guide judgments and decisions.

Decision criteria

Claire is a manager at an IT firm. She notices a consistent drop in the productivity of her employees. She is not able to find the reason behind this drop. In the context of rational decision making, which of the following steps should Claire take first?

Defining the problem

Jim is the operations manager of a car manufacturing company in the United States. He wants to set up production plants in three other countries by the end of the current year. After he has set this goal, which of the following is the next step he should ideally take in order to achieve this goal?

Develop commitment to the goal

Pancken Corp. has never operated outside the country it is based in and wants to open a branch in a different country. It plans on sending some of its employees to the new country. Before doing so, it trains all its employees by showing them videos about the new country. It also guides them in taking part in roleplays where they are presented with real-world situations related to the new country. In the context of preparing for an international assignment, when would this type of training be given to employees?

During cultural simulation

MiIgno Inc. is a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company. It wants to open a branch in Japan. In the process of learning the cultural differences between the countries, the managers of the company discovered that, unlike Americans, Japanese employees prefer a more structured management and prefer following a routine work schedule. In the context of cross-cultural training, when would the managers of Milgno have discovered this cultural difference?

During documentary training

Orsten Corp. sent all its trainees to go and talk to the residents of a Swedish neighborhood because these trainees will be sent to Sweden on a business assignment. In the context of preparing for an international assignment, when would this type of training be given to employees?

During field simulation

Ritzuo Corp. is going to send its employees to China for a business venture, so it is training all its employees about Chinese culture. The trainees are asked to explore a nearby neighborhood and talk to the residents about Chinese politics, customs, and day-to-day living. In the context of preparing for an international assignment, when would this type of training be given to employees?

During field simulation

PreFab, a clothing company is selling its goods in the country of Irmana. The clothing is manufactured in PreFab's home country and a tax is levied on it by the government of Irmana. This form of business is an example of _____.

Exporting

_____ is a psychological state of effortlessness, in which you become completely absorbed in what you are doing and time seems to pass quickly.

Flow

Jonamser Bank has separate legal, marketing, finance, and human resources divisions. Each of these units has qualified specialists pertaining to the concerned department. Given this information, which of the following organizational structures does Jonamser Bank most likely follow?

Functional departmentalization

Bovindar, a wholesale distributor of gym equipment, organizes its salesforce based on the region it caters to. Therefore, the salespeople who work in the north, south, east, and west regions of a country report to their respective department heads. In this scenario, which of the following organizational structures does Bovindar most likely follow?

Geographic departmentalization

_____ are new companies that are founded with an active global strategy and have sales, employees, and financing in different countries.

Global New Ventures

In the context of the BCG matrix, which of the following businesses would be classified as a cash cow?

HappyTot, a children's toy company that has been earning steady profits in a slow-growing industry

Which of the following is an advantage of product departmentalization?

It allows managers and workers to specialize in one area of expertise.

Which of the following statements is true of functional departmentalization?

It allows work to be done by highly qualified specialists.

Which of the following is an advantage of geographic departmentalization?

It can reduce costs by locating unique organizational resources closer to customers.

Which of the following statements is true of the World Trade Organization (WTO)?

It ensures that trade between nations flows as predictably and freely as possible.

Which of the following best defines an interorganizational process?

It is a collection of activities that take place among companies to transform inputs into outputs that customers value.

Which of the following statements is true of a portfolio strategy?

It is a corporate-level strategy with the purpose of reducing risk in the entire collection of stocks.

Which of the following best defines an incremental change?

It is a phase in which companies innovate by lowering the cost and improving the functioning and performance of a dominant design.

Which of the following statements best defines a staff function?

It is an activity that does not contribute directly to creating or selling a company's products but instead supports line activities.

Which of the following best defines technological discontinuity?

It is the phase of an innovation stream in which a scientific advance or unique combination of existing technologies creates a significant breakthrough in performance or function.

Which of the following statements is true of technological lockout?

It occurs when a new dominant design prevents a company from competitively selling its products.

Which of the following statements is true of the experiential approach to innovation?

It uses intuition and hands-on experience to reduce uncertainty and accelerate learning.

Mildred, the marketing manager of an automobile manufacturing company, is responsible for pricing products, conducting market research, and designing advertising campaigns and promotional activities for the company. In the context of organizational authority, which of the following functions does Mildred most likely perform?

Line Function

_____ are responsible for developing operational plans.

Lower-level managers

__________is a hybrid organizational structure in which two or more forms of departmentalization are used together.

Matrix departmentalization

__________are characterized by precisely defined, unchanging roles and a rigid chain of command based on centralized authority and vertical communication.

Mechanistic Organizations

In _____, each job or department contributes to the whole independently.

Pooled interdependence

_____ are standing plans that indicate the specific steps that should be taken in response to a particular event.

Procedures

In the context of global markets, which of the following factors helps companies determine the growth potential of foreign markets?

Purchasing power

__________are described as a cushion of extra resources that can be used with options-based planning to adapt to unanticipated changes, problems, or opportunities.

Slack resources

When Pocdio, an application development software, was released, it was widely accepted by customers. However, a few months after its release, users began experiencing a lag in its user interface. Customers eventually stopped using this software and started to use newer and better alternatives. In the context of innovation streams, which of the following concepts does this scenario best illustrate?

Technological lockout

Ebdino, a company that manufactures tires, observes that the sales of its traditional tires have declined drastically and that the sales of tubeless tires have increased. Ebdino hence decides to stop manufacturing traditional tires and replace them with tubeless tires. In the context of innovation streams, which of the following concepts does this scenario best illustrate?

Technological substitution

Kappawn, a cell phone manufacturer, observes that its customers have started purchasing only touchscreen cell phones. It hence stops manufacturing traditional cell phones and switches to the manufacture of touchscreen cell phones. In the context of innovation streams, which of the following concepts does this scenario best illustrate?

Technological substitution

Jimpeg, a manufacturer of imaging and optical products based in the U.S., operates under the name of Pixpem and SetJpeg in six different countries. The company operates using different names, but it sells the same products in every country. The revenue generated in the different countries goes back to the parent company. Which of the following methods for conducting global business has Jimpeg used in this scenario?

The formation of wholly owned affiliates

Maymart Inc. sells its products at the lowest prices in the industry, and it believes that this is the best way to stay ahead of its competition. It has also not compromised on the quality of its products as Maymart's suppliers and vendors sell best quality raw materials at the lowest prices. In the context of Porter's positioning strategies, which of the following strategies has been adopted by Maymart?

The price-fixing strategy

In the context of adaptive strategies, which of the following is true of defenders?

They aggressively hold their current strategic position by doing the best job they can to hold on to customers in a particular market segment.

Which of the following statements is true of analyzers?

They are a blend of the defender and prospector strategies.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of exporting?

Transportation costs can significantly increase the price of an exported product.

As touchscreen laptops gained popularity in the country of Desapotam, the import of older models of laptops was stopped. Subsequently, touchscreen laptops became the accepted market standard for laptops in the country. In the context of innovation streams, this scenario best illustrates _____.

a dominant design

Smarty Tots manufactures children's clothing and prices them at twice the price of other children's clothing brands. The clothes sell exceptionally well because customers believe that its clothes are made of non-irritant and non-allergenic fabric. Smarty Tots's competitors do not have access to this type of fabric and cannot produce the same quality of clothing. The special fabric used in the clothing gives Smarty Tots _____.

a sustainable competitive advantage

Alice, a reporter at a daily newspaper, is given a low performance rating because she has not been meeting productivity requirements. She is personally affected by the low rating and gets into an argument with her manager. In this scenario, the disagreements between Alice and her supervisor can best be classified as _____

a-type conflict

In the context of organizational development, the purpose of small-group interventions is to:

assess how a group functions and help it work more effectively to accomplish its goals.

Judith, the public relations officer of a music production company, advises her peers on how they can contribute to managing the company's external communication. In the context of organizational authority, Judith is most likely exercising

centralized authority

Ziff Corp. was a leading electronics firm for about three decades. As new competitors entered the industry, Ziff Corp's market share dropped. The managers at Ziff Corp. refuse to change any of their strategies, as they believe that their existing strategies will help them become one of the market leaders as they did in the past. This scenario is an example of _____.

competitive inertia

Shmature, a law firm, organizes its staff into various departments depending on the type of clients it deals with. These departments include federally incorporated organizations, sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. In this scenario, Shmature most likely follows _____.

customer departmentalization

Technological substitution occurs when:

customers purchase new products to replace older technologies.

Autowizic Inc., an automobile manufacturing company, plans to move its operations to a different city by the end of the year. It sets a target of moving one department by the end of each month, so that all the departments can be moved within a year. In this scenario, Autowizic's plan of moving its operations to a different city by the end of the year is an example of a _____.

distal goal

FasterRides Inc. has introduced a new bike in the market. Majority of its profits come from the sale of bikes. The company is recognized worldwide for its ability to design and produce bikes with superior handling, smooth transmission, powerful brakes, and other premium features that its competitors are lacking. This ability to produce superior quality bikes is the company's _____.

distinctive competence

Zinocorp Inc., a multinational retail corporation with its headquarters in Australia, wants to open shopping malls in China and Japan. The company wants the new malls to follow the same set of rules and regulations that the parent company follows. It is evident from the scenario that Zinocorp Inc. wants to:

establish global consistency.

In the context of cross-cultural training, _____ is a technique in which trainees are placed in an ethnic neighborhood for three to four hours to talk to residents about cultural differences.

field simulation training

JDB Cars has launched a new range of premium cars in Lakamba. The citizens of Lakamba are extremely wealthy and often spend a lot of their earnings on premium cars and houses. In this scenario, the company is most likely using a(n) _____.

focus strategy

Which of the following is the most important factor in determining the success and failure of an international assignment?

how well an expatriate's spouse and family adjust to the foreign culture

Stephan joined as a clerk in Violetcoast Corp. Over a period of one year, Stephan was moved from one department to another, and he got the opportunity to do a variety of jobs, such as data entry and preparing financial statements, along with his daily work. This is an example of _____.

job rotation

Cad Cream Inc., an ice cream company, has collaborated with Bite Snack Inc., a food manufacturing company, to come up with a third company, Cream Bite Inc. This new company manufactures energy bars with a variety of flavors. In this context, Cream Bite Inc. is a _____.

joint venture

Opep Corp. received a new building project that had very short turnover and very high resource cost. The company decided to ask Imog Corp., another builder, to aid them in this project, and the two companies together formed a third company by combining their resources. This third company was formed for the duration of the project and received equal credit after completion. In this scenario, Opep Corp. and Imog Corp. are forming a

joint venture

FitForLife Gym, a large U.S. based fitness center, receives royalty payments from WeWelness, a small Canadian company, for using its name and gym equipment. The FitForLife Gym brand is well known across the world and many fitness centers use its brand to attract customers. This form of agreement is an example of _____.

licensing

The two kinds of cooperative contracts in global business are:

licensing and franchising.

In the context of direct competition between firms, _____ affects the likelihood of an attack or a response to an attack.

market commonality

Hodecathon, a large company that sells home décor, makes investments in four handicraft stores that supply handicrafts to the company. Depending on the return that Hodecathon gets on these investments, the company plans to buy the most profitable store. In this scenario, Hodecathon is most likely using _____.

options-based planning

__________are characterized by broadly defined jobs and responsibilities; loosely defined, frequently changing roles; and decentralized authority and horizontal communication based on task knowledge.

organic organizations

Bluewood, a paper manufacturing company, has redecorated the interiors of its headquarters using waste materials from tree barks that get rejected after extracting wood pulp. This scenario best illustrates _____.

organizational innovation

Glaler, a large-scale cell phone manufacturer, has a robot in each of its outlets that studies a customer's usage history and suggests a model of Glaler's cell phone that is most likely to suit the customer. This scenario best illustrates _____.

organizational innovation

A competitive advantage becomes a sustainable competitive advantage when:

other companies cannot duplicate the value a firm is providing to customers.

__________is choosing a goal and developing a method or strategy to achieve that goal.

planning

The government of Gimzia recently passed a law making it mandatory for any foreign company that wants to do business in Gimzia to reinvest 70% of the revenue it is earning back into the country. As a result, many foreign companies are planning to shut down their ventures in the country. This is a type of _____ faced by companies that want to conduct business in Gimzia.

policy uncertainty

_____ is associated with the risk of major changes in political regimes that can result from war, revolution, death of political leaders, social unrest, or other influential events.

political uncertainty

_____ occurs when a group member must wait to share an idea because another member is presenting an idea.

production blocking

Cassie runs a cake shop. Her primary goal is to set up the largest chain of cake shops in the city. Apart from this goal, another goal of Cassie's is to sell 400 cakes in December. In this scenario, Cassie's goal of selling 400 cakes in December is an example of a _____.

proximal goal

Jimmy is the sales manager of, Packaday, a packaging and shipping company. He has created a plan that will increase Packaday's customer base by 2.5 percent in the next two months. In this scenario, Jimmy has set a _____

proximal goal

Trendown Inc. has launched a plan to completely transition from a clothing retailer to a cosmetic brand by the end of the year. It has 24 stores across the city, and the management sets a target to transition two stores by the end of each month. In this scenario, Trendown Inc.'s monthly target is an example of a _____.

proximal goal

Andersen Major has five strategic business units (SBUs)—technology, fashion, food and beverage, consumer products, and electronics. Its food and beverage unit has a small share in a rapidly growing sector, and the company believes that investing more money into the unit could lead to large profits in the future. In the context of the BCG matrix, which of the following categories of SBUs best describes the food and beverage unit?

question marks

In _____, different jobs or groups work together in a back-and-forth manner to complete an intraorganizational process.

reciprocal interdependence

In the context of managing resistance to change,__________is supporting and reinforcing the new changes so that they stick.

refreezing

Chimera Inc., a chemical company, has been facing a loss in business. In an attempt to stop the declining profitability, it removed petrochemical products from its product list and concentrated on specialty chemicals, a less capital-intensive business. Which of the following grand strategies was used by Chimera in this scenario?

retrenchment strategy

Liastem, a company that manufactures machinery parts, required Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines for production. The company bought old CNC machines and modified them to meet company requirements because it could not afford fully-automatic, new CNC machines. This scenario best illustrates the concept of _____.

satisficing

Political uncertainty is the risk associated with:

social unrest

Denzel, the production manager in a paper manufacturing company, advises the editorial manager of the company to increase the number of units of paper produced per week. In the context of organizational authority, Denzel is most likely exercising _____.

staff authority

A _____ is a type of operational plan that saves managers' time because once the plan is created, it can be used repeatedly to handle frequently recurring events.

standing plan

Hankson Corp. has five strategic business units (SBUs)—information technology, insurance, publishing, fine arts, and tourism. It invests the majority of its funds in the information technology unit as the unit has a large market share and generates large amounts of its profits in a fast-growing market. In the context of the BCG matrix, which of the following categories of SBUs best describes the information technology unit?

stars

Jem Dons has three strategic business units (SBUs)—smartphones, healthcare, and accounting. Its smartphone unit is its most profitable unit and is the current market leader in the rapidly growing industry. In the context of the BCG matrix, which of the following categories of SBUs best describes the smartphones unit?

stars

Sarah, the cofounder of a start-up company that sells sports goods, prepares a purpose statement for the company. In the purpose statement, she clarifies how the company will deal with its competitors and provide services to its customers. In this scenario, Sarah has most likely contributed to developing the company's _____.

strategic plan

Kyle, the human resources manager of an electrical company, is preparing an estimate of the recruitment requirements, training overheads, and induction expenditure for the next six months to present to the chief human resources officer of the company. In this scenario, Kyle is most likely creating a(n) _____.

tactical plan

Arthumt's carpool service application gained popularity among its customers within a few months of its release. However, the customers eventually discovered that the application caused the phone battery to heat up to abnormal levels. This made them switch to a newer and efficient application. In the context of innovation streams, which of the following concepts does this scenario best illustrate?

technological lockout

The primary disadvantage of customer departmentalization is:

that it leads to duplication of resources.

In the context of organizational decline, which of the following is true of the crisis stage?

​Companies lack the resources to fully change how they run their businesses.

Which of the following is true of job specialization?

​It occurs when a job composed of a small part of a larger task or process.