MGMT 4700

How is a firm's task environment different from its general environment? A) Managers have some influence over external factors in the task environment; they have little direct effect over external forces in the general environment. B) Managers have no direct effect over external factors in the task environment; they have some influence over external forces in the general environment. C) Managers have no direct effect over external factors in the task environment; they have influence over all external forces in the general environment. D) Managers have influence over all external factors in the task environment; they have no direct effect over external forces in the general environment.

A) Managers have some influence over external factors in the task environment; they have little direct effect over external forces in the general environment.

During strategy implementation, managers primarily focus on deciding the: A. type of corporate governance that is most effective and ways in which it can put the formulated strategy into practice. B. industries and markets the firm should compete in to be able to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. C. relationship between competitive advantage and firm performance. D. role strategic leaders should play in gaining and sustaining a competitive advantage.

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

The three tasks of the AFI strategy framework are to Assemble a prototype, Find a buyer, and Incorporate feedback.

False

How do low interest rates affect a business?

Firms can easily borrow money to finance future growth.

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

Isolating mechanisms

Which of the following statements should ideally reflect a firm's strategy for competition advantage?

Our aim is to create superior customer value while controlling costs.

_____ are satisfied when return on investment has been maximized.

Shareholders

_____ is best described as an integrative management field that combine analysis, formulation, and implantation in the quest for competitive advantage.

Strategic management

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.

Kimba Inc. is a manufacturer of smart watches that track the wearer's heart rate and sleep patterns. Which of the following is most likely an implication of new firms entering this industry?

The incumbent firms will spend more to satisfy their existing customers.

Dynamic strategic activity systems help a firm to maintain a competitive advantage for extended periods of time.

True

Which of the following features about a buyer indicates that the buyer has high bargaining power?

When the buyer operates in an industry where products are undifferentiated

Which of the following is an element of good strategy?

a set of coherent actions to implement the firm's guiding policy

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

a society's culture, norms, and values

In the context of SWOT analysis, which of the following best exemplifies a firms external opportunity?

an increase in its customers' disposable income

Threadbare Industries is a new high-end textile company that has raised sufficient capital from multiple sources. It is planning to use its capital to purchase certain assets. Which of the following assets will be the most difficult for Threadbare Industries to acquire using its capital?

brand name

In an industry, the threat of entry is high when

capital requirements are low

Assume a firms resources and capabilities are costly to imitate. This is because rival companies do no clearly understand the relationship between the resources and capabilities controlled by the firm. In this case, the firm competitive advantage is protected against imitation by

casual ambiguity

If Zephyr Electronics obtains an 18 percent return on invested capital, which of the following will help determine if it has a competitive advantage over other pharmaceutical companies?

comparing the return to the return on invested capital obtained by other firms in the industry

Cloud Cones 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 Cloud Cones best exemplifies a

core competency

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

demographic trends

Companies in the same strategic group are _____ to each other.

direct competitors

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? A. Ecological factors B. Sociocultural factors C. Technological factors D. Legal factors

legal factors

According to the value chain analysis, which of the following is a primary activity? A) research and development B) human resources management C) accounting and finance D) marketing and sales

marketing and sales

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)

rare

Tony's Pizza has been trying to directly copy the strategies of Moonlight Pies. Even though it is evident that the success of Moonlight Pies' success comes from the freshness and variety of ingredients it uses, Tony's Pizza has not been able to introduce the same types of produce into its recipes. This is because Moonlight's network of relationships with local growers, as well as its efficient supply chain, are very difficult to emulate. Which of the following barriers to imitation does this scenario best illustrate? A) path dependence B) social complexity C) resource mobility D) resource homogeneity

social complexity

If a company wants to gain a competitive advantage in a high competitive industry, it should ideally

stake out a unique position within the industry

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

strategy formulation

Product market stakeholders include the firm's customers, and the principal concern of this stakeholder group is:

to obtain reliable products at the lowest possible price

The primary objective of Porter's five forces model is to

understand the profit potential of industries