pom ch 6

Corporate-level strategy does which of the following?

-Answers questions such as "what business are we in?" and "what products and services shall we offer?" -Focuses on the organization as a whole -Involves senior executives in planning

the steps in the strategic-management process

1.) Establish the mission, vision, and values statements 2.) Asses the current reality 3.) Formulate corporate, business, and functional strategies 4.) Execute the strategies 5.) Maintain strategic control

Bethany wants to buy a pair of designer boots. To find the best price, she searches the Internet and compares prices among the eight sites that sell the boots. Which of Porter's five competitive forces is demonstrated in this scenario?

Bargaining power of buyers

The Internet has enabled consumers to "price shop" several retailers in order to find the best price for items such as appliances, electronics, and even cars. This has increased the consumer's ability to better negotiate favorable prices with retailers, demonstrating which of Porter's five competitive forces?

Bargaining power of buyers

Pacific Specialty Bikes store gets customized parts for its high-end models from a local manufacturer, Premium Supply. When the manufacturer announced a price increase, the bike store tried to switch to other local manufacturers but learned they that they wouldn't be able to meet delivery schedules. As a result, Pacific Bike chose to pay the higher prices from Premium Supply. Which of Porter's competitive forces does this demonstrate?

Bargaining power of suppliers

Which of the following represent competitive forces used in Porter's model for industry analysis?

Bargaining power of suppliers Rivalry among competitors Threat of substitute products or services Threats of new entrants

Which of Porter's four competitive strategies involves keeping the costs, and therefore prices, of a product or service below those of competitors but targets only a narrow market?

Cost-focus strategy

What are Porter's four competitive strategies?

Cost-leadership Cost-focus Focused-differentiation Differentiation

What strategy is American Tile Corp. using when it acquires a company that makes industrial cleaning products that American Tile does not currently offer?

Diversification

Which Porter's competitive strategies are appropriate when addressing a narrow market?

Focused-differentiation Cost-focus

What is an example of an organizational weakness based on a SWOT analysis?

Inferior product quality

What effect has the Internet had on Porter's fifth competitive force, rivalry among competitors?

It has intensified rivalries among organizations.

According to Bryan Barry, which of the following help a manager keep a strategic plan on track?

Keep it simple Keep moving Engage people Stay focused

What are the core processes of business identified by Bossidy and Charan?

Operations Strategy People

After completing his competitor analysis, Justin realized his company was the only one with all-natural ingredients in their pizza crust and could use this to get the pizza into more health food grocery stores. What aspect of a SWOT analysis has Justin uncovered?

Opportunity

What are functional strategies used to accomplish?

Putting strategic plans into effect

Apple's iPhone competes with offerings such as Google's Pixel phone and each company continually attempts to leapfrog the others' technology. This demonstrates which of Porter's competitive forces?

Rivalry among competitors

A ______ analysis is an assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats affecting the organization.

SWOT

Why do potential employers value the skill of strategic thinking in job candidates?

Strategic thinkers are quick to recognize opportunities. Strategic thinkers make for more informed employees. Strategic thinkers are globally-minded.

Which "unwritten" skill did the Harvard Business Review consider essential to being promoted on the job?

Strategic thinking

What does business growth rate refer to, as used in the BCG matrix?

The speed of industry growth

You own a small deli near campus and learn that the university is exploring whether it should open a Subway sandwich franchise in the student union. Which of Porter's competitive forces does this represent for you?

Threat of new entrants

Sasha has run a small diner near the train station for the past ten years. Six months ago, a chain restaurant serving gourmet burgers and sandwiches opened up near him and he has had to rethink his menu. He added some specialty sandwiches and free fries with every burger in order to retain his customers. Which of Porter's five competitive forces has affected Sasha's business?

Threats of new entrants

Joan runs a drop-in play center and until recently she was the only business in town where families could find reasonably-priced entertainment for their children. Joan learned that two fast-food restaurants with play areas are being built nearby so she is coming up with ways to convince her customers that her center is preferable. Which of Porter's five competitive forces is Joan specifically worried about?

Threats of substitute products or services

The growing popularity of reading news online has significantly reduced the sales of print copies of US newspapers. Which of Porter's five competitive forces does this demonstrate?

Threats of substitute products or services

What are the goals of attending industry conferences before or while working in a certain industry?

To learn about the specific industry To make industry contacts

What four characteristics are being addressed in a VRIO analysis?

Value, Rarity, Imitability, Organization.

Why do many executives prefer visioning to execution?

Visioning is more exciting than execution.

When would a company use a VRIO analysis?

When deciding whether or not a new product might work in the marketplace

Companies pursuing a cost-leadership strategy keep costs/prices ______ those of competitors and target a ______ market.

below; wide

Juanita feels it is important for her taxi company to continually measure itself against its best competition. She keeps track of the number of rides per hour and turnaround times for all her drivers and compares it to that of other high-performing taxi companies in the area. Juanita is using the process of ______ to compare her company with others.

benchmarking

The process by which a company compares its performance with that of other high-performing organizations is known as ______.

benchmarking

What two things does the BCG matrix evaluate?

business growth ratesmarket share

The creation of alternative hypothetical but equally likely future conditions is known as ______ planning.

contingency

Kevin realized that while it was likely that the cost of importing fabric from India would remain about the same, it was also possible that it could increase by at least 5 percent because of recent government regulations. For this reason, he decides to stock up on certain fabrics in case prices do increase. This creation of an alternative scenario is an example of ______.

contingency planning

Strategic ______ involves monitoring the execution of strategy and taking corrective action when necessary.

control

Which level of strategic management focuses on the organization as a whole?

corporate-level

Computer maker Dell tries to have the lowest prices for its computers in order to attract a large consumer group. In Porter's four competitive strategies, this would be an example of the ______ strategy.

cost-leadership

Strategic thinkers should have a knowledge base shaped like the letter "T," where the top of the "T" represents breadth of knowledge and the stem of the "T" represents ______.

depth of expertise

The strategy of moving into new lines of business is called ______.

diversification

Aligning people with goals, achieving promised results, and integrating strategy with reality are all part of the ______ process.

execution

In a SWOT analysis, an organizational threat will come from the company's ______ environment.

external

True or false: Ferrari and Lamborghini automobiles are marketed based on the cost-focus strategy.

f

True or false: It is common practice today for most small business owners to engage in strategic planning.

f

The 3 sources from which strategic position emerges are having ______.

few needs and many customers. broad needs and many customers. broad needs and few customers.

A ______ is a vision or projection of the future that is made following a SWOT analysis.

forecast

Leonore's Luxury Leather Footwear Corp. conducts a SWOT analysis and determines that at least 57 percent of consumers demand high-end footwear, and, as a result, its sales should increase by 18 percent in the next year. This vision of what could happen is known as a ______.

forecast

When corporate departments such as marketing, human resources, and information technology implement plans of action that support higher-level strategies, they are following a(n) ______ strategy.

functional

A business that wants to reach more customers and hires more employees to get this done is focusing on a ______ strategy.

growth

A grand strategy that involves expansion of things like sales revenues, market share, or number of employees is known as a ______ strategy.

growth

Porter's five competitive forces form a model for ______ analysis.

industry

To be successful, strategic planning requires a company to have a ______ orientation.

long-term

Skate/24 had only one competitor in the local market and that competitor just went out of business. In a SWOT analysis, this is an example of an organizational ______ for Skate/24. Multiple choice question.

opportunity

A system of shared beliefs and values that needs to be aligned with the goal of producing efficient, quality work is called ______ culture.

organizational

Of the three core processes of business identified by Bossidy and Charan, which do they believe is the most important?

people

Strategic positioning attempts to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by ______.

preserving what is distinctive about a company

The "feedback loop" in the strategic-management process involves:

revising actions if necessary.

Having (1) few needs and many customers, (2) broad needs and few customers, and (3) broad needs and many customers are the three sources from which ______ emerges. Multiple choice question.

strategic position

Michael Porter defined ______ as an attempt to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by preserving what is distinct about a company.

strategic positioning

The ABC car company has a superior reputation within the industry and among car buyers. When applying SWOT analysis, this company's reputation is an example of a(n) ______.

strength

Precise work processes and high-ranking customer service are examples of organizational ______ in a SWOT analysis.

strengths

Within a SWOT analysis, the letter "S" represents a company's ______.

strengths

When a company is readily able to switch to another company in order to get the raw materials it needs to make products, Porter would say that the bargaining power of ______ goes down.

suppliers

When other companies cannot duplicate the value provided by a competitor, then the competitor has established a(n) ______ competitive advantage.

sustainable

Luxury Linens Inc. produces the highest thread-count sheets available anywhere and does so at a price that none of its competitors can duplicate. It can be said that Luxury Linens has a(n) ______.

sustainable competitive advantage

True or false: According to Bossidy and Charan, execution is the central part of any company's strategy.

t

Newly-implemented government regulations have reduced the availability of raw materials for Blair Woodworking Corp. This would be considered an external organizational ______ in a SWOT analysis.

threat

Using statistical analysis of historical data to predict future events is called ______.

trend analysis

True or false: The prediction of a business cycle based upon historical data is an example of using trend analysis in business.

true

Peterson Electric Inc. has outdated manufacturing facilities. In a SWOT analysis, this would be an example of an organizational ______ of the company.

weakness