quiz 8

Rundofase International, a large conglomerate, procures a few component parts from external suppliers and also manufactures some of the key raw materials in its own subsidiaries. Aside from this, the company does not solely depend on outside distributors to reach its customers. In fact, it has its own retail stores to distribute its products. In this scenario, which of the following alternatives to vertical integration is Rundofase International applying?

B. taper integration

Which of the following is an example of an external transaction cost?

B. the cost of searching for a contract manufacturer

Which of the following best illustrates site specificity?

Equipment necessary for mining bauxite and aluminum smelting

Which of the following is a drawback of vertical integration?

It increases the potential of legal repercussions.

Doncon Guitars is interested in pursuing backward integration to take greater ownership of the extraction of raw materials and production of components used in its signature line of guitars. Although this approach would lower the overall cost of producing a guitar, the costs associated with producing electronic pickups for sound amplification are far greater than those associated with sourcing pickups from a reliable supplier. Which of the following approaches is likely to produce superior results?

Pursue taper integration

Golddex Autos currently sources components such as airbags, upholstery, and brake pads from various suppliers in the industry value chain. In order to lower costs and reduce the risk of interruptions in the supply of components, Golddex should pursue

backward integration.

Firms that use taper integration also use ________ when they rely on outside-market firms for some of their supplies.

backward vertical integration

XYZ Inc. is a publicly traded company and a highly diversified firm. However, XYZ's most recent stock price is valued less than the sum of all its individual business units. We would conclude that XYZ is currently experiencing a

diversification discount.

Betatech Group is the parent company of many related businesses under its banner. Each share of the parent company is quoted at $220. However, if this had to be assessed by adding the stock prices of each of its strategic business units, the value would only be $200 per share. In this scenario, what has Betatech Group created?

diversification premium

Each stage of the vertical value chain typically represents a distinct ________ in which a number of different firms are competing.

industry

There are many reasons why firms need to grow. Which of the following reasons is strongly influenced by economies of scale?

lowering costs

Goodsilron is a U.S.-based consumer electronics company. It owns smaller firms in Japan and Taiwan where most of its cell phone technology is developed and manufactured before being released worldwide. Which of the following alternatives to integration does this best illustrate?

parent-subsidiary relationship

Blackzim Inc. entered the low-priced digital watch market several years ago. This firm's earnings have been unsteady but might be growing. According to the BCG growth matrix, Blackzim is a

question mark

Since Coca-Cola focuses on selling only soft drinks, a low degree of product diversification, we would conclude that they compete in a(n) ________ market versus their main competitor PepsiCo, that sells a wide variety of products.

single product

Todd Wilkinson, the founder of 123.com, looked outside his firm for the right talent in order to develop his firm's website. The search led him and his team to a different country where they were able to procure the right talent to get the job done. This example best illustrates the concept of

strategic outsourcing.