wpc 480

Which of the following stakeholders of a company would most likely be responsible for formulating a corporate strategy?

the chief executive officer

Which of the following customer segments as described in the chasm framework make up the mass market?

the early and late majority together

Mediflow, a medium-sized medical technology company, has been successful in its research and development but needs improvement in its European sales. Which of these actions would most likely lead to long-term success for Mediflow's European sales?

Acquire a company that has a successful medical technology sales force in Europe so that Mediflow can gain access to new distribution channels.

Which of the following provides an example of a common drawback of a functional strategy?

Bert had a difficult time communicating efficiently with the manager of another department.

Which of the following businesses is most likely to disrupt an existing industry?

Closer Connex developed an earphone that receives emails and text messages and converts them to voice messages. The first models had poor reception, but they rapidly improved over time.

Why should managers using the M-form organizational structure to support a related-diversification strategy ideally concentrate decision making at the top of the organization?

It allows a high level of integration.

Elemental Pharma Inc. recently acquired Crick Pharmaceuticals Inc. It now sells its own products along with the products originally sold by Crick Pharmaceuticals. As a result, Elemental Pharma's sales force will also be marketing the acquired company's products. How will this horizontal integration most likely affect Elemental Pharma?

It will lower its costs through economies of scale.

While the domestic airline industry is in the maturity stage of the industry life cycle, the internet-enabled appliance industry is in its growth stage. Which of the following can be inferred from the given data?

While the domestic airline industry is mostly free from excess capacity, the internet-enabled appliance industry will have new entrants.

A primary advantage of organizing economic activity within firms is the

ability to coordinate highly complex tasks to allow for specialized division of labor.

The Palace Hotel Group purchased Orange Roof Hotels for an estimated value of $120 billion. All the hotels previously owned by Orange Roof Hotels are now managed by the Palace Hotel Group and are known as Palace hotels. What does this scenario best illustrate?

an acquisition

ABX Inc. is an electronic appliances manufacturer that has many strategic business units (SBUs), among which, television and computers share a close relationship. These SBUs have to fight each other for R&D funding because there is a combined amount set aside for these two units. However, they share technological findings with each other and work together to ensure that their combined output is better that of the other SBUs. Such a relationship between SBUs in a business is referred to as

co-opetition.

In the context of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) growth-share matrix, if one of the strategic business units of a conglomerate is categorized under dogs, the management should

divest the strategic business unit.

A functional structure is recommended when a firm

has a low level of diversification.

G. Lafley at Procter & Gamble (P&G) had implemented an open-innovation model, which had greatly benefitted the company. In the light of this information, we can conclude that A. G. Lafley is a(n)

intrapreneur

Culinary Solutions Inc. manufactures cooking and baking equipment and has its base in the country of Vandevar. It has approximately 300 stores across the country and is already active in three foreign countries. It attempts to establish itself in the country of Balalaika, and uses its low-cost strategy to do so. However, due to the additional costs associated with training, coordinating across geographic distances, and other costs associated with doing business in an unfamiliar cultural and economic environment, Culinary Solutions Inc. incurs huge financial losses in Balalaika. In this scenario, Culinary Solutions Inc.'s failure to establish itself successfully in Balalaika occurs most likely because

it underestimated its liability of foreignness when entering the Balalaika market.

Worldwide Minerals Inc. wants to expand into the international market. It does not want to spend a very large amount of money for this process. However, Worldwide Minerals wants to maintain some control in the foreign market. Which of the following would be the best entry mode for this firm?

joint ventures

Which of the following is a common drawback of a non-equity alliance?

lack of trust between partners

Hiku Inc. developed a superior touch screen technology for tablet computers that enabled multiple users to operate the screen at the same time. The technology was leased to Broadway Technologies, a consumer electronics company, for five years. Which of the following alternatives to integration does this best illustrate?

licensing

Downshift Autos Inc. has shifted its research and development unit from its home country to Germany. This allows the company to be better informed about the latest developments in the automotive industry by tapping into the highly advanced automotive industry in Germany. In this scenario, Downshift Autos Inc. is reaping the benefits of

location economies

Harvey's, a large and successful retail chain on the West Coast, decides to expand its operations across the U.S. Which of the following organizational structures should Harvey's use?

multidivisional

Toyota's global success in the 1990s and early 2000s was based to a large extent on a network of world-class suppliers in Japan. This tightly knit network allowed for fast two-way knowledge sharing—this in turn improved Toyota's quality and lowered its cost, which it leveraged into a successful blue ocean strategy at the business level. This example shows the effectiveness of

related and supporting industries/complementors.

When executives of a firm consider business opportunities only where they can leverage their existing competencies and resources, it can be concluded that the firm is using

related-constrained diversification.

Medequip Inc. is a large firm involved in the highly competitive market of high-tech medical equipment. In this market, smaller firms that focus on research are constantly making new technological developments. Which of the following approaches would best serve the needs of Medequip?

serial acquisitions

What is an invention?

the transformation of an idea into a new product or process

The administrative and political distance between two trading countries decreases when

there is a well-functioning capital market in the host country.