Chapter 1- Strategic
Which one of the following does NOT account for WHY a company's strategy evolves from one version to another? A) A need to promote stability and retain the status quo. B) The need to abandon some strategy elements that are no longer working well. C) A need to respond to changing customer requirements and expectations. D) A need to react to fresh strategic maneuvers on the part of rival firms. E) The proactive efforts of company managers to improve this or that aspect of the strategy.
A
A company's business model: A) concerns the actions and business approaches that will be used to grow the business, conduct operations, please customers, and compete successfully. B) is management's blueprint for how it will generate revenues sufficient to cover costs and yield an attrative profit. C) concerns what combination of moves in the marketplace it plans to make to outcompete rivals. D) deals with how it can simultaneously maximize profits and operate in a socially responsible manner that keeps its prices as low as possible. E) concerns how management plans to pursue strategic objectives, given the larger imperative of meeting or beating its financial performance targets.
B
A winning strategy must pass which three tests? A) The Dominant Market Test, the Sustainable Advantage Test, and the Profit Test B) The Fit Test, the Competitive Advantage Test, and the Performance Test C) The Sustainable Advantage Test, the Fit Test, and the Profit Test D) The Performance Test, the Dominant Market Test, and the Fit Test E) The Fit Test, the Sustainable Advantage Test, and the Dominant Market Test
B
Crafting and executing strategy are top-priority managerial tasks because A) how managers go about the tasks of crafting and executing strategy sends a message to shareholders and the entire investment community regarding "what it is we are trying to do and how we plan to achieve our objectives." B) The company is unlikely to be profitable unless senior executives have a clear answer to "where are we headed, how do we plan to get there, and when do we expect to arrive?" C) there is a compelling need for managers to proactively shape how the company's business will be conducted and because a strategy-focused organization is more likely to be a strong bottom-line performer. D) without clear guidance as to what the company's business model and strategy are, managerial decision-making is likely to be haphazard and inconsistent. E) a company cannot hope to be a market leader if all it does is respond to changing market conditions, new technologies, new opportunities, and threatening moves on the part of competitors.
B
Which of the following statements about a company's strategy is true? A) Crafting an excellent strategy is more important than executing it well. B) Managers at all companies face three central questions in thinking strategically about their company's present circumstances and prospects: What's the company's present situation? Where does the company need to go from here? How should it get there? C) A company's strategy deals with whether the revenue-cost-profit economics of its business model demonstrate the viability of the business enterprise as a whole. D) Masterful strategies come partly (maybe mostly) by doing things in much the same way as the industry leader but then being better than the leader in one particular area that counts heavily with buyers. E) Whether a company's strategy is ethical or not does not matter a lot because most customers and most suppliers are relatively unconcerned whether a company they do business with engages in sleazy practices or turns a blind eye to below-board behavior on the part of its employees.
B
Which one of the following is not related to actions and approaches that comprise a company's strategy? A) How management intends to grow the business B) How to prove to shareholders that the company's business model is viable C) How to build a loyal clientele and outcompete rivals D) How to boost the company's performance E) How each functional piece of the business (R&D, supply chain activities, production, sales and marketing, distribution, finance, and human resources) will be operated
B
A company's business model A) determines whether its strategy will be ethical or not. B) is management's storyline for how the strategy will result in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. C) is management's rationale for how the strategy will be a moneymaker—absent the ability to deliver good profitability, the strategy is not viable and the survival of the business is in doubt. D) identifies how the company plans to outmaneuver and outcompete key rivals and become a market leader. E) sets forth the actions and approaches that it will rely on to earn the best profit margins in the industry.
C
A company's strategies stand a better chance of succeeding when: A) it is developed through a collaborative process involving all managers and staff from all levels of the organization. B) managers employ conservative strategic moves based on past experience and form an underlying basis of control. C) it is predicated on competitive moves aimed at appealing to buyers in ways that set the company apart from rivals. D) managers copy the strategic moves of successful companies in its industry. E) managers focus on meeting or beating shareholder expectations.
C
A company's strategy and its quest for competitive advantage are tightly connected because: A) without a competitive advantage a company cannot become the industry leader. B) without a competitive advantage a company cannot have a profitable business model. C) crafting a strategy that yields a competitive advantage over rivals is a company's most reliable means of achieving above-average profitability and financial performance. D) a competitive advantage is what enables a company to achieve its strategic objectives. E) how a company goes about trying to please customers and outcompete rivals is what enables senior managers to choose an appropriate strategic vision for the company.
C
A winning strategy is one that A) makes the company a market leader, is ethically and socially responsible, and maximizes profits. B) is highly profitable and boosts the company's market share. C) passes the profitability test, the ethics and social responsibility test, the customer satisfaction test, and the shareholder wealth test. D) fits the company's internal and external situation, builds sustainable competitive advantage, and boosts company performance. E) passes the ethical standards test, the competitive advantage test, and the profitability test.
D
Company strategies evolve because A) it is a bad idea to do too much strategizing until a company has been in business long enough to know what strategies will work best. B) most managers like to develop the strategy in bits and pieces rather than all at once. C) of the ongoing need to respond to changing market conditions, advancing technology, the fresh moves of competitors, shifting buyer needs and preferences, emerging market opportunities, new ideas for improving the strategy, and any evidence that indicates the strategy is not working well. D) many managers are conservative, preferring to carefully contemplate the best responses to new developments and avoiding the risks associated with developing a complete strategy too quickly. E) a strategy does not really transition to a well-crafted stage until a company has been trying to execute it for a number of years and has learned what works and what doesn't.
C
Which of the following is NOT a frequently used strategic approach to setting a company apart from rivals and achieving a sustainable competitive advantage? A) Striving to be the industry's low-cost provider, thereby aiming for a cost-based competitive advantage B) Outcompeting rivals on the basis of such differentiating features as higher quality, wider product selection, added performance, better service, more attractive styling, technological superiority, or unusually good value for the money C) Striving to be more profitable than rivals and aiming for a competitive edge based on bigger profit margins D) Focusing on a narrow market niche and winning a competitive edge by doing a better job than rivals of satisfying the needs and tastes of buyers comprising the niche E) Developing an advantage based on offering more value for the money
C
It is normal for a company's strategy to end up being: A) a blend of offensive actions on the part of managers to improve the company's profitability and defensive moves to counteract changing market conditions. B) a combination of conservative moves to protect the company's market share and somewhat more risky initiatives to set the company's product offering apart from rivals. C) a close imitation of the strategy employed by the recognized industry leader. D) a blend of proactive actions to improve the company's competitiveness and financial performance, and adaptive reactions to unanticipated developments and fresh market conditions. E) more a product of clever entrepreneurship than of efforts to clearly set a company's product/service offering apart from the offerings of rivals.
D
The difference between a company's strategy and a company's business model is that: A) a company's strategy is management's game plan for achieving strategic objectives while its business model is management's game plan for achieving financial objectives. B) the strategy concerns how to compete successfully and the business model concerns how to operate efficiently. C) a company's strategy is management's game plan for realizing the strategic vision, whereas a company's business model is the game plan for accomplishing the business purpose or mission. D) strategy relates broadly to a company's competitive moves and business approaches while its business model relates to whether the revenues and costs flowing from the strategy demonstrate that the business is viable from the standpoint of being able to generate revenues sufficient to cover costs and realize a profit. E) a company's strategy is concerned with how to please customers while its business model is concerned with how to please shareholders.
D
Which of the following is a frequently used strategic approach to setting a company apart from rivals and achieving a sustainable competitive advantage? A) Striving to be the industry's low-cost provider, thereby aiming for a product-based competitive advantage B) Outcompeting rivals on the basis of such differentiating features as same quality, narrower product selection, or same value for the money C) Developing a best-cost provider strategy that gives the company competitive capabilities so that rivals can easily imitate with capabilities of their own to even the playing field D) Focusing on a narrow market niche and winning a competitive edge by doing a better job than rivals of serving the special needs and tastes of buyers comprising the niche E) All of these.
D
Which one of the following is not something to look for in identifying a company's strategy? A) Its actions to enter new geographic or product markets or exit existing ones and its actions to form strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships B) Its actions to merge with or acquire another company in order to strengthen the company's business position C) Its actions to capture emerging market opportunities and defend against external threats to the company's business prospects D) The company's actions to validate and improve upon its business model E) The actions and approaches that define how a company manages such functions as R&D, production, sales and marketing, and finance
D
he most trustworthy signs of a well-managed company are A) a strong emphasis on offensive strategies rather than defensive strategies. B) a strategy matched to fast-evolving market conditions and bigger profit margins than rivals and a steady upward trend in net income. C) attractive bottom-line performance and a proven business model. D) good strategy and good strategy execution. E) having a profitable business model, a willingness to change the company's business model whenever circumstances warrant, and having a sustainable competitive advantage.
D
A company achieves sustainable competitive advantage when A) it has a low-cost business model. B) it is able to increase shareholder value. C) sufficient numbers of buyers believe the company has demonstrated a commitment to environmental sustainability. D) it is consistently able to achieve both its strategic and financial objectives. E) an attractive number of buyers have a lasting preference for its products or services as compared to the offerings of competitors
E
A company's strategy evolves over time as a consequence of: A) the need to keep strategy in step with changing circumstances, market conditions, and changing customer needs and expectations. B) the proactive efforts of company managers to fine-tune and improve one or more pieces of the strategy. C) the need to abandon some strategy features that are no longer working well. D) the need to respond to the newly initiated actions and competitive moves of rival firms. E) All of these.
E
A company's strategy is most accurately defined as: A) management's approaches to building revenues, controlling costs and generating an attractive profit. B) the choices management has made regarding what financial plan to pursue. C) management's concept of "who we are, what we do, and where we are headed." D) the business model that a company's board of directors has approved for outcompeting rivals and making the company profitable. E) management's commitment to provide direction and guidance, in terms of not only what the company should do but also what it should not do.
E
The competitive moves and business approaches a company's management are using grow the business, attract and please customers, compete successfully, conduct operations, and achieve the targeted levels of organizational performance is referred to as its A) strategic offensive for becoming a market leader. B) business model. C) long-term strategic direction. D) mission statement. E) strategy.
E
Winning a sustainable competitive edge over competitors generally hinges on which of the following? A) Having a distinctive competitive product offering. B) Building competitively valuable expertise and capabilities not readily matched, and offering a distinctive product offering. C) Building experience, know-how, and specialized capabilities that have been perfected over a long period of time. D) Having "hard to beat" capabilities and impressive product innovation. E) All of these.
E
