BPL 5100 Exam | Multiple Choice Questions & Answers Latest 2025/2026 1 to 5 | Complete Solution Guide.

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BPL 5100 Final Exam Chapter 1 92. The text addresses two perspectives of leadership as well as their implications. These two perspectives are 
 
 
 93. A CEO made a lot of mistakes in assessi... ng the market and the competitive conditions and improperly redesigning the organization into numerous business units. Such errors led to significant performance declines. According to the text, this example illustrates the __________ perspective of leadership. 
 94. According to the external control view of leadership, which of the following factors would not be 
considered an external factor that might positively or negatively affect a firm's success?
 95. Melvin Alexander, executive director of Principled Solutions Enterprise, a management consulting firm specializing in health care, suggests that environmental changes oblige firms to make strategic changes in order to survive. Which of the following is one of the strategic changes he foresees will occur in the next three to five years? 
 96. According to the text, the strategic management process entails three ongoing processes. They are 97. Management innovations such as total quality, benchmarking, and business process reengineering cannot lead to sustainable competitive advantage because The organizational versus the individual rationality perspective suggests that objectives that are 98. The four key attributes of strategic management include the idea that strategy must 99. The four key attributes of strategic management include all of the following except 101. Effectiveness is often defined as.
 
 102. In choosing to focus on stakeholders, which of the following will not lead to success for a manager? 
 104. In strategic management, both the short-term and long-term perspectives need to be considered because 105. Strategic management involves the recognition of trade-offs between effectiveness and 
 106. All of the following are ambidextrous behaviors except 107. Ambidextrous behaviors in individuals illustrate how a dual capacity for _______ can be woven into the fabric of an organization at the individual level. 108. According to Henry Mintzberg, the final realized strategy of a firm is 109. __________ may be considered the advance work that must be done in order to effectively formulate and implement strategies. 
 
 110. Strategy analysis is the starting point of the strategic management process and consists of the 111. 110. Strategy formulation at the business level addresses best how to compete in a given business: 111. Corporate level strategy focuses on what businesses to compete in and 112. Corporate-level strategy looks at how to manage the ______ of its businesses to create synergies. 113. Entering foreign markets requires firms to ascertain foremost how they will attain 114. New value creation is a major engine for economic growth and is the main focus of _______________ strategy. 
 
 115. Two types of strategic control that firms must exercise for good strategy implementation are 
 
 116. Effective organizational design means that firms must have ________ that are consistent with their strategy. 
 
 117. Learning organizations permit the entire organization to benefit from ____________ talents 
 
 119. Effective leaders set a direction and develop an organization so that it is committed to excellence and ___________ behavior 120. Strategies should be formulated that enhance foremost the ____________ capacity of a firm. 
 
 121. The three participants in corporate governance are the shareholders, 122. While working to prioritize and fulfill their responsibilities, members of the board of directors of an organization should .
 
 122. Members of boards of directors are
 123. An organization is responsible to many different entities. In order to meet the demands of these groups, organizations must participate in stakeholder management. Stakeholder management means that
 125. Stakeholders are 126. Procter and Gamble has perfected a technique for compacting cleaning powder into a liquid concentration. Consumers, retailers, shipping and wholesalers, and environmentalists all have benefited from the resulting change in consumer shopping habits and the revolution in industry supply-chain economics. According to the text, this is an example of. 
 
 127. There are several perspectives of competition. One perspective is zero-sum thinking. Zero-sum thinking means that 
.
 128. Managers should do more than focus on short-term financial performance. One concept that helps managers do this is stakeholder symbiosis. This means that
 128. Employee stakeholders are concerned 
 
 129. Stockholders as a stakeholder group are interested primarily by 131. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition accounts for more than one-third of the global 132. Wall Street executives have received excessive bonus pay in the past. This concerns which of the following stakeholder groups most directly? 133. Supplier stakeholders are concerned with
 134. Firms must be aware of goals other than short-term profit maximization. One area of concern should be social responsibility, which is the
 135. According to the text, the triple bottom line approach to corporate accounting includes which three components? 
 137. Demands for greater corporate responsibility have accelerated today. They focus on issues such as A key stakeholder group that is particularly susceptible to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives is 
 
 138. According to the Corporate Citizenship poll conducted by Cone Communications, most Americans say they would be likely to switch brands to one associated with a good cause, if there are similarities between 
 139. According to a CEO survey by Accenture, __________________ are not mutually exclusive corporate 
goals 
 140. The Clorox Green Works line of plant-based cleaning materials captured 42 percent of the natural cleaning products market in its first year. This is an example of the benefit of
 
 
 141. Northrup Grumman saved $2 million in energy costs at a single facility by installing reflective roofs and fluorescent lighting, replacing old equipment, and making minor temperature and humidity-level adjustments. This is an example of the benefit of 143. The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto invested $25,000 in an energy conservation program to replace leaky steam traps and fix leaks, which resulted in an annual savings of over $200,000. This is an example of a sustainability effort to 144. The ROI on sustainability efforts can be difficult to quantify because 145. Sustainability programs often find their success beyond company boundaries, thus ______ systems and _____ metrics cannot capture all of the relevant numbers.
 146. Traditional financial models are built around relatively easy-to-measure, monetized results; whereas, the benefits of sustainability projects involve 
 146. The case for sustainability projects needs to be made on the basis of a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of all the _____________ benefits 147. Some benefits of sustainability projects include 148. Many organizations have a large number of functional areas with very diverse and sometimes competing interests. Such organizations will be most effective if
 149. Strategy formulation and implementation is a challenging ongoing process. To be effective, it should not involve 150. The text argues that a strategic perspective in an organization should be emphasized 152. Peter Senge, of MIT, recognized three types of leaders. __________ are individuals that, although having little positional power and formal authority, generate their power through the conviction and clarity of their ideas 153. Peter Senge, of MIT, recognized three types of leaders. These individuals champion and guide ideas, create a learning infrastructure, and establish a domain for taking action. 
 154. Leadership is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for organizational success. Leaders should emerge at which level(s) of an organization? 155. Local line leaders have __________ responsibility. 155. Internal networks generate their power through the _____________ of their ideas. 156. Executive leaders champion and guide ideas by.
 157. Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, empowers his companies through a(n) _______ structure in which anyone can bring forth new ideas 158. Transformational change involves 159. Whirlpool's transformation under corporate vice president Nancy Snyder included financial investments in.
 
 160. Methods by which successful executives show their interest in learning what others are thinking include 
 161. Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, believes that the ________ of a person should not dictate the level of influence their ideas should be accorded 
 161. The hierarchy of organizational goals is in this order (least specific to most specific): 164. Vision statements are used to create a better understanding of the overall purpose and direction of the organization. Vision statements 165. Effective vision statements include 
 166. WellPoint Health Network states: WellPoint will redefine our industry: through a new generation of consumer-friendly products that put individuals back in control of their future. This is an example of a 
 167. Although such visions cannot be accurately measured by a specific indicator of how well they are being achieved, they do provide a fundamental statement of the __________ of an organization 168. In contrast to the vision of an organization, its mission should 
 169. The vision and mission statements of a company set the overall direction of the organization. Strategic objectives serve what role? 
 170. Fortune Brands states they will cut corporate overhead costs by $30 million a year. This is an example of a. 
 
 171. We want to be the top-ranked supplier to our customers. (PPG) This is an example of 172. In large organizations, conflicts can arise between functional areas. In order to resolve these conflicts, strategic objectives 173. Which of the following is not an example of a financial strategic objective?
 174. In large organizations, the potential exists for different parts of an organization to pursue its own goals rather than the overall company goals. Proper _______ can help to resolve conflicts when they arise.
 Chapter 2 90. Two of the key inputs to developing forecasts discussed in the text are Salemi Industries launched Cell Zone unsuccessfully in 2005 because it did not understand the market demand for its new product. This is an example of
 
 
 91. Environmental analysis requires continual questioning of all of these assumptions except 
 92. Firms that were successful in the past can fail today because 95. Examples of how to improve perceptual acuity include:
 96. Perceptual acuity requires all of the following except
 
 
 97. Two non-competing global firms meet quarterly to discuss multiple perspectives on world trends. This is an example of how to improve
 98. Which of the following is not an input to develop forecasts? 
 
 99. Boards of directors use outsiders to critique their strategy. This is necessary to improve mostly
. 
 100. When the management frame of reference gets out of touch with the realities of the actual business situation, what can happen to the firm?
 101. Corporate retreats do not
 
 100. Why must successful managers recognize opportunities and threats in their company external environment? 
 88. _____________ tracks the evolution of environmental trends, sequences of events, or streams of activities 89. Taking advantage of the increasing penetration of personal computers in American homes, the Mayo Clinic transformed itself as a provider of health-related knowledge and expertise. It took advantage of the ______ trends of the _______ in the prices of PCs and the ____________ presence of PCs in virtually every home in the United States. 90. Scanning the general environment would identify information on
 95. Which of the following is not an example of corporate competitive analysis? 96. Gathering competitive intelligence 
 
 97. Environmental forecasting does not involve plausible projections about the ________ of 
environmental change.
 98. Which of the following websites is not an example of one used routinely for corporate competitive 
intelligence gathering? 99. Executives must be careful to avoid spending so much time and effort tracking the actions of ___________ that they ignore ____________. 100. Banks and airlines are examples of two industries that track competitor offers continually. This is called the process of gathering 101. Which of the following would not lead a manager to believe that an ethical concern exists? 112. In 1977, Kenneth H. Olsen, then president of Digital Equipment Corp., announced that there was no reason for individuals to have a computer in their home. Long since disproven, this is an example of
 113. It is important to question the reliability of forecasts because
 115. A danger of forecasting discussed in the text is that 116. PPG Industries, the Pittsburgh-based manufacturer of paints, coatings, optical products, specialty materials, chemicals, glass, and fiber glass suffered serious failures in 1986 and 1987 when it attempted to diversify its offers. It used a technique to help it identify possible future strategies. What was it? 117. SWOT analysis is a framework for analyzing the internal and external environment of a company. It consists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. According to a SWOT analysis, which of the following is not an aspect that the strategy of the firm must follow?
 
 117. Scenario planning is a useful technique for firms competing in industries characterized by __________ and ____________.
 
 
 118. Scenario analysis draws on a range of disciplines and interests. It is a more _______ approach to forecasting. 120. In the SWOT framework, ______________ are the same for all firms in the same competitive environment. 121. In the SWOT framework, ______________ are internal factors that are specific to the company. 
 
 122. Heightened concern with fitness might be a threat to some companies and an opportunity to others. In the SWOT framework, these are
 
 123. By emphasizing the importance of identifying opportunities and threats, the SWOT framework makes firms act ________ rather than ___________.
 124. SWOT analysis raises awareness about the role of strategy in creating a match between the environmental conditions and ______________ of the firm.
 125. Steve Jobs, former chairman of Apple, demonstrated that ___________ also are important in forecasting. 
 126. Which of the following is not a correct usage of the SWOT framework? 127. The aging of the population, changes in ethnic composition, and effects of the baby boom are __________ changes. 128. Larger numbers of women entering the work force since the early 1970s is an example of.
 
 129. Emerging sociocultural changes in the environment include
 130. All of the following are important elements of the political and legal segment of the general environment except 
 
 131. Which of the following would be considered part of the general environment of a firm? 
 
 
 132. Interest-rate increases have a __________ impact on the residential home construction industry and a __________ effect on industries that produce consumer necessities such as prescription drugs or basic grocery items.
 132. In the general environment, many relationships exist among the various elements. General environmental trends can have positive and negative impacts on various industries. For example, the aging population might have a ______ impact on the health care industry and a ______ impact on the baby product industry. These are called _____________ impacts. 133. In the general environment, which of the following is not a demographic trend? 134. Lowes has found that women prefer to do larger home-improvement projects with a man, whether a boyfriend, husband, or neighbor. As a result, in addition to its recipe card classes (that explain various projects that take only one weekend), Lowes offers co-ed store clinics for projects like sink installation. This is an example of which segment of the general environment?
 
 
 135. Doctors and other health professionals say it is becoming harder to stay on the right side of the rules as billing requirements grow more convoluted. This is an example of which segment of the general environment? 
 
 136. Crowdsourcing is one form of technology that affects multiple segments of the general environment. Which of the following is not an example of crowdsourcing? 137. Using the Cuusoo System, Lego develops ideas that are generated by the many children and adults who create a model, take photos, write project descriptions, and submit their idea on the Lego website. This is an example of using __________ to develop new products 
 138. Which is considered a force in the five-forces model? 139. Which of the following firms would likely pose the least competitive threat?
 140. The threat of new entrants is high when there are 141. Product differentiation by incumbents’ act as an entry barrier because
 142. Which of the following would be an entry barrier? 
 143. An automobile manufacturer acquires a rental car company. This is an example of 144. The bargaining power of the buyer is greater than that of the supplier when 145. Buyer power will be greater when
 146. The bargaining power of suppliers increases as
 147. New communication technology can impact seemingly unrelated industries such as the airline industry. This would be an example of a. 148. The bargaining power of suppliers is enhanced under the following market condition: 149. In the Five-Forces model, conditions under which a supplier group can be powerful include all of the following except. 150. Because the Internet lowers barriers to entry in most industries, it 151. End users are not 152. Incumbent firms may enjoy increased bargaining power because the Internet 153. Supplier power has increased because of the Internet for all of the following reasons except 154. 154. In general, the threat of substitutes is heightened because the Internet C. introduces new ways to accomplish the same task. 155. How do infomediaries and consumer information websites increase the intensity of competitive rivalry?
 156. The value net is a game-theoretic approach that
 157. In the value net analysis, complementors are 158. Complements are products or services that have a potential impact on the _________ of the products or services of that company. 159. Nintendo built a security chip into its game console hardware and then licensed the right to develop games to outside firms. These firms paid a royalty to Nintendo for each copy of the game sold. This is an example of Nintendo using _________ products 160. The Apple iPod was enormously successful due in large part to the company strategy of using 161. Elements of the five forces can be quantified. This is important for analyzing industry structure. Which of the following is not an example of an element that can be quantified?
 

 162. Strategic groups consist of a group of
 B. firms within an industry that follows similar strategies. 
 163. Which of the following statements about strategic groups is false?
 B. Strategic groupings are of little help to a firm in assessing mobility barriers that protect a group 
from attacks by other groups.
 
 164. Strategic groups consist of firms that are more _____ to each other than firms that are not.
. 
 165. Strategic groups are clusters of firms that share __________ strategies 147. Classifying an industry into strategic groups involves judgment. If it is useful as an analytical tool, we must exercise caution in deciding what dimensions to use to map these firms. Dimensions include. 
 
 148. Referring to the textbook Exhibit 2.7 The World Automobile Industry: Strategic Groups, which strategic group is the largest in terms of breadth of product line? 151. Referring to the textbook Exhibit 2.7 The World Automobile Industry: Strategic Groups, which strategic group is the smallest in terms of breadth of product line? 152. Referring to the textbook Exhibit 2.7 The World Automobile Industry: Strategic Groups, which strategic group consists of firms high in product pricing/quality and average in their product-line breadth? 
 
 153. In 2014, Audi introduced the Q3 SUV at a base price of only $32,500. And BMW, with its 1-series, is another well-known example. Such cars, priced in the low $30,000s, compete more directly with products from broad-line manufacturers like Ford, General Motors, and Toyota. This suggests that members of a strategic group can overcome _____ barriers and migrate to other groups that they find attractive if they are willing to commit time and resources. 
 
 154. The strategic groups concept is valuable for identifying groups with _______ competitive positions. 
 
 156. The strategic groups concept is valuable for charting the ______ directions of firm strategies 157. The strategic groups concept is valuable for assessing the implications of industry ________ for the strategic group as a whole. 
 
 
 Chapter 3 91. Which of the following is not a limitation of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and threats) analysis? 92. Which of the following is a limitation of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and threats) analysis? 
 93. A key __________ of SWOT is that it is primarily a static assessment 
 94. Strategists who rely on traditional definitions of their industry and competitive environment often 
focus their sights too ___________ on current customers, technologies, and competitors.
 
 95. Company __________, no matter how unique or impressive, may not enable it to achieve a 
competitive advantage in the marketplace 97. Sometimes firms become preoccupied with _________ or a key feature of the product or service they are offering and ignore other factors needed for competitive success. 98. __________ among organizations is played out over time. 99. Focusing too narrowly on current customers, technologies, and competitors can lead to a failure to notice important changes on the periphery of their environment that may trigger the need to redefine industry boundaries and identify a whole new set of competitive relationships. This is a result of relying 
 Toyota, the giant automaker, paid a heavy price for its ___________ emphasis on cost control. The resulting problems with quality and the negative publicity led to severe financial losses and an erosion of its reputation in many markets. 
 
 100. Competition among organizations is played out over time. As circumstances, capabilities, 
and strategies change, _________ techniques do not reveal the dynamics of the competitive environment.
 
 101. A SWOT analysis alone __________ helps a firm develop competitive advantages that it can sustain over time.
 103. Inbound logistics include 104. In assessing its primary activities, an airline would examine B. baggage handling.
 105. Advertising is a __________ activity. Supply of replacement parts is a __________ activity. Which of the following examples demonstrates how successful organizations manage their primary activities? 106. Which of the following is not an advantage of Just-In-Time inventory systems 107. XYZ Corp. is focusing on the objective of low-cost, high quality, on-time production by minimizing 
idle productive facilities and workers. The XYZ Corp. is taking advantage of a __________ system. 109. ___________ is/are associated with collecting, storing, and distributing the product or service to buyers. They consist of warehousing, material handling, delivery operation, order processing, and scheduling. 110. Customer service includes 111. Which of the following is a support activity? Which of the following lists consists of support activities?, Human resource management consists of activities involved in the recruiting, hiring, training, 
development, and compensation of all types of personnel. It supports According to value-chain analysis, which of the following would be considered part of the general 
administration in a firm? 115. A marketing department that promises delivery faster than the ability of the production department to produce is an example of a lack of understanding of the 
. 116. In a retail service industry, which of the following is not a primary value-chain activity? 117. In terms of value chain analysis, a telephone operating company would find that negotiating and maintaining ongoing relations with regulatory bodies are important activities for achieving. 118. General administration is sometimes viewed as only _______ but can be a powerful source of competitive advantage. 
 119. German truck and trailer manufacturer, Schmitz Cargobull, mainly serves customers that are operators of truck or trailer fleets. What sets the company apart is its expertise in telematics (the integrated application of telecommunications data) to monitor the current state of any Schmitz Cargobull- produced trailer. This is an example of using ________ to enhance customer value and increase _______ position. 
 120. In an interview with Lise Saari, former director of global workforce research at IBM, she notes that HR must be a true partner of the business, with a deep and up-to-date understanding of business realities and objectives, and must ensure HR initiatives fully support them at all points of the value chain. This is an example of. 121. Regarding the value-chain concept, the most important interrelationship is between the organization and its 122. In contrast to __________ interactions, which allow the firm to gain insights on the needs of a particular customer, ___________ offers the opportunity to leverage the wisdom of a larger crowd. 123. In using crowdsourcing as a means to integrate the customer into the value chain, there are some perils to consider. Which of the following is not related to crowdsourcing perils? 124. Accounting is a sort of transformation process that converts daily records of individual transactions into monthly financial reports. The __________ are the inputs, accounting is the operation that adds value, and ___________ are the outputs. 
 125. A travel agent adds value by creating an itinerary that includes transportation, accommodations, and activities that are customized to your budget and travel dates. In terms of the value chain analysis, this is an example of a ____________ organization.
 126. For an engineering services firm, ________________ provides inputs, the transformation process is the engineering itself, and innovative designs and practical solutions are the outputs. 127. The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm combines the following two perspectives: 128. The three key types of resources that are central to the resource-based view of the firm are 129. In the resource-based view of the firm, examples of tangible resources include 130. _____________ are typically embedded in unique routines and practices that have evolved and accumulated over time such as effective work teams 131. Apple combines and packages proven technology in new and innovative ways. This is an example of its use of. 132. __________ are the competencies or skills that a firm employs to transform inputs into outputs. 133. Which of the following is not an example of organizational capabilities? 134. The ability to hire, motivate, and retain human capital is an example of ________ capabilities in the resource-based view of the firm 
 135. In order to be considered strategic resources that contribute competitive advantage, they must have several characteristics. Which of the following is not one of these? 136. Which of the following is not a tangible resource? 
 137. Intangible resources are typically embedded in ________ routines and practices that have evolved and accumulated over time
 138. The culture of a firm also may be a resource that provides competitive advantage. Which of these companies might be a good example of this intangible resource? 139. For a resource to provide a firm with the potential for a sustainable competitive advantage, it must have four attributes. Which of the following is not one of these attributes? 140. A competitive advantage based on inimitability can be sustained for at least some time, if it has the 141. A crash R&D program by one firm cannot replicate a successful technology developed by another firm, when research findings cumulate. This is an example of 142. A variety of firm resources include interpersonal relations among managers in the firm, its culture, and its reputation with its suppliers and customers. Such competitive advantages are based upon 143. All of the following are examples of socially complex organizational phenomena except 144. A resource is valuable and rare but neither difficult to imitate nor without substitutes. This should enable the firm to attain
 145. Employees will be able to obtain a proportionately high level of profits they generate (relative to the firm) if 146. Which of the following is not a factor that helps to explain the extent to which employees and managers will be able to obtain a proportionately high level of the profits that they generate? 147. Amazon Prime is credited for helping to increase the Amazon stock price by nearly 300 percent from 2008 to 2010. This competitive advantage is known as 
 148. Four factors help explain the extent to which employees and managers will be able to obtain a proportionately high level of the profits that they generate. Which is not one of these factors? 149. Which of the following groups generally is charged with creating value through the process of organizing, coordinating, and leveraging employees as well as other forms of capital such as plant, equipment, and financial capital? 150. Raymond Ozzie, the software designer who was critical in the development of Lotus Notes, was able to dictate the terms under which IBM acquired Lotus. This illustrates that he had ______ bargaining power based on the ________ cost required by the firm to replace him. 151. Historical comparisons provide information to managers about changes in the competitive position of a firm. Historical comparisons often are misleading 152. The best measure of company ability to meet imminent financial obligations is known as the 153. Which of the following would be most difficult to assess? 154. Which of these categories of financial ratios is used to measure the ability of a firm to meet its short-term financial obligations? 155. Ratios that reflect whether or not a firm is efficiently using its resources are known as 156. Which of the following is a profitability ratio? 157. Financial ratio analysis measures the performance of the firm based on all but which of the following? 158. Comparing your firm with all other firms in your industry assesses _________ performance. 159. Making comparisons between a firm and its most direct rivals is useful because firms within the same strategic industry group have _______ strategies. 160. In making the decision to enter the pharmaceutical industry, a company would not need to consider which of the following? 161. A firm that takes on too much long-term debt to finance operations will see an immediate impact on its indicators of _______ financial leverage. 162. Apple Inc. reported revenues of 171 billion USD and net income of 37 billion USD in 2012. These figures represent a stunning annual growth in revenue and net income of 57 percent and 43 percent, respectively, for the 2011 to 2013 time period. This information indicates the importance of using __________ to evaluate company financial performance The balanced scorecard provides top managers with a __________ view of the business. 165. The balanced scorecard, developed by Kaplan and Norton, helps to integrate The balanced scorecard enables managers to consider their business from all of the following perspectives except. 
 
 166. An important implication of the balanced scorecard approach is that 167. The financial perspective of the balanced scorecard answers which of the following questions? 168. The innovation and learning perspective of the balanced scorecard answers which of the following questions? 
 
 169. The customer perspective of the balanced scorecard answers which of the following questions? 
 170. How do customers see us?
 
 171. The internal business perspective of the balanced scorecard answers which of the following questions? 
 171. The internal measures should reflect business processes that have ______ impact on customer satisfaction. These include factors that affect cycle time, quality, employee skills, and productivity. 172. From the innovation and learning perspective, survival is dependent upon managers making 
_________ changes to existing products and services as well as introduce entirely new products with expanded capabilities. 
 173. If managers do not recognize from the beginning that the balanced scorecard is not a _________ and 
fail to commit to it long term, the organization will be disappointed. 174. With the total performance indicators in place at Sears, it can evaluate if a single store improves its employee attitude by 5 percent and therefore predict with confidence that if the revenue growth in the district as a whole is 5 percent, the revenue growth in this particular store would be 5.5 percent. This is an example of the _______ perspective of the balanced scorecard.
 Chapter 5 89. The primary aim of strategic management at the business level is 90. Primary value chain activities that involve the effective layout of receiving dock operations (inbound logistics) and support value chain activities that include expertise in process engineering (technology development) characterize which generic strategy? 91. A manufacturing business pursuing cost leadership is likely to 92. One aspect of using a cost leadership strategy is that experience effects may lead to lower costs. Experience effects are achieved by 93. With experience, unit costs of production decline as _________ increases in most industries. 94. Research has consistently shown that firms that achieve both cost leadership and differentiation advantages tend to perform 95. Global logistics firms such as DHL Supply Chain and Global Forwarding or C. H. Robinson Worldwide compete using an overall cost leadership strategy in primary activities such as 96. Overhead costs associated with the number of layers of management in a firm are part of the _________ activities of the value chain 97. Renault has found a way to generate high profits on low-priced cards by using simple designs that incorporate components from older car designs and a no-discount retail policy. They are using a(n) ______________ strategy 98. Tesco is saving 3 million USD a year alone in landfill taxes by simply sending its used cooking oil and chicken fat to be used to generate bioenergy rather than putting it in a landfill. This is an example of an overall cost leadership strategy because it
 99. A business that strives for a low-cost advantage must attain a(n) _______ cost advantage over rivals. 100. Southwest Airlines uses an overall cost leadership strategy. This could fail if it 174. Convincing rivals not to enter a price war, protection from customer pressure to lower prices, and the ability to better withstand cost increases from suppliers characterize which type of competitive strategy?
 175. An overall low-cost position enables a firm to achieve ______ returns despite strong competition 176. An overall low-cost position protects a firm against rivalry from competitors, because _________ allow a firm to earn returns even if its competitors eroded their profits through intense rivalry 104. An overall ______ position enables a firm to achieve above-average returns because it protects firms against powerful buyers. 
 105. A low-cost position permits buyers to exert power to drive ____ prices only to the level of the next most efficient producer.
 106. A low-cost position provides _______ flexibility to cope with demands from powerful suppliers for input cost increases. . 
 107. The factors that lead to a low-cost position also provide a substantial ____ barriers position with respect to _______ products introduced by new and existing competitors.
 
 108. Which of the following is a risk (or potential pitfall) of cost leadership? 109. A firm can achieve differentiation through all of the following means except 110. 110. Support value chain activities that involve excellent applications engineering support (technology development) and facilities that promote a positive firm image (firm infrastructure) characterize which generic strategy? 111. High product differentiation is generally accompanied by 112. Which of the following is FALSE regarding how a differentiation strategy can help a firm to improve its competitive position relative to the Porter five forces model? A differentiation strategy enables a business to address the five competitive forces by Which of the following is not a potential pitfall of a differentiation strategy? C. All rivals share a common input or raw material.
 
 113. Which statement regarding competitive advantages is true?
 114. 116. Porsche has enhanced power over buyers because its strong reputation makes buyers more willing to pay a premium price. This ______ rivalry, since buyers become _____ price-sensitive 117. A firm following a focus strategy must focus on 118. Which of the following is not a potential pitfall of a focus strategy? At one CVS drugstore, a four-pack of Energizer AA batteries was on sale at 2.99 USD compared with a Duracell four-pack at 4.59 USD. The Duracell market share dropped 2 percent in a recent two-year period, and its profits declined over 30 percent. Why did this happen?
 The text discusses three approaches to combining overall cost leadership and differentiation competitive advantages. Which of the following is not one of these three approaches?
 A __________ can be defined as the total profits in an industry at all points along the industry value chain. 
 101. Which of the following is not a potential pitfall of an integrated overall low cost and differentiation strategy? 
 102. Mass customization permits companies to manufacture unique products in relatively _________ quantities at ______ costs 91. Anderson Windows lowered costs, enhanced quality and variety, and improved its response time to customers by 92. A risk for a firm that tries to attain both cost and differentiation advantages is that it can be stuck in the middle. An example of this is supermarkets because their _____ structure is _____ than discount retailers and customers do not value their products and services as being high-end such as those offered by Whole Foods. 
 93. The Pepsi algorithm that permits it to lower out of stock inventory is a result of using 98. Corporations increasingly collect and analyze data on their customers. This is known as 99. Many firms have achieved success by integrating activities throughout the extended value chain by using _______ to link their own value chain with the value chains of their customers and suppliers.
 
 100. Outside the flight experience itself, airlines are generating revenue by charging fees for credit cards, frequent-flyer programs, and access to airport lounges. This serves to.
 101. By separating the value of the actual flight from the services associated with flying, airlines have greatly expanded the __________ associated with flying.
 
 102. Underestimating expenses associated with coordinating value-creating activities in the extended value chain can be a result of ______ integration of cost leadership and differentiation 102. Which of the following is not a reason for the possible erosion of company competitive advantage? 
 114. Atlas Door created competitive advantage by reducing the time to receive and process an order and through installing a just-in-time logistics operation. Which of the following is not a reason for their favorable position relative to the five forces of industry competition?
 115. Dell lost its competitive advantage starting in 2007 because it
 116. Company competitive advantages can be eroded by all of the following except. 
 118. Barnes and Noble lost its market share in book retailing to Amazon. It tried to regain market share by offering a similar electronic reader, the Nook, to the Amazon Kindle series. This demonstrates that Barnes and Noble lacked 119. Atlas Door tightly controlled logistics so that it always shipped only fully complete orders to construction sites. In regards to the five forces model, which of the following is a reason this might give them competitive advantage?
 120. In evaluating the sustainability of the Atlas Door competitive advantages over the long run, it is important to evaluate the ability of rivals to
 121. Atlas Door created competitive advantages in overall low cost and differentiation by creating ___________ among value-chain activities. 
 119. Atlas Door relies on technologies that are rather well known and non-proprietary. This opens it up to the potential of 

 123. Atlas Door could lose competitive advantage for all of the following reasons except
 124. Rivals would find it difficult to challenge Atlas Door in the short run because of 125. Rivals would find it difficult to challenge Atlas Door in the short run because of
 126. 144. Which of these statements regarding the industry life cycle is true? 127. 145. Which of the following statements about the introduction stage of the market life cycle is true? 128. 146. In the __________ stage of the industry life cycle, the emphasis on product design is very high, the intensity of competition is low, and the market growth rate is low.
 129. 147. The growth stage of the industry life cycle is characterized by 148. In the __________ stage of the industry life cycle, there are many segments, competition is very intense, and the emphasis on process design is high 149. In a given market, key technology no longer has patent protection, experience is not an advantage, and there is a growing need to compete on price. What stage of its life cycle is the market in? 150. A market that mainly competes on the basis of price and has stagnant growth is characteristic of what life cycle stage? 
 151. As markets mature, 152. The size of pricing and differentiation advantages between competitors decreases in which stage of the market life cycle 153. Which of the following is most often true of mature markets? 154. In the __________ stage of the industry life cycle, there are few segments, the emphasis on process design is low, and the major functional areas of concern are general management and finance 155. The most likely time to pursue a harvest strategy is in a situation of Research shows that which one of the following is not a strategy used by firms engaged in successful turnarounds? 126. Piecemeal productivity improvements during a turnaround typically do not involve 127. Which of the following is not a reason for the successful turnaround HSN experienced by 2014 under CEO Mindy Grossman?
 128. Proctor and Gamble announced that it would sell off or close down up to 100 of its brands. This is an example of which turnaround strategy used by successful companies? 
 129. Outright sales or sale and leaseback free up considerable cash and improve returns. This is an example of which turnaround strategy used by successful companies?
 130. Improving business processes by reengineering them, benchmarking specific activities against industry leaders, encouraging employee input to identify excess costs, increasing capacity utilization, and improving employee productivity lead to a significant overall gain. These are examples of which turnaround strategy used by successful companies? 133. Most turnarounds require a firm to carefully analyze its relevant environments. The _______ analysis leads to identification of market segments or customer groups that may still find the product attractive.
 134. Most turnarounds require a firm to carefully analyze its relevant environments. ________ analysis results in actions aimed at reduced costs and higher efficiency. [Show More]

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