____________ tends to be a combination of planned elements and unplanned elements of a company's strategy.
realized strategy
Two elements of a company's business model are profit formula and __________.
customer value proposition
A company's _________ defines its approach to creating superior value for customers and how capabilities and resources will be employed to deliver the desired value to customers.
strategy
A company's ___________ basically defines how a company intends to make money.
business model
The plan that comes out of a formal strategic managements process would best be called a ____________.
deliberate strategy
A _________ strategy is considered to be a hybrid strategy.
best-cost
It is clear from the chapter discussion that Starbucks is using a __________ strategy to gain a sustainable competitive advantage in the coffee market.
broad differentiation
The three questions used to test for a winning strategy focus on fit, sustainability, and _______________.
performance
The most attractive customer value proposition is attained by:
increasing value provided and lowering the price
A __________ allows a company to attract sufficiently large numbers of buyers who have a lasting preference for its products or services over those offered by rivals, despite the efforts of the competitors to offset that appeal and overcome the company's
sustainable competitive advantage
Microsoft's recent decision to enter the telephone hardware business by acquiring Nokia's phone division opens a new and significant revenue stream for a company that was primarily software driven. As such, this move represents a change in Microsoft's ___
business model
Having a competitive advantage does not always guarantee competitive success.
true
According to Henry Mintzberg, the strategy that will ultimately determine an organization's success or failure is its:
realized strategy
Avon was originally founded as a vehicle for selling as asporii
realized, emergent
The Aldi's grocery store chain believes in providing good, healthy food at the lowest price possible. This approach represents Aldi's:
customer value proposition
According to ______________, 2016 will be a "Cataclysmic year" for stocks around the world due to the combination of low oil prices, weakness in China and other developing countries, and geopolitical uncertainty around the globe.
the Royal Bank of Scotland
A strategic vision should have all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:
broad
When an organization briefly describes what its business is about and why it does it, they have articulated a(n) _______________.
mission statement
___________ objectives are more focused on the past (lagging), while __________ objectives are more focused on the future (leading)
financial; strategic
The designated beliefs and desired way of doing things at a company are called what?
values
________ is the highest level of strategy-making for a company.
corporate
The________ is/are charged with evaluating and compensating a company's senior executives.
Board of Directors
___________ looks at both strategic and financial objectives when measuring company performance.
The Balanced Scorecard approach
________________ has been reached when management realizes that the industry has changed in a significant way that renders the company's strategic vision obsolete.
A strategic inflection point
Once developed, a company's ___________ should never be changed.
none of the other answers is correct
Compared to "cellular telephone company," "telecommunications company" would represent a ___________________ mission definition.
broader
Microsoft's recent decision to enter the telephone hardware business by acquiring Nokia's phone division represent strategy at the:
corporate level only
If I were interested in finding out what a company is about, I would consult its _____________ and if I wanted to know what it wants to accomplish I would refer to its ___________________.
mission statement, vision statement
Organizations with mission statements always outperform those without mission statements.
false
Enron was a clear example of the failure of the___________ to exercise his/her/its fiduciary oversight responsibility.
Board of directors
Compared to "beverage company," "cola company" would represent a ___________________ mission definition.
narrower
_________________ is the approach the marketing department would take to achieve company objectives and maximize resource productivity.
Functional strategy
Enron was a clear example of the breakdown of _________________.
organizational values
As a senior manager at ACME, Inc. Freda Crawford is regularly bombarded with business opportunities from a variety of sources. In order to properly determine the appropriateness of a given offer for today's ACME, Ms. Crawford should consult the company's
strategic vision
Microsoft's current mission statement says: "To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more". As such, theirs would be considered a _________________.
broad mission statement
It is always better to have a broadly defined mission rather than a narrowly defined one mission because:
It is not always better to have a broadly defined mission rather than a narrowly defined one.
We will do better in ROI by June of next year" is not a well-stated objective because it is clearly not:
Measurable
To protect shareholders from the failed oversight that lead to many infamous corporate scandals, Congress passed the _______________________ in 2002.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
An organization is more likely to get effective oversight of top management with ___________________ directors than with ______________________ directors.
outside, inside
In most companies, crafting and executing strategy is:
a collaborative effort in which every manager has a role for the area he or she heads.
The environmental analysis that looks at the natural environment plus aspects of the societal environment is called the _____________________.
PESTEL analysis
Scope of competitive rivalry represents one of an industry's ___________.
dominant economic characteristics
Having economies of scale as a key success factor in an industry usually represents _____________.
A barrier to entry for a small start-up hoping to break into the industry
The recent market collapse has been fueled to a significant extent by the large drop in oil prices - below $28 per barrel this week. The price drop has been driven by over-supply, which is only going to get worse this week when ________ oil returns to the
Iranian
Competitive rivalry is the strongest between firms that _________________________.
are in the same strategic group
Currency exchange rates would be considered part of the macro environment's _____________ factors:
economic
____________ define(s) what a company needs to have, be, or be good at in order to be competitive in a given industry.
Key success factors
The power of the buyers is high when:
Each buyer purchases large quantities relative to the size of a single industry member.
____________________ help(s) a company anticipate what its competitors are likely to do next.
Competitive intelligence
Increasing globalization, changes in long-term industry growth rates, market and product innovation, as well as changes in societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles are all examples of:
Driving forces
An appropriate substitute for a Coke would be _____________.
a candy bar
The aging of the U.S. population would represent a(n) _______________________ for a business seeking to understand their business environment.
sociocultural force
Rivalry among competitors is likely to be strongest when the industry is in the ____________ stage of its lifecycle.
mature
If Wal-Mart were to decide to enter the automobile distributor business, this would represent a monumental shift in that industry and over time would fundamentally change its competitive landscape. Wal-Mart's entry into this market would represent a _____
driving force, competitive
Congress passed the Clean Air Act in response to the public's newfound environmental concerns and outrage over what it (the public) perceived to be unrestrained corporate pollution. In response, a number of industries such as utilities and automobile manu
legal, sociocultural
The macro-environmental PESTEL analysis considers the effects of forces on ____________.
an entire industry
Labor unions were formed specifically to increase the ____________________.
bargaining power of suppliers
With a limited marketing budget, I need to know which of my industry rivals I most need to concentrate my negative advertising on. Generally, this will be the one(s) trying to get the same customers I'm trying to get, and in pretty much the same way. One
a strategic group map
A high level of competition (rivalry) within an industry can be viewed as:
all of the above
If I want to determine which products/services would be considered substitutes for the product/service offered by a particular company, I would best consults its:
business model
In looking to buy a new personal computer, many feel much more confident in the purchase if they see the "Intel inside" sticker on the box. In this regard, Intel would be considered a _______________ to the computer industry.
co-opetition?
Suppliers are powerful when which of the following happens?
They offer a credible threat of forward integration.
Industry attractiveness can be determined by all of the following except:
None of the above
Exit barriers are obstacles that determine how easily a firm can leave the industry. When exit barriers are high, what happens to industry attractiveness?
It decreases.
The pharmaceuticals lobby has been quite effective in helping to shape the healthcare debate that's been raging in Washington for the last five years. As such, they would be considered a ____________ force for the healthcare industry.
political
Recruiting and training a company's new employees would be considered _____________________.
a support activity
The text points out that while Nike doesn't possess a resource that independently passes all four of the VRIN tests with high marks, it does have _____________ that provide the opportunity for sustainable competitive advantage.
resource bundles
In executing a competitive strength assessment, _________ are appropriate metrics for comparison.
key success factors
Results of last night's Iowa Caucuses saw ___________ on the Republican side and __________ on the Democratic side:
a Cruz win; a virtual tie
The 'R' in VRIN stands for ________________.
rare
Opportunities and threats are found in the firm's_________________________.
macro and competitive environments
In class, we have often talked about how Wal-Mart uses its superior distribution system to dominate the various industries it has entered. As such, this distribution system would be considered a _____________.
distinctive competency.
______________ identifies best practices in the industry that a company can implement to increase its competitiveness.
Benchmarking
An organization's trademarks are part of its __________________:
intangible assets
________________________ will tell you whether or not a particular competency is a source of competitive advantage.
VRIN
The______________ looks at capabilities and competencies as sources of competitive advantage.
Resource-based view
It costs me $10 per unit to make 1000 widgets and $7 per unit to make 10,000 widgets. This difference in per unit cost is probably the result of a(n) _____________.
economy of scale
The department in charge of providing quality assurance would be considered _____________________.
a primary activity
A company's Key Success Factors are appropriate metrics for use in determining its competitiveness relative to its rivals.
True
Unlike the other forces in Porter's 5 forces competitive analysis, suppliers and buyers are considered part of an industry's:
value chain
The San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) won their fourth championship in 10 years in a year ago June with an unexpected win over the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. They accomplished this despite the fact that they had n
bundle of resources
Philips' recent efforts to divest its lighting business reflects the recognition of the need to adapt its resources and capabilities to the shifting forces in and around its various businesses and is therefore indicative of a(n) ________________.
dynamic capabilities perspective
Sustainable competitive advantage is best gained through a company's _____________.
key success factors
The product or service that the end user experiences represent the sum total of ______________.
the value chain of the entire industry
The main purpose of the SWOT matrix is to:
Identify internal and external forces that can help (strengths/opportunities) or hurt (weaknesses/threats) a company's ability to accomplish its desired strategy.
Walmart's decision to close down ALL of its ____________ locations as part of an overall plan to cut 269 stores this year has left many small communities devastated. Walmart's entrance into their markets drove out local competition and Walmart's sudden wi
Express
While there are many routes to competitive advantage, they all involve:
delivering superior value to buyers in ways rivals cannot readily match.
The generic types of competitive strategies include:
overall low-cost provider, broad differentiation, focused low-cost, focused differentiation and best cost.
A low-cost leader can translate its low-cost advantage over rivals into superior profit performance by:
either using its low-cost edge to underprice competitors and attract price sensitive buyers in large enough numbers to increase total profits or refraining from price-cutting and using the low-cost advantage to earn a bigger profit margin on each unit sol
Opportunities to differentiate a company's product offering:
can exist in supply chain activities, R&D, manufacturing activities, distribution and shipping or marketing, sales and customer service.
Successful differentiation allows a firm to:
command a premium price for its product and/or increase unit sales and/or gain buyer loyalty to its brand.
Perceived value and signaling value are often an important part of a successful differentiation strategy when:
All of these.
The chief difference between a low-cost leader strategy and a focused low-cost strategy is:
the size of the buyer group that a company is trying to appeal to.
A ____________ strategy should result in a company being a low-cost provider of a product or service with upscale attributes.
best-cost
The biggest potential pitfall associated with the low-cost provider strategy is:
Overly aggressive price cutting
Of all its characteristics, the aspect of competitive advantage that should provide the most hope for a brand new start-up in an established industry is the fact that it is ____________.
transitory
Louis Vuitton makes handbags that are considered by many to be the height of luxury. With prices as high as $150K per bag, it is clear that the company is using a ____________________ competitive strategy.
focused differentiation
In looking at Porter's generic business strategies, the engine that makes both the cost leadership and differentiation strategies viable in any given situation is ________________.
the customer's perception of value of the product/service offered
Cost leadership in the DVD industry once protected LG from encroachment by Blu-ray sellers through:
making it more expensive (relatively) to switch to Blu-ray technology.
As a consumer, if the ____________ you attach to a good or service is greater than its __________, you are likely to purchase it.
value, price
By definition, competitive advantage is always ________________.
relative
In which of the following circumstances is a strategy to be the industry's overall low-cost provider not particularly well matched to the market situation?
When buyers have widely varying needs and special requirements and the prices of substitute products are relatively high
The most appealing approaches to differentiation are
those that are tough for rivals to duplicate and that also have considerable buyer appeal.
In which one of the following market circumstances is a broad differentiation strategy generally not well suited?
When buyers are homogeneous in their needs and preferences and are generally satisfied with standardized product
Differentiators find competitive advantage primarily by manipulating _________________________ in the economic value creation model.
value
Having economies of scale would be most useful if you were attempting to execute a(n) _____________ strategy.
cost leadership
Cost levers (factors that can be manipulated to achieve cost leadership) are always tangible resources, while value levers (factors that can be manipulated to achieve differentiation) are always intangible.
False
The primary protection against the threat of substitutes offered by the differentiation strategy is:
lower price
differential appeal
The Honda Accord offers a great combination of values for its customer. While it does not provide the highest level of luxury or performance, it is clearly a step up from entry level automobiles present in the market. As such, the Accord represents an exa
integration strategy