The key success factors in an industry
are those competitive factors that most affect industry members' abilities to prosper in the marketplace�the particular strategy elements, product attributes, operational approaches, resources, and competitive capabilities that spell the difference betwee
Good intelligence about the strategic direction and likely moves of key competitors allows a company to determine which competitors have all of the following
similar competitive approaches
In analyzing driving forces, the strategist's role is to
identify the driving forces and evaluate their impact on (1) demand for the industry's product, (2) the intensity of competition, and (3) industry profitability
The task of driving-forces analysis is to
identify the driving forces, assess whether their impact will make the industry more or less attractive, and determine what strategy changes are needed to prepare for the impacts of the driving forces
The "driving forces" in an industry
are major underlying causes of changing industry and competitive conditions and have the biggest influences in reshaping the industry landscape and altering competitive conditions
As a rule, the collective impact of competitive pressures associated with the five competitive forces
determines the extent of the competitive pressure on industry profitability
Which of the following is NOT one of the five typical sources of competitive pressures?
The power and influence of industry driving forces
The most powerful of the five competitive forces is USUALLY
the competitive pressures associated with the market maneuvering and jockeying for buyer patronage that goes on among rival sellers in the industry
What makes the marketplace a competitive battlefield is:
the constant rivalry of firms to strengthen their standing with buyers and win a competitive edge over rivals.
A company's "macro-environment" refers to:
the strategically relevant factors outside a company's industry boundaries�economic conditions, political factors, sociocultural forces, technological factors, environmental factors, and legal/regulatory conditions.
Which of the following is NOT one of the managerial considerations in determining how to compete successfully?
How can a company modify its entire product line to emphasize its internal service attributes?
A company's strategy consists of the action plan management is taking to:
stake out a unique market position and achieve superior profitability.
The objectives of a well-crafted strategy require management to strive to:
develop lasting success that can support growth and secure the company's future over the long term.
To improve performance, there are many different avenues for outcompeting rivals such as:
confining operations to local or regional markets or developing product superiority or concentrating on a narrow product lineup.
Every strategy needs:
a distinctive element that attracts customers and produces a competitive edge.
The heart and soul of a company's strategy-making effort is determining how to:
come up with moves and actions that produce a durable competitive edge over rivals.
Adapting to new conditions like new innovations by competitors, fast-changing technological developments, and constantly evaluating what is working result in:
an emergent strategy.
Changing circumstances and ongoing managerial efforts to improve the strategy:
account for Why a Company's Strategy Evolves over Time.
Good strategy combined with good strategy execution:
is the clearest indicator of good management.
The customer value proposition lays out the company's approach to:
satisfying customer wants and needs at a price customers will consider a good value.
While there are many routes to competitive advantage, the two biggest factors that distinguish one competitive strategy from another are:
whether a company's target market is broad or narrow and whether the company is pursuing a low cost or differentiation strategy.
How valuable a low-cost leader's cost advantage is depends on:
whether it is easy or inexpensive for rivals to copy the low-cost leader's methods or otherwise match its low costs.
Achieving a sure cost advantage over rivals entails:
selling a mostly standard product and increasing the scale of operation.
An example of how companies can revamp their value chain to reduce costs is to:
have suppliers locate their plants close to companies' own facilities.
A strategy to be the industry's overall low-cost provider tends to be more appealing than a differentiation or best-cost or focus/market niche strategy when:
the offerings of rival firms are essentially identical, standardized, commodity-like products.
A company attempting to be successful with a broad differentiation strategy has to:
study buyer needs and behavior carefully to learn what buyers consider important, what they think has value, and what they are willing to pay for.
Which of the following is NOT true of a company that succeeds in differentiating its product offering from those of its rivals?
It attracts mainly price-conscious buyers.
An organic foods manufacturer insists on portraying the cleanliness of its farms in its advertisements, charges a higher price for its products, and sells its products only through reputable distributors. What strategy is the manufacturer using to deliver
Signaling the value of the company's product offering to buyers
A broad differentiation strategy generally produces the best results in situations where:
few rival firms are following a similar differentiation approach.
Focused strategies keyed either to low cost or differentiation are especially appropriate for situations where:
the market is composed of distinctly different buyer groups who have different needs or use the product in different ways.
Once a company has decided to employ a particular generic competitive strategy, then it must make the following additional strategic choices, EXCEPT whether to:
pay special attention to buyer segments that a rival is already serving.
Strategic offensives should, as a general rule, be based on:
exploiting a company's strongest competitive assets�its most valuable resources and capabilities.
An offensive to yield good results can be short if:
buyers respond immediately (to a dramatic cost-based price cut or imaginative ad campaign).
A blue-ocean strategy:
involves abandoning efforts to beat out competitors in existing markets and instead invent a new industry or new market segment that renders existing competitors largely irrelevant and allows a company to create and capture altogether new demand.
For every emerging opportunity there exists:
a market penetration curve, and this typically has an inflection point where the business model falls into place.
The difference between a merger and an acquisition is that:
a merger is the combining of two or more companies into a single corporate entity, whereas an acquisition involves one company (the acquirer) purchasing and absorbing the operations of another company (the acquired).
Mergers and acquisitions:
frequently do not produce the hoped-for outcomes.
Vertical integration strategies:
extend a company's competitive scope within the same industry by expanding its operations across multiple segments or stages of the industry value chain.
Relying on outsiders to perform certain value chain activities offers such strategic advantages as:
reducing the company's risk exposure to changing technology and/or changing buyer preferences.
The best strategic alliances:
are highly selective, focusing on particular value chain activities and on obtaining a particular competitive benefit.
Which of the following is NOT one of the six questions that comprise the task of evaluating a company's resources and competitive position?
What are the company's most profitable geographic market segments?
A useful way to identify a company's resources is to view them as:
divided into two main categories, tangible and intangible.
A core competence:
is a more competitively valuable strength than a competence because of the key role the activities play in the company's strategy.
A company's resources and capabilities represent:
the firm's competitive assets, which are considered determinants of its competitiveness and ability to succeed in the marketplace.
A dynamic capability is the:
ongoing capacity to modify existing resources and capabilities to create new ones.
Key "functional" strategies of a company include all of the following EXCEPT:
alliance and partnerships as well as merger and acquisition growth strategies.
Which of the following areas within a company's total value chain system can managers use to improve efficiency and effectiveness?
A company's own internal activity segments, the suppliers' part, and the forward (distribution) channel portion of the value chain system
A company that has competitive assets that are central to its company strategy and superior to those of rival firms creates a:
competitive advantage over other companies.
A much-used and potent managerial tool for determining whether a company performs particular functions or activities in a manner that represents "the best practice" when both cost and effectiveness are taken into account is:
benchmarking.
The best indicator of how well a company's strategy is working is whether the company:
is achieving its stated financial and strategic objectives, its financial performance is better than the industry average, and it is gaining customers and increasing its market share.
Which one of the following is NOT one of the five basic tasks of the strategy-making, strategy-executing process?
Developing a profitable business model
Which of the following is an integral part of the managerial process of crafting and executing strategy?
Setting objectives and using them as yardsticks for measuring the company's performance and progress
A company's strategic vision describes:
management's aspirations for the future and the company's strategic course and long-term direction.
Well-conceived visions are ________ and ________ to a particular organization and they avoid generic, feel-good statements that could apply to hundreds of organizations.
distinctive; specific
The primary difference between a company's mission statement and the company's strategic vision is that:
a mission statement typically concerns a company's present business scope and purpose, whereas a strategic vision sets forth "where we are going and why.
A company should not couch its mission in terms of making a profit because a profit is more correctly an:
objective and a result of what a company does.
A company's values or core values concern:
the beliefs, traits, and behavioral norms that company personnel are expected to display in conducting the company's business and pursuing its strategic vision and mission.
Which of the following is the best example of a well-stated strategic objective?
Overtake key competitors on product performance or quality within three years.
Strategic objectives:
relate to strengthening a company's overall market standing and competitive position.
A "balanced scorecard" that includes both strategic and financial performance targets is a conceptually strong approach for judging a company's overall performance because:
financial performance measures are lagging indicators that reflect the results of past decisions and organizational activities, whereas strategic performance measures are leading indicators of a company's future financial performance and business prospect
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