Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage Answers

Unlike a long-lasting competitive advantage, a sustainable competitive advantage is one where: competitors have tried unsuccessfully to duplicate the advantage and have, for the moment, stopped trying to duplicate it. Unlike joint ventures, wholly owned affiliates are: - fully owned by their parent company. Unlike nontariff barriers, tariffs _____. - are direct taxes on imported goods Unlike political uncertainty, policy uncertainty: - deals with the risk associated with changes in laws and government rules that directly affect the way foreign companies conduct business. Unlike the distinctive competencies of a company, the core capabilities of a company: - determine how efficiently inputs can be turned into outputs Unlike valuable resources, rare resources: - are not controlled or possessed by many competing firms. Wenayton, a company that manufactures and supplies ceramic kitchenware, uses broken and rejected pieces of ceramics to design its office interiors. It also uses novel ways to utilize solar energy for interior lighting. This scenario best illustrates _____ - organizational innovation Which of the following best defines a distinctive competence? - It is what a company can make, do, or perform better than its competitors. Which of the following best defines a SWOT analysis? - It involves assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in an organization's internal environment. Which of the following best defines a tariff? - It is a direct tax on imported goods. Which of the following best defines cash cows in the BCG matrix? - They are the companies that have a large share of a slow-growing market. Which of the following best defines competitive inertia? - It is a reluctance to change strategies or competitive practices that have been successful in the past. Which of the following best defines cost leadership? - It is the positioning strategy of producing a product or service of acceptable quality at consistently lower production costs than competitors can so that a firm can offer the product or service at the lowest price in the industry. Which of the following best defines results-driven change? - It is the change created quickly by focusing on the measurement and improvement of outcomes. Which of the following best defines strategic dissonance? - It is a discrepancy between a company's intended strategy and the strategic actions taken by managers while implementing that strategy. Which of the following best defines technological discontinuity? - It is the phase of an innovation stream in which a scientific advance or unique combination of existing technologies creates a significant breakthrough in performance or function. Which of the following best defines the General Electric fast-works approach? - It is a special kind of results-driven change that helps companies to improve results in an uncertain business environment by quickly experimenting with new ideas to solve customer problems. Which of the following can help managers improve the speed and accuracy with which they determine the need for strategic change? - Looking for signs of strategic dissonance Which of the following conditions must be met if a firm's resources are to be used to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage? - The resources must be valuable, rare, and nonsubstitutable. Which of the following is a benefit of planning? - It gives direction to managerial efforts. Which of the following is a decision-making method that can be used to create c-type conflict by assigning an individual or a subgroup the role of critic? - The devil's advocacy approach Which of the following is a difference between experiential and compression approaches to innovation? - Experiential approach is used to establish a new dominant design, whereas compression approach is used to improve the function of an existing dominant design. Which of the following is a difference between global consistency and local adaptation? - Unlike global consistency, a company following a policy of local adaptation modifies its standard operating procedures to adapt to differences in foreign customers, governments, and regulatory agencies. Which of the following is a difference between reactors and analyzers? - Unlike analyzers, reactors tend to react to changes in their external environment after they occur. Which of the following is a difference between the blinded stage and the inaction stage of organizational decline? - Which of the following is a difference between the inaction stage and the faulty action stage of organizational decline? - In the inaction stage, managers wait to see if organizational performance problems correct themselves, whereas in the faulty action stage, management announces belttightening plans designed to cut costs, increase efficiency, and restore profits. Which of the following is a disadvantage of exporting? - Transportation costs can significantly increase the price of an exported product. Which of the following is a disadvantage of franchising? - Franchisors face a loss of control when they sell businesses to franchisees who are thousands of miles away. Which of the following is a disadvantage of planning? - It creates a false sense of certainty. Which of the following is a disadvantage of wholly owned affiliates? - The expense of building new operations Which of the following is a regional trade agreement between most European countries? - The Maastricht Treaty of Europe Which of the following is a similarity between licensing and franchising? - Both are types of cooperative contracts. Which of the following is an advantage of joint ventures? - They help companies avoid tariff and nontariff barriers to entry. Which of the following is an advantage of licensing? - It allows companies to earn additional profits without investing more money. Which of the following is an error that managers make in the refreezing phase? - They declare victory too soon. Which of the following is an example of the process of exporting? - FootSoul, a U.S.-based shoe manufacturing company, selling its shoes in the U.S., Germany, and France Which of the following is one of the five industry forces identified by Harvard professor Michael Porter? The threat of new entrants Which of the following is the first step in the process of management by objectives? - Discussing possible goals Which of the following is the first step of a strategy-making process? - Assessing the need for strategic change Which of the following is the last step of a strategy-making process? - Choosing strategic alternatives Which of the following is true of the S-curve pattern of innovation of a product? - A flat slope indicates that increased effort brings only small improvements in technological performance. Which of the following statements is true of a portfolio strategy? - It is a corporate-level strategy with the purpose of reducing risk in the entire collection of stocks. Which of the following statements is true of analyzers? - They are a blend of the defender and prospector strategies. Which of the following statements is true of creative work environments? - Which of the following statements is true of direct competition? - It is determined by market commonality and resource similarity. Which of the following statements is true of global consistency? - It simplifies decisions for managers at the headquarters of a multinational company. Which of the following statements is true of planning? - It intensifies the effort put in by managers and employees. Which of the following statements is true of resistance to change? - Which of the following statements is true of technological lockout? - It occurs when a new dominant design prevents a company from competitively selling its products. Which of the following statements is true of the BCG matrix? - It is used to categorize a corporation's businesses by growth rate and relative market share. Which of the following statements is true of the experiential approach to innovation? - It uses intuition and hands-on experience to reduce uncertainty and accelerate learning. Which of the following statements is true of the Maastricht Treaty of Europe? - Its purpose was to transform twelve different economies and currencies into one common economic market with one common currency. Which of the following statements is true of the World Trade Organization (WTO)? - It ensures that trade between nations flows as predictably and freely as possible. Which of the following trade barriers is established to protect the health and safety of citizens? Government import standards Who among the following can be considered expatriates? - The Chinese employees of a company based in Shanghai, China who are transferred to the U.S. for a special assignment Winston Corp. manufactures and sells toy cars. These toy cars are perfect imitational miniature versions of real cars. Inspired by the success of Winston Corp., Neil Danon, a plastic ware manufacturer in Orowella also started manufacturing toy cars. Which of the following adaptive strategies is used by Neil Danon? - Analyzers adaptive strategy