
TRUE/FALSE
3. Strategic competitiveness is achieved when a firm successfully formulates and implements a value-creating strategy.
5. The goal of strategic management is to develop a competitive advantage that is permanently sustainable.
6. Risk in terms of financial returns reflects an investor’s uncertainty about economic gains that will result from a particular investment.
11. Wal-Mart is trying to achieve a boundaryless retailing empire by implementing global pricing, sourcing, and logistics.
14. Amazon.com created a competitive advantage and an entirely new industry by making use of disruptive technology.
18. Tangible assets, such as land and capital equipment, are losing their value as sources of competitive advantage in comparison to intangible assets.
20. One capability characteristic of a firm with strategic flexibility is effective management information systems.
24. Five forces model suggests that firms should target the industry with the highest potential for above-average returns and then implement either a cost-leadership strategy or a differentiation strategy.
26. Core competencies can be formed only around production or service-provision activities of the firm rather than in support activities such as accounting and marketing.
31. Organizational mission statements typically do not include statements about profitability and earning above-average returns.
33. Organizational stakeholders are the firm’s internal resources, capabilities, and core competencies that are used to accomplish what may at first appear to be unattainable goals in the competitive environment.
36. Relative power is the most critical criteria for prioritizing the demands of stakeholders.
38. Customers, suppliers, unions, and local governments are examples of capital market stakeholders.
42. Although organizational cultures vary considerably, one cannot make an objective judgment that some organizational cultures are more or less functional than others.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
2. A competitive advantage
| a. | can be permanent if the firm has successfully implemented the strategic management process. |
| b. | entails reducing investors’ risk to near zero. |
| c. | can be identified only if it has been unsuccessfully challenged by competitors. |
| d. | exists when competing firms are unable to find investors. |
| a. | the returns on other investments of similar risk. |
| b. | the stock market’s overall performance. |
| c. | the industry’s profit pool. |
| d. | the prime interest rate. |
| a. | rising global socio-economic instability and increased inflation. |
| b. | the emergence of a global economy and rapid technological change. |
| c. | increased global competition and decreasing tariffs. |
| d. | increased availability of capital and increased competition. |
| a. | lower operational efficiency as firms must transport raw materials and finished goods farther. |
| b. | increasing loyalty of customers for products made domestically. |
| c. | declining returns from investment in research and development. |
| d. | higher product quality. |
| a. | Knowledge is an intangible resource. |
| b. | The importance of knowledge is increasing. |
| c. | The value of knowledge as a proportion of shareholder value is increasing. |
| d. | All of the above are correct. |
| a. | buyers. |
| b. | competitive rivalry. |
| c. | suppliers. |
| d. | the economic environment. |
| a. | an hourly production employee’s ability to catch subtle quality defects in products. |
| b. | oil drilling rights in a promising region. |
| c. | weak competitors in the industry. |
| d. | a charity’s endowment of $400 million. |
| a. | A capability |
| b. | A core competence |
| c. | Sustainable competitive advantage |
| d. | Organizational intelligence |
| a. | strategic mission. |
| b. | inspiring vision. |
| c. | core competence. |
| d. | sustainable market niche. |
| a. | unique, easy to imitate. |
| b. | easy to imitate, difficult to implement. |
| c. | rare, costly to imitate. |
| d. | easy to implement, unique. |
| a. | unions. |
| b. | host communities. |
| c. | employees. |
| d. | suppliers of capital. |
| a. | power of each stakeholder |
| b. | urgency of satisfying each stakeholder |
| c. | vulnerability of organizational stakeholders |
| d. | social value of each stakeholder |
| a. | industry competitors. |
| b. | shareholders. |
| c. | employees. |
| d. | government regulators. |
| a. | maximizing the firm’s return on investment. |
| b. | receiving the highest quality products and services in the industry. |
| c. | obtaining reliable products at the lowest possible price. |
| d. | increasing the profitability of the firm. |
| a. | major suppliers of capital |
| b. | shareholders |
| c. | host communities |
| d. | unions |
| a. | their return on investment has been maximized. |
| b. | customers pay the highest sustainable price for the goods and services they receive. |
| c. | companies are growing and helping employees develop their skills. |
| d. | companies are paying the highest wages and salaries in the industry. |
| a. | suppliers. |
| b. | shareholders. |
| c. | employees. |
| d. | the firm’s chief executive officer. |
| a. | ambiguous decision situations which make effective decisions difficult to determine. |
| b. | a willingness to unify stakeholders through skillful manipulation. |
| c. | an ability to identify the correct solutions to long-range problems. |
| d. | concentration on the practical day-to-day aspects of the organization’s operations. |
