Topic 1 questions :

Aut 2015

 “Competitive advantage, whatever its source, ultimately can be attributed to the

ownership of a valuable resource that enables the company to perform activities better
or more cheaply than competitors” [Collis, D.J. and Montgomery, C.A. Competing on
Resources, Harvard Business Review, July–August 2008, 140- 150]. Characterise
resources that are strategically valuable.

[40 marks]

 (b) Discuss Kay’s (1993) contribution to the field of strategy. Does it shed light on
why different companies, facing the same environment, perform differently? How
does it compare with Michael Porter’s contribution?

[60 marks]

Aut 2017

 Investors should invest in businesses which have intrinsic characteristics that give the
business a durable competitive advantage. Explain, using your knowledge of theory,
how a firm can attain a durable competitive advantage in a market. Refer to examples
you are familiar with in your answer.

[40 marks]

 (b) Discuss Collis and Montgomery’s (2008) contribution to the field of strategy.
Does it shed light on why different companies, facing the same environment, perform
differently?

[60 marks]

Wint 2015

1. (a) Warren Buffet, in an interview with Evan Davis on the BBC programme The
Worlds Greatest Money Maker, stated that investors should invest in businesses
which have intrinsic characteristics that give the business a durable competitive
advantage. Outline, using your knowledge of Porter (1996), how a firm can attain a
durable competitive advantage in a market.

[40 marks]
 2. (b) Explain whether you consider Porter’s concept of strategy discussed in part (a) to
be inconsistent Kay’s (1993) Distinctive Capabilities Framework. How are they both
represented in the Osterwalder’s and Pigneur’s (2010) business model canvas?

[60 marks]

Wint 2016:

1. (a) In recent years Google has expanded from an internet search engine

to a company that operates across a broad range of internet services, including email,
photo management, satellite maps, digital books, libraries, blogger services and
telephony. Identify and characterise Google’s resources that were strategically
valuable to support such diversification.

[40 marks]

2. (b) To what extent has Google’s strategy focused on its resources and capabilities
rather than on specific customer needs? Describe and evaluate the corporate strategy
of Google. Explain in detail the criteria on which you are basing this evaluation.

[60 marks]

Wint 2017:

a) Explain, using relevant examples, what corporate strategy is.

(20 marks)

(b) Corporate strategy and operational effectiveness are essentially the same thing; both are
necessary for a firm’s superior performance. Critically analyse this statement using
appropriate evidence.

(30 marks)

(c) Discuss, and illustrate where appropriate, the different business objectives a firm can
have. In your answer you should clearly discuss the limitations, if any, of each objective.

(50 marks)
Topic 1: Introduction to the Business Environment

A1.

(a) Success is a relatively intrinsic measure. Discuss the various methods

of measuring success. Use examples to support your answer.

(b) The stakeholders of a business have conflicting interests resulting in

several different business objectives. Discuss the various objectives
a firm may have, using illustrations and empirical evidence or case
evidence where appropriate.

A2.

(a) Competition among firms can be envisaged as process whereby firms

bid for consumers on the basis of consumer surplus” Discuss

(b) Discuss, using examples, how a firm can outperform its competitors.
Refer to elements of the business model canvas in your answer

A3.

(a) Outline and explain the economic framework for competitive

advantage.

(b) What can we learn from economic theory about how to generate
successful strategies? Explain using examples

 Profit maximisation is a simplistic view of the objectives of a

firm and is not reflective of the way in which companies
actually operate. Do you agree or disagree with this
statement? Discuss.
 Success is a relatively intrinsic measure. Discuss the various
methods of measuring success. Use examples to support
your answer.

 Firms that overestimate the willingness of consumers to

trade off price for quality risk overpricing their products and
either losing market share to competitors or never becoming
a viable competitor in their own right? Illustrate this using an
example by mapping the trade-off between price and quality.