Swinburne Higher Education Exam

Swinburne Examination
Semester 1 2018
EXAMINATION DETAILS
Unit Code: MGT30005 Faculty: FBL Paper Type: Primary
Unit Title: STRATEGIC PLANNING IN DYNAMIC ENVIRONMT
Duration: 120 Reading time: 10 MIN 40% of overall assessment covered by this exam

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Surname: Given:

CANDIDATE DECLARATION
 I am the person stated above
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 I have read and understood the Instructions to Candidates provided (see back of this exam paper)
 I understand that it is my responsibility to ensure that I have been correctly enrolled for the above subject and that I am fully liable for any outstanding
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Material/equipment that is not on this list is unauthorised material.
Where a student is found in possession of any unauthorised material, the material will be removed as soon as it is detected. A report
on the incident will be forwarded to the Chief Examiner in accordance with the Student Academic Misconduct Regulations.

Materials Allowed: (Convenor please select from the drop down boxes below or add free text to other)
Calculators: No calculator allowed
Books: No Books allowed
OTHER: No Dictionaries Allowed (unless exam is open book)

Answering Instructions:

This examination worths 40% of the available marks for this unit.
The question paper has two sections: Section A has objective-type questions and students
have to answer all questions of this section. Section B requires short answers, and students
need to answer any two out of four questions in this section.

If you complete this exam before the set exam duration time, you may be asked to
enter your time of departure. This information will have no bearing on your result.
Swinburne University of Technology MGT30005
Faculty of Business & Law Strategic Planning in Dynamic Environments

Section A: Answer all questions

Question 1: Please answer whether the following statements are True or False. Record your
answers in the script book provided. Each correct answer worth 1 mark (1 X 10 = 10 Marks)

(a) Strategic management is the process of thinking strategically, setting objectives,

planning and implementing the necessary changes and measuring the outcomes.
(b) Organisations gain competitive advantage through abundance of resources.
(c) The resource-based view postulates that an organisation's success vitally depends upon
its financial strength.
(d) A competitive advantages consists of a feature, characteristic or opportunity that an
organisation possesses which will make it more attractive than its competitors.
(e) Business-level strategy refers to the actions that a company implements to create a
competitive advantage over rivals in a chosen market or industry.
(f) The value chain analysis is a tool which allows us to understand the importance, the
value, and the relationships of the elementary components constituting the firm's
activities.
(g) Differentiation deals with "how" a firm competes and the way in which it can offer
uniqueness to its customers.
(h) Corporate level strategy is concerned with "how" a firm competes, whereas business
strategy is concerned with "where" a firm competes.
(i) Diversification decisions require analysis of the attractiveness of the industry to be
entered and the firm's potential to establish competitive advantage within that industry.
(j) Corporate governance is about ensuring that companies act in the best interest of the
nation they are part of.

2. Read the description of Retail Industry in Australia below and answer the following
question (the description is from www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail). (10 Marks)

MYER has launched a new online marketplace in an apparent bid to remain competitive against retail
giant Amazon. The Myer Market is a new online platform that stocks a curated range of home,
entertainment and lifestyle products and experiences. It will operate independently from
myer.com.au, but purchases will still qualify for Myer One loyalty points and rewards. Most goods
purchased on Myer Market can also be returned in Myer stores. It will be launched as a beta and is
being developed in partnership with Marketplacer, the team behind Bike Exchange. Myer’s chief
digital and data officer Mark Cripsey said the offering was a “new frontier” for the brand.

Question: Do an analysis of Myer’s business strategy with Porter’s Five Forces Model (Threat
of new entrants, Bargaining power of suppliers, Bargaining power of buyers, Threat of
substitutes, Intensity of rivalry).

Primary Exam Semester 1 – 2018 Page 1 of 2

Swinburne University of Technology MGT30005
Faculty of Business & Law Strategic Planning in Dynamic Environments

Section B: Answer any two of the following four questions

Each question worth 10 marks (2 X 10 = 20 Marks)

3. Describe value chain analysis.

4. Can a firm use cost leadership and differentiation simultaneously?

5. How can small businesses benefit from vertical integration?

6. What is the role of the national context in regard to competitive advantage?

Primary Exam Semester 1 – 2018 Page 2 of 2