2023

MGT421E: Strategic Management

LECTURE 03 & 04 – CHAPTER 05 – INTERNAL SCANNING – Q
DR SAMEH ABDELWAHAB – DR ALY ELSHEKH
 MGT421E: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

True/False Questions
Question T/F
Resources are the organization's assets and are the basic building blocks of
the organization.

Capabilities refer to a corporation's ability to exploit its resources.

New product development would be a core competency if it goes beyond

one division.
Two characteristics that determine the sustainability of a firm's distinctive
competency are durability and transparency.
Durability is the rate at which a firm's underlying resources and
capabilities (core competencies) can be duplicated by others.
A core competency can be easily imitated to the extent that it is
transparent, transferable, and replicable.
Tacit knowledge is knowledge that can be easily communicated or
articulated and as result can be easily imitated.
When employees across the organization hold the same cultural values and
norms, this demonstrates a high level of cultural integration.

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 MGT421E: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Multiple Choice Questions

01) Those critical strengths and weaknesses that are likely to determine if a firm will be able to take
advantage of opportunities while avoiding threats are called
A) SWOT.
B) competitive forces.
C) internal strategic factors.
D) quality accounting.
E) factor analysis.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
02) Which of the following is NOT one of the four question areas Barney proposes in his VRIO
framework used to evaluate a firm's key resources?
A) durability
B) organization
C) rareness
D) value
E) imitability
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
03) Things that a corporation can do exceedingly well across the corporation are called
A) resources.
B) distinctive competencies.
C) core competencies.
D) critical success factors.
E) key performance factors.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
04) When a company's core competencies are superior to those of competitors, these are known as
A) resources.
B) distinctive competencies.
C) core competencies.
D) critical success factors.

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 MGT421E: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

E) key performance factors.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
05) The rate at which a firm's underlying resources and capabilities depreciate or become obsolete is
called
A) replicability.
B) transparency.
C) imitability.
D) durability.
E) transferability.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
06) The rate at which a firm's underlying resources, capabilities, or core competencies can be duplicated
by others is called
A) replicability.
B) transparency.
C) imitability.
D) durability.
E) transferability.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
07) The speed with which other firms can understand the relationship of resources and capabilities
supporting a successful firm's strategy is called
A) imitability.
B) reverse engineering.
C) transferability.
D) transparency.
E) durability.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
08) The ability of competitors to use duplicated resources and capabilities to imitate the other firm's
success is called
A) imitability.
B) durability.
C) transferability.

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 MGT421E: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

D) transparency.
E) replicability.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
09) Knowledge that can be easily articulated and communicated is known as
A) tacit knowledge.
B) explicit knowledge.
C) imitable knowledge.
D) transferable knowledge.
E) durable knowledge.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
10) ________ is more valuable because it can provide companies with a sustainable competitive
advantage that is harder for competitors to imitate.
A) Tacit knowledge
B) Explicit knowledge
C) Imitable knowledge
D) Transferable knowledge
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
11) Knowledge that is not easily communicated because it is deeply rooted in employee experience or in a
corporation's culture is called
A) tacit knowledge.
B) explicit knowledge.
C) imitable knowledge.
D) transferable knowledge.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
12) A linked set of value-creating activities beginning with basic materials provided by suppliers and
ending with distributors getting the final product into the hands of the ultimate consumer is called a(n)
A) value chain.
B) continuum of sustainability.
C) strategic capability.
D) fully integrated activity set.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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 MGT421E: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Essay Questions
Q1: Distinguish between continuous and intermittent systems providing
examples of each.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Q2: What are the two distinct attributes of culture?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Q3: Discuss the three basic organizational structures.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Q4: Define a value chain and the significance of the center of gravity.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Q5: Discuss the two characteristics that determine the sustainability of a

firm's distinctive competency.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Q6: Describe Barney's VRIO framework.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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