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Test Bank for Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy, 12th Edition: Wheelen

Test Bank for Concepts in Strategic Management and


Business Policy, 12th Edition: Wheelen

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Strategic Management & Business Policy, 12e (Wheelen/Hunger)
Chapter 6 Strategy Formulation: Situation Analysis and Business Strategy

1) SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strategy, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 176
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

2) SWOT analysis is a panacea for strategy.


Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 176
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

3) A propitious niche is a need in the marketplace that is currently unsatisfied.


Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 177
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

4) The first firm through a strategic window can occupy a propitious niche and discourage
competition (if the firm has the required internal strengths).
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 179
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

5) One company that has successfully found a propitious niche is Frank J. Zamboni & Company,
the manufacturer of the machines that smooth the ice at ice skating rinks.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 179-180
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis
AACSB: Analytic Skills

6) Niches do not change over time.


Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 180
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

7) If a mission does not provide a common thread for a corporation's businesses, managers might
be unclear about where the company is heading.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 182
Topic: Review of Mission and Objectives

1
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
8) The TOWS Matrix illustrates how the external opportunities and threats facing a particular
corporation can be matched with that company's internal strengths and weaknesses to result in
four sets of possible strategic alternatives.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 182
Topic: Generating Alternative Strategies by Using a TOWS Matrix

9) SO strategies attempt to take advantage of opportunities by overcoming weaknesses.


Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 183
Topic: Generating Alternative Strategies by Using a TOWS Matrix

10) Business strategy focuses on improving the competitive position of a company's or business
unit's products or services within the specific industry or market segment that the company or
business unit serves.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 183
Topic: Business Strategies

11) Differentiation is the ability of a company or business unit to design, produce, and market a
comparable product more efficiently than its competitors.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185
Topic: Business Strategies

12) A cost leader's lower costs allow it to continue to earn profits during times of heavy
competition.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 186
Topic: Business Strategies

13) An example of a company following a cost focus strategy is Potlach Corporation, who makes
house brands toilet paper for Safeway and other grocery store chains.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187-188
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

14) One risk of a cost leadership strategy is that the technology may change.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 188
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

2
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
15) An example of a company that was "stuck in the middle" is K-Mart as they tried to imitate
both Wal-Mart's low-cost strategy and Target's differentiation strategy.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 189
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

16) Based on the eight dimensions of quality discussed in the text, reliability is defined as the
product's ease of repair.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 189
Topic: Business Strategies

17) Most entrepreneurial ventures follow focus strategies.


Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 189
Topic: Business Strategies

18) The strategic rollup was developed in the mid-1990s as an efficient way to quickly
consolidate a fragmented industry with the resulting large firm creating economies of scale.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 190
Topic: Business Strategies

19) Rollups are synonymous with mergers and acquisitions.


Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 190
Topic: Business Strategies

20) One danger of D'Aveni's concept of hypercompetition is that it may lead to an overemphasis
on short-term tactics over long-term strategy.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 192
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

21) One skill required of the cost leadership strategy is a strong marketing ability.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 192
Topic: Business Strategies

22) Successful late movers tend to be large firms with considerable resources and related
experience.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies

3
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
23) The first company to manufacture and sell a new product or service is called the ground
breaker.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies

24) A defensive tactic usually takes place in an established competitor's market location.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies

25) When AMD went after Intel's microprocessor business by developing low priced chips to go
after the customers Intel didn't mind losing, it was using a frontal attack.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

26) Oracle is using encirclement in attacking SAP in ERP software by surrounding SAP with
acquisitions.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 194
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

27) Microbreweries that make beer for sale for local customers, use guerilla warfare against
national brewers like Anheuser-Busch.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 195
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

28) Collusion is the active cooperation of firms within an industry to reduce output and raise
prices in order to get around the normal economic law of supply and demand.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 195
Topic: Business Strategies

29) Too much partnering experience with the same strategic partners generates diminishing
returns over time and leads to reduced performance.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 196
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

4
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
30) A licensing arrangement is an agreement in which the licensing firm grants rights to another
firm in another country or market to produce and/or sell a product.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 198
Topic: Business Strategies

31) A value chain partnership is a loose alliance with several distributors for the short-term.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 198
Topic: Business Strategies

32) One success factor to a strategic alliance is the ability to identify likely partnering risks and
deal with them when the alliance is formed.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 199
Topic: Business Strategies

33) The concept that advocates management's attempt to find a strategic fit between external
opportunities and internal strengths while working around external threats and internal
weaknesses is called
A) environmental analysis.
B) position analysis.
C) strategic evaluation.
D) objective analysis.
E) situational analysis.
Answer: E
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 176
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

34) The particular capabilities and resources a firm possesses and the superior way in which they
are used is called
A) distinctive competencies.
B) differentiating capabilities.
C) situational proficiency.
D) core competencies.
E) distinctive characteristics.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 176
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

5
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
35) An acronym for the assessment of the external and internal environments of the business
corporation in the process of strategy formulation/strategic planning is
A) P.E.T.
B) M.B.O.
C) S.W.O.T.
D) S.B.U.
E) R.O.I.
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 176
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

36) The T in SWOT represents


A) tactic.
B) threat.
C) tautology.
D) temporal.
E) time.
Answer: B
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 176
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

37) The text authors note that the essence of strategy is


A) opportunity divided by capacity.
B) strength divided by opportunity.
C) threat divided by capacity.
D) threat divided by opportunity.
E) opportunity divided by threat.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 176
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

38) All of the following reflect criticisms of the SWOT analysis EXCEPT
A) uses no weights to reflect priorities.
B) only requires a single level of analysis.
C) provides a rational link to strategy implementation.
D) ambiguity in words and phrases.
E) generation of lengthy lists.
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 176
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

6
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
39) In the development of a SFAS matrix, the first step is to
A) enter the ratings of how the company's management is responding to each of the strategic
factors.
B) calculate the weighted scores.
C) list the most important EFAS and IFAS items.
D) indicate short-term for the duration.
E) enter the weights for all of the internal factors.
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 177
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

40) A corporation's specific competitive role which is so well-suited to the firm's internal and
external environment that other corporations are NOT likely to challenge or dislodge it.
A) propitious niche.
B) strategic fit
C) common thread
D) business screen
E) implicit strategy
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 177
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

41) According to the text, unique market opportunities that are available for only a particular
time are called
A) situational occasions.
B) critical openings.
C) strategy implementation.
D) strategic windows.
E) trigger points.
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 179
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

42) One company that has successfully found a propitious niche is


A) Coca-Cola.
B) PepsiCo.
C) Wal-Mart.
D) Frank J. Zamboni & Company.
E) Disney.
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 179-180
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis
AACSB: Analytic Skills

7
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
43) The technique that illustrates how management can match the external opportunities and
threats with its strengths and weaknesses to yield four sets of strategic alternatives is called a (an)
A) IFAS Table.
B) EFAS Table.
C) SFAS Table.
D) TOWS Matrix.
E) Issues Priority Matrix.
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 182
Topic: Generating Alternative Strategies by Using a TOWS Matrix

44) In a TOWS Matrix, SO Strategies


A) are generated by thinking of ways in which a company or business unit could use its strengths
to take advantage of opportunities.
B) attempt to take advantage of opportunities by overcoming weaknesses.
C) are basically defensive and primarily act to minimize weaknesses and avoid threats.
D) consider a company's or unit's strengths as a way to avoid threats.
E) are ways to get strategists to think "out of the box."
Answer: A
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 183
Topic: Generating Alternative Strategies by Using a TOWS Matrix

45) In a TOWS Matrix, ST Strategies


A) are generated by thinking of ways in which a company or business unit could use its strengths
to take advantage of opportunities.
B) attempt to take advantage of opportunities by overcoming weaknesses.
C) are basically defensive and primarily act to minimize weaknesses and avoid threats.
D) consider a company's or unit's strengths as a way to avoid threats.
E) are ways to get strategists to think "out of the box."
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 183
Topic: Generating Alternative Strategies by Using a TOWS Matrix

46) In a TOWS Matrix, WT Strategies


A) are generated by thinking of ways in which a company or business unit could use its strengths
to take advantage of opportunities.
B) attempt to take advantage of opportunities by overcoming weaknesses.
C) are basically defensive and primarily act to minimize weaknesses and avoid threats.
D) consider a company's or unit's strengths as a way to avoid threats.
E) are ways to get strategists to think "out of the box."
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 183
Topic: Generating Alternative Strategies by Using a TOWS Matrix

8
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
47) Business strategy focuses on
A) ensuring that the company maintains the existing market share that it has historically enjoyed.
B) improving the competitive position of a corporation's products or services within the industry
or market segment served.
C) providing adequate shareholders' return on investment.
D) preventing the competition from gaining a competitive edge by undermining their marketing
plan.
E) recovering the competitive lead by using all available resources that the company can provide.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 183
Topic: Business Strategies

48) Business strategy is composed of


A) corporate and competitive strategy.
B) functional and divisional strategy.
C) competitive and cooperative strategy.
D) corporate and cooperative strategy.
E) divisional and competitive strategy.
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 183
Topic: Business Strategies

49) Which of the following is NOT one of the questions that development of a competitive
strategy should raise?
A) Should we compete on the basis of lower cost?
B) Should we compete head-to-head with major competitors?
C) Should we differentiate our products or services on some basis other than cost?
D) Should we compete by garnering political support of influential leaders?
E) Should we compete in a niche market that we can satisfy which is superior to that of the
competition?
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 183-185
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

50) According to Porter, the competitive strategy that reflects the ability of the corporation or its
business unit to design, produce, and market a comparable product more efficiently than its
competitors is called
A) competitive scope.
B) differentiation.
C) concentration.
D) diversification.
E) lower cost.
Answer: E
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185
Topic: Business Strategies

9
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
51) What are the two generic competitive strategies that Porter promotes as the means for
outperforming other corporations in a particular industry?
A) competitive scope and differentiation
B) diversification and concentration
C) lower cost and competitive scope
D) concentration and lower cost
E) lower cost and differentiation
Answer: E
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 185
Topic: Business Strategies

52) According to Porter, the competitive strategy that reflects the ability to provide unique and
superior value to the buyer in terms of product quality, special features, or after-sale service is
called
A) competitive scope.
B) differentiation.
C) concentration.
D) diversification.
E) lower cost.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185
Topic: Business Strategies

53) According to Porter, the term that applies to the breadth of a company's or business unit's
target market is called
A) competitive scope.
B) differentiation.
C) concentration.
D) diversification.
E) lower cost.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185
Topic: Business Strategies

54) Wal-Mart, McDonald's and Alamo are all examples of companies following which of
Porter's competitive strategies?
A) differentiation
B) cost leadership
C) differentiation focus
D) competitive advantage
E) cost focus
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 186
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

10
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
55) When lower cost and differentiation strategies have a narrow focus on a market niche they
are simply called
A) cost leadership and differentiation.
B) concentration and differentiation.
C) cost focus and differentiation focus.
D) competitive scope and focused differentiation.
E) diversification and concentration.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 186
Topic: Business Strategies

56) Which of Porter's competitive strategies recommends that a company emphasize a particular
buyer group or geographic market and attempts to seek a cost advantage in its targeted segment?
A) differentiation
B) cost leadership
C) differentiation focus
D) competitive advantage
E) cost focus
Answer: E
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187
Topic: Business Strategies

57) Patagonia uses sustainability in pursuing which of Porter's generic strategies?


A) differentiation
B) cost leadership
C) differentiation focus
D) competitive advantage
E) cost focus
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

58) Orphagenix, a small biotech firm, avoids head-to-head competition with large
pharmaceutical companies by developing orphan drugs to target diseases that affect fewer than
200,000 people. This is an example of which of Porter's generic strategies?
A) differentiation
B) cost leadership
C) differentiation focus
D) competitive advantage
E) cost focus
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 187
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

11
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
59) Which of Porter's competitive strategies concentrates on seeking differentiation in a
particular buyer group, product line segment, or geographic market?
A) differentiation
B) cost leadership
C) differentiation focus
D) competitive advantage
E) cost focus
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187
Topic: Business Models

60) When a company following a differentiation strategy ensures that the higher price it charges
for its higher quality is not priced too far above the price of the competition, the company is
using the process of
A) low-cost differentiation.
B) cost leadership.
C) cost proximity.
D) basic differentiation.
E) price fixing.
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 188
Topic: Business Strategies

61) Which of the following is NOT one of the risks of a cost leadership strategy?
A) The technology that the organization has been using changes.
B) Achieving excessive success causing jealousy amongst competitors.
C) Competitors can achieve viable imitations.
D) Cost focusers achieve even lower cost in niche market segments.
E) Proximity in differentiation is lost.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 188
Topic: Business Strategies

62) Which of the following is NOT one of the risks of the focus strategy?
A) The target segment's structure erodes.
B) The segment's differences from other segments narrow.
C) The advantages of a broad line increase.
D) The exit of focusers from the industry.
E) Demand disappears for the product in the target segment.
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 188
Topic: Business Strategies

12
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
63) According to Porter, a business unit in a competitive marketplace with no generic
competitive strategy is
A) achieving synergy.
B) practicing innovative leadership.
C) stuck in the middle.
D) not goal directed.
E) last in line.
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 189
Topic: Business Strategies

64) Most entrepreneurial ventures follow


A) differentiation strategies.
B) focus strategies.
C) no strategies.
D) cost leadership strategies.
E) all of the above
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 189
Topic: Business Strategies

65) Which of the following is NOT one of the eight dimensions of quality?
A) serviceability
B) durability
C) performance
D) value
E) features
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 189
Topic: Business Strategies

66) A car's cruise control, known as a "bell and whistle" is an example of which of the eight
dimensions of quality?
A) performance
B) features
C) reliability
D) durability
E) aesthetics
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 189
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

13
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
67) The focus strategies will likely predominate when many small and medium sized local
companies compete for relatively small shares of the total market in a(n)
A) united industry.
B) fragmented industry.
C) consolidated industry.
D) isolated industry.
E) integrated industry.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 190
Topic: Business Strategies

68) As an industry matures while overcoming fragmentation and becomes dominated by a small
number of large companies, it tends to become a(n)
A) united industry.
B) fragmented industry.
C) consolidated industry.
D) isolated industry.
E) integrated industry.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 190
Topic: Business Strategies

69) A method developed in the mid-1990s as an efficient means to quickly consolidate a


fragmented industry can be referred to as a(n)
A) strategic plan.
B) strategic rollup.
C) cost strategy.
D) differentiation strategy.
E) focus strategy.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 190
Topic: Business Strategies

70) As an industry becomes hypercompetitive, firms initially respond by


A) raising entry barriers.
B) moving into untapped markets.
C) attacking the strongholds of other firms.
D) competing on cost and quality.
E) working their way to a situation of perfect competition.
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 191
Topic: Business Strategies

14
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
71) The book Hypercompetition was written by
A) Porter.
B) Drucker.
C) Mintzberg.
D) Maslow.
E) D'Aveni.
Answer: E
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 191
Topic: Business Strategies

72) The last stage of a hypercompetitive industry is reached when the remaining large global
competitors
A) raise entry barriers.
B) move into untapped markets.
C) attack the strongholds of other firms.
D) compete on cost and quality.
E) work their way to a situation of perfect competition in which no one has any advantage and
profits are minimal.
Answer: E
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 191
Topic: Business Strategies

73) A tactic is defined by the text as


A) a specific operating plan specifying how a strategy is to be implemented in terms of when and
where it is to be put into action.
B) the first company to manufacture and sell a new product or service.
C) any action by a company or business unit that provides a direct or indirect indication of its
intentions, motives, goals, or internal situation.
D) policies which link formulation and implementation of the strategy.
E) the ability to adapt a product or delivery system more closely to buyers' needs.
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 192
Topic: Business Strategies

74) Porter recommends that a division with tight cost control, frequent detailed control reports, a
well structured organization, and quantitatively-based incentives is required for which of the
following generic competitive strategies?
A) focus
B) differentiation
C) overall cost leadership
D) focus differentiation
E) concentration
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 192
Topic: Business Strategies

15
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
75) If it is to be successful, Porter advises that a division possess strong marketing abilities,
product engineering, a creative flair, strong capability in basic research and a corporate
reputation for quality or technological leadership, for which one of the following generic
competitive strategies?
A) focus
B) differentiation
C) overall cost leadership
D) vertical growth
E) concentration
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 192
Topic: Business Strategies

76) Timing tactics answer the question


A) who in the company implements strategy.
B) where the strategy is implemented.
C) what strategy is implemented.
D) when a company implements a strategy.
E) why a company implements a strategy.
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies

77) The first company to manufacture and sell a new product or service is called a(n)
A) opportunist.
B) first mover.
C) cost leader.
D) power broker.
E) ground breaker.
Answer: B
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies

78) Which of the following is NOT an advantage of being a first mover?


A) The company is able to establish a reputation as an industry leader.
B) The company is able to move down the learning curve to assume the cost leader position.
C) A first mover can set the standard for all subsequent products in the industry.
D) Being first provides a company profit advantages for about ten years in consumer goods and
about twelve years in industrial goods.
E) First movers may be able to keep R & D costs low by imitating the technological advances of
others.
Answer: E
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

16
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
79) Which offensive tactic utilizes a head-to-head approach with the firm's competitor by
matching every category of competition from price to promotion to distribution channel?
A) flanking maneuver
B) bypass attack
C) encirclement
D) frontal assault
E) guerilla warfare
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies

80) When Kimberly-Clark introduced Huggies disposable diapers against Procter & Gamble's
market leading Pampers, they were using the offensive tactic known as a(n)
A) flanking maneuver.
B) frontal assault.
C) encirclement.
D) bypass attack.
E) guerilla attack.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Analytic Skills

81) Which tactic deals with where a company implements a strategy?


A) a timing tactic
B) a market location tactic
C) collusion
D) corporate strategy
E) cooperative strategy
Answer: B
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies

82) Which offensive tactic advocates attacking a part of the market where the competitor is
weak?
A) flanking maneuver
B) bypass attack
C) encirclement
D) frontal assault
E) guerilla warfare
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 194
Topic: Business Strategies

17
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
83) Which offensive tactic proposes an indirect approach against the established competitor such
as changing the rules of the game?
A) flanking maneuver
B) bypass attack
C) encirclement
D) frontal assault
E) guerilla warfare
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 194
Topic: Business Strategies

84) When Yamaha entered the market with a broader range of pianos, keyboards, and other
musical instruments, it was using which offensive tactic?
A) flanking maneuver
B) bypass attack
C) encirclement
D) frontal assault
E) guerilla warfare
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 194
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

85) Which of the following is NOT an offensive tactic?


A) frontal assault
B) flanking maneuver
C) guerilla warfare
D) raising structural barriers
E) encirclement
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 193-194
Topic: Business Strategies

86) Which offensive tactic have the microbreweries used against major brewers?
A) flanking maneuver
B) bypass attack
C) encirclement
D) frontal assault
E) guerilla warfare
Answer: E
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 194
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

18
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
87) Which of the following is true of defensive tactics?
A) Defensive tactics aim to lower the probability of attack.
B) Defensive tactics divert attacks to less threatening avenues.
C) Defensive tactics lessen the intensity of an attack.
D) Defensive tactics reduce short-term profitability to ensure long-term profitability.
E) all of the above
Answer: E
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 194
Topic: Business Strategies

88) Which defensive tactic is used by Coca Cola with their offering of unprofitable
noncarbonated beverages to keep competitors off store shelves?
A) guerilla warfare
B) lower the inducement for attack
C) encirclement
D) raise structural barriers
E) increase expected retaliation
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 194
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

89) Which defensive tactic was used by Southwest Airlines when deliberately keeping their
prices low and constantly investing in cost-reducing measures?
A) guerilla warfare
B) lower the inducement for attack
C) encirclement
D) raise structural barriers
E) increase expected retaliation
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 195
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

90) According to Porter, strategies to raise structural barriers include all of the following
EXCEPT
A) tie up suppliers by obtaining exclusive contracts.
B) avoid suppliers that also serve competitors.
C) decrease scale economies.
D) block channel access by signing exclusive agreements.
E) raise buyer switching costs by offering training to users.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 194-195
Topic: Business Strategies

19
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
91) The two general types of cooperative strategies are
A) competitive and functional.
B) collusion and competitive.
C) strategic alliances and collusion.
D) strategic alliances and competitive.
E) competitive and collusive alliances.
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 195
Topic: Business Strategies

92) Which of the following is NOT a reason companies or business units may form a strategic
alliance?
A) To obtain technological and/or manufacturing capabilities.
B) To reduce financial risk.
C) To reduce political risk.
D) To set prices in the industry.
E) To learn new capabilities.
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 196-197
Topic: Business Strategies

93) The kind of strategic alliance in which there is a partnership of similar companies in similar
industries who pool their resources to gain a benefit that is too expensive to develop alone is the
A) joint venture.
B) licensing agreement.
C) value-chain partnership.
D) mutual service consortia.
E) holding company.
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 197
Topic: Business Strategies

94) Which strategy has been used successfully by Yum! Brands to establish KFC and Pizza Hut
restaurants across the globe?
A) joint venture
B) licensing arrangement
C) strategic alliance
D) marketing strategy
E) value-chain partnership
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 198
Topic: Business Strategies
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

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95) The kind of strategic alliance in which a company forms a strong and close long-term
relationship for mutual advantage with a key supplier or distributor is the
A) joint venture.
B) licensing agreement.
C) value-chain partnership.
D) mutual service consortia.
E) holding company.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 198
Topic: Business Strategies

96) Which of the following is NOT considered a strategic alliance success factor?
A) Have a clear strategic purpose.
B) Operate with short term time horizon.
C) Agree on an exit strategy for when the partners' objectives are achieved.
D) Minimize conflicts among the partners by clarifying the objectives.
E) Identify likely partnering risks and deal with them when the alliance is formed.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 199
Topic: Business Strategies

97) What is a propitious niche? Provide an example of a firm that has been able to successfully
occupy a propitious niche.
Answer: A propitious niche is an extremely favorable niche that is so well suited to the firm's
internal and external environment that other corporations are not likely to challenge or dislodge
it. A niche is propitious to the extent that it currently is just large enough for one firm to satisfy
its demand. After a firm has found and filled that niche, it is not worth a potential competitor's
time or money to also go after the same niche.

One company that has successfully found a propitious niche is Frank J. Zamboni & Company,
the manufacturer of the machines that smooth the ice at ice skating rinks. Before the machine
was invented, people had to clean and scrape the ice by hand to prepare the surface for skating.
So long as Zamboni's company is able to produce the machines in the quantity and quality
desired at a reasonable price, it's not worth another company's while to go after Frank J.
Zamboni's propitious niche.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 177-178
Topic: Situational Analysis: SWOT Analysis

98) Explain the four combination strategies that may be generated from the TOWS Matrix.
Answer: The TOWS Matrix results in four combination strategies as follows:
SO Strategies are generated by thinking of ways in which a company or business unit could use
its strengths to take advantage of opportunities.
ST Strategies consider a company's or unit's strengths as a way to avoid threats.
WO Strategies attempt to take advantage of opportunities by overcoming weaknesses.
WT Strategies are basically defensive and primarily act to minimize weaknesses and avoid
threats.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 182-183
Topic: Generating Alternative Strategies by Using a TOWS Matrix
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99) What are Porter's four generic strategies?
Answer: Cost leadership is a lower-cost competitive strategy that aims at the broad mass market
and requires "aggressive construction of efficient facilities, vigorous pursuit of cost reductions
from experience, tight cost and overhead control, avoidance of marginal customer accounts, and
cost minimization in areas like R&D, service, sales force, advertising, and so on." Because of its
lower costs, the cost leader is able to charge a lower price for its products than its competitors
and still make a satisfactory profit.

Differentiation is aimed at the broad mass market and involves the creation of a product or
service that is perceived throughout its industry as unique. The company or business unit may
then charge a premium for its product.

Cost focus is a low-cost competitive strategy that focuses on a particular buyer group or
geographic market and attempts to serve only this niche, to the exclusion of others. In using cost
focus, the company or business unit seeks a cost advantage in its target segment.

Differentiation focus concentrates on a particular buyer group, product line segment, or


geographic market. In using differentiation focus, the company or business unit seeks
differentiation in a targeted market segment.
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185-188
Topic: Business Strategies

100) Discuss the difference between a fragmented and a consolidated industry.


Answer: In a fragmented industry, there are many small- and medium-sized local companies
that compete for relatively small shares of the total market. Focus strategies will likely
predominate in a fragmented industry. Fragmented industries are typical for products in the
early stages of their life cycle. If few economies are to be gained through size, no large firms
will emerge and entry barriers will be low - allowing a stream of new entrants into the industry.

As an industry matures, fragmentation is overcome and the industry tends to become a


consolidated industry dominated by a few large companies. Although many industries begin
fragmented, battles for market share and creative attempts to overcome local or niche market
boundaries often increase the market share of a few companies. After product standards become
established for minimum quality and features, competition shifts to a greater emphasis on cost
and service. Slower growth, overcapacity, and knowledgeable buyers combine to put a premium
on a firm's ability to achieve cost leadership or differentiation along the dimensions most desired
by the market. Research and development shifts from product to process improvements. Overall
product quality improves, and costs are reduced significantly.
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 190
Topic: Business Strategies

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Test Bank for Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy, 12th Edition: Wheelen

101) What are timing tactics?


Answer: A timing tactic deals with when a company implements a strategy. The first company
to manufacture and sell a new product or service is called the first mover (or pioneer). Late
movers may be able to imitate the technological advances of others.
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 193
Topic: Business Strategies

102) Discuss offensive tactics and defensive tactics.


Answer: An offensive tactic usually takes place in an established competitor's market location.
A defensive tactic usually takes place in the firm's own current market position as a defense
against possible attack by a rival. Offensive tactics include frontal assault, flanking maneuver,
bypass attack, encirclement, and guerrilla warfare.

Defensive tactics aim to lower the probability of attack, divert attacks to less threatening
avenues, or lessen the intensity of an attack. They make a company's or business unit's
competitive advantage more sustainable by causing a challenger to conclude that an attack is
unattractive. The tactics include raising structural barriers, increasing expected retaliation, and
lowering the inducement for attack.
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 193-195
Topic: Business Strategies

103) What are cooperative strategies?


Answer: Cooperative strategies are used to gain competitive advantage within an industry by
working with other firms. The two general types of cooperative strategies are collusion and
strategic alliances. Collusion is the active cooperation of firms within an industry to reduce
output and raise prices in order to get around the normal economic law of supply and demand. A
strategic alliance is a partnership of two or more corporations or business units to achieve
strategically significant objectives that are mutually beneficial.
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 195-196
Topic: Business Strategies

104) What are the types of alliances that business can engage in?
Answer: The types of alliances that businesses can engage in include a mutual service consortia,
a joint venture, a licensing arrangement, and a value-chain partnership. A mutual service
consortium is a partnership of similar companies in similar industries that pool their resources to
gain a benefit that is too expensive to develop alone. A joint venture is a "cooperative business
activity, formed by two or more separate organizations for strategic purposes, that creates an
independent business entity and allocates ownership, operational responsibilities, and financial
risks and rewards to each member, while preserving their separate identity/autonomy". A
licensing arrangement is an agreement in which the licensing firm grants rights to another firm in
another country or market to produce and/or sell a product. The licensee pays compensation to
the licensing firm in return for technical expertise. A value-chain partnership is a strong and
close alliance in which one company or unit forms a long-term arrangement with a key supplier
or distributor for mutual advantage.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 197-198
Topic: Business Strategies

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