MBA 6020 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE &
PRACTICE TEST (2026/2027)
Initial Public Offering (IPO) - ANS ✔✔The first time a firm makes shares available via a public
stock exchange, also known as "going public".
Internet of Things (IOT) - ANS ✔✔A vision where low-cost sensors, processors, and
communication are embedded into a wide array of products and our environment, allowing a
vast network to collect data, analyze input, and automatically coordinate collective action.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) - ANS ✔✔U.S. legislation enacted in the wake of the accounting
scandals of the early 2000s. The act raises executive and board responsibility and ties criminal
penalties to certain accounting and financial violations. Although often criticized, SOX is also
seen as raising stakes for mismanagement and misdeeds related to a firm's accounting
practices.
Sustainable Competitive Advantage - ANS ✔✔Financial performance that consistently
outperforms industry averages
Operational Effectiveness - ANS ✔✔Performing the same tasks better than rivals perform them
Commodity - ANS ✔✔A basic good that can be interchanged with nearly identical offerings by
others—think milk, coal, orange juice, or to a lesser extent, Windows PCs and Android phones.
The more commoditized an offering, the greater the likelihood that competition will be based
on price.
Fast Follower Problem - ANS ✔✔Exists when savvy rivals watch a pioneer's efforts, learn from
their successes and missteps, then enter the market quickly with a comparable or superior
product at a lower cost before the first mover can dominate.
, Augmented Reality - ANS ✔✔A technology that superimposes content, such as images and
animation, on top of real-world images.
Strategic Positioning - ANS ✔✔Performing different tasks than rivals, or the same tasks in a
different way.
Inventory Turns - ANS ✔✔Sometimes referred to as inventory turnover, stock turns, or stock
turnover. It is the number of times inventory is sold or used during a given period. A higher
figure means that a firm is selling products quickly.
Straddling - ANS ✔✔Attempts to occupy more than one position, while failing to match the
benefits of a more efficient, singularly focused rival.
Resource-Based View of Competitive Advantage - ANS ✔✔The strategic thinking approach
suggesting that if a firm is to maintain sustainable competitive advantage, it must control an
exploitable resource, or set of resources, that have four critical characteristics. These resources
must be (1) valuable, (2) rare, (3) imperfectly imitable, and (4) nonsubstitutable.
Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) - ANS ✔✔A technology that increases the
transmission capacity (and hence speed) of fiber-optic cable. Transmissions using fiber are
accomplished by transmitting light inside "glass" cables. In DWDM, the light inside fiber is split
into different wavelengths in a way similar to how a prism splits light into different colors.
Imitation-Resistant Value Chain - ANS ✔✔A way of doing business that competitors struggle to
replicate and that frequently involves technology in a key enabling role.
Value Chain - ANS ✔✔The set of activities through which a product or service is created and
delivered to customers.
Virtual Marketing - ANS ✔✔Leveraging consumers to promote a product or service.
PRACTICE TEST (2026/2027)
Initial Public Offering (IPO) - ANS ✔✔The first time a firm makes shares available via a public
stock exchange, also known as "going public".
Internet of Things (IOT) - ANS ✔✔A vision where low-cost sensors, processors, and
communication are embedded into a wide array of products and our environment, allowing a
vast network to collect data, analyze input, and automatically coordinate collective action.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) - ANS ✔✔U.S. legislation enacted in the wake of the accounting
scandals of the early 2000s. The act raises executive and board responsibility and ties criminal
penalties to certain accounting and financial violations. Although often criticized, SOX is also
seen as raising stakes for mismanagement and misdeeds related to a firm's accounting
practices.
Sustainable Competitive Advantage - ANS ✔✔Financial performance that consistently
outperforms industry averages
Operational Effectiveness - ANS ✔✔Performing the same tasks better than rivals perform them
Commodity - ANS ✔✔A basic good that can be interchanged with nearly identical offerings by
others—think milk, coal, orange juice, or to a lesser extent, Windows PCs and Android phones.
The more commoditized an offering, the greater the likelihood that competition will be based
on price.
Fast Follower Problem - ANS ✔✔Exists when savvy rivals watch a pioneer's efforts, learn from
their successes and missteps, then enter the market quickly with a comparable or superior
product at a lower cost before the first mover can dominate.
, Augmented Reality - ANS ✔✔A technology that superimposes content, such as images and
animation, on top of real-world images.
Strategic Positioning - ANS ✔✔Performing different tasks than rivals, or the same tasks in a
different way.
Inventory Turns - ANS ✔✔Sometimes referred to as inventory turnover, stock turns, or stock
turnover. It is the number of times inventory is sold or used during a given period. A higher
figure means that a firm is selling products quickly.
Straddling - ANS ✔✔Attempts to occupy more than one position, while failing to match the
benefits of a more efficient, singularly focused rival.
Resource-Based View of Competitive Advantage - ANS ✔✔The strategic thinking approach
suggesting that if a firm is to maintain sustainable competitive advantage, it must control an
exploitable resource, or set of resources, that have four critical characteristics. These resources
must be (1) valuable, (2) rare, (3) imperfectly imitable, and (4) nonsubstitutable.
Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) - ANS ✔✔A technology that increases the
transmission capacity (and hence speed) of fiber-optic cable. Transmissions using fiber are
accomplished by transmitting light inside "glass" cables. In DWDM, the light inside fiber is split
into different wavelengths in a way similar to how a prism splits light into different colors.
Imitation-Resistant Value Chain - ANS ✔✔A way of doing business that competitors struggle to
replicate and that frequently involves technology in a key enabling role.
Value Chain - ANS ✔✔The set of activities through which a product or service is created and
delivered to customers.
Virtual Marketing - ANS ✔✔Leveraging consumers to promote a product or service.
