BMGT 301 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS 100% CORRECT
Operational Effectiveness - ANSWER-performing the same tasks better than rivals
perform them
Strategic positioning - ANSWER-performing different tasks than your rivals, or
performing the same tasks in a different way
Competitive advantage - ANSWER-The ability for a firm to outperform its competitors in
financial measures
Sustainable competitive advantage - ANSWER-A factor or set of factors can lead to
sustainable advantage if VRIS (valuable, rare, cannot imitate, and hard to substitute)
Resource Based View of Competitive Advantage - ANSWER-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 (VRIS)
Tangible Resources - ANSWER-Factories, products, raw materials
Intangible Resources - ANSWER-Reputation, technology (patents, copyrights)
Capabilities - ANSWER-a subset of resources that enable a firm to take full advantage
of other resources
Imitation-resistant value chain - ANSWER-a strategic way of doing business that is
difficult for competitors to replicate
VRIS - ANSWER-Valuable, rare, hard to imitate, hard to substitute
Switching Costs - ANSWER-the cost a consumer incurs when moving from one product
to another
Differentiation - ANSWER-Be the first one there (first mover advantage versus fast
follower), product differentiation
Vertical differentiation - ANSWER-build a better product; products differ in quality (Civic
vs. Acura)
Horizontal differentiation - ANSWER-Position yourself in "product space" away from
your competitors; used to appeal to distinct group of customers (red vs. blue cars)
, Value chain - ANSWER-the set of activities through which a product or service is
created and delivered to customers
Primary activities of the value chain - ANSWER-Inbound logistics, operations, outbound
logistics, marketing & sales, service
Supporting activities of the value chain - ANSWER-Firm infrastructure, human resource
management, technology development, procurement
Porter's Competitive Forces Model - ANSWER-The intensity or rivalry among existing
competitors, threat of new entrants, bargaining power of customers, threat of
substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers
Netflix - ANSWER-atoms to bits, strong customer service, strong customer satisfaction
Long tail - ANSWER-refers to the large number of products available through
conventional retail stores, an extremely large selection of content or products, firms can
make money by offering a near limitless selection
Collaborative filtering - ANSWER-a classification of software that monitors trends
among customers and uses this data to personalize an individual's customer experience
(cinematch)
Churn rate - ANSWER-the rate at which customers leave a product or service
Windowing - ANSWER-an industry practice whereby content (usually a motion picture)
is available to a given distribution channel for a specified time period usually under a
different revenue model (usually ticket sale, license fee, etc.)
Indirect costs - ANSWER-training, support, maintenance
Technological leap-frogging - ANSWER-competing by offering a new technology that is
so superior to existing offerings
Strategies for competing in markets with networks effects - ANSWER-Move early,
subsidize product adoption, leverage viral promotion, expand by redefining the market
to bring in new categories of users or through convergence, alliances and partnerships,
distribution channels
Web 2.0 - ANSWER-internet services that foster collaboration and information sharing,
went from push to pull
Web 1.0 - ANSWER-static, transaction-oriented websites
AND ANSWERS 100% CORRECT
Operational Effectiveness - ANSWER-performing the same tasks better than rivals
perform them
Strategic positioning - ANSWER-performing different tasks than your rivals, or
performing the same tasks in a different way
Competitive advantage - ANSWER-The ability for a firm to outperform its competitors in
financial measures
Sustainable competitive advantage - ANSWER-A factor or set of factors can lead to
sustainable advantage if VRIS (valuable, rare, cannot imitate, and hard to substitute)
Resource Based View of Competitive Advantage - ANSWER-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 (VRIS)
Tangible Resources - ANSWER-Factories, products, raw materials
Intangible Resources - ANSWER-Reputation, technology (patents, copyrights)
Capabilities - ANSWER-a subset of resources that enable a firm to take full advantage
of other resources
Imitation-resistant value chain - ANSWER-a strategic way of doing business that is
difficult for competitors to replicate
VRIS - ANSWER-Valuable, rare, hard to imitate, hard to substitute
Switching Costs - ANSWER-the cost a consumer incurs when moving from one product
to another
Differentiation - ANSWER-Be the first one there (first mover advantage versus fast
follower), product differentiation
Vertical differentiation - ANSWER-build a better product; products differ in quality (Civic
vs. Acura)
Horizontal differentiation - ANSWER-Position yourself in "product space" away from
your competitors; used to appeal to distinct group of customers (red vs. blue cars)
, Value chain - ANSWER-the set of activities through which a product or service is
created and delivered to customers
Primary activities of the value chain - ANSWER-Inbound logistics, operations, outbound
logistics, marketing & sales, service
Supporting activities of the value chain - ANSWER-Firm infrastructure, human resource
management, technology development, procurement
Porter's Competitive Forces Model - ANSWER-The intensity or rivalry among existing
competitors, threat of new entrants, bargaining power of customers, threat of
substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers
Netflix - ANSWER-atoms to bits, strong customer service, strong customer satisfaction
Long tail - ANSWER-refers to the large number of products available through
conventional retail stores, an extremely large selection of content or products, firms can
make money by offering a near limitless selection
Collaborative filtering - ANSWER-a classification of software that monitors trends
among customers and uses this data to personalize an individual's customer experience
(cinematch)
Churn rate - ANSWER-the rate at which customers leave a product or service
Windowing - ANSWER-an industry practice whereby content (usually a motion picture)
is available to a given distribution channel for a specified time period usually under a
different revenue model (usually ticket sale, license fee, etc.)
Indirect costs - ANSWER-training, support, maintenance
Technological leap-frogging - ANSWER-competing by offering a new technology that is
so superior to existing offerings
Strategies for competing in markets with networks effects - ANSWER-Move early,
subsidize product adoption, leverage viral promotion, expand by redefining the market
to bring in new categories of users or through convergence, alliances and partnerships,
distribution channels
Web 2.0 - ANSWER-internet services that foster collaboration and information sharing,
went from push to pull
Web 1.0 - ANSWER-static, transaction-oriented websites
