Test Bank For M Management 3rd Edition by Bateman

3 Student: ___________________________________________________________________________ 1. Open systems are all relevant forces outside a firm’s boundaries. True False 2. All organizations operate in a macroenvironment. True False 3. The immediate environment surrounding a firm including suppliers, customers, rivals, and the like is called the macroenvironment. True False 4. Competition is most intense when there are few direct competitors, industry growth is fast, and the product or service varies True False 5. When an industry matures, profits drop. True False 6. Intense competition causes an industry shakeout. True False 7. If there are many barriers to entry the threat of new entrants is greater. True False 8. Brand identification is a barrier to entry. True False 9. A complement is a potential threat because customers use it as an alternative, buying less of one kind of product but more of another. True False 10. A supplier is powerful if the buyer has few other sources of supply or if the supplier has many other buyers. True False 11. Switching costs are variable costs consumers face if they change brands. True False 12. Many companies improve their competitiveness and profitability through switching costs. True False 13. Environmental uncertainty means that managers do not have enough information about the environment to understand or predict the future. True False 14. Dynamism is the number of issues to which a manager must attend, and the degree to which they are interconnected. True False 15. Environmental scanning predicts exactly how some variable or variables will change in the future. True False 16. Forecasts are most useful when the future will look radically different from the past. True False 17. Benchmarking means identifying the best-in-class performance by a company in a given area and then comparing your processes with theirs. True False 18. Smoothing is creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs. True False 19. Buffering is a method for adapting the technical core to changes in the environment. True False 20. Exploiting a distinctive competence or improving internal efficiency for competitive advantage is known as competitive aggression. True False 21. Cooptation means absorbing new elements into the organization’s leadership structure to avert threats to its stability or existence. True False 22. Entering a new market or industry with existing expertise is known as divestiture. True False 23. Some companies, called prospectors are more likely than others to engage in strategic maneuvering. True False 24. Defenders pertain to conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry. True False 25. The dominant attributes of an adhocracy are order, rules and regulations, uniformity, and efficiency. True False 26. Organizations that are affected by, and that affect, their environment are called: A. oligopolies. B. pyramids. C. open systems. D. matrix organizations. E. ecologies. 27. All relevant forces outside a firm’s boundaries, such as competitors, customers, the government, and the economy are referred to as _____. A. external environment B. open systems C. relative constraints D. physical noise E. competitive bodies 28. Advances in genetic engineering are expected to produce some food products that will become available year-round even in northern climates. These changes will provide grocers with an opportunity to reduce their shipping costs while at the same time, offering fresher produce to their customers. These advances are examples of changes in the: A. technological environment. B. economic environment. C. political environment. D. demographic environment. E. international environment. 29. The immediate environment surrounding a firm including suppliers, customers, and rivals is known as _____. A. macroenvironment B. external environment C. competitive environment D. demographics E. proximal climate 30. Margaret Pane, a new manager at The Royal Deli, has been asked to focus on the competitive environment of the organization. Which of these factors is among those that Margaret Pane should focus on? A. Government policies B. Demographics C. Suppliers D. Technology E. Social factors 31. A popular low-cost airline, Sky Cruiser, has gone out of business. Although the service and price provided by the airline was what customers wanted, the larger airlines were able to drive the low-cost airline out of business through an aggressive price war. Which aspect of the competitive environment does this illustrate? A. Customers B. Competitors C. Regulators D. The economy E. Threat of new entrants 32. _____ occurs when weaker companies are eliminated, and the strong companies survive. A. Cannibalization B. Downsizing C. Scaffolding D. Industry shakeout E. Segmentation 33. Conditions that prevent new companies from setting foot in an industry are known as _____. A. demographics B. industry shakeouts C. scaffolding D. zero-profit conditions E. barriers to entry 34. Which of the following is a common barrier to entry? A. Brand identification B. Final consumer C. Bargaining power of buyers D. Demographics E. Switching costs 35. A customer who purchases products in their finished form is _____ consumer. A. an immediate B. a final C. an alpha D. a complete E. a suave 36. Hospitals and universities are very expensive to run because of the capital and equipments required. The requirement of personnel such as specialized medical doctors and researchers are also high. Which of the following is this an example of? A. Protectionism B. Buffering C. Barriers to entry D. Smoothing E. Absolute threshold 37. Kegg’s Cereals is a major supplier to almost all grocery store chains. It has most of the valuable shelf space in the cereal aisle. Which of the following is true based on this information? A. There are few entry barriers. B. Government regulation of cereal is high. C. The threat of new entrants is low. D. Competitors have the larger market share. E. Customers have high bargaining power. 38. The main difference between a final consumer and an intermediate consumer is that the final consumer: A. pays cash. B. uses products himself. C. purchases more than intermediate consumers. D. is not as flexible as an intermediate consumer. E. does not have any bargaining power. 39. Ted Inc. traditionally provides sub-contracting services to construction firms. There are many firms like Ted Inc. in the marketplace but it does about 85% of the work for Will's Construction. Will typically negotiates quite heavily reducing Ted's profits. This situation is indicative of the high bargaining power of: A. customers. B. suppliers. C. substitute companies. D. competitors. E. complementary firms. 40. Wealth and Wealth Bank utilizes the janitorial services of Rob's Scrub-All to keep their buildings clean. Rob's provides all the necessary cleaning supplies, training, background security checks (since the crew works after hours) and all other associated expenses. The other available janitorial services do not typically provide security checks and a client such as a bank would have to hire guards to watch the work of the janitors. This expense effectively limits the bank to utilizing only Rob's services. Which of the following does this illustrate? A. High employment costs B. Unfavorable supplier status C. High switching costs D. Favorable quality status E. Complementary products 41. _____ means that managers do not have enough information needed to understand or predict the future. A. Competitive intelligence B. Environmental uncertainty C. Minimization D. Disinformation E. Observational inadequacy 42. _____ refers to searching for information that is unavailable to most people and sorting through that information to interpret what is important. A. Competitive skimming B. Data classification C. Environmental scanning D. Knowledge browsing E. Information foraging 43. _____ is the information that helps managers determine how to do better than others. A. Business acumen B. Lift coefficient C. Hidden agenda D. Competitive intelligence E. Gini index 44. In an attempt to improve customer service, Tailpin Toys decided to assign a team to investigate the kinds of services offered by competing companies. The team discovered that a smaller company, Nuance Games, seemed to have outstanding customer service. The team then determined the major differences between the two companies and developed a plan to incorporate the best elements of Nuance Games into Tailpin Toys. Which of the following does this illustrate? A. Environmental dynamism B. Benchmarking C. Strategic maneuvering D. Cooperative action E. Forecasting 45. _____ is the process of sharing authority with employees to enhance their confidence in their ability to perform their jobs and contribute to the organization. A. Empowerment B. Licensing C. Vetoing D. Endorsement E. Concurrence 46. Which of the following approaches should an organization adopt for managing uncertainty in a complex and stable environment? A. Decentralized, organic with mutual adjustment B. Decentralized, bureaucratic with standardized skills C. Centralized, bureaucratic with standardized work processes D. Centralized, organic with direct supervision E. Centralized, organic with mutual adjustment 47. Which of the following approaches should an organization adopt for managing uncertainty in a complex and dynamic environment? A. Centralized, bureaucratic with standardized work processes B. Decentralized, bureaucratic with standardized skills C. Decentralized, organic with mutual adjustment D. Centralized, organic with direct supervision E. Centralized, organic with mutual adjustment 48. Which of the following approaches should an organization adopt for managing uncertainty in a simple and stable environment? A. Centralized, organic with direct supervision B. Decentralized, bureaucratic with standardized skills C. Decentralized, organic with mutual adjustment D. Centralized, bureaucratic with standardized work processes E. Centralized, organic with mutual adjustment 49. Which of the following approaches should an organization adopt for managing uncertainty in a simple and dynamic environment? A. Centralized, organic with mutual adjustment B. Decentralized, bureaucratic with standardized skills C. Decentralized, organic with mutual adjustment D. Centralized, bureaucratic with standardized work processes E. Centralized, organic with direct supervision 50. A decentralized, bureaucratic approach with standardized skills for managing uncertainty is ideal for which of the following environments? A. Stable and complex B. Complex and dynamic C. Simple and stable D. Dynamic and simple E. Stable and dynamic 51. A decentralized, organic approach with mutual adjustment for managing uncertainty is ideal for which of the following environments? A. Stable and complex B. Complex and dynamic C. Simple and stable D. Dynamic and simple E. Stable and dynamic 52. A centralized, organic approach with direct supervision for managing uncertainty is ideal for which of the following environments? A. Stable and complex B. Complex and dynamic C. Dynamic and simple D. Simple and stable E. Stable and dynamic 53. A centralized, bureaucratic approach with standardized work processes for managing uncertainty is ideal for which of the following environments? A. Stable and complex B. Complex and dynamic C. Dynamic and simple D. Simple and stable E. Stable and dynamic 54. Creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs is called A. hoarding B. smoothing C. yielding D. flocking E. buffering 55. Clara owns a small gift shop in Carolina. She hopes the economy will rebound this fall as she has to order her Christmas merchandise and other holiday gifts in February. She wants to make sure she has enough goods for the surge in sales that the holiday season usually brings to her retail store. Here, Clara is using _____ to be sure she has enough gifts for those extra customers that she hopes will brave the economic woes and shop for holiday presents. A. substitutes B. smoothing C. complements D. buffering E. demographics 56. The growth of contingent workers in the U.S. labor force due to unpredictable labor demand is an illustration of: A. adapting at the core. B. flexible processes. C. buffering. D. smoothing. E. empowerment. 57. When Nancy’s Yogurt Company acts on its own to promote the yogurt industry as a whole, the company is practicing: A. competitive aggression. B. competitive pacification. C. public relations. D. voluntary cooptation. E. cooperative action. 58. When Musk advertises its soap products as better than Pearl soap products, Musk is demonstrating: A. competitive aggression. B. competitive pacification. C. benchmarking. D. smoothing. E. cooptation. 59. _____ is leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the environment. A. Smoothing B. Buffering C. Sifting D. Flexing E. Skirting 60. _____ are methods for adapting the technical core to changes in the environment. A. Supply chain actions B. Flexible processes C. Independent strategies D. Cooperative strategies E. Technical acquisitions 61. _____ are approaches that an organization acting on its own uses to change some aspect of its current environment. A. Flexible processes B. Forecasting methods C. Independent strategies D. Benchmarking procedures E. Buffering techniques 62. Higher Wisdom University has just formed a board of trustees and invited 25 of its wealthiest alumni to join. Which of the following is the university adopting? A. Smoothing B. Cooptation C. Competitive intelligence D. Divestiture E. Scaffolding 63. Lindsay Pharmacy and Allwell Medicines have joined forces with one another to lobby for health care reform. This action of the two companies is referred to as: A. merger. B. coalition. C. domain selection. D. benchmarking. E. competitive aggression. 64. Domain selection, diversification, mergers/acquisitions and divestitures are all examples of: A. cooperative strategies. B. voluntary action. C. strategic maneuvering. D. independent strategies. E. competitive pacification. 65. Meatorganics announced that it was selling off its pork division in order to realign itself more competitively in the marketing of its other products. This is an example of managing the task environment through: A. diversification. B. acquisition. C. merger. D. divestiture. E. domain selection. 66. Which of the following is a way of redefining the boundaries of an environment a firm is in? A. Independent action B. Domain selection C. Cooptation D. Buffering E. Smoothing 67. _____ is an organization’s conscious efforts to change the boundaries of its task environment. A. Independent action B. Cooperative strategy C. Strategic maneuvering D. Public relations E. Flexible process 68. _____ occurs when a company sells one or more businesses. A. Diversification B. Cooptation C. Acquisition D. Divestiture E. Merger 69. _____ are companies that continuously change the boundaries for their task environments by seeking new products and markets, diversifying and merging, or acquiring new enterprises. A. Defenders B. Wanderers C. Transformers D. Prospectors E. Divergers 70. _____ are companies that stay within a stable product domain as a strategic maneuver. A. Convergers B. Accommodators C. Protectors D. Sponsors E. Defenders 71. An organization’s _____ refers to all relevant forces inside a firm’s boundaries, such as its managers, employees, resources, and organizational culture. A. internal environment B. competitive environment C. macroenvironment D. demographics E. open systems 72. _____ is the set of assumptions about the organization and its goals and practices that members of the company share. A. Competitive intelligence B. Systemic perception C. Organization culture D. Inductive bias E. Scientific management 73. The five-by-eight inch card with one rule on it—Use good judgment in all situations—that employees at Envytech receive along with the employee handbook tells the employees a great deal about their company's: A. visible artifacts. B. voluntary actions. C. organization culture. D. competitive aggression. E. macroenvironment. 74. _____ are the components of an organization that can be seen and heard, such as office layout, dress, orientation, stories, and written material. A. Incendiaries B. Visible artifacts C. Perceived assimilations D. Organizational divestitures E. Apparitions 75. Which of the following is the first level of organizational culture? A. Unconscious assumptions B. Values C. Desirable behaviors D. Visible artifacts E. Intangible beliefs 76. _____ are the underlying qualities and desirable behaviors that are important to the organization. A. Traits B. Ethics C. Norms D. Benchmarks E. Values 77. Which of the following is the deepest level of organizational culture? A. Unconscious assumptions B. Values C. Desirable behaviors D. Individual talents E. Ancillary activities 78. Which of the following can be a useful clue about an organization’s culture? A. Who is hired and fired B. Information printed in the media C. The macroenvironment D. Environmental scanning E. The industrial environment 79. Which of the following leadership styles is associated with a hierarchical culture? A. Coordinator, organizer B. Production and achievement-oriented C. Risk taker D. Innovator, entrepreneur E. Mentor, facilitator, parent figure 80. If an organization's culture is externally oriented and focused on control with its primary objectives as productivity, planning and efficiency, it could best be described as a _____ culture. A. group B. hierarchical C. rational D. adhocracy E. values-oriented 81. What are open systems? 82. List the five elements of a firm's macroenvironment and illustrate how each affects the firm. 83. Immigration patterns influence the management of the U.S. labor force. Discuss. 84. Provide an example and explain the effect of a social trend on the management of a specific organization. 85. Describe the five forces in a competitive environment. 86. List the actions and attitudes that reflect excellent customer service. Illustrate each from your own experiences as either a customer or a service provider. 87. Differentiate between unattractive and attractive competitive environments using Porter’s Model of competitive environment and give an example for each situation. 88. As environmental uncertainty increases, managers must develop techniques and methods for collecting, sorting through, and interpreting information about the environment. Discuss four of these methods explaining when and why each would be used. 89. To respond to their environment, managers and companies have a number of options, which can be grouped into three categories. Describe each category. 90. Summarize the four different approaches that organizations can take in adapting to environmental uncertainty. 91. Discuss three independent strategies that a firm may use as a proactive response to its environment. 92. Differentiate between the following four strategic maneuvers: domain selection, diversification, merger and acquisition, and divestiture. 93. Discuss the clues utilized to diagnose a culture. 94. Describe the culture of an organization in which you have either worked or studied. Which of the four types of organizational culture described in the chapter does the organization illustrate? Justify your answer. 95. What are the approaches to managing culture effectively? Scenario A. Use the information in the following list to answer the four questions that follow. Alice’s Antique Jewelry is a small store that specializes in antique jewelry. In analyzing the environment, Alice has uncovered several interesting findings: 1. Alice has recently purchased more inventory than in the past. Her customers are selling most of their jewelry because their children are not interested in this type of jewelry. Also, these customers would prefer to liquidate their jewelry to help them with their daily expenses since they no longer wear most of it. 2. Alice has recently discovered that her business is in a historical preservation district so as she considers remodeling the shop, she has found she must pay attention to the guidelines set forth in the governing laws. 3. Alice’s buyer-customer base seems to be changing. The tastes of the younger generation near her shop are shifting to modern jewelry so the customer base to which she sells is shrinking. 4. Alice has been told that she should investigate selling her inventory via the Internet, but she does not own (or understand how to use) a computer. 5. In reading a survey of regional business, Alice discovered that there are no other antique jewelry stores within a 200 mile radius of hers. 96. Given the information in Scenario A, which of the following elements of the macroenvironment was part of Alice’s findings? A. Sustainability B. Psychology C. Corporate laws D. Sociology E. Technology 97. When Alice read the survey of regional businesses, she was investigating: A. the competitive environment. B. the macroenvironment. C. a closed environment. D. their internal environment. E. the social environment. 98. Findings 1 and 3 are both associated with the: A. competitive environment as described by Porter. B. macroenvironmental economic trends. C. macroenvironmental political trends. D. amount of rivalry in Alice's competitive environment. E. barriers to entry in Alice's competitive environment. 99. Finding 2 is most closely associated with which element of the macroenvironment? A. laws and regulations B. the economy C. demographics D. technology E. the natural environment Scenario B. Use the information in the following paragraph to answer the questions that follow. You and a fellow investor are investigating the possibility of starting a new casino in Black Hawk, Colorado, a small town in the Rocky Mountains. It has been your lifelong dream. You have won the lottery and are trying to decide if this is what you want to do with your prize money. You decide to do an analysis of the competitive environment. After your analysis, you discover several important issues. First, it will cost most of your lottery winnings to finance a casino in Black Hawk! Second, it will be difficult to attract new customers because they have so many choices available to them in Black Hawk and the surrounding small towns. Finally, the competition in the casino industry is considered "fierce" by industry analysts and this is frightening to someone who has never even worked in the casino industry. 100.The analysis of the competitive environment that you have conducted utilized the work of: A. Frederick Taylor. B. Michael Porter. C. Abraham Maslow. D. Douglas McGregor. E. Lillian Gilbreth. 101.The information that you have collected in your competitive analysis can be referred to as: A. forecasting. B. competitive intelligence. C. environmental scanning. D. benchmarking. E. scenario development. 102.The existence of savvy customers in an industry is an indication of: A. high bargaining power of suppliers. B. low bargaining power of suppliers. C. high bargaining power of customers. D. low bargaining power of customers. E. low threat of new entry. 103.The fact that it will require such a large capital investment to start a new casino is an example of which of the following factors? A. high bargaining power of customers B. low threat of new entrants C. high threat of new entrants D. many substitute products E. low bargaining power of customers Scenario C. Use the information in the following paragraph to answer the questions that follow. Smash Marketing is a consulting firm located in the Midwest. Mr. William “Bill” Smash started the firm as a young man in the early 1950s. The firm has grown but with growth, the Smash employees have never forgotten the vision of Mr. Smash—to be creative in all they do while delighting the client. Each year the Smash Award for Advertising Creativity is given to the employee who most exemplifies Mr. Smash’s vision. New employees are told of the organization's greatest accomplishments and are taken on a tour of the “Wall of Memories” where pictures of the company that have been taken over the years are hung. One is even included to remind everyone of the disastrous fire that the company not only survived but also built upon to strengthen the sense of teamwork clearly evident throughout the firm. In fact, there is a long tradition of employee participation in decision making and all consider themselves to be part of the “Smash Family.” 104.The photo of the fire is an example of a: A. story. B. value. C. legend. D. symbol. E. rite. 105.When the new employees are told of the organization's great accomplishments and history, it is an example of a(n): A. mission statement. B. official goal. C. story. D. ceremony. E. rite. 106.The culture at Smash Marketing can best be described as a(n): A. group culture. B. hierarchical culture. C. rational culture. D. adhocracy. E. team culture. 107.Based on the information in the above scenario, which of the following outcomes would you most expect if business drops off dramatically for Smash Marketing? A. Mr. Smash would lay off most of his workforce. B.The members of the entire company would agree that they should each cut their hours by 15% so that no one is laid off. C. Mr. Smash would sell the company and move to Hawaii. D. The members of the company would go on strike. E. Mr. Smash would charge more for the consulting services so that he can make ends meet. Scenario D. Use the information in the following paragraph to answer the four questions that follow. Margarita works for a small company, which processes and cans tomatoes and other vegetables. She reports to the CFO. It is her job to predict the costs of raw materials for the next five years. She uses various research sources including the news to learn who the competition is and what they have been doing. In fact she subscribes to an analyst e-newsletter that tells her about crop availability and weather conditions all around the globe. Every month she develops a spreadsheet for her boss indicating the type of weather conditions expected in each area of the world and thus the availability of particular crops and likely costs of these vegetables. She is also involved in a team that is investigating how to cut canning costs. They have recently met with Good Cans, a company that manufactures and cans tennis balls. Good Cans is considered the top company in the canning industry, especially around canning process knowledge and Margarita’s team is comparing their processes to those of Good Cans to see how they might improve. 108.When predicting the costs for her company, Margarita is engaging in: A. forecasting. B. competitive intelligence. C. environmental scanning. D. benchmarking. E. scenario development. 109.The research Margarita is using is called: A. forecasting. B. competitive intelligence. C. environmental scanning. D. benchmarking. E. scenario development. 110.The spreadsheet that Margarita uses gives her a chance to use: A. forecasting. B. competitive intelligence. C. environmental scanning. D. benchmarking. E. scenario development. 111.Margarita and her team are using _____ when they learn from Good Cans about its canning process. A. forecasting B. competitive intelligence C. environmental scanning D. benchmarking E. scenario development 3 Key 1. Open systems are all relevant forces outside a firm’s boundaries. (p. 42) FALSE Organizations are open systems—that is, they are affected by and in turn affect their external environments. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #1 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-01 Describe the five elements of an organization’ s macroenvironment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Organizational Environment and Culture 2. All organizations operate in a macroenvironment. (p. 42) TRUE All organizations operate in a macroenvironment, which includes the general elements in the external environment that potentially can influence strategic decisions. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #2 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-01 Describe the five elements of an organization’ s macroenvironment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Macroenvironment 3. The immediate environment surrounding a firm including suppliers, customers, rivals, and the like is (p. 48) called the macroenvironment. FALSE The immediate environment surrounding a firm including suppliers, customers, rivals, and the like is called the competitive environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #3 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Competitive Environment 4. Competition is most intense when there are few direct competitors, industry growth is fast, and the (p. 49) product or service varies FALSE Competition is most intense when there are many direct competitiors (including global contenders), industry growth is slow, and the product or service cannot be differentiated. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #4 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium Topic: The Competitive Environment 5. (p. 49) 6. (p. 49) When an industry matures, profits drop. TRUE When an industry matures and growth slows, profits drop. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #5 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium 7. (p. 49-50) If there are many barriers to entry the threat of new entrants is greater. FALSE Intense competition causes an industry shakeout. TRUE Topic: The Competitive Environment Intense competition causes an industry shakeout: weaker companies are eliminated, and the strong companies survive. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #6 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium Topic: The Competitive Environment 8. (p. 50) Brand identification is a barrier to entry. TRUE If many factors prevent new companies from entering an industry, the threat to established firms is less serious. If there are few such barriers to entry, the threat of new entrants is greater. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #7 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium Topic: The Competitive Environment 9. (p. 51) Brand identification is a barrier to entry. When customers are loyal to a familiar brand, new entrants have to spend heavily. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #8 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Competitive Environment A complement is a potential threat because customers use it as an alternative, buying less of one kind of product but more of another. FALSE A complement is a potential opportunity because customers buy more of a given product if they also demand more of the complementary product. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #9 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium Topic: The Competitive Environment 10. A supplier is powerful if the buyer has few other sources of supply or if the supplier has many other (p. 52) buyers. TRUE Organizations are at a disadvantage if they become overly dependent on any powerful supplier. A supplier is powerful if the buyer has few other sources of supply or if the supplier has many other buyers. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #10 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium 11. Switching costs are variable costs consumers face if they change brands. (p. 52) FALSE Switching costs are fixed costs buyers face if they change suppliers. Topic: The Competitive Environment AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #11 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Competitive Environment 12. Many companies improve their competitiveness and profitability through switching costs. (p. 52) FALSE In recent years many companies have improved their competitiveness and profitability through supply chain management. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #12 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Competitive Environment 13. Environmental uncertainty means that managers do not have enough information about the (p. 53) environment to understand or predict the future. TRUE Environmental uncertainty means that managers do not have enough information about the environment to understand or predict the future. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #13 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-03 Understand how managers stay on top of changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Keep Up with Changes in the Environment 14. Dynamism is the number of issues to which a manager must attend, and the degree to which they are (p. 53) interconnected. FALSE Dynamism is the degree of discontinuous change that occurs within the industry. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #14 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-03 Understand how managers stay on top of changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Keep Up with Changes in the Environment 15. Environmental scanning predicts exactly how some variable or variables will change in the future. (p. 53) FALSE Environmental scanning includes searching for and sorting through information about the environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #15 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-03 Understand how managers stay on top of changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Keep Up with Changes in the Environment 16. Forecasts are most useful when the future will look radically different from the past. (p. 54) TRUE Forecasts are most useful when the future will look radically different from the past. Unfortunately that is when forecasts tend to be less accurate. The more things change, the less confidence we have in our forecasts. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #16 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-03 Understand how managers stay on top of changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium Topic: Keep Up with Changes in the Environment 17. Benchmarking means identifying the best-in-class performance by a company in a given area and then (p. 54) comparing your processes with theirs. TRUE Benchmarking means identifying the best-in-class performance by a company in a given area—say, product development or customer service—and then comparing your processes with theirs. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #17 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-03 Understand how managers stay on top of changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Keep Up with Changes in the Environment 18. Smoothing is creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs. (p. 55) FALSE Buffering is creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #18 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 19. Buffering is a method for adapting the technical core to changes in the environment. (p. 56) FALSE Flexible processes are methods for adapting the technical core to changes in the environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #19 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 20. Exploiting a distinctive competence or improving internal efficiency for competitive advantage is (p. 56) known as competitive aggression. TRUE Competitive aggression is exploiting a distinctive competence or improving internal efficiency for competitive advantage (e.g., aggressive pricing and comparative advertising). AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #20 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 21. Cooptation means absorbing new elements into the organization’s leadership structure to avert threats (p. 58) to its stability or existence. TRUE Cooptation refers to absorbing new elements into the organization’s leadership structure to avert threats to its stability or existence. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #21 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 22. Entering a new market or industry with existing expertise is known as divestiture. (p. 58) FALSE Entering a new market or industry with existing expertise is known as domain selection. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #22 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 23. Some companies, called prospectors are more likely than others to engage in strategic (p. 58) maneuvering. TRUE Some companies, called prospectors are more likely than others to engage in strategic maneuvering. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #23 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 24. Defenders pertain to conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry. (p. 59) FALSE Defenders are companies that stay within a stable product domain as a strategic maneuver. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #24 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 25. The dominant attributes of an adhocracy are order, rules and regulations, uniformity, and (p. 63) efficiency. FALSE The dominant attributes of an adhocracy are entrepreneurship, creativity, adaptability, dynamism. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #25 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-05 Discuss how organizational cultures can be leveraged to overcome challenges in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Culture and the Internal Environment of Organizations 26. Organizations that are affected by, and that affect, their environment are called: (p. 42) A. oligopolies. B. pyramids. C. open systems. D. matrix organizations. E. ecologies. Organizations are open systems—that is, they are affected by and in turn affect their external environments. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #26 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-01 Describe the five elements of an organization’ s macroenvironment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Organizational Environment and Culture 27. All relevant forces outside a firm’s boundaries, such as competitors, customers, the government, and (p. 42) the economy are referred to as _____. A. external environment B. open systems C. relative constraints D. physical noise E. competitive bodies External environment refers to all relevant forces outside a firm’s boundaries, such as competitors, customers, the government, and the economy. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #27 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-01 Describe the five elements of an organization’ s macroenvironment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Organizational Environment and Culture 28. Advances in genetic engineering are expected to produce some food products that will become (p. 45) available year-round even in northern climates. These changes will provide grocers with an opportunity to reduce their shipping costs while at the same time, offering fresher produce to their customers. These advances are examples of changes in the: A. technological environment. B. economic environment. C. political environment. D. demographic environment. E. international environment. As technology evolves, new industries, markets, and competitive niches develop. Advances in technology also permit companies to enter markets that would otherwise be unavailable to them. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #28 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-01 Describe the five elements of an organization’ s macroenvironment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: The Macroenvironment 29. The immediate environment surrounding a firm including suppliers, customers, and rivals is known as (p. 48) _____. A. macroenvironment B. external environment C. competitive environment D. demographics E. proximal climate Each organization also functions in a closer, more immediate competitive environment, consisting of rivalry among existing competitors and the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute and complementary products, and the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #29 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Competitive Environment 30. Margaret Pane, a new manager at The Royal Deli, has been asked to focus on the competitive (p. 48) environment of the organization. Which of these factors is among those that Margaret Pane should focus on? A. Government policies B. Demographics C. Suppliers D. Technology E. Social factors The competitive environment is composed of the firm and its rivals, suppliers, customers (buyers), new entrants, and substitute or complementary products. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Bateman - Chapter 03 #30 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: The Competitive Environment 31. (p. 48) A popular low-cost airline, Sky Cruiser, has gone out of business. Although the service and price provided by the airline was what customers wanted, the larger airlines were able to drive the low-cost airline out of business through an aggressive price war. Which aspect of the competitive environment does this illustrate? A. Customers B. Competitors C. Regulators D. The economy E. Threat of new entrants The competitive environment consists of rivalry among existing competitors and the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute and complementary products, and the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Bateman - Chapter 03 #31 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: The Competitive Environment _____ occurs when weaker companies are eliminated, and the strong companies survive. A. Cannibalization B. Downsizing C. Scaffolding D. Industry shakeout E. Segmentation When an industry matures and growth slows, profits drop. Then intense competition causes an industry shakeout: weaker companies are eliminated, and the strong companies survive. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #32 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Competitive Environment Conditions that prevent new companies from setting foot in an industry are known as _____. A. demographics B. industry shakeouts C. scaffolding D. zero-profit conditions E. barriers to entry Barriers to entry are conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #33 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Competitive Environment 32. (p. 49) 33. (p. 49-50) 34. Which of the following is a common barrier to entry? (p. 50) A. Brand identification B. Final consumer C. Bargaining power of buyers D. Demographics E. Switching costs Barriers to entry are conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry. When customers are loyal to a familiar brand, new entrants have to spend heavily. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #34 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Competitive Environment 35. A customer who purchases products in their finished form is _____ consumer. (p. 50) A. an immediate B. a final C. an alpha D. a complete E. a suave A final consumer is a customer who purchases products in their finished form. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #35 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: The Competitive Environment 36. Hospitals and universities are very expensive to run because of the capital and equipments required. (p. 50) The requirement of personnel such as specialized medical doctors and researchers are also high. Which of the following is this an example of? A. Protectionism B. Buffering C. Barriers to entry D. Smoothing E. Absolute threshold Barriers to entry are conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #36 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: The Competitive Environment 37. Kegg’s Cereals is a major supplier to almost all grocery store chains. It has most of the valuable shelf (p. 50) space in the cereal aisle. Which of the following is true based on this information? A. There are few entry barriers. B. Government regulation of cereal is high. C. The threat of new entrants is low. D. Competitors have the larger market share. E. Customers have high bargaining power. The threat of new entrants is likely low in this scenario primarily because existing competitors have tight distribution channels and new cereal manufacturers would struggle to get their goods to customers primarily because Kegg’s already dominate the shelf space in grocery store chains. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Bateman - Chapter 03 #37 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: The Competitive Environment 38. The main difference between a final consumer and an intermediate consumer is that the final (p. 50) consumer: A. pays cash. B. uses products himself. C. purchases more than intermediate consumers. D. is not as flexible as an intermediate consumer. E. does not have any bargaining power. Intermediate consumers buy raw materials or wholesale products and then sell to final consumers. Final consumers use the products themselves. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #38 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium Topic: The Competitive Environment 39. Ted Inc. traditionally provides sub-contracting services to construction firms. There are many firms (p. 50) like Ted Inc. in the marketplace but it does about 85% of the work for Will's Construction. Will typically negotiates quite heavily reducing Ted's profits. This situation is indicative of the high bargaining power of: A. customers. B. suppliers. C. substitute companies. D. competitors. E. complementary firms. An organization is at a disadvantage if it depends too heavily on powerful customers—those who make large purchases or can easily find alternative places to buy. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Bateman - Chapter 03 #39 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: The Competitive Environment 40. (p. 52) Wealth and Wealth Bank utilizes the janitorial services of Rob's Scrub-All to keep their buildings clean. Rob's provides all the necessary cleaning supplies, training, background security checks (since the crew works after hours) and all other associated expenses. The other available janitorial services do not typically provide security checks and a client such as a bank would have to hire guards to watch the work of the janitors. This expense effectively limits the bank to utilizing only Rob's services. Which of the following does this illustrate? A. High employment costs B. Unfavorable supplier status C. High switching costs D. Favorable quality status E. Complementary products Switching costs are fixed costs buyers face if they change suppliers. In this case, the bank would have to have a permanent security guard, a fixed cost, should it decide to switch from Rob’s Scrub-All to another cleaning service. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Bateman - Chapter 03 #40 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-02 Explain the five components of an organization’ s competitive environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: The Competitive Environment 41. _____ means that managers do not have enough information needed to understand or predict the (p. 53) future. A. Competitive intelligence B. Environmental uncertainty C. Minimization D. Disinformation E. Observational inadequacy Environmental uncertainty means that managers do not have enough information about the environment to understand or predict the future. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #41 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-03 Understand how managers stay on top of changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Keep Up with Changes in the Environment 42. _____ refers to searching for information that is unavailable to most people and sorting through that (p. 53) information to interpret what is important. A. Competitive skimming B. Data classification C. Environmental scanning D. Knowledge browsing E. Information foraging Environmental scanning includes searching for information that is unavailable to most people and sorting through that information to interpret what is important. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #42 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-03 Understand how managers stay on top of changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Keep Up with Changes in the Environment 43. _____ is the information that helps managers determine how to do better than others. (p. 53) A. Business acumen B. Lift coefficient C. Hidden agenda D. Competitive intelligence E. Gini index Competitive intelligence is the information necessary to decide how best to manage in the competitive environment they have identified. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #43 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-03 Understand how managers stay on top of changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Keep Up with Changes in the Environment 44. In an attempt to improve customer service, Tailpin Toys decided to assign a team to investigate the (p. 54) kinds of services offered by competing companies. The team discovered that a smaller company, Nuance Games, seemed to have outstanding customer service. The team then determined the major differences between the two companies and developed a plan to incorporate the best elements of Nuance Games into Tailpin Toys. Which of the following does this illustrate? A. Environmental dynamism B. Benchmarking C. Strategic maneuvering D. Cooperative action E. Forecasting Benchmarking means identifying the best-in-class performance by a company in a given area— say, product development or customer service—and then comparing your processes with theirs. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Bateman - Chapter 03 #44 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-03 Understand how managers stay on top of changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: Keep Up with Changes in the Environment 45. _____ is the process of sharing authority with employees to enhance their confidence in their ability to (p. 55) perform their jobs and contribute to the organization. A. Empowerment B. Licensing C. Vetoing D. Endorsement E. Concurrence Empowerment is the process of sharing power with employees to enhance their confidence in their ability to perform their jobs and contribute to the organization. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #45 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 46. Which of the following approaches should an organization adopt for managing uncertainty in a (p. 55) complex and stable environment? A. Decentralized, organic with mutual adjustment B. Decentralized, bureaucratic with standardized skills C. Centralized, bureaucratic with standardized work processes D. Centralized, organic with direct supervision E. Centralized, organic with mutual adjustment An organization should adopt a decentralized, bureaucratic approach with standardized skills for managing uncertainty in a complex and stable environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #46 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 47. Which of the following approaches should an organization adopt for managing uncertainty in a (p. 55) complex and dynamic environment? A. Centralized, bureaucratic with standardized work processes B. Decentralized, bureaucratic with standardized skills C. Decentralized, organic with mutual adjustment D. Centralized, organic with direct supervision E. Centralized, organic with mutual adjustment An organization should adopt a decentralized, organic approach with mutual adjustment for managing uncertainty in a complex and dynamic environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #47 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 48. Which of the following approaches should an organization adopt for managing uncertainty in a simple (p. 55) and stable environment? A. Centralized, organic with direct supervision B. Decentralized, bureaucratic with standardized skills C. Decentralized, organic with mutual adjustment D. Centralized, bureaucratic with standardized work processes E. Centralized, organic with mutual adjustment An organization should adopt a centralized, bureaucratic approach with standardized work processes for managing uncertainty in a simple and stable environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #48 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 49. Which of the following approaches should an organization adopt for managing uncertainty in a simple (p. 55) and dynamic environment? A. Centralized, organic with mutual adjustment B. Decentralized, bureaucratic with standardized skills C. Decentralized, organic with mutual adjustment D. Centralized, bureaucratic with standardized work processes E. Centralized, organic with direct supervision An organization should adopt a centralized, organic approach with direct supervision for managing uncertainty in a simple and dynamic environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #49 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 50. A decentralized, bureaucratic approach with standardized skills for managing uncertainty is ideal for (p. 55) which of the following environments? A. Stable and complex B. Complex and dynamic C. Simple and stable D. Dynamic and simple E. Stable and dynamic An organization should adopt a decentralized, bureaucratic approach with standardized skills for managing uncertainty in a complex and stable environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #50 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 51. A decentralized, organic approach with mutual adjustment for managing uncertainty is ideal for which (p. 55) of the following environments? A. Stable and complex B. Complex and dynamic C. Simple and stable D. Dynamic and simple E. Stable and dynamic An organization should adopt a decentralized, organic approach with mutual adjustment for managing uncertainty in a complex and dynamic environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #51 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 52. A centralized, organic approach with direct supervision for managing uncertainty is ideal for which of (p. 55) the following environments? A. Stable and complex B. Complex and dynamic C. Dynamic and simple D. Simple and stable E. Stable and dynamic An organization should adopt a centralized, organic approach with direct supervision for managing uncertainty in a simple and dynamic environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #52 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 53. A centralized, bureaucratic approach with standardized work processes for managing uncertainty is (p. 55) ideal for which of the following environments? A. Stable and complex B. Complex and dynamic C. Dynamic and simple D. Simple and stable E. Stable and dynamic An organization should adopt a centralized, bureaucratic approach with standardized work processes for managing uncertainty in a simple and stable environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #53 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 54. Creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs is called (p. 55) A. hoarding B. smoothing C. yielding D. flocking E. buffering Creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs is called buffering. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #54 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 55. Clara owns a small gift shop in Carolina. She hopes the economy will rebound this fall as she has to (p. 55) order her Christmas merchandise and other holiday gifts in February. She wants to make sure she has enough goods for the surge in sales that the holiday season usually brings to her retail store. Here, Clara is using _____ to be sure she has enough gifts for those extra customers that she hopes will brave the economic woes and shop for holiday presents. A. substitutes B. smoothing C. complements D. buffering E. demographics Buffering is creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs. In Clara’s case, she has accumulated additional inventory to sell during the holiday season because demand is unpredictable. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Bateman - Chapter 03 #55 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: Responding to the Environment 56. The growth of contingent workers in the U.S. labor force due to unpredictable labor demand is an (p. 56) illustration of: A. adapting at the core. B. flexible processes. C. buffering. D. smoothing. E. empowerment. Buffering creates supplies of excess resources (in this case contingent workers) in case of unpredictable needs (such as unpredictable labor demand). AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #56 Blooms: Understand Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium Topic: Responding to the Environment 57. When Nancy’s Yogurt Company acts on its own to promote the yogurt industry as a whole, the (p. 56) company is practicing: A. competitive aggression. B. competitive pacification. C. public relations. D. voluntary cooptation. E. cooperative action. Competitive pacification is an independent action to improve relations with competitors such as Nancy’s Yogurt Company promoting the yogurt industry as a whole. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #57 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: Responding to the Environment 58. When Musk advertises its soap products as better than Pearl soap products, Musk is demonstrating: (p. 56) (p. 56) A. Smoothing B. Buffering C. Sifting D. Flexing E. Skirting In addition to buffering, organizations try smoothing or leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries A. competitive aggression. B. competitive pacification. C. benchmarking. D. smoothing. E. cooptation. Competitive aggression is exploiting a distinctive competence (such as Musk’s better soap as compared to Pearl products in comparative advertising) or improving internal efficiency for competitive advantage. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #58 Blooms: Apply Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard Topic: Responding to the Environment 59. _____ is leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the environment. of the environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #59 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 60. _____ are methods for adapting the technical core to changes in the environment. (p. 56) A. Supply chain actions B. Flexible processes C. Independent strategies D. Cooperative strategies E. Technical acquisitions While buffering and smoothing manage uncertainties at the boundaries of the organization, firms also can establish flexible processes that allow for adaptation in their technical core. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #60 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 61. _____ are approaches that an organization acting on its own uses to change some aspect of its current (p. 56) environment. A. Flexible processes B. Forecasting methods C. Independent strategies D. Benchmarking procedures E. Buffering techniques Independent strategies are strategies that an organization acting on its own uses to change some aspect of its current environment. AACSB: Analytic Bateman - Chapter 03 #61 Blooms: Remember Learning Objective: 03-04 Summarize how managers respond to changes in the external environment. Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy Topic: Responding to the Environment 62. Higher Wisdom University has just formed a board of trustees and invited 25 of its wealthiest alumni (p. 58) to join. Which of the following is the university adopting? A. Smoothing B. Cooptation C. Competitive intelligence D. Divestiture E. Scaffolding Cooptation is absorbing new elements into the organization’s leadership structure to avert threats to its stability or existence. The university mentioned is demonstrating cooptation by inviting wealthy alumni to join its board of trustees. AACSB: Analyti