BUS 450 APPLICANT EVALUATION
INQUIRIES AND OUTCOMES 2026 OFFICIAL
DOCUMENT FULL COVERAGE
Which one of the following is inaccurate as concerns a distinctive
competence?
A. A distinctive competence is a competitively important activity that
a company performs better than its competitors.
B. A distinctive competence can be a basis for sustainable competitive
advantage.
C. A distinctive competence can underpin and add real punch to a
company's strategy.
D. A distinctive competence is typically less difficult for rivals to
copy than a core competence.
E. A distinctive competence gives a company competitively valuable
capability that is unmatched by rivals. Answer: D. A distinctive
competence is typically less difficult for rivals to copy than a core
competence.
⪢ A company's value chain identifies:
A. the series of steps it takes to get a product from the raw materials
stage into the hands of end-users.
B. the activities it performs in transforming its competencies into
distinctive competencies.
C. the steps it goes through to convert its net income into value for
shareholders.
,D. the competencies and competitive capabilities that underpin its
efforts to create value for customers and shareholders.
E. the primary activities it performs in creating value for its customers
and the related support activities. Answer: E. the primary activities it
performs in creating value for its customers and the related support
activities.
⪢ A core competence:
A. retracts from a company's arsenal of competitive capabilities and
competitive assets and is not a genuine resource strength.
B. is a competitively relevant activity which a firm performs
especially well in comparison to the other activities it performs.
C. is typically results-based, residing in a company's tangible physical
assets on the balance sheet.
D. is often grounded in a single departments set of knowledge and
expertise.
E. All of these. Answer: E. All of these.
⪢ To build a competitive advantage by out-managing rivals in
performing value chain activities, a company must
A. develop resources strengths that will enable it to pursue the
industry's most attractive opportunities.
B. develop core competencies and maybe a distinctive competence
that rivals don't have or can't quite match and that are instrumental in
helping it deliver attractive value to customers or else be more cost
, efficient in how it performs value chain activities such that it has a
low-cost advantage.
C. position itself in the industry's more favorably situated strategic
group.
D. eliminate its resource weaknesses.
E. outsource all of its value chain activities to world-class vendors
and suppliers. Answer: B. develop core competencies and maybe a
distinctive competence that rivals don't have or can't quite match and
that are instrumental in helping it deliver attractive value to customers
or else be more cost efficient in how it performs value chain activities
such that it has a low-cost advantage.
⪢ Which one of the following is not something that can be learned
from doing a competitive strength assessment?
A. Whether a company has a net competitive advantage or a net
competitive disadvantage relative to key rivals (with the size of the
advantage/disadvantage being indicated by the differences among the
companies' competitive strength scores)
B. Which rival company is competitively weakest and the areas where
it is most vulnerable to competitive attack
C. Whether a company should correct its weaknesses by adopting best
practices and revamping the makeup of its value chain
D. Which of the rated companies is competitively strongest and what
size competitive advantage it enjoys
E. The factors on which a company is competitively strongest and
weakest vis-à-vis key rivals Answer: C. Whether a company should
correct its weaknesses by adopting best practices and revamping the
makeup of its value chain
INQUIRIES AND OUTCOMES 2026 OFFICIAL
DOCUMENT FULL COVERAGE
Which one of the following is inaccurate as concerns a distinctive
competence?
A. A distinctive competence is a competitively important activity that
a company performs better than its competitors.
B. A distinctive competence can be a basis for sustainable competitive
advantage.
C. A distinctive competence can underpin and add real punch to a
company's strategy.
D. A distinctive competence is typically less difficult for rivals to
copy than a core competence.
E. A distinctive competence gives a company competitively valuable
capability that is unmatched by rivals. Answer: D. A distinctive
competence is typically less difficult for rivals to copy than a core
competence.
⪢ A company's value chain identifies:
A. the series of steps it takes to get a product from the raw materials
stage into the hands of end-users.
B. the activities it performs in transforming its competencies into
distinctive competencies.
C. the steps it goes through to convert its net income into value for
shareholders.
,D. the competencies and competitive capabilities that underpin its
efforts to create value for customers and shareholders.
E. the primary activities it performs in creating value for its customers
and the related support activities. Answer: E. the primary activities it
performs in creating value for its customers and the related support
activities.
⪢ A core competence:
A. retracts from a company's arsenal of competitive capabilities and
competitive assets and is not a genuine resource strength.
B. is a competitively relevant activity which a firm performs
especially well in comparison to the other activities it performs.
C. is typically results-based, residing in a company's tangible physical
assets on the balance sheet.
D. is often grounded in a single departments set of knowledge and
expertise.
E. All of these. Answer: E. All of these.
⪢ To build a competitive advantage by out-managing rivals in
performing value chain activities, a company must
A. develop resources strengths that will enable it to pursue the
industry's most attractive opportunities.
B. develop core competencies and maybe a distinctive competence
that rivals don't have or can't quite match and that are instrumental in
helping it deliver attractive value to customers or else be more cost
, efficient in how it performs value chain activities such that it has a
low-cost advantage.
C. position itself in the industry's more favorably situated strategic
group.
D. eliminate its resource weaknesses.
E. outsource all of its value chain activities to world-class vendors
and suppliers. Answer: B. develop core competencies and maybe a
distinctive competence that rivals don't have or can't quite match and
that are instrumental in helping it deliver attractive value to customers
or else be more cost efficient in how it performs value chain activities
such that it has a low-cost advantage.
⪢ Which one of the following is not something that can be learned
from doing a competitive strength assessment?
A. Whether a company has a net competitive advantage or a net
competitive disadvantage relative to key rivals (with the size of the
advantage/disadvantage being indicated by the differences among the
companies' competitive strength scores)
B. Which rival company is competitively weakest and the areas where
it is most vulnerable to competitive attack
C. Whether a company should correct its weaknesses by adopting best
practices and revamping the makeup of its value chain
D. Which of the rated companies is competitively strongest and what
size competitive advantage it enjoys
E. The factors on which a company is competitively strongest and
weakest vis-à-vis key rivals Answer: C. Whether a company should
correct its weaknesses by adopting best practices and revamping the
makeup of its value chain
