Student name:__________
MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
1) A company's competitive strategy should
A) ensure it is designed to concentrate on a small range of products so it can react
quickly to competitive moves.
B) be well matched to its internal situation and predicated on leveraging its collection of
competitively valuable resources and competencies.
C) be well matched to its resources and capabilities in order to incorporate standard
attributes into its product offering.
D) be supportive with its objective to become at least an average performer within its
industry.
E) be well attuned to doing an outstanding job of satisfying the needs and expectations
of niche buyers.
2) The five generic competitive strategies include
A) low-cost differentiation.
B) no-cost provider.
C) best-margin.
D) narrow differentiation.
E) high-cost.
3) While there are many routes to competitive advantage, the two biggest factors that
distinguish one competitive strategy from another are
A) whether a company can build a brand name and an image that buyers trust.
B) whether a company's target market is broad or narrow and whether the company is
pursuing a low-cost or differentiation strategy.
C) whether a company can achieve lower costs than rivals and whether the company is
pursuing the industry's sales and market share leader's role.
D) whether a company can offer the lowest possible prices and whether the company can
get the best suppliers in the market.
E) whether a company's overall costs are lower than competitors' and whether the
company can achieve strong product differentiation.
,4) Whatever strategic approach is adopted by a company to deliver value, it nearly always
requires
A) that management undertakes formal planning sessions with functional departments to
ensure productivity improvement.
B) the identification of strengths and weaknesses within the company.
C) matching corporate identity with the corporate culture in order to integrate effort and
build sales momentum.
D) performing value chain activities differently than rivals and building competitively
valuable resources and capabilities that rivals cannot readily match.
E) constant efforts to thwart entry of new rivals and their attempts to create
differentiated products with unit costs above price premium.
5) The biggest and most important differences among the competitive strategies of different
companies boil down to
A) how they go about building a brand name image that buyers trust and whether they
are a risk-taker or risk-avoider.
B) the different ways the companies try to cope with the five competitive forces.
C) whether a company's market target is broad or narrow and whether the company is
pursuing a competitive advantage linked to low cost or differentiation.
D) the kinds of actions companies take to improve their competitive assets and reduce
their competitive liabilities.
E) the relative emphasis they place on offensive versus defensive strategies.
6) A boutique hotel chain provides upscale rooms and superior customer service at value prices.
What strategy is the hotelier using to gain a competitive advantage?
A) a low-cost provider strategy
B) a broad differentiation strategy
C) a focused low-cost strategy
D) a focused differentiation strategy
E) a best-cost provider strategy
7) The generic types of competitive strategies include
A) market share growth provider, sales revenue leader strategy, and market share
retention strategy.
B) offensive strategies, defensive strategies, and counter maneuvers strategies.
, C) low-cost provider, broad differentiation, best-cost provider, focused low-cost, and
focused differentiation strategies.
D) low-cost or low-price strategies, high-quality or high-price strategies, and medium-
quality or medium-price strategies.
E) price leader strategies, price follower strategies, technology leader strategies, and
first-mover strategies.
8) All other things being equal, the best generic competitive strategy for a company to employ
is a strategy that
A) seeks to underprice rivals on comparable products that attract a broad spectrum of
buyers.
B) seeks to differentiate product offerings from rivals by offering superior attributes that
attract a broad spectrum of buyers.
C) concentrates on a narrow buyer segment and outcompetes rivals by offering niche
members customized attributes.
D) concentrates on value-conscious buyers and outcompetes rivals by offering products
at attractive prices.
E) is well matched to a company's internal situation; underpinned by an appropriate set
of resources, know-how, and competitive capabilities; and difficult for rivals to
match.
9) The objective of a competitive strategy is to
A) establish a competitively powerful value chain.
B) grow revenues at a faster annual rate than rivals are able to grow their revenues.
C) lend greater detail to the company's business model.
D) provide buyers superior value relative to the offerings of rival sellers in order to attain
a competitive advantage.
E) get the company into the best strategic group and then dominate it.
10) A low-cost leader's basis for competitive advantage is
A) meaningful lower overall costs than rivals on comparable products.
B) lowest possible prices for comparable products.
C) higher unit sales than rivals.
D) a low-cost or moderate price approach to gain the biggest market share.
E) high buyer switching costs.
, 11) In order to be successful with a low-cost leadership strategy, company managers have to
A) eliminate wholesale and retail intermediaries and instead sell directly to users of their
product or service.
B) perform value chain activities more cost-effectively than rivals and be proactive in
revamping the firm's overall value chain to eliminate or bypass "nonessential" cost-
producing activities.
C) outsource the majority of value chain activities to nations that have lower wage rates
and fewer regulations.
D) develop and market products and services at that absolute lowest possible cost.
E) pursue backward or forward integration to deter suppliers or buyers with considerable
bargaining power and leverage.
12) Low-cost leaders who have the lowest industry costs are likely to
A) have outmanaged rivals in finding ways to perform value chain activities more cost
effectively.
B) be considering exiting the current product market and use their competitive low-cost
strength to gain a competitive advantage in other product arenas.
C) be favorites to win the game of strategy in the long run.
D) understand that driving costs to the lowest possible level is the only way to sell cheap
products to consumers.
E) understand that they have lower bargaining power with suppliers than rivals who
employ a different strategy.
13) How valuable a low-cost leader's cost advantage is depends on
A) whether it is easy or inexpensive for rivals to copy the low-cost leader's methods or
otherwise match its low costs.
B) how easy it is for the low-cost leader to gain the biggest market share.
C) the aggressiveness with which the low-cost leader pursues converting the cost
advantage into the absolute lowest possible costs.
D) the leader's ability to combine the cost advantage with a reputation for good quality.
E) the low-cost leader's ability to be the industry leader in manufacturing innovation so
as to keep lowering its manufacturing costs.
14) A low-cost leader can translate its low-cost advantage over rivals into superior profit
performance by
A) underpricing rivals and attracting quality-sensitive buyers in great enough numbers.
MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
1) A company's competitive strategy should
A) ensure it is designed to concentrate on a small range of products so it can react
quickly to competitive moves.
B) be well matched to its internal situation and predicated on leveraging its collection of
competitively valuable resources and competencies.
C) be well matched to its resources and capabilities in order to incorporate standard
attributes into its product offering.
D) be supportive with its objective to become at least an average performer within its
industry.
E) be well attuned to doing an outstanding job of satisfying the needs and expectations
of niche buyers.
2) The five generic competitive strategies include
A) low-cost differentiation.
B) no-cost provider.
C) best-margin.
D) narrow differentiation.
E) high-cost.
3) While there are many routes to competitive advantage, the two biggest factors that
distinguish one competitive strategy from another are
A) whether a company can build a brand name and an image that buyers trust.
B) whether a company's target market is broad or narrow and whether the company is
pursuing a low-cost or differentiation strategy.
C) whether a company can achieve lower costs than rivals and whether the company is
pursuing the industry's sales and market share leader's role.
D) whether a company can offer the lowest possible prices and whether the company can
get the best suppliers in the market.
E) whether a company's overall costs are lower than competitors' and whether the
company can achieve strong product differentiation.
,4) Whatever strategic approach is adopted by a company to deliver value, it nearly always
requires
A) that management undertakes formal planning sessions with functional departments to
ensure productivity improvement.
B) the identification of strengths and weaknesses within the company.
C) matching corporate identity with the corporate culture in order to integrate effort and
build sales momentum.
D) performing value chain activities differently than rivals and building competitively
valuable resources and capabilities that rivals cannot readily match.
E) constant efforts to thwart entry of new rivals and their attempts to create
differentiated products with unit costs above price premium.
5) The biggest and most important differences among the competitive strategies of different
companies boil down to
A) how they go about building a brand name image that buyers trust and whether they
are a risk-taker or risk-avoider.
B) the different ways the companies try to cope with the five competitive forces.
C) whether a company's market target is broad or narrow and whether the company is
pursuing a competitive advantage linked to low cost or differentiation.
D) the kinds of actions companies take to improve their competitive assets and reduce
their competitive liabilities.
E) the relative emphasis they place on offensive versus defensive strategies.
6) A boutique hotel chain provides upscale rooms and superior customer service at value prices.
What strategy is the hotelier using to gain a competitive advantage?
A) a low-cost provider strategy
B) a broad differentiation strategy
C) a focused low-cost strategy
D) a focused differentiation strategy
E) a best-cost provider strategy
7) The generic types of competitive strategies include
A) market share growth provider, sales revenue leader strategy, and market share
retention strategy.
B) offensive strategies, defensive strategies, and counter maneuvers strategies.
, C) low-cost provider, broad differentiation, best-cost provider, focused low-cost, and
focused differentiation strategies.
D) low-cost or low-price strategies, high-quality or high-price strategies, and medium-
quality or medium-price strategies.
E) price leader strategies, price follower strategies, technology leader strategies, and
first-mover strategies.
8) All other things being equal, the best generic competitive strategy for a company to employ
is a strategy that
A) seeks to underprice rivals on comparable products that attract a broad spectrum of
buyers.
B) seeks to differentiate product offerings from rivals by offering superior attributes that
attract a broad spectrum of buyers.
C) concentrates on a narrow buyer segment and outcompetes rivals by offering niche
members customized attributes.
D) concentrates on value-conscious buyers and outcompetes rivals by offering products
at attractive prices.
E) is well matched to a company's internal situation; underpinned by an appropriate set
of resources, know-how, and competitive capabilities; and difficult for rivals to
match.
9) The objective of a competitive strategy is to
A) establish a competitively powerful value chain.
B) grow revenues at a faster annual rate than rivals are able to grow their revenues.
C) lend greater detail to the company's business model.
D) provide buyers superior value relative to the offerings of rival sellers in order to attain
a competitive advantage.
E) get the company into the best strategic group and then dominate it.
10) A low-cost leader's basis for competitive advantage is
A) meaningful lower overall costs than rivals on comparable products.
B) lowest possible prices for comparable products.
C) higher unit sales than rivals.
D) a low-cost or moderate price approach to gain the biggest market share.
E) high buyer switching costs.
, 11) In order to be successful with a low-cost leadership strategy, company managers have to
A) eliminate wholesale and retail intermediaries and instead sell directly to users of their
product or service.
B) perform value chain activities more cost-effectively than rivals and be proactive in
revamping the firm's overall value chain to eliminate or bypass "nonessential" cost-
producing activities.
C) outsource the majority of value chain activities to nations that have lower wage rates
and fewer regulations.
D) develop and market products and services at that absolute lowest possible cost.
E) pursue backward or forward integration to deter suppliers or buyers with considerable
bargaining power and leverage.
12) Low-cost leaders who have the lowest industry costs are likely to
A) have outmanaged rivals in finding ways to perform value chain activities more cost
effectively.
B) be considering exiting the current product market and use their competitive low-cost
strength to gain a competitive advantage in other product arenas.
C) be favorites to win the game of strategy in the long run.
D) understand that driving costs to the lowest possible level is the only way to sell cheap
products to consumers.
E) understand that they have lower bargaining power with suppliers than rivals who
employ a different strategy.
13) How valuable a low-cost leader's cost advantage is depends on
A) whether it is easy or inexpensive for rivals to copy the low-cost leader's methods or
otherwise match its low costs.
B) how easy it is for the low-cost leader to gain the biggest market share.
C) the aggressiveness with which the low-cost leader pursues converting the cost
advantage into the absolute lowest possible costs.
D) the leader's ability to combine the cost advantage with a reputation for good quality.
E) the low-cost leader's ability to be the industry leader in manufacturing innovation so
as to keep lowering its manufacturing costs.
14) A low-cost leader can translate its low-cost advantage over rivals into superior profit
performance by
A) underpricing rivals and attracting quality-sensitive buyers in great enough numbers.
