MGMT 5560 MIDTERM EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026
The competitive power of a resource or competitive capability hinges on such considerations as -
Answers how hard the resources/capability is for competitors to copy, whether many or most rivals
have a very similar resource or capability, and whether the resource/capability can be trumped by
substitute resources and capabilities of rivals
Which one of the following should NOT be considered as a company resource? - Answers Core
competences and distinctive competences and such achievements as low overall costs relative to
competitors, market share leadership, and award-winning product design
Which of the following best describes the market opportunities that tend to be most relevant to a
particular company? - Answers Those market opportunities that can be pursued with the firm's
competitively potent resources and capabilities, offer the best growth and profitability, and present
the most potential for competitive advantage
The difference between a core competence and a distinctive competence is that - Answers a core
competence is an activity that a company performs quite well and that is also central to its strategy
and competitiveness whereas a distinctive competence is a competitively important activity that a
company performs better than its rivals
Which one of the following is NOT one of the steps in dining competitive strength assessment? -
Answers Assign equal weights ti each competitive strength measure
Identifying the strategic issues and problems a company faces and compiling a "worry list" that merits
front-burner management attention is an important component of assessing a company's resources
and ability to compete successfully because - Answers the "worry list" helps identify which rivals
companies to attack with new offensive initiatives and also which specific competitive weaknesses to
correct
A company can translate its performance of value chain activities into competitive advantage by doing
a first-rate job of - Answers performing value chain activities in ways that give a company either a
lower-cost advantage or a value-creating differentiation advantage over rivals
The primary roles/obligations of a company's board of directors in the strategy-making, strategy-
executing process include - Answers critically appraising the company's direction, strategy, and
business approaches and evaluating the caliber of senior executives strategy-making and strategy-
executing skills
Which of the following statements about the task of crafting a company's strategy is most accurate? -
Answers The more that a company's operations cut across different products, industries, and
geographical areas, the more that headquarters executives have little option but to delegate
considerable strategy making authority to down-the-line managers in charge of particular subsidiaries
divisions, product lines, geographic sales offices, distribution centers and plants.
The distinction between a company mission statement and a strategic vision is that - Answers a
mission statement typically describes a company's present business scope and purpose ("who we are,
what we do, and why we are here") whereas the principal concern of a strategic vision is with a
company's future strategic course ("the direction we are headed and what market position(s) we
intend to stake out")
A company's strategic vision - Answers describes the route a company intends to take in developing
and strengthening its business; it lays out the company's strategic course in preparing for the future
A company's core values relate to - Answers certain designated beliefs, traits and ways of doing things
that are widely viewed as "good" or "desirable" or maybe even "noble" and that are intended to guide
the actions and behavior of company personnel in conducting the company's business and pursuing
its strategic vision and mission
the attention, energy, and resources a company devotes to achieving its strategic objective - Answers
are critically important because a stronger market standing with buyers and improved competitive
strength to combat rivals-- especially when these result in a bigger competitive advantage-is what
enables and empowers a company to improve its financial performance in upcoming periods.
Which one of the following is NOT on of the principal offensive strategy options to improve a
company's market position? - Answers Building the industry's most cost-efficient supply chain and
then using this cost advantage to overwhelm higher-cost rivals with a deeply discounted price
Which one of the following statements about first-mover advantages and first-mover disadvantages is
false? - Answers To sustain and advantage that may initially accuse to a pioneer, a first-mover must be
, a recognized market leader, have a strong brand name, and employ either a best-cost provider or a
low-cost provider strategy
Mergers and acquisitions are often driven by such strategic objectives as to - Answers expand a
company's geographic coverage, extend its business into new product categories, create a more cost-
efficient operation out of the combined companies, or strengthen the resulting company's resources,
capabilities, and competitiveness in important ways
Which of the following is NOT a good example of a defensive strategy to protect a company's market
share and competitive position? - Answers Launching a blue ocean strategy and/or a preemptive
strike strategy to discourage rivals from being aggressive
Which of the following is NOT one of the potential benefits of outsourcing value chain activities
presently performed in-house? - Answers Improving a company's ability to employ offensive
strategies
Which one of the following statements about backward vertical integration is false? - Answers What
makes backwards vertical integration such an attractive strategic option is the opportunity to
substantially lower costs, capture the profit margins of suppliers, and thereby increase the company's
own profitability
Which one of the following is NOT among the common reasons why companies enter into strategic
alliances? - Answers To join forces in trying to drive foreign competitors out of their home market
Multicountry competition exists when - Answers there's so much cross-country variation in market
conditions and in the companies conceding for leadership that the market contest among rivals in one
country is localized to that country and not closely connected to the market contests in other
countries; hence, there is no global or world market, just a collection of self-contained country
markets
Which of the following is NOT among the common reasons why companies enter into strategic
alliances? - Answers To join forces in trying to drive foreign competitors out of the home market
Multicountry competition exists when - Answers there's so much cross-country variation in market
conditions and in the companies contending for leadership that the market contest among rivals in
one country is localized to that country and not closely connected to the market contests in other
countries; hence, there is no global or world market, just a collection of self-contained country
markets
In which one of the following instances is it more advantageous for companies competing in the
markets of many foreign countries to disperse their activities across multiple locations? - Answers
When transportation costs are high there are high cross-country trade barriers, and there are benefits
to locating buyer-related activities close to buyers
Multicountry competition is best characterized as a market situation where - Answers there is no
global or worldwide market, just a collection of mostly elf-contained country markets that are not
competitively connected
Which of the following is NOT a typical reason why companies opt to sell their products/services or to
locate operations in some or many countries? - Answers To pursue greater use of offensive strategies
Using domestic plants as a production base for exporting goods to selected foreign country markets -
Answers is an excellent initial strategy or testing the merits of competing internationally because it
allows a company to minimize the amount of capital needed to begin selling in foreign markets and to
use a portion of its existing production capacity to make goods for export
The strength of a "think local, act local" multi country strategy is that - Answers a company's product
offering is tailored to accommodate the differing tastes and expectations of buyers in each country
and its competitive strategy in each country is customized to combat local rivals and build local
competitive advantage
A manufacturer the ships goods made at its Brazilian plants to markets in foreign countries - Answers
views a weaker Brazilian real (vis-a-vis the currencies of the countries to which it is exporting) as a
favorable exchange rate shift
To profitably employ a best-cost provider strategy, a company must - Answers have the capability to
incorporate upscale attributes (appealing features or functionality or quality or satisfying customer
service) into its product offering at a lower cost than rivals putting the company in position to
underprice rivals whose products have similar upscale attributes and still ear attractive profits
Best-cost provider strategies are appealing in those market situations where - Answers product
differentiation is the norm and attractively large numbers of buyers shopping for the best value for
The competitive power of a resource or competitive capability hinges on such considerations as -
Answers how hard the resources/capability is for competitors to copy, whether many or most rivals
have a very similar resource or capability, and whether the resource/capability can be trumped by
substitute resources and capabilities of rivals
Which one of the following should NOT be considered as a company resource? - Answers Core
competences and distinctive competences and such achievements as low overall costs relative to
competitors, market share leadership, and award-winning product design
Which of the following best describes the market opportunities that tend to be most relevant to a
particular company? - Answers Those market opportunities that can be pursued with the firm's
competitively potent resources and capabilities, offer the best growth and profitability, and present
the most potential for competitive advantage
The difference between a core competence and a distinctive competence is that - Answers a core
competence is an activity that a company performs quite well and that is also central to its strategy
and competitiveness whereas a distinctive competence is a competitively important activity that a
company performs better than its rivals
Which one of the following is NOT one of the steps in dining competitive strength assessment? -
Answers Assign equal weights ti each competitive strength measure
Identifying the strategic issues and problems a company faces and compiling a "worry list" that merits
front-burner management attention is an important component of assessing a company's resources
and ability to compete successfully because - Answers the "worry list" helps identify which rivals
companies to attack with new offensive initiatives and also which specific competitive weaknesses to
correct
A company can translate its performance of value chain activities into competitive advantage by doing
a first-rate job of - Answers performing value chain activities in ways that give a company either a
lower-cost advantage or a value-creating differentiation advantage over rivals
The primary roles/obligations of a company's board of directors in the strategy-making, strategy-
executing process include - Answers critically appraising the company's direction, strategy, and
business approaches and evaluating the caliber of senior executives strategy-making and strategy-
executing skills
Which of the following statements about the task of crafting a company's strategy is most accurate? -
Answers The more that a company's operations cut across different products, industries, and
geographical areas, the more that headquarters executives have little option but to delegate
considerable strategy making authority to down-the-line managers in charge of particular subsidiaries
divisions, product lines, geographic sales offices, distribution centers and plants.
The distinction between a company mission statement and a strategic vision is that - Answers a
mission statement typically describes a company's present business scope and purpose ("who we are,
what we do, and why we are here") whereas the principal concern of a strategic vision is with a
company's future strategic course ("the direction we are headed and what market position(s) we
intend to stake out")
A company's strategic vision - Answers describes the route a company intends to take in developing
and strengthening its business; it lays out the company's strategic course in preparing for the future
A company's core values relate to - Answers certain designated beliefs, traits and ways of doing things
that are widely viewed as "good" or "desirable" or maybe even "noble" and that are intended to guide
the actions and behavior of company personnel in conducting the company's business and pursuing
its strategic vision and mission
the attention, energy, and resources a company devotes to achieving its strategic objective - Answers
are critically important because a stronger market standing with buyers and improved competitive
strength to combat rivals-- especially when these result in a bigger competitive advantage-is what
enables and empowers a company to improve its financial performance in upcoming periods.
Which one of the following is NOT on of the principal offensive strategy options to improve a
company's market position? - Answers Building the industry's most cost-efficient supply chain and
then using this cost advantage to overwhelm higher-cost rivals with a deeply discounted price
Which one of the following statements about first-mover advantages and first-mover disadvantages is
false? - Answers To sustain and advantage that may initially accuse to a pioneer, a first-mover must be
, a recognized market leader, have a strong brand name, and employ either a best-cost provider or a
low-cost provider strategy
Mergers and acquisitions are often driven by such strategic objectives as to - Answers expand a
company's geographic coverage, extend its business into new product categories, create a more cost-
efficient operation out of the combined companies, or strengthen the resulting company's resources,
capabilities, and competitiveness in important ways
Which of the following is NOT a good example of a defensive strategy to protect a company's market
share and competitive position? - Answers Launching a blue ocean strategy and/or a preemptive
strike strategy to discourage rivals from being aggressive
Which of the following is NOT one of the potential benefits of outsourcing value chain activities
presently performed in-house? - Answers Improving a company's ability to employ offensive
strategies
Which one of the following statements about backward vertical integration is false? - Answers What
makes backwards vertical integration such an attractive strategic option is the opportunity to
substantially lower costs, capture the profit margins of suppliers, and thereby increase the company's
own profitability
Which one of the following is NOT among the common reasons why companies enter into strategic
alliances? - Answers To join forces in trying to drive foreign competitors out of their home market
Multicountry competition exists when - Answers there's so much cross-country variation in market
conditions and in the companies conceding for leadership that the market contest among rivals in one
country is localized to that country and not closely connected to the market contests in other
countries; hence, there is no global or world market, just a collection of self-contained country
markets
Which of the following is NOT among the common reasons why companies enter into strategic
alliances? - Answers To join forces in trying to drive foreign competitors out of the home market
Multicountry competition exists when - Answers there's so much cross-country variation in market
conditions and in the companies contending for leadership that the market contest among rivals in
one country is localized to that country and not closely connected to the market contests in other
countries; hence, there is no global or world market, just a collection of self-contained country
markets
In which one of the following instances is it more advantageous for companies competing in the
markets of many foreign countries to disperse their activities across multiple locations? - Answers
When transportation costs are high there are high cross-country trade barriers, and there are benefits
to locating buyer-related activities close to buyers
Multicountry competition is best characterized as a market situation where - Answers there is no
global or worldwide market, just a collection of mostly elf-contained country markets that are not
competitively connected
Which of the following is NOT a typical reason why companies opt to sell their products/services or to
locate operations in some or many countries? - Answers To pursue greater use of offensive strategies
Using domestic plants as a production base for exporting goods to selected foreign country markets -
Answers is an excellent initial strategy or testing the merits of competing internationally because it
allows a company to minimize the amount of capital needed to begin selling in foreign markets and to
use a portion of its existing production capacity to make goods for export
The strength of a "think local, act local" multi country strategy is that - Answers a company's product
offering is tailored to accommodate the differing tastes and expectations of buyers in each country
and its competitive strategy in each country is customized to combat local rivals and build local
competitive advantage
A manufacturer the ships goods made at its Brazilian plants to markets in foreign countries - Answers
views a weaker Brazilian real (vis-a-vis the currencies of the countries to which it is exporting) as a
favorable exchange rate shift
To profitably employ a best-cost provider strategy, a company must - Answers have the capability to
incorporate upscale attributes (appealing features or functionality or quality or satisfying customer
service) into its product offering at a lower cost than rivals putting the company in position to
underprice rivals whose products have similar upscale attributes and still ear attractive profits
Best-cost provider strategies are appealing in those market situations where - Answers product
differentiation is the norm and attractively large numbers of buyers shopping for the best value for
