WGU C201 BUSINESS ACUMEN OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT GRADED A+ 2025

Which two key elements does an effective organization include? - -Human Interaction & Structure Why does a line organization structure function most effectively in a crisis situation? - -It establishes a direct flow of authority A company might divide itself into smaller groups that best match the types of customers it serves. What is this an example of? - -Departmentalization Which primary driver does management use for an organization's structure? - Achievement of company goals Which step in the organizing process results in management grouping work activities into units within the organization? - -Departmentalization A high-tech startup company is launching a marketing campaign for its new social media portal by highlighting how the portal exceeds the connectivity and collaboration capabilities of all other social media sites. Which type of competitive advantage is this company leveraging? - -product Which marketing strategy is devoted to maintaining continuous bottom line prices rather than relying on short-term price-cutting tactics such as cents-off coupons, rebates, and special sales? - -Everyday Low Pricing When would a pull promotional strategy enhance a competitive advantage to market a product better than a push strategy? - -When demand for the product is driven by the end user Which marketing tool is often used to build effective relationship marketing campaigns? - -Affinity Programs Which element of the promotional mix has the advantage of messaging that can be tailored for each customer but the disadvantage of a high cost per contact? - -Personal Selling What three factors should be addressed in a successful marketing plan? - -Target Market, Sales Revenue Goals and Plan Implementation Timeline WGU C201 WGU C201 Which three characteristics are measured in demographic segmentation? - -Race & Ethnicity, Income and Household Size In which three ways does business-buying behavior differ from consumer-buying behavior? - -A group or committee often makes decisions Purchasers often invite selected providers to bid on a purchase Buyers face organizational influences that affect their own preferences Which three factors suggest a product should be marketed as a specialty product? - Priced high Purchased infrequently Available from a small number of retail outlets With which two types of products does a marketing strategy rely on advertising more than personal selling? - -Accessories to primary products Consumable supplies After years of marketing a body lotion, a cosmetics company begins promoting the lotion as an insect repellent as well.In which three product life cycle extension strategies did this company engage? - -Adding new users, finding new uses for the product, increasing frequency of use. What are three qualities of strong brand equity? - -Awareness, Loyalty and favorable images A customer intends to purchase her favorite cereal. It is out of stock, so she purchases an alternative brand of cereal instead.Which stage of brand loyalty is this customer in? - -brand preference Which manufacturer distribution model is enhanced by the shipping and tracking capabilities of a global package delivery service? - -Direct Which three tasks are key responsibilities of operations managers? - -Planning the overall production process Determining the best layout for the firm's facilities Implementing the production plan Which two characteristics does a Just-In-Time (JIT) System have? - -Production using JIT reduces a firm's inventory costs. A JIT system seeks to eliminate anything that does not add value in operations activities. Which aspect of operations management do the ISO 9000 standards address? - Establishment of effective quality systems WGU C201 WGU C201 Which manufacturing model uses technology to produce small runs of customized products cost effectively? - -Flexible Which two of the following distribution channels would take title of the products they handle? - -Limited-function merchant wholesaler Full-function merchant wholesaler Which economic graph is used by organizations to regulate production by predicting the amount of product buyers will purchase at different prices? - -Demand Curve Which two factors drive demand in a microeconomic system? - -Price of substitute goods Customer preference How does a sudden shortage of a commodity product affect the immediate demand for the product at its current price? - -Demand increases Which two impacts result from a nation's increase in productivity? - -Economy expands Personal wealth increases For which two purposes will the U.S. Federal Reserve System follow an expansionary monetary policy? - -To encourage bankers to make loans To cut the cost of borrowing Which two economic impacts should a manager anticipate when the U.S. government reduces the number of Treasury bills, Treasury Notes, and Treasury bonds it sells? - -A rise of interest rates on these securities An increase in overall cost of debt to private borrowers What is one role of a financial manager? - -Analyzing major investment decisions Which two activities are finance activities rather than accounting activities? - -Making capital market investments Creating a financial plan Which three sources should a business consider when seeking a long-term funding source? - -Venture capital Public sale of stocks Hedge funds In which type of security should a business invest its excess cash in anticipation of paying off the current year's tax liability? - -commerical paper Which role does the underwriter play in financing business operations when using the capital market to sell securities to the public? - -It assumes the risk of the assessed value of the security from the issuer. WGU C201 WGU C201 Why should a manager use financial controls in a firm's financial plan? - -To determine the accuracy of forecasted revenues, costs, and expenses What does a CFO use in financial planning to determine the expected level of revenue for future periods? - -Sales forecast plus non-sales revenue How did the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act impact retailers? - -It capped the debit card swipe fee at 21 cents. Which two activities are prohibited by insider trading laws and should be avoided by a firm's employees? - -Buying stock in the public company for which the employee works based on a conversation the employee overheard at a cocktail party between two of the company's executives Selling company stock because a co-worker told the employee the company's new drug is failing in clinical trial Which two risks does a firm face by funding the purchase of long-term assets with short term funding sources? - -Volatility of interest rates Frequent renewals Which funding source should a firm use if it wishes to secure long-term financing while retaining all of its equity? - -Long-term commercial bank loan Which three characteristics make commercial paper a low-risk, attractive source of short-term funding for a business? - -It can make large amounts of money available. It carries interest rates that are 1 to 2 percent less than bank loans. It has a maturity that ranges between 1 and 270 days. What should a firm do to manage the risk of using leverage when exploring long-term funding options? - -Ensure that earnings remain larger than interest payments Which financial statement should an investor examine to identify the liabilities of a firm? - -The balance sheet A company wishes to determine if it should fund a project with bonds or equity.Which business concept would it most likely use to assist in the decision? - -Leverage Which calculation determines a firm's return on equity? - -Net income divided by average equity Why should companies that are conservative investors with liquidity concerns invest their excess cash in money market funds? - -It converts easily into cash. Which regulatory relationship within the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) historically has acted to prohibit the U.S. from adopting the International Financial WGU C201 WGU C201 Reporting Standards (IFRS)? - -FASB requires companies to comply with GAAP that differ from IFRS Which users of financial statements use the financial statements to evaluate operations of the firm and to make investment decisions? - -Owners and creditors What is considered the heart of any information system? - -Database Which type of information system should be accessed by the vice president of sales for a national department store chain who wants to see the previous day's sales receipts? - -A transaction processing system How does a virtual private network contribute to a firm's workforce productivity? - Employees are enabled to work remotely with secure connectivity to the corporate network via the internet. What are three ways cloud computing services enhance company productivity? - Through more efficient application updates Through better resource utilization Through greater application availability for remote workers For which type of communication should employees have an ethical expectation of privacy from company monitoring? - -Personal letters sent through the company mail room Which activity raises ethical issues heightened by the capabilities of data mining? - Selling customer data for external marketing research Which intent of spyware creates a company security issue? - -The intent to report on a user's Internet activity True or False: Macroeconomics is the study of small economic units such as households and individual businesses. - -False Which of the following is true of supply and demand curves? - -Movement along the supply curve is the opposite of movement along the demand curve. In which of the following market structures are there a large numbers of buyers and sellers, each of whom has some significant control over price? - -Monopolistic competition A few industries in the United States, like transportation, energy, and communications, were deregulated in the 1980s and 1990s to - -improve customer service and reduce prices. WGU C201 WGU C201 If labor hours increase, the amount of natural resources used remains the same, and output remains constant, productivity is said to have: - -decreased. Core inflation rate is the inflation rate of an economy after ______and______ prices are removed. - -energy; food _____ is formulated by the Federal Reserve System - -Monetary policy A(n) _____ reduces the money supply to curb rising prices, overexpansion, and concerns about overly rapid economic growth. - -restrictive monetary policy What are the 4 stages of the business cycle? - -prosperity, recession, depression, recovery Total productivity = ________/_____________ - -output divided by input What are the 4 types of unemployment? - -frictional, seasonal, structural, cyclical The study of the choices people and governments make when allocating scarce resources. - -Economics