GLO-BUS CH 4 EXAM QUESTIONS &
DETAILED COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
When a company gains the experience and know-how to perform an activity
consistently well and at an acceptable cost, it is said to have - Correct Answer ✔✔ a
competence in performing that activity
According to Figure 4.5 and the related discussion, one option a company has for
achieving competitive advantage is by out-managing rivals in - Correct Answer ✔✔
performing certain differentiation-enhancing value chain activities more proficiently than
rivals, thus creating a differentiation-based competitive advantage keyed to delivering
what customers perceive as a superior product offering
Which of the following is not one of the six questions that comprise the task of
evaluating a company's collection of resources and capabilities, the competitiveness of
its prices and internal operating costs, and its competitive strength versus rivals -
Correct Answer ✔✔ What are the the company's most profitable geographic market
segments?
According to Figure 4.1, which of the following is NOT pertinent in identifying a
company's present strategy? - Correct Answer ✔✔ The number and type of core
competencies a company has and the kinds of activities that comprise its value chain
Which of the following is NOT one of the objectives of benchmarking - Correct Answer
✔✔ To learn which company in an industry is using the greatest number of best
practices in performing its value chain activities and thus very likely has the industry's
lowest cost value chain
Which of the following is an accurate interpretation of the overall competitive strength
ratings that result from doing a competitive strength assessment (as illustrated in Table
4.3 and explained in the accompanying discussion)? - Correct Answer ✔✔ The higher a
company's overall competitive strength score/rating the stronger is its competitiveness
and ability to compete successfully against rival industry members; low scores signal
weak competitiveness and probable competitive disadvantage compared to rivals with
higher scores
In Table 4.2, which one of the following is not an example of a potential market
opportunity that a company may have? - Correct Answer ✔✔ Launching initiatives to try
to block the entry (or likely entry) or new competitors (especially lower-cost foreign
firms) into those geographic markets where the company earns big profits or have a big
market share
, The competitive power of a company resource or capability is NOT measured by which
of the following tests - Correct Answer ✔✔ Does the resource or capability help the
company improve the cost efficiency of its value chain?
The three steps of SWOT analysis are - Correct Answer ✔✔ identifying the company's
resource strengths and weaknesses and its opportunities and threats, drawing
conclusions about the company's overall business situation, and translating the
conclusions into strategic actions and an overall strategy that is well-matched to the
company's overall situation
In Table 4.2, which of the following is NOT an example of a potential weakness or
competitive deficiency that a company may have? - Correct Answer ✔✔ A product
offering that is not strongly differentiated from rivals
Which of the following statements about company value chain is false? - Correct
Answer ✔✔ Identifying the primary and secondary activities that comprise a company's
value chain and comparing these activities to the value chain activities of rivals is called
benchmarking
According to the illustration in Table 4.3 and the accompanying discussion, the
methodology for doing a weighted competitive strength assessment entails - Correct
Answer ✔✔ Determining the most telling measures of competitive strength or weakness
(which usually include most of the industry's key success factors), assigning weights to
these measures, rating each company's strength on each measure (often using a scale
of 1-10), multiplying each company's strength rating by its respective weight, and
summing the weighted scores to get an overall competitive strength score; the company
with the highest weighted score is the competitively strongest and the company with the
lowest weighted score is the weakest.
Which of the following is most likely to represent a company's most potent resource or
capability? - Correct Answer ✔✔ A distinctive competence in performing a competitively
important value chain activity
A company's value chain identifies - Correct Answer ✔✔ the primary activities it
performs in creating value for its customers and the related support activities.
SWOT analysis is a powerful tool for - Correct Answer ✔✔ Sizing up a company's
competitively important strengths and weaknesses, its market opportunities, and the
external threats to its future well-being
Which of the following is NOT an option for lowering costs of distribution-related
activities? - Correct Answer ✔✔ Implementing an activity-based accounting system for
all distribution related activities and ceasing to perform all those distribution-related
activities having unacceptably high costs
DETAILED COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
When a company gains the experience and know-how to perform an activity
consistently well and at an acceptable cost, it is said to have - Correct Answer ✔✔ a
competence in performing that activity
According to Figure 4.5 and the related discussion, one option a company has for
achieving competitive advantage is by out-managing rivals in - Correct Answer ✔✔
performing certain differentiation-enhancing value chain activities more proficiently than
rivals, thus creating a differentiation-based competitive advantage keyed to delivering
what customers perceive as a superior product offering
Which of the following is not one of the six questions that comprise the task of
evaluating a company's collection of resources and capabilities, the competitiveness of
its prices and internal operating costs, and its competitive strength versus rivals -
Correct Answer ✔✔ What are the the company's most profitable geographic market
segments?
According to Figure 4.1, which of the following is NOT pertinent in identifying a
company's present strategy? - Correct Answer ✔✔ The number and type of core
competencies a company has and the kinds of activities that comprise its value chain
Which of the following is NOT one of the objectives of benchmarking - Correct Answer
✔✔ To learn which company in an industry is using the greatest number of best
practices in performing its value chain activities and thus very likely has the industry's
lowest cost value chain
Which of the following is an accurate interpretation of the overall competitive strength
ratings that result from doing a competitive strength assessment (as illustrated in Table
4.3 and explained in the accompanying discussion)? - Correct Answer ✔✔ The higher a
company's overall competitive strength score/rating the stronger is its competitiveness
and ability to compete successfully against rival industry members; low scores signal
weak competitiveness and probable competitive disadvantage compared to rivals with
higher scores
In Table 4.2, which one of the following is not an example of a potential market
opportunity that a company may have? - Correct Answer ✔✔ Launching initiatives to try
to block the entry (or likely entry) or new competitors (especially lower-cost foreign
firms) into those geographic markets where the company earns big profits or have a big
market share
, The competitive power of a company resource or capability is NOT measured by which
of the following tests - Correct Answer ✔✔ Does the resource or capability help the
company improve the cost efficiency of its value chain?
The three steps of SWOT analysis are - Correct Answer ✔✔ identifying the company's
resource strengths and weaknesses and its opportunities and threats, drawing
conclusions about the company's overall business situation, and translating the
conclusions into strategic actions and an overall strategy that is well-matched to the
company's overall situation
In Table 4.2, which of the following is NOT an example of a potential weakness or
competitive deficiency that a company may have? - Correct Answer ✔✔ A product
offering that is not strongly differentiated from rivals
Which of the following statements about company value chain is false? - Correct
Answer ✔✔ Identifying the primary and secondary activities that comprise a company's
value chain and comparing these activities to the value chain activities of rivals is called
benchmarking
According to the illustration in Table 4.3 and the accompanying discussion, the
methodology for doing a weighted competitive strength assessment entails - Correct
Answer ✔✔ Determining the most telling measures of competitive strength or weakness
(which usually include most of the industry's key success factors), assigning weights to
these measures, rating each company's strength on each measure (often using a scale
of 1-10), multiplying each company's strength rating by its respective weight, and
summing the weighted scores to get an overall competitive strength score; the company
with the highest weighted score is the competitively strongest and the company with the
lowest weighted score is the weakest.
Which of the following is most likely to represent a company's most potent resource or
capability? - Correct Answer ✔✔ A distinctive competence in performing a competitively
important value chain activity
A company's value chain identifies - Correct Answer ✔✔ the primary activities it
performs in creating value for its customers and the related support activities.
SWOT analysis is a powerful tool for - Correct Answer ✔✔ Sizing up a company's
competitively important strengths and weaknesses, its market opportunities, and the
external threats to its future well-being
Which of the following is NOT an option for lowering costs of distribution-related
activities? - Correct Answer ✔✔ Implementing an activity-based accounting system for
all distribution related activities and ceasing to perform all those distribution-related
activities having unacceptably high costs
