LSUS MBA 703 FINAL EXAM PRACTICE
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED EXPLANATIONS
2026
◉ Explanations of productivity paradox.
Answer: 1. Measurement of outputs and inputs 2. Lags due to
learning and adjustment 3. Redistribution and dissipation of profits
4. Mismanagement of information and technology
◉ 1998 Brynjolfsson and Lorin Hitt "Beyond the Productivity
Paradox".
Answer: IT did indeed provide a positive result for businesses;
sometime the true advantage were not directly relatable to higher
productivity, but to "softer" measures - impact on organization
structure
◉ Year the Internet stock market bubble burst.
Answer: 2001
◉ When Nicholas Carr wrote "IT Doesn't Matter" for Harvard
Business Review.
Answer: 2003
,◉ "IT Doesn't Matter" said.
Answer: IT had become less of a differentiator and more of a
commodity - should be managed like one - low cost, low risk
◉ Best thing to come out of "Does IT Matter" article and book.
Answer: opened up discussion on the place of IT in a business
strategy
◉ Michael Porter "Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining
Superior Performance".
Answer: A company is said to have a competitive advantage over its
rivals when it is able to sustain profits that exceed average for the
industry.
◉ Porter - 2 primary methods for obtaining competitive advantage.
Answer: 1. cost advantage 2. differentiation advantage
◉ 2 of Porter's analysis tools.
Answer: 1. the value chain 2. the 5 Forces model
◉ Porter's 2001 article "Strategy and the Internet".
Answer: examines the impact of the Internet on business strategy
and competitive advantage
,◉ value chain.
Answer: a series of activities undertaken by the company to produce
a product or service
◉ 2 set of activities of a value chain.
Answer: 1. primary activities 2. support activities
◉ Primary activities in the value chain.
Answer: 1. inbound logistics
2. operations
3. outbound logistics
4. marketing and sales
5. service
◉ inbound logistics.
Answer: The area of logistics that involves bringing raw materials,
packaging, other goods and services, and information from suppliers
to producers; supply chain management
◉ Operations.
Answer: transforms raw materials or inputs into goods and services;
manufacturing to business process management
, ◉ outbound logistics.
Answer: the functions required to get the product out to the
customer; IT can be a delivery mechanism itself
◉ Sales/Marketing.
Answer: the functions that will entice buyers to purchase products;
IT can be used to innovate product design and reach customer like
never before; the company website can be a sales channel itself
◉ Service.
Answer: the functions a business performs after the product has
been purchased to maintain and enhance the product's value
◉ Support activities.
Answer: the functions in an organization that support, and cut
across, all of the primary activities
◉ Support Activities in the Value Chain.
Answer: firm infrastructure, human resource management,
technology development, procurement
◉ firm infrastructure.
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED EXPLANATIONS
2026
◉ Explanations of productivity paradox.
Answer: 1. Measurement of outputs and inputs 2. Lags due to
learning and adjustment 3. Redistribution and dissipation of profits
4. Mismanagement of information and technology
◉ 1998 Brynjolfsson and Lorin Hitt "Beyond the Productivity
Paradox".
Answer: IT did indeed provide a positive result for businesses;
sometime the true advantage were not directly relatable to higher
productivity, but to "softer" measures - impact on organization
structure
◉ Year the Internet stock market bubble burst.
Answer: 2001
◉ When Nicholas Carr wrote "IT Doesn't Matter" for Harvard
Business Review.
Answer: 2003
,◉ "IT Doesn't Matter" said.
Answer: IT had become less of a differentiator and more of a
commodity - should be managed like one - low cost, low risk
◉ Best thing to come out of "Does IT Matter" article and book.
Answer: opened up discussion on the place of IT in a business
strategy
◉ Michael Porter "Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining
Superior Performance".
Answer: A company is said to have a competitive advantage over its
rivals when it is able to sustain profits that exceed average for the
industry.
◉ Porter - 2 primary methods for obtaining competitive advantage.
Answer: 1. cost advantage 2. differentiation advantage
◉ 2 of Porter's analysis tools.
Answer: 1. the value chain 2. the 5 Forces model
◉ Porter's 2001 article "Strategy and the Internet".
Answer: examines the impact of the Internet on business strategy
and competitive advantage
,◉ value chain.
Answer: a series of activities undertaken by the company to produce
a product or service
◉ 2 set of activities of a value chain.
Answer: 1. primary activities 2. support activities
◉ Primary activities in the value chain.
Answer: 1. inbound logistics
2. operations
3. outbound logistics
4. marketing and sales
5. service
◉ inbound logistics.
Answer: The area of logistics that involves bringing raw materials,
packaging, other goods and services, and information from suppliers
to producers; supply chain management
◉ Operations.
Answer: transforms raw materials or inputs into goods and services;
manufacturing to business process management
, ◉ outbound logistics.
Answer: the functions required to get the product out to the
customer; IT can be a delivery mechanism itself
◉ Sales/Marketing.
Answer: the functions that will entice buyers to purchase products;
IT can be used to innovate product design and reach customer like
never before; the company website can be a sales channel itself
◉ Service.
Answer: the functions a business performs after the product has
been purchased to maintain and enhance the product's value
◉ Support activities.
Answer: the functions in an organization that support, and cut
across, all of the primary activities
◉ Support Activities in the Value Chain.
Answer: firm infrastructure, human resource management,
technology development, procurement
◉ firm infrastructure.
