LSUS MBA 703 FINAL EXAM PAPER 2026
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ 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.
Answer: the accounting, finance, legal, and general administration
activities that allow an organization to function; ERP systems
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ 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.
Answer: the accounting, finance, legal, and general administration
activities that allow an organization to function; ERP systems
