MGT 498 Final Exam MCQs ..............

QUESTION 1

1. A ____________ is an association of several companies sharing a specific strategic purpose.

a.

cross-equity alliance

b.

virtual alliance

c.

golden parachute

d.

consortia

e.

diversified organization

5 points

QUESTION 2

1. When considering first-mover advantage within an industry that has powerful suppliers, which of the following is a critical resource for the first-mover to possess?

a.

The implementation of pay for performance

b.

Bargaining power

c.

Valuable customers

d.

An easily imitated product

e.

An easily imitated service

5 points

QUESTION 3

1. The most complex configuation aims to simultaneously achieve global ____________.

a.

cost leadership and differentiation

b.

mergers and acquisitions

c.

efficiency and maximize local responsiveness

d.

dominance while acting in an ethical fashion

e.

notoriety while keeping proprietary information secret

5 points

QUESTION 4

1. Effective corporate strategies focus on __________.

a.

considering how entry into a new industry will increase overall firm competitiveness

b.

considering how the corporation can add value to its existing lines of business

c.

considering which business arenas the company should compete in

d.

considering how diversification might help the corporation to compete

e.

All of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 5

1. In an alliance with Big Company, your company invested in a $10,000,000 diaper making machine with the idea being that Big Company would buy the supply of diapers you made over the next ten years. After you had bought and installed the machine, the management of Big Company informed you that they would only be paying you 10 cents a diaper as opposed to the 20 cents you thought they had initially indicated. This is an example of ___________.

a.

adverse selction

b.

moral hazard

c.

a hold-up

d.

how easy it is to understand alliance partners

e.

a criminal activity

5 points

QUESTION 6

1. The essential elements of ___________ deal with accountability for fraud, analysts' conflicts of interest, disclosure, auditor independence, accounting oversight and attorney's responsibilities.

a.

the Taft-Hartley Act

b.

the EEOC

c.

the Humpty-Dumpty Act

d.

the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

e.

Emageon analysis

5 points

QUESTION 7

1. ____________ strategies do not take existing rules of competition for granted but attempt to create value by approaching competition by violating some of these taken-for-granted rules.

a.

Illegal

b.

Unethical

c.

Revolutionary

d.

Static

e.

Global

5 points

QUESTION 8

1. ___________ is/are required if top management wants to execute rapid strategic change.

a.

Confusion

b.

Stress

c.

Incentives

d.

Frustration

e.

Conflict

5 points

QUESTION 9

1. ___________ is an exaggerated self-confidence that may lead managers to overestimate the value of an acquisition target.

a.

Agency theory

b.

Esteem

c.

Hubris

d.

Efficacy

e.

Ineptitude

5 points

QUESTION 10

1. The "Milk Cliff" concerns _________.

a.

an attractive vacation location on the shores of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula

b.

a lack of political leadership

c.

where cows go to hang-out

d.

tension among the major political parties

e.

where one throws his or her money in the air, and hopes it hits the river of milk below

5 points

QUESTION 11

1. The breadth and diversity of countries in which a firm operates is referred to as __________.

a.

geographic scope

b.

global positioning

c.

diversification

d.

differentiation

e.

transnational operations

5 points

QUESTION 12

1. When entering a promising arena with a new business a company can ________.

a.

use a revolutionary strategy

b.

focus on a niche

c.

leverage existing resources

d.

use various combinations of (a), (b), and (c)

e.

any one method, either (a), or (b), or (c)

5 points

QUESTION 13

1. If you were considering the impact that different languages, political stability, physical remoteness, and cost and quality of available resources were going to have on your plans for geographical expansion, you would most likely be using ____________ as an analysis tool.

a.

the value net

b.

portfolio planning

c.

profit pools

d.

the cage framework

e.

Bower's Classification

5 points

QUESTION 14

1. When thinking about strategic alliances the _________ is a framework that allows the top management of firms to better understand which points of coordination exist as opportunities for improving performance.

a.

value chain

b.

competitive grid

c.

diversity complex

d.

theory of quantum mechanics

e.

winner's circle

5 points

QUESTION 15

1. Which of the following allows top management to better control its organization?

a.

Organizational processes

b.

Organizational structure

c.

Organizational systems

d.

Incentive programs for employees

e.

All of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 16

1. Your firm has created a contract with Political Contacts. LLC., located in Mexico to provide you with needed political advice and connections for your geographic expansion. Unfortunately, Political Contacts, LLC has personnel that know very little and have no useful political connections in Mexico. This is an example of ____________.

a.

adverse selection

b.

moral hazard

c.

a hold-up

d.

how easy it is to understand alliance partners

e.

your management having done a good job with its due diligence

5 points

QUESTION 17

1. Which of the following are considered the three Cs of strategy communication?

a.

Contacts, Contracts, Credibility

b.

Contacts, Collaboration, Cultural Understanding

c.

Collaboration, Credibility, Cultural Understanding

d.

Contacts, Credibility, Cultural Understanding

e.

Contacts, Clarity, Cultural Understanding

5 points

QUESTION 18

1. Mathmatically, synergy can be expressed as ____________.

a.

14/2 = 7

b.

4+4=10

c.

2+2<4

d.

4/2=2

e.

2+2=3

5 points

QUESTION 19

1. During the implementation of a strategic alliance, your partner fails to provide you with its best engineers as promised, instead allowing you to use its less experienced engineers. This is an example of _________.

a.

adverse selection

b.

moral hazard

c.

a hold-up

d.

how stability can be counted on in alliances

e.

how easy it is to understand alliance partners

5 points

QUESTION 20

1. Which of the following is true?

a.

Strategy formulation is the same as strategy implementation.

b.

Implementation levers can be considered organizational control mechanisms.

c.

There is no meaningful difference between general and specialized resources.

d.

Profit pools fail to evaluate adjacent market opportunities.

e.

None of the above are true.

5 points

QUESTION 21

1. Red Bull entered the ________ market of energy drinks within the larger soft drink market.

a.

shrinking

b.

alcoholic

c.

mature

d.

niche

e.

declining

5 points

QUESTION 22

1. __________ is the final stage of the turnaround process.

a.

Stabilization

b.

Implementing an emergency action plan

c.

Analyzing the situation

d.

Changing management

e.

Returning to normal

5 points

QUESTION 23

1. Incentive packages that include _________ tend to promote longer-term performance.

a.

piece-rate compensation

b.

restricted stock

c.

quarterly bonuses

d.

stock dividends

e.

pay inequity

5 points

QUESTION 24

1. It is important to __________ to get organizational transformation started.

a.

form a powerful guiding coalition

b.

plan for and create short-term wins

c.

communicate the vision

d.

establish a sense of urgency

e.

create a vision

5 points

QUESTION 25

1. A ___________ is defined as the collection of ties between people and the strength of those ties.

a.

Facebook network

b.

formal organizational structure

c.

social network

d.

strategic alliance

e.

matrix structure

5 points

QUESTION 26

1. Which of the following is not one of the four causes of dynamic change in an industry?

a.

Competitive interactions

b.

Global issues

c.

Technological disruptions

d.

Reliance on accepted assumptions

e.

Industry evolution

5 points

QUESTION 27

1. Efficiency is ________.

a.

defined as the time it takes to produce a product

b.

pursued only by cost leaders

c.

defined as the cost of inputs required to produce a given output

d.

defined as the time and costs of inputs required to produce

e.

None of These

5 points

QUESTION 28

1. Wall Street usually reacts positively to firm downsizing moves that often result in _________.

a.

long-term performance declines

b.

more employees showing-up for work

c.

a lower average turnover

d.

an immediately lower stock price

e.

increasing the redundancy of organizational roles

5 points

QUESTION 29

1. Which of the following conditions are necessary for a first-mover to sustain competitive advantage?

a.

The scale of a firm's first move makes imitation unlikely

b.

A first-mover has difficulty establishing a positive reputation

c.

The first-mover's product or service meets an important need but is flawed

d.

The first mover lacks a key complement, such as distribution channel access, relative to better access by a competitor

e.

None of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 30

1. The ____________ is the idea that every public company is theoretically for sale.

a.

free market

b.

the bid-ask default notion

c.

four-actions framework

d.

market for coporate control

e.

economies of the long tail

5 points

QUESTION 31

1. A good business definition will ____________.

a.

make imitation easy for competitors

b.

remain static over time

c.

reflect creative exploration of opportunities in the competitive space

d.

be based on imitating competitors

e.

None of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 32

1. When there are many opportunities to gain global efficiencies and customer demands require a relatively high level of local responsiveness, it is best to develop and execute a/an ____________ vision.

a.

international

b.

transnational

c.

global

d.

multinational

e.

niche

5 points

QUESTION 33

1. A __________ is a corporation that operates many businesses that are largely unrelated.

a.

conglomerate

b.

niche player

c.

differentiator

d.

multinational firm

e.

None of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 34

1. The simpliest vehicle for international expansion is _____________.

a.

to create alliances

b.

to export

c.

to consolidate structures across boundaries

d.

to make foreign direct investments

e.

to merge with multinational corporations

5 points

QUESTION 35

1. ___________ are used to access more capital through the world's stock markets.

a.

Net present value calculations

b.

Bootstrapping techniques

c.

IPOs

d.

Expatriates

e.

Value nets

5 points

QUESTION 36

1. The risk of a price war is greatest in which of the following circumstances?

a.

A high-growth industry

b.

An industry characterized by falling demand, high exit barriers, and excessive productive capacity

c.

An industry characterized by a "commodity-type" product, strong demand, and low exit barriers

d.

A mature industry during an economic upturn

e.

An industry characterized by tacit price agreements

5 points

QUESTION 37

1. Which of the following is true regarding corporate governance?

a.

it includes pay and promotion considerations

b.

it affects the way strategy is executed

c.

it is related to strategy formulation

d.

it is related to strategy implementation

e.

All of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 38

1. __________ options may occur when an entry investment creates opportunities to pursue valuable follow-up projects.

a.

Learning

b.

Growth

c.

Flexibility

d.

Exit

e.

Waiting-to-invest

5 points

QUESTION 39

1. All of the following except _________ are global trends.

a.

increasing resource strains

b.

a growing number of consumers in emerging economies

c.

decreasing global labor and talent markets

d.

increasing environmental strains

e.

shifting of economic activity within countries and regions

5 points

QUESTION 40

1. Corporate governance mechanism are ____________.

a.

pretty much the same wherever you go

b.

are somewhat dependent on the national context in question

c.

characterized by an immediate abandoning of the old established technology

d.

more adversarial between owners and managers in Japan

e.

indifferent to the interests of corporate shareholders

5 points

QUESTION 41

1. The _____________ occurs when a new product generates rapid growth and huge sales increases.

a.

IPO

b.

maturation phase

c.

takeoff period

d.

product life-cycle

e.

All of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 42

1. Because every country has a relatively unique business environment, the more country environments a firm must deal with, the __________ cost(s) of coordinating operations across these diverse environments.

a.

greater the difficulty and

b.

greater the chance of synergy and a lower

c.

lower the

d.

easier it will be to absorb

e.

None of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 43

1. Making decisions about which value chain activities to engage in while pursuing international strategies involves considering the _________ element.

a.

differentiators

b.

economic logic

c.

vehicles

d.

staging and pacing

e.

arenas

5 points

QUESTION 44

1. The balanced scorecard ____________.

a.

balances costs against benefits

b.

measures strategy and vision against business and operating-unit-level performance

c.

attempts to weigh the benefits of combining cost leadership and differentiation

d.

focuses on only financial objectives

e.

has nothing to do with personal objectives

5 points

QUESTION 45

1. Which of the following is false?

a.

Total benefits of internationalization take the shape of a S-curve

b.

Total costs of internationalization tend to increase with levels of internationalization

c.

Net gains from internationalization tend to increase as levels of internationalization increase

d.

Net gains from internationalization take on the shape of a S-curve

e.

Net gains from internationalization are affected by the total costs of internationalization

5 points

QUESTION 46

1. ___________ suggests that because competitive actions will generate reactions, a firm's managers should predict reactions to its actions and use that information to determine what would be the best course of action given competitors' likely reactions.

a.

Being "stuck-in-the-middle"

b.

Institutional theory

c.

The theory of perfect competition

d.

Competitive interaction theory

e.

The resource-based theory of the firm

5 points

QUESTION 47

1. In ________ public firms are controlled by state-owned or state-controlled share-holders.

a.

Detroit

b.

Flint

c.

China

d.

the U.S.A.

e.

both (a) and (b)

5 points

QUESTION 48

1. When workers are treated as a commodity you can expect ________ pay and ________ commitment.

a.

low / high

b.

low / low

c.

high / low

d.

high / high

e.

All of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 49

1. The Krispy Kreme case provides an example of ___________.

a.

how important it is to have a delicious doughnut

b.

the importance of good corporate governance

c.

a company stock price that just keeps rising and rising

d.

how the pocket book is more important than the stomach

e.

why public servants are often found in doughnut shops

5 points

QUESTION 50

1. Implementing the integration of a new acquisition is ______________.

a.

not so much an event as it is a continual process

b.

easy once the firm is acquired

c.

purely a cultural issue

d.

purely a technical issue

e.

a process in which important decisions should be made slowly

5 points

QUESTION 51

1. A company lacking only __________ will likely experience a very stressful transformation.

a.

a clear communication of vision

b.

an appropriate structure

c.

a well thought-out execution plan

d.

the requisite skills

e.

the motivating incentives

5 points

QUESTION 52

1. Potential advantages of alliances include ___________.

knowledge sharing

effective management

joint investment

complimentary resources

All of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 53

1. In an industry with intense rivalry resulting in supply consistently being higher than demand, you would expect the following type of M&A:

a.

Product/Market extension

b.

Geographic roll-ups

c.

Industry convergence

d.

M&A as Research and Development

e.

Overcapacity M&A

5 points

QUESTION 54

1. ____________ call for managers to think of arenas as sites in which to conduct experiments or launch probes into the possible future of the firm and its strategy.

a.

Idiosyncratic resources

b.

Technological discontinuities

c.

Turbulent and hypercompetitive markets

d.

Glabalization strategies

e.

None of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 55

1. Which of the following is a sound management practice? Aiming for _________ and rewarding for _________.

a.

teamwork / individual effort

b.

candor / agreeing with the boss

c.

delayering / creating efficiency

d.

long-term growth / quarterly earnings

e.

total quality / shipping on schedule even with defects

5 points

QUESTION 56

1. Which of the following industries contains the majority of the top six revenue generating corporations?

a.

Automotive

b.

Banking

c.

Insurance

d.

Oil and Gas

e.

Telecommunications

5 points

QUESTION 57

1. Which of the following is false?

a.

In dynamic environments, synergies are achieved through static definitions of the business-unit arenas and formal structural links among them.

b.

Monopolies tend to dictate the price levels in a market by controlling supply.

c.

In the evolution of firms over time, most leadership teams decide to expand into new businesses.

d.

Firms with a broad scope of business activities have different demands for organizational structure than firms that are narrowly focused.

e.

Perfect competition is the ideal environment for maximizing firm profits.

5 points

QUESTION 58

1. Entrepreneurship starts with _____________.

a.

venture capitalists

b.

angel investors

c.

financing

d.

an idea

e.

None of the Above

5 points

QUESTION 59

1. __________ is best described as a web of shifting linkages among evolving businesses.

a.

A social network

b.

High-end disruption

c.

Low-end disruption

d.

An agency problem

e.

Coevolution

5 points

QUESTION 60

1. All of the following except ____________ are part of strategy formulation.

a.

staging and pricing

b.

deciding on which industries to compete in

c.

executing implementation levers

d.

considering the economic logic of your business model

e.

determining what will differentiate your product or service