WPC480 Midterm Exam COMPLETE QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS |GRADED A+| 100% CORRECT SCORE, Exams of Nursing

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WPC480 Midterm Exam COMPLETE QUESTIONS WITH

ANSWERS |GRADED A+| 100% CORRECT SCORE

Strategic Competitiveness ANSWER>>>> firms achieve strategic competitiveness by

successfully formulating and implementing a value creating strategy

Strategy ANSWER>>>> a strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments

and actions designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive

advantage

Competitive advantage ANSWER>>>> a firm has a competitive advantage when, by

implementing a chosen strategy, it creates superior value for customers, and

when competitors are not able to imitate the firm's products create or find it too

expensive to attempt imitation

Above-average returns ANSWER>>>> are returns in excess of what in investor expects to

earn from investments with a similar amount of risk

Risk ANSWER>>>> is an investor's uncertainty about the economic gains or losses

that will result from a particular investment

Hypercompetition ANSWER>>>> is a condition where competitors engage in intense

rivalry, markets change quickly and often, and entry barriers are low

Global economy ANSWER>>>> a global economy is one in which goods, services,

people, skills, and ideas move with limited barriers across geographic borders

Protectionism ANSWER>>>> involves action taken by a government to protect its

economy from adverse influences due to foreign trade

Globalization ANSWER>>>> is the increasing economic interdependence among

countries and their organizations as reflected in the flow of products, financial

capital, and knowledge across country borders

Global supply chain ANSWER>>>> a global supply chain is a network of firms that spans

multiple countries with the purpose of supplying goods and services

Global value chain ANSWER>>>> refers to the processes through which a firm receives

raw materials, uses them to addvalue through manufacturing a product that

provides greater utility for the consumer, and sells the product to another firm or

the ultimate consumer or the product, in a g lobal setting

Strategic flexibility ANSWER>>>> is a set of capabilities firms use to respond to various

demands and opportunities existing in today's dynamic and uncertain competitive

environment

Sustainability ANSWER>>>> means that a firm should not deplete or destroy natural

elements upon which it depends for survival

The I/O Model of Above-Average Returns ANSWER>>>>- the external environment

**- an attractive industry

• strategy formulation
• assets and skills
• strategy implementation
• superior returns**

Resources ANSWER>>>> are inputs into a firm's production process, such as capital

equipment, the skills of individual employees, patents, finances, and talented

managers

Capability ANSWER>>>> is the capacity for a set of resources to perform a task or an

activity in an integrative manner

Core competencies ANSWER>>>> are capabilities that serve as a source of competitive

advantage for a firm over its rivals

The Resource-Based Model of Above-Average Returns ANSWER>>>> resources, capability,

competitive advantage, an attractive industry, strategy formulation and

implementation

Stakeholders ANSWER>>>> are individuals, groups, and organizations that can both

influence and are affected by the objectives, actions, and outcomes of a firm

Primary stakeholders ANSWER>>>> are directly involved in the value creating process of

the firm

Secondary stakeholders ANSWER>>>> can both influence and are influenced by what the

firm does, but they do not contribute directly to the value the firm creates

The Stakeholder Model of Above-Average Returns ANSWER>>>> - stakeholders

**- reciprocity

• information useful for strategic planning
• strategy formulation
• strategy implementation
• superior returns**

Stakeholders ANSWER>>>>- Have a legitimate interest (stake) in what the firm does &

the firm depends on them to achieve its objectives

- Study external environment to determine which stakeholders are most

important to value creating processes

Reciprocity ANSWER>>>>- Stakeholders want to engage with the firms, are loyal, help

the firm achieve its objectives, and are willing to share valuable information

- Develop relationships with employees and external stakeholders based on

fairness, respect, and trust

Information useful for strategic planning ANSWER>>>>- Stakeholder needs and wants, ideas

for improvements to value creation process, ideas for product innovation

- Collect valuable information from stakeholders

Strategy formulation ANSWER>>>> - Opportunities to collaborate, innovative products,

enhanced efficiency

- Identify strategies that incorporate information from stakeholders

Strategy implementation ANSWER>>>>- Stakeholder needs and wants, ideas for

improvements to value creation process, potential areas for innovation

- Develop and carry out plans using collaborations with stakeholders where

possible

Superior returns ANSWER>>>> Earning of above-average returns

Vision ANSWER>>>> is a picture of what the firm wants to be and, in broad terms,

what it wants to ultimately achieve

Mission ANSWER>>>> specifies the businesses in which the firm intends to compete

and the customers it intends to service

Values ANSWER>>>> the values of an organization define that should matter most to

managers and employees that they make and implement strategic decisions

Strategic leaders ANSWER>>>> are people located in different areas and levels of the

firm using the strategic management process to select actions that help the firm

achieve its vision, fulfill its mission, and adhere to its values

Organizational culture ANSWER>>>> refers to the complex set of ideologies, symbols,

and core values that individuals throughout the firm share and that influence

how the firm conducts business

General environment ANSWER>>>>the general environment is composed of dimensions in the broader society that influence an industry and the firms within it Industry environment ANSWER>>>>the set of factors that directly influences a firm and its competitive actions and responses: the threat of new entrants, the power of suppliers, the power of buyers, the treat of product substitutes, and the intensity of rivalry among competing firms Competitor analysis ANSWER>>>>firms gather and interpret information about their competitors Opportunity ANSWER>>>>a condition in the general environment that, if exploited effectively, helps a company reach strategic competitiveness Threat ANSWER>>>>a condition in the general environment that may hinder a company's efforts to achieve strategic competitiveness the external environment inner ANSWER>>>>- industry environment

• competitor environment industry environment ANSWER>>>>threat of new entrants, power of suppliers, power of buyers, product substitutes, intensity of rivalry the external environment outer ANSWER>>>>demographic economic sustainable physical sociocultural global technological

political/legal Demographic segment ANSWER>>>>concerned with a population's size, age structure, geographic distribution, ethnic mix, and income distribution Economic environment ANSWER>>>>refers to the nature and direction of the economy in which a firm competes or may compete political/legal segment ANSWER>>>>the arena in which organizations and interest groups compete for attention, resources, and a voice in overseeing the body of laws and regulations guiding interactions among nations as well as between firms and various local governmental agencies Sociocultural segment ANSWER>>>>concerned with a society's attitudes and cultural values Technological segment ANSWER>>>>includes the institutions and activities involved in creating new knowledge and translating that knowledge into new outputs, products, processes, and materials Global segment ANSWER>>>>includes relevant new global markets and their critical cultural and institutional characteristics, existing markets that are changing, and important international political events Sustainable physical environment segment ANSWER>>>>refers to potential and actual changes in the physical environment as well as business practices that are intended to positively respond to those changes in order to create a sustainable environment Parts of the External Environment Analysis ANSWER>>>>scanning, monitoring, forecasting, assessing Scanning ANSWER>>>>identifying early signals of environmental changes and trends Monitoring ANSWER>>>>detecting meaning through ongoing observations of environmental changes and trends

Forecasting ANSWER>>>>developing projections of anticipated outcomes based on monitored changes and trends Assessing ANSWER>>>>determining the timing and importance of environmental changes and trends for firms' strategies and their management The Five Forces of Competition Model ANSWER>>>>1. Threat of new entrants

2. Bargaining power of suppliers
3. Bargaining power of buyers
4. Threat of substitute products
5. Rivalry among competing firms Threat of New Entrants ANSWER>>>>- Barriers to entry

• Economies of scale
• Product differentiation
• Capital requirements
• Switching costs
• Access to distribution channels
• Cost disadvantages independent of scale
• Government policy
• Expected retaliation Forces of competition ANSWER>>>>- Bargaining power of suppliers
• Bargaining power of buyers
• Threat of substitutes products Intensity of rivalry among competitors ANSWER>>>>-Numerous or equally balanced competitors
• Slow Industry Growth
• High fixed costs or high storage costs

• Lack of differentiation or low switching costs
• high strategic stakes
• high exit barriers Strategic group ANSWER>>>>a set of firms emphasizing similar strategic dimensions and using a similar strategy is called a strategic group Competitor Analysis Components ANSWER>>>>1. Future Objectives

2. Current Strategy
3. Assumptions
4. Capabilities
5. Response Competitor intelligence ANSWER>>>>is the set of data and information the firm gathers to better understand and anticipate competitors' objectives, strategies, assumptions, and capabilities Complementors ANSWER>>>>are companies or networks of companies that sell complementary goods or services that are compatible with the focal firm's goods or services Business ecosystem ANSWER>>>>a complex network of interconnected organizations - suppliers, customers, government agencies, technology, suppliers, financiers, and other stakeholder - whose competitive and cooperative efforts are associated with the satisfaction of a particular value proposition (ex. Product or service) Ethical considerations ANSWER>>>>firms must follow relevant laws and regulations as well as carefully articulated ethical guidelines when gathering competitor intelligence. Industry associations often develop lists of these practices that firms can adopt ethical considerations (both legal and ethnical) include: ANSWER>>>>-Obtaining publicly available information (ex. Court records, competitors' help-wanted advertisements, annual reports, financial reports of publicly held corporations, and Uniform Commercial Code filings

• Attending trade fair and shows to obtain competitors' brochures, view their exhibits, and listen to discussions about their products

A competitive advantage's sustainability is a function of three factors: ANSWER>>>>- The rate of core competence obsolescence because of environmental changes

• The availability of substitutes for the core competence
• The imitability of the core competence Global mind-set ANSWER>>>>the ability to analyze, understand, and manage an internal organization in ways that are not dependent on the assumptions of a single country, culture, or context Value ANSWER>>>>is measured by a product's performance characteristics and by its attributes for which customers are willing to pay Components of an internal analysis ANSWER>>>>- Resources (tangible and intangible)
• Capabilities
• Core competencies
• Discovering core competencies
• Competitive advantage
• Strategic competitiveness Four criteria of sustainable advantages ANSWER>>>>Valuable Rare Costly to imitate Nonsubstitutable Value chain analysis ANSWER>>>>outsource Conditions affecting managerial decisions about resources, capabilities, and core competencies ANSWER>>>>- uncertainty
• complexity
• intraorganizational conflicts

Tangible resources ANSWER>>>>are assets that can be observed and quantified Intangible resources ANSWER>>>>are assets that are rooted deeply in the firm's history, accumulate over time, and are relatively difficult for competitors to analyze and imitate Tangible resources ANSWER>>>>Financial Resources Organizational Resources Physical Resources Technological Resources intangible resources ANSWER>>>>human resources, innovation resources, reputational resources Strategic human capital ANSWER>>>>allows a firm to develop capabilities through matching the knowledge, skills, and abilities of their employees to particular strategic objectives Examples of Firms' capabilities ANSWER>>>>distribution human resources management information systems marketing management The four criteria of sustainable competitive advantage ANSWER>>>>valuable capabilities rare capabilities costly-to-imitate capabilities nonsubstitutable capabilities Value chain activities ANSWER>>>>are activities or tasks the firm completes in order to produce products and then sell, distribute, and service those products in ways that create value for customers

Support functions ANSWER>>>>include the activities or tasks the firm completes in order to support the work being done to produce, sell, distribute, and service the products the firm is producing Creating value through value chain activities ANSWER>>>>- Supply-chain management

• Distribution
• Marketing (including sales)
• Operations
• Follow-up service Value creation system ANSWER>>>>each part of a system depends on other parts of the system to create value. If one part of the system is not functioning properly, it can hold back creation of value in the entire system Outsourcing ANSWER>>>>is the purchase of a value-creating activity or a support function activity from an external supplier Reasons for outsourcing ANSWER>>>>Competencies Strengths Weaknesses Strategic decisions digital strategy ANSWER>>>>use of digital technology to help a firm understand its customers and their needs with greater clarity as a foundation for developing innovation that create more value for those customers business-level strategy ANSWER>>>>an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions the firm uses to gain a competitive advantage by exploiting core competencies in a specific product market effective global competitors ANSWER>>>>have become adept at identifying customers' needs in different cultures and geographic regions, as well as learning how to respond to changes in customer needs

reach ANSWER>>>>a firm's access and connection to customers richness ANSWER>>>>the depth and detail of the two-way flow of information between the firm and customers affiliation ANSWER>>>>encouraging ongoing customer interactions Firms give a lot of weight to customers when they are devising a business-level strategy. Managers must determine: ANSWER>>>>- Who will be served

• What needs those target customers have that it will satisfy
• How those needs will be satisfied Market segmentation ANSWER>>>>is the process of dividing customers into groups based on their needs basis for customer segmentation ANSWER>>>>consumer markets industrial markets Consumer markets ANSWER>>>>Demographic factors Socioeconomic factors Geographic factors Psychological factors Consumption patterns Perceptual factors Industrial markets ANSWER>>>>End-use segments Product segments Geographic segments Common buying factor segments

core competencies ANSWER>>>>used to implement value-creating strategies, thereby satisfying customers' needs (how) innovate and upgrade Business model ANSWER>>>>describes what a firm does to create, deliver, and capture value for its stakeholders Business model innovation ANSWER>>>>occurs when a firm determines that its current business model is outdated, and successfully replaces it with a newer one Franchise business model ANSWER>>>>a firm licensing its trademark and the process it follows to create and deliver a product to franchisees Franchise business model ANSWER>>>>The firm franchising its trademark and processes captures value by receiving fees and royalty payments from its franchisees The franchisor may also sell the franchisees many of the products used during the business operation Subscription business model ANSWER>>>>offers a product to customers regularly, such as once per month, once per year, or upon demand digital platform ANSWER>>>>an internet-based location for exchanges of information, goods, or services to occur between producers, consumers, and other members of the platform community Five business-level strategies: ANSWER>>>>integrated/cost leadership/differentiaton cost leadership strategy ANSWER>>>>an integrated set of actions taken to produce products with features that are acceptable to customers at the lowest cost, relative to that of competitors differentiation strategy ANSWER>>>>an integrated set of actions taken to produce products (at an acceptable cost) that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them

focus strategy ANSWER>>>>an integrated set of actions taken to produce products that serve the needs of a particular segment of customers Market segments firms may choose to serve by implementing a focus strategy that includes the following: ANSWER>>>>A particular buyer group A certain segment of a product line A particular geographic market A certain technology Integrated cost leadership/differentiation strategy ANSWER>>>>a firm engaging simultaneously in primary value-chain activities and support functions to achieve a low-cost position with some product differentiation Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) ANSWER>>>>firms integrate human, physical, and information resources to create somewhat differentiated products and to sell them to consumers at a relatively low price information networks ANSWER>>>>by linking companies with their suppliers, distributors, and customers, information networks provide another source of flexibility When used effectively these networks help the firm satisfy customer expectations regarding product quality and delivery speed Customer-relationship management (CRM) ANSWER>>>>360-degree view - relationship with customer

• all contact points, business processes, communication media, and sales channels Total quality management (TQM) ANSWER>>>>involves the implementation of appropriate tools.techniques to provide products and services to customers with best quality Increase customer satisfaction Cut costs Reduce the amount of time required to introduce innovative products to the marketplace competitors ANSWER>>>>are firms operating in the same market, offering similar products, and targeting similar customers

competitive rivalry ANSWER>>>>describes competitive actions and responses among firms as they maneuver for an advantageous market position competitive behavior ANSWER>>>>the set of competitive actions and responses a firm takes to build or defend its competitive advantages and improve its market position multipoint competition ANSWER>>>>occurs when firms compete against each other in several product or geographic markets competitive dynamics ANSWER>>>>the complete set of competitive actions and responses taken by all firms competing within a market competitive action ANSWER>>>>a strategic or tactical action the firm takes to build or defend its competitive advantages or improve its market position competitive response ANSWER>>>>a strategic or tactical action the firm takes to counter the effects of a competitor's competitive action strategic action (or strategic response) ANSWER>>>>a market-based move that involves a significant commitment of organizational resources and is difficult to implement and reverse tactical action (or tactical response) ANSWER>>>>a market-based move firms take to fine-tune a strategy; these actions and responses involve fewer resources and are relatively easy to implement and reverse non-market strategies ANSWER>>>>focus on altering a firm's institutional environment as a part of its competitive strategy non-market strategies ANSWER>>>>Used to attempt to change the industry architecture to make it more favorable from the perspective of one firm or, if firms combine their efforts, a group of firms Many firms use tactics such as lobbying, making donations to political candidates, and using media strategies that influence public opinion to change the rules in their favor (from gov)

competitor analysis ANSWER>>>>the first step the firm takes to predict the extent and nature of its rivalry with each competitor market commonality ANSWER>>>>concerned with the number of markets with which the firm and a competitor are jointly involved and the degree of importance of the individual markets to each Resource similarity ANSWER>>>>the extent to which the firm's tangible and intangible resources compare favorably to a competitor's in terms of type and amount drivers of competitive behavior ANSWER>>>>awareness, motivation, ability awareness ANSWER>>>>a prerequisite to any competitive action or response a firm takes) the extent to which competitors recognize the degree of their mutual interdependence that results from market commonality and resource similarity motivation ANSWER>>>>the firm's incentive to take action or respond to a competitor's attach, related to perceived gains and losses ability ANSWER>>>>the firm's available resources and flexibility (such as financial capital, people, etc.) actions that drive competitive rivalry ANSWER>>>>first mover, second mover, late mover first mover ANSWER>>>>a firm that takes an initial competitive action to build or defend its competitive advantages or to improve its market position second mover ANSWER>>>>a firm that responds to the first mover's competitive action, typically through imitation late mover ANSWER>>>>a firm that responds to a competitive action a significant amount of time after the first mover's action and the second mover's response

An organization's size affects the likelihood it will take a competitive actions as well as the types and timing of those actions ANSWER>>>>Small firms: launch competitive actions and tend to do so more quickly (nimble and flexible competitors) Large firms: initiate a larger total number of competitive actions and strategic actions during a given period because they have more resources to do so quality ANSWER>>>>exists when the firm's products meet or exceed customers' expectations Products with zero defects Continuous improvement likelihood or response ANSWER>>>>The action leads to better use of the competitor's capabilities to develop a stronger competitive advantage or an improvement in its market position The action damages the firm's ability to use its core competencies to create or maintain an advantage The firm's market position becomes harder to defend actor's reputation ANSWER>>>>an actor is the firm taking an action or a response, while reputation is the "positive or negative attribute ascribed by one rival to another" based on past competitive behavior a positive reputation ANSWER>>>>may be a source of above-average returns. especially got consumer goods producers market dependence ANSWER>>>>extent to which a firm derives its revenues or profits from a particular market competitors with high market dependence ANSWER>>>>are likely to respond strongly to attacks threatening their market position competitive dynamics ANSWER>>>>concerns the ongoing actions and responses among all firms competing within a market for advantageous positions competitive dynamics in different types of markets ANSWER>>>>slow-cycle markets

fast-cycle markets standard-cycle slow-cycle markets ANSWER>>>>markets in which competitors lack the ability to imitate the focal firm's competitive advantages that commonly last for long periods, and where imitation would be costly fast-cycle markets ANSWER>>>>markets in which competitors can imitate the focal firm's capabilities that contribute to its competitive advantages and where that imitation is often rapid and inexpensive standard-cycle markets ANSWER>>>>markets in which some competitors may be able to imitate the focal firm's competitive advantages and where that imitation is moderately costly gradual erosion of a sustained competitive advantage ANSWER>>>>launch, exploitation, counterattack