Exam 3: The External Assessment

Spending on domestic and international travel by Gulf nationals in 2000 amounts to 8.7 percent of the total personal consumption in the region,and is expected to grow at 5.2 percent per year over the next decade.

A global strategy seeks to meet the needs of customers worldwide with the lowest cost at the highest value.

What are the five major types of external forces that should be examined as part of an external audit?

An external audit focuses on identifying and evaluating trends and events within the control of management.

Decreasing demands for oil will significantly impact the economies of many countries in the Middle East region,as these countries are either oil producers or labor exporters for the oil- producing countries.

What are educated assumptions about future trends and events?

According to Business Week,9 out of 10 large companies have employees dedicated solely to gathering competitive intelligence.

Collecting and evaluating information on competitors is essential for successful

Explain how the Internet is changing businesses around the world.

Forecasts are educated assumptions about future trends and events.

Identify five key economic variables that could represent major opportunities or threats to a bank in your town or city.

What is not one of Michael Porter's five competitive forces?

Both a Competitive Profile Matrix and an EFE Matrix have the same meaning in the weights,ratings and total weighted scores.

The first step for using Porter's Five- Forces Model is to evaluate the relative strength of each competitive force.

The Arab world,in general,has a high rate of birth; and the youth demographic group is one of the largest in the population.

Discuss the I/O approach in relation to competitive advantage.

Discuss the following statement: "Corporate intelligence is not corporate espionage because 95 percent of the information a company needs to make strategic decisions is available and accessible to the public."

The term that refers to the EU's effort to end competitive tax breaks among member countries is

In an External Factor Evaluation Matrix,opportunities often receive higher weights than threats,but threats too can receive high weights if they are especially severe or threatening.

The I/O approach to competitive advantage argues that external factors are internal factors in a firm achieving competitive advantage.