Exam 3: The Internal Organization: Resources, Capabilities, Core Competencies, and Competitive Advantages

Firms can develop a capability and/or core competence in any of the value chain activities and in any of the support functions.

A major department store chain has a strict policy of banning photographs or videos of its sales floor or back room operations. It also does not allow academics to conduct studies of it for publication in research journals. In fact, some of its own top managers refer to the management's policies on secrecy as "verging on paranoid." These policies indicate that the top management of the firm believes the organization's core competencies are

All of the following are tangible resources EXCEPT

Although an organization's good reputation is a valuable resource that takes years of superior marketplace competence to achieve, it is not a good basis for building a competitive advantage because it can be destroyed almost instantly by bad publicity.

The need to meet quarterly earnings numbers disciplines managers to accurately examine the firm's internal organization.

What are the differences between tangible and intangible resources? Which category of resources is more valuable to the firm?

Tangible resources include

In the airline industry, frequent-flyer programs, ticket kiosks, and e-ticketing are all examples of capabilities that are ____ but no longer ____.

Compared to tangible resources, intangible resources are

Several months ago, a restaurant developed a new appetizer that is a hit with customers. Many customers go to the restaurant just for the appetizer and it was at the center of a recent highly positive review by a food critic. Preparation involves common ingredients and average culinary skills levels, but requires a very high oven temperature which significantly increases utility costs. Several competing restaurants have since added their own version of the appetizer to their menu. Which criteria for assessing capabilities/core competencies is met?

The sustainability of a competitive advantage depends upon the rate of obsolescence of the core competence, the availability of substitutes for the core competence, and the imitability of the core competence.

To build social capital whereby resources such as knowledge are transferred across organizations requires _________between the parties.

The overall lesson from the Chapter 3 Strategic Focus about decision-making at several companies was the importance of _________