Exam 4: Business Level Strategy

Business-level strategies detail commitments and actions taken to provide value to customers and gain competitive advantage by exploiting core competencies in

According to the Chapter 4 Strategic Focus, while counterfeiting creates jobs, these jobs pay less and the companies and employees pay few if any taxes.

Target's brand promise "Expect More. Pay Less" and appeal to higher-income, fashion conscious discount shoppers illustrates the ________________strategy

Zara has pioneered "cheap chic" in clothing apparel. Zara offers current and desirable fashion goods at relatively low prices. To implement the strategy, Zara uses sophisticated designers and effective means of managing costs. These are all characteristics of which business level strategy?

The three dimensions of a firm's relationships with customers include all the following EXCEPT

Case Scenario : International Cow Packers. International Cow Packers (ICP) is a $12 billion meat processor (slaughter, processing, and packing). Founded in 1943, ICP has grown to become the largest beef and pork processor in the United States (revenues come 90% from beef and 10% from pork) and also has a growing export market to Japan. The company follows a focused cost-leadership strategy, delivering USDA-graded meats primarily to the institutional (schools, prisons, hospitals) and supermarket channels. ICP's entire value chain is organized to deliver volume product at the industry's lowest per-unit cost. Its supplier industries, primarily cattle and swine feedlots, have relatively little power since prices for these raw materials are determined in the commodity markets. While entry barriers to the industry are high due to high minimum start-up costs, industry rivalry is extremely intense - primarily due to the fact that three large companies (including ICP) control 80% of the market for processed meats. The threat of substitutes is high with an increasing trend for consumers to favor poultry and other non-beef proteins. Buyers are also powerful since supermarkets are relatively concentrated at a regional level and end-consumers have ample choices. -(Refer to the above Case Scenario ) What risks is ICP accepting by adopting its focused low-cost strategy?

By linking companies with their suppliers, distributors, and customers, ____ provide a company with flexibility.

Global competition has increased the options for consumers and has made it more imperative for firms to identify the needs of customers in order to earn above-average returns.

The products or services that are differentiated from others have qualities that are

The risks of a focus strategy include

The Opening Case of Chapter 4 highlights Acer and its business level strategy. All of the following are components of Acer's strategy EXCEPT

It is more common for firms to attempt to use the integrated cost leadership/differentiation strategy now than in the past because

Viewing the world through the customer's eyes and constantly seeking ways to create more value for the company enhances

Durable Ceramics, Inc., provides inexpensive ceramic tile to builders of institutional buildings such as schools, prisons, and public administration buildings. It has always competed on a cost leadership basis. Most of its products are purchased by a few commercial construction firms, so it is fairly dependent on these construction firms for selling its product. Durable Ceramic's next most-efficient competitor, Cost-Less Ceramics, Inc., earns average returns, while Durable earns above-average returns. The commercial construction firms are putting pressure on Durable to reduce its prices. If Durable reduces its prices below those of Cost-Less's prices, it is likely that

Land's End offers jeans personally tailored to the customer's individual body measurements, resulting in a garment that is uniquely sized. This is an example of

Zara offers current and desirable fashion goods at relatively low prices. To implement this strategy, Zara has sophisticated designers and effective means of managing costs. Zara is an example of the integrated cost leadership/differentiation strategy.

An examination of a company's activity map will reveal its strategic themes.

The typical risks of a cost leadership strategy include

All of the following are consequences of counterfeiting as noted in the Chapter 4 Strategic Focus EXCEPT

According to the Chapter 4 Opening Case, the decision to sell through wholesalers and to manufacture all product in-house are examples of actions taken by Acer to reduce its costs.