Exam 4: Business-Level Strategy

Describe a firm with which you are familiar. Which business-level strategy does it use and what are the risk to that particular firm?

More choices and easily accessible information about the functionality of firms' products are creating increasingly ______ customers.

Business-level strategies are concerned specifically with

Suppose another firm found a way to offer IKEA's customers (young buyers interested in stylish furniture at low cost)additional sources of differentiation while charging the same price or to provide the same service with the same sources of differentiation at a lower price. What category of competitive risk to a focus strategy would this be?

A risk of the differentiation strategy is that the firm's means of differentiation may eventually not provide value for which customers are willing to pay.

A cost leadership strategy provides goods or services with features that are

The term "stuck in the middle"

Consumers in the United States are known for their

The new generation of lunch trucks serving high-end fare in cities such as New York,San Francisco,and Los Angeles share which of the following a business strategies?

Case Scenario 2: Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Company is famed for its creativity, strong global brand, and uncanny ability to take service and experience businesses to higher levels. In the early 1990s, then-CEO Michael Eisner looked to the fast-food industry as a way to draw additional attention to the Disney presence outside of its theme parks-its retail chain was highly successful and growing rapidly. A fast-food restaurant made sense from Eisner's perspective since Disney's theme parks had already mastered rapid, high-volume food preparation, and, despite somewhat undistinguished food and high prices (or perhaps because of), all its in-park restaurants were extremely profitable. From this inspiration, Mickey's Kitchen was launched. The first two locations were opened in California and in a suburb of Chicago, adjacent to existing Disney stores. Menu items included healthy, child-oriented fare like Jumbo Dumbo burgers and even a meatless Mickey Burger. Eisner thought that locating each restaurant next to existing Disney stores was sure to increase foot traffic through both venues. Less than 2 years later Disney closed down the California and Chicago stores and shuttered further expansion plans. Eisner cited overwhelming competition from McDonalds and general oversaturation in the fast-food industry as the primary reasons for closing down the failing Mickey's Kitchen. -(Refer to Case Scenario 2). What resources and value-chain activities did Disney try to leverage through the opening of Mickey's Kitchen?

Southwest Airlines' tightly integrated activities make its cost leadership strategy more vulnerable to imitation than if its activities were loosely integrated.

In the animal food products business,food-product needs of owners of companion animals pets (e.g.,dogs and cats)differ from the needs for food and health-related products of those owning production animals (e.g.,livestock). Which of the following aspects of managing customer relationships does this choice refer to?

An entrepreneur is investigating starting a company that provides tax advice to small companies. In order to position his company differently from the existing competitors,the entrepreneur must

Case Scenario 2: Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Company is famed for its creativity, strong global brand, and uncanny ability to take service and experience businesses to higher levels. In the early 1990s, then-CEO Michael Eisner looked to the fast-food industry as a way to draw additional attention to the Disney presence outside of its theme parks-its retail chain was highly successful and growing rapidly. A fast-food restaurant made sense from Eisner's perspective since Disney's theme parks had already mastered rapid, high-volume food preparation, and, despite somewhat undistinguished food and high prices (or perhaps because of), all its in-park restaurants were extremely profitable. From this inspiration, Mickey's Kitchen was launched. The first two locations were opened in California and in a suburb of Chicago, adjacent to existing Disney stores. Menu items included healthy, child-oriented fare like Jumbo Dumbo burgers and even a meatless Mickey Burger. Eisner thought that locating each restaurant next to existing Disney stores was sure to increase foot traffic through both venues. Less than 2 years later Disney closed down the California and Chicago stores and shuttered further expansion plans. Eisner cited overwhelming competition from McDonalds and general oversaturation in the fast-food industry as the primary reasons for closing down the failing Mickey's Kitchen. -(Refer to Case Scenario 2). Mickey's Kitchens was successful primarily because it was able to create a differentiated Disney experience that drew customers away from other fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's.

Describe the advantages of integrating cost leadership and differentiation strategies.

Hyundai allows customers to return their cars if they lose their job within 12 months of purchase. Which of the following aspects of managing customer relationships is Hyundai engaged in?

Strategic fit among many activities (in an activity map)is fundamental to

Case Scenario 1: International Cow Packers. International Cow Packers (ICP)is a $12 billion meat processor (slaughter, processing, and packing). Founded in v1943, ICP has grown to become the largest beef and pork processor in the United States (revenues come 90 percent from beef and 10 percent 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 start­up costs, industry rivalry is extremely intense-primarily due to the fact that three large companies (including ICP)control 80 percent 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 Case Scenario 1). What can ICP do to decouple itself from the ups and downs of the pure commodity markets? What specific actions might ICP undertake?

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

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