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

Analyzing the internal environment enables a firm to determine what it might do by identifying what opportunities and threats exist.

The critical executive skill of the current business age is the ability to

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

Which of the following is NOT required for a firm to achieve strategic competitiveness and earn above-average returns from its core competencies?

Knowledge transfer and access to resources within the value chain are enhanced by ________.

A company can earn above-average returns only when the value it creates is less than the costs incurred to create that value.

Describe a value chain analysis. How does a value chain analysis help a firm gain competitive advantage?

A veterinary practice has added a pet boarding and grooming facility. Most of the practice's competitors also provide these services. The veterinary practice is gaining competitive

Today, a substantially slimmed-down Polaroid is introducing a number of new products including GL20 Camera Glasses which have a built-in camera and LCDs. This wave of new product development is explained by

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.

Southwest Airlines has a complex interrelationship between its culture and staff that adds value in ways that other airlines cannot (such as jokes on flights or the cooperation between gate personnel and pilots). These examples illustrate which of the following criteria for sustainable competitive advantage?

According to the Chapter 3 Strategic Focus, while P&G has only a handful of capabilities, these capabilities result in well over a hundred core competencies that allow it to create unique value for customers.

Because the firm combines tangible and intangible resources to create capabilities,

If a core competence is emphasized when it is no longer competitively relevant, it can become a core rigidity.

Trademarks and copyrights are examples of a firm's tangible resources.

A decision that results in failure

Capabilities typically come from

Acme Auto Repair has a thriving business based on its reputation for high-quality work, honesty, and skilled employees. For continued long-term success, Acme's owner should

At Southwest Airlines, the complex interelationship between its culture and human capital adds value for customers in ways that other airlines cannot, such as jokes on flights by flight attendants and cooperation between gate personnel and pilots.

The owner of a store retailing fine quality fabrics for home-sewers bewails the fact that few young women know how to do fine tailoring, much less simple dressmaking. Many potential customers are unable to appreciate the premium quality of the fabrics available and are deterred by the high prices, as well as the complexity of fine sewing. In the past, the store had a strong demand for fabrics, large classes for women learning the fine points of sewing, and a reputation for excellent service and technical advice. Now the store is earning lower-than-average returns. This case is an example of