Exam 3: Organizational Strategy, Information Systems, and Competitive Advantage

Briefly explain Porter's five forces model.

Unlike the primary activities, the support activities in the generic value chain do not contribute to the production, sale, and service of the product.

An automobile company decides to improve the quality of all its products and bring more variety into its product line. The company has decided to adopt ________.

Business processes that span value-generating activities determine the scope and requirements of each organization's information systems.

Which of the following principles of competitive advantage is associated with product implementations?

Inbound logistics constitute a support activity in the value chain of a manufacturing firm.

Most of the value in a service company is generated by inbound logistics.

Activities such as collecting, storing, and physically distributing the products to buyers are considered as primary activities in a value chain.

Which of the following value chain activities involves transforming raw materials into a finished product or service?

I-scream-4 Ice Cream recently faced competition against their flagship brand of "Orange peel ice cream." The competitor made significant in-roads into this market by offering three varieties of "Orange peel ice cream." I-scream-4 Ice Cream decided to counter this threat by introducing five new varieties of ice creams. Which competitive strategy is I-scream-4 implementing?

Distinguish between the primary and support activities of a value chain.

Cassandra runs a downtown boutique that sells customized clothes. One of her customers wishes to purchase a trench coat with a bejeweled clip. Cassandra contacts "Gems and Stones" and places an order for the clip. This activity can be classified under ________.

Which of the following principles of competitive advantage is related to process implementations?

Focused cost leadership is observed when a product has the lowest cost ________.

In the next ten years, the ________ is most likely to change.

According to Porter's five forces model, the intensity of each of the forces determines the characteristics of the industry, how profitable it is, and how sustainable that profitability will be.

Operations refer to transforming inputs into the final product.

In the context of Porter's five forces model, the bargaining power of suppliers is a weak force when considering the example of students purchasing gasoline.

________ argues that firms should create new, more efficient business processes that integrate the activities of all departments involved in a value chain.

What is the central idea of business process design?