Exam 16: Strategic Elements of Competitive Advantag

Which of the following generic strategies best captures the way Harley-Davidson has achieved competitive advantage in the global motorcycle industry?

Dell's factories can assemble a complete PC in three minutes. With a build-to-order strategy at the heart of its business model, Dell's sales staff maintains close ties with customers. This approach represents which aspect of the Porter's five forces model?

In the tech world, about 90% of the world's nearly one billion PCs use Microsoft's operating systems and 80% use Intel's microprocessors. This represents which aspect of the Porter's five forces model?

In the terminology of the strategic intent framework for competitive advantage, a firm that establishes advantages in a number of different areas has:

The visionary strategy of the Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen which included switching the German plants entirely to the new model, failed due to all of the following reasons except:

The key to maintaining competitive advantage, according to Dr. W.E. Deming is:

An approach to competitive advantage that exploits weaknesses in competitors' narrow-focus strategies is called a ________ strategy.

In the 1950s, Sony licensed the technology for the transistor from Bell Labs and proceeded to become the world's leading manufacturer of portable radios. Which strategy was Sony using to gain competitive advantage?

If rivalry among firms forces companies to rationalize costs, it is a negative force.

The issue of sustainability is central to this strategy concept:

"Switching costs" are one of the barriers to entry in Porter's five forces model.

Microsoft and Intel are two companies that illustrate the concept of "bargaining power of suppliers" in Porter's five forces model of industry competition.

Francisco Martínez is CFO of Comercial Mexicana SA, a retail chain in Mexico. Commenting on Walmart's entry into Mexico, Mr. Martínez notes, "I buy 20,000 plastic toys, and Walmart buys 20 million. Who do you think gets them cheaper?" Which strategic principles are evident in this comment?

The Komatsu/Caterpillar saga illustrates the fact that global competitive battles can be shaped by factors other than the pursuit of generic strategies. Explain this statement giving examples and impact on competitive strategies.

In the case of Volkswagen, dealers are its key consumers while individual car buyers are the key consumers of the dealers.

The nature of firm strategy, structure, and rivalry is the final determinant of a nation's diamond. What does this statement refer to? How does domestic rivalry differ from foreign rivalry? Please explain in detail.

According to strategy expert Richard D'Aveni, the actions taken by Swatch in the global watch industry illustrate hypercompetitive dynamic maneuvering in which arena?

Michael Porter's four generic strategies for achieving competitive advantage are product differentiation, price leadership, promotion power, and distribution efficiency.

"Hypercompetition" refers to companies that are successful and find sustainable competitive advantages.

The rivalry between Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Gateway, Compaq, and Apple forces all the players to undertake all of the following except: