Exam 1: Competing in the Information Age

How does the text recommend that a company operate if it wants to be successful in our current business environment today?

Porter identified three generic strategies that a business could follow after identifying a market it wanted to enter.Which of the following is not included as one of Porter's three generic strategies?

Sandy Fiero works as the Chief Knowledge Officer for Bend Lumbar Company.She has been given the responsibility to create a product or service that will bring an added value to its customers to increase the company's revenue.Sandy determines that the best value she can add is by creating a service that offers free next day shipping on any order over $50.Where in the value chain is Sandy adding value?

What includes support value activities and primary value activities and is used to determine how to create the greatest possible value for customers?

Explain why competitive advantages are temporary.

A variable is a business intelligence characteristic that stands for a value that cannot change over time.

When analysing Porter's three generic strategies for entering a market,if you have a focused strategy what market should you target?

Which of the following represents the definition of a variable?

Competitive intelligence is information collected from multiple sources such as suppliers,customers,competitors,partners and industries that analyses patterns,trends and relationships for strategic decision making.

Knowledge includes the skills,experience and expertise coupled with information and _________ that creates a person's intellectual resources.

Polaroid had a unique competitive advantage for many years until it forgot to observe competitive intelligence.The firm went bankrupt when people began taking digital pictures.Polaroid provides a great example of Porter's threat of new entrants.

Companies update business strategies continuously as internal and external environments change.

Kevin Campbell is an incoming student at your college.Kevin is frustrated by the cost of books,tuition and expenses,and he also needs to purchase a rather expensive laptop.In an effort to save money,Kevin begins a Facebook group finding other college students who need to purchase laptops.Soon,Kevin's Facebook group has close to 100,000 students.Kevin decides to collectively approach different computer companies to see if his group qualifies for a special discount.What business strategy is Kevin using to purchase laptops?

According to Porter's three generic strategies,Hyundai is following a business strategy that focuses on 'broad market and low cost'.

Which of the following statements is true?

The value chain groups a company's activities into two categories: primary value activities and support value activities.

There are many challenges to changing doctors,including transferring medical records and losing the doctor-patient relationship along with the doctor's knowledge of the patient's history.Changing doctors provides a great example of switching costs.

Demonstrate how a company can add value by using Porter's value chain analysis.

Two ways to reduce buyer power is through switching costs and loyalty programs.

Cheryl Steffan is the operations manager for Nature's Bread Company,which specialises in providing natural products for health conscious individuals.Cheryl is responsible for compiling,analysing and evaluating daily sales numbers to determine the company's profitability and forecast production for the next day.Which of the following is an example of knowledge that Cheryl would be using to successfully perform her job?