Exam 9: Managing Strategically

The purpose of Cathy's Clowns is "to provide healthy entertainment that makes young children laugh." This statement describes Cathy's __________ .

Innovation strategies focus exclusively on radical, breakthrough products as the key source of sustainable competitive advantage.

SWOT analysis includes an analysis of an organization's internal and external environments.

When Kimberly-Clark Corporation merged with Scott Paper Company to form the world's largest producer of tissue paper, they were pursuing which growth strategy?

Design thinking gives organizations a competitive advantage by _______.

Pat's Pets has developed a reputation as the industry leader in quality pet care. It has exceptionally skilled employees who are known for their humane and loving treatment of animals. For Pat's, these resources would be considered __________.

Ronald's has been in the fast-food business for five years. After struggling for two years, it finally broke even, and the french fries it offers are its most popular product. However, during the past year, its business has suffered because the farm that used to supply it with potatoes has increased its prices drastically. What should Ronald's do to control production costs?

list and discuss the three competitive strategies, according to Michael Porter. Include specific examples of companies that pursue each of the three competitive strategies.

Creating and sustaining a strong organizational culture is one of the dimensions of strategic leadership.

A differentiator might use e-business techniques to __________.

The first step in the strategic management process is analyzing the external environment.

Which of the following is a first-mover disadvantage?

In Michael Porter's five forces model of industry attractiveness, __________ is determined by the degree of supplier concentration and substitute inputs.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Clubhouse Gourmet -A- (Scenario) Imagine that you are the president of Clubhouse Gourmet, a successful chain of fast-food restaurants with 60 locations across Canada. The success you have experienced in the last five years has you considering various options about what to do next with the business. Should you continue to expand the business at the current rate? Or perhaps open new and different restaurants? What should you do? -Recently, you also purchased a small company that produces computer imaging software for medical applications. The business is profitable and growing, but the technological unknowns make it risky. According to the BGC matrix, it would be considered a(n) __________.

One important customer service strategy is to give customers what they want regardless of the cost.

Kiva Systems, manufacturer of robots used in flexible automation systems, demonstrates the power of ________ by "teaching" its robots to dispose of used cardboard and to assist in gift wrapping for e-commerce warehouse fulfillment.

Managers using the strategic management process always achieve positive outcomes.

Activities that an organization does well or any unique resources that it has are called opportunities.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Competitive Strategies (Scenario) Carly's general manager has just given her a big assignment: develop three different potential strategies the business could use to maintain its competitive advantage. Its computer business was slowly losing market share to competitors, and everyone realized that something needed to be done. Carly glanced through the article by Michael Porter that her manager had provided. According to Porter, there were three different types of strategies to choose from. Carly began wondering if there was a way they could make their computers cheaper so they could be sold at a lower price. If they could reduce the price by $100 per machine, they would become the industry price leader. Carly wondered if they could find any lower-priced suppliers for the more expensive computer components. She knew that their computers were particularly appealing to small business owners due, in part, to price. They were able to offer the lower price because their computers were not as powerful or fast as some machines; but they did contain all the basic word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications required by the typical small business owner. This combination of program capabilities, lack of product frills, and good reputation for quality had worked successfully for them in the past. Now Carly wondered if they would be better off looking at a smaller segment of the market, such as small businesses with accounts receivable billings that could fully utilize the database capabilities. She knew this strategy would cut their market potential by 50 percent, but maybe targeting a smaller market niche would lead to better results in the long-term. Carly began compiling her report for Friday's meeting. -The competitive strategy based on developing the market for small businesses that require large databases to process their accounts receivable billings is called ______.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions Personal SWOT Analysis (Scenario) University students in their last year are focused on getting information about the situation in the job market on graduation. As a process of self-examination during her senior year of college, Casey decides to develop a SWOT analysis of her prospects relative to getting a job. -Casey has been taking courses in the Asian languages department for the last three years and consequently speaks reasonably coherent Chinese. Spending a summer in Shanghai on an intensive language course further improved her language skills. Few students are interested in learning Chinese these days so this is a(n) ____________ Casey possesses over other job applicants.