Deck 9: Strategy CSR

Question 1

The late C.K.Prahalad argued that countries at the bottom of the pyramid ______.

A)deserve restitution from the colonial powers that historically exploited these countries
B)should work with the United Nations to develop health programs for their impoverished people
C)will soon be more economically powerful than the United States, France, and Germany combined
D)represent a huge and largely untapped market with many business opportunities

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The ______ perspective is an ______ view of the firm that identifies its unique resources as the main determinant of a competitive advantage.

A)resources; internal
B)industry; external
C)resources; external
D)industry; internal

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The ______ perspective assumes a zero-sum game and a confrontational view.

A)focused
B)industry
C)resources
D)strategic CSR

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following does Porter's Five Forces Model NOT include?

A)suppliers
B)buyers
C)government regulation
D)industry rivalry

Question 5

One of the criticisms of Porter's Five Forces model is that it assumes competition to be a ______ game among the firm and its various stakeholders.

A)zero-sum
B)cooperative
C)strategic
D)nationalistic

Question 6

For any business, the pursuit of ______ is so broad a mandate that it offers little guidance about where to begin or what to do.

A)vision
B)strategy
C)mission
D)profit

Question 7

The ______ are the day-to-day management decisions made to implement the firm's ______.

A)strategies; tactics
B)tactics; strategies
C)tactics; vision
D)strategies; vision

Question 8

IKEA's ______ statement is "To create a better everyday life for the many people."

A)mission
B)vision
C)strategy
D)tactics

Question 9

Which of the following is a limitation of the resources perspective?

A)It provides a description of the firm that is overly deliberate and rational.
B)It focuses too much on a firm's competitors.
C)It provides a description of the firm that is not very deliberate or rational.
D)It presents business as a combative pursuit.

Question 10

The resources perspective on business strategy ______.

A)deemphasizes the external context in which the firm operates
B)has been disproven through research
C)is too narrow, focusing only on assets, not processes
D)focuses on the firm's competitive operating environment

Question 11

Digital innovation has disrupted a number of industries.Which of the following firms have remained profitable?

A)The New York Times
B)Verizon
C)Barnes & Noble
D)Universal Music

Question 12

"Ending hunger in its community" and "feeding the poor" illustrate the relationship between ______.

A)strategy and tactics
B)profits and revenue
C)vision and mission
D)aspirations and strategy

Question 13

In Jay Barney's model, VRIO stands for which four concepts?

A)variability, returns, industry, operations
B)valuable, rare, imitate, organized
C)valuable, returns, industry, organized
D)variability, rare, imitate, operations

Question 14

The need that the organization strives to meet forms the basis of its ______.

A)aspirations or vision
B)strategy
C)profits
D)mission

Question 15

What are the firm's most valuable resources or most innovative capabilities?

A)its people
B)its finances
C)its competencies
D)its strategies

Question 16

Southwest's competitive advantage in the airline industry is a combination of its technology and its ______.

A)suppliers
B)rivals
C)culture
D)customers

Question 17

The firm's ______ identifies what the organization is going to do in order to attain its ______.

A)profitability; revenue target
B)mission; profits
C)mission; vision
D)vision; mission

Question 18

Prahalad and Hamel are most closely associated with which of the following?

A)Strategic CSR
B)the industry perspective
C)the resources perspective
D)SWOT analysis

Question 19

You own a small bakery and focus on developing highly skilled employees and baking the best, highest quality, and most tasty bakery items possible, with little regard for what other bakeries are doing.This best exemplifies the ______ perspective on business strategy.

A)industry
B)financial
C)strategic CSR
D)resources

Question 20

The ______ determines how the organization is going to undertake its ______.

A)strategy; mission
B)mission; tactics
C)vision; mission
D)vision; strategy

Question 21

The CSR threshold is higher in the financial/banking industry than in the apparel industry because ______.

A)less money is involved when consumers purchase clothing than when they buy banking/financial products such as home mortgages
B)it is harder for consumers to identify a victim caused by a CSR violation in the financial/banking industry
C)the apparel industry has dramatically improved supply chain issues such as the use of sweatshop labor
D)bank customers have a great deal of power and can demand more responsible actions from financial institutions

Question 22

The Honest Company, founded by actress Jessica Alba, sells products such as baby diapers, wipes, and other personal care products.The Honest Company describes its products as being "made without health-compromising chemicals or compounds." This company has a ______ CSR threshold.

A)low
B)medium
C)high
D)extremely high

Question 23

Walmart's core competency is efficient distribution.

Question 24

SWOT analyses allow firms to identify their ______.

A)strategies, wealth, opportunities, and theories
B)strategies, weaknesses, organization, and threats
C)strengths, wealth, opportunities, and theories
D)strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

Question 25

______ countries have taken the lead in environmental management.

A)Asian
B)European
C)North American
D)South American

Question 26

A central feature of Prahalad and Hamel's model of business strategy is its focus on ______.

A)functional business units within a firm
B)core competencies within a firm
C)core competencies of competing firms
D)firm comparisons across industries

Question 27

One of the reasons that Amazon is successful is that it has achieved a core competency in managing its ______.

A)workforce
B)board of directors
C)products
D)supply chain

Question 28

According to the textbook, the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), formed by a group of energy and manufacturing firms, is ______.

A)CSR as brand insurance
B)CSR as a corporate social opportunity
C)CSR as a key component of cost-benefit analysis
D)CSR as an offensive strategy

Question 29

CSR can be viewed as ______.

A)a set of defensive policies
B)a set of offensive strategies
C)a set of defensive policies and a set of offensive strategies
D)neither of these

Question 30

As the news media and blogosphere continue to expose corporate social responsibility transgressions and people are better able to compare conditions across cultures, what will happen with societal tolerance for irresponsible behavior?

A)It will increase.
B)It will not change.
C)It will decrease.
D)It will be accounted for primarily in financial terms rather than cultural terms.

Question 31

Mercedes-Benz operates on a ______ business strategy.

A)cost-leadership
B)premium customer
C)resource utilization
D)differentiation

Question 32

Firms that sell based on price are likely ______.

A)to pay greater attention to corporate social responsibility
B)to have the resources to mount an effective corporate social responsibility campaign
C)to attract less attention from consumers on issues unrelated to price
D)to be big and thus attract greater attention from interest groups

Question 33

Walmart most likely has a higher CSR threshold because ______.

A)it is a big company
B)it deals with the public
C)it has a business strategy that pursues low costs
D)it is undertaking an extensive corporate social responsibility effort

Question 34

With which of the following is Michael Porter is most closely associated?

A)Strategic CSR
B)the industry perspective
C)the resources perspective
D)SWOT analysis

Question 35

To assess their potential impact on the firm's stakeholders, any tactical and strategic actions must first pass through a ______.

A)strategic evaluation
B)third-party assessment
C)CSR filter
D)McKinsey consultation

Question 36

In Europe, pressure for corporate social responsibility is more likely to come from ______.

A)courts
B)governments
C)nonprofits (NGOs)
D)competitors

Question 37

The CSR threshold is the same for all companies in all industries.

Question 38

According to Prahalad and Hamel, a firm's capability must meet three criteria to be truly considered a core competency.Which of the following is NOT one of the criteria?

A)It should be applicable to multiple markets.
B)It should emphasize the external context in which the firm operates.
C)It should be valued by the consumer.
D)It should be difficult for a competitor to imitate.

Question 39

Vision statements do not need to appeal to multiple stakeholders.

Question 40

A company with a ______ is more vulnerable to CSR transgressions than a company with a ______.

A)lifestyle brand strategy; low-cost strategy
B)low-cost strategy; lifestyle brand strategy
C)differentiation strategy; lifestyle brand strategy
D)low-cost strategy; differentiation strategy

Question 41

Define SWOT analysis and provide an example of how such an analysis could be applied to a specific business.

Question 42

Outline the industry perspective on business strategy.Choose an example industry and conduct an analysis of its competitive structure using Porter's Five Forces model.

Question 43

The urgency with which corporate social responsibility policies are implemented depends on the perceived CSR threshold and the priority the issue holds for the firm's leaders.

Question 44

Why do some firms, industries, and cultures have different CSR thresholds than others? Illustrate your answer with examples for all three categories.

Question 45

Define each of the following terms: vision, mission, strategy, and tactics.What is the relationship among them in relation to a firm's strategic planning process?

Question 46

The textbook states that companies can pursue an effective corporate social responsibility policy of either offense or defense.What does this mean? In your answer, provide detailed examples of both approaches.

Question 47

The United States is more self-sufficient in the area of natural resources than is Europe; therefore, the United States has less need from the economic perspective of corporate social responsibility to preserve natural resources.

Question 48

A firm's vision, mission, strategy, and tactics are broadly constrained in three ways.What are they and how do they constrain the firm?