Question 1

Cooking a patty and putting the ingredients together are included in which category of making a hamburger?

Accepted Answer

A)  Input 
B)  Process 
C)  Output 
D)  All of the choices are correct

Question 2

There are many different stakeholders found in an organization with common business interests. Depending on the stakeholder's perspective, the business strategy can change. Which of the following is not a main concern for shareholders/investors?

Accepted Answer

A)  Maximize profits 
B)  Grow market share 
C)  Job security 
D)  High return on investment

Question 3

Which of the following are included as potential internal strengths in a SWOT analysis that are helpful to an organization?

Accepted Answer

A)  Core competencies, market leaders, cost advantages, excellent management. 
B)  Lack of strategic direction, obsolete technologies, lack of managerial talent, outdated product line. 
C)  Expanded product line, increase in demand, new markets, new regulations. 
D)  New entrants, substitute products, shrinking markets, costly regulatory requirements.

Question 4

What is the process where a business takes raw materials and processes them or converts them into a finished product for its goods or services?

Accepted Answer

A)  Goods 
B)  Services 
C)  Production 
D)  Productivity

Question 5

Teaching, waiting tables, and cutting hair belong in which category?

Accepted Answer

A)  Goods 
B)  Services 
C)  Production 
D)  Productivity

Question 6

When a company is the first to market with a competitive advantage, it gains a particular benefit known as competitive intelligence.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

When reviewing Porter's value chain analysis, which of the following provides customer support after the sale of goods and services?

Accepted Answer

A)  Inbound logistics 
B)  Outbound logistics 
C)  Operations 
D)  Service

Question 8

Your boss, Penny Dirks, has asked you to analyze the airline industry using Porter's three generic strategies. Which of the following companies are using a differentiation strategy?

Accepted Answer

A)  Southwest, Horizon, Frontier, JetBlue. 
B)  British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic. 
C)  Sky Taxi - a rent by the hour personal plane service. 
D)  All of the choices are correct.

Question 9

Your boss, Penny Dirks, has asked you to analyze the airline industry using Porter's three generic strategies. Which of the following companies are using a cost leadership strategy?

Accepted Answer

A)  Southwest, Horizon, Frontier, JetBlue. 
B)  British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic. 
C)  Sky Taxi - a rent by the hour personal plane service. 
D)  All of the choices are correct

Question 10

In a SWOT analysis, which of the following could you discover as potential external opportunities (helpful)?

Accepted Answer

A)  Cost advantages. 
B)  Damaged reputation. 
C)  New markets. 
D)  Improved marketing campaigns.

Question 11

The banking industry has implemented several competitive advantages including ATM's, online bill pay services, and electronic statements. Of course, these competitive advantages were quickly duplicated by any competitor that wanted to remain in the banking industry. These were all examples of ________ competitive advantages.

Accepted Answer

A)  Acquiring new technology products and services 
B)  Hiring new employees 
C)  Reducing expenses 
D)  Gaining invaluable feedback from customers

Question 12

In terms of system thinking, what is process?

Accepted Answer

A)  Data entered in a computer 
B)  Controls to ensure correct processes 
C)  The resulting information from the computer program 
D)  The computer program that processes the data

Question 13

What is Porter's Five Forces Model?

Accepted Answer

A)  Evaluation of an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to identify significant influences that work for or against business strategies. 
B)  Analysis of the competitive forces within the environment in which a company operates to assess the potential for profitability in an industry. 
C)  View of a firm as a series of business processes, each of which adds value to the product or service. 
D)  Generic business strategies that are neither organization nor industry specific and can be applied to any business, product, or service.

Question 14

Where would you categorize weaknesses in a SWOT analysis?

Accepted Answer

A)  Internal, helpful 
B)  Internal, harmful 
C)  External, helpful 
D)  External, harmful

Question 15

The process of gathering information about the competitive environment, including competitors' plans, activities, and products, to improve a company's ability to succeed is the definition of ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Feedback 
B)  Information 
C)  Competitive intelligence 
D)  Data

Question 16

What is one of the most common ways a company can decrease supplier power?

Accepted Answer

A)  Charge lower prices. 
B)  Charge higher prices. 
C)  Use MIS to find and create alternative products. 
D)  Companies cannot impact supplier power.

Question 17

MIS can add value to both primary activities and support activities in the value chain. Which of the following is not an example of a company adding value by the use of MIS in a primary activity?

Accepted Answer

A)  Scottrade Corp. creating an online system for employees to track paychecks, benefits, wellness rewards program, and other employee benefit items 
B)  A system for the sales and marketing departments to track specific sales targets and follow up processes 
C)  An easy electronic survey, similar to SurveyMonkey, to be sent to the customer right after a service was completed 
D)  Royal Crest Dairy using their custom order and delivery system through an easily accessible Web portal for the customer to track delivery status

Question 18

There are many different stakeholders found in an organization. Stakeholders drive business strategies, and depending on the stakeholder's perspective, the business strategy can change. Which of the following is a main concern for customers?

Accepted Answer

A)  Exceptional customer service 
B)  Fair compensation 
C)  Professional associations 
D)  Reliable contracts

Question 19

Assume you are in the business of producing and selling cars. If you could produce more cars with the same input what would happen to your productivity and profits assuming the price of your cars remains the same?

Accepted Answer

A)  Increase in productivity, decrease in profits 
B)  Increase in productivity, increase in profits 
C)  Decrease in productivity, decrease in profits 
D)  Decrease in productivity, increase in profits

Question 20

Kelly Howard works for Beulah's Boutiques selling high-end jeans and purses. Clothing Retail Services is the current market leader in Kelly's city. Kelly has recently been approached by Scott Jeans Co. with an opportunity to run its corporate nationwide marketing and sales division. Kelly decides to jump at the opportunity! Scott Jeans is attempting to gain a competitive ________ by stealing its competitor's key employees.

Accepted Answer

A)  Power 
B)  Entry barrier 
C)  Advantage 
D)  Loyalty

Exam 2: Identifying Competitive Advantages