Question 1

Which of the following is not something a company's strategy is concerned with?

Accepted Answer

A)  Management's choices about how to attract and please customers 
B)  Management's choices about how quickly and closely to copy the strategies being used by successful rival companies 
C)  Management's choices about how to grow the business 
D)  Management's choices about how to outcompete rivals 
E)  Management's action plan for conducting operations and improving the company's strategic and financial performance

Question 2

A winning strategy is one that

Accepted Answer

A)  builds strategic fit, is socially responsible, and maximizes shareholder wealth. 
B)  is highly profitable and boosts the company's market share. 
C)  results in a company becoming the dominant industry leader. 
D)  fits the company's internal and external situation, builds sustainable competitive advantage, and improves company performance. 
E)  can pass the ethical standards test, the strategic intent test, and the profitability test.

Question 3

Which of the following statements about a company's realized strategy is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  A company's realized strategy is mostly hidden to outside view and is deliberately kept under wraps by top-level managers. 
B)  A company's realized strategy is typically planned well in advance and usually deviates little from the planned set of actions. 
C)  A company's realized strategy generally changes very little over time unless a newly appointed CEO decides to take the company in a new direction with a new strategy. 
D)  A company's realized strategy is typically a blend of deliberate/planned initiatives and emergent/unplanned reactive strategy elements. 
E)  A company's realized strategy is developed mostly on the fly because of the constant efforts of managers to keep rival companies at a disadvantage.

Question 4

Which of the following is an issue likely to be addressed by a company's business strategy?

Accepted Answer

A)  Actions to respond to changing economic and market conditions. 
B)  Actions to supplement the company's resources and capabilities through alliances and joint ventures. 
C)  Reactions to offensive moves by rival sellers. 
D)  Actions and approaches used in managing the functional areas of the business. 
E)  All of these are pertinent in identifying a company's strategy.

Question 5

Proven approaches to winning a sustainable competitive advantage include which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A)  Strategies keyed to developing a low-cost-based advantage. 
B)  Strategies keyed to creating a broad differentiation-based advantage. 
C)  Focusing on a narrow market niche within an industry. 
D)  Developing a best-cost provider strategy. 
E)  All of these.

Question 6

A viable business model includes a valuable customer value proposition that

Accepted Answer

A)  is always partly deliberate/planned and partly emergent/reactive. 
B)  is an essential component of pursuing the company's strategic intent. 
C)  suggests the greater the value provided and the lower the price, the more attractive the value proposition. 
D)  lays out the approach to satisfying buyer wants and needs at a premium price. 
E)  must set forth management's long-term action plan for achieving market leadership.

Question 7

The elements of a company's business model are

Accepted Answer

A)  its customer value proposition as well as the company's profit formula. 
B)  its business strategy, its collection of competitively valuable resources, and a strong management team. 
C)  its deliberate strategy, its emergent strategy, and its realized strategy. 
D)  its actions to capture emerging market opportunities and defend against threats to the company's business prospects, its actions to strengthen competitiveness via strategic alliances, and its actions to enter new geographic or product markets. 
E)  management's answers to "Where are we now?" "Where do we want to go?" and "How are we going to get there?"

Question 8

A company may develop an emergent strategy due to

Accepted Answer

A)  strategic moves by rival firms. 
B)  unexpected shifts in customer preferences. 
C)  fast-changing technological developments. 
D)  new market opportunities. 
E)  All of these.

Question 9

It is normal for a company's strategy to end up being

Accepted Answer

A)  a blend of offensive actions and defensive moves to counteract changing market conditions to improve the company's profitability. 
B)  a combination of conservative moves to protect the company's market share and somewhat more risky initiatives to set the company's product offering apart from rivals. 
C)  a close imitation of the strategy employed by the recognized industry leader. 
D)  a blend of deliberate planned actions to improve the company's competitiveness and financial performance and as-needed unplanned reactions to unanticipated developments and fresh market conditions. 
E)  more a product of clever entrepreneurship than of efforts to clearly set a company's product/service offering apart from the offerings of rivals.

Exam 1: What Is Strategy and Why Is It Important