Question 1

Which of the following is a U.S.government policy or action that is most likely to provide an opportunity for businesses?

Accepted Answer

A) deductions in the tax code 
B) fines on heavy polluters 
C) laws against bribing officials 
D) court rulings against monopolies 
E) failure to rule a new product as safe

Question 2

Environmental ________ refers to the degree of discontinuous change that occurs within the industry.

Accepted Answer

A) complexity 
B) dysfunction 
C) contracting 
D) cooptation 
E) dynamism

Question 3

Scenario B.Paul and his wife are investigating the possibility of starting a new restaurant in Beaufort,a small town in the South Carolina low country.It has been Paul's lifelong dream.Paul has won a lottery and is trying to decide if this is what he wants to do with the prize money.He decides to do an analysis of the competitive environment.After his analysis,he discovers several important issues.First,it will cost most of Paul's lottery winnings to finance a restaurant in Beaufort.Second,it will be difficult to attract new customers because they have so many eating choices available to them in Beaufort and the surrounding towns.Finally,the competition in the restaurant industry is considered fierce by industry analysts and this is frightening to someone,like Paul,who has never worked in that industry.
-Which of the following factors is indicated by the fact that it will require a large capital investment to start a new restaurant?

Accepted Answer

A) high bargaining power of customers 
B) low threat of new entrants 
C) high threat of new entrants 
D) many substitute products 
E) low bargaining power of customers

Question 4

Scenario B.Paul and his wife are investigating the possibility of starting a new restaurant in Beaufort,a small town in the South Carolina low country.It has been Paul's lifelong dream.Paul has won a lottery and is trying to decide if this is what he wants to do with the prize money.He decides to do an analysis of the competitive environment.After his analysis,he discovers several important issues.First,it will cost most of Paul's lottery winnings to finance a restaurant in Beaufort.Second,it will be difficult to attract new customers because they have so many eating choices available to them in Beaufort and the surrounding towns.Finally,the competition in the restaurant industry is considered fierce by industry analysts and this is frightening to someone,like Paul,who has never worked in that industry.
-From Scenario B,based on Paul's analysis of the competitive environment,it can be inferred that

Accepted Answer

A) the customers will face switching costs. 
B) there are no competitors. 
C) there are many substitutes. 
D) there are no barriers to entry. 
E) the threat of new entrants is high.

Question 5

Scenario D.Jimena works for a small company that makes nut butters from ingredients like cashews and macadamia nuts,and jams from mixtures of tropical fruits.She reports to the CFO.It is her job to predict the costs of raw materials for the next five years.She uses various research sources,including the news,to learn who the competitors are and what they have been doing.In fact,she subscribes to an analyst e-newsletter that tells her about crop availability and weather conditions all around the globe.Every month she develops a spreadsheet for her boss indicating the likely costs of fruits and nuts given the type of weather conditions expected in each area of the world and thus the availability of particular crops.She is also involved in a team that is investigating how to cut production costs.They have recently met with Spicy Sides,a company that produces jars of condiments.Spicy Sides is considered the top company in the condiment industry,especially in its knowledge of how to pack food products in jars.Jimena's team is comparing their processes to those of Spicy Sides to see how they might improve.
-When predicting the costs for her company,Jimena is engaging in

Accepted Answer

A) forecasting. 
B) competitive intelligence. 
C) environmental scanning. 
D) benchmarking. 
E) scenario development.

Question 6

The method for predicting how variables will change in the future is known as

Accepted Answer

A) budgeting. 
B) buffering. 
C) forecasting. 
D) benchmarking. 
E) scanning.

Question 7

Fatima recently got promoted to a managerial role in a bureaucratic organization.The industry was changing dramatically,and Fatima suggested that the management team encourage employees to develop confidence by giving them some control and authority in order to create a more flexible,adaptable organization.Here,Fatima is suggesting the use of ________ with employees.

Accepted Answer

A) smoothing 
B) benchmarking 
C) empowerment 
D) cooptation 
E) coalition

Question 8

Titan and Spencer-Fields are the two leading online booksellers.Recently,Titan engaged in an online price war with Spencer-Fields in order to gain greater market share.This is an example of ________ on the part of Titan.

Accepted Answer

A) cooptation 
B) voluntary action 
C) competitive pacification 
D) competitive aggression 
E) environmental scanning

Question 9

Scenario B.Paul and his wife are investigating the possibility of starting a new restaurant in Beaufort,a small town in the South Carolina low country.It has been Paul's lifelong dream.Paul has won a lottery and is trying to decide if this is what he wants to do with the prize money.He decides to do an analysis of the competitive environment.After his analysis,he discovers several important issues.First,it will cost most of Paul's lottery winnings to finance a restaurant in Beaufort.Second,it will be difficult to attract new customers because they have so many eating choices available to them in Beaufort and the surrounding towns.Finally,the competition in the restaurant industry is considered fierce by industry analysts and this is frightening to someone,like Paul,who has never worked in that industry.
-The information that Paul has collected in his competitive analysis can be referred to as

Accepted Answer

A) corporate espionage. 
B) competitive intelligence. 
C) domain selection. 
D) strategic vision. 
E) mission statement.

Question 10

Organizations must acquire a variety of resources in order to produce a product or service of value.These resources may include materials,equipment,financing,or even employees.The sources that provide these various resources are referred to as

Accepted Answer

A) shareholders. 
B) regulators. 
C) retailers. 
D) suppliers. 
E) prospectors.

Question 11

Creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs is known as

Accepted Answer

A) cooptation. 
B) smoothing. 
C) flexible processing. 
D) empowering. 
E) buffering.

Question 12

Enrico has used environmental scanning to gather information that will help him make his company more competitive.This is an example of cognitive intelligence.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Scenario A.Marla's Basement is a small retail store that specializes in antique figurines and decorative knickknacks.In analyzing the environment,Marla has uncovered the following interesting findings:
1.Marla has recently purchased more inventory than in the past.The people from whom she buys are selling off more knickknacks because their children are not interested in this type of decorative items and they would prefer to liquidate unnecessary household items to help them with their daily expenses.
2.Marla discovered that her business is in a historical preservation district.As she considers remodeling the shop,she realized that she must pay attention to the guidelines set forth in the governing laws.
3.Marla's buyer-customer base seems to be changing.The tastes of the younger generation near her shop are shifting to modern decor,so the customer base to which she sells is shrinking.
4.Marla has been told that she should consider selling her inventory via the Internet,but she does not own (or understand how to use)a computer.
5.In reading a survey of regional business,Marla discovered that there are no other antique knickknack stores within 200 miles.
-When Marla read the survey of regional businesses,she was investigating

Accepted Answer

A) the competitive environment. 
B) the macroenvironment. 
C) a closed environment. 
D) the internal environment. 
E) the social environment.

Question 14

Organizations are open systems that affect and are affected by their external environments.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Explain how technology can help an organization.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain how technology can help an organization....

Question 16

Scenario C.Parker Brothers is a high-end furniture manufacturer located in the Midwest.Mr.Herbert "Bud" Parker started the firm as a young man in the 1960s.The firm has grown,but with growth,it has never forgotten the vision of Mr.Parker: to be creative in all that the firm does while rewarding employees who show innovation and entrepreneurial leadership.Each year the Budding Genius Award is given to the employee who comes up with the best design or marketing idea.New employees are told of the organization's history of product innovation and are taken on a tour of the "Wall of Parker Legends," where pictures of outstanding employees are hung with descriptions of their accomplishments.Managers at the firm encourage their team members to take risks in proposing new ideas.The company prides itself on its product leadership.
-The stories about the "Parker Legends" and the organization's most innovative designs are all clues to understanding the

Accepted Answer

A) organization culture. 
B) company's macroenvironment. 
C) organization's competitive environment. 
D) collective competitive intelligence. 
E) organizational structure.

Question 17

________ means searching for and sorting through information about the environment.

Accepted Answer

A) Environmental uncertainty 
B) Competitive intelligence 
C) Domain selection 
D) Environmental scanning 
E) Strategic maneuvering

Question 18

Aunt Lucy's Style is a company that sells different types of costume jewelry.When Aunt Lucy's Style spends its own money to promote the costume jewelry industry as a whole,the company is practicing

Accepted Answer

A) competitive aggression. 
B) competitive pacification. 
C) public relations. 
D) voluntary cooptation. 
E) comparative action.

Question 19

The managers at Green Thumb Gardening Tools engage in an annual organizational assessment,trying to predict industry changes as well as possible opportunities and threats.They look at issues,such as who their competitors are,current entry barriers,and what substitutes exist for their products.This assessment is called

Accepted Answer

A) scenario development. 
B) forecasting. 
C) benchmarking. 
D) environmental scanning. 
E) strategic maneuvering.

Question 20

Which of the following is said to occur when two or more firms combine?

Accepted Answer

A) an acquisition 
B) a takeover 
C) a merger 
D) diversification 
E) downsizing

Exam 2: The External and Internal Environments