Deck 4: The Internal Assessment

Question 1

Which of the following is not a primary activity in the value chain?

A)The physical creation of the product
B)Technological development
C)After- sales services
D)Logistical activities including marketing

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The IFE Matrix should be in multidivisional firms.

A)developed before the EFE Matrix
B)constructed for each division
C)all- inclusive
D)revised monthly
E)constructed only for the major divisions

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is not a cultural product?

A)Sagas
B)Symbols
C)Rituals
D)Emotions
E)Rites

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A pattern of behavior developed by an organization as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration,that has worked well enough to be considered valid and to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive,think and feel,is called

A)dysfunctional behavior.
B)internal audit effect.
C)groupthink.
D)behavior modification.
E)organizational culture.

Question 5

Arabs place an exceptionally high priority on whereas many foreigners place more worth on .

A)silence; time
B)close personal distance; ample personal distance
C)time; relationships
D)silence; relationships
E)relationships; time

Question 6

In Europe,it is generally true that the farther on the continent,the more participatory the management style.

A)east
B)south
C)north
D)west
E)southeast

Question 7

A firm's strengths that cannot be easily matched or imitated by competitors are called

A)special properties.
B)external audits.
C)distinctive competencies.
D)internal audits.
E)internal properties.

Question 8

Which of the following is the first step in developing an IFE Matrix?

A)Summing the weighted scores for each variable
B)Identifying the organization's strengths and weaknesses
C)Identifying the organization's functions of business
D)Determining the lead strategist
E)Determining the organization's structure

Question 9

The practical assessment of company strengths and weaknesses allows managers to answer which of the following questions?

A)Is the company,relative to its rivals,in a position to compete effectively?
B)Does the company have the capabilities and essential resources to leap forward?
C)Can the company meet existing and emerging market needs?
D)Is theree a fit between our capabilities and existing opportunities and threats?
E)All the above

Question 10

Performing an internal assessment requires

A)gathering,record- keeping,and safe- guarding information about a firm's operations.
B)gathering,assimilating,and evaluating information about a firm's operations.
C)simply focusing on the operational issues of a firm
D)inheriting the historical data about a firm's operations.

Question 11

The initial step to implementing value chain analysis is

A)dividing a firm's operations into specific activities or business processes.
B)establishing costs in terms of money.
C)establishing costs in terms of time.
D)attaching a cost to each discrete activity.
E)converting the cost data into information by looking for competitive cost strengths and weaknesses.

Question 12

Valuable resources are resources that are either rare,hard to imitate,or

A)expensive.
B)inefficient.
C)inexpensive.
D)easily substitutable.
E)not easily substitutable.

Question 13

The management costs in a value chain for a typical manufacturing firm does not include

A)truck maintenance.
B)managers and labor relations.
C)employees and employee benefits.
D)human resources and administration.
E)financial and legal costs.

Question 14

Life- directing attitudes that serve as behavioral guidelines are called

A)metaphors.
B)rites.
C)legends.
D)values.
E)beliefs.

Question 15

exemplifies the complexity of relationships among the functional areas of business.

A)Distribution strategy
B)External audit
C)Financial ratio analysis
D)Environmental scanning
E)Government audit

Question 16

The standardized,detailed techniques and behaviors that manage anxieties,but seldom produce intended,technical consequences of practical results are called

A)folktales.
B)rituals.
C)rites.
D)values.
E)metaphors.

Question 17

All firms in a given industry have a similar value chain,involving which of the following activities?

A)Building manufacturing facilities
B)Obtaining raw materials and designing products
C)Developing cooperative agreements
D)Providingcustomer service
E)All the above

Question 18

To successfully compete in world markets,Arab executives must have a better knowledge of all of following influencing forces except

A)cultural forces
B)historical forces
C)environmental forces
D)religious forces

Question 19

Which of the following characterisitcs of founders does not help to shape corporate culture and its progression?

A)A founder's aspirations
B)A founder's decision- making process along with accompanying actions
C)A founder's delegation of authorities to subordinates
D)A founder's perceptions

Question 20

Which of the following is not a common method used by managers to assess a company's resource capabilities and its competitive position?

A)PESTLE analysis
B)Value Chain Analysis (VCA)
C)Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE)
D)SWOT Analysis

Question 21

Typical sources of benchmarking information include

A)willing rival firms.
B)creditors,shareholders,and lobbyists.
C)suppliers,distributors,customers,and partners.
D)published reports and trade publications.
E)all the above

Question 22

Managers seek to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses while effectively seizing opportunities and avoiding or neutralize threats.

Question 23

Which of the following would not be classified as a supplier cost for a typical manufacturing firm?

A)Raw materials
B)Transportation
C)Fuel and energy
D)Trucking
E)Truck drivers and truck maintenance

Question 24

Value chains tend to be similar across different industries and firms.

Question 25

The basic premise of the research- based view is that the mix,type,amount and nature of a firm's internal resources should be considered first and foremost in devising strategies that can lead to sustainable competitive advantage.

Question 26

Which of the following is not true about Arab managers?

A)Arabs have a tendancy to compromise and are easily persuaded to offer concessions once they feel that their counterparts are willing to reciprocate.
B)Arabs are less inclined to gather detailed information about the subject under negotiation,so will subsequently spend less time than their American counterparts on preparation and planning platforms.
C)Arabs may delay scheduled meetings or often reschedule them,because personal matters,often family ones,take priority.
D)As a sign of respect,Arabs tend to stand approximately 1 meter from their counterparts when engaged in business conversations.

Question 27

Organizational culture is the product of various factors,including

A)values,norms and beliefs.
B)accumulated experience.
C)government rules and regulations.
D)the founder's aspiration.
E)all the above

Question 28

An organization's culture compares to an individual's personality in the sense that no two organizations have the same culture and no two individuals have the same personality.

Question 29

What are historical narratives describing the unique accomplishments of a group and its leaders,usually in heroic terms?

A)Sagas
B)Myths
C)Stories
D)Folktales
E)Rites

Question 30

Who should perform an internal analysis?

A)A team of top- level managers and lower- level employees
B)The chief executive officer
C)A private auditing firm
D)The organization's accounting department
E)Managers from different units of the organization

Question 31

Benchmarking is an analytical tool used to determine whether a firm's value chain activities are competitive compared to rivals.

Question 32

A value chain analysis is not so important for a firm in monitoring whether its prices and costs are competitive.

Question 33

The RBV theorists say if many firms cannot easily obtain or imitate particular resources then those resources will ensure a competitive advantage.

Question 34

The International Benchmarking Clearinghouse provides guidelines to help prevent which of the following improper business activities?

A)Bid rigging
B)Price fixing
C)Restraint of trade
D)Bribery
E)All the above

Question 35

Within large organizations,each division has certain strengths and weaknesses.

Question 36

Ignoring the effect that culture can have on business relationships can result in all of the following except

A)difficulty accessing company facilities.
B)lack of coordination.
C)inability to adapt to changing conditions.
D)barriers to communication.

Question 37

The internal resource categories used in the resource- based approach are physical resources,human resources and

A)financial resources.
B)shareholder resources.
C)organizational resources.
D)technological resources.
E)natural resources.

Question 38

Organizational resources include all of the following except

A)planning processes.
B)copyrights.
C)employee training.
D)information systems.
E)firm structure.

Question 39

The process whereby a firm determines the costs associated with organizational activities is called

A)the internal factor evaluation matrix.
B)cost- benefit analysis.
C)value chain analysis.
D)the resource- based approach.
E)strategic cost analysis.

Question 40

The process of performing an internal assessment,compared to the external assessment,provides more opportunity for participants to understand how their jobs,departments and divisions fit into the whole organization.

Question 41

Arabs,generally,prefer short- term business relationships.

Question 42

Links between a firm's culture and strategies often determine its success.

Question 43

Government and nonprofit enterprises have traditionally placed much emphasis on relationships among the business functions.

Question 44

Generally in the Arab world,the internal capacity to assess external environments and explore their trends is lacking.

Question 45

According to RBV theorists,when other firms are unable to duplicate a particular strategy,then the focal firm has a sustainable competitive advantage.

Question 46

If firms cannot easily obtain or imitate particular resources,then those resources will not ensure a competitive advantage to others who do have them.

Question 47

The Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix should include from 20 to 30 key factors.

Question 48

SWOT is the second most common method in evaluating a company's capabilities in the context of a dynamic marketplace.

Question 49

Common resources are not valauble to firms.

Question 50

In China,business behavior revolves around guanxi,or personal relations.

Question 51

Since most firms in the Arab world are family- run businesses,organizational culture seems to have evolved rapidly.

Question 52

Building competitive advantages involves taking advantage of distinctive competencies.

Question 53

Objectives and strategies are established with the intention of capitalizing upon external strengths and minimizing weaknesses.

Question 54

Proponents of the resource- based view argue that external factors are more important than internal factors for a firm in achieving and sustaining competitive advantage.

Question 55

Arab managers working in other countries are not required to be attentive to prevailing cultural and business norms.

Question 56

For strategies to succeed,a coordinated effort among all the functional areas of business is needed.

Question 57

The definition of 'organizational culture' emphasizes only the importance of external factors in making strategic decisions.

Question 58

Arabs are mostly inclined toward web- conference meetings.

Question 59

The combined costs of all the various activities in a company's value chain define the firm's cost of doing business.

Question 60

Unlike Americans,Arabs do not consider exchanging business cards as essential.

Question 61

Arab businessmen tend to use first names in interactions.

Question 62

The subtle,elusive and largely unconscious forces that shape the workplace are captured by the organizational culture.

Question 63

Value chain analysis aims to identify where low- cost advantages or disadvantages exist anywhere along the value chain from raw materials to customer service activities.

Question 64

Opportunities are a firm's distinctive competencies that cannot be easily matched or imitated by competitors.

Question 65

As long as the strategic- management process is overseen by strategists,there is no need for managers and employees from different functional areas to work together to provide ideas or information.

Question 66

In recent years,Arab- based corporations have started to operate globally.

Question 67

Not recognizing and understanding the relationships among functional areas of business can be beneficial to strategic management.

Question 68

An organization's culture should infuse individuals with enthusiasm for implementing strategies.

Question 69

Unlike the external assessment,the internal assessment does not require gathering and assimilating information about the firm's functional areas.

Question 70

Understanding both external and internal factors and,more importantly,understanding the relationships among them,will be the key to effective strategy formulation.

Question 71

Some companies are equally strong (or weak)in all areas of thier business.

Question 72

As culture is remarkably resistant to change,it rarely has any effect on a firm.

Question 73

If the firm's culture is not supportive,strategic changes may be ineffective or even counterproductive.

Question 74

Few successful corporations give considerable attention to both external and internal analysis.

Question 75

Although a useful step in the strategic management process,value chain analysis can rarely help a firm monitor whether its prices and costs are competitive.

Question 76

Firms in the Arab world have a longer experience in SWOT analysis than Western corporations.

Question 77

In the Arab society,meetings are often interupted because of the nature of socialization and personalized aspects of business conduct.

Question 78

Compared to the external analysis,the process of performing an internal analysis provides more opportunity for participants to understand how their jobs,departments,and divisions fit into the whole organization.

Question 79

An organization's culture has no obligation to support the collective commitment of its people towards a common purpose.

Question 80

In preparing as IFE matrix,qualitative estimates are usually sufficient.