Deck 4: Developing Competitive Advantage and Strategic Focus

Question 1

Firms specializing in operational excellence excel at basic research/rapid research interpretation as a core competency.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

While goals should be quantitative in nature, objectives are usually expressed in qualitative terms.​

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Expansion and growth, with new products and new markets, are the keys to Google's __________ approach to marketing strategy. Google uses this approach because it possesses many different strengths that coincide with key market opportunities.

A) defensive
B) focused
C) aggressive
D) proactive
E) diversified

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A SWOT analysis assesses the fit between what a firm can and cannot do (strengths and weaknesses), and the environmental conditions working for and against the firm (opportunities and threats).

Question 5

Why is it important that marketing goals involve some degree of intangibility?

A) It makes it more difficult for competitors to determine the firm's marketing strategy.
B) It makes goals more consistent with the objectives that follow.
C) It makes goals easier to achieve.
D) It promotes learning by forcing employees to ask questions about the strategy.
E) It makes the goal more motivational and promotes continuous improvement

Question 6

In terms of SWOT analysis, when does a strength become a capability of the firm?

A) when the strength can be tied to satisfying a customer need
B) when the strength cannot be copied by competitors
C) when the strength stands alone without any corresponding weaknesses
D) when the strength can be connected to a second strength
E) when the strength can be supported by sufficient resources

Question 7

All of the following are benefits of SWOT analysis EXCEPT:

A) It is simple to use and requires no extensive training or skills.
B) Its structured nature ensures that data and information are correctly categorized.
C) It promotes collaboration and open information exchange.
D) It can synthesize and integrate diverse information.
E) It can reduce costs associated with strategic planning.

Question 8

Marketing goals can be defined as:

A) quantitative guidelines that help firms achieve desired results.
B) broad, qualitative statements of desired accomplishments.
C) performance process controls.
D) specifications by which performance will be assessed.
E) precise statements of desired accomplishments.

Question 9

A firm's strategic focus will change over time due to the dynamic nature of internal and external environments.

Question 10

The SWOT analysis should always be analyzed quantitatively.​

Question 11

Marketers should set some easily attainable objectives because they will encourage employees to achieve higher levels of performance.​

Question 12

In Mexico the government has levied a tax on sugary soft drinks. For Coca-Cola, this represents a threat.

Question 13

What is an advantage of assigning responsibility for achieving marketing objectives? ​

A) ​It makes the processes less complex.
B) ​It eliminates organizational conflict.
C) ​It gives the marketing manager more control.
D) ​It limits the problems of stealing credit.
E) ​It aids in the goal-setting process.

Question 14

Kodak focused on maintaining market dominance over Polaroid and Fuji but failed to consider Sony, Nikon, Canon, and even smartphones. What mistake did Kodak make? ​

A) ​It idenfied the wrong brand competitors.
B) ​It was too obsessed with market dominance.
C) ​It only focused on brand competitors.
D) ​It didn't engage in competitive analysis.
E) ​It refused to collaborate with its competitors.

Question 15

In terms of setting goals and objectives, what is considered to be one of the major benefits gained from applying for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award?

A) It promotes the development of discontinuous objectives.
B) It helps the firm to set objectives that are difficult for competitors to copy.
C) It helps the firm to focus solely on customer requirements.
D) It promotes the development of goals that are consistent with the firm's mission.
E) It allows the firm the freedom to pursue other strategic initiatives.

Question 16

__________ typically occur within the competitive, customer, economic, political/legal, technological, and/or sociocultural environments of the firm.

A) Strengths and weaknesses
B) Strengths and opportunities
C) Opportunities and threats
D) Weaknesses and threats
E) Opportunities and weaknesses

Question 17

Because total budget competitors don't compete with the organization directly, marketers should not consider them when conducting a SWOT analysis.​

Question 18

Rather than conducting just one SWOT analysis, marketers should conduct a series of analyses, each focusing on a specific product/market combination.

Question 19

In the marketing strategy for Amazon, the following statement appears: Our strategy is designed to increase the percentage of repeat customers from 80 percent to 85 percent in the next 12 months. This statement is an example of a:

A) quantitative goal.
B) continuous objective.
C) procedural objective.
D) qualitative objective.
E) discontinuous objective.

Question 20

Comprehensiveness in the goal-setting process means that each functional area should be able to develop its own goals that relate to the organization's needs.

Question 21

Identify and explain the major characteristics of marketing goals.

Question 22

Microsoft's Windows platform dominates the market for personal computer operating systems. By continuously upgrading and stretching the technology underlying its Windows system, Microsoft is pursuing a strategy of:

A) customer intimacy.
B) product leadership.
C) operational excellence.
D) total quality management.
E) technological leadership.

Question 23

Discuss each of the three competitive advantage strategies (operational excellence, product leadership, customer intimacy) and explain why most firms pursue only one of these strategies.

Question 24

By focusing on efficiency of operations and processes, lower costs, and delivering good value, Southwest Airlines attempts to build a competitive advantage based on:

A) production orientation.
B) customer intimacy.
C) process improvement.
D) operational excellence.
E) strategic efficiency.

Question 25

With regard to Blue Ocean Strategy, the Four-Actions Framework is designed to challenge traditional assumptions about marketing strategy by asking four key questions. Which of the following IS NOT one of these questions?

A) Which factors should be reduced well below the industry's standard?
B) Which factors should be raised well above the industry's standard?
C) Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered?
D) Which factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated?
E) Which factors used throughout the industry should be copied?

Question 26

Firms possessing certain core competencies are more likely to create competitive advantages based on these competencies. However, before a competitive advantage can be translated into specific customer benefits, the firm's __________ must recognize that its competencies give it an advantage over the competition.

A) management
B) target markets
C) shareholders
D) employees
E) strategic partners

Question 27

The failure to understand the difference between internal and external issues is one of the major reasons for a poorly conducted SWOT analysis. This happens because managers:

A) see opportunities and threats as being the same thing.
B) confuse weaknesses with threats.
C) see strengths as the only meaningful issue in a SWOT analysis.
D) confuse strengths with opportunities.
E) list their marketing options or strategies as opportunities.

Question 28

What might be the problem with only taking the customer's perspective?

A) Taking a customer perspective involves a lot of costs and resources.
B) Customers often take a generic analysis of the organization.
C) The information is more constructive than descriptive.
D) Customers do not see behind the scenes to understand the firm's characteristics.
E) Adopting a customer perspective doesn't usually translate into insightful information.

Question 29

May firms, like the Altria Group, focus on diversification in their marketing strategies because they possess:

A) many internal strengths and many external opportunities.
B) many internal weaknesses and many external opportunities.
C) many internal strengths and few external opportunities.
D) many internal strengths and many external threats.
E) many internal weaknesses and many external threats.

Question 30

An organization plans to increase its market share from 10% to 20% within the next year. This is an example of a

A) ​quantitative goal
B) ​continuous objective
C) ​procedural objective
D) ​qualitative objective
E) ​discontinuous objective

Question 31

To successfully utilize SWOT analysis as a catalyst for strategic planning, the marketing manager must focus on several important issues. Which of the following IS NOT one of these issues?

A) The manager must look beyond the firm's current product offerings.
B) The manager must find ways to connect the firm's strengths to its opportunities.
C) The manager must strive to convert weaknesses into strengths.
D) The manager must attempt to minimize the firm's limitations.
E) The manager must find ways to transform key threats into strengths.

Question 32

The overall concept or model that guides the firm as it weaves various marketing elements together into a coherent strategy is called its:

A) marketing strategy.
B) operational focus.
C) strategic posture.
D) marketing thrust.
E) strategic focus.

Question 33

As a tool of Blue Ocean Strategy, the strategy canvas provides a way to visualize the firm's strategy relative to other firms in the industry. The central portion of the strategy canvas is the __________, or the graphic representation of the firm's relative performance across its industry's factors.

A) value curve
B) strategy line
C) strategic focus
D) divergence curve
E) action diagram

Question 34

In 2009 General Motors had numerous internal weaknesses. However, there were still many external opportunities available for the company to pursue. Which of the following strategy direction is appropriate for this scenario?

A) ​Turnaround
B) ​Defensive
C) ​Diversification
D) ​Passive
E) ​Aggressive

Question 35

Identify and explain the major characteristics of marketing objectives.

Question 36

Discuss the role of the strategy canvas and the four actions framework in establishing a strategic focus for the firm's marketing strategy. Why are these approaches invaluable in today's highly competitive environment?

Question 37

Strengths are typically based on the existence and nature of the __________ possessed by the firm. Weaknesses stem from a lack of these important factors.

A) patents and capital
B) resources and relationships
C) customers and partnerships
D) products and customers
E) customers and resources

Question 38

Weaknesses that cannot be converted into strengths are called _____.

A) ​threats
B) ​limitations
C) ​uncontrollables
D) ​capabilities
E) ​failures

Question 39

Identify and explain the directives for the productive use of SWOT analysis. Which directive do you think is the most important? Why?

Question 40

Your supervisor repeatedly informs you that "Goals without objectives are essentially meaningless." What is the rationale for such a philosophy?

A) Goals are necessary to provide specific benchmarks that are used to gauge performance.
B) Objectives provide a theoretical benchmark rather than a practical benchmark.
C) A goal is not a goal unless it contains one or more objectives.
D) Progress is impossible to track without measurable performance targets.
E) Objectives are necessary to provide qualitative benchmarks that are used to gauge performance.