2. A company's strategy consists of
A) the actions it is taking to develop a more appealing business model than rivals.
B) the plans it has to
... [Show More] outcompete rivals and establish a sustainable competitive advantage.
C) the offensive moves it is employing to make its product offering more distinctive and appealing to
buyers.
D) the competitive moves and business approaches that managers are employing to grow the business, stake
out a market position, attract and please customers, compete successfully, conduct operations, and
achieve targeted objectives.
E) its strategic vision, its strategic objectives, and its strategic intent.
Answer: D Page: 4 Difficulty: Medium Taxonomy: Knowledge AACSB: 3
3. The competitive moves and business approaches a company's management is using to grow the business,
stake out a market position, attract and please customers, compete successfully, conduct operations, and
achieve organizational objectives is referred to as its
A) strategy.
B) mission statement.
C) strategic intent.
D) business model.
E) strategic vision.
Answer: A Page: 4 Difficulty: Easy Taxonomy: Knowledge AACSB: 3
4. In crafting a strategy, management is in effect saying
A) "this is who we are and where we are headed.''
B) "this is our model for making money in our particular line of business."
C) "we intend to launch these new moves to outcompete our rivals."
D) "among all the many different business approaches and ways of competing we could have chosen, we
have decided to employ this particular combination of competitive and operating approaches in moving
the company in the intended direction, strengthening its market position and competitiveness, and
boosting performance."
E) "this is our vision of what our business will be like, what products/services we will sell, and who our
customers will be in the years to come."
Answer: D Page: 4 Difficulty: Medium Taxonomy: Comprehension AACSB: 3
5. A company’s strategy is most accurately defined as
A) management's approaches to building revenues, controlling costs and generating an attractive profit.
B) management's commitment to pursue a particular set of actions in growing the business, attracting and
pleasing customers, competing successfully, conducting operations, and improving the company’s
financial and market performance.
C) management's concept of "who we are, what we do, and where we are headed."
D) the business model that a company’s board of directors has approved for outcompeting rivals and making
the company profitable.
E) the choices management has made regarding what financial plan to pursue.
Answer: B Page: 3 Difficulty: Easy Taxonomy: Knowledge AACSB: 3
6. Which of the following is not something a company's strategy is concerned with?
A) Management’s choices about how to attract and please customers
B) 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 compete successfully
E) Management’s action plan for conducting operations and improving the company’s financial and market
performance
Answer: B Page: 3 Difficulty: Medium Taxonomy: Comprehension AACSB: 3
7. Which of the following is not a primary focus of a company's strategy?
A) How to attract and please customers
B) How each functional piece of the business will be operated
C) How to grow the business
D) How to compete successfully
E) How to achieve above-average gains in the company’s stock price and thereby meet or beat shareholder
expectations
Answer: E Page: 3 Difficulty: Medium Taxonomy: Comprehension AACSB: 3
8. In crafting a company’s strategy,
A) management’s biggest challenge is how closely to mimic the strategies of successful companies in the
industry.
B) managers have comparatively little freedom in choosing the hows of strategy.
C) managers are wise not to decide on concrete courses of action in order to preserve maximum strategic
flexibility.
D) managers need to come up with some distinctive “aha” element to the strategy that draws in customers
and produces a competitive edge over rivals.
E) managers are well-advised to be risk-averse and develop a “conservative” strategy—“dare-to-bedifferent” strategies rarely are successful.
Answer: D Page: 4 Difficulty: Medium Taxonomy: Comprehension AACSB: 3
Strategy and the Quest for Competitive Advantage
9. The heart and soul of a company's strategy-making effort
A) involves coming up with moves and actions that produce a durable competitive edge over rivals.
B) is figuring out how to maximize the profits and shareholder value.
C) concerns how to improve the efficiency of its business model.
D) deals with how management plans to maximize profits while, at the same time, operating in a socially
responsible manner that keeps the company’s prices as low as possible.
E) is figuring out how to become the industry’s low-cost provider.
Answer: A Page: 6 Difficulty: Easy Taxonomy: Comprehension AACSB: 3
10. A company’s strategy and its quest for competitive advantage are tightly connected because
A) without a competitive advantage a company cannot become the industry leader.
B) without a competitive advantage a company cannot have a profitable business model.
C) crafting a strategy that yields a competitive advantage over rivals is a company’s most reliable means of
achieving above-average profitability and financial performance.
D) a competitive advantage is what enables a company to achieve its strategic objectives.
E) how a company goes about trying to please customers and outcompete rivals is what enables senior
managers choose an appropriate strategic vision for the company.
Answer: C Page: 6 Difficulty: Medium Taxonomy: Comprehension AACSB: 3 [Show Less]