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Environment
Porter
Industry
Trends
Forecasting
100

Which of the following is not an element of the organization's task environment?

  • special interest groups
  • governments
  • technological developments 
  • trade associations
  • local communities
  • technological developments 
100

According to Porter, the collective strength of the interaction of potential entrants, buyers, substitutes, suppliers, firm rivalry, and other stakeholders determine

  • the aggregate level of demand for a product line.
  • the amount of pressure from the societal environment.
  • the ultimate profit potential in the industry measured in terms of long-run return on invested capital. 
  • the level of government action in an industry.
  • the probable industry attractiveness and business strength position.
  • the ultimate profit potential in the industry measured in terms of long-run return on invested capital. 
100

Which one of the following is not part of the process of developing industry scenarios?

  • Make a range of plausible assumptions about future trends.
  • Analyze the industry situation that would prevail under each scenario.
  • Generate at least 15 scenarios. 
  • Identify uncertainties in each of the six forces in the task environment.
  • Examine possible shifts in societal variables.
  • Generate at least 15 scenarios. 
100

Trend extrapolation is

  • given a large amount of historical data on certain interrelated factors, one attempts to conceptualize alternative futures.
  • detecting faulty underlying assumptions before forecasting errors can occur.
  • the extension of present trends into the future. 
  • the process of asking some authorities in the area to make an "informed guess" about the future.
  • the process of converting intuition and hunches into reality.
  • the extension of present trends into the future. 
100

Regression analysis is an example of which quantitative forecasting technique?

morphological analysis

  • brainstorming
  • statistical modeling 
  • trend-impact analysis
  • the Delphi technique
  • statistical modeling 
200

According to the text, one reason environmental uncertainty is a threat to strategic managers is because

  • it forces the strategic manager to be more stable.
  • it creates a new playing field in which creativity and innovation can play a major part in strategic decisions.
  • it is a costly and time-consuming process.
  • it hampers their ability to develop long-range plans and make strategic decisions. 
  • there are too many uncontrollable variables.
  • it hampers their ability to develop long-range plans and make strategic decisions. 
200

According to Porter's model, a strong or high force is likely to reduce profits and can be regarded as a(n)

  • benefit.
  • risk.
  • advantage.
  • opportunity.
  • threat. 
  • threat. 
200

To succeed in a hypercompetitive industry, companies must be willing to

  • cannibalize their successful product lines. 
  • operate in the ethical gray zone.
  • pursue market share instead of profits.
  • cut prices below marginal costs.
  • reduce spending on research and development.
  • cannibalize their successful product lines. 
200

Which societal force includes demographic trends?

  • political-legal forces
  • economic forces
  • labor forces
  • technological forces
  • sociocultural forces 
  • sociocultural forces 
200

A sugar company that is worried that consumers may buy artificial sweetener instead of sugar is concerned about the

  • threat of substitute products. 
  • threat of new entrants.
  • bargaining power of buyers.
  • rivalry among existing firms.
  • bargaining power of suppliers.
  • threat of substitute products. 
300

Which environment was generally perceived by business people to be something to exploit, not conserve, until the twentieth century?

  • the societal environment
  • the external environment
  • the task environment
  • the internal environment
  • the natural environment 
  • the natural environment 
300

When General Motors considers making its own automotive parts, Delphi Automotive Supply Company would be concerned with the

  • threat of new entrants.
  • threat of substitutes.
  • bargaining power of buyers. 
  • rivalry among existing competitors.
  • bargaining power of suppliers.
  • bargaining power of buyers. 
300

Which barrier to entry uses cost advantages associated with large size?

  • economies of scale 
  • rivalry among existing firms
  • switching costs
  • cost disadvantages independent of size
  • capital requirements
  • economies of scale 
300

A company with significant assets and activities in multiple countries is known as a(n)

  • repatriated corporation.
  • duplicate corporation.
  • emancipated corporation.
  • multi-national corporation. 
  • transferable corporation.
  • multi-national corporation. 
300

When the pressure for local responsiveness is strong and the pressure for coordination is weak for multi-national corporations in an industry, the industry will tend to become

  • risky.
  • global.
  • consolidated.
  • multi-domestic. 
  • indigenous.
  • multi-domestic. 
400

The combination of the degree of complexity and the degree of change existing in an organization's external environment is/are called

  • scenarios.
  • strategic issues.
  • strategic fit.
  • strategic factors.
  • environmental uncertainty. 
  • environmental uncertainty. 
400

Which of the following is not descriptive of intense rivalry among firms?

  • product offerings that are highly differentiated 
  • few competitors or competitors that are roughly
  • equal in size and power
  • high fixed costs
  • slow industry growth
  • high exit barriers
  • product offerings that are highly differentiated 
400

When the pressure for local responsiveness is strong and the pressure for coordination is weak for multi-national corporations in an industry, the industry will tend to become 

  • multi-domestic. 
  • global.
  • indigenous.
  • consolidated.
  • risky.
  • multi-domestic. 
400

What is a set of business units or firms that "pursue similar strategies with similar resources"?

  • cooperative
  • strategic group 
  • collective collaboration
  • integral association

strategic assembly

  • strategic group 
400

The corporation's task environment

  • encompasses the physical working areas of the organization.
  • includes those elements or groups within an organization's industry.
  • is an advisory committee to top management.
  • is the job requirement specification listing necessary skills and abilities.
  • is an accounting of the many jobs within an organization.
  • includes those elements or groups within an organization's industry.
500

Which of the following is not one of the eight current sociocultural trends mentioned in the text?

  • increasing environmental awareness
  • wage/price controls 
  • impact of Generation Y boomlet
  • decline of the mass market
  • growth of the seniors market
  • wage/price controls 
500

Which barrier to entry do corporations such as P&G use to force new entrants to spend heavily to overcome existing customer loyalty?

  • rivalry among existing firms
  • product differentiation 
  • capital requirements
  • access to distribution channels

switching costs

  • product differentiation 
500

Those variables that can affect significantly the overall competitive positions of companies within any particular industry are known as

  • matrix factors.
  • internal strategic factors.
  • key success factors. 
  • external strategic factors.
  • industry scenario.
  • key success factors. 
500

A company or an industry whose product works well with a firm's product and without which the product would lose much of its value is considered to be a(n)

  • complementor. 
  • oligopoly.
  • strategic group.
  • industry leader.
  • staggered company.
  • complementor. 
500

According to Porter, seeing clothing firms such as Under Armour enter the athletic shoe industry would reflect a

  • low competitive intensity.
  • high threat of potential entrants.
  • low threat of substitutes.
  • medium bargaining power of buyers.
  • medium bargaining power of suppliers.
  • medium bargaining power of suppliers.