Exam 6: Organizational Strategy

Bargaining power of buyers tends to be higher when a company sells a popular product to multiple buyers than when a company is dependent on just a few high-volume buyers.

​_____ is the rivalry between two companies that offer similar products and services, acknowledge each other as rivals, and act and react to each other's strategic actions.

______ are the assets, capabilities, processes, information, and knowledge that an organization uses to improve its effectiveness and efficiency, to create and sustain competitive advantage, and to fulfill a need or solve a problem.

Wisher Technologies became a large software development company through a merger with Ringus Tech., a growing software solutions firm. Since both the companies had similar core capabilities, this would be classified as an example of _____.

Explain how the concept of strategic group (and its two sub-types) is used in a situational analysis as part of an environmental scanning activity to identify specific opportunities and threats that can either improve or harm a company's ability to sustain its competitive advantage.

Companies often choose a stability strategy when their external environment doesn't change much or after they have struggled with periods of explosive growth.

MCRS Toys manufactures learning toys and games exclusively for children in the age group of one to six years. The company is using a(n) _____ strategy.

The second step in a retrenchment strategy is _____.

overlooked or have difficulty serving.

​_____ is a strategy for reducing risk by buying a variety of items so that the failure of one stock or one business does not doom the entire portfolio.

Companies often choose a _____ strategy when their external environment doesn't change much or after they have struggled with periods of explosive growth.

When companies are performing above or better than their strategic reference points, top management is more likely to choose a daring, risk- taking strategy.

A _____ resource is a resource that is not controlled or possessed by many competing firms.

Explain how the concepts of competitive inertia and strategic dissonance are related to the strategy-making process. Explain the importance of gathering input regarding strategic plans from multiple levels of management.

How do companies use situational analyses, and what are the basic components of a situational analysis?

There are four conditions that must be met if a firm's resources are to be used to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. The resources must be valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and nonsubstitutable.

Explain what is meant by direct competition. Identify the factors that determine it, and specify the basic strategic moves involved in such competition. If you were heading a company engaged in direct competition with other firms, explain the circumstances under which you would prefer to engage in direct competition in order to develop a sustained competitive advantage.

_____ are the targets that managers use to measure whether their firm has developed the core competencies that it needs to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

​Organizations can achieve a _____ by using their resources to provide greater value for customers than competitors can.

Companies can achieve growth mainly by _____.