Question 1

BP, in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, expected increased scrutiny from which of the following segments of the general environment?

Accepted Answer

A)  Political/legal 
B)  Global 
C)  Technological 
D)  Sociocultural

Question 2

The strengths of the five competitive forces are similar across strategic groups within an industry.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

A manufacturer of washing machines has expanded its plant and created excess capacity, just as the general economy takes a downturn.The company is likely to:

Accepted Answer

A)  raise prices on washing machines to offset lost sales. 
B)  be vulnerable to new entrants to an attractive market. 
C)  suffer from intense rivalry from international manufacturers. 
D)  offer rebates and incentives to customers to promote sales.

Question 4

China allows its firms to copy, or pirate, software created by firms in the United States and other countries.The Chinese firms take the intellectual property created by the other companies and then sell the resulting products for a lower price, undercutting the sales of the companies that invested in the product development.This activity represents a threat in the general environment that might prevent the U.S.companies from achieving strategic competitiveness.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

Which of the following explains, in part, why rivalry among McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King is intense?

Accepted Answer

A)  There is low geographic saturation of the market. 
B)  There is high differentiation among competing products. 
C)  The threat of supplier forward integration is low. 
D)  These companies are trying to find ways to differentiate their products.

Question 6

An analysis of the economic segment of the external environment would include all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

A)  interest rates. 
B)  trade deficits or surpluses. 
C)  inflation rates. 
D)  income distribution.

Question 7

Counterfeiting goods and exporting them from China is:

Accepted Answer

A)  ethical and legal. 
B)  unethical but legal. 
C)  ethical but illegal. 
D)  unethical and illegal.

Question 8

Exit barriers to a firm include all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

A)  generic assets. 
B)  loyalty to employees. 
C)  government concern about job loss. 
D)  restrictive labor agreements.

Question 9

The political/legal segment of an environment represents:

Accepted Answer

A)  the political preferences of different ethnic groups in the society. 
B)  the technological values of different political entities in society. 
C)  how organizations and governments mutually try to influence each other. 
D)  the system of regulations governments at all levels place on businesses.

Question 10

In order to gain information about its competitor, EBD Corp., Alpha Company obtained copies of EBD's annual reports for the last five years.This action is unethical, and possibly illegal.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

All of the following are implications of strategic groups EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

A)  more intense rivalry leads to a greater threat to profitability. 
B)  the strength of the five forces is the same across strategic groups. 
C)  competitive rivalry within strategic groups is greater than between strategic groups. 
D)  the closer the strategic groups are in terms of strategies, the greater is the likelihood of rivalry.

Question 12

Explain why it is important for organizations to analyze and understand the external environment.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain why it is important for organizations...

Question 13

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been accused of contributing to the obesity problem in the United States.This accusation comes from the __________segment of the general environment.

Accepted Answer

A)  economic 
B)  political/legal 
C)  technological 
D)  sociocultural

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT an entry barrier to an industry?

Accepted Answer

A)  Expected competitor retaliation 
B)  Economies of scale 
C)  Customer product loyalty 
D)  Bargaining power of suppliers

Question 15

The recent joint ventures formed by BP with Russian and Indian partners show the importance of the __________ segment of the general environment in those countries that BP and other oil firms must manage when contending with scarce resources.

Accepted Answer

A)  technological 
B)  physical 
C)  demographic 
D)  global

Question 16

Diverse energy sources and energy consumption trends are aspects of the __________ segment of the general environment that firms should monitor.

Accepted Answer

A)  technological 
B)  physical 
C)  sociocultural 
D)  economic

Question 17

Firms can directly control the elements of the seven segments of the general environment.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

The external environment facing business stays relatively constant over time.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Competitor intelligence could ethically come from all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

A)  court records. 
B)  financial reports. 
C)  trade show discussions. 
D)  eavesdropping.

Question 20

A family just changed to a different mobile phone and data service provider.They now need take some time to transfer their content to new phones and learn the features of the new service.This is an example of a:

Accepted Answer

A)  one-time cost of product differentiation. 
B)  decrease in cost due to economies of scale. 
C)  one-time cost suppliers incur when selling to a different customer. 
D)  switching cost customers incur changing to a new supplier.

Exam 2: The External Environment: Opportunities, Threats, Industry Competition, and Competitor Analysis

BP, in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, expected increased scrutiny from which of the following segments of the general environment?

The strengths of the five competitive forces are similar across strategic groups within an industry.

A manufacturer of washing machines has expanded its plant and created excess capacity, just as the general economy takes a downturn.The company is likely to:

Which of the following explains, in part, why rivalry among McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King is intense?

An analysis of the economic segment of the external environment would include all of the following EXCEPT:

Counterfeiting goods and exporting them from China is:

Exit barriers to a firm include all of the following EXCEPT:

The political/legal segment of an environment represents:

In order to gain information about its competitor, EBD Corp., Alpha Company obtained copies of EBD's annual reports for the last five years.This action is unethical, and possibly illegal.

All of the following are implications of strategic groups EXCEPT:

Explain why it is important for organizations to analyze and understand the external environment.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been accused of contributing to the obesity problem in the United States.This accusation comes from the __________segment of the general environment.

Which of the following is NOT an entry barrier to an industry?

The recent joint ventures formed by BP with Russian and Indian partners show the importance of the __________ segment of the general environment in those countries that BP and other oil firms must manage when contending with scarce resources.

Diverse energy sources and energy consumption trends are aspects of the __________ segment of the general environment that firms should monitor.

Firms can directly control the elements of the seven segments of the general environment.

The external environment facing business stays relatively constant over time.

Competitor intelligence could ethically come from all of the following EXCEPT:

A family just changed to a different mobile phone and data service provider.They now need take some time to transfer their content to new phones and learn the features of the new service.This is an example of a: