Strategic Management

Which of the following is NOT part of a company's macro-environment?

• The company's resource strengths, weaknesses and competitive capabilities.
• Economic factors.
• Political and Socio-Cultural factors.
• Technological factors and Legal conditions.

The most widely used tool for diagnosing the principle competitive pressures in a market is the:

• SWOT.
• Competitor Profiling.
• Five Forces Model.
• Market analysis.

Competitive pressures on companies within an industry come from those:

• companies in other industries attempting to win buyers over to their substitute products.
• associated with the market maneuvering that goes on among rival firms in the industry.
• associated with the threat of new entrants into the marketplace.
• all of these.

The nature & strength of the competitive forces that prevail in an industry is generally a joint product of:

• competition from rival sellers.
• competition from producers of substitute products.
• competitive pressures stemming from the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers.
• all of these.

Rivalry increases when:

• buyer demand is increasing.
• when there is excess supply of unused production capacity.
• as the products of rival sellers become more strongly differentiated.
• all of these.

Which of the following is generally NOT considered a barrier to entry?

• The reaction of incumbent firms to rapid market growth.
• Strong brand preferences and a high degree of customer loyalty.
• High capital requirements and restrictive government policies.
• Strong “network effects” in customer demand.

Good strategy combined with good strategy execution:

• offers a surefire guarantee for avoiding periods of weak financial performance.
• are the two best signs that a company is a true industry leader.
• are more important management functions than forming a strategic vision and setting objectives.
• are the most telling signs of good management.

A company’s strategic plan:

• maps out the company’s history.
• links the company’s financial targets to control mechanisms.
• outlines the competitive moves and approaches to be used in achieving the desired business results.
• all of these.

A company’s strategic vision describes:

• why the company does certain things in trying to please its customers.
• management’s storyline of how it intends to make a profit with the chosen strategy.
• management’s aspirations for the future and delineates the company’s strategic course and long-term direction.
• what future actions the enterprise will likely undertake to outmaneuver rivals and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

Well-stated objectives are:

• quantifiable or measurable, and contain deadlines for achievement.
• clear, succinct, and concise so as to identify the company’s risk and return options.
• directly related to the dividend payout ratio for stockholder returns.
• all of these.