WorksheetsEnvironmental Scanning and Industry Analysis
Total questions: 47
Worksheet time: 24mins
Internal analysis enables a firm to determine what the firm
can do
should do.
will do.
might do.
According to Porter's model, a strong or high force is likely to reduce profits and can be regarded as a(n)
A. benefit.
B. opportunity.
C. advantage.
D. threat.
Which societal force includes demographic trends?
A. political-legal forces
B. labor forces
C. economic forces
D. sociocultural forces
What is a set of business units or firms that 'pursue similar strategies with similar resources'?
A. strategic group
B. collective collaboration
C. cooperative
D. integral association
A formal program of gathering information on a company's competitors is referred to as
A. statistical modeling.
B. competitive intelligence.
C. competitive strategy.
D. quantitative forecasting.
Which of the following is not a major force in the societal environment?
A. political-legal forces
B. labor forces
C. economic forces
D. technological forces
Which is the largest age group of the current generations in all developed countries?
A. Baby Boomers
B. Woofies
C. Silent Generation
D. Gen X
Which of the following is not descriptive of external environmental scanning?
A. used as a tool to ensure a corporation's long-term health
B. used to monitor, evaluate, and disseminate information relevant to the organizational development of strategy
C. used to identify major stockholders
D. used as a tool for corporations to avoid strategic surprise
According to Porter's model, a low force can enable the company to earn greater profits and can be regarded as a(n)
A. benefit.
B. opportunity.
C. advantage.
D. threat.
Those variables that can affect significantly the overall competitive positions of companies within any particular industry are known as
A. external strategic factors.
B. internal strategic factors.
C. matrix factors.
D. key success factors.
A sugar company that is worried that consumers may buy artificial sweetener instead of sugar is concerned about the
A. threat of new entrants.
B. rivalry among existing firms.
C. threat of substitute products.
D. bargaining power of suppliers.
The corporation's task environment
A. encompasses the physical working areas of the organization.
B. includes those elements or groups within an organization's industry.
C. is an advisory committee to top management.
D. is an accounting of the many jobs within an organization.
Which type of international industry manufactures and sells the same products with only minor adjustments made for individual countries around the world?
A. consortium industry
B. global industry
C. indigenous industry
D. multi-domestic industry
What is the key outcome from PESTEL analysis?
A. Five forces
B. Identification of the drivers for change
C. Critical success factors
D. Possible scenarios
Which of the following are signs of weakness in a company's competitive position?
A. A return-on-equity is below 25% and earning per share of less than Rs. 2.00
B. A price set by the firm higher than its rivals
C. A declining market share, poor product quality and few sales in the market
D. Lower revenues and profit margin and narrow product line than the market leader
Political variables have a significant effect on:
A. strategy formulation and implementation
B. strategy formulation and evaluation
C. strategy implementation and evaluation
D. strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation
Industry analysis is primarily concerned with a corporation's
A. societal environment.
B. task environment.
C. sociocultural environment.
D. economic environment.
The purpose of a SWOT analysis is to analyze:
A. the business environment and the strategic capability of an organization relative to its competitors.
B. the strategic capability of an organization.
C. external and internal environments.
D. the business environment in which
All of the following are technological breakthroughs already having a significant impact on many industries EXCEPT
A. growing health consciousness.
B. alternative energy sources.
C. genetically altered organisms.
D. smart, mobile robots.
Which of the following is an example of an industry in which companies manufacture and sell the same products, with only minor adjustments made for individual countries around the world?
A. retailing
B. banking
C. tires
D. insurance
According to Porter, the corporation is most concerned with
A. the intensity of competition within its industry.
B. the aggregate level of demand for a product line.
C. a market's position on its life cycle.
D. the amount of pressure from the societal environment.
The purpose of a SWOT analysis is to analyze:
A. the business environment and the strategic capability of an organization relative to its competitors
B. the strategic capability of an organization.
C. external and internal environments.
D. the business environment in which an organization operates.
"Identifying and evaluating key social, political, economic, technological and competitive trends and events". Which of the followings best describes this statement?
A. Developing an effective mission statement
B. Conducting an internal audit
C. Performing an external audit
D. Formulating strategy
The buyer power is likely to be high in these situations, except:
A. where switching costs are low
B. where the buyer can threaten to compete
C. where a few large customers account for the majority of sales
D. where ultimate consumer power is weak
Which environment was generally perceived by business people to be something to exploit, not conserve, until the twentieth century?
A. the task environment
B. the natural environment
C. the internal environment
D. the societal environment
A table which summarizes the key success factors within a particular industry is called a(n)
A. EFAS Table.
B. IFAS Table.
C. SFAS Table.
D. Industry Matrix.
The action of developing new products before competitors do at improving product quality or at improving manufacturing processes to reduce costs.
A. Marketing
B. Opportunity analysis
C. Research and development
D. Management
Strategic-management audit is known as:
A. Environmental scanning
B. Strategy formulation
C. Strategy control
D. Strategy evaluation
The technique recommended by the text to organize an analysis of external strategic factors is called
A. IFAS.
B. EFAS.
C. SFAS.
D. SWOT.
The combination of the degree of complexity and the degree of change existing in an organization's external environment is/are called
A. strategic factors.
B. strategic issues.
C. environmental uncertainty.
D. strategic fit.
When strategic managers have a willingness to reject unfamiliar as well as negative information it is referred to as
A. strategic paralysis.
B. corporate inertia.
C. management indifference.
D. strategic myopia.
The five forces that affect the level of competition in an industry are:
A. the threat of entry; the power of buyers; the power of suppliers; the threat of substitutes; and government action.
B. the threat of buyers; the power of entry; the power of substitutes; the threat of suppliers; and the threat of recession.
C. the threat of recession; the power of buyers; the power of suppliers; the threat of management failure; and competitive rivalry.
D. the threat of entry; the power of buyers; the power of suppliers; the threat of substitutes; and competitive rivalry.
Which barrier to entry was demonstrated by Microsoft's development of the first widely adopted operating system (MS-DOS) for the IBM-type personal computer that gave it a significant competitive advantage over potential competitors?
A. government policy
B. access to distribution channels
C. cost disadvantages independent of size
D. capital requirements
……………….is not part of an external audit.
A. Analyzing competitors
B. Analyzing financial ratios
C. Analyzing available technologies
D. Studying the political environment
Which of the following is not descriptive of a high level of bargaining power of suppliers?
A. Substitutes are readily available.
B. The product or service is unique.
C. The supplier industry is dominated by a few companies, but sells too many.
D. The purchasing industry buys only a small portion of the supplier group's goods and services.
Which of the following is not an element of the organization's task environment?
A. local communities
B. trade associations
C. governments
D. technological developments
A company with significant assets and activities in multiple countries is known as a(n)
A. multi-national corporation.
B. repatriated corporation.
C. transferable corporation.
D. duplicate corporation.
The origin of competitive advantage lies in the ability to
A. gain major stockholders.
B. identify and respond to environmental change well in advance of competition.
C. launch products quickly.
D. serve customers faster.
Which barrier to entry uses cost advantages associated with large size?
A. economies of scale
B. switching costs
C. cost disadvantages independent of size
D. capital requirements
When General Motors considers making its own automotive parts, Delphi Automotive Supply Company would be concerned with the
A. bargaining power of suppliers.
B. bargaining power of buyers.
C. rivalry among existing competitors.
D. threat of substitutes.
Which barrier to entry do corporations such as P&G use to force new entrants to spend heavily to overcome existing customer loyalty?
A. rivalry among existing firms
B. switching costs
C. capital requirements
D. product differentiation
In the EFAS Table, the indicator of how well a particular company is responding to current and expected factors in its external environment is characterized by the
A. IFAS score.
B. industry matrix.
C. total weighted score.
D. SWOT score.
Porter describes the threat of new entrants. Which of the following is not descriptive of the "threat of new entrants"?
A. depends on the presence of entry barriers
B. has a desire to gain market share
C. depends on the reaction of existing competitors
D. does not impact industry attractiveness
………………is/are the source of a firm's ………………., which is/are the source of the firm's……………….
A. Resources, capabilities, core competencies
B. Capabilities, resources, core competencies
C. Capabilities, resources, above average returns
D. Core competencies, resources, competitive advantage
One ground rule necessary for effective brainstorming is
A. scrutinize each idea generated.
B. propose ideas without mentally screening them.
C. calculating future earnings of each idea.
D. critique each idea for rationality.
____________ identifies a firm's major competitors and their particular strengths and weaknesses in relation to a sample firm's strategic position.
A. Competitive Profile Matrix
B. External Factor Evaluation matrix
C. Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix
D. Boston consulting group matrix
Intel was able to gain a significant cost advantage over its competitors in the production and sale of microprocessors because of
A. capital requirements.
B. product differentiation.
C. switching costs.
D. economies of scale.
