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Ebook Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy 14Th Edition Wheelen Test Bank Full Chapter PDF
Ebook Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy 14Th Edition Wheelen Test Bank Full Chapter PDF
1) Corporate strategy deals primarily with the choice of direction for the firm as a whole and the
management of its business or product portfolio.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Understand the three aspects of corporate strategy
3) The most widely pursued corporate directional strategies are those designed to achieve
growth.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
4) A merger is a transaction involving two or more corporations in which stock is exchanged, but
from which only one corporation survives.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
5) The two basic growth strategies are concentration and strategic alliances.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
7) Vertical integration is the degree to which a firm operates vertically in multiple locations on
an industry's value chain from extracting raw materials to manufacturing to retailing.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
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Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
9) BP and Royal Dutch Shell are examples of fully integrated firms because they internally make
100% of their key supplies and completely control their distributors.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
10) With taper integration, a firm internally makes 100% of its key supplies and completely
controls its distributors.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
11) An example of forward quasi-integration would be a large pharmaceutical firm that acquires
part interest in a drugstore chain in order to guarantee that its drugs have access to the
distribution channel.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
13) Horizontal growth can be achieved by expanding the firm's products into other geographic
locations and/or by increasing the range of products and services offered to current markets.
Answer: TRUE
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Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
14) Exporting grants rights to another company to open a retail store using the franchiser's name
and operating system.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
15) Forming a joint venture between a foreign corporation and a domestic company is the most
popular strategy used to enter a new country.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
16) A relatively quick way to move into an international area is through greenfield development.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
17) Turnkey operations are typically contracts for the construction of operating facilities in
exchange for a fee.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
18) Management contracts are common when a host government expropriates part or all of a
foreign-owned company's holdings in its country.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
19) Synergy is the concept that two businesses operating within a company will generate more
profits together than they could separately by common use of technology, customers,
distribution, managerial skills, or product similarity.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
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Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
21) Conglomerate diversification is diversifying into an industry unrelated to its current one.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
22) If a new business is very similar to that of the acquiring firm, it adds little new to the
corporation and only marginally improves performance.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
24) Stability strategies can be very useful in the short run, but they can be dangerous if followed
for too long.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
25) When Sony's CEO, Howard Stringer, eliminated 10,000 jobs and closed 11 plants, he was
addressing the contraction phase of the turnaround strategy.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
26) According to the BCG Growth Share Matrix, cash cows are market share leaders typically at
the growth stage of their product life cycle and are usually able to generate enough cash to
maintain their high share of the market.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
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27) According to the BCG Growth Share Matrix, dogs should be either sold off or managed
carefully for the small amounts of cash they can generate.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
28) The GE Business Screen is based on long-term industry attractiveness and business
strength/competitive position.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
29) A limitation of the BCG Growth Share Matrix is the questionable link between market share
and profitability.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
30) One limitation of portfolio analysis is that it provides an illusion of scientific rigor.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
31) Corporate parenting views the corporation in terms of resources and capabilities that can be
used to build business unit value as well as generate synergies across business units.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Develop a parenting strategy for a multiple-business corporation
32) In multipoint competition, large multi-business corporations compete against other large
multi-business firms in a number of markets.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Develop a parenting strategy for a multiple-business corporation
33) Which strategy specifies the firm's overall direction in terms of its general orientation toward
growth, the industries or markets in which it competes, and the manner in which it coordinates
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activities and transfers resources among business units?
A) corporate
B) functional
C) divisional
D) organizational
E) business
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Understand the three aspects of corporate strategy
34) Which kind of corporate strategy deals with the firm's overall orientation toward growth?
A) portfolio strategy
B) directional strategy
C) parenting strategy
D) cooperative strategy
E) functional strategy
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Understand the three aspects of corporate strategy
35) Which kind of corporate strategy deals with the manner in which the firm coordinates
activities and builds corporate synergies through resource sharing and development?
A) portfolio strategy
B) directional strategy
C) parenting strategy
D) cooperative strategy
E) functional strategy
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Understand the three aspects of corporate strategy
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36) Which one of the following directional strategies is most frequently used in corporations?
A) stability
B) consolidation
C) growth
D) retrenchment
E) expansion
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
37) Which external growth strategy involves two or more corporations joining in a stock
exchange and from which only one corporation survives?
A) mergers
B) strategic alliances
C) diversification
D) acquisitions
E) concentration
Answer: A
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
38) Which of the following strategies was being used when Allied Corporation and Signal
Companies formed Allied Signal?
A) mergers
B) strategic alliances
C) diversification
D) acquisitions
E) concentration
Answer: A
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
39) Which external growth strategy was demonstrated when Procter & Gamble completely
absorbed Gillette?
A) mergers
B) strategic alliances
C) diversification
D) concentration
E) acquisitions
Answer: E
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
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40) Which of the following is NOT a reason why the growth strategy is so desirable?
A) There are more opportunities for advancement and promotion.
B) A corporation that experiences successful growth is thought of positively by the marketplace
and potential investors.
C) A large and growth-oriented corporation has more clout and influence.
D) A growing firm can cover up mistakes and inefficiencies because of the increase in cash flow
revenue.
E) A large and growing firm attracts more acquisition offers.
Answer: E
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
41) The most logical growth strategy for a corporation with current product lines with real
growth potential in a growing industry is
A) concentration.
B) conglomerate integration.
C) concentric diversification.
D) stability.
E) retrenchment.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
42) Ford Motor Company's use of company resources to build its River Rouge Plant outside of
Detroit so that iron ore could enter into one end of the plant and a finished automobile could exit
out of the other end is called
A) vertical growth.
B) tapered integration.
C) horizontal integration.
D) external vertical integration.
E) quasi-integration.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
44) The purchase of the supplier Carroll's Foods for its hog-growing facilities by Smithfield
Foods, the world's largest pork processor, is an example of
A) forward integration.
B) horizontal integration.
C) backward integration.
D) transferred integration.
E) mass integration.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
45) The ability for Nike to manufacture its own shoes and then build stores for distribution is an
example of
A) forward integration.
B) horizontal integration.
C) backward integration.
D) transferred integration.
E) mass integration.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
47) An attempt to explain that vertical integration is more efficient than contracting for goods
and services in the marketplace when the transaction costs of buying goods on the open market
becomes too great has been proposed by
A) population theory.
B) institution theory.
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C) freakonomics.
D) transaction cost economics.
E) transaction growth theory.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
48) In many cases, ________ integration is more profitable than ________ integration.
A) forward; backward
B) vertical; backward
C) backward; vertical
D) backward; forward
E) mass; forward
Answer: D
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
49) When a firm internally makes 100% of its key supplies and completely controls its
distributors, this is known as
A) full integration.
B) taper integration.
C) mass integration.
D) economical integration.
E) strategic integration.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
50) When Bristol-Myers Squibb purchased 17% of ImClone's common stock to gain access to a
new drug, it was using which type of integration?
A) full integration
B) long-term contracts
C) backwards integration
D) taper integration
E) quasi integration
Answer: E
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
51) A firm's expansion into other geographic locations and/or increasing the range of products
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and services offered to current markets is called
A) forward vertical growth.
B) diversification.
C) backward vertical growth.
D) captive company strategy.
E) horizontal growth.
Answer: E
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
52) Which strategy did Delta choose when it acquired Northwest Airlines to obtain access to
Northwest's Asian markets?
A) a retrenchment strategy using horizontal integration through internal means
B) a horizontal integration strategy
C) a stability strategy using concentric diversification
D) a growth strategy using vertical integration through external means
E) a retrenchment strategy using a concentration method
Answer: B
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
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Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
55) Growth through diversification out of an industry into an unrelated industry is called
A) concentration.
B) horizontal growth.
C) concentric diversification.
D) vertical growth.
E) conglomerate diversification.
Answer: E
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
56) Which strategy might be the most likely when management realizes that the current industry
is unattractive and that the firm lacks outstanding skills that it could easily transfer to related
products or services in other industries?
A) concentration
B) horizontal growth
C) concentric diversification
D) vertical growth
E) conglomerate diversification
Answer: E
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Understand the differences between vertical and horizontal growth as well as
concentric and conglomerate diversification
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
58) An MNC uses which international strategy for entering a foreign market by simply shipping
goods produced in the company's home country to other countries for marketing to minimize risk
and to experiment with a specific product?
A) licensing
B) joint ventures
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C) exporting
D) production sharing
E) acquisitions
Answer: C
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
59) An MNC uses which international strategy for entering a foreign market by associating itself
with a firm in the host country or a government agency in that country to combine resources and
expertise needed for the development of a new product or technologies?
A) licensing
B) joint ventures
C) production sharing
D) exporting
E) acquisitions
Answer: B
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
60) One benefit of a U.S. company entering a joint venture with an international firm is that it
A) reduces the risks of expropriation by host country officials.
B) enhances the policy of the host country's takeover of the firm.
C) promotes skepticism among other countries not involved in the merger.
D) encourages competitors to work with the company.
E) increases revenues by 20%.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
61) An MNC uses which international strategy for entering a foreign market by purchasing
another company already operating in the area developing synergistic benefits gained from
acquiring strong complementary product lines and a good distribution network?
A) licensing
B) joint ventures
C) production sharing
D) exporting
E) acquisitions
Answer: E
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
63) An MNC uses which international strategy for entering a foreign market by combining the
higher labor skills and technology available in the developed countries with the lower cost labor
available in the developing countries?
A) licensing
B) joint ventures
C) production sharing
D) exporting
E) acquisitions
Answer: C
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
68) The stability strategy is appropriate for all of the following circumstances EXCEPT
A) useful in the short-run but can be dangerous if followed too long.
B) most appropriate for reasonably successful corporations in a reasonably predictable
environment.
C) when a firm is continuing its current activities without a significant change in direction.
D) appropriate when the industry is in decline.
E) popular with small business owners who have found a niche and are happy with their success.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
70) Which strategy is most appropriate for a company in an industry in which the future is
expected to continue as an extension of the present?
A) horizontal integration strategy
B) no change strategy
C) retrenchment strategy
D) pause/proceed with caution strategy
E) profit strategy
Answer: B
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
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71) Which of the following describes a turnaround strategy?
A) a form of divestment and is appropriate when corporate problems can be traced to the poor
performance of an SBU or product line
B) occurs when the corporation reduces the scope of some of its functional activities and
becomes "captive" to another firm
C) emphasizes improving operational efficiency and is appropriate when a corporation's
problems are pervasive, but not yet critical
D) occurs when a corporation liquidates all its assets
E) involves adding different products or divisions to the corporation
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
72) The strategy which takes place in two basic phases of contraction and consolidation is
A) merger.
B) liquidation.
C) integration.
D) divestment.
E) turnaround.
Answer: E
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
73) Which one of the following is NOT a characteristic of a firm that has chosen a captive
company strategy?
A) It is most appropriate for a company with a strong competitive position in a growing industry.
B) The firm reduces its functional activities to reduce costs.
C) The firm gains a certainty of sales and production in return for becoming heavily dependent
upon another firm for at least 75% of its sales.
D) One of its customers makes up a large percentage of the company's sales and wants the
company to keep operating as its supplier.
E) Management desperately seeks an "angel" to guarantee the company's continued existence.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
74) In which strategy does management hope that another company will have the necessary
resources and determination to return the company to profitability?
A) sell out
B) captive company
C) liquidation
D) bankruptcy
E) profit
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
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Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
75) Which strategy involves giving up management of the firm to the courts in return for some
settlement of the corporation's obligations?
A) liquidation
B) bankruptcy
C) diversification
D) divestment
E) consolidation
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
76) Which strategy did Circuit City use in 2008 when it converted its retail stores to cash?
A) liquidation
B) bankruptcy
C) diversification
D) divestment
E) consolidation
Answer: A
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
77) One of the most popular aids to developing corporate strategy in multi-business corporations
that views business units in terms of the cash they generate is called
A) PIMS.
B) segmentation analysis.
C) portfolio analysis.
D) industry analysis.
E) diversification study.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
78) In the Boston Consulting Group's Growth Share Matrix, the relative competitive position of a
product or division is defined as
A) its market share.
B) its gross sales divided by its market share.
C) its market share multiplied by that of its nearest competitor.
D) its market share divided by that of the smallest other competitor.
E) its market share divided by that of the largest other competitor.
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Answer: E
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
79) The Growth Share Matrix of the Boston Consulting Group suggests that the excess cash
being generated by cash cows should be used to fund
A) dogs.
B) question marks.
C) stars.
D) white knights.
E) fish.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
80) According to the BCG Growth Share Matrix, market leaders that typically are at the peak of
their product life cycle and are usually able to generate enough cash to maintain their high share
of the market are called
A) cash cows.
B) lost leaders.
C) dogs.
D) question marks.
E) stars.
Answer: E
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
81) According to the BCG Growth Share Matrix, products that typically bring in far more money
than is needed for maintenance of their market share are called
A) cash cows.
B) lost leaders.
C) dogs.
D) question marks.
E) stars.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
82) According to the BCG Growth Share Matrix, those products with low market share in an
unattractive industry that do NOT have the potential to bring in much cash are called
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A) cash cows.
B) lost leaders.
C) dogs.
D) question marks.
E) stars.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
83) According to the BCG Growth Share Matrix, the key to success with this model is
A) effective management.
B) competitive positioning.
C) innovative initiative.
D) industry leadership.
E) market share.
Answer: E
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
84) Which of the following is NOT one of the limitations of the BCG Growth Share Matrix?
A) It is too simplistic.
B) The link between market share and profitability is questionable.
C) Growth rate is only one aspect of industry attractiveness.
D) There are too many aspects of overall competitive position included.
E) Small competitors with fast-growing market share are ignored.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
85) Underlying the BCG Growth Share Matrix is the concept of the
A) product life cycle.
B) industry life cycle.
C) market size.
D) experience curve.
E) industry profitability.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
86) An example of a company that did not blindly follow the prescriptions of a portfolio model
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was
A) Apple.
B) Nike.
C) General Mills.
D) Dell.
E) IBM.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
87) Which of the following is NOT one of the advantages of portfolio analysis?
A) The graphic depiction facilitates communication.
B) It provides the basis for impartial objectivity from which to make decisions.
C) It encourages top management to evaluate each of the corporation's businesses individually.
D) It raises the issue of cash flow availability for use in expansion and growth.
E) It stimulates the use of externally oriented data to supplement management's judgment.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
88) Which of the following is NOT one of the limitations of portfolio analysis?
A) It contains value-laden terminology that can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies.
B) It is not difficult: Easy to define product/market segments.
C) It relies too heavily on objective judgments.
D) It suggests the use of standard strategies which may be impractical or may miss potential
opportunities.
E) It provides an illusion of scientific rigor.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
90) According to the text, 75% of a company's market value is derived from its
A) employees.
B) intangible assets.
C) plant assets.
D) joint ventures.
E) licensing agreements.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Develop a parenting strategy for a multiple-business corporation
91) According to Campbell, Goold, and Alexander, when parent companies create more value
than any of their rivals would if they owned the same businesses, they have
A) multi-point competition.
B) strategic advantage.
C) parenting advantage.
D) portfolio analysis.
E) no real advantage.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Develop a parenting strategy for a multiple-business corporation
92) A corporate strategy that cuts across divisional boundaries to build synergy across business
units and to improve the competitive position of one or more business units is called
A) vertical strategy.
B) horizontal strategy.
C) hierarchical strategy.
D) portfolio strategy.
E) pyramid strategy.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Develop a parenting strategy for a multiple-business corporation
93) When P&G, Kimberly-Clark, and Scott Paper compete with each other in varying
combinations of consumer paper products, they are said to be engaging in
A) oligopolistic competition.
B) strategic competition.
C) multipoint competition.
D) laissez-faire competition.
E) horizontal competition.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Moderate
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Chapter Objective: Develop a parenting strategy for a multiple-business corporation
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
94) What are the three key issues that corporate strategy deals with?
Answer: Corporate strategy deals with three key issues:
1. the firm's overall orientation toward growth, stability, and retrenchment (directional
strategy).
2. the industries or markets in which the firm competes through its products and business units
(portfolio analysis).
3. the manner in which management coordinates activities and transfers resources and cultivates
capabilities among product lines and business units (parenting strategy).
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Understand the three aspects of corporate strategy
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95) Discuss the three general orientations comprising directional strategy?
Answer: The three general orientations comprising directional strategy are growth, stability and
retrenchment. Growth strategies expand the company's activities. Stability strategies make no
change to the company's current activities. Retrenchment strategies reduce the company's level
of activities.
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
98) What are the more popular options for international entry?
Answer: There are several popular options for international entry. Exporting is a good way to
minimize risk and experiment with a specific product. Exporting involves shipping goods
produced in the company's home country to other countries for marketing. Under a licensing
agreement, the licensing firm grants rights to another firm in the host country to produce and/or
sell a product. The licensee pays compensation to the licensing firm in return for technical
expertise. Under a franchising agreement, the franchiser grants rights to another company to
open a retail store using the franchiser's name and operating system. In exchange, the franchisee
pays the franchiser a percentage of its sales as a royalty. Forming a joint venture between a
foreign corporation and a domestic company is the most popular strategy used to enter a new
country. Companies often form joint ventures to combine the resources and expertise needed to
develop new products or technologies. A relatively quick way to move into an international area
is through acquisitions — purchasing another company already operating in that area. If a
company doesn't want to purchase another company's problems along with its assets, it may
choose greenfield development — building its own manufacturing plant and distribution system.
Production sharing is the process of combining the higher labor skills and technology available
in the developed countries with the lower-cost labor available in developing countries. Turnkey
operations are typically contracts for the construction of operating facilities in exchange for a
fee. The BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) concept is a variation of the turnkey operation. Instead
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of turning the facility over to the host country when completed, the company operates the facility
for a fixed period of time during which it earns back its investment, plus a profit. Management
contracts offer a means through which a corporation may use some of its personnel to assist a
firm in a host country for a specified fee and period of time.
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Identify strategic options to enter a foreign country
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100) Define a retrenchment strategy. Discuss the more popular options.
Answer: A retrenchment strategy may be used when a company has a weak competitive position
in some or all of its product lines resulting in poor performance — sales are down and profits are
becoming losses. The more popular options are turnaround, becoming a captive company, selling
out, bankruptcy, and liquidation. Turnaround strategy emphasizes the improvement of
operational efficiency and is probably most appropriate when a corporation's problems are
pervasive, but not yet critical. The two basic phases of a turnaround strategy are contraction and
consolidation. A captive company strategy is the giving up of independence in exchange for
security. If a corporation with a weak competitive position in this industry is unable either to pull
itself up by its bootstraps or to find a customer to which it can become a captive company, it may
have no choice but to sell out. Bankruptcy involves giving up management of the firm to the
courts in return for some settlement of the corporation's obligations. Liquidation is the
termination of the firm.
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter Objective: Apply the directional strategies of growth, stability, and retrenchment
102) Describe the four categories of the BCG Growth Share Matrix.
Answer: The four categories of the BCG Growth Share Matrix are question marks, stars, cash
cows, and dogs. Question marks are new products with the potential for success, but they need a
lot of cash for development. Stars are market leaders typically at the peak of their product life
cycle and are usually able to generate enough cash to maintain their high share of the market and
contribute to the company's profits. Cash cows typically bring in far more money than is needed
to maintain their market share. In this declining stage of their life cycle, these products are
"milked" for cash that will be invested in new question marks. Dogs have low market share and
do not have the potential to bring in much cash because they are in unattractive industries. Dogs
should be either sold off or managed carefully for the small amount of cash they can generate.
Difficulty: Difficult
Chapter Objective: Apply portfolio analysis to guide decisions in companies with multiple
products and businesses
27
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Fig. 107—A, Larva of Orthoperus brunnipes (after Perris); B, O.
atomarius, perfect Insect. Britain.
The larvae are much more active than beetle-larvae usually are, and
many of them are very conspicuous when running about on plants to
hunt their prey. They usually cast their skins three times, and
sometimes concomitantly change a good deal in colour and form; the
larval life does not usually exceed four or five weeks; at the end of
which time the larva suspends itself by the posterior extremity, which
is glued by a secretion to some object; the larval skin is pushed back
to the anal extremity, disclosing the pupa; this differs in several
respects from the usual pupa of beetles; it is harder, and is coloured,
frequently conspicuously spotted, and dehisces to allow the escape
of the beetle, so that the metamorphosis is altogether more like that
of Lepidoptera than that of Coleoptera. There is much variety in the
larvae; some of them bear large, complexly-spined, projections;
those of the group Scymnites have small depressions on the
surface, from which it has been ascertained that waxy secretions
exude; but in Scymnus minimus no such excretions are formed.
Certain species, when pupating, do not shuffle the skin to the
extremity of the body, but retain it as a covering for the pupa. The
larvae that feed on plants are much less active than the predaceous
forms. We are well supplied with Coccinellidae in Britain, forty
species being known here.