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Test Bank For Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts, 15/E 15th Edition Fred R. David, Forest R. David
Test Bank For Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts, 15/E 15th Edition Fred R. David, Forest R. David
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Solution Manual for Strategic Management: A Competitive
Advantage Approach, Concepts and Cases, 17th Edition,
Fred R. David
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1) An organization’s present strategies, objectives and mission, coupled with the
external and internal audit information, provide a basis for generating and
evaluating feasible alternative strategies.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.01 Describe a three-stage framework for choosing among alternative
strategies.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
2) Alternative strategies don’t come out of the blue; they are derived from the
firm’s vision, mission, and objectives.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.01 Describe a three-stage framework for choosing among alternative
strategies.
Learning Outcome: Discuss the functions of vision statements, mission
statements, and long-term corporate objectives
3) It is vital that strategists always consider all feasible alternatives that could
benefit the firm.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.01 Describe a three-stage framework for choosing among alternative
strategies.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
4) The first stage of the strategy-formulation framework is the input stage, and it is
directly followed by the decision stage.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.01 Describe a three-stage framework for choosing among alternative
strategies.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
12) One of the steps of the SWOT Matrix is to list the firm’s key external
opportunities.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
13) The SWOT matrix, if used appropriately, does not have any limitations.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
14) The most important determinants of an organization’s overall strategic position
are considered to be the two internal dimensions, financial position (FP) and
competitive position (CP), and the two external dimensions, industry position (IP)
and stability position (SP).
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 3
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
15) The four strategies of the SPACE Matrix are aggressive, conservative,
offensive and defensive.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
21) The firm should pursue aggressive strategies if the coordinates of a SPACE
directional vector are (+5, +4).
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
22) Relative market share position is given on the x-axis of the BCG Matrix.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define strategic management and identify its basic concepts
23) The midpoint on the x-axis of a BCG Matrix is typically set at 0.05.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
24) The size of the circle in a BCG Matrix corresponds to the proportion of
corporate revenue generated by that business unit.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
25) In a BCG Matrix the pie slice indicates the proportion of corporate profits
generated by that division.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
26) Stars, Question Marks, Cash Cows, and Dogs are the four quadrants exhibited
by the BCG Matrix.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
27) Cash Cows represent the organization’s best long-run opportunities for growth
and profitability.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
28) The major benefit of the BCG Matrix is that it draws attention to the cash flow,
investment characteristics, and needs of an organization’s various divisions.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
29) Viewing every business as either a Star, Cash Cow, Dog, or Question Mark is
an oversimplification.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
30) The BCG Matrix does not reflect whether or not various divisions or their
industries are growing over time.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
31) Having no temporal qualities, the BCG Matrix is a snapshot of an organization
at a given point in time.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
33) The BCG Matrix requires more information about the divisions than the IE
Matrix.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
34) On the x-axis of the IE Matrix, an IFE total weighted score of 2.5 represents a
weak internal position.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
35) The IE Matrix can be divided into three major regions that have different
strategy implications: grow and build, hold and maintain, and harvest or divest.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
36) The Grand Strategy Matrix is based on two evaluative dimensions, market
share and market growth.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
37) According to the Grand Strategy Matrix, when a Quadrant I firm is too heavily
committed to a single product, then related diversification may reduce the risks
associated with a narrow product line.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
38) According to the Grand Strategy Matrix, Quadrant III organizations compete in
rapid-growth industries and have strong competitive positions.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
40) Step 1 of a QSPM assigns weights to each key external and internal factor.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
41) Total attractiveness scores are defined as the sum of the attractiveness scores in
a given column of the QSPM and are computed in the second step of the QSPM.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
42) A positive feature of QSPM is that sets of strategies can be examined
sequentially or simultaneously.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
43) One positive feature of QSPM is that it does not require intuitive judgments
and educated assumptions.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.04 Discuss the role of intuition in strategic analysis and choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
44) Culture includes the set of shared values, beliefs, attitudes, customs, norms,
personalities, heroes, and heroines that describe a firm.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
Objective: 6.05 Discuss the role of organizational culture in strategic analysis and
choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
45) Strategy changes may be highly effective and productive if a supportive culture
does not exist.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
Objective: 6.05 Discuss the role of organizational culture in strategic analysis and
choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
46) Whenever two firms merge, it becomes especially important to evaluate and
consider culture-strategies linkages.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
Objective: 6.05 Discuss the role of organizational culture in strategic analysis and
choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
47) Successful strategists minimize their own political exposure on issues that are
highly controversial and in circumstances where opposition from major power
centers is likely.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.05 Discuss the role of organizational culture in strategic analysis and
choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
48) Trying to achieve optimal results with an unpopular strategy is always better
than achieving satisfactory results with a popular strategy.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.03 Identify important behavioral, political, ethical, and social
responsibility considerations in strategy analysis and choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
49) Shifting focus from specific issues to more general ones may increase
strategists’ options for gaining organizational commitment.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.03 Identify important behavioral, political, ethical, and social
responsibility considerations in strategy analysis and choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
50) The trend in the U.S. is toward larger boards, with an average of 18 members
being the norm.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.06 Discuss the role of a board of directors in choosing among
alternative strategies.
Learning Outcome: Describe modern corporate governance practices
51) Today boards of directors are composed mostly of outsiders who are becoming
more involved in an organization’s strategic management.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.06 Discuss the role of a board of directors in choosing among
alternative strategies.
Learning Outcome: Describe modern corporate governance practices
52) The Sarbanes-Oxley Act put an end to the “country-club” atmosphere of most
boards and has shifted power from CEOs to directors.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.06 Discuss the role of a board of directors in choosing among
alternative strategies.
Learning Outcome: Describe modern corporate governance practices
53) Strategy analysis and choice largely involves making ________ decisions
based on ________ information.
1. A) long-term; short-term
2. B) subjective; objective
3. C) short-term; long-term
4. D) subjective; short-term
5. E) objective; subjective
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.01 Describe a three-stage framework for choosing among alternative
strategies.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
57) Each of the nine techniques included in the strategy formulation framework
rely on the use of
1. A) strictly factual data.
2. B) luck.
3. C) financial formulas and statistics.
4. D) intuition and analysis.
5. E) synergy.
Answer: D
Diff: 3
Objective: 6.04 Discuss the role of intuition in strategic analysis and choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
58) Which stage of the strategy-formulation framework includes an IFE Matrix and
a Competitive Profile Matrix?
1. A) Input
2. B) Matching
3. C) Decision
4. D) Penetration
5. E) Research
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.01 Describe a three-stage framework for choosing among alternative
strategies.
Learning Outcome: Compare and contrast different business-level strategies
59) Which stage of the strategy-formulation framework contains the IFE Matrix?
1. A) Input stage
2. B) Analysis stage
3. C) Matching stage
4. D) Decision stage
5. E) Output stage
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.01 Describe a three-stage framework for choosing among alternative
strategies.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
60) The match an organization makes between its internal resources and skills and
the opportunities and risks created by its external factors can be defined as
1. A) input.
2. B) concept formulation.
3. C) strategy.
4. D) SWOT.
5. E) weakness.
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.01 Describe a three-stage framework for choosing among alternative
strategies.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
61) Which section of the SWOT Matrix involves matching internal strengths with
external opportunities?
1. A) The WT cell
2. B) The SW cell
3. C) The WO cell
4. D) The ST cell
5. E) The SO cell
Answer: E
Diff: 3
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
64) Which strategies are defensive tactics directed at reducing internal weaknesses
and avoiding external threats?
1. A) SO
2. B) WO
3. C) SW
4. D) ST
5. E) WT
Answer: E
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
66) Which of the following is NOT one of the steps involved in constructing a
SWOT Matrix?
1. A) List the firm’s key external threats.
2. B) Match internal strengths with external opportunities, and record the
resultant SO strategies in the appropriate cell.
3. C) Match internal weaknesses with external threats, and record the resultant
WT strategies.
4. D) List the firm’s external weaknesses.
5. E) List the firm’s external opportunities.
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
67) Which of the following is a limitation associated with a SWOT Matrix?
1. A) Viewing every business as a Star, Cash Cow, Dog, or Question Mark is
an oversimplification.
2. B) Many businesses fall right in the middle of the matrix.
3. C) It is a static assessment in time.
4. D) Other variables besides relative market share position and industry
growth rate in sales need to be considered.
5. E) The matrix does not reflect whether or not various divisions or their
industry are growing over time.
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
68) Which of these is NOT a SPACE Matrix quadrant?
1. A) Aggressive
2. B) Defensive
3. C) Competitive
4. D) Offensive
5. E) Conservative
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
71) What are the two external dimensions of the SPACE Matrix?
1. A) Stability position and industry position
2. B) Stability position and competitive position
3. C) Industry position and competitive position
4. D) Competitive position and financial position
5. E) Financial position and industry position
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
73) What type of strategies would you recommend when a firm’s SPACE Matrix
directional vector has the coordinates (-2, +3)?
1. A) Aggressive
2. B) Conservative
3. C) Competitive
4. D) Defensive
5. E) Integrative
Answer: B
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
74) In the SPACE analysis, what does a (+6, +3) strategy profile portray?
1. A) A strong industry position
2. B) An unstable environment
3. C) A stable environment
4. D) A weak industry position
5. E) A weak financial position
Answer: A
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
75) The BCG Matrix is designed specifically to enhance which type of firm’s
efforts to formulate strategies?
1. A) Companies with more than one division
2. B) Large companies
3. C) Companies with annual sales greater than $1 million
4. D) Companies with annual sales of less than $1 million
5. E) All companies
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
76) In the BCG Matrix, which element represents the industry growth rate in sales,
measured in percentage terms?
1. A) x-axis
2. B) y-axis
3. C) first quadrant
4. D) second quadrant
5. E) third quadrant
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
77) In the BCG Matrix, how would a division with a low relative market share
position in a high growth industry be described?
1. A) Question Mark
2. B) Cash Cow
3. C) Star
4. D) Stuck-in-the-middle
5. E) Dog
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
78) In the BCG Matrix, when a division of an organization has a high relative
market share and is in a fast-growing industry, it is called a
1. A) Star.
2. B) Cash Cow.
3. C) Cat.
4. D) Question Mark.
5. E) Dog.
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
79) In the BCG Matrix, a division with a high relative market share position in a
low-growth industry can be described as a
1. A) Star.
2. B) Cash Cow.
3. C) Question Mark.
4. D) Dog.
5. E) Failure.
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
80) In the BCG Matrix, which strategy would be most appropriate for a division
classified as a Dog?
1. A) Market penetration
2. B) Market development
3. C) Product development
4. D) Retrenchment
5. E) Forward integration
Answer: D
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
82) In the BCG Matrix, a division that has a low relative market share position and
competes in a slow-growth industry is referred to as a
1. A) Dog.
2. B) Question Mark.
3. C) Star.
4. D) Cash Cow.
5. E) Cowboy.
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
83) All of the following are limitations of the BCG Matrix EXCEPT
1. A) viewing every business as a star, cash cow, dog or question mark can be
an oversimplification.
2. B) the Matrix requires at least three years worth of data.
3. C) the Matrix does not reflect divisional or industry growth over time.
4. D) the Matrix does not allow a company to be classified as somewhere in
between two categories.
5. E) variables such as size of market and competitive advantages are not
considered in the Matrix.
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
85) What analytical tool has four quadrants based on two dimensions: competitive
position and market growth?
1. A) Competitive Profile Matrix
2. B) Internal-External Matrix
3. C) SPACE Matrix
4. D) Grand Strategy Matrix
5. E) QSPM
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
86) Firms located in which quadrant of the Grand Strategy Matrix are in an
excellent strategic position?
1. A) I
2. B) II
3. C) III
4. D) IV
5. E) V
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
87) According to the Grand Strategy Matrix, which strategy is recommended for a
firm with rapid market growth and a strong competitive position?
1. A) Market penetration
2. B) Unrelated diversification
3. C) Joint venture
4. D) Retrenchment
5. E) Liquidation
Answer: A
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
88) For companies located in Quadrant III of the Grand Strategy Matrix, the first
strategy recommended is
1. A) extensive cost and asset reduction.
2. B) asset expansion.
3. C) employee expansion.
4. D) immediate liquidation of assets.
5. E) divestiture.
Answer: A
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
89) Although Quadrant ________ companies are growing, according to the Grand
Strategy Matrix they are unable to compete effectively, and they need to determine
why the firm’s current approach is ineffective and how the company can best
change to improve its competitiveness.
1. A) I
2. B) II
3. C) III
4. D) IV
5. E) V
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
90) According to the Grand Strategy Matrix, organizations in which quadrant have
a strong competitive position but are in a slow-growth industry?
1. A) I
2. B) II
3. C) III
4. D) IV
5. E) V
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
91) Which matrix is included in the decision stage of the strategy formulation
framework?
1. A) Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix
2. B) Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix
3. C) Boston Consulting Group Matrix
4. D) Grand Strategy Matrix
5. E) Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
92) The top row of a QSPM consists of alternative strategies derived from all of
the following EXCEPT
1. A) Grand Strategy Matrix.
2. B) BCG Matrix.
3. C) SPACE Matrix.
4. D) CPM Matrix
5. E) IE Matrix.
Answer: D
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
96) What is the highest number of strategies that can be examined at one time with
the QSPM?
1. A) 1
2. B) 2
3. C) 5
4. D) 10
5. E) There is no limit.
Answer: E
Diff: 1
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
97) Which of these is a limitation of QSPM?
1. A) Only a few strategies can be evaluated at once.
2. B) It is prohibitively expensive.
3. C) It requires intuitive judgments and educated assumptions.
4. D) Strategies cannot be examined sequentially.
5. E) It makes it more likely that key factors will be overlooked or weighted
inappropriately.
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
98) ________ includes the set of shared values, beliefs, attitudes, customs, norms,
personalities, heroes and heroines that describe a firm.
1. A) Strategy
2. B) Culture
3. C) Mission
4. D) Objectives
5. E) QSPM
Answer: B
Diff: 2
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
Objective: 6.05 Discuss the role of organizational culture in strategic analysis and
choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
99) An effective way to gain commitment and achieve desired results is to
1. A) emphasize that imposing a particular method is more important than
achieving desired results.
2. B) shift from specific to general issues and concerns.
3. C) eliminate middle level managers from strategic decisions.
4. D) switch from long-term to short-term issues and concerns.
5. E) realize that it’s better to achieve optimal results with an unpopular
strategy than to achieve satisfactory results with a popular strategy.
Answer: B
Diff: 2
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
Objective: 6.03 Identify important behavioral, political, ethical, and social
responsibility considerations in strategy analysis and choice.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
100) Which board of director’s duty falls under the category of control and
oversight over management?
1. A) select new directors
2. B) pass bylaws and related resolutions
3. C) select the CEO
4. D) maintain good public image
5. E) ensure equitable stockholder representation
Answer: C
Diff: 2
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning
Objective: 6.06 Discuss the role of a board of directors in choosing among
alternative strategies.
Learning Outcome: Describe modern corporate governance practices
104) Explain the concept of matching in the strategy formulation framework. Give
at least three examples of matching.
Answer: Matching external and internal critical success factors is the key to
effectively generating feasible alternative strategies. See Table 6-1 for examples of
matching.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.01 Describe a three-stage framework for choosing among alternative
strategies.
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
105) If you construct a SPACE Matrix and the directional vector points to the
lower left quadrant, what type of strategies would you recommend? Give several
examples.
Answer: If the directional vector points to the lower-left quadrant of the SPACE
Matrix, students should suggest defensive strategies. Defensive strategies include
retrenchment, divestiture, liquidation, and related diversification.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
106) Give five sets of coordinates of SPACE Matrix directional vectors that would
suggest conservative strategies to be most appropriate.
Answer: Student answers will vary. However, five examples they may suggest are
(-1, 1), (-2, 2), (-3, 3), (-4, 4), and (-5, 5). Any pair of coordinates with a negative
x-coordinate and a positive y-coordinate is correct, in other words, any pair of
coordinates that describe a point in the upper-left quadrant.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
107) In a BCG Matrix, all divisions are classified as either Question Marks, Stars,
Cash Cows, or Dogs. Define each of these terms.
Answer: Question Marks have a low relative market share position, yet they
compete in a high-growth industry. Stars represent the organization’s best long-run
opportunities for growth and profitability, having a high relative market share and
a high industry growth rate. Cash Cows have a high relative market share position
but compete in a low-growth industry. Dogs have a low relative market share
position and compete in a slow- or no-market-growth industry.
Diff: 2
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
108) Compare and contrast the IE Matrix with the BCG Matrix.
Answer: The IE Matrix is similar to the BCG Matrix in that both tools involve
plotting organizational divisions in a schematic diagram. Also, the size of each
circle represents the percentage sales contribution of each division, and pie slices
reveal the percentage profit contribution of each division in both the BCG and IE
Matrix.
Some important differences between the IE Matrix and the BCG Matrix include: 1)
different axes; 2) the IE Matrix requires more information about the divisions than
the BCG Matrix; and 3) the strategic implications of each matrix are different.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
109) Explain the benefits and limitations of developing a Boston Consulting Group
Matrix.
Answer: The major benefit of the BCG Matrix is that it draws attention to the cash
flow, investment characteristics, and needs of an organization’s various divisions.
The BCG Matrix has some limitations: 1) Viewing every business as either a Star,
Cash Cow, Dog or Question Mark is an oversimplification; many businesses fall
right in the middle of the BCG Matrix and thus are not easily classified; 2) the
BCG Matrix does not reflect whether or not various divisions or their industries are
growing over time; that is, the matrix has no temporal qualities, but rather it is a
snapshot of an organization at a given point in time; and 3) other variables besides
relative market share position and industry growth rate in sales are important in
making strategic decisions about various divisions.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
110) Using a Grand Strategy Matrix approach, what strategies are recommended
for a firm that is a weak competitor in a slow-growing market? Elaborate on what
these strategies could mean for a college or university.
Answer: A firm that is a weak competitor in a slow-growing market would be
located in Quadrant III. Quadrant III strategies include retrenchment,
diversification, divestiture, and liquidation.
Student answers will vary when elaborating on what these strategies could mean
for a college or university. However, students should mention that the college or
university could possibly have to be closed. Faculty and/or staff might have to be
greatly reduced, which could lead to unhappy students in very large classes.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Objective: 6.02 Explain how to develop a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-
Threats (SWOT) Matrix, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE)
Matrix, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, Internal-External (IE) Matrix,
and Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM).
Learning Outcome: Define corporate strategy and identify its key elements
* * * * * *
In the weapons, no less than in the ships, the changes have been
marvellous. For many centuries after ships were adopted for war, the
fighting was done by soldiers carried aboard them. The human machines,
the rowers, had to attend exclusively to their oars, for on them the safety
or success of the fighting men depended. The main idea was to get to
close quarters and fight hand to hand with javelin or sword, spear or
battleaxe; bows and arrows were used when possible, and missiles
hurled by hand were not despised. The ram, in various forms, affixed to
the bows in such a manner as to strike the enemy’s ship below or above
the water-line, or both, was used with fearful effect in many a stubbornly
fought engagement.
The introduction of artillery in the fourteenth century marked the beginning
of the first great revolution in naval warfare, and the changes in the
projectiles have been no less extraordinary than those in the guns.
* * * * * *
The next great revolution was the introduction of the steam-engine. Its
adoption in the British Navy in 1832 marked the beginning of the end of
the sailing warship. Her last grim battle against inexorable fate was fought
with the same doggedness which had distinguished her in many an
encounter with her nation’s enemies; but the superiority of steam over sail
was recognised. Temporising measures, a patched-up peace, as it were,
lasted for a few years while the steam engine was employed as an
auxiliary. Sail power, however, had reached its apotheosis so far as
warships were concerned. Engineers, animated by practical common
sense and ignoring romantic associations, improved their engines, so that
the steam power was no longer the assistant of sail, but its associate, and
was quick in attaining the position of chief partner and showing that sails
could be dispensed with altogether. The Crimean War sounded the knell
of the wooden battleship as well as of the paddle-wheel war steamer. The
former gave place to the iron-clad vessel, and the latter was supplanted
by the screw-propelled ship. The power of artillery had shared in the
application of scientific knowledge and benefited accordingly. The great
battle between the maker of armour plates and the maker of guns and
projectiles had begun. Iron, the conqueror of wood, had but a short reign.
Where iron was used a few years ago, steel is now invariably employed.
The thoroughness of the victory is shown by the fact that in the whole of
the British Isles not one iron vessel, large or small, was built in 1909 for
war or commerce.
* * * * * *
The years 1905 and 1906 saw two of the most important steps forward in
the history of warships, for they included the adoption of the turbine
principle of warship propulsion and the “Dreadnought” principle of
armament. The progress of the last fifty years, culminating in the
Dreadnoughts, has been wonderful; already designs of vessels intended
to relegate them to second place are under consideration.
Type after type of battleship, cruiser, scout, gunboat, destroyer and
torpedo-boat has followed in rapid succession of late years, and
submarines have become an accomplished fact. He would be a foolish
man who would prophesy that the end is in sight.
There is nothing more marvellous in the world’s history than the
tremendous development in marine engineering, in warship construction,
in explosives, in armament, and in projectiles that has taken place in the
latter half of the nineteenth century, and especially in the last twenty-five
years.
WARSHIPS AND THEIR STORY
CHAPTER I
FROM ANCIENT EGYPT TO THE INTRODUCTION OF ARTILLERY
When did man first entrust himself afloat for purposes of war? and
what was the type of vessel he employed? are questions which take
us back almost to the earliest stages of historical human progress,
concerning which all the knowledge of the antiquaries is but
conjectural, a stage so remote that scientists have not yet
determined how many thousands of years ago it existed. The earliest
vessels thus employed must have been transports, and nothing else;
but if employed as aids to aggression when the kings of the earth
took counsel together and, impelled by avarice or a desire to assist
in one another’s turbulent love affairs, or, for their own safety,
convinced of the necessity of finding an outlet for the energies of
their restless subjects, invaded the territories of their neighbours, the
ships, whatever their nature, will have been of a size sufficient to
receive any spoil or any prisoners worth the trouble of carrying back
again.
So far, however, as research has disclosed in those parts of the Near
East where civilisation was cradled, there is no indication that man
fought afloat—boat against boat, or fleet against fleet—until after a
comparatively high stage of civilisation had been attained and
shipbuilding had made enormous advances.
Evelyn remarks: “Concerning men of war, fleets, and armadas for
battel, that Minos was reported to be the author, which shows that
manner of desperate combat on the waters to be neer as antient as
men themselves, since the deluge.” Minos, he adds, disputed the
empire of the seas with Neptune, but “these particulars may be
uncertain.”[1]
Among the legendary expeditions, those of Ulysses and Jason are
the best known. Possibly they took place, but the adventurers never
did or saw half the wonders narrated of them. Herodotus, describing
the type of ship attributed to Ulysses by Homer, states that such
ships were made of acacia, of “planks about two cubits in length,”
joined together like bricks, and built in the following manner: “They
fasten the planks round stout and long ties: when they have thus
built the hulls they lay benches across them. They make no use of
ribs, but caulk the seams inside with byblus. They make only one
rudder, and that is driven through the keel. They use a mast of
acacia and sails of byblus. These vessels are unable to sail up the
stream, but are towed from the shore.”[2] Book II. of the Iliad
mentions, in the famous catalogue, hollow ships, well-benched
ships, swift ships, and dark ships, and that Ulysses had twelve red
ships, but Homer, being a poet and a landsman, did not describe
their differences.
Recent excavations and discoveries in Egypt have revealed the
existence of boats of considerable size, so remote in history that
their period is only guessed at, though they are estimated to date
from about 5000 to 6000 years b.c. If the interpretation of the
designs on the pottery recording these old ships be correct, they
were propelled by over a hundred oars or paddles, were steered by
three paddles at the stern, and had two cabins amidships. They
were, moreover, very high out of the water at the ends, having very
long, overhanging bows and counters, and were shallow and flat-
bottomed.
Even at this period the art of shipbuilding was in a comparatively
advanced stage; vessels such as those depicted would be quite as
capable of use in war for carrying warriors or stores, or both, as in
commerce for conveying merchandise. Egypt has many historical
secrets yet to reveal, and, judging by the constant reassignment of
dates in all matters connected with Ancient Egypt which exploration
has entailed, it is not too much to expect that the dates quoted,
assigned approximately by Egyptologists, may be revised and
events placed more remotely still.
Another hieroglyph, discovered in a tomb, ascribed to the year 4800
b.c., shows enormous progress in shipbuilding and also in the art of
representing a ship pictorially.
During the Sixth Dynasty, a certain Un’e, who was a person of note
under three kings, sent, while the second, Pepi I., was on the throne,
an expedition to the quarries of Syene or Assouan, to fetch stone for
his master’s pyramid.
Another expedition, on behalf of Pepi’s successor, merits attention,
as the fact is emphasised on the inscription on the tomb as most
remarkable, and as never having occurred before “under any king
whatever,” that Un’e had to employ twelve ships for freight and but
one warship.[3] The flotilla consisted of “six broad vessels, three tow
boats, three rafts, and one ship manned with warriors.”[4]
The Egyptians evidently had experience of some sort of fighting
afloat, for there has been discovered at Gebel Abu Faida a tomb with
a painting showing a boat with a triangular mast, and a stem
extending forward below the surface of the water and presumably
intended to be used to damage an enemy’s boat by ramming it.[5]
The first sea-fight of which a pictorial representation is known to exist
was fought off Migdol, at the mouth of the Nile, in the time of
Rameses III., first king of the Twentieth Dynasty, which began about
1180 b.c., and lasted to about 1050 b.c. Egypt was invaded from the
East by “warships and foot soldiers,” and the Egyptian monarch
mustered a fleet and attacked them.
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN WARSHIP.
GREEK BIREME.
From a Vase in the British Museum, found at Vulci.
GREEK WAR GALLEYS.
From a Vase in the British Museum found at Vulci.
Cancelli, or shields of basket work, were placed along the sides of
the ships at such a height that the heads of those on board are just
visible. The cancelli bore a striking resemblance to the circular
basket-work boats still to be found on the upper Euphrates; this
supports the supposition that the cancelli may have been used for
other purposes, particularly if they were made comparatively
watertight, as the function of a shield was not only to protect a
warrior in battle, but to help to keep him dry when on shipboard by
being disposed along the sides to prevent the spray from entering
the ships. A forecastle was constructed upon these ships, and upon
each forecastle a look-out man was stationed; and when these
structures came to be built of larger dimensions they served to
accommodate a number of fighting men who, from their superior
position, could throw their missiles with greater effect. The forecastle
had the further advantage of serving as a stronghold in the event of
an attempt being made to capture the ship by boarding it.
Following the Phœnicians, the Greeks are thought to have begun to
build their own warships about 700 b.c., perhaps earlier, but it was
about that time that the first three-banked warship was launched at
Corinth. The three-banked ships were for many years the largest in
existence. During the fourth century b.c. shipbuilding was practised
extensively, four-banked ships being built at Chalcedon, five-banked
at Salamis, and six-banked ships at Syracuse. Ships of ten banks,
according to Pliny, were ordered by Alexander the Great, and about
300 b.c. ships having twelve banks are said to have been built for
Ptolemy, and fifteen-banked ships for Demetrios, for a battle near
Cyprus.
Ptolemy Philopater, who ruled in Egypt from 222 to 204 b.c., is
alleged to have had a forty-banked ship of a length of 280 cubits or,
reckoning the cubit at 18 inches, of 420 feet, and a beam of 57 feet.
While increasing the size and number of oars, it would, nevertheless,
be impossible to augment to any appreciable extent the speed at
which these ships could be rowed, and the more unwieldy would
they become, and the more difficult would it be to keep steering way
upon them. Again, the assertions of the historians are so
contradictory that it is a thankless task to attempt to reconcile all their
stories, especially as they depended much upon hearsay for their
information. For that reason, therefore, a great deal that has been
recorded as to the early ships and their numerous banks of oars is
not to be accepted without careful inquiry and verification.
It has never been established beyond question what is meant by
banks of oars, or whether the Greek text has been interpreted
correctly when it is taken to express forty superimposed banks of
oars. From constructional reasons it may be assumed that a ship
having forty superimposed banks of oars never existed, and it is very
doubtful whether ships having more than a fourth of that number of
banks passed beyond the imaginations of their inventors. In any
case they were soon dispensed with, and in course of time it was
found that the best results were obtained with galleys having two or
three banks of oars.
It is not definitely known how the rowers were disposed in the ships
of anything over seven or eight banks. If any vessels had forty banks
of oars, the upper rows must have been of an absolutely unwieldy
length. Assuming the oars to have been weighted with lead so that
the inborne and outborne portions were equally balanced, they must
nevertheless have been exceedingly difficult to row even by a
number of men, and it was impossible for any rowers to have moved
these great oars at the same speed as the men at the lower banks
moved their lighter and shorter ones. That some such difficulty was
experienced, even in biremes and triremes, is shown by the
arrangement of the oars, whereby all in a bank were not of equal
length, but were graded so that those nearer the ends of the banks
were longer in order that all the blades might enter the water in a
straight line. Each row above must have had its own line in the water
a little farther away from the side of the ship than the row beneath it,
or the blades would have interfered with each other and the rowers
thrown into hopeless confusion. The tremendous amount of lead that
would have to be carried to counterbalance the outborne portions of
several hundred oars would add materially to the dead weight to be
propelled, and, much of it being placed high above the water, the
stability of the vessel would be lessened.
The Athenians used leather or skin aprons or covers over the oar
holes to prevent the water entering, the oar passing through a hole in
the leather, and the apron was bound to the oar in such a way as to
be watertight. This contrivance was widely adopted later. The oar
ports were constructed between the ribs, but the oars instead of
being rowed against the ribs were pulled against thongs fastened to
the next rib, thus minimising the strain upon the ship’s structure and
preventing the oars being lost overboard. One man one oar was
apparently the general rule at that time.
In his most painstaking study of “Ancient Ships” Mr. Cecil Torr has
gone very closely into the subject of the oar equipment of the
galleys. An Athenian three-banked ship would carry two hundred
oars, of which thirty were worked from the upper decking, sixty-two
on the upper bank, and fifty-four to each of the lower. The earliest
two-banked ships had eighteen rowers. An Athenian four-banked
ship might carry two hundred and sixty-six oars. The Roman and
Carthaginian five-banked ships in use about 256 b.c. had three
hundred rowers besides the combatants. The statement is made by
an early historian that in 280 b.c. the Heraclean fleet on the Black
Sea included an eight-banked ship with a hundred rowers on each
file, or one thousand six hundred rowers in all. As usually the fighting
men carried exceeded the rowers in number, the ship must have had
close upon three thousand five hundred men aboard.
Warships of all the early Eastern nations were strengthened by
cables passed longitudinally round them in order to keep the timbers
in place and prevent them from being started under the strain
occasioned by the shock of ramming. Egyptian ships of about 1200
b.c. had cables stretched from stem to stern and passing over the
top of the mast and other posts, but this contrivance was to prevent
the vessel from drooping at the ends, a weakness known as
“hogging.” The shock to the ramming vessel was scarcely less
severe than that to the vessel receiving the blow. To take up the
strain and add to the power of the blow the bows were strengthened
by means of waling pieces which supported the ram proper. The
Greek ships were built with the keel, the stempost, and the lower pair
of waling pieces converging to hold the ram, while higher up the
stem was a smaller ram which in its turn was buttressed by another
pair of waling planks. The catheads, or beams projecting from the
bows on either side by which the anchors were raised, were so
placed on a level with the gangway and gunwale that they would
sweep the upper works of an enemy’s ship and smash its gangway
and hurl into the sea or the hold all the fighting men upon it. Ships of
more than three banks are believed to have carried another ram
level with the catheads, and to have had a ram for every pair of
additional waling beams. The ram heads were generally of bronze
and weighed 170 lb. or more.
“AN ANCIENT BIREME, FROM BASIUS, HAVING ONE TIER OF OARS ONLY.”