Deck 7: Creating Advantage, Synergy, and Strategic Philosophies

Question 1

Strategic commitment is superior to strategic opportunism.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Strategic drift is associated with an orientation toward the present.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

To successfully manage a strategic commitment, a firm should have four characteristics--a clear future strategy, assets, competencies, and resources to implement the strategy, and _________, and _________.

Answer 3

Buy-in throughout the organization and patience.

Question 4

A sustainable competitive advantage has several characteristics. Which of the following is not one of them?

A) Sustainability
B) They can be leveraged
C) They should be supported by assets and competencies
D) They cannot easily be neutralized by competitors
E) They are easily copied

Question 5

Synergy will result in one or more of the following: decreased revenues, increased operating costs, or increased investment.

Question 6

To successfully manage a strategic commitment, a firm should have four characteristics. Which of the following is not one of the four?

A) Senior management with MBAs
B) Buy-in throughout the organization
C) Assets, competencies, and resources to implement it
D) Patience
E) A clear future strategy

Question 7

Synergy between firms can provide an SCA that is truly sustainable because it is based on the characteristics of a firm that are probably unique.

Question 8

A key success factor can be a point of parity.

Question 9

two businesses have synergy, their profitability operating together will be higher than if they operated separately.

Question 10

effective sustainable competitive advantage needs to be both meaningful and sustainable. And it should be substantial to make a difference.

Question 11

Which of the following is not one of the three philosophies of developing strategy?

A) Strategic Drift
B) Strategic Opportunism
C) Strategic Adaptability
D) Strategic Commitment

Question 12

An organization implementing a strategic commitment should have an on-line information system and be capable of fast response.

Question 13

Four factors are required for the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage. Which of the following is not one of those factors?

A) Whom you compete against
B) Basis of competition
C) Where you compete
D) Your strategic intent.
E) The way you compete

Question 14

Synergy in practice is difficult because it can be difficult to predict whether synergy will actually emerge.

Question 15

Key success factors (KSF's) and sustainable competitive advantages (SCA's) are different in that an SCA is necessary to compete and a KSF is the basis for a continuing advantage.

Question 16

Among the critical determinants of an SCA is the choice of the product-market and the identity and nature of competitors.

Question 17

the survey of 248 West Coast business managers, the most frequently mentioned SCA was financial resources.

Question 18

The four strategic philosophies are strategic commitment, strategic opportunism, strategic vision and strategic intent.

Question 19

Strategic intent is a sustained obsession with winning which involves a stretch of the organization and real innovation.

Question 20

assets and competencies of an organization represent the most sustainable element of a business strategy, because these are usually difficult to copy or counter.

Question 21

Strategic intent recognizes the essence of winning, involves stretching an organization to continue to improve old SCA's or develop new ones, and requires real innovation.

Question 22

Strategic commitment has a long term perspective, while strategic opportunism is short term and strategic adaptability is medium term.

Question 23

In an organization that subscribes to a strategically adaptable mentality, it is okay to fail.