Deck 6: Business Definition and Positioning

Question 1

What problem with its car lines did General Motors face in the early 1920s?

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Which of the following are examples of business definitions?

A) Increasing earnings per share
B) Increasing shareholder value
C) Maximize shareholder wealth
D) All of these
E) None of these

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Business definition can help to focus management attention on ______________.

A) the main thing.
B) the bottom line.
C) their compensation packages.
D) All of these
E) None of these

Answer 3

A

Question 4

To which of the following concepts is a business definition not closely related?

A) positioning
B) incumbency
C) branding
D) differentiation
E) None of these

Question 5

A business definition is ______________.

A) the major way in which firms describe themselves to customers,
B) employees, suppliers, and investors.
C) the primary way customers, employees, and other constituencies develop an image of companies.
D) allows managers to describe or identify their companies while also helping customers, employees, and other constituencies develop an image of their companies and how they differ from other business organizations.
E) All of these
F) None of these

Question 6

In which of the following have both practicing managers and academic researchers shown great interest?

A) Mission
B) Purpose
C) Identity
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 7

"White space" in industry environments represents competitive areas that are ______________.

A) occupied by incumbent rivals
B) out-of bounds to incumbent firms due to regulatory restrictions
C) unprofitable market segments
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 8

____________ is the process by which firms and businesses select positions in their industry environments.

A) strategy confirmation
B) strategy content
C) strategy process
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 9

A business definition is ______________.

A) strategy confirmation
B) strategy intent
C) strategy process
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 10

A business definition is ______________.

A) strategy content
B) strategy intent
C) strategy confirmation
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 11

A business definition ______________.

A) is the way a firm or a business describes itself to employees, customers, and other constituencies
B) distinguishes a firm from other business organizations that may or may not be its competitors
C) provides an organization with an identity that describes what is "central, distinctive, and enduring" about it
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 12

Which of the following is not a characteristic of an effective business definition?

A) Multi-focused
B) Distinctive
C) Timely and appropriate
D) Clear and readily understandable
E) All of these

Question 13

Which of the following is a characteristic of innovative workplaces that foster creativity?

A) playfulness
B) autonomy
C) experimentation
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 14

Which of the following is a personality trait associated with creativity?

A) antipathy
B) complexity
C) parsimony
D) reticence
E) None of these

Question 15

What is meant when it is said that "business definition" allows firms to play offense rather than defense?

Question 16

How would the business definition adopted by a luxury goods maker likely affect its decisions about its brand image, pricing, marketing, and distribution decisions?

Question 17

Why did Kendall-Jackson sue Gallo Winery after Gallo's successfully entry into the varietal wine market?

Question 18

How might Kodak's history of always promoting from within the firm's ranks have created problems in its efforts to successfully redefine itself?

Question 19

What two key factors in the business redefinition process are highlighted by Kodak's efforts to redefine itself in an increasingly digital world?

Question 20

Explain Intel's exit from the memory chip business as it relates to the three key characteristics of effective business definitions.

Question 21

List three key characteristics of effective business definitions.

Question 22

List four ways that a business definition can contribute to a firm's competitive advantage.

Question 23

Research has revealed that it is not uncommon in most large business firms for ____ percent of middle-level managers to be uncertain about their firms' strategies.

A) 20
B) 30
C) 40
D) 60
E) 80

Question 24

"Form" as defined by Rollo May is ______________.

A) following procedures and work rules
B) application of policies and strategy
C) an understanding of the structure of the problem
D) application of the status quo or conventional wisdom
E) None of these

Question 25

Strategic content is the competitive position that firms hope to achieve over the next several years or even decades of effort and investment.

Question 26

Effective business definitions can be much more tangible and motivational than financial objectives.

Question 27

The mental models of managers and the decisions that follow from them share a consistency or logic that reinforces the business definition.

Question 28

What problem with its car lines did General Motors face in the early 1920s?

Question 29

The objective of a business definition is to distinguish a firm from its competitors even though it might be pursuing a strategy that is very dissimilar to the strategy being pursued by other companies that are in the same strategic group.

Question 30

Strategic groups are groups of firms pursuing similar strategies.

Question 31

Business definition is the major way in which companies describe themselves to customers, employees, suppliers, and investors.

Question 32

Diversified or multibusiness firms, which have business segments engaged in many different industries, frequently have one overall business definition applicable to each of their different businesses.

Question 33

Business definition occurs at both the business and firm level.

Question 34

The consequences of failing to respond to or to anticipate changes in the competitive space are seldom very severe.

Question 35

Successful business definition does not require an ongoing process of redefinition.

Question 36

Business definition is both strategy content and strategy process.

Question 37

Business definition provides an organization with an identity that describes what is "central, distinctive, and enduring" about it.

Question 38

Discounted cash flow techniques are used to calculate the accumulated or residual value of a stream of cash flow from past projects.

Question 39

The natural tendency of businesses to evaluate and critically assess new ideas can work to foster individual creativity.

Question 40

Creating a business definition is not the same as writing a mission statement.

Question 41

Business definitions can obscure other strategic decisions.

Question 42

Firms with well-established business definitions seldom have well-established competitions.

Question 43

Any source of competitive advantage that can be easily duplicated by rivals is unlikely to offer sustained levels of high performance.

Question 44

The firms that have the greatest difficulty in changing their definitions are those that have been least effective in forging distinctive definitions in the past.

Question 45

Redefinition seldom involves some sort of conflict.

Question 46

The capital budgeting practices of most companies are probably inimical to redefinition process.

Question 47

Business definition and redefinition are almost always strategic decisions.

Question 48

Effective business definitions are constant over time.

Question 49

A business definition can be the product of proactive decision making and also from passive acceptance of market forces.

Question 50

One reason many firms underachieve is because they focus on too few issues.

Question 51

Strategy is the way a firm or a business describes itself to employees, customers, and other constituencies while also distinguishing it from other business organizations that may or may not be competitors.