Deck 2: Organizational Strategy, Competitive Advantage, and Information Systems

Question 1

A business process has inputs and outputs

Answer 1

True

Question 2

An organization's business processes can create a competitive advantage.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Globalization is the integration and interdependence of many facets of life made possible by rapid advances in information technology.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

BPM can improve an organization's flexibility.

Question 5

A business process always includes information systems.

Question 6

The activities of a business process can be measured

Question 7

BPR is a strategy for improving the efficiency of an organization's data collection.

Question 8

Information technology is facilitating the entry of a wide variety of employees into the workforce.

Question 9

The overall performance of an organization has little to do with how well it manages its business processes.

Question 10

Cross-functional processes are executed within a single functional area.

Question 11

BPM is an implementation of BPR.

Question 12

In general, government deregulation decreases competition.

Question 13

Internet access in the United States is not particularly related to household income.

Question 14

In general, labor costs are higher in developed countries than in developing countries.

Question 15

The information technology environment is the combination of social, legal, economic, physical, and political factors that affect business activities.

Question 16

The procurement process includes the sales function.

Question 17

Business process management includes methods and tools to support the design, analysis, implementation, management, and optimization of business processes.

Question 18

The business environment refers to the industry that a company is in.

Question 19

Competitive advantage refers to making higher profits.

Question 20

Developed countries usually provide greater fringe benefits than developing countries.

Question 21

The introduction of the ATM in the banking industry is an example of the innovation strategy.

Question 22

Build-to-stock is a strategy of producing customized products and services.

Question 23

The bargaining power of suppliers is low when their buyers have many choices.

Question 24

Ethical issues are important because, if handled poorly, they can damage an organization's image.

Question 25

In mass production, a company produces a large quantity of identical items.

Question 26

When there are many substitute products, a company can create a competitive advantage by increasing fees.

Question 27

An entry barrier is a long-term competitive advantage.

Question 28

The Internet decreases customers' bargaining power.

Question 29

The music industry is a good example of the extremely low variable costs of digital products.

Question 30

In mass customization, companies produce items in large quantity, but they tailor the items to meet the desires and needs of individual customers.

Question 31

An information system that helps an organization gain a competitive advantage is called a competitive information system.

Question 32

Michael Porter concludes that the overall impact of the Internet is to increase competition, which generally diminishes a firm's profitability.

Question 33

The Internet increases traditional barriers to entry into a market.

Question 34

Information-based industries face the greatest threat from substitutes.

Question 35

Customer intimacy is the process whereby a business learns as much as possible about its customers to better anticipate and address their needs.

Question 36

A growing IT initiative called green IT is enabling organizations to reduce their carbon footprint.

Question 37

The One Laptop per Child project aims to use technology to revolutionize how the world can educate its children.

Question 38

Competitive advantage helps a company function effectively within a market and generate larger-than-average profits.

Question 39

The digital divide is the gap between data and knowledge.

Question 40

Every competitive organization is driven by the competitive forces identified by Michael Porter.

Question 41

Managing purchasing is an example of a(n):

A) Accounting Business Process
B) Finance Business Process
C) Marketing Business Process
D) Production Business Process
E) Management Information Systems Business Process

Question 42

Applying copyrights and trademarks is an example of a(n):

A) Accounting business process
B) Finance business process
C) Marketing business process
D) Production business process
E) Management information systems business process

Question 43

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Competitive advantage is based on some measurement such as cost, quality, or speed.
B) Competitive advantage enables a company to function effectively within a market.
C) Competitive advantage leads to higher-than-average profits.
D) Competitive advantage requires the use of technology.
E) Competitive advantage applies to companies of all sizes.

Question 44

Which of the following is not a role that information systems play in businesses processes?

A) Establish standards
B) Execute the process
C) Capture and store process data
D) Monitor process performance
E) Detect problems with the process.

Question 45

The workforce in developed countries is exhibiting all of the following trends except:

A) It is becoming more diversified.
B) It includes more women.
C) It includes more single parents.
D) It includes fewer persons with disabilities.
E) It includes more minority-group members.

Question 46

The primary activities in the value chain create the value for which customers are willing to pay.

Question 47

Which of the following processes involves the warehouse, sales, and accounting functional areas?

A) Procurement
B) Fulfillment
C) Order entry
D) Accounts Receivable
E) Payroll

Question 48

For many organizations, business process reengineering

A) Is easy to implement.
B) Is not disruptive to implement.
C) Has little impact on facilities.
D) Is inexpensive.
E) Has a major impact on the corporate culture.

Question 49

Market pressures include which of the following?

A) the global economy
B) weak competition
C) a homogeneous workforce
D) weak customers
E) high-cost offshore labor

Question 50

Reconciling bank accounts is an example of a(n):

A) Accounting Business Process
B) Finance Business Process
C) Marketing Business Process
D) Production Business Process
E) Management Information Systems Business Process

Question 51

Managing pay and payroll is an example of a(n):

A) Accounting Business Process
B) Finance Business Process
C) Marketing Business Process
D) Human Resources Business Process
E) Management Information Systems Business Process

Question 52

Which of the following statements is false?

A) BPM begins with process modeling.
B) Process modeling is a graphical depiction of all the steps in a process.
C) BPM uses Web-enabled technologies for user interfaces.
D) Business activity monitoring is used to measure and manage business processes.
E) Business activity monitoring is a type of scheduled reporting.

Question 53

Which of the following statements concerning business processes is false?

A) A process has inputs.
B) A process has outputs.
C) A process has activities that can be measured.
D) A process creates value.
E) A process cannot cross functional area boundaries.

Question 54

Which of the following statements is false?

A) BPM is a task-oriented approach.
B) BPM can help companies reduce costs.
C) BPM can help companies increase revenue.
D) BPM can improve customer satisfaction.
E) BPM can improve organizational flexibility

Question 55

Business pressures on organizations are created when there are changes in

A) Social factors
B) Economic factors
C) Legal factors
D) Political factors
E) Changes in all of the above will create business pressures.

Question 56

Which of the following processes involves the warehouse, purchasing, and accounting functional areas?

A) Procurement
B) Fulfillment
C) Order entry
D) Accounts receivable
E) Payroll

Question 57

It's a good idea for a company to select two competitive advantage strategies.

Question 58

Collecting sales tax is an example of a(n):

A) Accounting Business Process
B) Finance Business Process
C) Marketing Business Process
D) Production Business Process
E) Management Information Systems Business Process

Question 59

Porter's value chain model is a variation of his competitive advantage framework.

Question 60

Managing account collections is an example of a(n):

A) Accounting Business Process
B) Finance Business Process
C) Marketing Business Process
D) Production Business Process
E) Management Information Systems Business Process

Question 61

Buyer power is _____ when buyers have many choices from whom to buy and _____ when buyers have few choices.

A) high, the same
B) high, low
C) low, low
D) low, high
E) low, the same

Question 62

Which of the following statements concerning technology pressures on modern businesses is true?

A) Technology changes so rapidly that organizations should wait before they release new technology-based products.
B) New technologies offer alternative service options.
C) New technologies will never replace existing technologies.
D) The amount of information on the Internet remains stable from year to year.
E) The important information on the Internet is fee-based.

Question 63

The digital divide is an example of which type of societal pressure?

A) social responsibility
B) government regulations
C) protection against terrorism
D) ethics
E) information overload

Question 64

How does the Internet affect the way you purchase your textbooks?

A) The Internet gives you fewer choices.
B) The Internet increases your bargaining power.
C) The Internet provides you with less information.
D) The Internet decreases your bargaining power.
E) The Internet increases your switching costs.

Question 65

Which one of the following statements is false?

A) Businesses tend to view government regulations as expensive constraints on their activities.
B) Government deregulation reduces competition.
C) IT support is essential for compliance with many new regulations.
D) IT has been used to identify patterns of behavior associated with terrorist activities.
E) Information ethics can destroy the morale of a company's employees.

Question 66

Today's customers have ________ .

A) less knowledge about products
B) less sophistication
C) difficulty in finding information about products
D) higher expectations
E) difficulty in comparing prices

Question 67

The threat of competitors' entering the automobile manufacturing industry is _____ because barriers to entry are so _____.

A) low, low
B) high, high
C) high, low
D) low, high

Question 68

Information-based industries are most susceptible to which one of Porter's five forces?

A) threat of entry of new competitors
B) bargaining power of suppliers
C) bargaining power of customers
D) threat of substitute products
E) rivalry among existing firms in an industry

Question 69

Porter's competitive forces model helps organizations identify _____, whereas his value chain model helps organizations identify specific _____.

A) competitive opportunities, activities
B) general strategies, activities
C) activities, competitive opportunities
D) activities, general strategies
E) primary activities, support activities

Question 70

The Bodymetrics body scanner is best characterized as an example of:

A) mass production.
B) customer focus.
C) real-time customer input.
D) mass customization.
E) continuous improvement.

Question 71

The threat of competitors' entering a market is very high in industries that perform a(n) _____ role and in industries where the primary product or service is _____.

A) intermediation, physical
B) broker, physical
C) sales, financial
D) financial, digital
E) intermediation, digital

Question 72

_____ activities create value for which customers are willing to pay, whereas _____ activities do not add value directly to the firm's products or services.

A) Support, primary
B) Human resource management, inbound logistics
C) Procurement, operations
D) Primary, support
E) Accounting, outbound logistics

Question 73

The costs of delivering products in the _____ channel are much higher than delivering products in the _____ channel.

A) e-commerce, digital
B) digital, e-commerce
C) digital, physical
D) physical, financial
E) physical, digital

Question 74

_____ is a feature that must be offered by a competing organization in order to survive in the marketplace.

A) Competitive advantage
B) An entry barrier
C) Strategic advantage
D) Rapid time-to-market
E) One-to-one marketing

Question 75

If there are _____ substitutes for an organization's products or services, then the threat of substitutes is _____.

A) many, high
B) few, low
C) few, high
D) many, low
E) few, negligible

Question 76

Producing customized items in large quantities is called:

A) strategic systems.
B) customer focus.
C) continuous improvement.
D) mass production.
E) mass customization.

Question 77

Competitive advantage for an organization manifests itself as all of the following except:

A) Lower costs
B) Higher quality
C) Increased time to market
D) Increased profits
E) Increased speed

Question 78

For most companies, the Web _____ the threat that new competitors will enter the market by _____ traditional barriers to entry.

A) decreases, increasing
B) increases, decreasing
C) increases, increasing
D) decreases, decreasing

Question 79

Which of the following is not an example of the growing initiative called green IT?

A) Designing an IT infrastructure to support sustainability.
B) Building systems that monitor carbon throughout the organization.
C) Asking vendors about compliance on environmental standards.
D) Building computer applications that use less energy
E) Designing energy-efficient data centers.

Question 80

Producing identical items in large quantities is called:

A) strategic systems.
B) customer focus.
C) continuous improvement.
D) mass production.
E) mass customization.