Question 1

Operations and supply chain strategy can be viewed as part of a planning process that coordinates operational goals with those of the larger organization.

Accepted Answer

Operations and supply chain strategy should be aligned with the overall goals and objectives of the organization. It is a planning process that ensures that operations are integrated with the business strategy to create a competitive advantage.

Question 2

Activity-system maps show how a company's strategy is delivered through a set of tailored activities.

Accepted Answer

Activity-system maps illustrate how a company's strategy is implemented through a collection of integrated activities.

Question 3

Activity-system maps are useful in understanding how well a system of activities fits the overall company's strategy.

Accepted Answer

Activity-system maps help to visually map out the various activities within a system and how they relate to each other and the overall company's strategy. By analyzing the alignment between the activities and the strategy, it becomes easier to identify potential areas for improvement or change.

Question 4

Risk mapping involves assessment of the probability or relative frequency of an event against the aggregate severity of the loss.

Accepted Answer

Risk mapping involves assessing both the probability and the severity of a potential event, in order to determine how much of a risk it poses. The probability or relative frequency refers to how likely the event is to occur, while the aggregate severity of the loss is an assessment of the potential impact or damage that the event could cause. By combining these two factors, risk mapping can help to identify areas of potential risk and enable organizations to take action to mitigate those risks.

Question 5

The corporate strategy is operationalized through a set of operations and supply chain decisions.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The corporate strategy is operationalized through a...

Question 6

The process where a company seeks to match the benefits of a successful position while maintaining its existing position by adding new features, services, and technologies into its current portfolio is called straddling.

Accepted Answer

Straddling is the process of adding new features, services, and technologies to the current product portfolio in order to match the benefits of a successful position.

Question 7

An order winner is a set of screening criteria that permits a firm's products to be considered as possible candidates for purchase.

Accepted Answer

An order winner is a characteristic that differentiates a product or service from its competitors, making it a primary reason why customers choose it over others, not just a set of screening criteria for consideration.

Question 8

There are two characteristics of a product or service that define quality: design quality and cost.

Accepted Answer

While cost is certainly a factor that can impact the overall value and accessibility of a product or service, it is not considered one of the two defining characteristics of quality. The two primary factors that define quality are design quality (how well the product or service performs its intended function and meets the needs of the user) and conformance quality (how consistently the product or service meets established standards and specifications).

Question 9

One of the competitive dimensions that forms the competitive position of a company when planning its strategies is cost.

Accepted Answer

Cost is one of the competitive dimensions that affects a company's competitive position by making it difficult for competitors to match or beat their prices. Therefore, cost is an important factor to consider when developing strategies to gain a competitive advantage.

Question 10

By following a straddling strategy, firms can broaden their capabilities and effectively compete with more focused firms in markets requiring low cost for success.

Accepted Answer

A straddling strategy, which attempts to combine different competitive strategies (like cost leadership and differentiation), often leads to a firm being "stuck in the middle" and unable to effectively compete with more focused firms that excel in either cost leadership or differentiation in markets that demand specialization.

Question 11

Activity-system maps depict the geographic reach of a company's business strategies.

Accepted Answer

Activity-system maps depict the interconnected activities and resources within a company, rather than the geographic reach of its business strategies.

Question 12

One of the competitive dimensions that forms the competitive position of a company when planning its strategies is making the best trade-off.

Accepted Answer

Making the best trade-off is not a competitive dimension itself; rather, it is a strategic decision-making process that involves balancing different competitive dimensions such as cost, quality, delivery speed, and flexibility.

Question 13

Operations risk is the likelihood of a disruption that would impact the ability of a company to continuously supply products or services.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Operations risk is the likelihood of a...

Question 14

An operation can excel simultaneously on all competitive dimensions. This is what makes a truly great operations company.

Accepted Answer

It is extremely difficult for an operation to excel simultaneously on all competitive dimensions. Trade-offs usually have to be made between different dimensions to optimize performance and achieve operational excellence.

Question 15

Operations effectiveness relates to the profitability of the core business processes.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Operations effectiveness relates to the profitability of...

Question 16

One of the competitive dimensions that forms the competitive position of a company when planning its strategies is delivery speed.

Accepted Answer

Delivery speed is indeed one of the competitive dimensions that companies consider when forming their competitive position, as it can be a critical factor in meeting customers' expectations and staying ahead of competitors.

Question 17

An order qualifier is a set of screening criteria that permits a firm's products to be considered as possible candidates for purchase.

Accepted Answer

An order qualifier is defined as a set of minimum criteria that a firm's product must meet in order to be considered for purchase. Therefore, it allows the product to qualify for consideration.

Question 18

Straddling occurs when activities are incompatible so that more of one thing necessitates less of another.

Accepted Answer

Straddling refers to a company attempting to match the benefits of a successful position while maintaining its existing position, often leading to inefficiencies or confusion rather than a situation where more of one thing necessitates less of another.

Question 19

The process where a company seeks to match the benefits of a successful position while maintaining its existing position by adding new features, services, and technologies into its current portfolio is called flexibility.

Accepted Answer

The process described is actually called "innovation" rather than "flexibility".

Question 20

An order winner is a set of criteria that differentiates the products or services of one firm from another.

Accepted Answer

An order winner is a competitive advantage that separates the products or services of one company from those of another. It can be a specific feature or characteristic that customers value more than other companies' products or services.

Quiz 2: Strategy