Question 1

Differentiate between the following four strategic maneuvers: domain selection, diversification, merger and acquisition, and divestiture.

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Question 2

Provide an example and explain the effect of a social trend on the management of a specific organization.

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Question 3

Scenario B. Use the information in the following paragraph to answer the questions that follow. You and a fellow investor are investigating the possibility of starting a new casino in Black Hawk, Colorado, a small town in the Rocky Mountains. It has been your lifelong dream. You have won the lottery and are trying to decide if this is what you want to do with your prize money. You decide to do an analysis of the competitive environment. After your analysis, you discover several important issues. First, it will cost most of your lottery winnings to finance a casino in Black Hawk! Second, it will be difficult to attract new customers because they have so many choices available to them in Black Hawk and the surrounding small towns. Finally, the competition in the casino industry is considered "fierce" by industry analysts and this is frightening to someone who has never even worked in the casino industry.
-The analysis of the competitive environment that you have conducted utilized the work of:

Accepted Answer

The competitive environment as described by Porter includes suppliers, and customers, new entrants, substitutes and complements, as well as rival firms as shown in Figure 2.3.

Question 4

To respond to their environment, managers and companies have a number of options, which can be grouped into three categories. Describe each category.

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Question 5

Summarize the four different approaches that organizations can take in adapting to environmental uncertainty.

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Question 6

Discuss the clues utilized to diagnose a culture.

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Question 7

Describe the five forces in a competitive environment.

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Question 8

What are the approaches to managing culture effectively?

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Question 9

Describe the culture of an organization in which you have either worked or studied. Which of the four types of organizational culture described in the chapter does the organization illustrate? Justify your answer.

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Question 10

Immigration patterns influence the management of the U.S. labor force. Discuss.

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Question 11

Scenario A. Use the information in the following list to answer the four questions that follow. Alice's Antique Jewelry is a small store that specializes in antique jewelry. In analyzing the environment, Alice has uncovered several interesting findings: 1. Alice has recently purchased more inventory than in the past. Her customers are selling most of their jewelry because their children are not interested in this type of jewelry. Also, these customers would prefer to liquidate their jewelry to help them with their daily expenses since they no longer wear most of it.
2. Alice has recently discovered that her business is in a historical preservation district so as she considers remodeling the shop, she has found she must pay attention to the guidelines set forth in the governing laws.
3. Alice's buyer-customer base seems to be changing. The tastes of the younger generation near her shop are shifting to modern jewelry so the customer base to which she sells is shrinking.
4. Alice has been told that she should investigate selling her inventory via the Internet, but she does not own (or understand how to use) a computer.
5. In reading a survey of regional business, Alice discovered that there are no other antique jewelry stores within a 200 mile radius of hers.
-Given the information in Scenario A, which of the following elements of the macroenvironment was part of Alice's findings?

Accepted Answer

Alice's discovery of the potential of selling her inventory via the internet and her lack of computer skills show the influence of technology in her environment.

Question 12

Scenario A. Use the information in the following list to answer the four questions that follow. Alice's Antique Jewelry is a small store that specializes in antique jewelry. In analyzing the environment, Alice has uncovered several interesting findings: 1. Alice has recently purchased more inventory than in the past. Her customers are selling most of their jewelry because their children are not interested in this type of jewelry. Also, these customers would prefer to liquidate their jewelry to help them with their daily expenses since they no longer wear most of it.
2. Alice has recently discovered that her business is in a historical preservation district so as she considers remodeling the shop, she has found she must pay attention to the guidelines set forth in the governing laws.
3. Alice's buyer-customer base seems to be changing. The tastes of the younger generation near her shop are shifting to modern jewelry so the customer base to which she sells is shrinking.
4. Alice has been told that she should investigate selling her inventory via the Internet, but she does not own (or understand how to use) a computer.
5. In reading a survey of regional business, Alice discovered that there are no other antique jewelry stores within a 200 mile radius of hers.
-Finding 2 is most closely associated with which element of the macroenvironment?

Accepted Answer

The macroenvironment is the general environment, including governments, economic conditions, and other fundamental factors that generally affect all organizations. Laws and regulations are part of the macroenvironment and affect Alice by dictating how she can renovate her shop based on the prevailing rules of the historical preservation district her shop is in.

Question 13

What are open systems?

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Question 14

Discuss three independent strategies that a firm may use as a proactive response to its environment.

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Question 15

Scenario A. Use the information in the following list to answer the four questions that follow. Alice's Antique Jewelry is a small store that specializes in antique jewelry. In analyzing the environment, Alice has uncovered several interesting findings: 1. Alice has recently purchased more inventory than in the past. Her customers are selling most of their jewelry because their children are not interested in this type of jewelry. Also, these customers would prefer to liquidate their jewelry to help them with their daily expenses since they no longer wear most of it.
2. Alice has recently discovered that her business is in a historical preservation district so as she considers remodeling the shop, she has found she must pay attention to the guidelines set forth in the governing laws.
3. Alice's buyer-customer base seems to be changing. The tastes of the younger generation near her shop are shifting to modern jewelry so the customer base to which she sells is shrinking.
4. Alice has been told that she should investigate selling her inventory via the Internet, but she does not own (or understand how to use) a computer.
5. In reading a survey of regional business, Alice discovered that there are no other antique jewelry stores within a 200 mile radius of hers.
-When Alice read the survey of regional businesses, she was investigating:

Accepted Answer

The competitive environment is composed of the firm and its rivals, suppliers, customers (buyers), new entrants, and substitute or complementary products.

Question 16

Scenario A. Use the information in the following list to answer the four questions that follow. Alice's Antique Jewelry is a small store that specializes in antique jewelry. In analyzing the environment, Alice has uncovered several interesting findings: 1. Alice has recently purchased more inventory than in the past. Her customers are selling most of their jewelry because their children are not interested in this type of jewelry. Also, these customers would prefer to liquidate their jewelry to help them with their daily expenses since they no longer wear most of it.
2. Alice has recently discovered that her business is in a historical preservation district so as she considers remodeling the shop, she has found she must pay attention to the guidelines set forth in the governing laws.
3. Alice's buyer-customer base seems to be changing. The tastes of the younger generation near her shop are shifting to modern jewelry so the customer base to which she sells is shrinking.
4. Alice has been told that she should investigate selling her inventory via the Internet, but she does not own (or understand how to use) a computer.
5. In reading a survey of regional business, Alice discovered that there are no other antique jewelry stores within a 200 mile radius of hers.
-Findings 1 and 3 are both associated with the:

Accepted Answer

The competitive environment as described by Porter includes both suppliers (those selling the jewelry) and customers (those buying the jewelry). The competitive environment also includes new entrants, substitutes and complements, as well as rival firms as shown in Figure 3.2.

Question 17

List the actions and attitudes that reflect excellent customer service. Illustrate each from your own experiences as either a customer or a service provider.

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Question 18

List the five elements of a firm's macroenvironment and illustrate how each affects the firm.

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Question 19

As environmental uncertainty increases, managers must develop techniques and methods for collecting, sorting through, and interpreting information about the environment. Discuss four of these methods explaining when and why each would be used.

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Question 20

Differentiate between unattractive and attractive competitive environments using Porter's Model of competitive environment and give an example for each situation.

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Quiz 3: The Organizational Environment and Culture