Deck 9: Suppliers, Competitors, and Business

Question 1

Crane et al suggest that businesses can best be understood as part of an industrial network rather than part of a simple exchange between two parties. What does this suggest about corporate interactions?

A) Notable decisions about how the firm deals with any single other firm can have a significant effect on other members of the business network, including suppliers and competitors.
B) Firms must engage with competitors in a fair way if the industry as a whole is to prosper.
C) Firms could usefully join together to generate better prices in their purchases from suppliers.
D) Firms within an industrial network are free to engage in any legal way they choose to beat their competitors, provided they treat their suppliers in a fair manner.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

According to resource dependence theory, power derives from the degree of dependence that each actor has on the other's resources. This dependence is a function of the quality of an organization's resources and how useful they are to the other party.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Crane et al define a conflict of interest as follows: 'A conflict of interest occurs when a person's or organization's obligation to act in the interests of another is interfered with by a competing interest that may ________ the fulfilment of that obligation.'

Answer 3

obstruct

Question 4

You are the purchasing manager at ACME Ink Supplies, Inc. The sales rep from a new supplier gives you a large box of premium quality Belgian chocolates after your first test purchase, with a note thanking you for the business. You like chocolates, but are not sure you should take the gift. What would Crane et al suggest you might consider in making up your mind? Please select all that apply.

A) How might your existing supplier perceive the gift?
B) What do you think is the intention of the sales rep?
C) Is the gift in proportion to the size of the purchase?
D) What impact would the gift have on you?

Question 5

With which of the following statements on ethical issues in relation to competitors would Crane et al agree?

A) Ethical behaviour between competitors is not compatible with aggressive competitive behaviour between business rivals.
B) As long as the means used are legal, there is no ethical problem with gathering intelligence on competitors.
C) It is a dirty trick to 'steal' rivals' customers by using such methods as providing false information, but providing a financial inducement is part of normal business practice and is therefore ethically unproblematic.
D) There is a clear ethical issue in the case where a single large competitor dominates the market, as it can disadvantage consumers and competitors.

Question 6

As western firms have become more familiar with traditions, such as the Chinese practice of guanxi, so they have increasingly tolerated gift-giving practices in such countries. What is the reason for this, according to Donaldson (1996)?

A) Western firms have been moving increasingly towards a position of ethical relativism.
B) It is a matter of respect for local traditions
C) Firms recognize that the only way to ensure a reasonable level of business activity is to engage in such practices.
D) Firms have reached the conclusion that the moral duty to shareholders outweighs the moral objections to bribery.

Question 7

According to Crane et al, the two key ethical issues relating to inter-organisational competition are competition that is overly aggressive and insufficient competition.

Question 8

Which of the following factors does the extended chain of responsibility not involve?

A) Firm responsibility regarding its suppliers and competitors
B) Potential supply chain reputational risk for firms
C) Boundaryless supply chain responsibility
D) A broader consideration of firm responsibility

Question 9

_________ or ________ information refers to any kind of information that the organization feels should not be freely available to outsiders and therefore should have some kind of moral or legal protection

Question 10

What are industrial ecosystems?

A) Climate-friendly, closed-loop business model planned as a critical component of the industrial mix of the future.
B) Communities of organizations bound by interdependence of all kinds of resources and wastes.
C) Initiatives that push the boundaries of sustainable urban design and industrial ecosystem thinking.
D) Interdependent firms that operate in a supply loop.

Question 11

According to Crane et al, when a group of competitors band together in a cartel or trading group to fix prices and other trading arrangements for their own mutual benefit, this has no ethical implications.

Question 12

Which of the below is not a main strategy of business to business regulation?

A) Compliance
B) Boycotting
C) Development
D) Collaboration

Question 13

Which of the following are key advantages of blockchain technology in enhancing traceability and transparency within supply chains?

A) They are based on private ledgers of transactions
B) They are based on public ledgers of transactions
C) They can be checked by anyone
D) They create a register of the overall supply chain, but not each individual stage

Question 14

Unethical negotiating tactics impose which costs on negotiators mentioned below? Choose all that apply.

A) Damaged relationships.
B) Rigid negotiating.
C) Sullied reputations.
D) Workplace Stress.

Question 15

The _______ is a way of organizing activity based on returning all resources involved in the production of goods and services back into productive used with the goal of eliminating waste and reducing material inputs.