Deck 4: The Organisation: Value-Creating Activities

Question 1

Firms possessing similar resources operating in the same industry can experience different levels of profitability. The situation is referred to as ______________________.

Answer 1

Differential firm performance

Question 2

Within the debate regarding differential performance, Rumelt (1991) is of the view that:

A) Industry is the main driver of firm performance
B) Factors at the individual firm level, such as resources and strategy, are the main drivers of firm performance
C) Factors in the external environment are the main drivers of firm performance
D) Leadership is the main driver of firm performance

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Hamel and Prahalad are associated with which school of thought.

A) The outside-in school
B) The positioning school
C) The resource-based view of strategy
D) The emergent view of strategy

Answer 3

C

Question 4

There are a number of strategic decisions to make concerning the value chain. These might include: Please select all that apply.

A) Whether to make or buy a particular product or service
B) How knowledge is shared throughout the organization
C) How each activity is linked together
D) How to achieve competitive advantage

Question 5

The support activities in Porter's Value Chain are:

A) Procurement, technology development, human resource management, finance
B) Procurement, technology development, human resource management, firm infrastructure
C) Procurement, technology development, human resource management, leadership
D) Procurement, technology development, human resource management, organizational structure

Question 6

In the production of a newspaper, the after sales service could be:

A) Delivering the newspapers to newsagents
B) Including advertisements in the newspaper
C) Receiving and responding to reader feedback
D) The maintenance of the printers that print the newspapers

Question 7

The primary and support activities contain a further subdivision of activities that impact on competitive advantage. These are:

A) Direct activities, indirect activities, and quality assurance
B) Direct activities, indirect activities, and learning
C) Direct activities, indirect activities, and development
D) Direct activities, indirect activities, and peripheral activities

Question 8

The leadership style of the person leading an organization would come under which support activity?

A) Procurement
B) Technology development
C) Human resource management
D) Firm infrastructure

Question 9

Which of the following activities is part of the procurement activity? Please select all that apply.

A) Receiving goods into the operation
B) Negotiating prices with suppliers
C) Obtaining fixed assets such as plant and machinery
D) Deciding where to store materials for use in production

Question 10

It is very important to consider the impact of one activity in the value chain on another activity. Therefore, a key aspect of the value chain is the management of _______________.

Question 11

According to Porter, effective management of linkages can lead to competitive advantage in two ways. These are _________________ and coordination.

Question 12

The interaction between value chains of the organization and its suppliers, distributors, and consumers is referred to as:

A) The value chain system
B) 3PL
C) Vertical integration
D) Horizontal integration

Question 13

BMW has outsourced its logistics to a third-party logistics provider. This is likely to have the effect of: Please select all that apply.

A) Reducing risk
B) Increasing control
C) Increasing risk
D) Reducing control

Question 14

An organization has to decide whether it would be better off undertaking manufacturing of a particular part within the organization or outsourcing it to someone else. This is popularly known as a ______________ decision.

Question 15

In general, it is not advisable to outsource an activity that is of strategic importance.

Question 16

When compiling a SWOT analysis, opportunities and threats can be drawn from the macro-environment and the competitive environment.

Question 17

The SWOT analysis involves an assessment of how existing strengths can be used to serve the market and also a consideration of how resources would need to change to cope with a changing environment.

Question 18

Scenario planning and PESTLE analysis can be used to identify the external opportunities and threats facing an organization.

Question 19

Which of the following statements represent criticisms of the SWOT analysis? Please select all that apply.

A) The same factor can be an opportunity and a threat.
B) It is out of date.
C) It is not prioritized.
D) It is ambiguous.

Question 20

The principal-agent problem is more profound in a small business.

Question 21

Shareholders of a business can be which of the following? Please select all that apply.

A) Employees
B) Internal stakeholders
C) External stakeholders
D) Owners

Question 22

Milton Friedman, the famous economist is of the view that 'business is society'.

Question 23

The government wants to close down the Child Support Agency. If it did a stakeholder mapping exercise in relation to this proposal, where are journalists likely to be mapped on Mendelow's power/interest matrix?

A) Low power, low interest
B) High power, low interest
C) High power, high interest
D) Low power, low interest

Question 24

Which two countries are most likely to give prominence to shareholders in their corporate governance framework?

A) Germany and France
B) Japan and South Korea
C) Sweden and Norway
D) UK and USA

Question 25

The weaknesses that the balanced scorecard is supposed to address in relation to performance measurement are: Please select all that apply.

A) Traditional financial measures only offer a snapshot of company performance.
B) Traditional financial measures do not indicate how the organization might perform in the future.
C) Strategic goals on their own do not translate into measures that can guide employees.
D) Managers don't communicate the strategic goals to employees.

Question 26

Which of the following sets of factors form part of the balanced scorecard framework for measuring performance? Please select all that apply.

A) The Innovation and Learning perspective
B) The customer perspective
C) The internal perspective
D) The growth perspective

Question 27

Kaplan and Norton suggest that 20-30 measures are appropriate for the balanced scorecard approach.

Question 28

The overall purpose of the balanced scorecard approach is to:

A) Help turn strategy into action
B) Benchmark against competitors
C) Measure financial performance
D) Measure product quality

Question 29

The Balanced Scorecard approach has been criticized for leaving out certain measures. One of these is:

A) Financial measures
B) Employee satisfaction measures
C) Customer satisfaction measures
D) Technological innovation measures

Question 30

Benchmarking is a popular tool to measure performance. Benchmarking involves the continual process of comparing organizational performance against:

A) Industry standards
B) High achieving organizations
C) Rivals
D) Organizations within the same industry