Question 1

What is an organization said to be experiencing when there is a discrepancy between upper management's intended strategy and the strategy implemented by the lower levels of management?

Accepted Answer

Strategic dissonance is a situation where there is a lack of alignment between the intended strategy and the strategy implemented by lower-level management. This can cause confusion, inefficiencies, and ultimately hinder the achievement of the organization's goals.

Question 2

Which type of resource is NOT controlled or possessed by many competing firms?

Accepted Answer

A

Question 3

To differentiate its products from other similar brands,Aveda beauty products focuses on educating its customers on general skin and hair care. Its salespeople are trained to answer questions and help customers find solutions. What has Aveda achieved with customer education and employee training?

Accepted Answer

By focusing on customer education and training its employees to provide solutions to customer questions and concerns, Aveda has created a competitive advantage over other similar brands. This sets Aveda apart in the market and gives them an edge over their competitors.

Question 4

UBC student Ann Makosinski has developed a coffee mug that generates electricity to charge a cell phone. She has filed a patent for the device. What does she have from the patent on the coffee mug?

Accepted Answer

A patent provides legal protection for the invention and can give the inventor a sustainable competitive advantage by preventing competitors from using or selling the same invention without permission.

Question 5

Royal Bank of Canada is the largest bank in Canada. Would this position give it a sustainable competitive advantage,and why?

Accepted Answer

Size alone is not a sustainable competitive advantage. While it may provide some benefits such as economies of scale, it does not guarantee long-term success or immunity from competition. Other factors such as innovation, customer service, and brand reputation are also important for sustainable competitive advantage.

Question 6

What does an organization experience when it is reluctant to change strategies or competitive practices that have been successful in the past?

Accepted Answer

Competitive inertia refers to an organization's reluctance to change strategies or competitive practices that have been successful in the past, often due to complacency or resistance to change.

Question 7

When making travel plans,many tourists select Thomas Cook because they perceive the tour company as being superior to all others. No other tour service can duplicate the customer service and satisfaction that Thomas Cook has provided over its years of operation. What type of resources has Thomas Cook apparently used to create a sustainable competitive advantage?

Accepted Answer

Thomas Cook has apparently used nonsubstitutable resources to create a sustainable competitive advantage. The customer service and satisfaction that it has provided over its years of operation cannot be readily replicated or replaced by other tour companies, making it nonsubstitutable.

Question 8

BlackBerry struggled to adapt its once world-leading smartphones to respond to a more dynamic smartphone market dominated by Android and iOS operating systems. What is this an example of?

Accepted Answer

Competitive inertia refers to a company's inability to adapt to changes in the competitive environment, which is what happened with BlackBerry as it failed to respond to the rise of Android and iOS.

Question 9

A sustainable competitive advantage exists for an organization when other companies have tried unsuccessfully to duplicate the advantage and when which of the following happens?

Accepted Answer

The fact that other companies have tried and currently stopped trying to duplicate the advantage suggests that the advantage is sustainable. The other choices do not necessarily indicate a sustainable competitive advantage. Choice A suggests a legal barrier to replication, not necessarily a sustainable advantage. Choice C suggests the implementation of a specific distribution strategy, but does not guarantee a sustainable advantage. Choice D suggests operating in the global market, but does not necessarily guarantee a sustainable advantage.

Question 10

What is the first step in the strategy-making process?

Accepted Answer

The first step in the strategy-making process is to assess the need for strategic change, which involves recognizing whether the current strategy is effective or if there is a need for a new strategy.

Question 11

Specialized Bicycle Components introduced the first major-production mountain bike in 1980. Two-thirds of its profits come from the sale of mountain bikes. It is recognized worldwide for its ability to design and produce superior mountain bikes. Which of the following terms best defines this ability?

Accepted Answer

Distinctive competence refers to a unique or superior capability of a company that sets it apart from competitors and enables it to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Specialized Bicycle Components' ability to design and produce superior mountain bikes is a distinctive competence that has helped the company become recognized worldwide and generate two-thirds of its profits from the sale of mountain bikes.

Question 12

In 2015,Target Canada filed for bankruptcy. Its parent corporation,the US-based Target Corporation,identified the need for strategic change in its Canadian operations. What is the next step Target Corporation should take in this strategy-making process?

Accepted Answer

Since Target Corporation has already identified the need for strategic change in its Canadian operations, it is important to conduct a situational analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current situation in order to make informed decisions about the best course of action. This will involve analyzing the internal and external factors that may impact the success of any proposed strategy. Once this analysis is complete, the corporation can then move on to finding the optimal strategic solution.

Question 13

Which of the following is a problem strongly associated with top managers?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is a problem...

Question 14

Wagyu beef sold in Canada is often a crossbreed with the Wagyu breed from Japan. Brant Lake Wagyu raises their Wagyu crossbreed cattle on a mix of pasture feeding and barley. What kind of resource is the Wagyu crossbreed cattle?

Accepted Answer

The Wagyu crossbreed cattle raised by Brant Lake Wagyu are not a rare resource as crossbreeds are commonly found in the beef industry. However, the use of a mix of pasture feeding and barley is an imperfectly imitable resource as other farms can try to replicate this feeding method but may not achieve the same quality of beef. The cattle are also not a nonsubstitutable resource as there are other breeds of cattle that can be used for beef production. Strategically dissonant resource is not a relevant term for this context.

Question 15

What is an organization said to have if it has the assets,capabilities,processes,information,and knowledge used to improve its effectiveness and efficiency,to create and sustain competitive advantage,and to fulfill a need or solve a problem?

Accepted Answer

Resources are the assets, capabilities, processes, information, and knowledge that an organization uses to improve its effectiveness and efficiency, create and sustain competitive advantage, and fulfill needs or solve problems.

Question 16

What is another term for SWOT analysis?

Accepted Answer

Situational analysis is another term for SWOT analysis. It is a tool used by organizations to assess their internal and external environment to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Question 17

Which of the following is intangible?

Accepted Answer

Core capabilities are intangible resources, as they refer to the organization's knowledge, skills, and abilities that cannot be physically seen or touched. Competitive advantages, strengths and weaknesses, and distinctive competencies can all refer to tangible or intangible resources.

Question 18

According to the text,valuable,rare,imperfectly imitable resources can produce a sustainable competitive advantage. What kind of resources must they also be to do so?

Accepted Answer

For a sustainable competitive advantage, the resources must not be easily substitutable by competitors. This means that they must have unique qualities that cannot be replicated or replaced by other resources.

Question 19

Which condition must be met if a firm's resources are to be used to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage?

Accepted Answer

In order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, a firm's resources must be imperfectly imitable, meaning that it is difficult for other firms to replicate or imitate the resources. This creates a unique advantage for the firm in the market. Differentiation, related diversification, and unrelated diversification may contribute to a firm's overall strategy, but they do not guarantee a sustainable competitive advantage.

Question 20

Companies in the chemical industry are struggling to attract the most talented college and university graduates. One big challenge facing these companies is attracting new talent to organizations with an old-economy image. In a situational analysis,what term would be associated with this challenge?

Accepted Answer

This challenge is an internal weakness because it pertains to the company's image and its impact on attracting talent, which is an aspect the company can potentially improve from within.

Quiz 5: Organizational Strategy