Question 1

When developing and assessing strategic alternatives,it is important to remember that companies competing in international markets confront two opposing forces: reduction of costs and adaptation to local markets.

Accepted Answer

When developing and assessing strategic alternatives, it is important to remember that companies competing in international markets confront two opposing forces: reduction of costs and adaptation to local markets.

Question 2

Knowledge that an individual has but that is difficult to express clearly in words,pictures,or formulas,and therefore difficult to transmit to others,is called explicit knowledge.

Accepted Answer

Knowledge that an individual has but that is difficult to express clearly in words, pictures, or formulae, and therefore difficult to transmit to others, is called tacit knowledge.

Question 3

To creative a sustainable competitive advantage,an international company should try to develop competencies that are valuable,rare,difficult to imitate,and readily substitutable.

Accepted Answer

To creative a sustainable competitive advantage, an international company should try to develop competencies that are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and hard to substitute for.

Question 4

The objective of scenario building is to force executives to question their assumptions about the environments in which the company operates and incorporate into their planning the uncertainties that might profoundly affect their strategic and operational performance around the world.

Accepted Answer

The objective of scenario building is to force executives to question their assumptions about the environments in which the company operates and incorporate into their planning the uncertainties that might profoundly affect their strategic and operational performance around the world.

Question 5

Objectives must be quantified in order to be useful.

Accepted Answer

To develop a strategy for reaching its objectives, a company must quantify them. But despite most top managers' preference for verifiable objectives, they frequently do have nonquantifiable or directional goals. Incidentally, objectives do tend to be more quantified as they progress down the organization to the operational level, because, for the most part, strategies at one level become the objectives for the succeeding level.

Question 6

Objectives direct the firm's course of action,maintain it within the boundaries of the stated mission,and ensure its continuing existence.

Accepted Answer

Objectives direct the firm's course of action, maintain it within the boundaries of the stated mission, and ensure its continuing existence.

Question 7

International strategy helps firms to make choices about how to deploy scarce resources to achieve their international objectives.

Accepted Answer

International strategy helps firms to make choices about how to deploy scarce resources to achieve their international objectives.

Question 8

The ultimate managers of strategic planning and strategy making are the executive board of a corporation.

Accepted Answer

The ultimate manager of strategic planning and strategy making is the firm's chief executive officer.

Question 9

A multidomestic strategy tends to be used when a company confronts pressures for local adaptation rather than cost-effectiveness.

Accepted Answer

A multidomestic strategy tends to be used when a company confronts pressures for local adaptation rather than cost-effectiveness.

Question 10

Historically,more aspects of marketing have been standardized and coordinated worldwide by companies than has been the case for other value chain activities such as research and development and manufacturing.

Accepted Answer

Historically, more aspects of research and development and manufacturing have been standardized and coordinated worldwide by companies than has been the case for other value chain activities such as marketing.

Question 11

Scenarios are forecasts that extrapolate from past data to make predictions.

Accepted Answer

Scenarios are intended to be plausible and challenging stories, but they are not forecasts based on the past. Rather, they are a means to force managers to realize that their assumptions based on past experience may no longer apply. Scenarios can help managers to anticipate future challenges and make decisions to help their companies avoid or minimize potential problems.

Question 12

The first step in the process of strategic planning is to define the company's business and mission.

Accepted Answer

The first step in the process of strategic planning is to analyze the company's external environment.

Question 13

Strategic plans promote consistency of action among the firm's managers worldwide and encourage them to consider the ramifications of their actions in the firm's other geographic and functional areas.

Accepted Answer

Strategic plans promote consistency of action among the firm's managers worldwide and encourage them to consider the ramifications of their actions in the firm's other geographic and functional areas.

Question 14

Companies have the potential to achieve competitive advantages through leveraging their organizational knowledge across national boundaries.

Accepted Answer

In today's highly competitive, rapidly changing, and knowledge-intensive economy, companies have the potential to achieve competitive advantage by leveraging their organizational knowledge across national boundaries, a process known as knowledge management.

Question 15

A global strategy tends to be used when a company faces strong pressures for reducing costs and limited pressure to adapt products for local markets.

Accepted Answer

A global strategy tends to be used when a company faces strong pressures for reducing costs and limited pressure to adapt products for local markets.

Question 16

Value chain analysis is an assessment conducted on the chain of interlinked activities of an organization or set of interconnected organizations,intended to determine where and to what extent value is added to the final product or service.

Accepted Answer

Value chain analysis is an assessment conducted on the chain of interlinked activities of an organization or set of interconnected organizations, intended to determine where and to what extent value is added to the final product or service.

Question 17

Because large multinationals generate an average of nearly half of their revenues within their home region,some researchers have suggested that a regional strategy perspective is more appropriate than a global perspective.

Accepted Answer

For the large majority of large multinational firms, an average of about 80 percent-not "nearly half"-of their worldwide revenues are generated within their home region of the three largest economic regions of North America, the European Union, and Asia. These data suggest that, at least for most companies and industries, the world marketplace is regional rather than global in nature.

Question 18

Companies pursuing a home replication strategy typically centralize product development functions in their home country and then transfer innovations to foreign markets to capture additional value.

Accepted Answer

Companies pursuing a home replication strategy typically centralize product development functions in their home country and then transfer innovations to foreign markets to capture additional value.

Question 19

A broad statement that defines the purpose for a company's existence is the mission statement.

Accepted Answer

A broad statement that defines the purpose for a company's existence is the mission statement.

Question 20

According to a study by McKinsey & Company,most executives worldwide agree that environmental,social,and business trends represent critical challenges for company strategy and performance.

Accepted Answer

The consultants McKinsey & Company found that, worldwide, most executives agree that environmental, social, and business trends such as the growth in consumer preference for natural products, the increased value stakeholders place on social responsibility, and the trend to outsource activities of the business that support its key competitive strengths represent critical challenges for company strategy and performance.

Quiz 9: International Competitive Strategy

When developing and assessing strategic alternatives,it is important to remember that companies competing in international markets confront two opposing forces: reduction of costs and adaptation to local markets.

Knowledge that an individual has but that is difficult to express clearly in words,pictures,or formulas,and therefore difficult to transmit to others,is called explicit knowledge.

To creative a sustainable competitive advantage,an international company should try to develop competencies that are valuable,rare,difficult to imitate,and readily substitutable.

The objective of scenario building is to force executives to question their assumptions about the environments in which the company operates and incorporate into their planning the uncertainties that might profoundly affect their strategic and operational performance around the world.

Objectives must be quantified in order to be useful.

Objectives direct the firm's course of action,maintain it within the boundaries of the stated mission,and ensure its continuing existence.

International strategy helps firms to make choices about how to deploy scarce resources to achieve their international objectives.

The ultimate managers of strategic planning and strategy making are the executive board of a corporation.

A multidomestic strategy tends to be used when a company confronts pressures for local adaptation rather than cost-effectiveness.

Historically,more aspects of marketing have been standardized and coordinated worldwide by companies than has been the case for other value chain activities such as research and development and manufacturing.

Scenarios are forecasts that extrapolate from past data to make predictions.

The first step in the process of strategic planning is to define the company's business and mission.

Strategic plans promote consistency of action among the firm's managers worldwide and encourage them to consider the ramifications of their actions in the firm's other geographic and functional areas.

Companies have the potential to achieve competitive advantages through leveraging their organizational knowledge across national boundaries.

A global strategy tends to be used when a company faces strong pressures for reducing costs and limited pressure to adapt products for local markets.

Value chain analysis is an assessment conducted on the chain of interlinked activities of an organization or set of interconnected organizations,intended to determine where and to what extent value is added to the final product or service.

Because large multinationals generate an average of nearly half of their revenues within their home region,some researchers have suggested that a regional strategy perspective is more appropriate than a global perspective.

Companies pursuing a home replication strategy typically centralize product development functions in their home country and then transfer innovations to foreign markets to capture additional value.

A broad statement that defines the purpose for a company's existence is the mission statement.

According to a study by McKinsey & Company,most executives worldwide agree that environmental,social,and business trends represent critical challenges for company strategy and performance.