Actions that firms take to gain competitive advantage in a single market or industry are known as
business-level strategies.
corporate-level strategies
functional-level strategies
macro-level strategies
Actions firms take to gain competitive advantages by operating in multiple markets or industries simultaneously are known as
business-level strategies
Cost-leadership and product-differentiation strategies are so widely recognized that they are often called
common business strategies
generic corporate strategies
generic business strategies
common corporate strategies
A firm that chooses a ________ focuses on gaining advantages by reducing its cost below all of its competitors
diversification strategy
product-differentiation business strategy
corporate strategy
cost-leadership business strategy
The best example of a firm following a cost-leadership business strategy is
Mercedes Benz.
Macy's.
Ryanair.
Rolls Royce
________ are said to exist when the increase in firm size (measured in terms of volume of production) are associated with lower costs (measured in terms of average costs per unit of production).
Sustainable competitive advantages
Economies of scale
Temporary competitive advantages
Economies of scope
As the volume of production in a firm increases, the average cost per unit decreases until some optimal volume of production is reached, after which the average costs of production begin to rise because of
diseconomies of scale.
economies of scope.
diseconomies of scope.
economies of scale.
The link between volume of production and the cost of building manufacturing operations is particularly important in industries characterized by
process innovations.
product manufacturing.
product innovation.
process manufacturing.
________ levels of production are associated with ________ levels of employee specialization.
High, high
High, low
Low, high
Low, moderate
Which of the following is not a potential source of diseconomies of scale?
physical limits to efficient size
worker de-motivation
distance to markets and suppliers
learning-curve economies
If Temper Company, a manufacturer of mattresses, was considering moving its production facilities to China but decided against it because the additional costs of shipping the mattresses back to the U.S. would offset the cost savings associated with moving the production facilities, the increased costs associated with shipping would be an example of
learning-curve economies.
competitive advantages.
________ focus(es) on the relationship between the volume of production at a given point in time and average unit costs, the ________ focus(es) on the relationship between the cumulative volume of production and average unit costs.
Economies of scale; learning curve
Competitive advantage; economies of scale
Learning curve; economies of scale
Economies of scale; competitive advantage
Which of the following statements regarding the learning curve and economies of scale is accurate?
Just as diseconomies of scale are presumed to exist if a firm gets too large, there is a corresponding increase in costs in the learning-curve model as the cumulative volume of production grows.
Where diseconomies of scale are presumed to exist if a firm gets too large, there is no corresponding increase in costs in the learning-curve model as the cumulative volume of production grows.
Where diseconomies of scale are presumed to exist if a firm gets too small, there is no corresponding increase in costs in the learning-curve model as the cumulative volume of production grows.
Just as diseconomies of scale are presumed to exist if a firm gets too small, there is a corresponding increase in costs in the learning-curve model as the cumulative volume of production grows.
Learning-curve-cost advantages are
restricted only to manufacturing firms.
restricted only to firms in services industries.
restricted only to firms in extraction industries.
not restricted to manufacturing.
________ are any supplies used by a firm in conducting its business activities.
Productive assets
Productive inputs
Productive outputs
Productive inventory
In order to create a cost advantage, the cost of acquiring low-cost productive inputs must be ________ the cost savings generated by these factors.
greater than
equal to
less than
greater than or equal to
Machines and robots are examples of
technological software.
learning-curve effects.
technological hardware.
The quality of relations among labor and management, an organization's culture, and the quality of management controls are all examples of
productive inputs.
Choices which firms make about the kinds of products and services they will sell that impact their relative cost position are known as
policy choices.
corporate level strategies.
Firms for whom the price of the products or services they sell is determined by market conditions and not by the individual decision of the firms are known as
profit takers.
price makers.
price takers.
profit makers.
Which of the following statements is accurate?
A cost-leadership competitive strategy increases the threat of new entrants by lowering cost-based barriers to entry.
Firms with a low-cost position can reduce the threat of rivalry in an industry.
Cost leaders are especially vulnerable to substitute products.
Cost leaders are especially vulnerable to the threat of suppliers.
If the potential responses of competing firms are likely to be very detrimental to the costs advantages of cost leaders, firms pursuing a cost-leadership competitive strategy should
drop their prices below competitors' prices to increase overall economic performance through increased volumes of profitable sales.
raise their prices above competitors, increasing overall economic performance through higher margins.
focus on a specific niche market to avoid direct competition with aggressive competitors.
set their prices equal to competitors' prices, sacrificing some market share for increased profit margins.
Which of the following statements about cost leadership and the threat of buyers is accurate?
If buyers demand increased quality or service, cost leaders can absorb these costs and may still have a cost advantage over the competition.
Being a cost leader encourages buyer backward vertical integration.
Firms pursuing a cost-leadership strategy are especially vulnerable to powerful buyers who insist on low prices or higher quality and service from their suppliers.
Cost leaders are not able to absorb costs associated with buyers' demands for increased quality or service.
Which of the following is likely to be a rare source of cost advantage?
technological software
if the efficient size of a firm or plant is significantly smaller than the total size of an industry
cost disadvantages based on diseconomies of scale
technological hardware
Which of the following is less likely to be a rare source of cost advantage?
learning-curve economies of scale
differential low-cost access to productive inputs
policy choices
Perhaps the only time economies of scale are not subject to low-cost duplication is when the ________ size of operations is a significant percentage of ________ in an industry.
nimum; marginal demand
efficient; total demand
maximum; marginal demand
efficient; marginal demand
In general, economies of scale are relatively easy-to-duplicate bases of cost leadership, but diseconomies of scale are not.
In general, diseconomies of scale are relatively easy-to-duplicate bases of cost leadership, but economies of scale are not..
In general, neither economies of scale nor economies are relatively easy-to-duplicate bases of cost leadership.
In general, both economies of scale and diseconomies of scale are relatively easy-to-duplicate bases of cost leadership.
When managers committed to an incorrect course of action increase their commitment to this action even as its limitations become manifest, this is known as
de-escalation of commitment.
escalation of commitment.
Cost advantages based on learning-curve economies are
rare, but they usually are not costly to duplicate.
costly to duplicate, but they usually are not rare.
both rare and usually costly to duplicate.
not rare and usually are not costly to duplicate.
Firms implementing cost-leadership strategies will generally adopt a
multidivisional structure.
product divisional structure.
functional organizational structure.
matrix structure.
In a functional structure, each of the major business functions is managed by a
functional manager.
divisional manager.
chief executive officer.
line manager.
The only person in a functional organization who has to have a multifunctional perspective is the
CFO
CEO
COO
marketing manager
Firms pursuing a cost-leadership strategy are typically characterized by
loose cost control systems.
a de-emphasis on quantitative cost goals and costs.
infrequent cost control reports.
close supervision of labor, raw materials,inventory, and other costs.
Which of the following compensation policies is most likely to enhance a firm's ability to pursue a low-cost strategy?
awarding employees bonuses based on the total amount of goods produced
awarding employees bonuses based on customer comment cards
awarding employees bonuses that are equal to 50% of the total cost savings achieved based on employee suggestions and initiatives
awarding employees bonuses based solely on how long they have been employed with the company
Cost-leadership firms are typically characterized by very ________ cost-control systems.
tight
flexible
loose
decentralized
The U in U-form structure stands for
"uniform."
"unitary."
"unilateral."
"unambiguous."
In ________ structures, employees report to two or more people.
unilateral
functional
divisional
matrix
A marketing manager leading the marketing department is an example of a(n) ________ manager.
ambidextrous
unitary
Firms implementing cost-leadership strategies will have ________ layers in their reporting structure.
many
relatively simple
relatively few
relatively complex
Sematech is pursuing which strategy?
cost-leadership corporate strategy
product-differentiation corporate strategy
By increasing production volume in an effort to reduce costs, Sematech is pursuing which sources of cost advantage?
size differences and diseconomies of scale
differential access to productive inputs
size differences and economies of scale
technological advantages
If Sematech's efforts to increase its production capacity resulted in increased complexity and an inability of managers to control and operate the firm efficiently, this would be an example of A) physical limits to efficient size.
physical limits to efficient size.
worker de-motivation.
distance to markets and suppliers.
managerial diseconomies.
If Sematech's expansion plans did not produce the desired cost savings but the company decided to continue production expansion in an effort to capture cost reductions, this would be an example of
If Sematech were to continue seeking methods to maintain the company's cost-leadership position that would be costly to duplicate, which of the following is most likely to be a basis of cost leadership that may be costly to duplicate?
establishing economies of scale
exploiting learning-curve economies
purchasing new technological hardware
securing differential access to low-cost productive inputs
Given Sematech's business level strategy, which organizational structure is the most appropriate?
matrix structure
U-form structure
multidivisional structure
product-divisional structure
If Lucy Sullivan were a Sematech manager who oversaw the finance operations in the company's functional structure, Lucy would be considered a
chief operating officer.
By employing a low-cost competitive strategy, Sematech has made itself
less able to withstand industry price wars.
more vulnerable to rivals.
less vulnerable to the power of suppliers.
more vulnerable to the power of buyers.
If Sematech decided to focus on building its technological hardware, it would focus on elements such as
robots
organizational culture.
the quality of organizational controls.
the quality of relations among labor and management.
If Sematech were to choose to narrow its product line in an effort to reduce costs, this would be an example of
a policy choice.
a competitive advantage.
a learning-curve effect.
