Corporate Strategy
Practice Questions
Course Introduction
Corporate Strategy examines the strategic decisions and actions that organizations undertake to achieve long-term success and sustain competitive advantage in dynamic business environments. The course explores frameworks for analyzing industries, managing multi-business portfolios, and evaluating growth opportunities such as mergers, acquisitions, diversification, and international expansion. Students will critically assess how corporate headquarters create value, the challenges of managing complex organizations, and the ethical considerations inherent in strategic decision-making. Case studies and real-world examples are used to illustrate how leading companies formulate and implement corporate-level strategies to adapt to market changes and align with organizational goals.
Recommended Textbook
Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage Concepts and Cases 5th Edition by Jay
Available Study Resources on Quizplus 11 Chapters
1088 Verified Questions
1088 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1408
Page 2
B.
Chapter 1: What Is Strategy and the Strategic Management Process
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27981
Sample Questions
Q1) A firm's mission defines both what it wants to be in the long run and what it wants to avoid in the meantime.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which ratio signals a greater risk of bankruptcy as it increases?
A) debt to equity
B) quick ratio
C) debt to assets
D) cash flow per share
Answer: C
Q3) One of the central questions that all strategic managers must address, regardless of the industry they work in, is "How is the industry likely to evolve?"
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Evaluating a Firms External Environment
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
99 Verified Questions
99 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27982
Sample Questions
Q1) Buyers tend to have less power when
A) a firm has only one buyer, or a small number of buyers.
B) the products or services being sold to buyers are standard and not differentiated.
C) the supplies they purchase are an insignificant portion of the costs of their final products.
D) they are not earning significant economic profits.
Answer: C
Q2) Sophisticated software can enhance the value that customers receive from a personal computer. Therefore, software can be said to be a complementor of a personal computer.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Mature industries are characterized by
A) an increase in total industry demand.
B) faster increases in production capacity.
C) a slowdown in the introduction of new products or services.
D) a decrease in the amount of international competition.
Answer: C
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 4
Chapter 3: Evaluating a Firms Internal Capabilities
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
98 Verified Questions
98 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27983
Sample Questions
Q1) If a resource or capability is valuable and rare but not costly to imitate, exploiting this resource will generate a(n)
A) sustained competitive advantage.
B) perfectly competitive environment.
C) temporary competitive advantage.
D) environment characterized by competitive parity.
Answer: C
Q2) If there is a conflict between the resources a firm controls and that firm's organization, ________ should be changed.
A) the resources
B) both
C) nothing
D) the organization
Answer: D
Q3) A firm's plant and equipment, its geographic location and its access to raw materials are all examples of physical resources.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 5
Chapter 4: Cost Leadership
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
99 Verified Questions
99 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27984
Sample Questions
Q1) Firms that are successful in pursuing a cost-leadership strategy focus solely on keeping costs low and abandoning other business or corporate strategies.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Even the best formulated strategy is competitively irrelevant if it is not implemented.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In general, firms that are attempting to implement a cost-leadership strategy will choose to produce relatively simple standardized products that sell for relatively low prices compared to the products and prices of firms pursuing other business or corporate strategies.
A)True
B)False
Q4) ________ are any supplies used by a firm in conducting its business activities.
A) Productive assets
B) Productive inputs
C) Productive outputs
D) Productive inventory
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
6
Chapter 5: Product Differentiation
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
99 Verified Questions
99 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27985
Sample Questions
Q1) The concept of product differentiation generally assumes that the number of firms that have been able to differentiate their products in a particular way is, at some point in time, less than the number of firms needed to generate perfect competition dynamics.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Define product differentiation and discuss the role that customer perceptions play in product differentiation.
Q3) Ultimately the ________ of a product differentiation strategy depends on the ability of individual firms to be creative in finding new ways to differentiate their products.
A) sustained competitive advantage
B) rarity
C) imitation
D) innovation
Q4) In the information technology business, interconnectivity is a relatively unimportant basis of potential product differentiation.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 7
Chapter 6: Vertical Integration
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27986
Sample Questions
Q1) A(n) ________ is any investment in an exchange that has significantly more value in the current exchange than it does in alternative exchanges.
A) opportunity-specific investment
B) transaction-specific investment
C) competition-specific investment
D) opportunistic investment
Q2) If Digipics were to agree to spend a significant amount of money to establish a new assembly line for a large client, PicPro, that has unique needs that would make this assembly line largely useless for any other customer, the funds Digipics spent in establishing this line would be an example of
A) forward vertical integration.
B) backward vertical integration.
C) a transaction-specific investment.
D) opportunism.
Q3) A firm may be able to gain an advantage from vertically integrating when it resolves some uncertainty it faces sooner than its competition.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
8
Chapter 7: Corporate Diversification
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
98 Verified Questions
98 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27987
Sample Questions
Q1) Overall, related diversification is less likely to be consistent with the interests of a firm's equity holders than is unrelated diversification.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When the value of the products or services a firm sells increases as a function of the number of business that the firm operates in, ________ are said to exist.
A) economies of scope
B) vertical economies
C) economies of scale
D) diseconomies of scope
Q3) The only two economies of scope that do not have the potential for generating positive returns for a firm's equity holders are diversification in order to maximize the size of a firm and diversification to reduce risk.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Employee compensation is an example of costly-to-duplicate economies of scope.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: Organizing to Implement Corporate
Diversification
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
98 Verified Questions
98 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27988
Sample Questions
Q1) One of the strengths of using a hurdle rate to measure the performance of divisions in a diversified firm is that if the corporation has a single hurdle rate, there is little ambiguity about the performance objectives of divisions.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Most accounting measures of divisional performance have a common limitation in that they
A) have a short-term bias.
B) are costly to implement.
C) are difficult to interpret.
D) have a long-term bias.
Q3) Institutional owners are usually pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, or other groups of investors that have joined together to manage their investments.
A)True B)False
Q4) Another name for the M-form is the multidivisional structure. A)True B)False
Page 10
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 9: Strategic Alliances
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
98 Verified Questions
98 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27989
Sample Questions
Q1) The existence of moral hazard in a strategic alliance proves that at least one of the parties is either malicious or dishonest.
A)True
B)False
Q2) If TeleCo were to enter into a strategic alliance with a partner that promised it could deliver a high quality wireless infrastructure when in fact the potential partner had neither the skills nor abilities to provide this infrastructure, TeleCo could be said to be impacted by
A) moral hazard.
B) adverse selection.
C) holdup.
D) tacit collusion.
Q3) Define a strategic alliance and identify and differentiate between three broad categories of strategic alliances.
Q4) Identify and discuss the three ways alliances can create economic value by helping firms improve the performance of their current operations.
Q5) What is the connection between strategic alliances and real options?
Q6) Discuss when strategic alliances may be costly to directly duplicate.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 11
Chapter 10: Mergers and Acquisitions
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27990
Sample Questions
Q1) ________ economies are scale economies that occur when the physical processes inside a firm are altered so that the same amounts of input produce a higher quantity of outputs.
A) Pecuniary
B) Diversification
C) Technical
D) Vertical
Q2) When one firm acquires a(n) ________ of another firm, it has acquired enough of that firm's assets so that the acquiring firm is able to make all the management and strategic decisions in the target firm.
A) market stake
B) equity share
C) controlling share
D) equity stake
Q3) Discuss the differences between mergers and acquisitions and differentiate between friendly and unfriendly acquisitions.
Q4) Describe three major challenges that firms integrating acquisitions are likely to face.
Q5) How are poison pills different from shark repellents?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 11: International Strategies
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
99 Verified Questions
99 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27991
Sample Questions
Q1) Different physical standards are more challenging than differences in tastes for firms looking to sell their products or services outside the domestic market.
A)True
B)False
Q2) ________ currencies are currencies that are traded, and thus have value, on international money markets.
A) Soft
B) Variable
C) Operational
D) Hard
Q3) One survey of CEOs from around the world reported that ________ percent of U.S. CEOs had no foreign experience.
A) 2
B) 14
C) 34
D) 64
Q4) Discuss the four structural options for firms pursuing international strategies.
Q5) What is countertrade? How is it useful in international business?
Q6) What is meant by political risk? What types of political risks do firms face?
Page 13
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.