BPL 5100 Test#2 Chapter 3-5 Questions
and Answers
Value Chain Analysis - Answer -Views a firm as a series of business processes that
each add value to the product or service
Primary activities - Answer -sequential activities of the value chain that refer to the
physical creation of the product or service, its sale and transfer to the buyer, and its
service after sale, including inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing
and sales, and service
support activities - Answer -activities of the value chain that either add value by
themselves or add value through important relationships with both primary activities and
other support activities, including procurement, technology development, human
resource management, and general administration.
interrelationships - Answer -collaborative and strategic exchange relationships between
value-chain activities either (a) within firms or (b) between firms. Strategic exchange
relationships involve exchange of resources such as information, people, technology, or
money that contribute to the success of the firm.
resource-based view (RBV) of the firm - Answer -perspective that firms' competitive
advantages are due to their endowment of strategic resources that are valuable, rare,
costly to imitate, and costly to substitute
organizational capabilities - Answer -the competencies and skills that a firm employs to
transform inputs into outputs
path dependency - Answer -a characteristic of resources that is developed and/or
accumulated through a unique series of events
causal ambiguity - Answer -a characteristic of a firm's resources that is costly to imitate
because a competitor cannot determine what the resource is and/or how it can be re-
created
social complexity - Answer -a characteristic of a firm's resources that is costly to imitate
because the social engineering required is beyond the capability of competitors,
including interpersonal relations among managers, organizational culture, and
reputation with suppliers and customers.
, financial ratio analysis - Answer -a technique for measuring the performance of a firm
according to its balance sheet, income statement, and market valuation.
balanced scorecard - Answer -a method of evaluating a firm's performance using
performance measures from the customer, internal, innovation and learning, and
financial perspectives
knowledge economy - Answer -an economy where wealth is created through the
effective management of knowledge workers instead of by the efficient control of
physical and financial assets
intellectual capital - Answer -the difference between a firm's market value and book
vlaue—that is, a measure of the value of a firm's intangible assets
human capital - Answer -individual capabilities, knowledge, skills, and experience of the
company's
employees and managers
social capital - Answer -the network of relationships that individuals have throughout the
organization
explicit knowledge - Answer -knowledge that is codified, documented, easily
reproduced, and widely distributed
tacit knowledge - Answer -knowledge that is in the minds of employees and is based on
their experiences and backgrounds
Attracting Human Capital - Answer --hire for attitude, train for skill
-recognizing the geographic preferences of talent
-using algorithms for selection
Who siad "bring in the right people"? - Answer -Mindy Grossman, former CEO of Weight
Watcher
Developing Human Capital - Answer --Encouraging Widespread Involvement
-Mentoring
-Monitoring Progress and Tracking Development
-Evaluating Human Capital
360-degree evaluation and feedback systems - Answer -superiors, direct reports,
colleagues, and even external and internal customers rate a person's performance
Retaining Human Capital - Answer --Identifying with an organization's mission and
values
-Challenging work and a stimulating environment
and Answers
Value Chain Analysis - Answer -Views a firm as a series of business processes that
each add value to the product or service
Primary activities - Answer -sequential activities of the value chain that refer to the
physical creation of the product or service, its sale and transfer to the buyer, and its
service after sale, including inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing
and sales, and service
support activities - Answer -activities of the value chain that either add value by
themselves or add value through important relationships with both primary activities and
other support activities, including procurement, technology development, human
resource management, and general administration.
interrelationships - Answer -collaborative and strategic exchange relationships between
value-chain activities either (a) within firms or (b) between firms. Strategic exchange
relationships involve exchange of resources such as information, people, technology, or
money that contribute to the success of the firm.
resource-based view (RBV) of the firm - Answer -perspective that firms' competitive
advantages are due to their endowment of strategic resources that are valuable, rare,
costly to imitate, and costly to substitute
organizational capabilities - Answer -the competencies and skills that a firm employs to
transform inputs into outputs
path dependency - Answer -a characteristic of resources that is developed and/or
accumulated through a unique series of events
causal ambiguity - Answer -a characteristic of a firm's resources that is costly to imitate
because a competitor cannot determine what the resource is and/or how it can be re-
created
social complexity - Answer -a characteristic of a firm's resources that is costly to imitate
because the social engineering required is beyond the capability of competitors,
including interpersonal relations among managers, organizational culture, and
reputation with suppliers and customers.
, financial ratio analysis - Answer -a technique for measuring the performance of a firm
according to its balance sheet, income statement, and market valuation.
balanced scorecard - Answer -a method of evaluating a firm's performance using
performance measures from the customer, internal, innovation and learning, and
financial perspectives
knowledge economy - Answer -an economy where wealth is created through the
effective management of knowledge workers instead of by the efficient control of
physical and financial assets
intellectual capital - Answer -the difference between a firm's market value and book
vlaue—that is, a measure of the value of a firm's intangible assets
human capital - Answer -individual capabilities, knowledge, skills, and experience of the
company's
employees and managers
social capital - Answer -the network of relationships that individuals have throughout the
organization
explicit knowledge - Answer -knowledge that is codified, documented, easily
reproduced, and widely distributed
tacit knowledge - Answer -knowledge that is in the minds of employees and is based on
their experiences and backgrounds
Attracting Human Capital - Answer --hire for attitude, train for skill
-recognizing the geographic preferences of talent
-using algorithms for selection
Who siad "bring in the right people"? - Answer -Mindy Grossman, former CEO of Weight
Watcher
Developing Human Capital - Answer --Encouraging Widespread Involvement
-Mentoring
-Monitoring Progress and Tracking Development
-Evaluating Human Capital
360-degree evaluation and feedback systems - Answer -superiors, direct reports,
colleagues, and even external and internal customers rate a person's performance
Retaining Human Capital - Answer --Identifying with an organization's mission and
values
-Challenging work and a stimulating environment
