ch 5 BSG questions and Answers

ch 5 BSG questions and Answers a low-cost leader's foremost strategic objective is achieving meaningfully lower costs than rivals--but not necessarily the absolute lowest possible cost. A company can translate a low-cost advantage over rivals into attractive profit performance by either (1) charging a price comparable to other low price drivers on, being content with the resulting sales volume and market share and relying upon the low-cost edge over rivals to earn a bigger profit margin per unit sold thereby boosting the form total profit and return on investment. Or (2) using its low cost edge underprice competitors and attract price sensitive buyers in great enough numbers to increase total profits Previous Play Next Rewind 10 seconds Move forward 10 seconds Unmute 0:11 / 0:15 Full screen Brainpower Read More Which of the following is not one of the five generic types of competitive strategy a superior customer service strategy which of the following is not an action that a company can take to do a better job than rivals of performing value chain activities more cost-effectively? minimize reliance on any of the various cost-drivers shown in figure 5.2 to achieve cost savings the two biggest factors that distinguish one competitive strategy from another concern whether a company's market target is broad or narrow and whether the company is pursuing a competitive advantage linked to low costs or differentiation a broad differentiation strategy generally works best for a company in situations where Buyer needs and uses of the product are diverse, there are many ways to differentiate the product or service that have value to buyers, and few rivals are pursuing a similar differentiation approach. a strategy to be there industry's overall low-cost provider tends to be more appealing than a differentiation or best-cost or focused (or market niche) strategy when buyers incur low costs in switching their purchases from one seller to another and the products of rival sellers are essentially identical and readily available from many eager sellers. In which one of the following instances is a focused strategy keyed either to low-cost or differentiation not likely to work well? Most buyers use the product in the same ways, the product of rival sellers are essentially identical and readily available from many eager sellers, and price competition among rival sellers is vigorous The pitfalls of a differentiation strategy include differentiating on the basis of attributes that produce an unenthusiastic response on the part of buyers (because they do not perceive the differentiating features as valuable or worth paying for). a best-cost provider strategy is a middle ground competitive approach aimed squarely at the sometimes great mass of value-conscious buyers looking for a good-to-very-good product or service at an economical price which of the following is not one of the pitfalls of a low-cost provider strategy? being greedy and trying to charge to high a price which one of the following is not a cost-saving approach that demonstrates effective use of a company's cost drivers? Conserving on marketing costs by cutting back on advertising expenditures A broad differentiation strategy enhances company profitability whenever a company's product can command a sufficiently higher price to more than cover the added costs of achieving the differentiation a focused differentiation strategy aims at securing competitive advantage with a product offering carefully designed to appeal to the unique preferences and needs of a narrow, well-defined group of buyers. successful differentiation allows a firm to command a premium price for its product, and/or increase unit sales, and/or gain buyer loyalty to its brand. one major avenue for achieving a cost advantage over rivals is by doing a better job than rivals of performing value chains activities most cost-effectively One approach a company can take to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage via differentiation is by Incorporating product attributes and user features that enhance buyer satisfaction in intangible ways which of the following statements about a best-cost provider strategy is false? what makes a best-cost provider strategy so attractive is the ability to translate best-cost status into achieving the highest profit margins of any firm in the industry.