MGMT344 ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH ALL CORRECT ANSWERS
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Module
MGMT344
Institution
MGMT344
MGMT344 ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH ALL CORRECT ANSWERS
Which of the following is not a known difficulty with the focused differentiation strategy?
a) Attempts to grow beyond the initial narrow market may undermine the firm's positioning.
b) Evolution of the industry may erode differences betw...
MGMT344 ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH ALL CORRECT ANSWERS
Which of the following is not a known difficulty with the focused differentiation strategy?
a) Attempts to grow beyond the initial narrow market may undermine the firm's
positioning.
b) Evolution of the industry may erode differences between segments.
c) Firms need to be able to maintain differentiation at low enough cost.
d) The differentiated part of the market is often the most vulnerable to economic
downturns.
e) Focusing on a small niche may not support a firm large enough to be viable -
Answer- d) The differentiated part of the market is often the most vulnerable to
economic downturns.
Which of the following statements about the industry life cycle is correct?
a) The lifecycle occurs because firms must regularly update their products to keep up
with competitors.
b) Competitive conditions faced by firms vary according to the stages of the lifecycle.
c) The maturity and decline stages are unattractive because income flows are typically
at their lowest.
d) A key benefit of using the lifecycle is the predictable shift to the next stage.
e) Emergence of a dominant design typically indicates the beginning of the decline
stage. - Answer- b) Competitive conditions faced by firms vary according to the stages
of the lifecycle.
In an industry such as solar panel manufacture, shakeout conditions mean that firms
should
a) Continue to invest in research and development despite squeezed revenues.
b) Invest in capacity to keep up with ongoing industry growth.
c) Invest in product innovation to be able to 'cross the chasm'.
d) Recognise that the main profitable industry stage has now passed.
e) Use aggressive price signalling to maintain industry margins. - Answer- a) Continue
to invest in research and development despite squeezed revenues.
Which of the following statements best characterises the use of the business model
concept in strategic management?
a) It encourages strategists to think creatively about possibilities for their firm by building
representational models using Lego as a metaphorical medium.
b) It involves building mathematical models of the relationship between a range of
factors and performance outcomes.
,c) It encourages strategists to think more creatively about their firms' configuration of
activities, value delivered, and sources of income.
d) It became highly regarded following the sustained success of the original dot-com
boom.
e) It is a systematic method summarising best business practices in nine principal
categories. - Answer- c) It encourages strategists to think more creatively about their
firms' configuration of activities, value delivered, and sources of income.
When Pfizer invested in novel mRNA vaccine technology in partnership with small
biotech firms, this investment could best be characterised in the MacMillan/McGrath
model as
a) A disruptive innovation in which incumbents can ultimately be expected to lose.
b) Part of a portfolio of real options intended to maintain organisational dynamism.
c) A way to focus on product areas with lower technical and market uncertainty, which
have a greater chance of success.
d) A form of sustaining innovation enabling the existing firm to meet customer
expectations.
e) A form of innovation best managed by the 'exploit mode' due to its novelty. - Answer-
b) Part of a portfolio of real options intended to maintain organisational dynamism.
Based on the example discussed in class, at the time of the company's bid for Virgin
America, shareholders should have asked the Alaska Airlines board all of the following
except:
a) What synergy gains would they create in the merged entity?
b) What capital (financial) position would the firm be in post-merger?
c) Whether they considered the businesses strategically related.
d) What plans they had for post-merger integration.
e) Whether Alaska Airlines or Virgin America shareholders would benefit most from the
deal. - Answer- c) Whether they considered the businesses strategically related.
Corporate owner L'Oréal sold The Body Shop to a new owner after years of under-
performance blamed on a mismatch of values between the business and L'Oréal's head
office. Which of the following is an accurate statement?
a) This illustrates the typically limited life of strategic alliances between firms, as their
strategic interests evolve.
b) This illustrates a form of value destruction as illustrated by the corporate parenting
matrix, hence the need to divest.
c) Poor performance at The Body Shop classifies it as a 'dog', hence the need to divest.
d) Loss of market share at The Body Shop have made it into a 'question mark', requiring
a new owner to revive the market growth rate.
e) Since both L'Oréal and The Body Shop sell cosmetics, their forms of value creation
will inevitably have clashed at the corporate level. - Answer- b) This illustrates a form of
value destruction as illustrated by the corporate parenting matrix, hence the need to
divest.
, Which of the following corresponds most closely with Michael Porter's definition of
'strategy' in a management context?
a) A firm whose strategy is to internationalise
b) The pattern evident a firm's stream of actions
c) Deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value
d) A systematic and functionally-located set of actions within a firm
e) A firm whose strategy is to outsource more of its production - Answer- c) Deliberately
choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value
When using the Stakeholder Mapping method to help manage the influence of
stakeholders on a strategic initiative, managers should
a) Focus exclusively on undermining any key players who oppose the initiative
b) Discard any identified low power, low interest stakeholders as having no further
relevance
c) Avoid giving information to high attention stakeholders as this is likely to alienate
them
d) Keep high power, low attention stakeholders satisfied
e) Focus exclusively on exploiting any key players who support the initiative - Answer-
d) Keep high power, low attention stakeholders satisfied
Which of the following is true of the 'logical incrementalism' explanation of how
strategies may emerge?
a) It explains the need for firms' strategic plans to change incrementally each year.
b) It is about building strategies in logical fashion by incrementally bringing in different
aspects of strategic analysis.
c) It is known to be effective in preventing the influence of political behaviour in strategy-
making.
d) It is about making strategy in logical fashion, from the top down, avoiding the
confusion that results otherwise.
e) It is about experimentation and learning from side-bets and sub-systems. - Answer-
e) It is about experimentation and learning from side-bets and sub-systems.
Which of the following is recommended as a way to mitigate the influence of cognitive
biases in strategic analysis?
a) Prioritise team cohesion and social inclusion amongst company executives
b) Ensure that the CEO is seen to lead the strategy development process
c) Draw on the expertise of long-serving employees
d) Explore alternative starting points and ways of structuring the analysis
e) Ensure that rigorous long-term forecast data are available up-front to participants -
Answer- d) Explore alternative starting points and ways of structuring the analysis
A pension fund that owns a significant holding in the Canadian industrial company
Bombardier made a public call for the existing Exec Chair to be replaced by an ind.
director. Which most accurately characterises the situation?
a) This is an eg. of an institutional investor actively exercising their power +
responsibility in the gov. chain.
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