1. (T)Business strategy ( competitive strategy) is the determination of how a company will compete in a given business and position itself among its competitors
2. (F) In a changing environment, a firm committed to concentrated growth faces low risks 3. (F) Forward integration is a strategy of seeking ownership or increased control of a firm’s suppliers
4. (F)Gaining ownership or increased control over distributors or retailers is called backward integration strategy
5. (T)The increased use of horizontal integration as a growth strategy
6. (T) Introducing present products into new geographic areas is market development
7. (T) An appropriate strategy when an organization has excess production capacity is market development
8. (T) Liquidation is often appropriate when retrenchment and divestiture have failed 9. (F)According to Porter, strategies allow organizations to gain competitive advantage from three different bases: cost leadership, differentiation and integration
10. (T) For consumers who are price sensitive, cost leadership emphasizes producing standardized products at very low per-unit cost
11. (T)When an acquisition is not desired by both parties, it is called a takeover or hostile takeover
12. (T) Not all M & As are effective and successful
13. (T) M & As can yield great benefits, but the price and reasoning must be right 14. (T) Business is both co-operation and competition
15. (F)Companies are avoiding outsourcing more and more because it is more expensive than traditional methods and it does not allow a firm to concentrate on core competencies
16. (T) Merger & Acquisitions can yield great benefits, but the price and reasoning must be right
17 (T)According to Porter, a firm that engages in each generic strategy but fails to achieve any of them is “ stuck in the middle”.
18. (T)BCG Matrix enhances multi-divisional firm in formulating strategies Chapter 7-8
1. (T)Implementing strategy affects an organization from top to bottom
2. (T)Changing a firm’s culture to fit a new strategy is usually more effective than changing a strategy to fit an existing culture
3.(T)Strategy evaluation is vital to the organization’s well-being 4.(T)Strategy should not present inconsistent goals & policies
5. (F) In terms of number of employees, restructuring involves increasing the size of the firm 6. (F)The overall aim of the Balanced Scorecard is to balance financial objectives with strategic objectives
7. (T)There must be a translation of strategic thought into strategic action 8. (F)Reengineering is characterized by many strategic decisions 9. (F)Restructuring is characterized by tactical decisions
10.(T)In the Balanced Scorecard, the Learning & Growth Perspective is the foundation of any strategy and focuses on the intangible assets of an organization
Essay Questions Chapter 1-2
1. Explain the relationship between strategic management and competitive advantage for firms. How can a firm achieve sustained competitive advantage?
Ans: Strategic management is all about gaining and maintaining competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is anything a firm does especially well compared to rival firms. When a firm can do something that rival firms cannot do, or owns something that rival firms desire, that can represent a competitive advantage. Getting and keeping competitive advantage is essential for long-term success of an organization. A firm must strive to achieve sustained competitive advantage by (1) continually adapting to changes in external trends and events and internal capabilities, competencies and
resources, and by (2) effectively formulating, implementing and evaluating strategies that capitalize upon those factors.
战略管理的目的就是使企业获得并保持竞争优势。竞争优势是企业在与竞争对手竞争时自身的各种优势，当一个企业能做到对手做不到的事情，或拥有对手期望拥有的东西，则该企业具备竞争优势。获得并保持竞争优势是企业长期取得成功的基础。企业必须努力通过以下途径获取竞争优势：1不断适应外部环境变化，并因此发展内部的能力获取资源；2有效地在利用上述因素的基础上形成、实施及评估企业战略 2.Mintzberg’s five Ps:
Mintzberg argues a strategy can be:
A plan; A ploy; A pattern of behavior; A position in respect to others in the environment; A perspective changing the culture of the members of an organization
And it is important not to see any of these five Ps in isolations from the others
根据明茨伯格的定义，战略是一种计划，计谋，行为模式，环境中相对地位以及改变组织文化的观念。这五个方面共同描绘了战略的定义，所以不能割裂。 3.Four level strategies:
Network strategy; Corporate strategy; Business（competitive） strategy; Operational strategy
企业战略可分为四个层次，分别是：网络关系战略；公司层战略；事业部（竞争）战略和职能战略。
4.Four phases in strategic management model
Strategic analysis; Strategic formulation and selection; Strategic Implementation; Strategic Control
战略管理包括了战略分析，战略形成与选择，战略实施与战略控制四个组成部分。 5.Describe the characteristics of an effective mission statement.
The major characteristics of an effective mission statement are a declaration of attitude, a customer orientation and a declaration of social policy
一个有效的企业使命陈述应该表明态度，以顾客为导向并说明企业的社会责任观念。 6. Describe why a mission statement is so important in the strategic-management
process.
A clear mission statement is essential for effectively establishing objectives and
formulating strategies. It reveals what an organization wants to be and whom it wants to serve. A business mission is the foundation for priorities, strategies, plans and work assignments. It is the starting point for the design of managerial jobs and for the design of managerial structures.
一个清晰的企业使命陈述是企业有效建立目标和形成战略的基础。使命揭示了企业外来发展方向以及其服务对象。企业使命是企业管理中确定优先权、战略、计划以及工作分配的基础，也是管理职位和组织结构设计的出发点。
Chapter 3-4
1. Porter’s Five-Forces Model
According to Michael Porter, five competitive forces create vital opportunities and threats to organizations: (1) new entrants, (2) substitute products or services, (3) bargaining power of suppliers, (4) bargaining power of buyers, and (5) rivalry among existing firms
根据波特的五种力量模型，行业内的五种力量会给企业带来关键的机会或威胁。这五种力量包括新进入者，替代产品，供应商的议价力量，顾客的议价力量，以及最重要的来自竞争对手的竞争。
2. Identify important differences between the EFE and CPM First, the critical success factors in a CPM are broader.
These factors are also not grouped into opportunities and threats as in the EFE. In a CPM, the ratings and weighted scores can be compared to rival firms
两个矩阵最重要的区别有：CPM中关键成功因素范围更宽广，并且这些因素也不像在EFE矩阵中那样按照机会与威胁两个方面分组，另外，CPM矩阵中的分值及加权分数要和其他竞争对手的相关分值进行对比，来说明企业在与其主要竞争对手中的竞争中相对地位。
3. Three broad ways that clusters affect competition
Increasing the productivity of companies based in the area; Driving the direction and pace of innovation; Stimulating the formation of new businesses within the cluster
提高区域内企业的生产力；引导创新方向加快创新步伐；刺激集群内新企业的形成 4.Three tests to identify core competence Adding greater customer value
Equipping a business with ability to enter and successfully compete in several markets Being difficult for competitors to imitate
检验核心竞争力的三个标准是：极大增加顾客价值，使得企业具有能力可以进入并成功地在几个不同市场内竞争，对手难以模仿。
5.Three essential considerations when examine a firm’s value chain?
The company’s basic mission needs to influence managers’ choice of the activities
The nature of value chains and the relative importance of the activities vary by industry The relative importance of value activities can vary by a company’s position in a broader value system
该企业的使命应影响管理者选择要着重的价值链活动；该企业价值链的本质以及由行业决定的不同价值链活动的相对重要性；不同价值链活动的相对重要性受到该企业在更宽广的价值系统中定位的影响
6. Explain the importance of learning when a firm is trying to obtain competitive advantage， and the ways to make learning faster （giving charts to explain）? The learning effect can lead to very large reductions in cost as production progresses Two ways to “make learning faster” can result in a huge competitive advantage: When a firm has the same “S” and the same cost of the first unit (“a”) comparing to its competitors, it should start production ahead of its competitors；when a firm has the same cost of the first unit (“a”) comparing to its competitors, it should find better processes and being faster to implement them
学习效应带来的生产过程的进步可以使企业极大地降低成本，从而取得低成本的竞争优势。有两个途径可以使企业比起对手“学习”得更快：当该企业有和其竞争对手相同的学习率“S”和单位产品初始成本“a”时，应先对手开始生产该产品以积累更多“经验”，从而降低单位产品成本；当该企业有和其竞争对手相同的初始产品成本时，通过加强“学习”找出更为有效的生产方法并快速实施，使企业具有较对手低的学习率，从而在同一时间点上单位产品成本低于对手。
Chart 1 The same “S” and the same cost of the first unit 图1 在相同学习率和单位产品初始成本条件下
Costperunitr—competitorsCrb—businessCbQrQbQuantity（accumulative）
Chart 2 The same cost of the first unit 图2 在相同单位产品初始成本条件下
Chapter 5-6
1. What are the characteristics of a firm that is successfully pursuing a cost leadership
strategy?
A successful cost leadership strategy usually permeates the entire firm, as evidenced by high efficiency, low overhead, limited perks, intolerance of waste, intensive screening of budget requests, wide spans of control, rewards linked to cost containment and broad employee participation in cost control efforts
成功的成本领先战略通常需要渗透到企业各个方面，为实现成本领先战略企业需要：提高效率，降低日常成本开支，限制额外支出，杜绝浪费，加强预算监督；拓宽管理幅度，奖励控制成本的行为，努力拓宽企业成员参与成本控制活动渠道。
2. If you construct a SPACE Matrix and the directional vector points to the lower left
quadrant, what type of strategies would you recommend? If the directional vector points to the lower-left quadrant of the SPACE Matrix, the firm
should pursue defensive strategies. Defensive strategies include retrenchment, divestiture, liquidation and concentric diversification.
如果在SPACE矩阵中向量指向左下方象限，则该企业应该采取防御型战略。包括收缩，
剥离，清算以及集中多元化战略。
CostperunitCrCbr—competitorsb—businessQQuantity（accumulative）