Exam questions

Question 1

Leadership practices

Answer 1

Challenge the process
Inspire a shared vision
Enable other to act
Model the way
Encourage the heart

Question 2

Limitations of standardisation

Answer 2

Impede innovation
reduce consumer choice
barriers to trade
economies of scale

Question 3

Life cycle evaluation

Answer 3

refine and improve the FR stage in future projects.

environmental impacts

Question 4

Political-economic environment

Answer 4

Identify relationships between project and environment, proper context
f: market is not sustainable or it isn’t the right time for your product

Question 5

Functional requirement

Answer 5

mutually define overall task by considering environment and feasibility of future stages
f: your product is good but it does not meet a real market need

Question 6

Concept Evaluation

Answer 6

Consider feasibility of costly future production stages, refine FR
f: not most cost effective solution

Question 7

Demonstration/Validation

Answer 7

Proof of principle, proposal for execution

Question 8

Development/Design

Answer 8

Verification of performance, test and prototype design that meets FR

Question 9

Production

Answer 9

Effective, supportable system at optimum cost

Question 10

Deployment / Market

Answer 10

Monitor initial use, satisfies client

Question 11

Withdrawal

Answer 11

Life-cycle approach to refine and improve FR stage in future projects

Question 12

Effective alternatives - Availability of alternatives

Answer 12

suppliers:
 - quantity and concentration of buyers (low conc better)
 - alternative uses of products
 - ability to forward integrate
buyers:
 - quantity and conc of suppliers
 - viable substitutes
 - ability to backward integrate

Question 13

Effective alternatives - Limiting factors

Answer 13

suppliers:
 - switching costs
 - importance of volume
buyers:
 - differentiation
 - switching costs
 - lack of buyer information

Question 14

Effective alternatives - Buyer motivations (threat to use alternatives more fully)

Answer 14

product represents a large fraction of buyer’s cost structure
buyer unable to pass price increases downstream
lack of buyer profitability
decision-maker incentives

Question 15

Threat of new entrants

Answer 15

Limitations:

• gov policies
• specialisation
• capital
• retaliation
• buyer switching costs
• competitor ads (economy of scale, learning curve, patented tech, brand)

Question 16

Identify some influences, external to the industry, which may impact on the profits

Answer 16

Changes in medical practice and technology; regulatory changes; global concerns about resource consumption