midterm reviewer

Question 1

a group of geographically and/or organizationally dispersed coworkers that are assembled using a combination of telecommunications and information technologies to accomplish an organizational task

Answer 1

virtual team

Question 2

a conceptual framework that states that unit production costs decline by some fixed percentage each time the total accumulated volume of production in units’ doubles

Answer 2

experience curve

Question 3

Barney’s proposal analysis evaluates a firm’s key resources in terms of value, rareness, inimitability, and organization

Answer 3

VRIO framework

Question 4

an industry in which multinational corporations primarily coordinate their activities within specific geographic areas of the world

Answer 4

regional industry

Question 5

an industry situation in which the players’ frequency, boldness, and aggressiveness of dynamic movement accelerates to create a condition of constant disequilibrium and change

Answer 5

hypercompetition

Question 6

businesses entering an industry that typically bring new capacity to an industry, a desire to gain market share, and substantial resources

Answer 6

new entrants

Question 7

a name that identifies a particular company’s product in the mind of the consumer

Answer 7

brand

Question 8

a collection of beliefs, expectations, and values learned and shared by a corporation’s members and transmitted from one generation of employees to another

Answer 8

corporate culture

Question 9

a linked set of value-creating activities that begins with basic raw materials coming from suppliers and ends with distributors getting the final goods into the hands of the ultimate consumer

Answer 9

value chain

Question 10

a set of business units or firms that pursue similar strategies and have similar resources

Answer 10

strategic group

Question 11

a cross-functional integration and coordination of capabilities

Answer 11

competency

Question 12

an obstruction that keeps a company from leaving an industry

Answer 12

exit barriers

Question 13

a collection of corporate capabilities that cross divisional borders and are widespread within a corporation, and is something that a corporation can do exceedingly well

Answer 13

core competency

Question 14

the rate at which firm’s underlying resources and capabilities depreciate or become obsolete

Answer 14

durability

Question 15

a group of firms producing a similar product or service

Answer 15

industry

Question 16

the companies that offer the same products or services as the subject company

Answer 16

competitors

Question 17

that part of the external environment that includes physical resources, wildlife, and climate that are an inherent part of existence on Earth

Answer 17

natural environment

Question 18

the ability of competitors to duplicate resources and imitate another firm’s success

Answer 18

replicability

Question 19

a corporation’s ability to exploit its resources

Answer 19

capabilities

Question 20

the monitoring, evaluation, and dissemination from the external and internal environment to key people within the corporation

Answer 20

environmental scanning

Question 21

an assemblage of legally independent firms operating under one corporate umbrella but controlled through the subsidiaries’ board of directors

Answer 21

conglomerate structure

Question 22

products that appear to be different but can satisfy the same needs as other products

Answer 22

substitute product

Question 23

a category of firms based on a common strategic orientation and a combination of structure, culture, and processes that are consistent with the strategy

Answer 23

strategic type

Question 24

economic, technological, political-legal, and socio-cultural environmental factors that do not directly touch on the short-run activities of an organization but influence its long-run decisions

Answer 24

societal environment

Question 25

the formation of networks for sourcing raw materials, manufacturing products or creating services, storing and distribution goods, and delivering goods or services to customers consumers

Answer 25

supply chain

Question 26

the particular combination of key variables (product, place, promotion, price) that can be used to affect demand and to gain competitive advantage

Answer 26

marketing matrix

Question 27

a graph showing time plotted against sales of a product as it moves from introducing through growth and maturity to decline

Answer 27

product life cycle

Question 28

a firm’s competencies that are superior to those of competitors

Answer 28

distinctive strategy

Question 29

the ability of competitors to gather the resources and capabilities necessary to support a competitive advantage

Answer 29

transferability

Question 30

an industry in which companies tailor their products to the specific needs of consumers in a particular country

Answer 30

multidomestic industry

Question 31

the degree of complexity plus the degree of change existing in the organization’s external environment

Answer 31

environmental uncertainty

Question 32

a formal program of gathering information about a company’s competitors

Answer 32

competitive intelligence

Question 33

a forecasted description of an industry’s likely future

Answer 33

industry scenario

Question 34

the formal setup of a business corporation’s value chain components in terms of workflow, communication channels, and hierarchy

Answer 34

organizational structure

Question 35

an in-depth examination of key factors within a corporation’s task environment

Answer 35

industry analysis