Exam 6: Strength-Ending a Company Competitive Position: Strategic Moves, Timing, and Scope of Operations

A) expand a company's geographic coverage,extend its business into new product categories,or gain quick access to new technologies or other resources and capabilities.
B) weaken the bargaining power of either key suppliers or key customers.
C) reduce the company's vulnerability to industry driving forces.
D) facilitate a company's shift from one type of competitive strategy to another.
E) secure a higher credit rating and better access to additional financial capital.

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A) are nearly always successful in achieving their desired purpose (unlike strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships) .
B) all too frequently do not produce the hoped-for outcomes.
C) are generally more effective in securing a new competitive advantage than in protecting an existing competitive advantage.
D) are highly risky because of the financial drain that comes from using the company's cash resources to pay for the costs of the merger or acquisition.
E) are usually more successful in helping a company's shift from one competitive strategy to another than in improving a company's competitive strength and resource capabilities.

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A) speed entry into foreign markets and/or exercise stronger control over operating costs.
B) broaden the firm's product line and/or enable the company to charge a premium price for its product/service.
C) gain a first-mover advantage in adopting new production technologies and/or employ potent defensive strategies.
D) strengthen the company's competitive position and/or boost its profitability.
E) achieve greater product differentiation and/or gain better access to prospective buyers.

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A) gain better access to end users,improve market awareness,and/or include the end user's purchasing experience as a differentiating feature.
B) the opportunity to capture the profits being earned by forward distribution allies (and thereby increase the company's own profits) .
C) reduce or eliminate disruptions in the delivery of the company's products to end users.
D) avoid channel conflict.
E) expand a company's geographic coverage.

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A) are never prone to mistakes,such as deciding which activities to leave alone and which activities to meld into their own operations and systems.
B) may offer considerable cost-saving opportunities and can be beneficial in helping a company try to invent a new industry and lead the convergence of industries whose boundaries are being blurred by changing technologies and new market opportunities.
C) are a particularly effective way of pursuing blue ocean and outsourcing strategies.
D) seldom are a superior strategic alternative to forming alliances or partnerships with these same companies because of the financial drain of using the company's cash resources to accomplish the merger or acquisition.
E) are one of the best ways to help a company strongly differentiate its product offering and use a differentiation strategy to strengthen its market position.

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A) to gain quick access to new technologies or other resources and capabilities
B) to create a more cost-efficient operation out of the combined companies
C) to fundamentally alter a company's trajectory and improve its business outlook
D) to expedite shifting from one strategy to another and gain better access to additional financial capital
E) to extend a company's business into new product categories and/or expand a company's geographic coverage

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A) It allows a company to concentrate on its core business,leverage its key resources and core competencies,and do even better what it already does best.
B) It can hollow out a firm's own capabilities and lose touch with activities and expertise that contribute fundamentally to the firm's competitiveness and market success.
C) It reduces the company's risk exposure to changing technology and/or buyer preferences.
D) It improves organizational flexibility and speeds time to market.
E) It involves an activity that can be performed better or more cheaply by outside specialists.

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A) being able to control the wholesale/retail portion of the industry value chain
B) having fewer disruptions in the delivery of the company's products to end users
C) gaining better access to end users and better market visibility
D) broadening the company's product line
E) allowing the firm access to greater economies of scale

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A) a merger involves one company purchasing the assets of another company with cash,whereas an acquisition involves one company becoming the owner of another company by buying all of the shares of its common stock.
B) a merger is the combining of two or more companies into a single corporate entity (with the newly created company often taking on a new name) ,whereas an acquisition is a combination in which one company,the acquirer,purchases and absorbs the operations of another,the acquired.
C) nonexistent; in both instances,two companies become one.
D) the brands of both companies are retained in a merger,whereas with an acquisition,there is only one surviving brand name.
E) a merger involves two or more companies deciding to adopt the same strategy,whereas an acquisition involves one company becoming the owner of another company but with each company still pursuing its own separate strategy.

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Answered by ExamLex AI

Mergers and acquisitions are often a bet...

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A) cutting prices below a weak rival's costs.
B) moving first to secure an advantageous competitive assets that rivals can't readily match or duplicate.
C) using hit-and-run tactics to grab sales and market share away from complacent or distracted rivals.
D) attacking the competitive weaknesses of rivals.
E) leapfrogging into next-generation products and technologies,thus forcing rivals to play catch-up.

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A) are generally successful.
B) work well in cooperatively developing new technologies and new products but seldom work well in promoting greater supply chain efficiency.
C) work best when they are aimed at achieving a mutually beneficial competitive advantage for the allies.
D) stand a reasonable chance of helping a company reduce competitive disadvantage but very rarely form the basis of a durable competitive advantage over rivals.
E) are usually a company's best approach to building a distinctive competence.

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Hit-and-run or guerrilla warfare type of...

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A) expand into foreign markets and/or control more of the industry value chain.
B) broaden the firm's product line and/or avoid the need for outsourcing.
C) enable use of offensive strategies and/or gain a first-mover advantage over rivals in revamping the industry value chain.
D) strengthen the company's competitive position and/or boost its profitability.
E) achieve product differentiation and/or lengthen the company's value chain to include more activities performed in-house and thereby gain greater ability to reduce internal operating costs.

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