A digital divide exists between ________.

A) U.S. software companies and European software companies

B) hardware companies and software companies

C) those who have Internet access and those who do not

D) employees of a software company and the managers of the company

Answer: c

An organization implements an information system to optimize its supply chain. The system helps the organization reduce wages and inventory charges. Hence, the system provides a competitive advantage to the organization. Here, the information system helped the organization achieve competitive advantage by ________.

A) locking in customers

B) reducing costs

C) locking in suppliers

D) differentiating the products

Answer: b

A group of manufacturing organizations purchases raw materials collectively to obtain better deals. This is an example of obtaining competitive advantage by ________.

A) differentiating the industry

B) establishing standards

C) establishing alliances

D) enhancing the products

Answer: c

Organizations can lock in suppliers by making it difficult to switch to another organization orby ________.

A) making it easy for the customers to switch products

B) reducing investments in their supply chain

C) making it easy to work with the organization

D) reducing the bargaining power of consumers

Answer: c

A large software manufacturer attempts to lock in customers by making it difficult for customers to change to another product. Identify the strategy used here.

A) switching costs strategy

B) low cost operation strategy

C) differentiation strategy

D) consumerist strategy

Answer: a

July Networks provides digital television services across the country. They have a cutting-edge technology that provides high-resolution visuals. Customers are required to pay an up-front fee to cover the first two years of the subscription, when registering with July Networks. By doing this, which competitive strategy is July Networks implementing?

A) differentiating the product

B) enhancing the product

C) locking in customers

D) standardizing the product

Answer: c

Locking in customers by making it difficult or expensive for customers to move to another product is called establishing high ________.

A) entry barriers

B) switching costs

C) product standards

D) value differentiation

Answer: b

Synapz, a manufacturer of office automation products, recently received a patent for an advanced therapeutic ergonomics technology. By doing this, Synapz has ________.

A) created entry barriers

B) introduced product differentiation

C) locked in its suppliers

D) reduced the cost of operations

Answer: a

An organization wants to achieve competitive advantage through process implementations. Which of the following actions would help them do that?

A) establishing alliances

B) creating new products

C) enhancing products

D) differentiating services

Answer: a

PowerCruise, a holiday cruise firm, recently offered its existing customers an extension of six months to their membership without any additional charges. By doing this, which competitive strategy did PowerCruise implement?

A) creation of a new service

B) product differentiation

C) locking in of customers

D) locking in of suppliers

Answer: c

Huen Software, an application provider to the gaming industry, decided to increase its portfolio by developing 3-D graphics-supported games for the mobile gaming industry. By doingthis, which competitive strategy is Huen Software implementing?

A) creation of entry barriers

B) product differentiation

C) reduction of cost

D) locking in of suppliers

Answer: b

Which of the following principles of competitive advantage is related to process implementations?

A) creating new products

B) enhancing products

C) locking in suppliers

D) differentiating products

Answer: c

Which of the following principles of competitive advantage is associated with product implementations?

A) locking in customers

B) differentiating service offerings

C) locking in suppliers

D) establishing alliances

Answer: b

RedDart is a premium freight provider in the United States. The company offers premium shipment services to its customers. The company ships faster than its competitors and uses tamperproof containers to ship its products. RedDart company distinguishes itself from competitors by ________.

A) providing an enhanced product

B) locking in its suppliers

C) locking in its customers

D) offering low-cost operations and services

Answer: a

RAC Associates is a car rental company. The company rents cars to customers in the United States. The company uses controls and procedures to prevent car theft. Such procedures are examples of ________.

A) primary business processes

B) core activities

C) strategic activities

D) supporting business processes

Answer: d

Which of the following statements is true of business process designs?

A) Most process designs require people to work in new ways.

B) Business process designs do not involve change in procedures.

C) Business process designs should be accompanied by a change in management.

D) Process designs attract very little employee resistance

Answer: a

Which of the following is a part of the materials ordering process?

A) outbound logistics

B) marketing

C) operations

D) inbound logistics

Answer: d

In a manufacturing business, the ________ process transforms finished goods into cash.

A) inbound operations

B) operations

C) sales

D) inbound logistics

Answer: c

A database is an example of a(n) ________.

A) repository

B) software

C) linkage

D) value chain

Answer: a

A(n) ________ is a collection of something, such as data and raw materials.

A) value chain

B) cache

C) linkage

D) repository

Answer: d