MIS Chapter 3

Which of the following factors determines the structure, features, and functions of the information system used in a company?

the competitive strategy

Porter’s five forces model is used to assess ________.

industry structure

According to Porter’s five forces model, which of the following firms would be least affected by the threat of substitutes?

a firm that sells the only drug for a disease

According to Porter’s five forces model, which of the following would be most affected by the threat of substitutes?

Southwest Airlines’ services

In which of the following situations would the bargaining power of suppliers be highest?

a single vendor providing raw materials to many department stores

In which of the following would rivalry be considered as a weak force affecting the market?

military services

A new drug that has shown promise in curing lung cancer has been discovered by a famous chemical laboratory. This is the only drug effective for treatment of this disease. The laboratory obtains a patent for the product and decides to sell it. This situation is characterized by ________.

low threat of substitutions

A group of grain farmers in a surplus year will have reduced ________.

bargaining power

Bargaining power of customers is likely to be the highest for markets involving ________.

industrial products

The automobile industry is characterized by many manufacturers and intense competition among them. This statement refers to ________.

high levels of rivalry

ABC Motors is the largest manufacturer of cars. The company purchases raw materials from many small-sized sellers across the globe. In this case, ABC Motors ________.

has high bargaining power over its suppliers

) N-joi Ice Cream was facing competition to their flagship brand of "black currant ice cream". The competitor began offering three varieties of "black currant ice cream." N-joi decided to counter the threat by introducing five new varieties of ice creams. Which competitive strategy is N-joi implementing

product differentiation

An automobile company decides to improve the quality of all its products and bring more variety into its product line. The company has decided to adopt ________.

industry-wide differentiation

Focused differentiation occurs when ________.

a better product is provided within an industry segment

Focused cost leadership is observed when a product has the lowest cost ________.

within an industry segment

The difference between the value that an activity generates and the cost of the activity is called the ________.

margin

) Porter defined value as the ________.

amount of money that a customer is willing to pay for an offering

Identify the activity in the value chain that involves receiving, storing, and disseminating inputs to the product.

inbound logistics

A retail marketing company sells such products as agricultural produce and consumer products. The company procures materials from farmers and local producers. This process of obtaining the inputs needed for a business is called ________.

inbound logistics

) Which of the following value chain activities involves transforming raw materials into a finished product or service?

operations

Which of the following value chain activities involves collecting, storing, and physically distributing the product to buyers?

outbound logistics

Which of the following value chain activities involves inducing buyers to get a product and providing a means for them to do so?

sales and marketing

Which of the following value chain activities involves assisting users to handle the product after sale, thus maintaining and enhancing the product’s value?

customer service

Which of the following is a primary activity in the value chain?

receiving and disseminating inputs to the product

Mae manages delivery at a custom-kitchen outlet. Working with her customer’s specifications, she contacts Gem Cabinets and places an order for a full-motion wall mount. Which of the following primary activities is Mae performing here?

inbound logistics

Lynn, the manager of a transportation company, is going through this week’s delivery schedule. She calls her team and assigns territories for each executive. She contacts the fleet supervisor to arrange trucks for transportation. Which activity of the value chain is Lynn executing?

outbound logistics

The net result of the difference between the total value added and the total costs incurred is the ________ of the value chain.

total margin

Which of the following is a support activity in the value chain?

setting up contractual arrangements for procurement

Which of the following is considered a support activity in the value chain of a business?

contract negotiation

According to Porter’s model of business activities, interactions across value activities are called ________.

linkages

Which of the following statements is consistent with the central idea of business process design?

Organizations should create new business processes rather than improving existing system

________ argues that firms should create new, more efficient business processes that integrate the activities of all departments involved in a value chain.

Business process design

A(n) ________ is a network of activities that generate value by transforming inputs into outputs.

business process

The cost of the business process is the sum of the cost of the inputs and the ________.

cost of the activities

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

Repository

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

Repository

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

sales

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

inbound logistics

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

Most process designs require people to work in new ways.

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 ________.

supporting business processes

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 ________.

providing an enhanced product

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

differentiating service offerings

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

locking in suppliers

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 doing this, which competitive strategy is Huen Software implementing?

product differentiation

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?

locking in of customers

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

establishing alliances

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

created entry barriers

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

switching costs

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?

locking in of customers

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.

switching costs strategy

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

making it easy to work with the organization

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

establishing standards

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

reducing costs

A digital divide exists between ________.

those who have Internet access and those who do not