Maria Hasenhuttl
Fall 2000
EXAM II (December 6th, 5:00pm) - DETAILS - NOTE THE TIME CHANGE!!!!
Please bring a small scantron form and a pencil. The exam is closed book and closed notes. However, you may use 1 page of notes (letter size 8 ½ x 11, HAND-written on one side).
Note: Answers to end-of-chapter discussion questions for chapters 7 through 14 are on Reserve!
The exam will consist of two parts.
Part 1: 33 multiple choice questions - 80%
You need to know the material in depth!
Part 2: 2 essay questions - 20%
Choice of 1 out of 2 questions concerning concepts and 1 out of 2 questions concerning cases and videos.
The following cases may be on the exam: Hanson PLC A + B, Greyhound, Asea Brown Boveri and Harley-Davidson.
Sample Questions
Multiple Choice:
1.) A multidomestic strategy is based on which of the following ideas?
a. There is a convergence in the tastes of consumers in different nations of the world.
b. There are substantial economies of scale to be realized from centralizing global production.
c. Consumer tastes and preferences differ among national markets.
d. There are cost advantages associated with manufacturing a standard product for global consumption.
e. Competitive strategy should be centralized at the world head office.
Answer: c
2.) A company should pursue unrelated diversification instead of related diversification when
a. the company’s core skills are applicable to a wide variety of industrial and commercial situations.
b. the company’s core skills are highly specialized and have few applications outside the core business.
c. the company’s top management is skilled at acquiring and turning around poorly run enterprises.
d. it wants to maximize growth.
e. the bureaucratic costs of implementation do not exceed the value that can be created by realizing economies of scope.
Answer: b
3.) The principal goal of control through organizational culture is
a. to reduce the costs of organizational control in a large company.
b. self-control through the establishment of an internal system of organizational values.
c. maximum decentralization and the elimination of bureaucracy.
d. to achieve increased performance through the alignment of organizational goals with societal expectations.
e. external control through motivated coworkers.
Answer: b
4.) Standardization is employed to squeeze out costs in manufacturing. Standardization may be achieved through
a. standardization of human inputs.
b. standardization of work processes.
c. standardization of outputs through quality controls.
d. standardization of both work processes and outputs through quality controls.
e. standardization of human inputs, work processes, and outputs through quality controls.
Essay questions
1.) Discuss the key problems involved in maintaining a competitive advantage in a growth industry environment. What are the dangers associated with being the leader?
2.) Why was Hanson so successful with its acquisitions? How did they avoid the pitfalls of acquisitions?