STUDY GUIDE 2026 QUESTIONS WITH
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ Creed statement. Answer: statement of purpose
◉ Customers. Answer: who are they
◉ Markets. Answer: where the firm competes geographically
◉ Mission Statement. Answer: declaration of reason for being
◉ Miss State Components. Answer: customers, p/s, markets,
technology, concern for survival, growth, profitable, philosophy, self-
concept, concern for public image, concern for employees
◉ Philosophy. Answer: basic beliefs, values, aspirations, and ethical
priorities of the firm
◉ Products or Services. Answer: what are the company's major
ones?
,◉ Reconciliatory. Answer: mission statement must reconcile
differences effectively to appeal to stakeholders
◉ Self-concept. Answer: firm's distinctive competence or major
competitive advantage
◉ Stakeholders. Answer: have special stake/claim in company
◉ Technology. Answer: is the firm technologically current?
◉ Vision statement. Answer: what do we want to become
◉ CIO. Answer: managing firm's relationship w/ stakeholders
◉ CTO. Answer: a technician, focuses on technical issues
◉ Competitive Analysis. Answer: need for it is evidenced by corps
putting it in their job titles. Unethical tactics include bribery,
wiretapping, and computer hacking should never be used.
◉ competitive intelligence. Answer: Systematic/ethical process for
gathering & analyzing info about competition's activities and general
trends to further their own goals. 3 strong misperceptions: running
a program requires a lot of people & technology, collecting info
,violates antitrust laws and equals espionage, intelligence gathering
is unethical. It's actually needed.
◉ competitive profile matrix. Answer: . IDs firms major competitors
and its strengths and weaknesses in relation to a sample firm's
strategic position. Critical success factors include internal and
external issues, so rating refer to strengths and weaknesses and
aren't grouped into opportunities and threats as in EFE.
◉ Director of Competitive Analysis. Answer: plan, collect data,
analyze data, facilitate process, disseminate intelligence, research
special issues, recognize important information
◉ Environmental Scanning. Answer: same as external audit
◉ External Audit. Answer: develop finite list of opportunities that
could benefit a firm & threats to be avoided
◉ EFE Matrix. Answer: allows strategists to summarize and evaluate
information. Can be developed in 5 steps.
◉ External Forces. Answer: economic, social, cultural, demographic,
natural environment, political, governmental, legal forces,
technological, and competitive forces
, ◉ industrial organization. Answer: advocates that external factors
are more important than internal for achieving comp. advantage
◉ Industry Analysis. Answer: same as external audit
◉ information technology. Answer: Growing in importance. CIOs and
CTOs manage it. Info to formulate, implement, & evaluate strategies
◉ Internet. Answer: changed nature of opportunities and threats by
altering life cycles of products, increasing speed of distribution,
creating new prods & services, erasing geographic limitations, and
changing historical trade-offs b/t standardization and flexibility.
Alters economies of sale, changes entry barriers, redefines
relationships. Part of technological forces.
◉ Lifecare Facilities. Answer: including social, cultural, demographic
& natural environment forces. Population is getting older. Well-
known companies are building these types of apartment complexes
because of society aging.
◉ Linear Regression. Answer: based on assumption that future will
be just like past.
◉ Market Commonality. Answer: study rivalry among competitors.
Number & significance of markets that a firm competes in with rivals