BUSA 4980 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026

BUSA 4980 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026 Strategy - Answers an action plan (initiatives, commitments), involving resource allocation an integrated and coordinated set of actions designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive advantage must consist of a central, integrated, externally-oriented concept of how the business will achieve its objectives 5 elements: arena, vehicles, differentiators, staging and economic logic Strategic Competitiveness - Answers involves formulating and implementing a value-creating strategy a strategy is competitive when it creates value for consumers often entails a unique market position requires a core competence ie resources that are valuable, rare, costly to imitate and non-substitutable Competitive Advantage - Answers results when buyers have a lasting preference for the company's products or services over rivals' rivals are unable to duplicate or find too costly to imitate the value offered to consumers achieved through lower costs or differentiation (ie unique features) Above-Average Returns - Answers returns in excess of what investor expects in comparison to other investments with similar risk main metric = performance (profitability, financial strength, and market standing) other metrics = goodness to fit, competitive advantage, consistency and risk Major Elements of Strategy - Answers Arena, Vehicles, Differentiators, Staging, and Economic Logic Strategy - Arenas - Answers Where will we be active? product categories market segments geographic areas core technologies value creation stages it is important to be as specific as possible Strategy - Vehicles - Answers How will we get there? internal development joint ventures licensing/ franchising acquisitions the means for attaining the needed presence in a particular product category, market segment, geographic area, or value-creation stage should be the result of deliberate strategic choice Strategy - Differentitators - Answers How will we win? price image/ styling customization product reliability sometimes having the best combination of differentiators confers a tremendous marketplace advantage Strategy - Staging - Answers What will be our timing? speed of execution sequence of initiatives some initiatives must come first, followed only then by others, and then still others Strategy - Economic Logic - Answers How will we obtain our returns? lowest costs through scale, scope and/or replication advantages premium prices due to unmatchable service, proprietary product features, etc the most successful strategies have a central economic logic that serves as the fulcrum for profit creation 4 basic approaches to building competitive advantage - Answers low cost leadership differentiating features/attributes market niche distinct enterprise Low cost Leadership - Answers competitive advantage arises from a cost structure rivals cannot match ** does NOT mean lowest price Differentiating features/attributes - Answers advantage stems from products that provide higher quality, wider selections, attractive styling, technological superiority Market Niche - Answers advantage results by doing a better job than rivals of serving the preferences of buyers comprising a narrow market Distinct expertise - Answers advantage arises from developing expertise, resource strengths, and capabilities not easily imitated by rivals Criteria for assessing strategy 5 factors for measuring competitiveness - Answers performance goodness of fit competitive advantage consistency risk Performance - Answers criteria for evaluation: