EC课本题库-2008版ec08_tif_ch14

Chapter 14E-Commerce Strategy and Global ECTrue-False Questions1.Strategies are based on performance indexes that are used as targets and measures of success.Answer:True Difficulty:Easy Page Reference: 640AACSB: Use of information technology2.An organizational strategy is a detailed plan for how a business is going to accomplish itsmission, what its goals should be, and what plans and policies it will need to accomplishthese goals.Answer:False Difficulty:Easy Page Reference: 640AACSB:3.Any contemporary strategy-setting process must include the Internet.Answer:True Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 640AACSB: Reflective thinking4.In Porter’s view, the majority of the Internet’s impacts on the five competitive forces ha vebeen positive.Answer: F alse Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 640AACSB: Reflective thinking5.Researchers have suggested that more extensive strategic information systems planning in anuncertain environment produces greater planning success.Answer:True Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 641AACSB:6.No matter how large or how small the organization, the strategic planning process forcescorporate executives, a company’s general manager, or a small business owner to assess the current position of the firm, where it should be, and how to get from here to there.Answer:True Difficulty:Easy Page Reference: 641 AACSB:7.In the strategy initiation phase, the organization examines itself, its environment, and thepotential contribution that the Internet and other emerging technologies can make to thebusiness.Answer:True Difficulty:Easy Page Reference: 641 AACSB: Use of information technology8. A value proposition is actually a financial statement that summarizes the annual revenue andprofit targets.Answer:False Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 641 AACSB: Use of information technology9.The two major and successful Internet-based businesses Google and eBay have similar corecompetencies.Answer:False Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 642 AACSB: Use of information technology10.SWOT analysis is one method for scanning the business environment to collect and interpretrelevant information about direct competitors, indirect competitors, and potentialcompetitors.Answer:True Difficulty:East Page Reference: 643 AACSB: Use of information technology11.In the strategy implementation phase, general long-term plans are developed for carrying outthe projects that had been agreed on in the strategy formulation phase.Answer:False Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 643 AACSB:12.Resource allocation refers to the processes of making the selected applications and projects areality, such as hiring staff; purchasing equipment; licensing, purchasing, or writingsoftware; and contracting vendors.Answer:False Difficulty:Hard Page Reference: 643 AACSB: Use of information technology13.Strategy assessment is the continuous evaluation of progress toward the organization’sstrategic goals, resulting in corrective action and, if necessary, strategy reformulation.Answer:True Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 643 AACSB: Use of information technology14.The basic method in scenario planning is that a group of analysts generates simulation gamesfor policy makers. The games combine projected factors about the future, such asdemographics, geography, and industrial information with plausible alternative social,technical, economic, and political trends.Answer:True Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 643 AACSB: Use of information technology15. A business plan is a tool that is an alternative to narrowly focused financial assessments bymeasuring organizational performance in four areas: finance, customers’ assessments,internal business processes, and learning and growth.Answer:False Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 645 AACSB: Use of information technology16.The primary reasons for writing a business plan are to acquire funding and nonfinancialresources, to recruit senior management, and to force the business owner to think ahead, set achievable goals, seek out and analyze competitors.Answer:True Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 645 AACSB: Use of information technology17.Entrepreneurs in start-up companies use business plans to get funding from investors, such asa venture capitalist or a bank.Answer:True Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 647AACSB: Use of information technology18.The information systems strategy is set primarily by determining what information andassociated information systems are required to carry out the business strategy.Answer:True Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 647AACSB:19.In e-commerce, evidence shows that there is always a real advantage to being the first moverin an industry or market segment.Answer:False Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 649 AACSB:20.The disadvantages a brick-and-mortar company faces by creating an independent division arethat it may be very costly, risky, or both.Answer:True Difficulty:Easy Page Reference: 649 AACSB: Reflective thinking21.Disposing of excess equipment was the motivation behind the implementation of forward e-auctions atGeneral Motors. This is an example of a technology-driven strategy because GM had a specificproblem that an EC application could solve.Answer:False Difficulty:Hard Page Reference: 660 AACSB: Use of information technology22.In a click-and-mortar business, the allocation of resources between off-line and onlineactivities can create difficulties, especially in sell-side projects because the two activitiescould be competitors.Answer:True Difficulty:Hard Page Reference: 650 AACSB: Reflective thinking23.Having a strong project champion on an e-commerce project is seldom important to thesuccess of the project because of inter-personal conflicts caused by a powerful champion.Answer:False Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 656AACSB: Use of information technology24.The purpose of GlobalNetXchange, which was founded by major retailers such as Sears, wasto reduce procurement costs and product prices for its members while making the purchaseprocess more efficient.Answer:True Difficulty:Hard Page Reference: 665AACSB: Use of information technology25.At the implementation stage, firms may need to dramatically change business processes toaccommodate the changes an EC strategy brings. In those instances, business processreengineering (BPR) is usually necessary.Answer:True Difficulty:Medium Page Reference: 662AACSB: Use of information technologyMultiple Choice Questions26.For _____________ companies, it may be even more important to change strategies quickly.a. traditionalb. pure playc. serviced. retailAnswer: B Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 640AACSB:27.Capabilities of the Internet that have made it more difficult for companies to capture profitsinclude all of the following EXCEPT:a. The Internet makes information widely available.b. The Internet reduces the difficulty of purchasing, marketing, and distribution.c. The Internet allows buyers and sellers to find and transact business with one anothermore easily.d. The Internet makes it easier to make secure payments.Answer: D Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 640 AACSB: Reflective thinking28.Projections of the business technological, political, economic, and other environments arecalled:a. forecasts.b. SWOT analysisc. competitive intelligenced. value propositionsAnswer: A Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 642 AACSB:29.The unique combination of resources, experiences, and expertise within a particular firm iscalled their:a. corporate strategy.b. core competencies.c. functional strategy.d. competitive advantage.Answer: B Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 642 AACSB:30.All of the following are elements of a company’s strategy EXCEPT:a. competitor analysis.b. forecasts.c. day-to-day operations.d. company analysis.Answer: C Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 642AACSB:31.All of the following about the strategic planning process are true EXCEPT:a. The strategic planning process is cyclical and continuous.b. The process of developing a strategy maybe even more important than the strategy.c. The strategic planning process forces corporate executive s, a company’s generalmanager, or a small business owner to assess the current position of the firm, where itshould be, and how to achieve objectives.d. The strategic planning process begins with strategy formulation.Answer: D Difficulty: Hard Page Reference: 643AACSB: Reflective thinking32. A specific outcome of the strategy initiation phase is the ________________, whichincludes the vision, mission, value proposition, goals, capabilities, constraints, strengths, and weaknesses of the company.a. company analysisb. value propositionc. core competencyd. functional strategyAnswer: A Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 643 AACSB:33. A specific outcome of the strategy initiation phase is a clear statement of the company’s________________, which summarizes the customer segment, competitor target, and the core differentiation of one’s product from the offerings of competitors.a. company analysisb. value propositionc. core competencyd. functional strategy.Answer: B Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 643AACSB:34.Google’s ___________________ is its expertise in information search technology.a. company analysisb. value propositionc. core competencyd. functional strategyAnswer: C Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 643AACSB:35.Many of the outcomes from the first two phases of the strategic planning process, such as adetermination of goals, competitor analysis, strategic opportunities, and risk analysis come together in a _______________.a. technology auditb. SWOT planc. value propositiond. business planAnswer: D Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 643 AACSB:36._______________ is the process of making the selected applications and projects a reality byhiring staff; purchasing equipment; licensing, purchasing, or writing software; andcontracting vendors.a. Project managementb. Resource allocationc. Project planningd. Strategy assessmentAnswer: A Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 643 AACSB:37.An analytical tool in which a company looks for points of differentiation betweencompetitors and itself is called:a. SWOT analysisb. competitor analysis gridc. scenario planningd. strategy assessmentAnswer: B Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 643 AACSB:38._____________ is the continuous evaluation of progress toward the organization’s strategicgoals, resulting in corrective action and, if necessary, strategy reformulation.a. SWOT analysisb. Competitor analysis gridc. Scenario planningd. Strategy assessmentAnswer: D Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 643 AACSB:39. A management tool that assesses organizational progress toward strategic goals by measuringperformance in a number of different area is:a. balanced scorecard.b. BCG growth-share matrix.c. SWOT analysis.d. Web analytics.Answer: A Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 645AACSB:40.After four years in business, a magazine publisher decides to add the online distribution of itsmagazine to its existing traditional publishing business. The company would need to develop a:a. business strategy.b. business plan.c. business case.d. business metric.Answer: C Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 647 AACSB: Reflective thinking41.All of the following are situations when a business plan should be done EXCEPT:a. When an existing business is deploying a CRM system.b. When a new business is seeking start-up funds and other resources.c. When an existing company is planning to create a separate division.d. When an existing company is planning to launch the company in a new direction.Answer: A Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 647 AACSB: Reflective Thinking42.Which of the following about business plans and business cases is NOT correct?a. The content of a business case is similar to that of a business plan.b. One difference is that the business plan concentrates on the viability of a company,whereas a business case assesses both viability of the project and the fit of the initiativewith the firm’s mission and goals.c. The audiences are the same—senior management and the board or directors.d. The purposes are the same—to justify a specific investment of funds.Answer: C Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 647 AACSB: Reflective thinking43.The risks of being a first mover include all of the following EXCEPT:a. the high cost of pioneering EC initiatives.b. the chance that a second wave of competitors will eliminate a first mover’s lead throughlower cost and innovation.c. the risk that the move will be too late.d. over the long run first movers are substantially less profitable than followers.Answer: C Difficulty: Hard Page Reference: 649 AACSB: Reflective thinking44.Factors that determine whether a first mover succeeds or fails in the EC marketplace includeall of the following EXCEPT:a. the size of the opportunity.b. the speed of market entry.c. the nature of the product.d. whether the company can be the best in the market.Answer: B Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 649 AACSB: Reflective thinking45.The most efficient way to expand an organizat ion’s scope is:a. to introduce new products or services into new or existing markets without increasingproduction facilities or staff.b. by increasing the size or scale of the business.c. by expanding the firm’s appeal to a new set of customers.d. to buy a company with complementary products or services.Answer: A Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 652 AACSB: Reflective thinking46.Separating a company’s online operations into a new company makes sense in each of the followingsituations EXCEPT:a. when the volume of anticipated e-business is large.b. when the subsidiary can be created without dependence on current operations and legacy systems.c. when the company is unable to form new alliances, attract new talent, or raise additional funding.d. when a new business model needs to be developed apart from the constraints of current operation.Answer: C Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 652 AACSB: Reflective thinking47.Rite Aid, a click-and mortar firm, enhanced its EC future by:a. Creating a separate company.b. Forming a joint venture.c. Buying an equity stake in a existing EC company.d. Creating an online brand.Answer: C Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 652 AACSB:48.Incorrect approaches to EC strategy selection include all of the following EXCEPT:a. using a late-mover strategy.b. indiscriminately funding many projects and hoping for a few winners.c. betting it all in a single, high-stakes initiative.d. “trend-surfing,” or following the crowd to the newest and most fashio nable idea.Answer: A Difficulty: Hard Page Reference: 656 AACSB: Reflective thinking49.The most dangerous risk to a company engaged in e-commerce is:a. threat posed by hackers.b. business risk.c. negligent loss of data.d. customer and business partner risk.Answer: B Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 656 AACSB:50.All of the following determine the degree of collaboration between off-line and onlineactivities in a business EXCEPT:a. corporate culture.b. the ability of top management to introduce change properly.c. the pricing strategy.d. the use of innovative processes that support collaboration.Answer: C Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 657 AACSB:51.The _____________ pricing strategy means adding up all the costs involved, such asmaterial, labor, rent, overhead, and so forth, and adding a percentage mark-up as profit.a. cost-plusb. competitor modelc. revenue markupd. price percentageAnswer: A Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 657 AACSB:52.Internet technologies can provide consumers with easier access to pricing information, whichincreases their bargaining power. To remain competitive and profitable, sellers need smarter pricing strategies, which include all of the following strategies EXCEPT:a. greater precision in setting prices.b. more adaptability in changing prices.c. new ways of customer segmentation for differentiated pricing.d. reducing prices.Answer: D Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 657 AACSB:53.Implementing EC often requires significant investments in infrastructure. Therefore, a goodway to start is to undertake _____________________.a. a large, non-trivial EC projectb. one or a few small EC pilot projectsc. a multi-divisional EC projectd. a single division EC projectAnswer: B Difficulty: Hard Page Reference: 660 AACSB:54.A_______________ is a form of business alliance composed of several business partners thatshare the costs and resources for the development or production of a product or service.a. temporary corporationb. supply chainc. virtual corporationd. co-opetitionAnswer: C Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 661 AACSB:55.The most important objectives of strategic assessment are all of the following EXCEPT:a. Measure the extent to which the EC strategy and ensuing projects are delivering whatthey were supposed to deliver.b. Determine if the EC strategy and projects are still viable in the current environment.c. Reassess the initial strategy in order to learn from mistakes and improve future planningd. Identify what competitors are doing to avoid head-on competition.Answer: D Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 658AACSB:Fill In the Blanks56.Strategy is a broad-based formula for how a business is going to accomplish its mission,what its goals should be, and what plans and policies will be needed to carry out those goals.Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 640 AACSB:57.E-commerce strategy is the formulation and execution of a vision of how a new or existingcompany intends to do business electronically.Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 640AACSB:58.Strategic information systems planning is the process for developing a strategy and plansfor aligning information systems and EC applications with the business strategies of anorganization.Difficulty: Hard Page Reference: 640 AACSB:59.In the strategy initiation phase, the organization examines itself and its environment. Theprincipal activities include setting the organization’s mission and goals, examiningorganizational strengths and weaknesses, assessing environmental factors impacting thebusiness, and conducting a competitor analysis.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 641AACSB:60.Value proposition refers to the benefit that a company’s products or services provide to acompany and its customers.Difficulty: Hard Page Reference: 641 AACSB:61.Strategy formulation is the development of strategies to exploit opportunities and managethreats in the business environment in light of corporate strengths and weaknesses.Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 642 AACSB:62.Core competencies refer to the unique combination of the resources and experiences of aparticular firm, which take time to build and tend to be difficult to imitate.Difficulty: Hard Page Reference: 642AACSB:63.Forecasting means identifying business, technological, political, economic, and otherrelevant trends that are currently affecting the business or that have the potential to do so in the future.Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 642 AACSB:petitor analysis involves scanning the business environment to collect and interpretrelevant information about direct competitors, indirect competitors, and potentialcompetitors.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 643AACSB:65.Strategy assessment is the continuous evaluation of progress toward the organization’sstrategic goals, resulting in corrective action and, if necessary, strategy reformulation.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 643 AACSB:66.In strategy assessment, specific measures called metrics assess the progress of the strategy.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 663 AACSB:67.SWOT analysis is a methodology that surveys the opportunities and threats in the externalenvironment and relates them to the organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses.Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 643AACSB:68. A competitor analysis grid is a strategic planning tool that highlights points of differentiationbetween competitors and the target firm.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 645 AACSB:69.Scenario planning is a strategic planning methodology that generates plausible alternativefutures to help decision makers identify actions that can be taken today to ensure success in the future.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 645 AACSB:70.Balanced scorecard is a tool that assesses organizational progress toward strategic goals bymeasuring performance in a number of different areas.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 645AACSB:71. A business case is a business plan for a new initiative or large, new project inside an existingorganization.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 647 AACSB:72.Versioning refers to selling the same good but with different selection and deliverycharacteristics.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 658 AACSB:73.The project champion is the person who ensures that the project gets the time, attention, andresources required and defends the project from detractors at all times.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 659 AACSB:74.One popular EC partner strategy is outsourcing, which is the use of an external vendor toprovide all or part of the products and services that could be provided internally.Difficulty: Easy Page Reference: 660AACSB:75. A form of business alliance called a(n) virtual corporation is an organization composed ofseveral business partners sharing costs and resources for the production or utilization of aproduct or service.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 661 AACSB:76.Co-opetition describes when two or more companies cooperate on some activities for mutualbenefit, even while competing against each other in the marketplace.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 661AACSB:77.Business process reengineering is a methodology for conducting a comprehensive redesignof an enterprise’s processes.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 662AACSB:78.Business process management is a method for business restructuring that combinesworkflow systems and redesign methods; covers three process categories— people-to-people, systems-to-systems, and systems-to-people interactions.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 662 AACSB:79.Web analytics is the analysis of click-stream data to understand visitor behavior on a Website.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 665 AACSB:80.Many companies use different names, colors, sizes, and packaging for their overseasproducts and services. This practice is referred to as localization.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 668 AACSB:Essay Questions81.Briefly explain what strategies are based on and how are they measured.Strategies are based on performance indexes, which are used as targets and measures ofsuccess. Targets include quantitative and qualitative measures. After performance targets are set, improvement plans can be initiated; then the strategy can be implemented. Progresstoward those targets are assessed regularly and used as feedback for improving the strategy.Difficulty: Hard Page Reference: 63982.List and briefly discuss three suggestions on how to break down the barriers to global EC.Be strategic. Consider what languages and countries it makes sense for the company totarget and how the company will support the site for each target audience.Know your audience. Be fully informed of the cultural preferences and legal issues thatmatter to customers in a particular part of the world.Localize. As much as practical and necessary, offer Web sites in national languages; price products in local currencies; and base business practices on local laws and cultural practices.Think globally, act consistently. An international company with country Web sitesmanaged by local offices must make sure that areas such as brand management and pricing are consistent with company strategy.Value the human touch. Trust the translation of the Web site content only to humantranslators, not machine translation programs.Clarify, document, explain. Pricing, privacy policies, shipping restrictions, contactinformation, and business practices should be well documented and located on the Web site and visible to the customer.Offer services that reduce barriers. For example, provide links to a currency exchangeservice.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 669 83.Identify four situations or conditions when separat ing a company’s online operations into anew company makes sense.Separating a company’s online operations into a new company makes sense when:(1) the volume of anticipated e-business is large,(2) a new business model needs to be developed apart from the constraints of currentoperations,(3) the subsidiary can be created without dependence on current operations and legacysystems, and(4) the online company is given the freedom to form new alliances, attract new talent, set itsown prices, and raise additional funding.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 652Chapter 14E-Commerce Strategy and Global EC 2184.List five security issues that need to be addressed in an EC strategy.Fraudulent and malicious acts committed by either employees or third parties against theinsured’s computer systemsComputer virus attacks that hinder or even close down the operations of the insuredAccidental alteration or destruction to electronic information and recordsLoss of intellectual property when trade secrets are copied or recordedExtortionBusiness interruption and extra expense caused by a computer virus or other malicious actsAccidental or malicious destruction of electronic informationCosts to mitigate a covered lossMultimedia liability such as libel, slander, invasion of privacy, infringement of copyright,plagiarism, and false advertisingLiability for damage to a third party’s computer systemDifficulty: Easy Page Reference: 65685.Define corporate (business) performance management and identify the major steps of theprocess.Corporate (business) performance management (CPM, BPM) is a closed loop process that linksstrategy to execution in order to optimize business performance.The major steps of the process are:Setting goals and objectives.Establishing initiatives and plans to achieve those goals.Monitoring actual performance against the goals and objectives.Taking corrective action.Difficulty: Medium Page Reference: 663。