QUESTION 1

1. You have just executed a BCG analysis on the SBUs in your company's portfolio. You realise that you have two SBUs in quadrant 1 as cash cows, threeSBUs in quadrant 2 as question marks, one SBU in quadrant 3 as a star, and three struggling SBUs in quadrant 4 as pets. You have executed some analyses on the industries in which your SBUs reside, and your analysis tells you that trends in the macro-environment would eventually strongly favour those three question mark SBUs. You have therefore decided to merge with Company X. Doing so will enable you to liquidate two of the pet SBUs, use the freed resources to invest in the three question mark SBUs, and help keep the remaining pet SBU afloat.

Which of the following statements best apply?

1. You have only financial motives for the merger.
2. You have only managerial motives for the merger.
3. None of these answers.
4. You have strategic and managerial motives for the merger.

QUESTION 2

1. You own an oil refinery in a country that has recently undergone a series of military coups. Though the entire industry is reliant on political stability, you and your top managers decide that the best way to move forward would be to diversify through the execution of a backward vertical integration strategy.

Which of the following statements best represents your logical decision?

1. You decide to ally your company with another company that specialises in making gas station pumps.
2. You decide to ally your company with another company that specialises in extracting crude oil.
3. You decide to acquire a company that specialises in delivering refined petroleum products to gas stations.
4. You decide to ally your company with another company that also owns oil refineries. This way, you amass large financial bases that can withstand any shocks/threats from the external environment.

QUESTION 3

1. You have just executed a VRIO analysis on your company and have determined that the main capability that gives you sustained competitive advantage is your possession of a patent for magnetic whiteboards. You currently operate a domestic focus differentiation strategy that is heavily brand-reliant. You are considering internationalising to country X (which is on a different continent). You have no prior working knowledge of country X, but an executed external analysis on the place shows great promise.

Which of the following is the most tenable idea?

1. Your company engages with country X via the Licensing internationalisation mode.
2. Your company engages with country X via the Brownfield internationalisation mode.
3. Your company engages with country X via the Franchising internationalisation mode.
4. Your company engages with country X via the Greenfield internationalisation mode.

QUESTION 4

1. You are a manager of a very well-known company based in the UK which produces premium gluten-free chocolate and orange pancakes and breads. Of late you have been planning to enter international markets with your product, in particular focusing on France. However, the other managers advise you that, considering the company's limited international experience, and its very heavy reliance on its brand image and highly differentiated premium product, you should choose the least complicated and least risky market entry option.

Based on this advice, which international market entry option should you start with?

A.-M&As

B.-Licensing

C.-Franchising

D.-Exporting

QUESTION 5

1. You are a manager of a micro-brewery based in Birmingham. You are currently planning how to manage your international strategy. In a recent management meeting, you have argued that you should aim to distribute your craft ales in other countries by changing the flavour and the packaging of your product to suit local tastes. Other managers, on the other hand, argue that you should sell the same type of craft ales (i.e., the same flavour, packaging etc.) in all the markets you operate in.

Which type of international strategy do you promote?

A) You promote multi-domestic strategy and the other managers promote global strategy.

B) You promote global strategy and the other managers promote multi-domestic strategy.

C) You promote trans-national strategy and the other managers promote global strategy.

D) You all promote global strategy.