PAST YEAR EXAMINATION

MARCH 2013

QUESTION 1
 a)  Describe five (5) primary value activities.

 Answer :

   There are five primary value activities is inbound logistics,operations,outbound logistics,marketing and sales and service.First,inbound logistics in a quires raw material and resources and distributes to manufacturing as required.Second,operations is transforms raw materials or inputs into good and services.Third,outbound logistics is distributes good and services to customers.Fourth,marketing and sales is promotes,prices and sells products to customers.Lastly service is provides customer support after the sale of goods and services. 

OCTOBER 2012

QUESTION 2

a) Describe three(3) Porter Generic Strategies.Support your answer with example.

Answer :

   The three generic strategies for entering a new market is broad cost leadership,broad differentiation and focused strategy.Broad strategies is to reach a large market segment,while focused strategies target a niche or unique market with either cost leadership or differentiation.There are four demonstrating the relationship among strategies and market segmentation is broad market and low cost,broad market and high cost,narrow market and high cost,and narrow market and high cost.

BROAD MARKET AND LOW COST

Walmart competes by offering a broad range products at low prices.Its business strategy is to be the low-cost provider of goods for the cost-conscious consumer.

BROAD MARKET AND HIGH COST

Neiman Marcus competes by offering a broad range differentiated products at high prices.Its a business strategy offers a variety of speciality and upscale product to affluent consumers.

NARROW MARKET AND LOW COST   

Payless competes by offering a specific product,shoes at low price.Its business strategy is to be the low cost provider of shoes.Payless competes with Walmart,which also sells low-cost,by offering a far bigger selection of sizes and styles.

NARROW MARKET AND HIGH COST

Tiffany&Co. competes by offering a differentiated product,jewellery,at high prices.Its business strategy allows it to be high-cost provider of premier designer jewellery to affluent consumers.

  

MARCH 2012

QUESTION 2

Porter's Five Forces Model is a one of common tools used in industry to analyse and develop competitive advantages.List and describe each of the five(5) forces in Porter's Five Forces Model.

Answer :

  There are five forces in Porter's Forces Model :

BUYER POWER.

   The ability of the buyers to affect the price.Buyer power high when buyers have many choices of whom to buy from and low when their choices are few.One way to reduce the buyer power is by manipulating switching cost,costs that make customers reluctant to switch to another product or service.Companies can also reduce buyer power with loyalty programs,which reward customers based on their spending.For example ,the airline industry is famous for its frequent-flyer programs the reward travellers receive(free airline tickets,upgrades,or hotel stays),they are more likely to be loyal to a give most of their business to a single company.

SUPPLIER POWER.

  A supply chain is consists of all parties involved,directly or indirectly,in obtaining raw materials or a product.Supplier power is high when buyers have few choices of whom to buy from and low when their choices are many.For example,the collective group of 30,000 students from a university has far more power over price when purchasing laptops than a single students.

THREATS OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.

   The threats of substitute products or services is high when there are many alternatives to a product or service and low when there few alternatives from which to choose.For example,iPhone include capabilities for games,video,and music making a traditional cell phone less of a substitute.

THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS.

   Threat of new entrants is high when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market and low when there are significant entry barriers to joining a market.For example,a new bank must offer its customers an array of MIS-enabled services,including ATM's,online bill paying,and online account monitoring.

RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS

   The rivalry among existing competitors is high when competition is fierce in market and low when competitors are more complacent.For example,while many companies sell books and videos on the internet,Amazon differentiates itself by using customer profiling .