Filters
Question type
Study Flashcards

Outsourcing production to third-party firms is called _____.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

contract m...

View Answer

Many firms have developed innovative information systems, only to find that employees fail to adopt these tools. How does Zara encourage store managers to effectively use the systems deployed in stores? Managers have 'skin in the game,' with compensation tied to overall store performance. Store performance is improved through manager's use of information systems that help ensure that fashions arrive in store tailored to customer feedback, requests, and preferences.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

Zara holds a competitive advantage over its rivals in spite of:


A) refusing to implement technology in its operational model.
B) conducting business only through online storefronts.
C) its globally distributed contract manufacturing model.
D) operating through fewer stores across the world than its closest rivals.
E) Keeping large portions of its production processes in-house.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

What role does Zara's headquarters play in the running of its stores?

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

Zara's store managers, armed with person...

View Answer

Zara also saves money by simplifying pricing. An item sold in Bangkok is likely to cost the same as a similar item sold in Barcelona.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

Our analysis of Inditex's Zara stores showed the power of data to fuel competitive advantage. List the two acronyms for technologies that Zara uses to collect data in stores, and describe what the data from each of these respective systems 'tells' the firm.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

POS - what the store...

View Answer

How does Zara differ from its competitors in converting ideas into products?


A) Zara concepts appear in stores in fifteen days on average compared to rivals who receive new styles once or twice a season.
B) Zara's ideas are inspired by social media, compared to the intrinsic design processes followed by its competitors.
C) Zara's design and concept teams use data from customers to predict fashion trends many months into the future and stock up inventory accordingly, as opposed to its rivals.
D) Collaborations with celebrities help Zara churn out a limited, yet profitable, volume of items every year, while rivals produce a higher volume of less fashionable items.
E) By focusing on a smaller number of products than rivals like Gap, Zara manages to limit exposure to wrong guesses.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

When a single firm owns several layers in its value chain, it is said to be _______________.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

vertically...

View Answer

Zara's IT expenditure, measured by IT workers as a percentage of total employees, is only slightly higher than the industry average.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

Zara's clothing look like high fashion, but are comparatively inexpensive.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

Why has Zara been more effective in leveraging technology to enhance its operating strategies than its rivals? Provide an example to contrast Zara's handling of technology in its operations.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

Whether measured by IT workers as a perc...

View Answer

The Fair Factories Clearinghouse is subject to network effects.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

_____ is a non-profit organization that shares audit information on contract manufacturers among members of the apparel industry and other industries.


A) Fair Factories Clearinghouse
B) Pricewaterhouse Coopers
C) Amnesty International
D) Klynveld Main Goerdeler
E) Transparency International

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

At Zara, clothes are ironed in advance and packed on hangers, with security and price tags affixed. This system means that employees in Zara stores simply move items from shipping box to store racks, spending most of their time on:


A) outsourcing their sales activities.
B) value-added functions like helping customers find what they want.
C) wrestling with inventory during busy periods.
D) packing unsold merchandise that need to be returned to the distribution center.
E) whisking items from their stores to the staging areas.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

ROI is a term used to represent the:


A) return on information
B) rate of information-generated
C) regular order intake
D) return on investment
E) relay-ordered inventory

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

What is contract manufacturing? What advantages can a firm expect to gain from contract manufacturing? What are the downsides associated with this practice? Contract manufacturing refers to outsourcing production to third-party firms. Firms that use contract manufacturers do not own the plants or directly employ the workers who produce the requested goods. Conventional wisdom suggests that leveraging cheap contract manufacturing in developing countries can keep the cost of goods low and allow firms to leverage specialized manufacturing expertise if production is not seen as core to competitive advantage. Firms can lower prices and sell more products or maintain higher profit margins. Many firms have also experienced the ugly downside to this practice. Global competition among contract firms has led to race-to-the-bottom cost-cutting measures. Too often, this means that in order to have the low-cost bid, contract firms skimp on safety, ignore environmental concerns, employ child labor, and engage in other ghastly practices. Big firms are big targets and those that fail to adequately ensure their products are made under acceptable labor conditions risk a brand-damaging backlash that may turn off customers, repel new hires, and leave current staff feeling betrayed.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

Zara is susceptible to any disruption in northern Spain because:


A) it moves all of its deliveries through just two locations, both in Spain.
B) it conducts its trade operations based on the American dollar rather than the stronger euro.
C) most of Zara's products are sold in markets outside Spain and Europe.
D) Zara's products are sold at much lower costs around the world than in Spain, and this harms profitability.
E) Zara's production facilities in Asia and Central America are threatening employment in Spain.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

How does RFID improve in-store customer service?

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

RFID lets Zara know where products are, ...

View Answer

Zara's IT expenditure is low by fashion industry standards and is also highly effective. Which of the following makes this possible?


A) Targeting technology investment at points in the value chain where it has the most significant impact.
B) Utilizing the money spent on IT infrastructure to improve the IT skills of its employees through training programs.
C) Using the best and most expensive software and ware in the market, as it lowers any maintenance costs later.
D) Outsourcing IT management to third-party firms which provide IT services at lower costs.
E) Investing IT funding in improving the infrastructure and cutting down employee overhead costs.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

An information system consists of ware, software, data, procedures, and the people who interact with and are impacted by the system.

Correct Answer

verifed

verified

Showing 41 - 60 of 70

Related Exams

Exam 1

Setting the Stage: Technology and the Modern Enterprise

59 Questions

Exam 2

Strategy and Technology: Concepts and Frameworks for Understanding What Separates Winners From Losers

78 Questions

Exam 4

Netflix in Two Acts: the Making of an E-Commerce Giant and the Uncertain Future of Atoms to Bits

94 Questions

Exam 5

Moores Law and More: Fast, Cheap Computing and What This Means for the Manager

78 Questions

Exam 6

Disruptive Technologies: Understanding the Giant Killers and Considerations for Avoiding Extinction

38 Questions

Exam 7

Amazoncom: an Empire Stretching From Cardboard Box to Kindle to Cloud

93 Questions

Exam 8

Understanding Network Effects: Strategies for Competing in a Platform-Centric, Winner-Take-All World

71 Questions

Exam 9

Social Media, Peer Production, and Web 20

111 Questions

Exam 10

The Sharing Economy, Collaborative Consumption, and Creating More Efficient Markets Through Technology

43 Questions

Exam 11

Facebook: a Billion-Plus Users, the High-Stakes Move to Mobile, and Big Business From the Social Graph

103 Questions

Exam 12

Rent the Runway: Entrepreneurs Expanding an Industry

52 Questions

Exam 13

Understanding Software: a Primer for Managers

75 Questions

Exam 14

Software in Flux: Open Source, Cloud, Vittualized and App-Driven Shifts

84 Questions

Exam 15

The Data Asset: Databases, Business Intelligence, Analytics, Big Data, and Competitive Advantage

97 Questions

Exam 16

A Managers Guide to the Internet and Telecommunications

82 Questions

Exam 17

Information Security: Barbarians at the Gateway and Just About Everywhere Else

89 Questions

Exam 18

Google in Three Parts: Search, Online Advertising, and an Alphabet of Opportunity

137 Questions

Show Answer