Test Your Knowledge: Win vs. Fail Questions
Determine whether the following event represents a "Win" or "Failure" by the company.
Question 1: In down markets, USG's share is very stable. The company maintains volume with its large customers and takes marginal volume after the failure of other competitors. The company has been especially good at consolidating its share in the Primary position with its Medium and Small customers.
Question 2: In the personal computer business, IBM surrendered market share to rivals who slashed prices more quickly. IBM's share of the PC market sold by conventional dealers in July of 1991 was 30%, by July of 1992 it had fallen to 18%.
Question 3: In the mid 1980s, imports of steel from countries with low cost labor, such as Korea and Brazil, took 22% of the US market, but far more than that in the west because of the proximity of that market to the low cost suppliers.
Question 4: The insurance industry, in the early 1990s, pressured auto body shops to use cheaper parts. Several independent car part producers had gained a foothold in the market place by offering very low prices. Eventually Ford slashed prices on replacement parts to fight competition from the independent parts producers.
Question 5: In the late l980s, Cummins Engine Company introduced a new line of engines. The engines were riddled with flaws. As a result, rival Detroit Diesel snatched market share it has never surrendered.
Question 6: In the early 1990s, the nation's largest long-haul trucking company switched its fleet from Cummins Engines to Detroit Diesel. The new engines by Detroit Diesel achieved reduced emissions without sacrificing efficiency.
Question 7: In 1988, Briggs & Stratton's largest customer slashed orders for small engines by 45%, and for riding mower engines by l0%. The customer was fed up with rising prices and moved a substantial part of the business to Tecumseh.
Question 8: Many small business owners are attracted by the Mac's ease of use, graphics abilities, and simple networking.
Question 9: In the l970s, Wang gained many customers from IBM because Wang had developed a typewriter with a computer screen.
Question 10: Zenith Data Systems developed a new distribution policy designed to boost sales of its desktop computers. It required its laptop dealers to sell Zenith's unpopular desktop personal computers. As a result of this new policy, more than 1000 dealers, including big chains like Computerland, simply dropped Zenith computers all together.