Deck 1: Introduction

Question 1

Flexible manufacturing technologies have increased the importance of production economies of scale.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

GDP does relate very directly to the amount of goods consumers can purchase.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Technology in its purest form is not knowledge,but rather faith that things will get better.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

If an idea can be shown to be technologically feasible,it is guaranteed to be commercially successful.

Question 5

Technological innovation can have a positive impact on our quality of life through improved goods and services.

Question 6

According to the concept of the innovation funnel,one new idea is usually responsible for several new products.

Question 7

While rapid innovation often benefits society,it often makes success for companies

A) more complicated as they strive to keep up with the latest innovations.
B) profitable as long as they do not innovate themselves, but rather use innovations of others to their advantage.
C) easier since innovation always makes things simpler.
D) less likely because customers will not be willing to pay as much for goods and services.

Question 8

Practically all innovative ideas become successful products.

Question 9

The majority of effort and money invested in technological innovation comes from industrial firms.

Question 10

Most studies suggest that

A) technological innovation helps to increase a country's gross domestic product.
B) technological innovation typically decreases a country's gross domestic product.
C) technological innovation has no impact on a country's gross domestic product.
D) a country's gross domestic product determines its rate of technological innovation.

Question 11

After Yahoo! was introduced as an easy way to search the World Wide Web,it was followed by other search engines,some of which had improved or faster ways to search the web.This is an example of how one innovative idea can

A) ruin the business of someone else.
B) slow down obsolescence.
C) stimulate more innovations and create a new market.
D) never be truly copied.

Question 12

The globalization of markets and the importance of innovation are independent of one another.

Question 13

Firms that charge headlong into new product development usually have short development cycles.

Question 14

Slow innovation results in diminishing margins and product obsolescence.

Question 15

As a result of the rapid pace of innovation,the time between a product's introduction and its withdrawal from the market

A) has become shorter.
B) has become more predictable.
C) has become longer.
D) has not changed at all.

Question 16

Innovation and new technology have led to longer product life cycles as better quality products are being produced.

Question 17

The relationship between speed of innovation and product obsolescence is

A) direct (as innovation speed increases, products become obsolete more quickly).
B) inverse (as innovation speed increases, products become obsolete more slowly).
C) indirect (there is an effect, but it cannot be directly determined).
D) nonexistent (there is no relationship at all).

Question 18

Technology's effects on society are always positive.

Question 19

.The increased pace of innovation has only had a negligible effect on market segmentation and product obsolescence.

Question 20

Studies have revealed that innovation is a freewheeling process that is unconstrained by rules and plans.

Question 21

Explain how computer-aided design and flexible manufacturing help create small niches in the market place.Provide and example of how a market with different niches might be served.

Question 22

In a series of studies of economic growth conducted at the National Bureau of Economic Research,economists showed that the historic rate of economic growth in GDP could not be accounted for entirely by growth in labor and capital inputs.Consensus emerged later that _____ helped explain this gap.

A) technological change
B) measurement error
C) inaccurate price deflation
D) labor improvement

Question 23

Which of the following statements about being a successful innovator is most likely to be true?

A) To innovate successfully, you should start out with only a vague idea.
B) Your thinking should not be structured so ideas can pop into your head.
C) You need clearly defined strategies and processes.
D) You should have a completely open mind about how to proceed and "go with the flow."

Question 24

Why is it important that a company have a well-defined process for strategically managing its new product development process?

Question 25

The ______ of an economy is its total annual output,measured by final purchase price.

A) net national income
B) gross domestic product
C) gross national product
D) balance of trade

Question 26

Explain how the globalization of markets affects the importance of innovation.

Question 27

Electronic waste results from the disposal of technological goods.This is an example of

A) industrial resistance.
B) a negative externality.
C) shortened product life cycles.
D) rapid innovation.

Question 28

Out of all the innovative ideas that come forth,how many become successful products?

A) Very few
B) Most
C) About half
D) Seventy-five percent

Question 29

Technology in its purest form is

A) faith that things will get better.
B) knowledge to solve our problems and pursue our goals.
C) always derived from physics.
D) pure guesswork.

Question 30

A firm's innovation projects should satisfy all of the following,except

A) align with its resources.
B) leverage its core competencies.
C) help achieve its strategic intent.
D) be able to produce immediate returns.

Question 31

A firm's new product development process should

A) maximize the likelihood of projects being both technically and commercially successful.
B) eliminate the firm's exposure to risk.
C) utilize technology currently available within the organization, thereby reducing expenses.
D) be patented irrespective of the success of the product.

Question 32

If an idea can be shown to be technologically feasible,its chances of commercial success

A) are practically guaranteed.
B) have improved.
C) have diminished.
D) can be exactly calculated.

Question 33

If you were the director of R&D at a large pharmaceutical company,how might you apply the concept of "the innovation funnel?"

A) Hire more people because most of them will turn out to be mediocre.
B) Encourage more new ideas because it takes thousands of new ideas to come up with one successful new product.
C) Discourage more new ideas because most of them end up being useless and waste time and energy.
D) The innovation funnel concept can not be used by a person in this position.

Question 34

The Solow Residual refers to

A) the increased amount of output achievable from a given quantity of labor and capital due to technological innovation.
B) the less developed nations of the world being left behind due to their slower development of technology.
C) obsolete products left in the market due to the accelerated product life cycle.
D) the reduction in the amount of inventory needed by manufacturing firms due to technological improvements in inventory management.

Question 35

As companies adopt new technologies and increase their pace of innovation,the results may be

A) an industry wide shift to longer production cycles.
B) rapid product introductions.
C) less market segmentation.
D) slower product obsolescence.

Question 36

According to the text,firms that rush headlong into new product development usually

A) initiate only those projects that they can effectively support.
B) have short development cycles.
C) experience low project failure rates.
D) choose projects that are a poor fit with their resources and objectives.

Question 37

Explain how an understanding of the innovation funnel might influence a company's view of research and development?

Question 38

What are the some of the negative impacts on society due to technological innovation? How would you answer critics of improved technology who cite these negative impacts?