For companies to successfully implement a divestment strategy they must: a. recognize the signs of an industry's decline earlier than their competitors to divest while the company still has something to offer. b. have a dominant position in terms of economies of scale, offering the best production processes and lowest cost structure to prospective buyers. c. identify the portion of the industry that is not in decline and configure its business to serve those customers. d. create a value innovation to consolidate the industry as it breaks apart.

Reliability and validity reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. in the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways. unfortunately, being consistent in measurement does not necessarily mean that you have measured something correctly. to illustrate this concept, consider a kitchen scale that would be used to measure the weight of cereal that you eat in the morning. if the scale is not properly calibrated, it may consistently under- or overestimate the amount of cereal that’s being measured. while the scale is highly reliable in producing consistent results (e. g., the same amount of cereal poured onto the scale produces the same reading each time), those results are incorrect. this is where validity comes into play. validity refers to the extent to which a given instrument or tool accurately measures what it’s supposed to measure. while any valid measure is by necessity reliable, the reverse is not necessarily true. researchers strive to use instruments that are both highly reliable and valid.

Sailcloth & more currently produces boat sails and is considering expanding its operations to include awnings for homes and travel trailers. the company owns land beside its current manufacturing facility that could be used for the expansion. the company bought this land 5 years ago at a cost of $319,000. at the time of purchase, the company paid $24,000 to level out the land so it would be suitable for future use. today, the land is valued at $295,000. the company has some unused equipment that it currently owns valued at $38,000. this equipment could be used for producing awnings if $12,000 is spent for equipment modifications. other equipment costing $490,000 will also be required. what is the amount of the initial cash flow for this expansion project?

Leading guitar string producer wound up inc. has enjoyed a competitive advantage based on its proprietary coating that gives its strings a clearer sound and longer lifespan than uncoated strings. one of wound up's competitors, however, has recently developed a similar coating using less expensive ingredients, which allows it to charge a lower price than wound up for similar-quality strings. wound up's competitive advantage is in danger due to a. a lack of perceived value b. a lack of organization c. direct imitation and substitution d. resource immobility