International Business Strategies – Siemens Case Study & GI-LR Framework | 60+ MCQs Answer
🧠 MCQs with Answers
What is one of the key objectives of the Siemens case?
- a) Understand marketing tactics
- b) Understand global KAM complexity
- c) Study pricing policies
- d) Learn regional HR policies
What does KAM stand for?
- a) Key Acquisition Management
- b) Knowledge Access Market
- c) Key Account Management
- d) Key Agreement Model
Which is NOT a form of KAM discussed in the case?
- a) National KAM
- b) Global KAM
- c) Local KAM
- d) Hybrid KAM
What is one challenge with balancing global integration and local autonomy?
- a) Talent acquisition
- b) Alignment of objectives
- c) Political influence
- d) Language barriers
Global KAM aims to:
- a) Increase R&D
- b) Reduce customer base
- c) Enhance customer relationships
- d) Outsource operations
Siemens wants to offer KAM to:
- a) Reduce prices
- b) Satisfy short-term goals
- c) Fulfill long-term industry needs
- d) Decrease customer involvement
How much can KAM increase Siemens’ profitability?
- a) 5%
- b) 10%
- c) 15%
- d) 25%
What percentage of business is handled by Siemens' account managers?
- a) 20%
- b) 40%
- c) 60%
- d) 80%
KAM helps Siemens by providing:
- a) Price cuts
- b) Product outsourcing
- c) Operational efficiency for customers
- d) More suppliers
KAM contributes to:
- a) Less personalization
- b) Multiple contact points
- c) Customer retention
- d) High employee attrition
One benefit of a KAM program is:
- a) Decreased trust
- b) Higher customer loyalty
- c) Less product development
- d) Poor communication
KAM allows suppliers to:
- a) Lower brand value
- b) Resolve customer issues slowly
- c) Upsell/cross-sell effectively
- d) Reduce product customization
With KAM, customers experience:
- a) Less clarity
- b) Consistency and personalization
- c) More confusion
- d) Increased bureaucracy
A well-developed KAM system leads to:
- a) Customer churn
- b) Higher customer satisfaction
- c) Reduced referrals
- d) Product inefficiency
What is NOT a benefit of KAM?
- a) Better pricing
- b) Single contact point
- c) Poor segmentation
- d) Trust building
One potential risk of KAM:
- a) More customer loyalty
- b) Overdependence on one person
- c) Clear implementation strategies
- d) Simplified communication
Local subsidiaries may:
- a) Support consistent quality
- b) Deliver the same support always
- c) Fail to match product quality
- d) Never face implementation issues
A drawback of global KAM is:
- a) Stronger local teams
- b) Lack of global bidding
- c) Fixated thinking and resistance to change
- d) More flexible pricing
What makes the customer vulnerable?
- a) Too many suppliers
- b) Supplier diversification
- c) Single supplier dependency
- d) Decentralized systems
What could lead to pricing power loss?
- a) Lower volume
- b) Low discounts
- c) High volume commitments
- d) Higher margins
EuroBric is:
- a) A new Siemens subsidiary
- b) Siemens’ smallest customer
- c) A key account for Siemens
- d) Siemens’ competitor
One reason Siemens chose EuroBric as a key account:
- a) Unstable operations
- b) Poor global presence
- c) Strategic fit and global presence
- d) Lack of standardization
EuroBric contributes what % to global stanmet production?
- a) 2%
- b) 5%
- c) 8%
- d) 12%
One feature of EuroBric that supports global integration:
- a) Centralized budgeting
- b) Multiple contact points
- c) Localized decision-making only
- d) No government connects
Siemens’ long-standing relationship is with:
- a) Tamerstan
- b) Ching Stanmet
- c) Eurochina
- d) Amersteel
A challenge in Siemens' current KAM with EuroBric:
- a) Over-centralization
- b) Local team resistance
- c) Customer growth
- d) Low GFA discounts
Small orders cause:
- a) Pricing benefits
- b) Logistical ease
- c) Logistical challenges
- d) Global optimization
EuroBric’s GFA causes:
- a) Ease in pricing
- b) Negative margins for Mustafin
- c) Strong local alignment
- d) Flexible contracts
Local differences not aligned with GFA include:
- a) Standard discount
- b) Delivery mode
- c) Payment terms and duties
- d) Product color
A disadvantage for Siemens' local teams:
- a) More involvement
- b) Confusion from global pricing
- c) Better communication
- d) Extra workforce
What should Mr. Maldini do to improve KAM success?
- a) Reduce product range
- b) Centralize all contracts
- c) Allow local adjustments
- d) Remove regional teams
Maldini should categorize products into:
- a) Services and solutions
- b) Price-based and free products
- c) Global vs. customizable
- d) High and low-value
Dynamic pricing is needed to:
- a) Maintain zero margins
- b) Adjust for local conditions
- c) Reduce global discounts
- d) Encourage imports
A "mini Siemens" approach suggests:
- a) Centralized-only control
- b) Local Siemens teams acting autonomously
- c) Elimination of account managers
- d) Ignoring local cultures
What is a key element of a balanced KAM approach?
- a) No local variation
- b) Strict global GFA
- c) Fit-for-both customization
- d) Eliminate discounts
GI stands for:
- a) General Industry
- b) Global Integration
- c) Government Intervention
- d) Global Independence
LR stands for:
- a) Local Rights
- b) Legal Regulations
- c) Local Responsiveness
- d) Low Risk
The GI-LR framework helps organizations:
- a) Build factories abroad
- b) Balance standardization and customization
- c) Choose HR strategies
- d) Avoid innovation
Siemens’ KAM strategy aims to:
- a) Focus on GI only
- b) Focus on LR only
- c) Balance both GI and LR
- d) Ignore GI-LR model
The GI-LR framework was developed by:
- a) George Yip
- b) Philip Kotler
- c) Bartlett and Ghoshal
- d) McKinsey
One advantage of a centralized KAM structure is:
- a) Inconsistent communication
- b) Duplicated efforts
- c) Standardized communication
- d) Lower coordination
EuroBric's geographic spread supports:
- a) Local-only strategies
- b) Focused national presence
- c) Global integration
- d) Regional autonomy only
GFA stands for:
- a) Global Federation Agreement
- b) General Functional Agreement
- c) Global Framework Agreement
- d) Government Funding Agreement
The purpose of GFA in KAM is to:
- a) Decentralize pricing
- b) Create local inconsistencies
- c) Standardize terms globally
- d) Promote local priorities only
What causes friction between global and local teams in Siemens’ KAM model?
- a) Centralized HR policies
- b) Different legal systems
- c) Discounts and pricing inconsistencies
- d) Joint product development
Local team issues may arise due to:
- a) Equal margins
- b) Lack of global support
- c) Global discounts affecting profitability
- d) Autonomy in marketing
How does KAM improve operational efficiency for customers?
- a) Through added bureaucracy
- b) By diversifying suppliers
- c) By offering a single point of contact
- d) Through longer delivery times
A mature KAM capability helps in:
- a) Decreasing trust
- b) Customer dissatisfaction
- c) Improving supplier performance perception
- d) Raising switching costs only
The GI-LR framework highlights the trade-off between:
- a) Revenue and cost
- b) Autonomy and standardization
- c) Innovation and stability
- d) Pricing and volume
Which is a key challenge in managing global customers?
- a) Too many managers
- b) Lack of innovation
- c) Aligning global standards with local needs
- d) Centralized marketing
🧾 Key Points to Remember:
- KAM (Key Account Management) at Siemens enhances customer satisfaction, personalization, and global efficiency.
- Benefits include customer retention, better pricing, cross-selling, and loyalty.
- Risks include over-dependence, quality variance across regions, and resistance to change.
- EuroBric is a strategic global partner due to scale, spread, and compatibility.
- Maldini's role is to tailor the global-local balance, maintain flexibility, and resolve pricing disparities.
- GI-LR Framework helps balance global standardization and local adaptation—essential in managing international business strategies.
