Questions and Answers of Strategic Management 5th

Compare and contrast a divisional structure with a matrix structure. In which type of environment might each be best suited?
According to Larry Greiner, what is the purpose of the different evolutionary and revolutionary phases an organization experiences, as it grows and develops?
How might the ‘hedgehog concept’ help companies to survive and prosper?
‘Without a vision, an organization will fail.’ Discuss.
Using company examples from different industries, examine the role of BHAGs in helping companies to produce far-reaching change.
What is a ‘learning organization’ and how does this help an organization achieve competitive advantage?
Why is emotional intelligence important for managers to achieve better performance?
What does ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’ mean?
‘Unless a leader is authentic as a CEO no one will follow them.’Discuss.
Identify an organization where its corporate culture enabled a successful transformational change in strategy. How did their culture help the change to take place?
Why is an understanding of the purpose of corporations helpful for understanding corporate governance?
Explain how the separation of ownership and control in organizations has led to an agency problem and agency costs.
Why is a concern for ESG (environment, social, and governance) becoming more prominent in organizations?
Identify the differences in the approach to shareholder value of Unilever and 3G Capital, a Brazilian-led private equity firm. Why do you think these differences may have led to the failed takeover
How does a company ensure that its code of ethics is integrated into the daily decision-making process of the company and is not just a symbolic trophy or plaque hanging on the wall?
How do the three elements of globalization, innovation, and sustainability impact your understanding of strategy?
Describe the triple bottom line.
Organizational strategy can be divided roughly into two categories: a) formulation and b) implementation. Although there is legitimate crossover between the two, how would you characterize the issues
Why has strategic management become so important in business?
What are the potential employment opportunities available to graduates with a solid understanding of strategy design and implementation?
Is there a conflict between agency theory and the concept of organizational stakeholders?
What would the impact be if the CEO was also the Board Chair?
How has moral relativism led to criminal activities by some employees in companies?
How appropriate is the theory of laissez-faire in today’s world?
Using Carroll’s list of four responsibilities, should a company be concerned about discretionary responsibilities? Why or why not?
How does STEEP analysis aid in the development of the strategy of a company?
Why is environmental uncertainty an important concept in strategic management?
The effects of climate change on companies can be grouped into six categories of risk. Use any two of these to explain the impact upon the resort hotel industry.
What can a corporation do to ensure that information about strategic environmental factors gets the attention of strategy makers?
How would you determine the level of competitive intensity in an industry?
Is Pepsi Cola a substitute for Coca Cola?
How does the resource-based view of the firm provide a superior means of evaluating a company’s competitive advantage?
What kind of internal factors help managers determine whether a firm should emphasize the production and sales of a large number of low-priced products or a small number of high-priced products?
Why should information systems be included in the analysis of a corporation’s strengths and weaknesses?
How does a hypercompetitive environment change the strategic approach for a company?
How can a company overcome the limitations of being in a fragmented industry?
Explain how our understanding of the three generic strategic approaches available to companies can be used to direct the efforts of all employees at those companies.
How can a company achieve a sustainable competitive advantage when its industry becomes hypercompetitive?
List the means available to a company for horizontal growth and explain why a company might pursue one over another.
Evaluate the types of retrenchment strategies that might be used by companies in stagnant industries.
Must a corporation have a common thread running through its many activities in order to be successful? Why or why not?
What is the value of portfolio analysis? Its dangers?
How can an operations strategy be used to understand and exploit a particular product offering?
What are the pros and cons of technological leader versus technological follower as a functional strategy?
How are corporate scenarios used in the development of an effective strategy?
Should functional strategies be categorized under strategy formulation or under strategy implementation?
What are the nine means by which a company can enter a new international market?
What are the advantages of using a Strategic alliance when operating in a new country?
How does the issue of Transfer Pricing impact the results of an MNC?
Does structure follow strategy or does strategy follow structure? Why?
What issues would you consider to be the most important for a company that is considering the use of a functional structure?
What are the critical issues that a company must consider when trying to match its staffing to its strategy?
How might manager–strategy fit be accomplished short of firing current managers?
What are the unique impacts on a company that must employ staff in international settings?
Does culture follow strategy or does strategy follow culture? Why?
Compare and contrast action planning with management by objectives.
How can MBO help improve the implementation of strategy?
Why bother with shareholder value or a stakeholder scorecard? Isn’t it simpler to evaluate a corporation and its SBUs just by using standard measures such as ROI or earnings per share?
Explain why ROI might not be the best measure of firm performance?
What are the best methods for evaluating the performance of the top management team?
Is benchmarking just another fad or is it really useful for all firms? Why?
Why are goal displacement and short-run orientation likely side effects of the monitoring of performance? What can a corporation do to avoid them?
What issues affect your faith in a transfer price as a substitute for a market price in measuring a profit center’s performance?
What ratios would you use to begin your analysis of a case?
At this point, Google and Facebook are the clear leaders in the digital ad space, which is predicted to continue to grow exponentially (reaching $175 billion in 2021, overtaking traditional
Theranos was valued at some $10 billion at its peak. Did the investors overlook any red flags? Or was it simply FOMO (“fear of missing out”) that made them hurry to jump on the Theranos
Why and how did Theranos get in trouble?
Visit www.lunchables.com and review the Lunchables products, as well as other packaged food products that Kraft offers. Discuss among your group members the extent to which the product options are
List your personal goals. Which stakeholders are supportive of these goals? Which are likely to try to block these goals?
In the discussion about Merck (Strategy Highlight 1.2) it is clear the firm has followed a socially responsible path by donating more than 1 billion drug treatments to remedy river blindness in
The chapter applies the three elements of a good strategy to Tesla for insights into the company’s possible competitive advantage. As a group, choose a different firm that is well known to the
Does Tesla have a good strategy? Why or why not? How do you know? Consider: By summer 2019, Tesla's market cap had fallen by 30 percent to $45 billion, down from $65 billion a year earlier. Many
Develop a plan to address key stakeholder concerns from each perspective. Can you find a pathway in the stakeholder analysis to build support for your key goals?
Corporate social responsibility has four components. Do you agree that public firms should address all four elements? Why or why not? If not, where should the firm "draw the line?” Please provide
Describe the rationale behind Tesla’s new master plan. How does this new strategy help Tesla fulfill its vision? To view Tesla’s “Master Plan, Part Deux” in its entirety, see Tesla’s blog:
What would it take to implement your ideas/plans to move forward with these goals?
In the discussion about Merck (Strategy Highlight 1.2), the firm faces difficult situations about life-saving drugs. What is your assessment of Merck's consideration of various stakeholders in the
What challenges (as detailed in this ChapterCase) is Facebook facing? How should Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg deal with each of them? List each of the challenges, and make specific
Identify your personal values. How do you expect these values to affect your work life or your career choice?
The chapter discusses several strategic leadership issues at Facebook. Several other firms are also noted in the chapter with some positive and some negative leadership results. Choose a firm
Compare and contrast the strategic leadership of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Which qualities for each strategic leader stand out to you, and why? Where would you place each individual on the
How much less salary would (did) you accept to find employment with a company that is aligned with your values?
Given the apparent leadership crisis at Facebook, should Mark Zuckerberg and/or Sheryl Sandberg be replaced? Why, or why not? Explain your answers.
How much are you willing to “pay for pay” if your dream job is in management consulting or investment banking?
Several elements of strategic decision making are highlighted in this chapter. Think of an important decision a firm has recently faced and choose either devil’s advocacy or dialectic inquiry to
How was an internet startup able to disrupt the hotel industry, long dominated by giants such as Marriott and Hilton, which took decades to become successful worldwide hospitality chains? Explain.
Many people approach the job market by thinking about particular firms. What are some advantages of broadening this thought process to consider the industry-level factors of a potential new employer?
The external environment of the global automobile industry is quite complex. Regulations vary from country to country and in the United States even from one state to another. Firms must be prepared
Why is it that PESTEL factors can have such a strong impact on the future of a business? Do you support legislation such as that passed in New York (and elsewhere), or do you think it has more to do
In January 2017, a U.S. grand jury indicted six current and former VW executives for their alleged role in the emissions scandal and its subsequent cover-up. The U.S. Justice Department decided to
Citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Airbnb is challenging the New York law and others in the United States, arguing that it merely operates a digital marketplace, and thus is not
What are the competitive implications of the actions of VW? Does this situation impact the industry rivalry that is discussed in the five forces model, for instance?
If your group believes that the company is not responsible for personal choices that consumers make to eat unhealthy food, then describe how the company should respond to activist groups and public
How do mobility barriers affect the structure of an industry? How do they help us explain firm differences in performance?
Why is Five Guys so successful? Describe Five Guys’ core competency, explain how the company built it, and why it is essential to its success.
Conduct a value chain analysis for Five Guys. What are its primary activities? What are its support activities? Identify the activities that add the most value for the customer. Why? Which activities
Five Guys’ success led to imitation attempts by more recent entries in the fast-casual “better burger” segment of the restaurant industry such as BurgerFi, Shake Shack, and Smashburger. Do you
Do you think a trend toward more healthy eating is a threat to Five Guys? If so, what could the company do about it? For example, should the company change its menu to include healthier choices, or
Do you think Five Guys will be as successful outside the United States as it has been in its home market? Why or why not?
At the next big family gathering, you want to impress your grandparents with the innovative ideas you have learned in business school. They have decades of experience in investing in the stock market

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