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strategic management 5th
Strategic Management Creating Competiti 9th Edition Gregory Dess, Gerry McNamara, Alan Eisner, Seung-Hyun Lee - Solutions
What actions should be taken to increase the rate of new business start-ups? How effective will these actions be?
What do you think are the primary causes of the decline?
How concerned are you about the drop in the rate of entrepreneurship?
Would you feel comfortable having that conversation early on with a partner in a new business? How would you initiate that conversation?
Why do founders often fail to work up formal written contracts about ownership and credit?
Why do you think that so many start-up firms have these disputes?
Business practices and customs vary throughout the world. What are some of the ethical issues concerning payments that must be made in a foreign country to obtain business opportunities?
Over the past few decades, many American firms have relocated most or all of their operations from the United States to countries such as Mexico and China that pay lower wages. What are some of the ethical issues that such actions may raise?
Many large U.S.-based management consulting companies such as McKinsey and Company and the BCG Group have been very successful in the international marketplace. How can Porter’s diamond explain their success?
Many firms fail when they enter into strategic alliances with firms that link up with companies based in other countries. What are some reasons for this failure? Provide an example.
The Internet has lowered the entry barriers for smaller firms that wish to diversify into international markets. Why is this so? Provide an example.
The United States is considered a world leader in the motion picture industry. Using Porter’s diamond framework for national competitiveness, explain the success of this industry. (Fill in the following chart.) 1. 2. 3. Factor endowments 1 2. 3. 1 2. 3. Domestic rivalry Related and supporting
In this chapter, we discussed how several companies such as Ford (Learning from Mistakes opening incident)and Coca-Cola (Strategy Spotlight 7.4) adopted a localized international strategy. Interview a manager in an organization with foreign market exposure and ask the following questions: (1) What
Describe the basic entry strategies that firms have available when they enter international markets.What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of each?
What is the basis of Alan Rugman’s argument that most multinationals are still more regional than global? What factors inhibit firms from becoming truly global?
There are four basic strategies—international, global, multidomestic, and transnational. What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with each?
Explain the two opposing forces—cost reduction and adaptation to local markets—that firms must deal with when they go global.
What are the four factors described in Porter’s diamond of national advantage? How do the four factors explain why some industries in a given country are more successful than others?
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with a firm’s expansion into international markets?
What are some of the ethical issues that arise when managers act in a manner that is counter to their firm’s best interests? What are the long-term implications for both the firms and the managers themselves?
It is not uncommon for corporations to undertake downsizing and layoffs. Do you feel that such actions raise ethical considerations? Why or why not?
AT&T is a firm that follows a strategy of related diversification. Evaluate its success (or lack thereof) with regard to how well it has (1) built on core competencies,(2) shared infrastructures, and (3) increased market power. (Insert answers in the table that follows.)
The Newell-Jarden merger has not generated value for shareholders. Imagine you were advising firm managers on how they could best leverage the businesses they have. Identify the key business units of the firm. Evaluate how the firm can leverage opportunities for (1) building on core
Use the Internet and select a company that has recently undertaken diversification into new product markets. What do you feel were some of the reasons for this diversification (e.g., leveraging core competencies, sharing infrastructures)?
Discuss some of the challenges that managers must overcome in making strategic alliances successful.What are some strategic alliances with which you are familiar? Were they successful or not? Explain. Rationale for Related Diversification 1. Build on core competencies 2. Share infrastructures 3.
Discuss some examples from business practice in which an executive’s actions appear to be in his or her self-interest rather than the corporation’s well-being.
What were some of the largest mergers and acquisitions over the last two years? What was the rationale for these actions? Do you think they will be successful?Explain.
Discuss some of the actions that managers may engage in to erode shareholder value.
Discuss some of the various means that firms can use to diversify. What are the pros and cons associated with each of these?
What are some of the important ways in which a firm can restructure a business?
How can companies benefit from related diversification?Unrelated diversification? What are some of the key concepts that can explain such success?
What are some of the reasons that many diversification efforts fail to achieve desired outcomes?
Discuss how managers can create value for their firm through diversification efforts.
In the introductory stage of the product life cycle, what are some of the unethical practices that managers could engage in to enhance their firm’s market position? What could be some of the longterm implications of such actions?
Can you think of a company that suffered ethical consequences as a result of an overemphasis on a cost leadership strategy? What do you think were the financial and nonfinancial implications?
Think of a firm that successfully achieved a combination overall cost leadership and differentiation strategy. What can be learned from this example? Are the advantages sustainable? Why?Why not? (Hint: Consider its competitive position vis-à-vis Porter’s five forces.)
Think of a firm that has attained a differentiation focus or cost focus strategy. Are its advantages sustainable? Why? Why not? (Hint: Consider its position vis-à-vis Porter’s five forces.)
Choose a firm with which you are familiar in your local business community. Is the firm successful in following one (or more) generic strategies? Why or why not? What do you think are some of the challenges it faces in implementing these strategies in an effective manner?
Research Amazon. How has this firm been able to combine overall cost leadership and differentiation strategies?
What are some examples of primary and support activities that enable Nucor, a $25 billion steel manufacturer, to achieve a low-cost strategy?(Fill in the following table.) Value-Chain Activity Primary: Yes/No How Does Nucor Create Value for the Customer? Inbound logistics Operations Outbound
In the Learning from Mistakes at the opening of the chapter, we discussed the struggles of A&P supermarket chain. Today, we see a number of retailers (e.g., J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Sears, Southeastern Grocers, Tesco) struggling with similar challenges. Pick a struggling retailer and analyze its
Explain why the industry life-cycle concept is an important factor in determining a firm’s business-level strategy.
Can firms combine the generic strategies of overall cost leadership and differentiation? Why or why not?
Describe some of the pitfalls associated with each of the three generic strategies.
What are some of the ways in which a firm can attain a successful turnaround strategy?
Explain the relationship between the three generic strategies and the five forces that determine the average profitability within an industry.
Briefly describe the three generic strategies—overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.
Explain why the concept of competitive advantage is central to the study of strategic management.
Based on your experiences or what you have learned in your previous classes, are you familiar with any companies that used unethical practices to attract talented professionals? What do you feel were the shortterm and long-term consequences of such practices?
Recall an example of a firm that recently faced an ethical crisis. How do you feel the crisis and management’s handling of it affected the firm’s human capital and social capital?
Using the Internet, look up a company with which you are familiar. What are some of the policies and procedures that it uses to enhance the firm’s human and social capital?
Choose a company with which you are familiar. What are some of the ways in which it uses technology to leverage its human capital?
Select a firm for which you believe its social capital—both within the firm and among its suppliers and customers—is vital to its competitive advantage.Support your arguments.
Look up successful firms in a high-technology industry as well as two successful firms in more traditional industries such as automobile manufacturing and retailing. Compare their market values and book values.What are some implications of these differences?
Pfizer, a leading healthcare firm with $53 billion in revenues, is often rated as one of Fortune’s“Most Admired Firms.” It is also considered an excellent place to work and has generated high return to shareholders. Clearly, Pfizer values its human capital. Using the Internet and/or library
Electronic teams, which we address in the section entitled “Electronic Teams: Using Technology to Enhance Collaboration,” are becoming widely used in all types of organizations. We address key differences between e-teams and more traditional teams, the advantages associated with e-teams, as
Discuss the key role of technology in leveraging knowledge and human capital.
Discuss the need for managers to use social capital in leveraging their human capital both within and across their firm.
What are some of the potential downsides for firms that engage in a “war for talent”?
Why is it important for managers to recognize the interdependence in the attraction, development, and retention of talented professionals?
Explain the role of knowledge in today’s competitive environment.
What are some of the ethical issues that may arise from a firm’s procurement activities? Are you aware of any of these issues from your personal experience or businesses you are familiar with?
What are some of the ethical issues that arise when a firm becomes overly zealous in advertising its products?
Using the Internet, look up your university or college.What are some of its key value-creating activities that provide competitive advantages? Why?
How might exemplary human resource practices enhance and strengthen a firm’s value-chain activities?
Select a firm that competes in an industry in which you are interested. Drawing upon published financial reports, complete a financial ratio analysis. Based on changes over time and a comparison with industry norms, evaluate the firm’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of its financial position.
Using published reports, select two CEOs who have recently made public statements regarding a major change in their firm’s strategy. Discuss how the successful implementation of such strategies requires changes in the firm’s primary and support activities.
Caterpillar is a leading firm in the construction and mining equipment industry with extensive global operations. It has approximately 98,000 employees, and its revenues were $54 billion in 2018. In addition to its manufacturing and logistics operations, Caterpillar is well known for its superb
In the Learning from Mistakes at the beginning of the chapter, we saw how KFC became too focused on cutting cost in their supply chain, and it hampered their ability to be able to serve customers effectively.Imagine you were advising KFC on how they need to emphasize the customer-orientation of
Summarize the concept of the balanced scorecard.What are its main advantages?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of conducting a financial ratio analysis of a firm?
Under what conditions are employees and managers able to appropriate some of the value created by their firm?
Briefly explain the four criteria for sustainability of competitive advantages.
How can managers create value by establishing important relationships among the value-chain activities both within their firm and between the firm and its customers and suppliers?
Briefly describe the primary and support activities in a firm’s value chain.
SWOT analysis is a technique to analyze the internal and external environments of a firm. What are its advantages and disadvantages?
What are some of the ethical implications that arise when a firm tries to exploit its power over a supplier?
What are some of the legal and ethical issues involved in collecting competitor intelligence in the following situations?a. Hotel A sends an employee posing as a potential client to Hotel B to find out who Hotel B’s major corporate customers are.b. A firm hires an MBA student to collect
Go to www.kroger.com. What are some of the five forces driving industry competition that are affecting the profitability of this firm?
What are the major trends in the general environment that have impacted the U.S. pharmaceutical industry?
Analyze movements across the strategic groups in the U.S. retail industry. How do these movements within this industry change the nature of competition?
Imagine yourself as the CEO of a large firm in an industry in which you are interested. Please (1)identify major trends in the general environment,(2) analyze their impact on the firm, and (3) identify major sources of information to monitor these trends.(Use Internet and library resources.)
Select one of the following industries: personal computers, airlines, or automobiles. For this industry, evaluate the strength of each of Porter’s five forces as well as complementors. Industry Force 1. Threat of new entrants 2. Power of buyers 3. Power of suppliers 4. Power of substitutes 5.
Strategy Spotlight 2.2 discusses the growing importance of environmental concerns and illustrates how companies in different industries deal with plastic waste issues. Many other environmental problems such as greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting climate change issues are major concerns for
Explain the concept of strategic groups. What are the performance implications?
Explain how the general environment and industry environment are highly related. How can such interrelationships affect the profitability of a firm or industry?
What are some of the limitations (or caveats) in using five-forces analysis?
Describe how the five forces can be used to determine the average expected profitability in an industry.
Select one of these elements and describe some changes relating to it in an industry that interests you.
Discuss and describe the six elements of the external environment.
What is gathering and analyzing competitive intelligence, and why is it important for firms to engage in it?
Why must managers be aware of a firm’s external environment?
Using the Internet or library sources, select four organizations—two in the private sector and two in the public sector. Find their mission statements.Complete the following exhibit by identifying the stakeholders that are mentioned. Evaluate the differences between firms in the private sector
Strategy Spotlight 1.1 discusses four activities that underlie ambidextrous behaviors—a dual capacity for alignment and adaptability. Interview two managers in a public, private, or volunteer organization and ask them the following questions: (1) How often do you engage in each of these
A firm has spent some time—with input from managers at all levels—on developing a vision statement and a mission statement. Over time, however, the behavior of some executives is contrary to these statements. Could this raise some ethical issues?
A company focuses solely on short-term profits to provide the greatest return to the owners of the business (i.e., the shareholders in a publicly held firm). What ethical issues could this raise?
Look up the vision statements and/or mission statements for a few companies. Do you feel that they are constructive and useful as a means of motivating employees and providing a strong strategic direction? Why? Why not? (Note: Annual reports, along with the Internet, may be good sources of
Provide examples of companies that are actively trying to increase the amount of empowerment in the strategic management process throughout the organization. Do these companies seem to be having positive outcomes? Why? Why not?
Select a company that competes in an industry in which you are interested. What are some of the recent demands that stakeholders have placed on this company? Can you find examples of how the company is trying to develop “symbiosis”(interdependence and mutual benefit) among its stakeholders?
Go to the Internet and look up one of these company sites: www.walmart.com, www.ge.com, or www.fordmotor.com. What are some of the key events that would represent the “romantic” perspective of leadership? What are some of the key events that depict the “external control” perspective of
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