Questions and Answers of Strategic Management Concepts And Cases

In 2003, Sony officially launched its Blu-ray disc, an optical disc data-storage format that could offer highdefinition video, with hopes of replacing the DVD format. Sony’s technology had the
The U.S. newspaper business is a declining industry.Newspaper circulation has been steadily falling since 1990, with the drop accelerating in recent years.According to the Newspaper Association of
By 2018, there were roughly 5 billion mobile broadband subscribers in the world.1 As smartphones spread worldwide, so do mobile payment systems.The fastest growth is in developing economies in Asia,
Two companies, Boeing and Airbus, have long dominated the market for large commercial jet aircraft.Today Boeing planes account for 50% of the world’s fleet of commercial jet aircraft, and Airbus
Established in 2000 as a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Britain’s Vodafone, over the last 18 years Verizon Wireless has emerged as the largest and consistently most profitable
When Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1995, the online retailer focused solely on selling books. Music and videos were soon added to the mix. Today, one can purchase a wide range of media and
Nordstrom is one of American’s most successful fashion retailers. John Nordstrom, a Swedish immigrant, established the company in 1901 with a single shoe store in Seattle. From the very start,
Founded in 1837, Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble (P&G) has long been one of the world’s most international companies. Today, P&G is a global colossus in the consumer products business, with
In 1979, JCB, the large British manufacturer of construction equipment, entered into a joint venture with Escorts, an Indian engineering conglomerate, to manufacture backhoe loaders for sale in
At a dinner for Silicon Valley luminaries in February 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama asked Steve Jobs of Apple, “What would it take to make iPhones in the United States?” Jobs replied,
In 2018, Citigroup was a $71.4-billion, diversified, financial services firm known around the world. However, its history had not always been smooth. From the late 1990s through 2010, the company’s
In 2011, HP was churning on many fronts simultaneously.It had decided to abandon its tablet computer and was struggling with a decision about whether to exit its $40-billion-a-year personal computer
Apple has a legendary ability to produce a steady stream of innovative new products and product improvements that are differentiated by design elegance and ease of use. Product innovation is in many
Can you think of an example in your own life where cognitive biases resulted in you making a poor decision? How might that mistake have been avoided?
In 1998, self-described snowboarder and surfer dude Chip Wilson took his first yoga class. The Vancouver native loved the exercises but hated doing them in the cotton clothing that was standard yoga
Over the last two decades, the wireless telecommunications industry in the United States has been characterized by strong growth as demand for mobile phones—and, since 2007, smartphones—drove
Southwest Airlines has long been the standout performer in the U.S. airline industry. It is famous for its fares, which are often some 30% lower than those of its major rivals. These low fares are
For most of its history, McDonald’s has been an extraordinarily successful enterprise. It began in 1955, when the legendary Ray Kroc decided to franchise the McDonald brothers’ fast-food concept.
Thirty years ago, Starbucks was a single store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market selling premium-roasted coffee. Today, it is a global roaster and retailer of coffee with more than 24,000 stores, 40%
When will an industry tend to become dominated by platform ecosystems? What will determine which platform ecosystems are more successful in an industry than others?
In February 2014, Comcast and Time Warner announced their intention to merge–a deal worth about $45 billion. The merger would form the largest cable TV and Internet provider in the United States
When is a company likely to choose (a) related diversification and (b) unrelated diversification?
Identify Honeywell’s portfolio of businesses, which can be found at its website (www.honeywell.com).In how many different industries is Honeywell involved? Would you describe Honeywell as a related
In 1854, Louis Vuitton founded a trunk-making company in Paris. He had observed that most trunks could not be easily stacked because they had rounded tops; he thus began producing trunks with flat
When Howard Schultz founded Starbucks in 1987, he wanted to create a company that would genuinely care for the well-being of its employees.He had been very influenced by his memories of his father,
In April 2011, Larry Page, one of Google’s two founders, became CEO of the company. Page had been CEO of Google from its establishment in 1998 through 2001, when Eric Schmidt took over.After 10
Prior to its 2016 acquisition by Alaska Airlines, Virgin America was consistently rated as one of the top U.S. airlines. Founded in 2004, the airline served 20 destinations out of its main hub in San
What strategies might these enterprises use to strengthen their business models (a) a small pizzeria operating in a crowded college market, and (b) a detergent manufacturer seeking to unveil new
Best Buy Co., Inc., is the world’s largest retailer of consumer electronics, computers, mobile phones, and related products. In the United States, it operates under the brands of Best Buy, Magnolia
You are working for a small company that has developed an electric scooter that is lower cost, lighter, and has longer battery range than most existing electric scooters on the market. What
Reread the Strategy in Action 7.1 on Microsoft’s “segment zero” threat. Do you think one operating system for smartphones or tablets will become dominant? If so, which one and why?
Three basic questions must be answered by managers of organizations of all sizes as they begin the process of crafting strategy:• What is our present situation?• Where do we want to go from
Prepare a brief analysis of the organic food industry using the information provided by the Organic Trade Association at www.ota.com and the Organic Report magazine at theorganicreport.com. That is,
Which of the factors listed in Table 3.1 might have the most strategic relevance for your industry?Table 3.1 Component Political factors Economic conditions Soclocultural forces Technological factors
Using the financial ratios provided in Table 4.1 and following the financial statement information presented for Urban Outfitters, Inc., calculate the following ratios for Urban Outfitters for both
Cinnabon, famous for its cinnamon rolls, is an American chain commonly located in high traffic areas, such as airports and malls. They operate more than 1,200 bakeries in more than 48 countries. How
On the basis of your company’s latest financial statements and all the other available data regarding your company’s performance that appear in the industry report, list the three measures of
USAA is a Fortune 500 insurance and financial services company with 2017 annual sales exceeding $27 billion. The company was founded in 1922 by 25 Army officers who decided to insure each other’s
Which rival companies appear to be employing a broad low-cost strategy?
Is your company able to engage in outsourcing? If so, what do you see as the pros and cons of outsourcing? Are strategic alliances involved? Explain.
L’Oréal markets 32 brands of cosmetics, fragrances, and hair care products in 130 countries. The company’s international strategy involves manufacturing these products in 42 plants located
Assume you are in charge of developing the strategy for an international company selling products in some 50 different countries around the world. One of the issues you face is whether to employ a
Using your university library’s business research resources and Internet sources, identify and discuss three key strategies that General Motors is using to compete in China.
Which one of the following best describes the strategic approach your company is taking in trying to compete successfully on an international basis?• Multidomestic or think-local, act-local
If your company opted to pursue a strategy of unrelated diversification, what industries or product categories could it diversify into that would allow it to capitalize on using its present brand
Widely known as an ethical company, Dell recently committed itself to becoming a more environmentally sustainable business. After reviewing the About Dell section of its website
Search online to read about Jeff Bezos’s management of his new executives.Specifically, explore Amazon.com’s “S-Team” meetings (management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/11/16/jeff-bezos-amazon/). Why
Review Facebook’s Careers page (www.Facebook.com/careers/). The page emphasizes Facebook’s core values and explains how potential employees could fit that mold. Bold and decisive thinking and a
Review Valve Corporation’s company handbook online: www.valvesoftware.com/company/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf. Specifically, focus on Valve’s corporate structure. Valve has hundreds of employees
Johnson & Johnson, a multinational health care company responsible for manufacturing medical, pharmaceutical, and consumer goods, has been a leader in promoting a decentralized management structure.
Read some of the recent Six Sigma articles posted at www.isixsigma.com. Prepare a one-page report to your instructor detailing how Six Sigma is being used in two companies and what benefits the
Company strategies can’t be executed well without a number of support systems to carry on business operations. Using your university’s library resources, search for recent articles that discuss
Have you and your co-managers allocated ample resources to strategy-critical areas?If so, explain how these investments have contributed to good strategy execution and improved company performance.
What actions, if any, is your company taking to pursue continuous improvement in how it performs certain value chain activities?
Are benchmarking data available in the simulation exercise in which you are participating?If so, do you and your co-managers regularly study the benchmarking data to see how well your company is
What hard evidence can you cite that indicates your company’s management team is doing a better or worse job of achieving operating excellence and executing strategy than are the management teams
Are you and your co-managers consciously trying to achieve operating excellence?Explain how you are doing this and how you will track the progress you are making.
Does your company have opportunities to use incentive compensation techniques?If so, explain your company’s approach to incentive compensation. Is there any hard evidence you can cite that
Salesforce.com earned the top spot on Fortune’s list of the Best Companies to Work for in 2018, having been on the list for over 10 years. Use your university library’s resources to see what
Based on what you learned about Salesforce.com from answering the previous question, how do you think the company’s culture affects its ability to execute strategy and operate with excellence?
If you were an executive at a company that had a pervasive yet problematic culture, what steps would you take to change it? Using Google Scholar or your university library’s access to EBSCO,
What core values would you want to ingrain in your company’s culture? Why?
What would happen to your company’s performance if you and your co-managers stick with the status quo and fail to make any corrective adjustments after each decision round?
How does business strategy differ from corporate strategy?
What is the relationship between strategy formulation and strategy implementation?
What five elements comprise the strategy formulation diamond?
What are the internal and external perspectives of competitive advantage?
What are the fundamental and dynamic perspectives of competitive advantage?
Why should you study strategic management?
Identify the characteristics of a firm that the members of your group would like to work for and try to identify an example of this type of firm. What’s the difference between business and
How is international expansion related to business and corporate strategy? Identify a firm that may be thinking of expanding into new international markets. Apply the staging element of the strategy
Should ethics be a formal and explicit part of strategy formulation and implementation? What would you do to achieve this type of objective?
For many of the firms you will study in this class, competitive advantage is measured by some form of financial profitability.How should you evaluate ethical choices in terms of accounting costs and
Go to Warren Buffet’s Letter to Shareholder’s page at www. berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html and read the most recent letter. How many of the strategy topics covered in this chapter are
Go back to the discussion of JetBlue in the box entitled “How Would You Do That? 1. ” Use the strategy implementation model in Exhibit 7 to identify what would be necessary to successfully
Why is strategic leadership important for effective strategy formulation and implementation?
How do the characteristics of strategic leadership differ between individuals and teams?
How are vision and mission related to strategy? What roles does strategic leadership play in realizing vision and mission?
How does strategy differ from vision and mission?
What is strategic coherence?
Who are a firm’s stakeholders? Why are they important?
What tools can you use to identify the impact of various stakeholders on the firm and the impact of the firm on various stakeholders?
Why are ethics and biases relevant to strategic decision making and strategic leadership?
(a) Craft a vision and mission statement for your business school and then for your college or university as a whole.How are these statements related? How are they similar? How do they differ? How
What roles should strategic leadership play in the realization of the vision and mission statements that you articulated in the previous question? Whom have you identified as strategic leaders?
A slogan on an ethics poster for Boeing states: “Between right and wrong is a troublesome gray area.”What aspects of this statement do you agree or disagree with? As a future business leader,
When reading the business press, it seems that leaders are regularly challenged by ethical dilemmas. Is this a function of the individual leader or the situation, or both?
Building on the CEO-successor selection process described in the box entitled “How Would You Do That? 1,” devise a succession plan for the dean of your business school. Be sure to include the
Based on the framework applied to Tritec Motors in the box entitled “How Would You Do That? 2,” use the opening vignette on AnneMulcahy at Xerox to map out the key stakeholders in her turnaround
What constitutes the external context of strategy?
What are the five forces affecting industry structure?
What are complementors?
What are strategic groups?
What factors increase industry dynamics?
What is the industry life cycle?
What is a technological discontinuity?
What is the innovator’s dilemma?
How does globalization affect the external context of strategy?
What is industry redefinition?
Pick two of the industries listed in Exhibit 1, one on the high end of profitability and one on the low end. What are the boundaries of these industries? What are their market and geographic

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