Please answer the following questions using the case below.

1. What external and internal pressures did Mark Parker face when he assumed the leadership of Nike, and how did he respond to these challenges?

2. Strategic management is about formulating strategies that align an organization's internal capabilities with external opportunities while avoiding or minimizing threats. How effective has Mark Parker been as a strate-gist so far?

3. What is the evidence that Mark Parker and Nike un-derstand the impact of environmental sustainability on Nike's business practices?

4. An effective strategist develops strategies that :

(1) en-hance value to its customers,

(2) create synergistic opportunities, and

(3) build on the company's core competencies. What evidence shows that Mark Parker is pursuing this course or shares this viewpoint?

Behind a great company are strong leaders. This is cer-tainly true for Nike and Mark Parker. Since assuming the role of CEO of Nike in 2006, Parker and his team have overhauled the way Nike runs, shifting the brand away from the previous sub-brand and product-based structure to a customer-driven structure. He has structured Nike into six "customer-focused" categories, such as running, basketball, and women's fitness. Parker has personally shaped Nike's innova-tion processes. Nike's mission is to bring inspiration and inno-vation to every athlete in the world. Mark Parker took the helm of Nike at a time when the stakes in the U.S. athletic footwear market were particularly high, especially as Adidas was becoming more powerful with the acquisition of Reebok. Parker said at the time that he be-lieved he was the right person to lead Nike through the chal-lenges of the future. He said it was his job to help carry the torch into the future. He has always maintained that all Nike employees work for one bossthe consumer. Mark's greatest strength lies in his ability to synthesize the input of disparate influences, from lab engineers to downtown artists.95 Nike's commitment to diversity is unmatched. Its Web site proudly proclaims, "Most companies embrace diversity. Not Nike. We soak it up. We squeeze it out. We want it to drip over ev-erything Nike does." Nike's mission is to harness diversity and inclusion to inspire ideas and ignite innovation. Commenting on his 30-year career at Nike, Mark Parker acknowledged that it has been a long time but quickly added that some things haven't changed. As he put it, "I think our suc-cess has been based on our commitment to innovation and great design, which really in our case starts with our commit-ment to the athleteand really understanding the athlete and the insights we get from that relationship."96 Nike has what it calls "Nike Sustainable Business + Innovation" program. Nike believes it can use the power of its brand, the energy and passion of its people, and the scale of its business to create meaningful change. Nike believes the opportunity is greater than ever for sustainable principles and practices to deliver business returns and create a positive social and envi-ronmental impact in the world.97 Parker isn't an attention-seeking sort of CEO, so until now it has been hard to get a sense of him. But the imprint he is making as CEO is turning out to be as meaningful as his design