This assignment is to complete a reading and to prepare the following discussion questions. The article is authored by Joel Litman and Mark L. Frigo, "When Strategy and Valuation Meet," Strategic Finance, August 2004, pp 31-39. The article provides a comprehensive discussion of how business strategy and business valuation are inter-related, and an explanation of five lessons from an understanding of this inter-relationship.
The article is available in the Readings Book that comes with the text and which has a link on the text web site.
Required Discussion Questions:
1. Explain briefly the difference between the skills need for a business strategy expert and the skills of a business valuation expert.
2. Explain why a great product seldom ensures a great business.
3. Explain why being "different" is not central to strategy.
4. Explain the difference between a great company and a great stock.
5. Explain when and why growth is not necessarily a good thing.