Questions and Answers of Exploring Strategy

Table 9.1 shows that:a. patents have been more effective in protecting product innovations in drugs and medical equipment than in food or electronic components;b. patents are more effective in
Trevor Baylis, a British inventor, submitted a patent application in November 1992 for a windup radio for use in Africa in areas where there was no electricity supply and people were too poor to
The dean of your business school wishes to upgrade the school’s educational capabilities in order to better equip its graduates for success in their careers and in their lives. Advise your dean on
The market leaders in video games for mobile devices during 2012–17 were start-up companies such as DeNA, GungHo Online, Supercell, King, and Rovio. Why have start-ups outperformed established
Identify two sports teams: one that is rich in resources (such as talented players) but whose capabilities (as indicated by performance) have been poor; one that is resource-poor but has displayed
Choose an industry that faces significant change over the next 10 years. Identify the main drivers of change and construct two scenarios of how these changes might play out. In relation to one of the
The resource partitioning model argues that, as industries become dominated by a few major companies with similar strategies and products, so opportunities open for new entrants to build specialist
Select a product that has become a dominant design for its industry (e.g., the IBM PC in personal computers, McDonald’s in fast food, Harvard Business School in MBA education, and Southwest in
Consider the changes that have occurred in a comparatively new industry (e.g., wireless telecommunications, smartphones, video game consoles, online brokerage services, and fitness clubs). To what
Advise a chain of movie theaters on a differentiation strategy to restore its flagging profitability. Use the value chain framework outlined in Strategy Capsule 7.8 to identify potential linkages
Bottled water sells at least 200 times the price of tap water, with substantial price differentials between different brands. What are the key differentiation variables that determine the price
To what extent are the seven cost drivers shown in Figure 7.7 relevant in analyzing the costs per student at your business school or educational institution? What recommendations would you make to
Target (the US discount retailer), H&M (the Swedish fashion clothing chain), and Primark (the UK discount clothing chain) have pioneered cheap chic—combining discount store prices with fashion
Which drivers of cost advantage (Figure 7.7) do low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines and Ryanair exploit in order to undercut legacy carriers such as United Airlines and British Airways?
Illy, the Italian-based supplier of quality coffee and coffee-making equipment, is launching an international chain of gourmet coffee shops. What advice would you offer Illy for how it can best build
Since 2009, Apple has been the world’s most profitable supplier of wireless handsets by a large margin. Can Apple sustain its competitive advantage in this market?
Figure 7.1 implies that stable industries, where firms have similar resources and capabilities, offer less opportunity for competitive advantage than industries where change is rapid and firms are
Appreciate the feasibility of pursuing both cost and differentiation advantage.
Use differentiation analysis to identify the sources of differentiation and formulate strategies that create differentiation advantage.
Use cost analysis to identify the sources of cost advantage in an industry, assess a firm’s relative cost position, and recommend strategies to enhance cost competitiveness.
Identify how a firm can sustain competitive advantage—including the use of different types of isolating mechanism.
Identify how a firm can create competitive advantage—including the roles that anticipation, agility, business model innovation, and blue ocean strategies can play.
Draw an organizational chart for a business school that you are familiar with. Does the school operate with a matrix structure (for instance, are there functional/discipline-based departments
The examples of Apple and General Motors (see “Functional Structure” section above) point to the evolution of organizational structures over the industry life cycle. During the growth phase, many
In 2008, Citigroup announced that its Consumer business would be split into Consumer Banking, which would continue to operate through individual national banks, and Global Cards, which would form a
Within your own organization (whether a university, company, or not-for-profit organization), which departments or activities are organized mechanistically and which organically? To what extent does
Select a persistently successful team in a professional sport with which you are familiar. To what extent can the superior capabilities of this team be attributed to the role of processes,
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, Inc., has asked for your help in designing a strategic planning system for the company. Would you recommend a formal strategic planning system with an annual cycle
Apply resource and capability analysis to your own business school. Begin by identifying the resources and capabilities relevant to success in the market for business education, appraise the
Given the profile of Icelandair’s resources and capabilities outlined in Strategic Capsule 5.8, how might Icelandair best exploit its resources and capabilities to (a) expand passenger numbers
The chapter argues that Apple’s key capabilities are product design and product development that combine hardware technology, software engineering, aesthetics, ergonomics, and cognitive awareness
Many companies announce in their corporate communications: “Our people are our greatest resource.” In terms of the criteria listed in Figure 5.7, can employees be considered of the utmost
I have argued that the part of discrepancy between firms’ stock market value and their book value reflects the fact that intangible resources are typically undervalued or not valued at all in their
The world’s leading typewriter manufacturers in the 1970s included Olivetti, Underwood, IBM, Olympia, Remington, Smith Corona, and Brother Industries. While IBM and Brother adapted to the
Since it was founded in 1994, Amazon has expanded its business from online book sales, to online general retailing, to audio and video streaming, to e-readers and tablet computers, to cloud
Can existing assets be redeployed more profitably?
What opportunities exist for economizing on their use? Can we use fewer resources to support the same level of business or use the existing resources to support a larger volume of business?
Consider either the North American or European markets for air travel. Can these markets be segmented? If so, by what variables and into which categories? Can an airline be financially viable by
How would you segment the restaurant market in your hometown? How would you advise someone thinking of starting a new restaurant which segments might be most attractive in terms of profit potential?
HP, Canon, Epson, and other manufacturers of inkjet printers make most of their profits from their ink cartridges. Why are cartridges more profitable than printers? Would the situation be
During 2010, the Apple iPhone replaced RIM’s Blackberry as global market leader in smartphones. By 2017, the world market for smartphones was dominated by Apple and Google’s Android; RIM and
Among the industries listed in Table 3.1 in Chapter 3, which would you consider to be the most “hypercompetitive” (i.e., ones in which competitive advantage and market leadership are frequently
What do you think are key success factors in:a. the pizza delivery industry?b. the credit card industry (where the world’s biggest issuers are: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, American
Walmart (like Carrefour, Ahold, and Tesco) competes in several countries of the world, yet most shoppers choose between retailers within a radius of a few miles. For the purposes of analyzing
By 2018, the online travel agency industry had consolidated around two leaders: Expedia(which had acquired Travelocity, Lastminute.com, Hotels.com, Trivago, and Orbitz) and Priceline (which owned
The major forces shaping the business environment of the fixed-line telecom industry are technology and government policy. The industry has been influenced by fiber optics (greatly increasing
With reference to Strategy Capsule 3.1, use the five forces framework to explain why profitability has been so high in the US market for smokeless tobacco.
From Table 3.1, select a high-profit industry and a low-profit industry. From what you know of the structure of your selected industries, use the five forces framework to explain why profitability
What does the firm need to do to survive competition?
Table 2.1 compares companies according to different profitability measures.a. Which two of the six performance measures do you think are the most useful indicators of how well a company is being
Since long-run profitability requires that a firm is sensitive to the interests of its customers, employees, suppliers, and society-at-large, whether a firm is run in the interests of its
What new products have been released, major investment projects initiated, and top management hired? These strategic decisions are typically announced in press releases and reported in trade journals.
What technologies is the company developing? Identifying the patents that a company has filed (using the online databases of the US and EU patent offices)indicates the technological trajectory a firm
Where is the company investing its money? Notes to financial statements provide detailed breakdowns of capital expenditure by region and by business segment.
Your business school is considering appointing as dean someone whose entire career has been spent in business management. What challenges might the new dean face in applying her strategic management
Using the framework of Figure 1.6, describe the strategy of the university or school you attend.
I have noted that a firm’s strategy can be described in terms of the answers to two questions:“Where are we competing?” and “How are we competing?” Applying these two questions, provide a
The discussion of the evolution of business strategy (see the section “From Corporate Planning to Strategic Management”) established that the characteristics of a firm’s strategic plans and its
What is your career strategy for the next five years? To what extent does your strategy fit with your long-term goals, the characteristics of the external environment, and your own strengths and
In relation to the four characteristics of successful strategies in Figure 1.1, assess the US government’s Middle East strategy since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Consider two female leaders, in any sphere whether business, politics, education, sport or the arts. How similar are they in style and in what ways is gender important to their style? Could you
1. Are there other options or factors Heineken should consider?2. How could you improve the ranking analysis?3. Consider the most favoured option in terms of acceptability and feasibility criteria.
1. In terms of Figure 7.10, what are Uber’s value creation, value configuration and value capturing?2. If you were the head of a traditional taxi company, how could you change your business model
2 What were the main issues about managing change as NHS Direct? (List these under the categories of: roles, styles and levers for change).
1 Looking at Exhibit 3 what structures and management processes are needed to manage the relationship between NHS Direct and the NHS as a whole?
➔Assess the value of different levers for strategic change.
➔Assess the impact of the roles and management styles of change agents.
➔Recognise how organisational processes (such as planning systems and performance targets) need to be designed to fit the circumstances in which strategies are delivered(such as an organisation’s
➔Analyse the main structural types of organisation in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.
4 Complete your evaluation of the options that now appear most suitable by applying the criteria of acceptability and feasibility (see sections 9.3.2 and 9.3.3 respectively).
3 For each of the top four development directions in your ranking compare the relative merits of organic development, acquisition or strategic alliance.
2 Identify the strategic directions ‘available’ to the company in the future and assess the relative suitability of each of these options by ranking them (using Illustration 9.1 as an example).
1 Using Exhibit 7.2 in Chapter 7 identify the strategic directions that Tesco had followed from its origins as a UK-based grocery retailer.
➔Use a range of different techniques for evaluating strategic options.
➔Employ three success criteria for evaluating strategic options: suitability, acceptability and feasibility.
➔Identify the methods by which strategies can be pursued: organic development, mergers and acquisitions and strategic alliances.
3 Now that Lenovo is international, what type of generic international strategy should it pursue– simple export, multidomestic, complex export or global?
2 In the light of the CAGE framework and the MacMillan et al. Competitor Retaliation framework (Exhibit 8.5), comment on Lenovo’s entry into the American market.
1 What national sources of competitive advantage might Lenovo draw from its Chinese base? What disadvantages derive from its Chinese base?
➔Assess the relative merits of different market entry modes, including joint ventures, licensing and foreign direct investment.
➔Rank markets for entry or expansion, taking into account attractiveness, cultural and other forms of distance and competitor retaliation threats.
➔Distinguish between four main types of international strategy.
➔Identify sources of competitive advantage in international strategy, both through global sourcing and exploitation of local factors embodied in Porter’s Diamond.
➔Assess the internationalisation potential of different markets, sensitive to variations over time.
4 What were the main issues facing the Virgin Group at the end of the case and how should they be tackled?
3 How does the Virgin Group, as a corporate parent, add value to its businesses?
2 Are there any relationships of a strategic nature between businesses within the Virgin portfolio?
1 What is the corporate rationale of Virgin as a group of companies?
➔Analyse portfolios of business units and judge which to invest in and which to divest.
➔Analyse the ways in which a corporate parent can add or destroy value for its portfolio of business units.
➔Distinguish between different diversification strategies (related and unrelated) and identify conditions under which they work best.
➔Recognise when diversification is an effective strategy for growth.
➔Identify alternative directions for strategy, including market penetration or consolidation, product development, market development and diversification.
3 What might threaten the sustainability of her success?
2 Why has she experienced sustained success over the past two decades?
1 Describe and explain the strategy being followed by Madonna in terms of the explanation of competitive strategy given in Chapter 6.
➔Explain the relationship between competition and collaboration.
➔Assess the extent to which these are likely to provide sustainable competitive advantage.
➔Explain bases of achieving competitive advantage in terms of ‘routes’ on the strategy clock.
4 Why did the changes made from 1998 to 2001 fail to overcome the problems?

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