EXERCISES EXERCISE 1A Compare Business Strategy with Military Strategy Purpose This exercise will enable you to compare and contrast military strategy with business strategy because in many ways, operating a business is similar to conducting a military campaign. Many strategic- management concepts evolved from the military. Napoleon Bonaparte listed 115 maxims for military strategy. U.S. Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest, however, had only one strategic principle: "to git thar furst with the most men" (to get there first with the most men). The strategy concepts given as essential in the United States Army's Field Manual (FM-3-0) of Military Operations (sections 4-32 to 4-39) says there are nine key military strategy maxims: 1. Objective-Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective. 2. Offensive-Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. 3. Mass-Concentrate combat power at the decisive place and time. 4. Economy of Force--Allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts. 5. Maneuver-Place the enemy in a disadvantageous position through the flexible application of combat power. 6. Unity of Command-For every objective, ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander. 7. Security-Never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage. 8. Surprise-Strike the enemy at a time, at a place, or in a manner for which he is unprepared. 9. Simplicity-Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough understanding. Instructions Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Consider the extent to which each of the nine maxims listed are applicable in formulating and implementing strategies in a business setting. Rank-order the nine maxims, from 1 = most important to 9 = least important in formulating and implementing strategies in a business setting. Compare your ranking to our (the authors') ranking by getting the difference between each of your rankings and each of the authors' rankings, and summing those differences (i.e., summing the absolute value of those differences). Determine who in the class has the lowest summed difference score. This student(s) scored best in the class on this exercise based on the authors' rankings.