This exercise can improve your understanding of various strategies by giving you experience classifying strategies. This skill will help you use the strategy-formulation tools presented later. Consider the following 8 actual year-2009 strategies by various firms:

1. Microsoft developed a new videocamera for its Xbox 360 console that allowed players to control games with the movement of their bodies, rather than by holding a plastic wand in their hands, as required with Nintendo’s popular Wii game console.

2. Wells Fargo and Bank of America began to “tweet”—post messages of 140 characters or less on Twitter.com, so customers could see product features. Banks are also putting marketing videos on YouTube.

3. The United Kingdom’s huge telecom firm, BT Group PLC, cut 15,000 more jobs on top of the 15,000 the prior year.

4. Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp. acquired Osaka, Japan-based Sanyo Electric Company.

5. News Corp. sold off many of its television stations.

6. More than 1,000 Chrysler dealers closed their doors and ceased doing business.

7. Germany’s Metro AG, the world’s fourth-largest retailer after Wal-Mart, Carrefour SA, and Home Depot, is expanding aggressively into China.

8. Time Warner plans to spin off or sell all or part of AOL.

Instructions

Step 1 On a separate sheet of paper, number from 1 to 8. These numbers correspond to the strategies described.

Step 2 What type of strategy best describes the 8 actions cited? Indicate your answers.

Step 3 Exchange papers with a classmate, and grade each other’s paper as your instructor gives the right answers.