ASSIGNMENT 08
BU470 Strategic Management
Directions: Be sure to make an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) pages in length; refer to the "Assignment Format" page for specific format requirements.
Part A
The questions in Part A refer to the material discussed in Lesson 5 of this course.
As you learned in Lesson 1, managing strategically involves formulating strategic responses and putting them into action. In Lesson 2 you learned about functional strategies (also called operational strategies), competitive strategies (also called business unit strategies), and corporate strategies. Let’s now discuss implementing strong competitive and functional strategies to exploit resources, capabilities, and core competencies.
Respond to the following:
1. What functional strategies does an organization need?
2. What might provide the basis upon which an organization decides on a competitive strategy?
3. Apply what you have learned in this lesson by reading the case below and answer the questions that follow.
There’s no doubt that people like to watch movies, but how they watch those movies has changed. Although many people still prefer going to an actual movie theater, more and more are settling back in their easy chairs in front of home entertainment systems, especially now that technology has improved to the point where those systems are affordable and offer many of the same features as those found in movie theaters. Along with the changes in where people watch movies, how people get those movies has changed. For many, the weekend used to start with a trip to the video rental store to search the racks for something good to watch, an approach Blockbuster built its business on. Today’s consumers can choose a movie by going to their computer and visiting an online DVD subscription and delivery site where the movies come to the customers—a model invented by Netflix.
a. Describe what you think Netflix’s competitive strategy is using Miles and Snow’s and Porter’s frameworks. Explain each of your choices.
b. What competitive advantage(s) do you think Netflix has? Have its resources, capabilities, or core competencies contributed to its competitive advantage(s)? Explain.
c. How will Netflix’s functional strategies have to support its competitive strategy? Explain.
d. What do you think Netflix is going to have to do to maintain its competitive position, especially as its industry changes?
Part B
The questions in Part B refer to the material discussed in Lesson 6 of this course.
In Lesson 5 you learned about functional and competitive strategies, including how to implement these strategies to exploit resources, capabilities, and core competencies. It is now time to delve more deeply into corporate strategy, with special attention paid to growth strategies.
Respond to the following:
1. Indicate how corporate strategy is related to the other organizational strategies and describe each of the three (3) corporate strategic directions.
2. Access the following article using ProQuest, the Ashworth College online library:
Campbell outlines progress on strategies, sets stage for long-term growth. (2012, Jul 24). Business Wire Retrieved from https://ashworth.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1027721081?accountid=45844
Respond to the following.
• What are some of the growth strategies Campbell's will implement?
3. Provide two (2) other suggestions for growth strategies that Campbell’s might utilize.
Part C
The questions in Part C refer to the material discussed in Lesson 7 of this course.
Respond to the following:
1. Describe international strategy and why it’s important.
2. Explain the issues that arise as organizations go international.
3. Describe the important international strategic decisions.
4. Apply what you have learned in this lesson by reading the case below and answer the questions that follow.
The Tata Group, based in Mumbai, India, is the largest conglomerate in that country. It holds the number 6 spot on the list of the world’s most admired companies in the steel industry. Its latest revenues are estimated at $67.4 billion, of which 61 percent is from business outside India. Tata has more than 100 operating companies in seven main business groups doing business in 80 countries: chemicals, information systems and communications, consumer products, energy, engineering, materials, and services.
a. Discuss the advantages and drawbacks of going international using Tata Group’s experiences.
b. What strategic challenges do you think Cyrus Mistry might face as he guides his company?
c. Using what you know about managing strategically, how might he respond to these challenges?
Part D
The questions in Part D refer to the material discussed in Lesson 8 of this course.
To round-out your understanding of the strategic management process, this lesson applied the concepts to entrepreneurial ventures and small businesses, as well as not-for-profit organizations. Demonstrate your knowledge of entrepreneurial ventures and small businesses by responding to the following:
1. Describe the overall approach to the strategic planning process in entrepreneurial ventures and small businesses.
2. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of strategic planning with entrepreneurial ventures and small businesses.
3. Apply what you have learned in this lesson by reading the case below and answer the questions that follow.
It all started with a simple plan to make a superior T-shirt. As special teams captain during the mid-1990s for the University of Maryland football team, Kevin Plank hated having to repeatedly change the cotton T-shirt he wore under his jersey as it became wet and heavy during the course of a game.1 He knew there had to be a better alternative and set out to make it. After a year of fabric and product testing, Plank introduced the first Under Armour compression product—a synthetic shirt worn like a second skin under a uniform or jersey. And it was an immediate hit! The silky fabric was light and made athletes feel faster and fresher, giving them, according to Plank, an important psychological edge. Dash/Shutterstock.com Today, Baltimore-based Under Armour (UA) is a $1.4 billion company.
In 16 years, it has grown from a college start-up to a “formidable competitor of the Beaverton, Oregon behemoth” (better known as Nike). The company has nearly 3 percent of the fragmented U.S. sports apparel market and sells products from shirts, shorts, and cleats to underwear. In addition, more than 100 universities wear UA uniforms. The company’s logo—an interlocking U and A—is becoming almost as recognizable as the Nike swoosh. Starting out, Plank sold his shirts using the only advantage he had—his athletic connections. “Among his teams from high school, military school, and the University of Maryland, he knew at least 40 NFL players well enough to call and offer them the shirt.” He was soon joined by another Maryland player, Kip Fulks, who played lacrosse. Fulks used the same “six-degrees strategy” in the lacrosse world. (Today, Fulks is the company’s COO.) Believe it or not, the strategy worked. UA sales quickly gained momentum. However, selling products to teams and schools would take a business only so far. That’s when Plank began to look at the mass market.
In 2000, he made his first deal with a big-box store, Galyan’s (which was eventually bought by Dick’s Sporting Goods). Today, almost 30 percent of UA’s sales come from Dick’s and The Sports Authority. But they haven’t forgotten where they started, either. The company has all-school deals with 10 Division 1 schools. “Although these deals don’t bring in big bucks, they deliver brand visibility . . .” So, what’s next for Under Armour? At the end of 2011, revenues had increased 38 percent over the prior year. Sustaining those growth rates will be a challenge. Some potential growth areas include women’s apparel, which only make up 25 percent of the company’s apparel sales; footwear, which makes up only 12 percent of corporate sales, but only 1 percent of the $14 billion U.S. athletic footwear market; and global sales, which right now are only 6 percent of revenue. A telling sign of the company’s philosophy is found over the doors of its product design studios: “We have not yet built our defining product.”
a. What examples of corporate strategies do you see in this mini-case?
b. What strategic challenges do you think Kevin Plank must deal with?
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