Questions:
1. How might the role of corporate executives differ between a U-Form and an M-Form corporation?
2. Explain how the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix might help guide corporate strategy.
3. During the course, we noticed that virtually all of the U-Form corporations we studied were private rather than public. Why might that be?
4. Unless an M-Form Corporation is running a portfolio strategy, like Berkshire Hathaway, it makes decisions concerning which businesses to be in based on how the businesses might (or might not) relate to each other. Explain the main strategies that corporations use for making these decisions.
5. A portfolio corporation such as Berkshire Hathaway does not seek to create or exploit cross-business synergies. For other corporations, explain how corporate synergies can be created and exploited.
6. Explain and give examples of 3 M&A strategies.
7. Some corporations - Wawa, In-N-Out, and Wegman's among them - have elected to remain private. Why? What are the plusses and minuses of "going public"?
8. Professor Spector argued that "globalization" has both business strategy and corporate strategy implications. Do you agree? Explain.
9. Some companies seek to avoid patents entirely and keep intellectual capital as trade secrets. Explain why they might do that.
10. The text distinguishes between stakeholders and shareholders. What is the difference and why is stakeholder theory useful to corporations?
11. Who/What/How for Dunkin' Donuts
12. Franchising as a strategy: Dunkin' Donuts vs Starbucks
13. What does Porter mean by business should avoid "straddle"?
14. Do mission statement help a firm gain and sustain competitive advantage?
15. "Growth is not a strategy and quality is not a resource" Example: Starbucks. Explain