Discussion Post: Strategic Decision Making
Chapter 8: Marketing, Finance/Accounting, R&D, and MIS Issues
Learning Objectives:
• Identify and describe strategic marketing issues vital for strategy implementation.
• Explain why social media marketing is an important strategy-implementation tool.
• Explain why market segmentation is an important strategy-implementation tool.
• Explain how to use product positioning (perceptual mapping) as a strategy-implementation tool.
• Identify and describe strategic finance/accounting issues vital for strategy implementation.
• Perform E P S/E B I T analysis to evaluate the attractiveness of debt versus stock as a source of capital to implement strategies.
• Develop projected financial statements to reveal the impact of strategy recommendations.
• Determine the cash value of any business using four corporate evaluation methods.
• Discuss I P Os, keeping cash offshore, and issuing corporate bonds as strategic decisions that face many firms.
• Discuss the nature and role of research and development (R&D) in strategy implementation.
• Explain how management information systems (M I Ss) impact strategy-implementation efforts.
Chapter 9: Strategy Review, Evaluation, and Control
Learning Objectives:
• Discuss the strategy-evaluation process, criteria, and methods used.
• Discuss three activities that comprise strategy evaluation.
• Describe and develop a Balanced Scorecard.
• Identify and describe published sources of strategy-evaluation information.
• Identify and describe six characteristics of an effective strategy-evaluation system.
• Discuss the nature and role of contingency planning in strategy evaluation.
• Explain the role of auditing in strategy evaluation.
• Identify and discuss three twenty-first-century challenges in strategic management.
• Identify and describe 17 guidelines for effective strategic management.
Initial Postings: Read and reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Then post what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding in each assigned textbook chapter.Your initial post should be based upon the assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they aid in your discussion.
Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:
o To raise capital, what are the pros and cons of selling bonds, compared to issuing stock or borrowing money from a bank in terms of raising capital?
o As owner of a local, independent supermarket, explain how you would evaluate the firm's strategy.
The response should include a reference list. Using one-inch margins, Times New Roman 12 pnt font, double-space and APA style of writing and citations.