Discussions
Strategic Management Cycle
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In this module (and throughout the course) we will be discussing the strategic management cycle. And although organizations tend to consider organizational strategy yearly, organizational strategic plans tend to be multi-year endeavors often looking 5 or more years into the future. Given the typical 5 year outlook, discuss why companies go through the strategic management cycle yearly and why this is a good (or bad) idea. Give examples of companies that have incorporated strategies that took years to realize and discuss how annually revisiting a company's strategic direction can influence an organization's success in a competitive environment for longer range plans.
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Environmental Assessment
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As a business student you have likely spent some time learning about applications of PEST (and/or PESTEL), Porter's 5 forces, and SWOT analysis over the years. These are useful tools for understanding the environment in which a given organization might find itself embedded. SWOT analysis is useful for understanding the organization itself on a more micro-level scale.
Discuss to what degree you believe these tools are actually useful for different sized businesses. For instance, what should a mom and pop computer repair store consider doing in the area of strategic analysis? What about a medium sized retailer?
What about a family? Is there an optimal organizational size for applying these tools? Give some evidence to support your key points.
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Strategy Planning and Formulation
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Companies can pursue a lot of different strategies for dealing with a particular problem. During strategy formulation and planning, competing strategies are often considered and an attempt is made to identify the optimal mix of strategies. Let's discuss some of the technology and marketing strategies of the major cell phone manufacturers. What are some strategies that have been helpful in making some companies (Like Apple and Samsung) more successful than others?
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Strategy Implementation and Evaluation
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Strategy implementation and evaluation are important aspects of the strategic management process. Consider an industry rooted in innovation (such as the cell phone industry) and the top competing companies that use an innovation leadership strategy. How do you suppose such companies (like Apple and Samsung) manage the implementation of continuous innovation? Discuss implementation barriers that companies considered to be leaders of innovation face (or have faced). Provide some evidence to support your arguments.