Discussion Question 1: The Business Mode
Activity Context
This discussion helps you master the following course competency:
• Analyze the strategic elements of organizations and their external environments using theories and models of strategy.
Activity Instructions
In this discussion, you will further your knowledge of strategic development by:
• Applying strategic tools to identify and describe a firm's strategy.
• Thinking and communicating strategically.
After reading Chapter 1 in Foundations of Strategy, identify the three components of the business model used by "Tough Mudder LLC: Turning Mud Runs Into a Global Business." Using examples drawn from the case, distinguish the following concepts: corporate strategy and competitive strategy, strategy and tactics. What do you think is the role of Tough Mudder's sense of identity ("we know who we are and what we stand for") in influencing the effectiveness with which it implements its strategy?
Discussion Question 2: Framing a Firm's Strategy
Activity Context
This discussion helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
• Analyze organizations and competitive environments using theories and models of strategy.
• Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations of members of the business professions.
Activity Instructions
In this discussion, you will further your knowledge of strategic development by:
• Researching data sources in order to frame the firm's strategy.
• Thinking and communicating strategically.
• Applying critical reading skills to promote dialog.
Describe the strategy of the firm you selected for your project, using the strategy model in Figure 1.5 (p.13) of Foundations in Strategy, as a guide to frame the strategy description from the following two perspectives:
• First, the static perspective:
- Where is the firm competing? What is the product? What are the firm's vertical and geographical scopes?
- How is the firm competing? What is the basis for the firm's competitive advantage?
• Second, the dynamic perspective-the firm's preparation for the future:
- What does the firm want to become?
- What does it want to achieve?
- How will it get there?