The following points are Apple’s own description of aspects of their corporate strategy, as presented in one of their public documents. Review the points in order to identify the role of their strategic capabilities.
ACTIVITY/TASK
Aspects of Apple’s corporate strategy, in their own words:
Gillette has long been the leader in the razor market. However, to maintain their position they have had to make some tough decisions along the way. Review the following situation – if you were the CEO, would you have made the same decision?
ACTIVITY/TASK
Gillette has always prided their firm … Continue reading...
Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. It is around three times larger than the world’s second largest retailer. Many years ago, Wal-Mart embarked on an ambitious program of modifying its logistics system. This is briefly described below. For this activity, your task is to determine which parts of … Continue reading...
Coca-Cola is a product/brand that has been around for well over 100 years. Today it is widely available and is acknowledged as the most valuable brand in the world. In this task you simply need to determine (from the information provided); which one of the 4P’s is the most important … Continue reading...
In the case study below, this B2B firm is considering their strategic growth options. However, they are faced with two competing paths. As you have been called in as an adviser to the firm, your challenge in this task is to help determine the best approach for the … Continue reading...
In this short case study, you are required to assess whether this toy manufacturer was too flexible and too willing to adapt to its changing macro-environment. Set back in time, this case is based on a real firm that implemented a number of changes in order to stay current. But … Continue reading...
In this short case study, a hypothetical manufacturer of pasta and related products is faced with a choice of four different marketing strategies. Your task in this exercise is to determine which strategic path is the best for them. All four strategic options have a supportive rationale, so which one … Continue reading...
Below is a case study of a hypothetical toy manufacturer (Fun 4 U) that is faced with two distinct marketing strategy choices. Your task here is to determine, based on the information available, the best approach for the firm. Remember to think about the firm’s existing strengths (as you assess … Continue reading...
Below is a list of possible and actual strategic alliances. Your task in this activity is to first identify the benefits and risks associated with each of the ventures. You also need to determine the extent to which customers will also benefit. On the basis of this assessment, you then … Continue reading...
In this exercise, you are presented with a summary of a discussion from a manager’s meeting, which highlights the for and against of a franchised food retailer (like Subway) expanding their product range. As you see, their proposed move has both significant opportunities as well as substantial risks. Your task … Continue reading...
This mini-case study lists seven potential growth strategies for most regionally-based banks in Australia (and probably most countries). Your task in this exercise is to evaluate the bank’s strengths, assess its dynamic environment, and then select the most suitable strategy direction for them to at least survive and hopefully to … Continue reading...
In this mini-case study, you need to select the most appropriate growth strategy for a producer of cheeses from a choice of seven options. The key to this exercise is to consider the firm’s existing strengths and how they could best leverage those in the marketplace. Potentially you may choose … Continue reading...
In this mini-case study, you are required to determine whether a joint venture between Tesco Bank and Aviva (insurance) has benefits for both players as well as customers. To do this task successfully, you will need to consider what capabilities each organization is likely to provide to the strategic alliance.… Continue reading...
In the following mini-case study, you are required to categorize the corporation’s business portfolio into the four boxes of the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) model. You then need to decide how the management should allocate $250 million funds available across their strategic business units (SBUs), using the BCG matrix as … Continue reading...
In this exercise, you need to review the below diagram, which highlights a possible strategy development path for a textbook publisher. As you can see, this firm has adopted a practice of pursuing virtually whatever market opportunities have been presented to it. Follow the arrows and you can see some … Continue reading...
