COB402 Business Policy and Strategic Management

Case Study: Objectives and Discussion Questions

Week 5 Case 4: Dell Inc. in 2008 [Objectives] Help students to understand the tasks of strategic management. Provide sufficient information for students to complete a thorough SWOT analysis. Help students to develop a solid list of key success factors. [Discussion questions] 1. What is your evaluation of Michael Dells performance in his roles as Dells CEO and Chairman? How well has he performed the five tasks of crafting and executing strategy that were discussed in Chapter 2? 2. What are the elements of Dells strategy? Which one of the five generic competitive strategies is Dell employing? How well do the different pieces of Dells strategy fit together? In what ways is Dells strategy evolving? 3. Does Dells expansion into other IT products and services make good strategic sense? Why or why not? 4. Is Dells strategy working? What is your assessment of the financial performance that Dells strategy has delivered during fiscal years 2000-2008? Use the financial ratios presented in the Appendix of the text (pages 240-241) as a basis for doing your calculations and drawing conclusions about Dells performance. 5. What does a SWOT analysis reveal about the attractiveness of Dells situation in 2008? 6. Which company is competitively strongerDell or Hewlett-Packard? Use the weighted competitive strength assessment methodology shown in Table 4.2 of Chapter 4 to support your answer. 7. In what respects, if any, is Hewlett-Packards strategy in PCs more appealing or better than Dells strategy? 8. What issues and problems does Michael Dell need to address? 9. What actions and strategy changes would you recommend to Michael Dell to boost the companys performance and its prospects for overtaking HP in global sales of PCs?

Week 6 Case 8 Apple, Inc. in 2010 [Objectives] Understand the challenges associated with building organizational capabilities able to serve as the basis for developing a competitive advantage. Perform a thorough financial analysis of a company and understand the contribution of different product lines to a companys success. Build students presentation skill.

COB402 Business Policy and Strategic Management

[Discussion questions] 1. What are the chief elements of Apples overall competitive strategy? How well do the pieces fit together? Is the strategy evolving? 2. What are the key elements of Apples strategy in computers, personal media players, and smartphones? Have its strategies in its core businesses yielded success? Explain. 3. What does a competitive strength assessment reveal about Apples computer business, as compared to the leaders in the personal computer industry? Use the methodology in Table 4.2 to support your answer. Does it appear that the companys competitive positions in personal media players and smartphones or stronger or weaker than its position in computers? 4. Does it make good strategic sense for Apple to be a competitor in the computer, personal media player, smartphone, and tablet computer industries? Are the value chain activities that Apple performs in computers, personal media players, tablet computers and smartphones very similar and compatible or are there very important differences from product to product? 5. Which of the four products lines---computers, tablet computers, personal media players, or smartphones--do you think is most important to Apples future growth and profitability? Why? 6. What is your assessment of Apple Computers financial performance the past three years? (Use the financial ratios in Table 4.1 on pages 94-96 of the text as a guide in doing your financial analysis.) 7. What recommendations would you make to allow Apple to strengthen its position in its most important markets? What steps should it take to ensure that the iPad becomes a success in the marketplace and a major contributor to the companys overall performance? Week 10 Case 9 Googles Strategy in 2010 [Objectives] Help students to integrate industry and business level analyses. Conduct an industry level analysis as well as a full evaluation of business level strategy. Build students presentation skill. [Discussion questions] 1. Discuss competition in the search industry. Which of the five competitive forces seem strongest? weakest? What is your assessment of overall industry attractiveness? 2. How is the search industry changing? What forces seem most likely to bring about major change to the industry within the next three to five years? 3. What are the key factors that define success in the industry? What are the key competencies, capabilities, and resources of successful search engine companies? 4. Describe Googles customer value proposition and profit formula linked to its business model. What strategies has Google relied upon to build competitive advantage in the industry? 5. Have Googles business model and strategy proven to be successful? Should investors be

COB402 Business Policy and Strategic Management

impressed with the companys financial performance? How does the companys financial performance compare to that of Microsoft and Yahoo? Please conduct a financial analysis to support your positionyou may wish to use the financial ratios presented in Table 1 of Chapter 4 as a guide in doing your financial analysis of the company. 6. What are the companys key resource strengths and competitive capabilities? What competitive liabilities and resource weaknesses does it have? What opportunities exist? What threats to its continued success are present? 7. What recommendations would you make to Googles top-management team to sustain its competitive advantage in the search industry? How should it best capitalize on its strategic initiatives in mobile phones, cloud computing, emerging markets, and other ventures?

Week 11 Case16: PepsiCos Diversification Strategy In 2008 [Objectives] Let students be familiar with diversification strategies. Help students gain a stronger grasp of how to correctly apply the analytical tools covered in Chapter 8. Build students presentation skill. [Discussion questions] 1. What is PepsiCos corporate strategy? Briefly identify the business strategies that PepsiCo is using in each of its consumer business segments in 2008. 2. What is your assessment of the long-term attractiveness of the industries represented in PepsiCos business portfolio? 3. What is your assessment of the competitive strength of PepsiCos different business units? 4. What does a 9-cell industry attractiveness/business strength matrix displaying PepsiCos business units look like? Does PepsiCos portfolio exhibit good strategic fit? What value-chain match-ups do you see? What opportunities for skills transfer, cost sharing, or brand sharing do you see? 5. Does PepsiCos portfolio exhibit good resource fit? What are the cash flow characteristics of each of PepsiCos four segments? Which businesses are the strongest contributors to PepsiCos free cash flows? 6. Based on the preceding analysis, what is your overall evaluation of PepsiCos business portfolio in 2008? Does the portfolio provide the companys shareholders with an opportunity for above-average market returns? 7. What strategic actions should Indra Nooyi take to sustain the corporations impressive financial and market performance? Should its free cash flows be used to fund additional share repurchase plans, pay higher dividends, make acquisitions, expand internationally, or for other purposes? What other strategic actions should be pursued by corporate level management?

COB402 Business Policy and Strategic Management

Week 12 Case19 Shangri-La Hotels [Objectives] Help students to identify policies, practices, support systems, and management approaches to execute strategy. Understand how culture can affect strategy execution. The importance of protecting organizational culture in the midst of major change initiatives [Discussion questions] 1. What are the key elements of Shangri-La Hotels strategy? Which of the five generic competitive strategies described in Chapter 5 is the company employing? What is Shangri-Las strategy for competing internationally? 2. What policies, practices, support systems, and management approaches underlie Shangri-Las efforts to execute its strategy? 3. How important are the companys training and Shangri-La Care program to its success? What is your assessment of Shangri-Las compensation policies and career growth effort? What pluses and minuses do you see? 4. What are the key features of the culture at Shangri-La Hotels? How important is the culture in the companys success? Explain. What impact do the companys mission statement and the Shangri-La Care program have on the companys culture? 5. What core/distinctive competencies has management at Shangri-La tried to build and nurture? What challenges does the company face as it attempts to transfer its core and distinctive competencies to other cultures? How has the company attempted to resolve these challenges? Has it been successful in doing so? 6. What does the companys financial and operational performance reveal about how successful its strategy and strategy implementation efforts have been? Should shareholders be pleased with the companys financial performance? Why or why not? What financial and operating performance pluses and minuses do you see? 7. What challenges does Shangri-La face in expanding into Eastern China? Do you believe the companys current policies and operating procedures will be sufficient in addressing these challenges? If so, why? If not, what else may need to be done? 8. How do the challenges associated with Shangri-Las expansion into Europe, Australia, and North America compare with the companys expansion in China? Do you believe the companys current policies and operating procedures will be sufficient in addressing these challenges? If so, why? If not, what else may need to be done? 9. How big a threat does the expansion of other hotel chains into China pose for Shangri-La Hotels? What specific challenges are likely to arise as a result of this expansion? How should Shangri-La address these challenges? 10. What recommendations would you make to Symon Bridle to improve Shangri-Las prospects for continued success?