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Review the following resources to further your understanding of a selected firm to use in your coursework. Use additional resources from the Capella University Library, Internet, your text case studies, or your own research, as needed, for completing the course assessments.

Ford is a complex multinational organization that has recently focused on strategic initiatives to address production capacity, supply chain reliability, sustainability, and technological innovation in order to remain competitive in the rapidly changing automotive industry.

• Grant, R. M., and Jordan, J. (2012). Ford and the world automobile industry in 2012. Hoboken,NJ: Wiley and Sons.

• Currie, Antony., Larsen, Peter. (2011). Ambitious goals for ford. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/business/08views.html?_r=0

• Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative. (n.d). Ford Motor Company Manages Ethics and SocialResponsibility. Retrieved from: https://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/ford-motor-case.pdf

• Henry, J. (2015). One Ford, Part Two; Tweaking The Master Plan. Retrieved from Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimhenry/2015/08/30/one-ford-part-two-tweaking-the-master-plan/#3d15b7147333

• Miller, D. (2016, April 9). Dispelling 3 Ford Motor Company Shareholder Concerns. The Motley Fool. Retrieved from: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/09/dispelling-3-ford-motor-company-concerns.aspx

• Currie, Antony., Larsen, Peter. (2011). Ambitious goals for ford. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/business/08views.html?_r=0

This is a huge multinational firm with products you probably buy every day. This business is interesting because the company is focusing on science and technology to help it revise many of its business strategies and contribute to overall company goals for sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

• Brown, B., & Anthony, S. D. (2011). How P&G tripled its innovation success rate. Harvard Business Review, 89(6), 64-72.

• Dillon, K. (2011). I think of my failures as a gift. Harvard Business Review, 89(4), 86-89.

• Lafley, A. G., Martin, R. L., Rivkin, J. W., & Siggelkow, N. (2012). Bringing science to the art of strategy. Harvard Business Review, 90(9), 56-66.

• Lafley, A. G., & Tichy, N. M. (2011). The art and science of finding the right CEO. Harvard Business Review, 89(10), 66-74.

A multinational conglomerate with more than two dozen Virgin-branded companies, Virgin operates in at least 13 regions around the globe, in seven industries (Virgin, n.d.).

It becomes apparent that Virgin’s corporate strategies include diversification and globalization, and some argue there are opportunities for Virgin to vertically integrate companies within certain market segments-travel and lifestyle markets, for example. Yet, however Virgin’s corporate strategies are labeled, the brand is the dominant resource that Richard Branson leverages to acquire and develop new business that differentiates Virgin from the competition (Ankeny, 2012).

Branson’s philosophy toward management of Virgin companies includes keeping intact the entrepreneurial spirit of firms acquired or merged. He defends his approach to keeping a multitude of individual entrepreneurial companies with the Virgin brand as follows: “Often, owning a number of individual stand-alone companies run by different people can be more effective than having one giant company with lots of people working together” (Maxwell, 2014, And what about making the difficult decisions concerning people heading, para. 2).

A strategic assessment of Virgin is an assessment of how well an individual Virgin company fits the Virgin business model. Prahalad and Bettis (1986) might define the business model of Virgin as the dominant logic that describes the rationale for Virgin’s diversification strategy.

Choose one of the following Virgin companies to conduct a comprehensive organizational strategic assessment:

• Virgin Atlantic.

• Virgin Galactic.

• Virgin Media.

• Virgin Records.

Ankeny, J. (2012, June). The good sir Richard. Entrepreneur, 40(6), 30–38.

Maxwell, C. (2014). Sir Richard Branson. Retrieved from http://www.director.co.uk/sir-richard-branson/

Prahalad, C. K., & Bettis, A. (1986). The dominant logic: A new linkage between diversity and performance. Strategic Management Journal, 7(6), 485–501.

Virgin.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.virgin.com/company

Additional Resources

• Hunter, M. (2013). Typologies and sources of entrepreneurial opportunity (II). Economics, Management &Financial Markets, 8(4), 69–141.

• Altman, W. (2009). Branson: The global brand builder. Engineering & Technology, 4(2), 80–81.

• Rubin, E. N. (2013). Assessing your leadership style to achieve organizational objectives. Global Business & Organizational Excellence, 32(6), 55–66.

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