Strategic Management

****Discussion question due in 24 hours on 1/23/17 by 6pm CST.****

*** Homework Assignment due Tuesday, 1/24/17 by 6 pm CST****

Discussion Question

Last weeks discussion was done on Apple and someone already chose Apple so the Professor said to choose another company because this discussion question and other tie together. The company cannot be Delta, Apple, Menchie, Starbucks, Jimmie John's, Nike, Amazon, WalMart, General Motors, Costco, Target, or Microsoft.

 Here were the directions for Unit 1 : For Units 1–3, you will be choosing a company’s product or service to analyze. Please use the same company for each of these Discussions.

Consider focus, divergence, and a compelling tagline (pp. 39–41 Blue Ocean Strategy) and Figure 1–3 (p. 7 Strategy: A View from the Top). Choose a well-known company and one of its products or services and analyze how well you believe they have employed these three concepts in the strategy for the product or service (You will be discussing this same company in Units 1–5, so choose wisely.). For example, if you believe they have focused adequately, explain why. If you believe they lack adequate focus, recommend changes that you believe will improve the strategy, and explain why.

Avoid “company speak” as you develop your response to this question. Your task is to analyze what the company has developed and why, as well as to critically analyze the effectiveness of this part of their strategy. Please include outside sources in your text that are not limited to the company’s website. 

Here are the directions for the current unit... unit 2: 

For Units 1–3, you will be choosing a company’s product or service to analyze. Please use the same company for each of these Discussions.

Return to the company and the product/service you analyzed and critiqued in the Unit 1 Discussion. Use both the balanced scorecard approach (pages 29–31, Strategy: A View From the Top) and the ERRC approach (eliminate, raise, reduce, and create, pages 35-37, Blue Ocean Strategy) to critique their strategy. As in Unit 1, identify which of the items in each approach are present and adequate or are missing or, in your judgment, inadequate. In the case of missing or inadequate elements, recommend changes to the strategy that will correct them. Explain the rationale behind your evaluations.

This Discussion is not meant to simply reiterate what is on the company website. You will be graded on strategies you think need to be considered and that the company is not already doing. Be creative. Act as a consultant and make suggestions the company might consider implementing.

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Assignment due 1/24/17 by 6pm CST (rubric attached):

In this step of your Units 1 and 2 Individual Assignment, you will formulate a broad strategy for You Inc. using the concepts in the course texts. Your strategy should focus on how you will create a Strategy Canvas for yourself that will separate you from your competitors, meaning the others you will be competing with in the working world of the future. You will want to think of how you will create value by making it less costly or otherwise more advantageous, to employ, or contract with you (ideally using efficiency rather than simply a compensation reduction) and adding additional, unique value to what you do. Refer to Figure 1–3, pp. 18 in Blue Ocean Strategy for guidance on thinking about how to create your own personal Blue Ocean Strategy. Use the accompanying templates to create your Strategy Canvas, Four Actions Framework, and Balanced Scorecard. Be sure to use each template, add them to the appendices, and write about your findings in the body of your text.

Again, please make a note that the Unit 1 and Unit 2 Assignments are designed as a personal strategic plan. This means you will be doing your plan on yourself and your future. This is not designed to be a strategic plan on a business, even if you own it. Personal strategic plans deal with planning the future for your family, your education, your employment, and/or your political ambitions; anything that will impact you personally.

Select the Rubric Icon to read complete detailed instructions on what you will need to complete and submit for the Unit 1 and Unit 2 Individual Assignments. Also, select the Resources icon to download the templates needed for successful completion of the Assignments.