AMBA 670 - Week 1

Actions for 'Week 1'

Week 1 Introduction to Strategy

Week 1 Readings, Multimedia and Assignments

Reading

· Schmitz, A. (Trans.). 2012.Mastering strategy: Art and science.

· Schmitz, A. (Trans.). 2012.Evaluating the industry.

· Product life cycle and industry life cycle. (2009). InEncyclopedia of Management(6^thed., pp. 737-743). Detroit: Gale.

· Thousand Insights.Porter’s generic strategies

Multimedia

· Barney, J. [davidrstahl]. (2009, Feb 6).Barney – Resources and competitive advantage[Video file].

MBA Reference Guides

· Cool, K., Acosta, L. &Dierickx, I. (2006).Constructing competitive advantage. In A. Pettigrew, H. Thomas & R. WhittingtonHandbook of strategy and management(pp. 55-61). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Doi: 10.4135/9781848608313.n3

Discussion Assignment:

This week’s discussion activity focuses on the strategic issues facing various industries. This discussion will be graded with your Week 2 discussion activity.

Discussion Activity 1

Discussion Activity 1 - Personal Application

Provide your thoughts about the fundamental strategic issues facing the industry in which your organization exists. Compare the performance of your company against the industry within which it operates using either theMorningstar Database Industry Return on Investment orhttp://finance.yahoo.com/ (“Interactive chart” “Comparison” tool) if you are in a publically listed company or use a similar publically listed company or some other performance measure if you are not. Additional resources are available for those interested in learning more about performance factors forGovernment andNon-profit sectors. Please cover the following questions in your response.

Industry Perspective

1. Do some industries have better evolution of the stock value than others? Why? Search for your organization or a similar one and compare its evolution for the longest possible period to the main stock indicators (Dow, NASDAQ, S&P500) and competitive firms.

2. Do some industries have inherently better profitability, growth and market value than others? Identify common key performance indicators used within your industry. Compare for your firm these key factors.

3. What effect do different industries have on one another’s overall performance? Provide arguments and examples to justify your response.

Company Perspective

4. Is your organization performing well against the others in its industry? Provide arguments and examples to justify your response.

5. What factors explain the differences in company performance in the same industry?

6. How can some companies in poorly performing industries still do well?

Note: If you work in government or in a non-profit organization, you may pick a company that your organization contracts with for this exercise. However, we do encourage you to try to apply business strategy concepts to your organization if you can.

The Newsroom and Current Events

Actions for 'The Newsroom and Current Events'

Subscribe

Hide Description

This is the place to post links to current items from newspapers, magazines, journals or blogs. Explain how this news item or journal article is applicable to one or more topics from this week's learning. To open a discussion, click on the "Start a New Thread" button at the bottom of the screen. Type in a descriptive topic heading and post your comments. Others can join the discussion by responding to the topic.