Strategic Leadership: Managing the Strategy-Making Process

Assignment 1

This assignment covers chapter one, Strategic Leadership: Managing the Strategy-Making Process for Competitive Advantage, and two, External analysis: The Identification of Opportunities and Threats.

Chapter 1 Questions:

1. What is competitive advantage, and how does it relate to a company’s business model?
2. Describe the strategic planning model, and who is involved in the strategy-making process
3. Describe the SWOT analysis, its components, and how it aids a company in making strategic decisions. Provide examples of each component in the SWOT analysis.
4. What are the various levels of management, and how do they participate in the process of strategic decision making?

 Chapter 2 Questions:

1. Define “Industry”, “Business” and “Sector”. How are these related?
2. How can Porter’s five-forces model aid in strategic decision making?
3. Describe how “Risk of Entry”, “Bargaining Power of Buyers”, “Bargaining Power of Suppliers”, and industry competition (“Threat of Substitutes”) affect the external threats a company faces. Provide examples of each.
4. Describe the industry life cycle, what strategic groups are, and what mobility barriers are.