making strategy “ making strategy B u s i n e s s F i n a n c e

making strategy “ making strategy B u s i n e s s F i n a n c e

Making Strategy

“Making strategy, once an event, is now a continuous process.” Explain what you think this strategy means and explain how you think it applies to Apple’s iPad. Review the video: Apple iPad Hits Stores in the U.S.

Company Rankings

Fortune (Links to an external site.) publishes an annual ranking of the most admired companies, both global and U.S. Choose either ranking and get the most recent listing of the top 10. Look up the financial information on one company on the list. Look up information on the Board of Directors of this company or its Annual Report. What conclusions might you draw about the role of the Board in the strategic management of these most admired companies?

Vision Statement

Organizational vision statements can take interesting directions. Using the Web, find three examples of organizational vision statements and write them down. What do you think of these statements? Do they fit the four components of an organizational vision? How might these statements affect the strategic choices made by the company’s strategic decision makers?

Organizational Knowledge

To be useful, organizational “knowledge” has to be captured and used. Here are some ways of capturing it and using it effectively: (a) keep it human; (b) focus on useful knowledge and “know-how”; (c) collect artifacts; (d) avoid an insular, isolated focus; and (e) keep your knowledge fresh. Briefly explain what you think each of these suggestions means. As you write your explanations, discuss the implications for strategic decision makers.

Trends in Organizational Strategies

A study of the U.S. Department of Labor completed by the Rand Corporation showed that the nation’s work force will be smaller, more diverse, more mobile, and more vulnerable to global competition. What implications (positive and negative) do these trends have for organizational strategies?

External Analysis

It has been suggested that one simple way to conduct an external analysis is by asking these six questions:

  • What is happening in the world today?
  • What does it mean for others?
  • What does it mean for us?
  • What would have to happen first for the results we want to occur?
  • What do we have to do to play a role?
  • What do we do next?
  • What do you think of this approach to external analysis? What’s good about it? Bad?