Management 8th Edition Kinicki Solutions Manual Download

Kinicki/Williams, Management, 8e: Chapter 6 Strategic Management: How Exceptional Managers Realize a
Grand Design
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Kinicki Williams 1259732657 9781259732652
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Strategic Management:
Chapter
6
How Exceptional Managers Realize a Grand Design
CHAPTER CONTENTS
Teaching Resource Manual: A Guide to Implementation ii

Learning Objectives 1
Teaching Resources 2
Overview of the Chapter 6
Classroom Outline 8
Challenge: Major Questions 28
Management in Action 30
Legal/Ethical Challenge 32
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Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
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Textbook Examples 34
Textbook Practical Actions 39
Self-Assessments 41
Group Exercise 45
Manager’s Hot Seat 47
Publisher Video 48
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Teaching Resource Manual: A Guide to Implementation

The purpose of the Teaching Resource Manual (TRM) is to support you in the delivery of your
chosen curriculum in either a face-to-face or online classroom formats. It also was created to
help you address some of the following challenges in higher education:
• Addressing the inability to measure student comprehension prior to major assignments

such as a midterm or project.
• Overcoming the inability to tailor your lecture to the topics that students find difficult.
• Increasing student engagement by providing opportunities for them to apply the
knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world scenarios.
• Providing students with opportunities for self-reflection outside of classroom activities.
• Increasing students’ critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
You will learn that we created many different teaching resources you can use either before,
during, or after class. Because of the quantity of options, the goal of this implementation guide
is to provide an overview of how you might select the many teaching resources at your
disposal.
So What Assets Can I Chose From?
Generally, a typical class session for any course comprises three “touch points”: before, during,
and after class. For a face-to-face course, your class session would normally be the day you
lecture to students. For an online course, the class session would be when you recorded the
lecture or when the live lecture is streamed on the Web.
Our teaching resources fall into nine categories: SmartBook, connect application exercises,
videos, self-assessments, online readings, discussion starters, mini-cases and full cases,
experiential or follow-up activities, and group exercises. After describing the use of SmartBook
and connect application exercises, we discuss how you might use these teaching resources
before, during, or after class.
Assigning SmartBook and Connect Application Exercises
Connect gives you a wide array of flexibility in making assignments and creating grading
policies. You may choose to:
• assign as many assignments as appropriate.
• determine point values for each question/application exercise individually.
• make available multiple attempts per assignment with options of accepting the highest
score or averaging all the scores together.
• deduct points for late submissions of assignments (percentage deduction per
hour/day/week/so forth) or create hard deadlines.
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• show feedback on application exercises/questions immediately or at your preference.

• provide for study-attempts to allow for completion of the assignment after the due date
without assigning a point value.
Some recommendations include:

• Before selecting the option for one attempt only, select unlimited or multiple attempts
on the first few assignments to allow students a chance to learn and navigate the
system.
• Provide a low point value for each question because multiple questions are usually
assigned for each chapter. A good rule of thumb would be to make “Quiz Questions”
worth 1 point each and “Application Exercises” worth 5 to 10 points each because these
require more time and thought.
• Select feedback to be displayed after the assignment due date in order to limit students
from giving the correct answers to other students while the application exercise is still
available.
So When Do I Assign Each Type of Teaching Resource?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could transition from simply assigning readings, lecturing, and
testing to actually adapting your teaching to student needs? By utilizing the teaching resources
outlined below during the three touch points, you can significantly impact students’ learning
and create a learning environment that is more engaging, involving, and rewarding. In other
words, you can now tailor your classrooms to pinpoint and address critical challenges, thereby
creating the greatest impact. The following recommendations pertain to these mentioned
touch points, with an additional matrix that follows.
Before Class
The learning goals we have for students determines our assignments before, during and after
class. For example, you may want to focus on mastering content, applying content, or using
content to solve problems. Alternatively, you may want to achieve all three goals.
If your goal is mastery of content, Connect offers a host of additional pre-class assignments to
choose from. They include case analyses, click and drags, video cases, Manager’s Hot Seats,
self-assessments, and quizzes and tests. Case analyses, click and drags, and video cases are
optimal exercises to be utilized prior to class, as they provide students the opportunity to
practice and apply key course concepts.
A reading assignment—typically a chapter from the product in use—is a student’s initial

exposure to course content. Requiring students to complete a SmartBook module either prior
to class or an online lecture allows you to gauge their comprehension of the material. Having a
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better sense before class of which concepts your students are “getting” and which ones they
are not, allows you to more effectively and efficiently plan your time with them during class. To
ascertain student competency, use the reporting function of SmartBook, where you can view
general results of their performance. To ascertain student confidence in their competency, pull
a metacognitive skills analysis report. Below are screenshots of both a general results report
and a metacognitive skills analysis. In the sample report of student comprehension by topic,
note the percent of questions answered correctly in the last column of the report.
Sample Report of Student Comprehension by Topic shows you what topics students are struggling with.
In the sample metacognitive skills analysis, the percentages show how much students know,
but didn’t realize they knew, as well as how much they didn’t know, but thought they did know.
This allows instructors to make sure students are cognizant about what they know or don’t
know, before expecting them to be competent in the concepts being taught. Such
metacognitive analysis would have been unimaginable in the past because it would be difficult
to find out which students had read and understood the material, let alone if they were aware
or unaware of their inability to comprehend.
Sample Report of Metacognitive Skills Analysis shows you student consciousness or unconsciousness in regards to competency.
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Additionally, Connect application exercises, such as case analyses, click and drags, and video
cases, offer students a second exposure to important sections of the chapter after their
completion of a SmartBook assignment.
Finally, you can use iSeeIt videos to emphasize content we have found difficult for students to
understand. These animated videos were developed to further unpack in brief, yet effective,
fashion the course topics that most commonly challenge students. Each animated video is
accompanied by auto-graded multiple-choice questions that can be assigned to confirm student
comprehension.
If your learning objectives include fostering application and integrating the concepts discussed
with real world practice, then Management in Action or legal/ethical challenge cases can be
assigned so students can think critically and understand how what they are learning is actually
practiced by successful professionals. The Management in Action cases have multiple-choice
questions that can be assigned in Connect to gauge student comprehension.
During Class
The TRM offers a host of additional materials and experiential activities you can use to bring
chapter content to life.
If your goal is content mastery and you are utilizing SmartBook, you can plan class activities and
lecture based on results from the general results report and the metacognitive skills report.
This allows for a more tailored class period that enhances student engagement and more
opportunities to resolve gaps in knowledge. We also provide links to online readings that you
can use to supplement the content covered in the textbook. They are useful if you desire to
provide additional material beyond that covered in the text.
If your goal is to create an engaging learning environment filled with student discussion and
interactions, we provide multiple resources. First, each major heading in a chapter contains
suggested discussion starter questions. These open-ended questions are likely to foster student
discussion and engagement. We also provide additional activities (i.e., experiential exercises)
for every Example and Practical Action box.
If your goal is to provide for additional application of material, the TRM breaks down the
textbook Management in Action cases and legal/ethical challenges by providing questions and
ideal responses. Connect also has multiple-choice questions that can be assigned for the
Management in Action cases. Finally, the TRM has a selection of group exercises that allows
instructors to focus on team learning methods.
If your goal is to jointly engage your students while applying content from the text, you can
select such activities as the Manager’s Hot Seats Connect follow-up activities, or self-
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assessment follow-up activities (all follow-up activities are found in the TRM). These assets are
especially useful if you are “flipping” your classroom, wherein the class session is used for
application and analysis of key concepts rather than lecture. The Resources across Teaching
Touch Points Matrix provides a quick reference for activities that can be utilized during class.
After Class
After the face-to-face class session, or online lecture, you can assign Connect application
exercises as homework to further reinforce the material covered in the textbook and lecture.
You may also want to assign an iSeeIt! animated video if you notice that students are struggling
with a particular topic, even after class. After each unit (planning, organizing, leading, and
controlling) students can also be assigned the cumulative case, which includes assignable
multiple-choice and essay-based questions. To further gauge student comprehension, you can
also assign a quiz or exam. The quiz banks in Connect focus more on defining and explaining
material, and the test banks focus more on application and analysis.
Resources Across Teaching Touch Points Matrix
Type of Asset Before-Class/Lecture During-Class/Lecture After-Class/Lecture

Smart Book
Connect Application
Exercises
Connect Application
Exercise TRM Follow-up
Activities
iSeeIt! Animated Videos
Self-Assessments
TRM Self-Assessment
Follow-up Activities
Quizzes/Tests
Legal/Ethical Challenges
Manager’s Hot Seats
Cumulative Case
TRM Box Additional
Activities (i.e. Example
and Practical Action)
Management in Action
Group Exercises
TRM Discussion Starters
TRM Online Readings
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A Week at a Glance
When creating a syllabus and schedule for students, you can utilize the above-mentioned
matrix as a guide. Let’s use the following example: You teach a face-to-face Principles of
Management course, and the course meets once-a-week on Wednesday afternoons. If this is
the fourth week of the semester and you are covering Chapter 4 on Global Management, the
following format can be utilized:
Before Class (before Wednesday)

• Assign Chapter 4 in SmartBook, making it due Tuesday evening so that reporting can be
reviewed prior to the lecture on Wednesday. The lecture can be customized based on
what concepts in the chapter students are struggling most with, as can be seen in the
reporting function of SmartBook by going to “Reporting” then clicking the “LearnSmart”
tab.
• A click and drag, such as one on “The GLOBE Project,” can be assigned. This can also be
due on Wednesday so that students are able to practice prior to class, and you can also
review results prior to lecturing.
• A case analysis, such as “Costco Plans to Grow Its International Market,” can also be
included so that students can learn about applying the concepts from the reading to a
real-life scenario; therefore, further engaging them prior to the class session. If desired,
you can then introduce a follow-up activity, found in the Teaching Resource Manual,
during class on Wednesday.
• A self-assessment can be assigned, such as “Assessing Your Consumer Ethnocentrism,” in
order to follow-up on content covered in the reading and to provide students with an
opportunity to self-reflect, and by seeing how it affects their personal lives, become
engaged with the content. This can set up a class activity to follow on Wednesday.
Follow-up activities can be found in the Teaching Resource Manual.
During Class (on Wednesday)

• You can deliver a short, yet effective, lecture and focus on areas that students are really
struggling with. This can be done by reviewing the reporting from SmartBook and any
assigned Connect application exercises, such as the recommended click and drag and
case analysis. If students are struggling with a particular learning objective, you can then
tailor the lecture and/or class activities to address those challenging concepts.
• If you are flipping the class and utilizing the in-person session for activities, you can
utilize the follow-up activities from previously assigned Connect application exercises in
the TRM.
• You can assign a self-assessment earlier in the week, for example on “Assessing Your
Global Manager Potential,” and have students complete a follow-up activity during the
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class session based on the self-assessment results. Remember, follow-up activities for
each Connect application exercise can be found in the TRM.
• Manager’s Hot Seats can be utilized to open up class discussion. Many of these Hot Seats
cover frequent, yet controversial topics, and they ask students to describe what their
decision-making process would be in those situations. Many times students will
recommend conflicting approaches to solving the issues in the videos; therefore, there is
more class engagement. For the global management chapter, one recommended
Manager’s Hot Seat is “Cultural Differences: Let’s Break a Deal.” Follow-up activities for
this, and every other Hot Seat, can be found in the TRM.
• If time allows, and you would like to dive into real situations, you can discuss an Example
Box from the text titled, “E-Commerce: Peer-to-Peer Shopping by Smartphone.” There is
an additional in-class activity in the TRM that asks students to read a Wall Street Journal
article on a mobile shopping network, then watch a four-minute video.
After Class (after Wednesday)

• You can assign a Connect application exercise, such as “Disney Imagineering,” to
reinforce student comprehension of material and to also test application of concepts.
• If students have been struggling with a particular topic, an iSeeIt! animated video can be
assigned to reinforce the concept in a short, effective manner. For Chapter 4, the iSeeIt!
video titled “Global Expansion” can be assigned via Connect.
• You can assign an online quiz or test on the material. For example, Chapter 4 includes 20
available quiz questions and 95 test questions.
• If you would like students to have one final application-based exercise, you can ask them
to review the Management in Action case titled, “Costco Plans to Grow Its International
Markets.” Students can respond to the four essay questions that follow, and/or they can
complete multiple-choice questions on Connect.
If you are teaching a completely online course asynchronously, then the in-person class above
can be substituted for a recorded online lecture that is customized based on SmartBook
reporting. Students can be instructed to complete pre-class activities prior to watching the
lecture, and post-class activities after the online lecture. A gap can be included between pre-
class activities and the recording of the lecture so that reporting can be reviewed.
This example is simply a week out of many that will provide for rigorous learning and student
impact! You can utilize this format when creating a syllabus and extrapolate the rest of the
weeks.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, students should be able to answer the following
questions:
6.1 What is strategic positioning, and what are the three principles that underlie it?
6.2 What’s the five-step recipe for the strategic-management process?
6.3 What are the characteristics of good mission, vision, and values statements?
6.4 What tools can help me describe where the organization stands from a
competitive point of view?
6.5 How can four techniques—Porter’s four competitive strategies, diversification
strategy, blue ocean strategy, and the BCG matrix—help me formulate strategy?
6.6 How does effective execution help managers during the strategic-management
process?
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TEACHING RESOURCES
Section Title Resource Type

6.1: What Is Effective
Strategy?
Grocery Store Frustration Web Video

Sparks Condiment Empire (2 minutes)
Supplemental Activity
Facebook Sees Big Spike In Web Video

Small Businesses Paying To (5 minutes)
Advertise
JCPenney’s Strategic Misstep Connect Case Analysis
6.2: The Strategic-

Management Process
Why So Few Managers Web Video

Understand Their Company's (6 minutes)
Strategy
CES 2016: Kodak 8mm Movie Web Video

Camera (5 minutes)
Strategizing for Real Group Exercise
The Strategic Management Connect Click and

Process Drag
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6.3: Establishing the

Mission, Vision & Values
Statements
Stick to the Strategy or Make Harvard Business

the Sale? Review Case Study*
6.4: Assessing the

Current Reality
The Explainer: Porter's Five Web Video

Forces (2 minutes)
Toyota Gets an Uber Blowback Web Video

from Outraged Japanese Taxi (3 minutes)
Drivers
Can This Woman Convince the Web Video

World to Act on Climate (2 minutes)
Change
The Inside Story of the Paris Web Video

Climate Agreement (15 minutes)
Assessing Strategic Thinking Self-Assessment

Self-Assessment Activity
Porter’s Five Competitive Connect Click and

Forces Drag
SWOT Analysis Connect Click and

Drag
The McFarlane Companies Connect Video Case
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6.5: Formulating the

Grand Strategy
What Is Blue Wine and Why Is Online Article

it a Trendy, New Drink?
This New Blue Wine Might Web Video

Change Your Life (1 minute)
Using Consumer Problems to Online Article

Find Blue Oceans
Core Skills Required for Self-Assessment

Strategic Planning
The BCG Matrix Connect Click and

Drag
Three Common Grand Connect Click and

Strategies Drag
6.6: Implementing and

Controlling Strategy:
Execution
Getting Strategy Execution Web Video

Right (3 minutes)
Closing the Strategy— Harvard Business

Execution Gap Review IdeaCast*
(16 minutes)
Second Thoughts About a Harvard Business

Strategy Shift Review Case Study
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Assessing the Obstacles to Self-Assessment

Strategic Execution
Comprehensive Materials
IKEA Focuses on Growth Textbook Management

in Action
Should Companies Be Textbook Legal/Ethical

Pressured to Recruit Females Challenge
for Boards of Directors?
Home Run Inn Publisher Video
*Harvard Business Review articles are subscription based or accessible via hbsp.harvard.edu as examination copy.
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OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER
6.1 What Is Effective Strategy?

Strategic positioning attempts to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by
preserving what is distinctive about a company. It is based on the principles that
strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, requires trade-offs in
competing, and involves creating a “fit” among activities.
6.2 The Strategic-Management Process

The strategic-management process has five steps: 1) Establish the mission,
vision and values statements; 2) Assess the current reality; 3) Formulate the grand
strategy; 4) Implement the strategy; and 5) Maintain strategic control. All the
steps may be affected by feedback that enables the taking of corrective action.
6.3 Establishing the Mission, Vision, and Values Statements

A mission statement should express the organization’s purpose or reason for
being. A vision statement should be positive and inspiring, and it should stretch the
organization and its employees to achieve a desired future state that appears
beyond its reach. A values statement should describe what the organization stands
for, its core priorities, the values its employees embody, and what its products
contribute to the world.
6.4 Assessing the Current Reality

To develop a grand strategy, managers need to assess the organization’s current
reality by determining where the organization stands internally and externally. With
competitive intelligence, organizations gather information about their
competitors’ activities to anticipate their moves. Environmental scanning is done
to assess an organization’s internal and external environments. A SWOT analysis
determines an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Trend analysis and contingency planning are tools used in forecasting.
Managers should use benchmarking to compare their organization’s performance
with that of other high-performing organizations. Porter’s five competitive forces
include the threat of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power
of buyers, threat of substitutes, and rivalry among competitors.
6.5 Formulating the Grand Strategy

Organizations may implement growth, stability, or defensive strategies.
Porter’s four competitive strategies are cost leadership, differentiation, cost-
focus, and focused differentiation. The cost leadership and cost-focus strategies
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involve keeping costs low, on a wide or narrow scale, respectively, while the
differentiation and focused differentiation strategies aim to offer products or
services that are unique, on a wide or narrow scale, respectively. Organizations
can implement single-product strategies or diversification strategies. One type
of diversification is vertical integration, where a firm expands into businesses that
provide the supplies it needs to make its products or that distribute and sell its
products. With a blue ocean strategy, a company creates a new, uncontested
market space. The BCG matrix is a means of evaluating strategic business units
on the basis of (1) their business growth rates, and (2) their share of the market.
6.6 Implementing and Controlling Strategy: Execution

Strategy implementation is putting strategic plans into effect. It is closely aligned
with strategic control, which consists of monitoring the execution of strategy and
taking corrective action, if necessary. Execution is the process that helps align
strategic implementation and strategic control. Execution consists of linking the
three core processes of any business—people, strategy, and operations.
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CLASSROOM OUTLINE
The Manager’s Toolbox: Being a Successful Manager: Avoid Fads, Know Your
Own Core Values
In order to be a successful manager, you will need to look beyond fads and know your
own core values. Fads are short-lived enthusiasms, and they are often seen as the way
of the future. You should rely on management tools that have been found to actually
work, such as strategic planning and the use of mission and vision statements. To
understand your own values, you should first articulate them clearly in writing and then
test them through daily decision making.
Possible Topics for Discussion:
● Do you think you would have an evidence-based management mind-set when
thinking about the overall direction of your organization or work unit?
● Describe a time when a manager at your company (or a previous company)
implemented a management tool that you considered a fad. Describe how its
implementation impacted the organization.
● Assume you have just read about a new managerial tool, and you are excited to
implement the practice at your company. What evidence should you gather about
the practice to try to determine if it will be a short-lived fad prior to implementing
the practice?
6.1 What Is Effective Strategy?

What is strategic positioning, and what are the three principles underlying
it?
PowerPoint Slides: 3-4

Section 6.1 discusses strategic positioning which attempts to achieve sustainable
competitive advantage by preserving what is distinctive about a company. Three key
principles underlie strategic positioning: (1) strategy is the creation of a unique and
valuable position; (2) strategy requires trade-offs in competing; and (3) strategy involves
creating a “fit” among activities.
One way that you could begin your coverage of these topics is to have the students
watch the CNBC video “Grocery Store Frustration Sparks Condiment Empire.” This 2-
minute video profiles the creation of the natural condiment brand, Sir Kensington's. For
a supplemental activity, you could have the students describe the strategic positioning
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of the Sir Kensington's brand, and have them assess the firm’s sustainable competitive
advantage using the VRIO framework from Chapter 5.
● Considering either your current company or one for which you want to work after
graduation, discuss in what ways the company performs different activities from
its rivals or performs activities in different ways from its rivals.
● Describe the strategic position of either your current company or one for which
you want to work after graduation, and discuss how this contributes to
competitive advantage.
● Describe the role of social media in creating the strategic positioning of your
academic institution.
Section 6.1 Key Concepts:
What Is an Effective Strategy?
● Strategic positioning attempts to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by
preserving what is distinctive about a company.
● Three key principles underlie strategic positioning:
o Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position by:
▪ Serving a few needs of many customers.
▪ Serving the broad needs of just a few customers.
▪ Serving the broad needs of many customers.
o Strategy requires trade-offs in competing.
▪ A company has to choose not only what strategy to follow but what
strategy not to follow.
o Strategy involves creating a “fit” among activities.
▪ “Fit” has to do with the ways a company’s activities interact and
reinforce one another.
Does Strategic Management Work for Small as Well as Large Firms?
● One analysis found that strategic planning was also appropriate for companies
with fewer than 100 employees.
● Improvement in financial performance for these companies was small, and
strategic planning may not be worth the effort unless a firm is in a very
competitive industry where small differences in performance may affect the firm’s
survival potential.
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Interactive Classroom Material:

CASE ANALYSIS: JCPenney’s Strategic Misstep
Summary of Activity:
This case analysis first asks students to read about JCPenney’s former CEO’s
strategic missteps. Students will then respond to 4 questions to measure
comprehension.
Follow-Up Activity:
Instructor should break students up into small groups. The groups will represent
JCPenney’s Board of Directors and are tasked with correcting Johnson’s missteps:
1. What should the Board’s first step be in rectifying the missteps and realigning
the organization with its initial strategic position?
2. If a new CEO is to be hired, what should the CEO’s priorities be?
3. Which of Porter’s Four Competitive strategies should the new executive team
focus on?
Groups should share their discussion and decisions with the class as a whole.

EXAMPLE: Comparing Strategies: Big-Company “Make the Consumer a
Captive” versus Small-Firm “Offer Personal Connections”
The strategy of many big companies is to build a device, sell it to consumers, and
then sell the consumers the content to play on it (and maybe some ads, too). The
idea is to get consumers tied not just to a brand or device or platform, but to make
them connected as tightly as possible so they and their content are locked into one
system. Examples include Amazon’s Kindle e-book readers and Google’s attempt to
promote its Google Nexus smartphones as a platform for selling Google Wallet.
Conversely, the strategy of small retailers is to discourage price comparisons, offer
freebies, and attempt to establish a personal or emotional connection with customers.
They also try to exploit the sympathies of shoppers encouraging them to “support the
little guy.”
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6.2 The Strategic-Management Process

What’s the five-step recipe for the strategic-management process?
PowerPoint Slides: 5
Section 6.2 discusses the strategic-management process. This process has five-steps:
1) Establish the mission and the vision; 2) Assess the current reality; 3) Formulate the
grand strategy; 4) Implement the strategy; and 5) Maintain strategic control. All the
steps may be affected by feedback that enables the taking of corrective action.
watch the Harvard Business Review video “Why So Few Managers Understand Their
Company's Strategy.” In this 6-minute video, Professor Donald Sull discusses
recommendations for translating strategy into results. For a supplemental activity, you
can have the students describe the recommendations from the video on how firms can
more effectively implement their strategies.
● Describe the five steps of the strategic-management process.
● Which step of the strategic-management process do you believe is the most
important? Defend your position.
● Discuss why it is hard for managers to take an ecosystem or wide lens
perspective or their organizations.

EXAMPLE: When the Strategic-Management Process Fails: Not Having an
Ecosystem, or "Wide Lens" Perspective
This Example profiles Kodak, who filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Kodak had a profit
margin of 80 percent for many years, but failed to understand the business ecosystem
it was in. The company was so focused on trying to develop a new way of printing
photos on paper that it failed to see how progress by other companies would upend
that goal in its entirety. Today, it’s necessary to take a wide-lens viewpoint in which
you are able to distinguish between two situations: those in which value in a product
is created by your own ability, and those in which value is affected by the efforts of
other firms and technologies.
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The Strategic-Management Process
● Step 1: Establish the Mission, Vision & Values Statements
o The mission statement expresses the organization’s purpose or reason for
being.
o The vision statement states what the organization wants to become, and
where it wants to go strategically.
o The values statement describes what the organization stands for, its core
priorities, the values its employees embody, and what its products
contribute to the world.
● Step 2: Assess the Current Reality
o The second step is to do a current reality assessment, or organizational
assessment, to look at where the organization stands and see what is
working and what could be different so as to maximize efficiency and
effectiveness in achieving the organization’s mission.
o Among the tools for assessing the current reality are SWOT analysis,
forecasting, benchmarking, and Porter’s model for industry analysis.
● Step 3: Formulate the Grand Strategy
o This means translating the broad mission and vision statements into a
grand strategy, which is how the organization’s mission is to be
accomplished.
o Strategy formulation is the process of choosing among different
strategies and altering them to best fit the organization’s needs.
● Step 4: Implement the Strategy
o Putting strategic plans into effect is strategy implementation.
o Top managers need to check on possible roadblocks within the
organization’s structure and culture and see if the right people and control
systems are available to execute the plans.
● Step 5: Maintain Strategic Control: The Feedback Loop
o Strategic control consists of monitoring the execution of strategy and
making adjustments, if necessary.
o Managers need control systems to monitor progress and must take
corrective action as needed.
o Corrective action constitutes a feedback loop.
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CLICK AND DRAG: The Strategic Management Process
The strategic management process has five steps: establish the mission and vision,
establish the grand strategy, formulate the strategic plans, carry out the strategic
plans, and maintain strategic control. Feedback may occur at all times to revise these
actions. In this click and drag exercise, students will match the factors a fictitious
character encountered into the appropriate place in a provided chart to correspond
with the related stage of the strategic management process.
Follow-Up Activity:
Instructor should open the floor to students to discuss the strategic management
process. What feedback loop mechanisms did Bill and Vance Gordon utilize in the
mini case study? Students may be called upon to expand further on the five steps
based on their own professional experiences or respective industries.
Group Exercise: Strategizing for Real

There is a group exercise available at the end of this manual that will assist students
in further understanding the strategic-planning process.
Exercise Objectives
● To help you understand the complexity of the strategic-planning process.
● To more completely familiarize yourself with strategic planning.
6.3 Establishing the Mission, Vision, & Values Statements

What are the characteristics of good mission and vision statements?

Section 6.3 discusses mission, vision, and values statements. A mission statement
should express the organization’s purpose or reason for being. A vision statement
should be positive and inspiring, and it should stretch the organization and its
employees to achieve a desired future state that appears beyond its reach. A values
statement should describe what the organization stands for, its core priorities, the
values its employees embody, and what its products contribute to the world.
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read the Harvard Business Review article “Stick to the Strategy or Make the Sale?” This
article is an HBR Case Study and includes a fictional case and case commentary by
industry experts. This case looks at whether a company should grant an exception to its
new subscription-model approach to product sales. Using this case study would be an
excellent way to explore if a firm’s mission, vision, and values can evolve over time. You
can ask students to read only the article or also ask them to read the professional
commentary. For a supplemental activity, you could have the students provide specific
recommendations for whether Luminscape should sell the streetlights to Houston.
Article Citation:
Weiss, M., Burns, S., & Kutneru, J. (2016). Stick to the strategy or make the sale?
Harvard Business Review, 94(7), 119-124.
Product #: R1607K-PDF-ENG
● Discuss the importance of mission, vision, and values statements in the strategic-
management process.
● Locate the mission, vision, and values statements for your company or one for
which you would like to work after graduation. Evaluate the extent to which the
statements meet the guidelines for constructing powerful statements outlined in
Table 6.1.
● Write mission, vision, and values statements for your academic institution that
follow the guidelines of Table 6.1.
Characteristics of a Good Mission Statement
● Who are our customers?
● What are our major products or services?
● In what geographical areas do we compete?
● What is our basic technology?
● What is our commitment to economic objectives?
● What are our basic beliefs, values, aspirations, and philosophical priorities?
● What are our major strengths and competitive advantages?
● What are our public responsibilities, and what image do we wish to project?
● What is our attitude toward our employees?
Characteristics of a Good Vision Statement
● Is it appropriate for the organization and for the times?
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● Does it set standards of excellence and reflect high ideals?

● Does it clarify purpose and direction?
● Does it inspire enthusiasm and encourage commitment?
● Is it well articulated and easily understood?
● Does it reflect the uniqueness of the organization, its distinctive competence,
what it stands for, what it’s able to achieve?
● Is it ambitious?
Characteristics of a Good Values Statement
● Does it express the company’s distinctiveness, its view of the world?
● Is it intended to guide all the organization’s actions, including how you treat
employees, customers, etc.?
● Is it tough, serving as the foundation on which difficult company decisions can be
made?
● Will it be unchanging, as valid 100 years from now as it is today?
● Does it reflect the beliefs of those who truly care about the organization—the
founders, CEO, and top executives—rather than represent a consensus of all
employees?
● Are the values expressed in the statement limited (five or so) and easy to
remember, so that employees will have them top-of-mind when making
decisions?
● Would you want the organization to continue to hold these values, even if at
some point they become a competitive disadvantage?
6.4 Assessing the Current Reality

What tools can help me describe where the organization stands from a

Section 6.4 discusses assessing the current reality in order to develop a grand strategy.
This includes gathering data and making projections by using the tools of competitive
intelligence, SWOT analysis, forecasting, benchmarking, and Porter’s five competitive
forces.
watch the Harvard Business Review video “The Explainer: Porter's Five Forces.” This 2-
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minute video provides an effective summary of each of the Porter’s competitive forces.
For a supplemental activity, you could have the students conduct a Porter’s Five Forces
analysis on the airline industry and determine the attractiveness of the airline industry.
● Perform a SWOT analysis on your current company or one for which you would
like to work after graduation.
● Assume you are an upper-level manager for Toyota. Discuss how you could
gather competitive intelligence to allow you to compete more effectively.
Describe any ethical considerations for competitive intelligence.
● Identify benchmark performance metrics that your academic institution could use
in comparing its performance to other colleges or universities that could
reasonably be considered competitive rivals of your school.
Competitive Intelligence
● Competitive intelligence means gaining information about one’s competitors’
activities so that you can anticipate their moves and react appropriately.
● Sources of competitive intelligence include:
o The public prints and advertising through the Internet or subscription
databases.
o Investor information through the reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and through corporate annual reports.
o Informal sources such as trade shows or contacts with sales people.
SWOT Analysis
● Environment scanning is carefully monitoring of an organization’s internal and
external environments to detect early signs of opportunities and threats that may
influence the firm’s plans.
● The process for doing this is SWOT analysis—also known as a situational
analysis—which is a search for the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats affecting the organization.
● The SWOT analysis is divided into two parts: inside matters (i.e., internal
strengths and weaknesses) and outside matters (i.e., external opportunities and
threats).
o Organizational strengths are the skills and capabilities that give the
organization special competencies and competitive advantages in
executing strategies in pursuit of its vision.
o Organizational weaknesses are the drawbacks that hinder an
organization in executing strategies in pursuit of its vision.
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o Organizational opportunities are environmental factors that the

organization may exploit for competitive advantage.
o Organizational threats are environmental factors that hinder an
organization from achieving a competitive advantage.

CLICK AND DRAG: SWOT Analysis
A useful tool in gathering information about the competitive environment to establish a
grand strategy is the SWOT analysis. In this click and drag exercise, students will
match the provided term or phrase with the appropriate area of the SWOT analysis.
Follow-Up Activity:
Instructor should break students up into groups. Each group is tasked with applying a
SWOT analysis framework on a franchise (i.e., Anytime Fitness, Supercuts, Dunkin’
Donuts, Five Guys, etc.) of their choice. Activity may be closed out by asking each
group to summarize their SWOT analysis for the class as a whole.

EXAMPLE: How Would You Analyze Toyota?
This Example presents a sample SWOT analysis for Toyota—its Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Forecasting: Predicting the Future

● A forecast is a vision or projecting of the future.
● A trend analysis is a hypothetical extension of a past series of events into the
future.
o The basic assumption is that the picture of the present can be projected
into the future.
o An example of trend analysis is a time-series forecast, which predicts
future data based on patterns of historical data.
● Contingency planning, also known as scenario planning and scenario
analysis, is the creation of alternative hypothetical but equally likely future
conditions.
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o Because scenarios try to peer far into the future, they are written in rather
general terms.
o The great value of contingency planning is that it not only equips an
organization to prepare for emergencies and uncertainty, it also gets
managers thinking strategically.

VIDEO CASE: The McFarlane Companies
Running a multimillion dollar company is not as simple as picking a direction and
putting the company on "autopilot." It requires constant monitoring, analysis, and
adjustment to ensure the company's strategy matches well with the environmental
conditions it currently faces. In this video, students will learn about how one
organization, the McFarlane Companies, continues to be a leader in its industry and
how it faces environmental changes that could potentially render its strategy
ineffective. After watching the video, students will respond to 10 questions to measure
comprehension.
Follow-Up Activity:
Students should be called up to discuss the importance of environmental scanning.
Based on the mini case study, in what ways does the McFarlane Companies engage
in tackling its internal and external environment? Students can also be tasked with
drafting a SWOT analysis for McFarlane Companies. Selected students can share
with the class. Key takeaways should focus on incorporating concepts and course
terms.

EXAMPLE: Contingency Planning for Insurance Companies: Dealing with
Rising Sea Levels
Several U.S. government agencies have launched contingency planning to prepare
for the effects of climate change—from the Navy studying the threat of rising seas, to
naval operations, to the Department of Agriculture’s planning for possible effects of
drought and wildfire on agriculture and livestock, to the Department of
Transportation’s exploration of risk of high temperatures on highways and bridges.
But what kinds of contingency planning are being done in private industry for the
impact of climate change? Many CEOs of energy, food, and food distribution
companies, for example, are reportedly not overly concerned about the effect of
global warming on their businesses.
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Benchmarking: Comparing with the Best

● Benchmarking is the process by which a company compares its performance
with that of high-performing organizations.
● Benchmarking can be considered as the process of measuring products,
services, and practices against key competitors or companies recognized as
industry leaders.
Porter’s Five Competitive Forces
● Porter’s model for industry analysis suggests that business-level strategies
originate in five primary competitive forces in the firm’s environment.
● Threats of new entrants are the extent to which new competitors can take away
customers from existing organizations.
● Bargaining power of suppliers is the extent to which companies can easily switch
suppliers.
● Bargaining power of buyers is created when customers buy a lot of products or
services from an organization.
● Threats of substitute products or services refer to the ability of organizations to
switch to other products or services when circumstances threaten their usual
channels.
● Rivalry among competitors is influenced by the other four forces.

CLICK AND DRAG: Porter's Five Competitive Forces
In order for a managerial team to develop an effective strategy, it first needs to assess
the conditions under which the organization is operating under and existing in. There
are several tools available to managers to accomplish this end. One of these tools,
Porter’s Five Competitive Forces, allows managers to assess the level of
competitiveness within a particular industry. In this click and drag exercise, students
will match the provided term or phrase with the correctly related competitive force
from Porter’s Five Competitive Forces.
Follow-Up Activity:
Instructor should place students in groups and have groups create a Porter’s Five
Forces model for an industry of the instructor’s choosing (this is to avoid duplication).
Students should provide details for each of Porter’s concepts and relate them to the
industry. If students have internet access to perform research, that would help.
Afterwards, groups can draw their Five Forces models on the board and compare
between industries.
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SELF-ASSESSMENT 6.1
Assessing Strategic Thinking
This 10-question self-assessment measures students’ strategic thinking. Questions
on project management, performance targets, and rewards are presented.
6.5 Formulating the Grand Strategy

How can four techniques—Porter’s four competitive strategies,
diversification strategy, blue ocean strategy, and the BCG matrix—help
me formulate strategy?

Section 6.5 discusses the different types of strategies: growth, stability, or defensive.
Strategy formulation makes use of several concepts, including Porter’s four competitive
strategies, diversification strategy, blue ocean strategy, and the BCG matrix.
One way that you could begin your coverage of these topics is to profile a company that
used the principles of the blue ocean strategy to introduce a new product to the
marketplace—blue wine. As profiled in the Tech Times article “What Is Blue Wine and
Why is it a Trendy, New Drink?,” Spanish company Gïk has introduced a new wine color
to entice drinkers. You could have the students watch the 1-minute USA Today video
“This New Blue Wine Might Change Your Life.” You could also further elaborate on the
blue ocean strategy by having the students read the Forbes online article “Using
Consumer Problems to Find Blue Oceans.” For a supplemental activity, you could have
the students analyze the extent to which they believe blue wine is a blue ocean strategy
and whether or not this product will provide a competitive advantage to Gïk.
● Discuss the challenges of trying to implement each of Porter’s four competitive
strategies.
● Discuss the difficulties of trying to implement a blue ocean strategy and the
benefits of successfully doing so.
● Identify industries that you believe are examples of each of the four cells in the
BCG matrix. Explain why you would classify each industry as you did.
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Three Common Grand Strategies
● Growth strategies involve expansion in sales revenues, market share, number of
employees, or number of customers or clients.
● Often a growth strategy takes the form of an innovation strategy, growing
market share or profits by innovating improvements in products or services.
● Stability strategies involve little or no significant change.
● Defensive or retrenchment strategies involve reduction in the organization’s
efforts.

CLICK AND DRAG: Three Common Grand Strategies
Organizations assess the reality they currently exist and compete in (this is step 2 in
the strategic-management process) and use their findings to formulate a strategy
using a variety of tools and techniques such as Porter’s four competitive strategies,
diversification and synergy, and the BCG Matrix. In this click and drag exercise,
students will match provided terms and descriptions with the correct grand strategy.
Follow-Up Activity:
Students should be broken into one of three groups with each group representing a
grand strategy. Each group should discuss the following:
1. Which of Porter’s Four Competitive Strategies fit best with your grand strategy?
Why?
2. Which position on the BCG Matrix would your grand strategy fit best with?
Why?
3. How would diversification and synergy play a role in your grand strategy?
Students should share their discussions with the class as a whole. Thoughts can be
written on the board as well. Instructor can then compare the grand strategies.
Porter’s Four Competitive Strategies

● Cost-Leadership Strategy
o The goal of the cost-leadership strategy is to keep the costs, and hence
prices, of a product or service below those of competitors.
o The cost-leadership strategy targets a wide market.
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o This strategy puts pressure on managers to keep costs as low as

possible.
● Differentiation Strategy
o The differentiation strategy involves offering products or services that
are of unique and superior value compared to those of competitors.
o The differentiation strategy also targets a wide market.
o Managers may have to spend more on R&D, marketing, and customer
service.
o Companies use this strategy to create a brand—a distinctive image—that
they hope will differentiate them from their competitors.
● Cost-Focus Strategy
o The cost-focus strategy involves keeping costs, and hence prices of a
product or service, below those of competitors.
o The cost-focus strategy targets a narrow market.
o This is the strategy executed with low-end products sold in discount
stores, such as low-cost cigarettes.
● Focused-Differentiation Strategy
o The focused-differentiation strategy involves offering products or
services that are of unique and superior value compared to those of
competitors.
o The focused-differentiation strategy targets a narrow market.
o Focused-differentiation products often have very high prices, but this is not
universally true.
Single-Product Strategy versus Diversification Strategy
● Single-Product Strategy
o In a single-product strategy, a company makes and sells only one
product within its market.
o Focus is the main benefit of this strategy since making just one product
allows the company to focus its efforts just on that product.
o Vulnerability is the key risk because if problems arise with the single
product, it may destroy the entire firm.
● Diversification Strategy
o With a diversification strategy, the organization operates several
businesses in order to spread the risk.
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o One kind of diversification strategy is vertical integration, in which a firm

expands into businesses that provide the supplies it needs to make its
products or that distribute and sell its products.
The Blue Ocean Strategy
● A blue ocean strategy refers to a company creating a new, uncontested market
space that makes competitors irrelevant, creates new consumer value, and
decreases costs.
● A “blue ocean” is a completely new market, while a “red ocean” is one in which
industry boundaries are defined and accepted and the competitive rules of the
game are known.
● There are two ways to create a blue ocean: (1) invent a completely new industry,
or (2) create a blue ocean within a red ocean, as when a company expands the
boundaries of an existing industry.
The BCG Matrix
● The BCG Matrix is a means of evaluating strategic business units on the basis of
their business growth rates and their share of the market.
o Business growth rate is concerned with how fast the entire industry is
increasing.
o Market share is concerned with the business unit’s share of the market in
relation to competitors.
● Both market growth and market share are divided into two categories (i.e., high
and low), creating the four-cell matrix in Figure 6.3.
o “Stars” are highly desirable business units with high growth and high
market share.
o “Dogs” are undesirable because they have low growth and low market
share.
● The BCG Matrix suggests that an organization will do better in fast-growing
markets in which it has a high market share rather than in slow-growing markets
in which it has a low market share.
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CLICK AND DRAG: The BCG Matrix
The BCG Matrix is a useful tool developed by the Boston Consulting Group that is
used to evaluate strategic business units. These units are evaluated on the basis of
business growth rates and market share. In this click and drag exercise, students will
match the correct terms from the BCG Matrix into the correct position.
Follow-Up Activity:
Students should be split into one of four groups with each groups representing a
position on the BCG Matrix. Each group is to select an organization that would fit the
position and discuss the following:
1. Why did you select this organization for the position?
2. Do you foresee the organization changing positions on the BCG Matrix? If so,
how and why? If you do not see it changing positions, why so?
3. Do you see external organizational factors that can affect the organization’s
current position?
Groups should share with the class as a whole.
SELF-ASSESSMENT 6.2
Core Skills Required for Strategic Planning
This 12-question self-assessment both gauges students’ skills in strategic planning
and ascertains what skills students believe are core to strategic planning. Questions
on analytical, interpersonal, and listening skills are presented.
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6.6 Implementing & Controlling Strategy: Execution

How does effective execution help managers during the strategic-
management process?

Section 6.6 discusses how strategic implementation is closely aligned with strategic
control. Execution is a process that helps align these two phases of the strategic-
management process.
watch the Harvard Business Review video “Getting Strategy Execution Right.” In this 3-
minute video, INSEAD professor Michael Jarrett discusses recommendations to
succeed when putting strategy into action. You could also ask the students to listen to
the Harvard Business Review IdeaCast “Closing the Strategy—Execution Gap.” In this
16-minute audio interview, Paul Leinwand explains how successful companies address
the strategy execution gap. For a supplemental activity, you could have the students
summarize Michael Jarrett’s and Paul Leinwand’s recommendations for successfully
executing strategy.
● Explain the relationship between strategic implementation, strategic control, and
execution. Why is it difficult to implement a firm’s strategy?
● Describe the three processes that impact a firm’s ability to execute effectively.
● Describe the characteristics of a good strategic plan.
Implementing the Strategy
● Strategy implementation is putting strategic plans into effect.
● Often implementation means overcoming resistance by people who feel the
plans threaten their influence or livelihood.
● Strategic implementation is closely aligned with strategic control, and execution
is the process that helps align these two phases of the strategic-management
process.
Maintaining Strategic Control
● Strategic control consists of monitoring the execution of strategy and taking
corrective action, if necessary.
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● To keep a strategic plan on track, managers need to actively engage people in

clarifying what they hope to accomplish and how they will accomplish it; keep
their planning simple; stay focused on the important things; and keep them
moving toward their vision of the future.
Execution
● Execution is a central part of any company’s strategy, and it uses questioning,
analysis, and follow-through to mesh strategy with reality, align people with
goals, and achieve results promised.
● Execution consists of linking the three core processes of any business—people,
strategy, and operations.
o For the people process, managers need to determine which individuals
can handle the jobs of the future and who will benefit them in the future.
▪ An effective leader tries to evaluate talent by: linking people to
particular strategic milestones, developing future leaders, dealing
with nonperformers, and transforming the mission and operations of
the human resource department.
o For the strategy process, managers need to consider how success will be
accomplished.
▪ A good strategic plan addresses the nine questions shown in Table
6.4.
▪ A manager must take a critical view of the organization’s
capabilities and talent when considering how to execute the
strategic plan.
o For the operations process, managers need to consider what path people
will follow, and develop an operating plan.
▪ The operating plan should address all the major activities in which
the company will engage, and then define short-term objectives for
these activities to provide targets toward which people can aim.
How Execution Helps Implement and Control Strategy
● Many executives appear to have an aversion to execution, which they associate
with the tedium of doing, as opposed to the excitement of visioning.
● There are many organizational obstacles to effective execution, many of which
are associated with organizational culture.
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PRACTICAL ACTION: Building a Foundation of Execution
The foundation of execution is based on leadership (discussed in Chapter 14) and
organizational culture (discussed in Chapter 8). Bossidy and Charan advise
managers to engage in the following behaviors:
● Know your people and your business – engage intensely with your employees.
● Insist on realism – don’t let others avoid reality.
● Set clear priorities – focus on a few rather than many goals.
● Follow through – establish accountability and check on results.
● Reward the doers – show top performers that they matter.
● Expand people’s capabilities – develop the talent.
● Know yourself – do the hard work of understanding who you are.
SELF-ASSESSMENT 6.3
Assessing the Obstacles to Strategic Execution
This 15-question self-assessment determines obstacles to strategic execution.
Students should reflect on their current or former jobs when responding to the
questions. If a student has never been employed, then he or she should reflect on
university experiences. Questions on objectives, trust, and action plans are
presented.
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CHALLENGE: MAJOR QUESTIONS
6.1 What is strategic positioning, and what are the three principles that underlie
it?
Strategic positioning attempts to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by
preserving what is distinctive about a company. The three key principles that
underlie strategic positioning are (1) strategy is the creation of a unique and
valuable position; (2) strategy requires trade-offs in competing; and (3) strategy
involves creating a “fit” among activities by making sure the organization’s activities
interact and reinforce one another. To have a valuable strategic positioning, an
organization must decide if it will serve a few needs of many customers, serve the
broad needs of just a few customers, or serve the broad needs of many customers.
6.2 What’s the five-step recipe for the strategic-management process?

The strategic-management process has five steps: (1) Establish the mission,
vision, and values statements; (2) assess the current reality; (3) Formulate the
grand strategy; (4) Implement the strategy, and (5) Maintain strategic control. The
feedback provided through strategic control helps keep strategic planning on track.
6.3 What are the characteristics of good mission, vision, and values statements?
A good mission statement should identify the organization’s customers; its major
products or services; the geographical areas in which it competes; its basic
technology; its commitment to economic objectives; its basic beliefs, values,
aspirations, and philosophical priorities; its major strengths and competitive
advantages; its public responsibilities; and its attitude toward its employees. A
good vision statement should be appropriate for the organization and for the times;
set standards of excellence and reflect high ideals; clarify purpose and direction;
inspire enthusiasm and encourage commitment; be well articulated and easily
understood; reflect the uniqueness of the organization; and be ambitious. A values
statement should express the company’s distinctiveness; guide all the
organization’s actions; serve as the foundation on which difficult company
decisions can be made; be as valid 100 years from now as it is today; reflect the
beliefs of those who truly care about the organization; be easy to remember; and
be something the organization should continue to hold even if at some point the
values become a competitive disadvantage.
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6.4 What tools can help me describe where the organization stands from a
Among the tools for assessing the current reality are competitive intelligence,
SWOT analysis, forecasting, benchmarking, and Porter’s model for industry
analysis. Competitive intelligence means gaining information about one’s
competitors’ activities so that you can anticipate their moves and react
appropriately. SWOT analysis, also known as a situational analysis, is a search for
the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats affecting the organization. A
forecast is a vision or projection of the future. Benchmarking is a process by which
a company compares its performance with that of high-performing organizations.
Lastly, Porter’s model for industry suggests that business-level strategies originate
in five primary competitive forces in the firm’s environment: (1) threats of new
entrants, (2) bargaining power of suppliers, (3) bargaining power of buyers, (4)
threats of substitute products or services, and (5) rivalry among competitors.
6.5 How can four techniques—Porter’s four competitive strategies,

diversification strategy, blue ocean strategy, and the BCG matrix—help me
formulate strategy?
Organizations can use grand strategies of growth, stability, and defensive. To
determine which strategy is best, managers can use several techniques. First is
Porter’s four competitive strategies. These strategies are (1) cost-leadership, (2)
differentiation, (3) cost-focus, and (4) focused-differentiation. The first two
strategies focus on wide markets, while the other two focus on narrow markets.
Firms can either use a single-product strategy or a diversification strategy where
they operate several businesses in order to spread risk. With a blue ocean
strategy, a company creates a new, uncontested market space. This can be
achieved by inventing a completely new industry or by expanding the boundaries
of an existing industry. Lastly, the BCG matrix is a means of evaluating strategic
business units on the basis of (1) their business growth rates and (2) their share of
the market. Managers should seek out “stars” and avoid “dogs.”
6.6 How does effective execution help managers during the strategic-
management process?
Execution is a central part of the strategic-management process. Without effective
execution, the strategy will not be properly implemented, and it may be difficult to
take appropriate corrective action. Execution is a key process that helps align
these last two phases of the strategic-management process. A company’s overall
ability to execute is a function of effectively executing according to three
processes: people, strategy, and operations. Effective execution will not occur
unless managers are able to overcome organizational obstacles to effective
execution, and the organization’s culture supports an emphasis on getting quality
work done in a timely manner.
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MANAGEMENT IN ACTION: IKEA Focuses on Growth
1. Based on Michael Porter’s discussion of the characteristics of an effective

strategy, does IKEA have a good strategy for growth? Explain.
IKEA seems to have an effective strategy for growth. Michael Porter defines
strategic positioning as attempts to achieve sustainable competitive advantage
by preserving what is distinctive about a company. IKEA utilizes a unique product
development process as well as a cost containment and efficiency structure that
allow it to be competitive in pricing. Moreover, the organization is attempting to
create a “fit” among its activities. The organization researches what its customers
need and the trends in where people are moving; it then reduces costs in its
manufacturing process in order to offer competitive pricing and meet those
demographics’ needs; and finally it makes sure its showrooms are appealing to
showcase the products it has manufactured. The company itself also mentions
that it tries to accomplish its vision, “…through optimizing our entire value chain,
by building long-term supplier relationships, investing in highly automated
production and producing large volume.”
2. To what extent is IKEA following the five steps of the strategic-

management process?
IKEA is closely following the five steps of the strategic-management process. It
has established mission and vision statements and then conducted extensive
market research to assess the current reality. Based on this research and its
mission and vision, IKEA has then formulated a grand strategy of sorts that
includes its action plans on expanding globally, as well as its operating plans to
reduce manufacturing costs and offer competitive pricing. It is implementing this
strategy, but we are not very aware of its strategic control process based on the
case.
3. What are your thoughts about IKEA's vision and mission statements?
The company’s vision statement is quite broad. Though vision statements are
usually broader than mission statements, creating a “…better everyday life for
the many people” does seem quite broad. On the other hand, IKEA’s mission
statement is quite on point and narrow. It covers its core principles of well-
designed, functional furniture, but at low costs.
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4. Which of Michael Porter’s four competitive strategies is IKEA trying to

follow? Discuss.
Porter’s four competitive strategies include cost-leadership, differentiation, cost-
focus, and focused-differentiation. Here, IKEA seems to be exhibiting the cost-
leadership strategy. The cost-leadership strategy is to keep the costs, and hence
prices, of a product or service below those of competitors and to target a wide
market. IKEA wants as many people as possible to purchase its products, so it is
targeting a wide market. It is doing this by trying to optimize its entire value chain
and keep costs below those of competitors.
5. To what extent does the SWOT analysis support IKEA's strategies? Explain
your rationale.
IKEA’s strategies are well supported by SWOT analysis. IKEA is doing extensive
environmental scanning in order to implement and control the most effective
strategies possible. It focuses on its strengths, such as its value chain, in order to
attract the widest market possible based on low costs. It tries to address
weaknesses with product craftsmanship by not pushing for “cheap” products;
instead it tries to reduce costs without hurting quality. It understands
opportunities, such as global expansion, and is cautiously expanding based on
market research. And finally, it understands how large competitors, such as
Walmart, can threaten its market share, and is attempting to stay competitive
based on its strengths.
6. What is the greatest takeaway from this case in terms of strategic

management?
Student answers will vary here. Students should understand that IKEA is basing
its strategic planning on its mission and vision statements. It is choosing a
specific competitive strategy (cost-leadership) and creating an action plan that is
based on environmental scanning. This plan bases its operations on its strengths
and allows the company to take advantage of both domestic and foreign
opportunities that may arise. Finally, IKEA is closely following the strategic-
management process outlined in the chapter.
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.
LEGAL/ETHICAL CHALLENGE
Should Companies Be Pressured to Recruit Females for Boards of Directors?

A company’s board of directors plays a role in the strategic-management process. Not
only can a board provide input into the planning process, but it ultimately signs off on
the intended strategies. Interestingly, a 2014 study by MSCI, a global firm that provides
research-based indices and analytics, revealed a significant relationship between the
gender composition of boards and a firm's financial performance. Firms with strong
female leadership had an average return on equity of 10.1% compared to 7.4% for
companies with no women at senior levels.
This challenge pertains to whether it is appropriate for outside groups to pressure a
company to include women on its board of directors.
SOLVING THE CHALLENGE
1. It is a great idea to pressure companies to include more females on boards
of directors. After all, the MSCI study showed that female representation
was associated with higher financial performance.
The European Union may be going this way. In 2011, the EU’s justice
commissioner invited publicly-listed firms to sign a pledge to increase the
proportion of women on their boards to 30 percent by 2015 and 40 percent by
2020. Voluntary action was minimal. Therefore, in March 2012, she announced
the launch of a three-month public consultation to ask what kind of measures the
EU should take to get more women into the board room.
2. Companies should be allowed to select people for boards based on their
experience, networks, and performance. Gender should not be considered
as a relevant criterion for selecting board members. I am not in favor of this
type of social pressure because it does not ensure that the most qualified
people are placed on boards of directors.
Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame seems to hold this position. In April, 2012,
he said he wasn’t concerned about the lack of women on Facebook’s board of
directors, stating, “I’m going to find people who are helpful, and I don’t particularly
care what gender they are… I’m not filling the board with check boxes.”
3. I’m middle of the road on this issue. Part of me feels that organizations
should be left alone to put whomever they want on a board. At the same
time, occasionally organizational leaders need to be nudged to do the right
thing, such as putting females on the board. Therefore, I think that social
pressure from groups like “2020 Women on Boards” is okay, but
organizations should not feel forced to do anything they do not want to do.
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People may feel this way about affirmative action as well. Affirmative action is
intended to make up for discrimination by helping minority groups and women
gain more access to jobs and other opportunities, and establishing goals to “right
past wrongs” is acceptable. Quotas – forcing organizations to hire minorities or
women – are not. This may be true with hiring women on boards of directors.
Pressure is okay; quotas are not.
4. Invent other options. Discuss.
Students, or you as the instructor, may want to provide a creative response here.
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TEXTBOOK EXAMPLES
EXAMPLE: Comparing Strategies: Big-Company “Make the Consumer a

Captive” versus Small-Firm “Offer Personal Connections”
The strategy of many big companies is to build a device, sell it to consumers, and
then sell the consumers the content to play on it (and maybe some ads, too). The
idea is to get consumers tied not just to a brand or device or platform, but to make
them connected as tightly as possible so they and their content are locked into one
system. Examples include Amazon’s Kindle e-book readers and Google’s attempt to
promote its Google Nexus smartphones as a platform for selling Google Wallet.
Conversely, the strategy of small retailers is to discourage price comparisons, offer
freebies, and attempt to establish a personal or emotional connection with customers.
They also try to exploit the sympathies of shoppers encouraging them to “support the
little guy.”
YOUR CALL
Considering the proliferation of price comparison sites (Price-grabber.com,
Bizrate.com, FreePriceAlerts.com) that will usually direct consumers to big e-
commerce retailers, do you think low prices will always win in the end? Is there
any strategy a small retailer can take to maintain an advantage?
There is a certain demographic that will always trek toward low prices. However,
with a rising middle-class worldwide, many consumers can afford to discriminate
and choose to work with specific organizations because of service, freebies, and a
“personal touch” in the shopping process. Nevertheless, with many large retailers
bundling their products (i.e., Amazon, Apple, etc.), there is increased pressure on
the small retailers to compete without such resources.
Small retailers should continue trying to offer service that goes above and beyond
large retailers. Instead of taking a cost-leadership approach, they should try and
find their niche customer and provide a differentiation-based service or product.
Additional Activities:
One way to build on this Example is to have the students watch the CBS This
Morning video “Facebook Sees Big Spike In Small Businesses Paying To Advertise.”
This 5-minute video profiles how small businesses are paying to use social media to
improve their bottom line. Consider using the following discussion questions:
Assume you are a small, locally-owned restaurant, and you want to promote your
business for the first time on Facebook. Discuss the advantages and
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disadvantages to your restaurant of offering say a 10 percent discount to shoppers

who learn about your restaurant through Facebook.
Discuss best practices for firms trying to gain a competitive advantage by paying
to advertise on social media.
How could a small business measure the return on investment for its social media
strategy?
EXAMPLE: When the Strategic-Management Process Fails: Not Having an

Ecosystem, or "Wide Lens" Perspective
This Example profiles Kodak, who filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Kodak had a profit
margin of 80 percent for many years, but failed to understand the business ecosystem
it was in. The company was so focused on trying to develop a new way of printing
photos on paper that it failed to see how progress by other companies would upend
that goal in its entirety. Today, it’s necessary to take a wide-lens viewpoint in which
you are able to distinguish between two situations: those in which value in a product
is created by your own ability, and those in which value is affected by the efforts of
other firms and technologies.
YOUR CALL
Do you think automobile companies ought to stick with what they know and
focus principally on building better cars for transporting people? What do you
think of GM, Ford, and others setting up shop in Silicon Valley, the technology
capital of California? What are their concerns?
Automobile companies cannot just focus on building automobiles anymore. The
reason why GM, Ford, and others are setting up shop in Silicon Valley is because
they want to also have a focus on technology and incorporate that into the
products (i.e., automobiles) that they create. This is a wide-lens viewpoint, as they
want to make sure the efforts of other Silicon Valley organizations can be utilized
by them instead of working against them. For example, self-driving automobile
technology is currently being tested in Silicon Valley. Do GM and Ford want to
miss out on that as they did with the Tesla revolution?
One way to build on this Example is to analyze Kodak’s decision to introduce a new
Super 8 camera. As profiled in the 5-minute DPReview video segment “CES 2016:
Kodak 8mm Movie Camera,” Kodak’s new camera is designed to combine the best of
film and digital technologies. Users will be able to shoot their footage on film and then
mail the cartridge to Kodak where it will be processed and digitally converted to video.
The processed film will be mailed back to the user, and they will receive a passcode
to retrieve the digital version of their footage. Consider using the following discussion
questions:
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Critique the decision of Kodak to focus on new applications of a 50-year-old

technology.
Is the fact that some consumers are very driven by nostalgia surrounding
technologies, such as vinyl records and film, a compelling reason for Kodak to
focus on the Super 8 camera? Explain your point of view.
Has Kodak used a sufficiently wide-lens viewpoint in determining the value to
consumers of a film-based camera? Explain your point of view.
EXAMPLE: How Would You Analyze Toyota?

This Example presents a sample SWOT analysis for Toyota—its Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
YOUR CALL
Do you agree? How well do you think Akio Toyoda is doing in dealing with
Toyota’s threats and opportunities, both internal and external?
Toyota is facing major external threats. Rivals have cut into market share; the
Great Recession damaged auto spending; natural disasters impacted plants in
Japan and Thailand; and the weak U.S. dollar, compared to the yen, reduced
revenues. Toyota is doing a good job focusing on its internal strengths, but should
also expand its focus on the rest of the SWOT matrix. For example, General
Motors’ fatal ignition switch mistakes, described by GM’s own CEO, Mary Barra,
as representing “a pattern of incompetence and neglect,” and the recall of 2.6
million 2000–2011 small cars worldwide (for a total of 11.2 million vehicles in
2014) presented Toyota with an unprecedented opportunity to grab its rival’s
customers. In early 2016, Toyota bounced back to 13.3 percent market share,
placing it in third place behind GM and Ford.
One way to build on this Example is to have the students read the Bloomberg online
article “Toyota Gets an Uber Blowback from Outraged Japanese Taxi Drivers” and
watch the corresponding 3-minute online video. The article profiles the backlash that
Toyota faced in Japan after it announced a strategic alliance with ride-sharing leader
Uber. Japan’s taxi drivers feel the move could threaten their livelihood, and their
anger may jeopardize the 80 percent share of the nation’s cab fleet that Toyota
currently has.
Discuss opportunities and threats for Toyota with the rise of ride-sharing
companies.
Discuss the internal factors of Toyota that may have contributed to the current
controversy surrounding Uber.
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Evaluate the extent to which Toyota’s strategic alliance with Uber is consistent
with its mission, vision, and values.
EXAMPLE: Contingency Planning for Insurance Companies: Dealing with

Rising Sea Levels
Several U.S. government agencies have launched contingency planning to prepare
for the effects of climate change—from the Navy studying the threat of rising seas, to
naval operations, to the Department of Agriculture’s planning for possible effects of
drought and wildfire on agriculture and livestock to the Department of Transportation’s
exploration of risk of high temperatures on highways and bridges. But what kinds of
contingency planning are being done in private industry for the impact of climate
change? Many CEOs of energy, food, and food distribution companies, for example,
are reportedly not overly concerned about the effect of global warming on their
businesses.
YOUR CALL
Based on contingency planning for climate variability and volatility in every part
of the globe, what is the responsibility of insurance companies? Just try to
avoid catastrophic losses by raising premiums, adding exclusions, and
refusing to cover high-risk communities? Or try to educate consumers about
building more resilient structures in less risky areas, particularly those exposed
to rising oceans?
Insurance companies are major players when it comes to such natural disasters.
For example natural catastrophes cost insurers $35 billion in privately insured
property damage in 2012, $11 billion more than the average over the last decade.
If insurance companies do not account for climate change in their strategy, they
risk financial failures that may be detrimental to policyholders. It starts with a long-
term strategy of educating consumers so that losses can be avoided in high risk
areas. Simply raising premiums, adding exclusions, and refusing to cover high-risk
communities will not solve the issue. It will actually create more problems for
residents in these areas who may have trouble affording high premiums and
cannot rebuild after a loss without insurance.
One way to build on this Example is to have the students watch the CBS video “Can
This Woman Convince the World to Act on Climate Change?” In this 2-minute video,
U.N. climate chief, Christiana Figueres, discusses why more countries are becoming
concerned about climate change. For a more detailed discussion of climate change,
you could also have the students watch Christiana Figueres’ TED Talk “The Inside
Story of the Paris Climate Agreement.” In this 15-minute video, she discusses the
reasons why she is optimistic about efforts to address climate change. Consider using
the following discussion questions:
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Discuss opportunities and threats created by climate change that exist for firms in
the power industry.
Considering your current organization or one for which you want to work after
graduation, identify key areas that the organization should consider when
conducting contingency planning for the impact of climate change.
In her 2016 TED Talk, Christiana Figueres stated with reference to climate
change: “We’re either all losers or we all can be winners.” Discuss the extent to
which you agree with her perspective.
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TEXTBOOK PRACTICAL ACTIONS
PRACTICAL ACTION: Building a Foundation of Execution

The foundation of execution is based on leadership (discussed in Chapter 14) and
organizational culture (discussed in Chapter 8). Bossidy and Charan advise
managers to engage in the following behaviors:
● Know your people and your business – engage intensely with your employees.
● Insist on realism – don’t let others avoid reality.
● Set clear priorities – focus on a few rather than many goals.
● Follow through – establish accountability and check on results.
● Reward the doers – show top performers that they matter.
● Expand people’s capabilities – develop the talent.
● Know yourself – do the hard work of understanding who you are.
YOUR CALL
Which behavior is probably the most difficult for you to adopt personally?
Student answers will vary based on their backgrounds. Students should be able to
specify, with examples, why they believe a certain behavior is difficult for them to
ascertain.
One way that you could build on this Practical Action and to synthesize your coverage
of the strategic-management process is to have the students read the Harvard
Business Review article “Second Thoughts About a Strategy Shift.” This article is an
HBR Case Study and includes a fictional case (though it is based on events at J.C.
Penney) and case commentary by industry experts. This case looks at whether a
company should continue with its hablar claro or "straight talk” strategy, which does
away with discounts and special sales. Using this case study would be an excellent
way to review the stages of the strategic-management process. You can ask students
to read only the article or also ask them to read the professional commentary.
Consider using the following discussion questions:
Critique Emilia’s use of the strategic-management process in the development and
implementation of its hablar claro strategy. What should the company have done
differently?
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Conduct a SWOT analysis of Emilia and an analysis of Porter’s five competitive

forces for the retail industry.
Provide specific recommendations for how Augustín Rey should deal with the
current situation, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of your plans.
Article Citation:
Ofek; E., Avery, J., Rudolph, S., & Shroff, Y. (2014). Second thoughts about a
strategy shift. Harvard Business Review, 42(12), 125-129.
Product #: R1412K-PDF-ENG
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SELF-ASSESSMENTS
SELF-ASSESSMENT 6.1
Assessing Strategic Thinking
This survey is designed to assess an organization’s level of strategic thinking.
Student Questions:
1. What is the level of strategic thinking? Are you surprised by the results?
Student responses will differ based on assessment results. Many students will
be surprised by the organization’s level of strategic thinking, or lack of it.
2. If you were meeting with an executive from the company you evaluated, what
advice would you provide based on the survey results and what you learned
about assessing current reality?
Some advice to provide includes reviewing long-term plans and discussing
changes that will affect the organization years down the road. There should be
assessments, action plans, and rewards for strategic thinking promotion.
These should be clearly defined for employees.
Supplemental Activity:
1) Students should be put into groups based on their Self-Assessment results.
Students who have high strategic thinking should be grouped together, and
students who have low strategic thinking should be together.
2) Students who have high strategic thinking should discuss what their organization
does to promote strategic thinking. Students who have low strategic thinking
should discuss what their organization can do to promote strategic thinking. The
statements in the Self-Assessment can be used to organize thoughts for both
types of groups.
3) Students should share their findings with the class.
a) Can any of the groups describe Porter’s Five Forces as they pertain to
organizations group members work for?
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SELF-ASSESSMENT 6.2
Core Skills Required for Strategic Planning
This survey is designed to assess the skills needed in strategic planning.
Student Questions:
1. Do you have what it takes? Are you surprised by the results?
Student responses will differ based on assessment results. Some students
who received mostly 4s and 5s will be surprised that strategic planning is not
for them.
2. Based on the results, what are your top two strengths and deficiencies when it
comes to strategic planning?
Student responses will differ based on assessment results. Some students
may be surprised that their strategic planning issues come from poor verbal
and written skills.
3. Assuming you wanted to do strategic planning at some point in your career,
what can you do to improve your skills associated with strategic planning? Be
specific.
There are some skills that can obviously be improved; these include verbal
and written skills, as well as computer, research, and team skills. Some skills
that are more difficult to improve include analytical skills, problem-solving
skills, and decisiveness. These skills require more training and development.
Participating in this course is an example of working on these types of skills.
In this activity, students should respond to the following questions:
1. Based on your results, do you think you would like to make a career out of
strategic planning? Why or why not?
2. What appeals or does not appeal to you about this career? Explain.
3. How might you enhance your strategic skills? Discuss.
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SELF-ASSESSMENT 6.3
Assessing the Obstacles to Strategic Execution
This survey is designed to assess the obstacles to strategic execution that may be
impacting an organization’s ability to execute.
Student Questions:
1. How does the company stand with respect to execution?
Student responses will differ based on assessment results. Students may be
interested in the different types of obstacles to strategic execution, and how
their chosen company stands in respect to each.
2. Based on the results, what are the company’s strengths and weaknesses
when it comes to execution?
These responses will differ based on the organization. Strengths and
weaknesses should be observed via the rules, emotions, initiatives, immediate
actions, and integrity obstacles.
3. What advice would you give to senior management about improving the
company’s ability to execute based on the results? Be specific.
Some advice that should be provided includes having clear expectations,
motivating employees to take on initiatives, and having general trust in the
organization. There should also be a discussion with employees about values
and if the organization’s values and employees’ values are in conflict with
each other or not.
1) Students should be put into one of five groups with each group representing an
obstacle to strategic execution.
2) Students should relate each of their obstacles to the three core processes of
business.
a) Which of the core processes represent this obstacle and why?
b) How can organizations overcome the assigned obstacle?
3) Each group should nominate one or two students to present their discussions to
the class as a whole.
a) Instructor can also create five columns on the board for students to write their
thoughts under.
b) Instructor can then make connections between business processes, obstacles
and potential solutions.
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GROUP EXERCISE: Strategizing for Real
Objectives*
● To help you understand the complexity of the strategic-planning process.
● To more completely familiarize yourself with strategic planning.
Introduction
Social psychologist Kurt Lewin argued that there is nothing as useful as a good theory.
The important word here is good, since bad theories can cause a great deal of trouble.
An example of a bad theory was the introduction of the New Coke in 1985 by Coca-
Cola, one of the world’s most successful companies. Management’s “theory” was that
customers wanted a New Coke. But its introduction was an enormous fiasco, and
furious customers demanded that traditional Coke be brought back. Companies that
effectively use strategic planning can try to avoid these blunders.
To have a sense of what function a strategic plan can have, you must (1) look at the
theory and (2) apply it to an actual situation that you know. In this way, you can see if
you like doing strategic planning, what it entails in terms of complexity and insight, and
whether or not you think it is a career area you might like to pursue. Because of
transitions in the world economy, the demand for strategists will likely increase. The
purpose of this exercise is to provide you the opportunity to create a strategic plan for
your college or university.
Instructions
Students should be divided into groups of five each. First, complete the five steps of the
strategic planning process shown below. Next, go online and determine if your
university has published a strategic plan. If it has, compare your plan with the one
created by your university.
Five Steps of Strategic Planning
1. Establish the mission and vision of your university.
2. Conduct a SWOT analysis.
● What are your university’s strengths?
● What are your university’s weaknesses?
● What are your university’s opportunities?
● What are your university’s external threats?
3. Establish your university’s Grand Strategy.
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4. Establish a set of goals your university can pursue in an attempt to achieve its vision
and grand strategy.
5. Establish processes and procedures your university should put in place to monitor
goal achievement.
Questions for Discussion
1. Why is it important for an organization— whether private, public, or not-for-
profit—to have a strategic plan? Explain your rationale.
2. Do you think that a strategic plan can ever be totally accurate? Why or why not?
3. Who do you think should be involved in developing and maintaining a strategic
plan?
4. How would you grade (A through F) the strategic plan at your college? Explain
your rationale.
*Developed by Anne C. Cowden, PhD.
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MANAGER’S HOT SEAT
No Manager’s Hot Seat for this chapter.
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PUBLISHER VIDEO
The following video is sponsored by McGraw-Hill Education and can be found on either
the Principles of Management/Organizational Behavior DVD (Volume 1), or via
instructor resources on Connect:
Home Run Inn
Time: 9:10
Key people and companies
Home Run Inn Pizza
Joe Perrino, CEO
Overview
Home Run Inn is the company featured in this video. The company is one of the fastest
growing competitors in the frozen pizza market. The video emphasizes how using
strategic planning can help a company grow. HRI started as an actual inn and
restaurant which served pizza and started freezing them for their customers in the
1950s. By the 1980s, Joe Perrino, the company’s current CEO, began wondering if they
could sell their frozen pizzas on a larger scale.
He began to ramp up production with the use of larger ovens and conveyor belts, but it
wasn’t until he convinced the family to purchase a commercial cryogenic freezer that the
company was able to start meeting demand and really grow. Within a couple more
years, the company had once again grown to the point that they had to build a new
manufacturing plant.
They decided to grow, but made a decision to focus on quality over price as their
differentiating factor. They realized that doing the “right” thing might raise costs but
would allow them to demand a premium price for a premium product. Perrino states that
the company’s core focus is that they make their pizzas; they control what goes into
them; and they control quality. Along these lines, in 2002 HRI began self-distribution.
Although it was an expensive solution, it was, again, the “right” thing to do. It gave them
control of the product all the way to the consumer.
Perrino states that unlike most corporations which base decisions on quarterly returns,
HRI is, at its core, a family business, and he looks to the long run when making his
choices. This idea of basing all strategic decisions on one basic vision, to be the best,
and mission, to provide the best quality, has served Home Run Inn very well and
allowed it to become the industry leader it is today.
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Preparing students before the video

Ask students what they know about Home Run Inn. Have they ever had their pizza?
Have they ever seen it in the grocery store?
Major issues in the case
● Leadership styles
● Strategic decision making
Discussion questions and answers
1. Based on your experiences, what did Joe Perrino’s father mean by “most expensive
is the cheapest in the long run?”
Students should realize after watching the video that the choices made by the
Perrino family were always to do what they believed was best, no matter the cost.
They knew that customers could recognize quality, especially in the food market. By
doing things the right way, they might raise costs, but they would ultimately be able
to demand a higher price. And by gaining a market share based on the
differentiation factor of quality, they would make HRI a well-respected brand name.
2. Why were strategic decisions made to bring the frozen pizza from a local success to
a national brand?
The video lists a few specific actions taken through the years that quickly catapulted
HRI to a significant market share in this industry. First was the initial purchase of the
conveyor belts and multiple commercial ovens, then the purchase of the cryogenic
freezer, then the building of the manufacturing plant, and finally the decision to self-
distribute. Each of these steps was discussed among the family, and concerns were
considered. Along the way, they have had only one vision and one man to see that
vision fulfilled. This is helpful when making these kinds of decisions as it causes less
conflict.
3. Why is direct store delivery or self-distribution so important to the massive growth of
Home Run Inn Pizza?
The idea of self-distribution was not something originally considered by HRI. Only
after being approached by a former Kraft executive did they consider this option.
However, it was the right time for HRI to make this move, and it meant they could
control the product from inception through manufacturing to the hands of the
customers.
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Kinicki/Williams, Management, 8e: Chapter 6 Strategic Management: How Exceptional Managers Realize a

Solution Manual for Management 8th Edition

Download full test bank at:

Teaching Resource Manual: A Guide to Implementation ii

Teaching Resource Manual: A Guide to Implementation

• Addressing the inability to measure student comprehension prior to major assignments

So What Assets Can I Chose From?

Assigning SmartBook and Connect Application Exercises

• show feedback on application exercises/questions immediately or at your preference.

Some recommendations include:

So When Do I Assign Each Type of Teaching Resource?

A reading assignment—typically a chapter from the product in use—is a student’s initial

Resources Across Teaching Touch Points Matrix

Type of Asset Before-Class/Lecture During-Class/Lecture After-Class/Lecture

Before Class (before Wednesday)

During Class (on Wednesday)

After Class (after Wednesday)

Section Title Resource Type

Grocery Store Frustration Web Video

Facebook Sees Big Spike In Web Video

JCPenney’s Strategic Misstep Connect Case Analysis

6.2: The Strategic-

Why So Few Managers Web Video

CES 2016: Kodak 8mm Movie Web Video

Strategizing for Real Group Exercise

The Strategic Management Connect Click and

6.3: Establishing the

Stick to the Strategy or Make Harvard Business

6.4: Assessing the

The Explainer: Porter's Five Web Video

Toyota Gets an Uber Blowback Web Video

Can This Woman Convince the Web Video

The Inside Story of the Paris Web Video

Assessing Strategic Thinking Self-Assessment

Porter’s Five Competitive Connect Click and

SWOT Analysis Connect Click and

The McFarlane Companies Connect Video Case

6.5: Formulating the

What Is Blue Wine and Why Is Online Article

This New Blue Wine Might Web Video

Using Consumer Problems to Online Article

Core Skills Required for Self-Assessment

The BCG Matrix Connect Click and

Three Common Grand Connect Click and

6.6: Implementing and

Getting Strategy Execution Web Video

Closing the Strategy— Harvard Business

Second Thoughts About a Harvard Business

Assessing the Obstacles to Self-Assessment

IKEA Focuses on Growth Textbook Management

Should Companies Be Textbook Legal/Ethical

Home Run Inn Publisher Video

OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER

6.1 What Is Effective Strategy?

6.2 The Strategic-Management Process

6.3 Establishing the Mission, Vision, and Values Statements

6.4 Assessing the Current Reality

6.5 Formulating the Grand Strategy

6.6 Implementing and Controlling Strategy: Execution

6.1 What Is Effective Strategy?

PowerPoint Slides: 3-4

Interactive Classroom Material:

Interactive Classroom Material:

6.2 The Strategic-Management Process