AMBA
670 – Week 1

Actions for ‘Week 1’

Week 1 Introduction to Strategy

Week
1 Readings, Multimedia and Assignments

Reading

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

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

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

·
Thousand Insights.Porter’s
generic strategies

Multimedia

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

MBA Reference Guides

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

Discussion Assignment:

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

Discussion Activity 1

Discussion Activity 1 –
Personal Application

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

Industry Perspective

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

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

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

Company Perspective

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

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

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

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

The Newsroom and Current Events

Actions for ‘The Newsroom
and Current Events’

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