Unit 1(Class 1)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
Assignment 1(2-3 pages):
Review “How Do We Describe a Firm’sStrategy?” in Chapter 1 of Foundations in Strategy,on page 13. Write an executive memo to Terri Bell, the vice president ofstrategy for your project firm. Communicate the findings from your preliminaryanalysis of the organization’s strategy.
· Identify and analyzethe firm’s generic business and corporate strategies. How is the firmcompeting? Specifically, which of the three generic business strategies—cost,differentiation, or hybrid—has it established to supply customer needs and beatthe competition? Does the firm employ any of the following three corporatestrategies: diversification, vertical integration, or globalization?
· Analyze the businessstrategy. What is the firm’s competitive game plan or its articulated strategy?Is there a strategy for different business units, if it has diversified? Doesthe strategy address how to strengthen its market position and gain acompetitive advantage?
· Analyze the firm’sbusiness model, that is, the core products and how the firm makes money. Whatis the customer value proposition? What is the profit proposition?
· Analyze the firm’scorporate strategy, including product, geographical, and vertical scope inwhich it operates. Has the firm expanded from its initial product line or fieldof operation? Does the firm own vertically related activities along the valuechain for its products?
· Submit your report ina business format, adhering to the submission requirements below.
Unit 1(Class 2)
Assignment 1(3–4pages):
In the unit studies, you read the case of”BASF: Increasing Farm Yields Through Innovations in Chemistry.” Forthis assignment, you will review this case and analyze BASF’s efforts to ensurean effective and efficient supply chain. Complete the following:
· Review “BASF:Increasing Farm Yields Through Innovations in Chemistry,” on pages 31–39in your textbook, Strategic Supply Chain Management.
· Describe the problemsBASF faced in dealing with unpredictable demand, and respond to the followingquestions:
§ How has BASF’s differentiated supply chainmodels worked to leverage its economies of scale and extensive knowledge of itscustomers’ industries?
§ What are characters of BASF’s innovativeharmonized processes? Has the harmonization strategy impeded BASF’s supplychain improvements?
· Describe how BASFresolved those problems to develop a more effective and efficient globaloperations and supply chain process, and respond to the following questions:
§ Would the production approach of Verbund besufficient to handle the two scenarios described at the beginning of the case?
§ How has BASF streamlined supply chainprocesses without sacrificing responsiveness?
§ Is the harmonization an effective long-termstrategy? Why or why not?
Unit 2(Class 2)
Assignment 1 (3–4 pages):
In the unit studies, you read the case of “Essilor:Building an Efficient Supply Chain to Serve the Company’s Mission.” Forthis assignment, you will review this case and analyze Essilor’s efforts toensure an effective and efficient supply chain. Complete the following:
· Review “Essilor:Building an Efficient Supply Chain to Serve the Company’s Mission” onpages 77–89 in your textbook, Strategic Supply ChainManagement.
· Describe the structureof Essilor’s supply chain and variety of products produced and delivered alongits supply chain. Respond to the following questions:
§ What was Essilor’s mission and what was theinnovative supply chain strategy used to support the mission?
§ How did Essilor use the combination ofinnovation and customer service to become one of the world’s 30 most innovativecompanies by Forbes?
§ How did the two operating models for the twotypes of lenses help Essilor build an efficient supply chain?
§ What are differences between supply chains forfinished lenses and semi-finished lenses?
§ How did Essilor develop the global end-to-endsupply chain?
Unit 3(Class 1)
Assignment 1(2-3 pages):
Write a detailed report of youranalytical findings and strategic issues from your analysis of the firm to thevice president of strategy. Explain that this analysis focuses on the threestrategic elements of the firm and the concerns or opportunities about how thestrategic elements fit the strategic frame. Note, henceforth the concerns andopportunities are to be referred to as strategic issues, and be managed towardand integrated with the Comprehensive Organizational Strategic Analysis.
· Analyze and synthesizeinconsistencies between the firm’s strategy and its goals. Does the strategyestablish a direction and set aspirations that motivate and inspire the membersof the organization to achieve its goals?
· Evaluate how the firmleverages its resources and capability to execute the business strategy. Arethe firm’s capabilities found in its functions or the value chain, or both?Referring to Figure 3.5, are the firm’s resources and capabilities allocated toestablish and sustain competitive advantage? Does the strategy give coherenceto decisions about allocation of resources?
· Evaluate theeffectiveness of the organizational structure and management system design, andits ability to support the key resources and capabilities that execute thebusiness strategy. Is the organizational structure suited for the particulartasks and particular business environment of the firm?
· Articulate concerns oropportunities regarding shareholders and stakeholders, distribution of excessprofits, or other ethical dilemmas. Does the strategy consistently balancestockholders and stakeholder interests?
· Articulate concerns oropportunities about the strategic fit between the firm’s capabilities,organizational structure, and management systems.
· Compose a preliminarystrategic fit report on the firm and its internal environment and howstrategies are applied to product lines or market segments.
· Submit your report ina business format, adhering to the submission requirements below.
Unit 3(Class 2)
Assignment 1 (2–3 pages)
· Review “Haier:Pursuing the Customer-Inspired Supply Chain,” on pages 117–127 in yourtextbook, Strategic Supply Chain Management.
· Describe the driversfor causing Haier to shut down the company’s central warehouse.
· Describe whatorganizational and supply chain strategies Haier has used to become thenumber-one white-goods brand in China.
· Describe Haier’scharacters and strategies for its successful global and domestic supply chains.
Unit 4(Class 1)
Assignment 1(2-3 pages)::
Write a detailed report of youranalytical findings and strategic issues from your analysis of the industryenvironment. Explain that this analysis focuses on the strategic elements ofindustry environment and concerns or opportunities of how the strategicelements fit with the strategy as reported in the Strategic Frame Assessmentpreviously delivered to the VP.
· Conduct a competitiveanalysis of the firm, using the theories and models of strategic analysis. Aretheir vital PEST (Political, Environmental, Social, Technological) factorsshaping the industry conditions? Which competitive forces (Porter’s 5-ForcesModel) on the firm are most intense?
· Analyze the strategicposition and direction of the firm. Evaluate its corporate strategy. In whichmarket segments does the firm participate? What are the buyer’s purchasecriteria and basis of competition (Key Success Factors) for the market segment?Should the firm reposition its resources and capabilities (change its productscope, vertical scope, or geographical scope) in anticipation of changes inindustry structural factors or competitive forces?
· Articulate concerns oropportunities about the firm’s strategic fit with its competition, suppliers,and customers.
· Evaluate the degree towhich the organizational structure and management systems enable the executionof the corporate strategy. Consider the organization of functional capabilitiesand value chain capabilities of the firm. Assuming the firm employs adiversification or vertical integration strategy, could costs be reduced orrevenue be increased by economizing the scale of diversification? Could costsbe reduced or revenue be increased by downsizing or outsourcing activities inthe vertical scope of the firm?
· Submit your report ina business format, noting submission requirements below.
Unit 4(Class 2)
Assignment 1 (3–4 pages):
· Review “KaiserPermanente: Thriving Under Pressure,” on pages 161–169 in your textbook, Strategic Supply Chain Management.
· Respond to thefollowing topics and questions:
§ What pressure did health care providers haveand how did Kaiser Permanente (KP) react to the pressure?
§ Describe how collaboration worked among the variousKP entities to realizing their commitment.
§ Describe the adopted new approach in itssupply chain collaboration.
§ Describe how KP turned its demand planningfrom an art to a science.
Unit 5(Class 2)
Assignment 1: 2–3 double-spaced pages
· Review “Lenovo:Moving Full-Speed Ahead” on pages 201–211 in your textbook, Strategic Supply Chain Management.
§ What were the drivers for Lenovo to build, in2012, a manufacturing facility in Whitsett, North Carolina instead of inlow-cost regions such as Asia or Mexico?
§ How did Lenovo transform from a local supplychain company to a well-known and integrated global supply chain organization?
§ What metrics had Lenovo used to evaluate itsend-to-end supply chain performance?
§ What were Lenovo’s dual operating models andhow well did these two models work for its global supply chain?
Unit 6(Class 1)
Assignment 1(4–5pages):
First, synthesize the strategic issuesarticulated in the Strategic Fit of the Firm Assessment from Unit 3 andStrategic Fit With the Industry Environment Assessment from Unit 4. You willcompare and contrast strategic issues and assign a nominal ranking of potentialimpact of the issue on the organization. Defend your synthesis by referring tospecific information in the previous analysis reports.
Next, formulate strategic recommendations to address thoseissues you determine from your synthesis to be critical to the strategic fitbetween the firm and its industry environment. Recommendations will beexplicitly cast using the Strategic Frame Assessment from Unit 1. Specifically,business strategy and competitive advantage recommendations will identifycosts, differentiation, and hybrid type. Corporate strategy recommendationswill identify diversification, vertical integration, and globalization. Arecommendation to address ethical dilemmas will refer to the source ofinstability—economic, social, political, and technological—that is leading tosocietal pressure for change to enhance social legitimacy. Assumptions relativeto the strategic elements of the firm will serve as a measurement of strategicprogress.
Keep in mind the following points:
· Synthesize concernsand opportunities, and articulate them as strategic issues. What are thecritical issues? Why are these particular issues critical?
· Evaluate the strategicissues including the degree to which they may impact the strategic position,direction, decisions, and activities of the organization.
· Propose strategies andrecommend approaches to mitigate strategic issues that represent ethicaldilemmas.
· Propose strategies andrecommend approaches for strategic issues that have significant impact on thestrategic direction of the firm, or sustained competitive advantage of theorganization.
Ensure your report includes an executive summary that referencesthe VP’s expectations communicated in the project kick-off meeting.
Unit 6(Class 2)
Assignment 1:2–3 double-spaced pages
In the unit studies, you read the case of “Schlumberger:Integrating People and Technology for Service Excellence.” For this assignment,you will review this case and analyze Schlumberger’s efforts to ensure aneffective and efficient supply chain. You will also analyze the role ofregulation and ethics in supply chain management. Complete the following:
· Review”Schlumberger: Integrating People and Technology for ServiceExcellence” on pages 231–241 in your textbook, Strategic Supply Chain Management.
· Respond to thefollowing topics and questions:
§ How did Schlumberger do its comprehensiveplanning for a typical offshore well drilling project?
§ How did Schlumberger coordinate productdevelopment, service delivery, and people in its global supply chain?
§ How would Schlumberger sustain its culture of”people making a difference” and “hiring the best”?
§ What types of regulatory and legalrequirements would Schlumberger face in global operations and supply chainmanagement?
§ How could Schlumberger ensure it adheres toethical labor practices employed in various parts of the world?
