PART I

Directions: Please answer each of the following questions in complete sentences.

1. The roles and responsibilities of top executives and members of a corporation's board of directors are different.  Traditionally, executives have been responsible for determining the firm's strategic direction and implementing strategies to achieve it, whereas the board of directors has been responsible for monitoring and controlling managerial decisions and actions.  Some argue that boards should become more involved with the formulation of a firm's strategies.  How would the board's increased involvement in the selection of strategies affect a firm's strategic competitiveness?  What evidence can you offer to support their position?  Be sure to cite your sources.

2. How can corporate governance mechanisms create conditions that allow top executives to develop a competitive advantage and focus on long-term performance?  Use the Internet to search the business press and give an example of a firm in which this has occurred.  Be sure to present the necessary information about the company you identify (name, area of expertise, niche market, environment) before answering the question.

3. Why do firms experience evolutionary cycles in which there is a fit between strategy and structure, punctuated with periods in which strategy and structure are reshaped?  Provide three examples of global firms that have experienced this pattern.  Be sure to cite and reference.

PART II

Directions: Please review the question(s) below and write a two to three page essay.  Please apply APA formatting with in-text citations, a reference list, and double-spacing.  Please visit the Academic Resource Center for help with APA format.

Many retail industries, such as music sales, are ideal for Web-based organizational and selling structures.  Visit the sites of some of the most popular venues: CD Universe (http://www.cduniverse.com) and Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com).  Can you define the type of organizational structure each company uses?  What attempts are being made by each to diversify and expand into other businesses?

PART III: Journal

Write a two page APA formatted paper in which you review the primary material you learned this week, describe at least two ways that you can apply the material, and cite the original reference using APA format.