Required Reading:

1. HW, Ch 2: Corporate Governance
2. HW, Ch4: Internal Scanning
3. HW Ch 11: Suggestions for Case Analysis

Anderson, J.C., Narus, J.A., & van Rossum (2006, March). Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets. Harvard Business Review, 84(3). (HBSP)

Additional Resources.

Porter's 5 forces industry analysis. Interview with Michael Porter on the Five Competitive Forces:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYF2_FBCvXw&feature=related
Porter provides a framework for assessing the attractiveness of an industry and the level of competition within that industry. This is valuable background for your analysis of the client industry this week and for the competitive assessment of your client company.

These resources will help you to consider areas of client company strength:

INSEAD Knowledge Videos - The value creation imperative
Value Chain Framework (Porter)
Resource Based View of the Firm

The following is a highly educational interactive exercise which visually demonstrates the impact of various strategic decisions that you can make, under different kinds of industry characteristics. Each individual is to play the simulation and write the report.

Tata Interactive Systems. Economics for Managerial Decision Making . Retrieved April 29, 2005, from http://info.umuc.edu/mba/public/TIS/economics/economics_simulation.html

If that link doesn't work, try this one:

http://info.umuc.edu/mba/public/TIS/economics/market/economics_market_part1.swf

Each individual is to write a two- to three-page review describing the following:

1) Your playing of the strategy simulation game, including

2) What decisions you made, and

3) The results of those decisions.

4) How your experience relates to what you have learned in the assigned readings.