TextBook : Foundations in Strategic Management By Jeffrey S. Harrison and Caron H. St. John.

INDIVIDUAL PROJECT

Capstone Strategic Management Real-Time Case Review Project Individual Effort

1. Strategic Management Framework

1. What is the name of your selected organization? What is the one thing that interested you most about this organization?

2. What is the mission and vision of the organization you selected? How has these impacted the organization's strategic path to success? Please explain in detail.

3. Describe the Strategic Management Process in your organization. Please provide detailed examples.

4. Define strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in your selected organization. How do strengths become sources of sustainable competitive advantage?

5. Do you suppose that the Broad Environment or the Task Environment has more influence on the organization you selected? Please explain.

6. What are the characteristics of strategic thinking and how does it apply to you personally?

7. How does Strategic Thinking apply to your organization? Explain in detail and provide examples.

 8. What does it mean to "manage for stakeholders and value creation" in your organization? Please provide detailed examples.

9. Describe the 5 categories of resources that your organization possess that may lead it to a sustainable competitive advantage? Provide examples from your organization.

2. External Environment Assessment

1. Why is analysis of social trends important to your organization? Please provide examples from the organization you selected.

2. What are some of the most critical economic factors for your organization to track? Why are they important? Provide some financial statistics where applicable.

3. Which industries have been transformed by the Internet including social and mobile technologies? How is your organization taking advantage of these technological trends?

4. When do customers exhibit a powerful force on competition in your industry and how does this relate to your organization?

5. How is your organization taking advantage of technological trends such as social media, big data, cloud, AI, AR and etc?

6. According to Michael Porter, what are the conditions that create advantages for your selected organization? Please provide details.

7. What are strategic groups? Are there strategic groups in your selected organization? Please gives examples.

3. Internal (Organizational) Environment Assessment

1. In your organization, what are the basic categories of organizational resources and capabilities and how are they interconnected? What is likely to happen if your organization neglects one of the resource areas?

2. Provide examples of tangible and intangible resource in your organization? Which of these types of resources is most likely to lead to competitive advantage? Why?

3. If your organization is involved in multiple countries, how is organizational learning affected?

4. How can the value chain analysis be used to help your organization develop competitive advantages?

5. Which performance measure does your organization utilize to evaluate and communicate success? Please provide details from the  following perspectives: Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Shareholders and Community .

4. Organizational Strategic Leadership and Direction Assessment

1. Who is the CEO of your organization and what are the four primary leadership responsibilities of that role?

2. What is your biggest take away from the CEO of your organization?

3. What can the CEO of your organization learn from Daniel Goleman's conclusions on emotional intelligence?

4. Is there a difference between a leader and a manager? Does a CEO of your organization need to be a leader, a manager, or both?

5. How does corporate governance look in your organization? What are the functions of a board of directors?

6. What are some of the advantages of having a homogeneous top management team? Which one applies to your organization? Please explain.

7. What is meant by "business with integrity" and does your organization have it?

8. Which leader would you like to emulate and explain why this leader inspired you - it could be anyone.

9. Is it possible to teach someone to be an effective leader?

10.Why is society more interested in business ethics today? Does your organization have codes of ethics? Please give
examples.

11. Does your organization have a corporate values statement, is it a "better" organization? If so, why? If not, then why do it?

12. What are the four areas of a business definition? Why is it important to periodically review your organization's business definition? Please provide examples from your organization.

13. How can understanding a firm's business definition be helpful to managers and employees in your selected organization?

14. Discuss the components of social responsibility in your organization. Why would you expect a trustworthy firm to have higher profits over the long term? Please explain.

5.Strategic Formulation: Business Level Strategies

1. Does your organization pursue a differentiation strategy or a cost leadership strategy? Please explain.

2. Describe your organization's business model?

3. What is a cost leadership strategy? How does your organization pursue it? What are some of the risks associated with this strategy?

4. Is strategic flexibility tactic pursued in your organization? Please explain.

5. When does a global approach to an international product/market strategy make the most sense? How does this apply to your organization?

6.Strategic Formulation: Corporate Level Strategies

1. Discuss your organization's corporate-level strategy and business-level strategy formulation responsibilities.

2. Why might your organization choose to diversify? Please give examples of diversification in your organization.

3. What are the requirements for achieving synergy through the combination of businesses in your organization?

4. In your organization, which factors have been found to lead to unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions? Which factors are related to success? Provide examples.

7.Strategy Implementation

1. What are the characteristics of a well-developed functional strategy in your organization?

2. Conduct a Functional Strategy Audit for your selected organization by applying at least 3 variables from each function - Marketing, Operations, R&D/Tech, Human Resources, Financial and Information Systems to your organization

3. How are marketing strategies affected by your organization's business-level strategy?

4. What is a matrix structure? When should it be used? How does it apply to your organization?

5. Describe the three roles played by foreign subsidiaries in your organization?

6. What are some of the features found in your organization that have high levels of innovation and entrepreneurship? Provide Examples.

8.Strategic Restructuring

1. What is a strategic control system? What is the difference between feedforward and feedback controls? Provide  examples from your organization.

2. What is restructuring? Why would your selected organization restructure? What are some of the common restructuring techniques?

3. Some management scholars argue that major restructuring efforts are an indication of management's failure to correctly employ strategic control systems and to effectively manage the organization. What do you think as it relates to your organization

4. What is a divestiture? Describe the two common types of divestitures. What types of businesses should be divested?

5. Has your organization ever divested?

6. What issues create the greatest challenges for future managers in your organization?