xoon bus599

.                         BUS599 Complete Course Week 1 to week 11

 

BUS599 Week 1 Discussion

“Staples”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the case study, determine Staples’ competitive advantage and its current business model. Next, use a brief SWOT analysis to analyze the primary way in which the company executes a strategy for growth based on its SWOT analysis.

•           From the case study, recommend one (1) future strategy for Staples geared toward delivering better customer service. Next, demonstrate the fundamental manner in which the strategy you recommended could successfully change the shopping experience for the customer.

 

BUS599 Week 2 Discussion

“Apple’s New Strategy”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the e-Activity, evaluate the level of success of Apple’s current competitive strategy. Next, suggest one (1) new innovation strategy for Apple geared toward maintaining an edge in the industry. Provide a rationale for your suggestion.

•           Using Porter’s Five Forces Model located in Chapter 2 of your textbook, assess Apple’s strengths and weaknesses of each dimension of the model in comparison with those of Samsung, Apple’s strongest competitor. Justify your response by utilizing at least one (1) example based on customer focus

BUS599 Week 3 Discussion

“FedEx and UPS Superior Responsiveness”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the e-Activity, determine the functional level strategy of both UPS and FedEx. Next, compare and contrast each company’s quality practices and level of responsiveness to customers. Note: Be sure to relate the “Six Strategies for Creating Competitive Advantage” from the video into your response.

•           From the e-Activity, determine the innovation strategies of both UPS and FedEx, and analyze the manner in which each company’s focuses on achieving superiority in terms of responsiveness and efficiency. Provide at least three (3) examples from the video to support your response.

 

 

 

BUS599 Week 3 Assignment

Assignment 1: Yahoo and Amazon: Building a Competitive Advantage

Due in Week 3 and worth 300 points

Review Case 21 “How Amazon.com became the leading online retailer by 2011”, and Case 23 “Is Yahoo!’s business model working in 2011?” located in the textbook to complete this assignment.

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1.         Describe, in brief, the histories of both of Amazon.com and Yahoo.com, and determine the core business of each.

2.         Determine the key strategic differences that have impacted the relative success of both Amazon.com and Yahoo.com. Provide two (2) specific examples of such strategic differences to support the response.

3.         Compare and contrast the approach to strategic planning that each company has pursued in order to achieve a competitive advantage. Focus specifically on both intended and emergent strategies.

4.         Analyze the manner in which each company’s distinctive competencies help to shape the strategies that each company pursues. Provide a rationale to support the response.

5.         Recommend one (1) functional level strategy for each company which prescribes the essential ways in which each may achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and customer responsiveness. Provide a rationale to support the response.

6.         Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

•           Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

•           Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

 

 

•           Analyze the role of a company mission, vision, and objectives and the impact to business strategy.

•           Describe strategic planning techniques used to formulate alternative strategies designed to achieve stated business goals.

•           Analyze the external and internal environment for opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.

•           Use technology and information resources to research issues in strategic management.

•           Write clearly and concisely about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.

Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment.

BUS599 Week 4 Discussion

“Starbucks Business Strategy”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the e-Activity, evaluate the effectiveness of Starbuck’s current business strategy execution in terms of pricing, differentiation, and market demand. Next, suggest one (1) modification to the strategy that could help the company to implement new distinctive competencies. Provide a rationale to support your response.

•           From the e-Activity, evaluate the competitiveness of Starbuck’s positioning in its industry utilizing the Value Creation Frontier model. Next, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of Starbuck’s differentiation strategy, and determine the main possible implications inherent in the application of the strategy.

 

BUS599 Week 5 Discussion

“Navigating through the Life Cycle of Maturity”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the first and second e-Activities, evaluate the effectiveness of Dell’s current turnaround strategies. Present at least three (3) examples to support your evaluation.

•           From the first and second e-Activities, analyze Dell’s declining industry strategy. Next, compare the company’s strengths, relative to remaining pockets of demand, to the intensity of the competition in the declining industry. Provide one (1) example of Dell’s strength over the competition to support your response.

 

BUS599 Week 6 Discussion

“Comparing First-movers in Technology”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the first and second e-Activities, analyze the key ways in which Intel and Microsoft capitalized on and reaped substantial first-mover advantages in pioneering new technologies. Provide a rationale to support your response.

•           From the first and second e-Activities, compare Intel’s and Microsoft’s strategies in terms of their ability to profit from innovation. Next, analyze the manner in which shifts in new technologies revolutionized the structure of the industry, increasing profitability and growth through global expansion. Provide a rationale to support your response.

 BUS599 Week 6 Assignment

Week 6 Assignment 2 Submission

Assignment 2: Executing Strategies in a Global Environment: Examining the Case of Federal Express

Due Week 6 and worth 250 points

Review Case 7 “The Evolution of the Small Package Express Delivery Industry, 1973 – 2010”, located in the textbook to complete this assignment

Write a five to seven (5-7) page paper in which you:

1.      Analyze Federal Express’s value creation frontier, and determine which of the four building   blocks of competitive advantage the company needs in order to continue to maintain above-average profitability. Provide a rationale to support the response. 

2.      Determine the main aspect of product differentiation and capacity control that Federal Express could use in order to maintain an edge over its rivals. Justify the response.

3.      Assess the efficiency of Federal Express’s current business model, and recommend one (1) new business-level strategy that gives the company a competitive advantage over its rivals. Provide a rationale for the recommendation.

4.      Examine the manner in which overall global competition may impact the new business strategy that you recommended in Question 3. Next, suggest one (1) significant way that Federal Express may confront its global competition.

5.      Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar type Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

 

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

•           Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

•           Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

•           Describe strategic planning techniques used to formulate alternative strategies designed to achieve stated business goals.

•           Recommend effective business strategies based on an analysis of domestic and global operating environments, market dynamics, and internal capabilities.

•           Use technology and information resources to research issues in strategic management.

•           Write clearly and concisely about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.

Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment.

BUS599 Week 7 Discussion

“Corporate-level Strategies”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the e-Activity, analyze the essential manner in which the new Southwest-AirTran merger and resulting low-cost structure strategy could maximize both companies’ long-term profitability. Support your response with at least two (2) examples that illustrate the manner in which each company would avoid risks associated with becoming too dependent upon its corporate partner.

•           From e-Activity, determine the fundamental drawbacks associated with horizontal integration. Suggest another corporate-level strategy that could redefine the Southwest business model and thus allow the company to increase its competitive advantage within a changing industry environment. Provide a rationale to support your response.

BUS599 Week 8 Discussion

“Multibusiness Models”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the case study, evaluate the efficiency of eBay’s evolving business model within the retail auction industry. Next, compare the key difference of the evolving business models of both eBay and its major competitors.

•           From the case study, evaluate eBay’s new multibusiness model in terms of the company’s diversification strategy, levering of competencies, sharing of resources between business units, and ability to use product bundling. Provide a rationale to support your response.

 

BUS599 Week 9 Assignment

Week 9 Assignment 3 Submission

Assignment 3: A New Strategy for Kodak

Due Week 9 and worth 300 points

Review Case 28 “The rise and fall of Eastman Kodak: Will it survive beyond 2012?” located in the textbook. Assume that you have been hired by Kodak as a business consultant to recommend a new corporate-level strategy for the company to improve declining sales, increase profitability, and expand the company to the Cloud service industry.

Write a five to seven (5-7) page paper in which you:

1.      Establish five (5) key objectives for Eastman Kodak that encompasses the operational, financial, human resource aspects of the business. Next, argue that each of the established objectives is essential to the success of the company within the Cloud service industry.

2.      Analyze Kodak’s horizontal and vertical integration strategy and determine the corporate level strategy that is more appropriate for the company to establish a competitive advantage in the Cloud service industry. Provide a rationale for the determination.

3.      Determine five (5) ways in which pursuing a multibusiness model based on diversification may increase profitability for the company. Provide at least two (2) examples of such use of a multibusiness model from industry to support the rationale.

4.      Recommend one (1) implementation strategy for Eastman Kodak that considers organizational design, strategic control systems, structure, and the type of organizational culture fitting for the organization and its new industry. Justify the recommendation.

5.      Speculate on the way in which both the corporate-level strategy and the implementation strategy you recommended in Question 2 and Question 4 would support ethical business behaviors. Analyze the significant manner in which ethics, corporate social responsibility, and environmental sustainability impact the implementation of the strategies that you have recommended.

6.      Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar type Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

 

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

•           Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

•           Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

 

 

•           Recommend effective business strategies based on an analysis of domestic and global operating environments, market dynamics, and internal capabilities.

•           Analyze a plan to implement a firm’s strategy and manage the change from current operations.

•           Assess how ethics, corporate social responsibility, and environmental sustainability impact strategy.

•           Use technology and information resources to research issues in strategic management.

•           Write clearly and concisely about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.

Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment.

 

BUS599 Week 9 Discussion

“Effective Organizational Design”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the case study, evaluate the soundness of GE’s organizational design in terms of structure, strategic control systems, and organizational culture. Next, analyze the manner in which ecomagination products and services successfully implemented a new business model that increased the relationships among all functions and thus built distinctive competencies and contributed to environmental sustainability. Provide a rationale to support your response.

•           From the case study, evaluate the degree to which GE’s new business initiative impacted its overall brand value, organizational structure, and culture. Provide at least two (2) examples that illustrate the impact of the new initiative on both the organization and GE’s competitive advantage.

 BUS599 Week 10 Assignment

Week 10 Assignment 4 Submission

Assignment 4: Capstone Project

Due Week 10 and worth 480 points

Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on strategic management of Apple Inc. and Samsung Group.

Write a ten to twelve (10-12) page paper in which you:

1.         Analyze the existing business strategies, domestic and global environments, industry, and internal capabilities for both Apple and Samsung. Assess the significant manner in which each company’s mission and vision align with the long-terms goals and strategic direction of the organization.

2.         Analyze the business-level strategy of each company by conducting a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. Next, determine the fundamental way in which each sector influences its competitive position within the industry. Provide rationale to support the response.

3.         Analyze the central manner in which the strategies of each company’s business leaders have adapted to cultural differences in order to both facilitate effective operations within global markets and drive new strategic initiatives with improved innovation excellence. Provide one (1) example of such strategies in use from each company to support the response.

4.         Evaluate the superiority of each company’s organizational competencies in terms of entrepreneurial capabilities, organizational design capabilities, and strategic capabilities geared toward increased performance and profitability. Include one (1) example of such superiority from each company to support the response.

5.         Recommend one (1) appropriate new business strategy for each company that may maximize profitability and improved competitiveness in the industry. Provide a detailed rationale for this strategy.

6.         Evaluate the success of both companies’ corporate-level strategies in terms of horizontal integration, vertical integration, strategic outsourcing, or diversification. Next, determine the type of strategy that contributed most effectively to the creation of a successful and profitable multibusiness model. Provide a detailed rationale to support the response.

7.         Analyze the strategies that the internal leadership of both Apple and Samsung has taken to discourage unethical behaviors. Provide at least three (3) examples of such leadership in action from both companies to support the response.

8.         Assume that both Apple and Samsung are in need of organizational change and must alter existing strategies. Recommend three (3) specific ways in which Apple and Samsung could change functional, business, and corporate strategies, as well as organizational structure and control in order to improve business performance and competitiveness in their industry. Provide a rationale to support the response.

9.      Use at least six (6) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

 

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

•           Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

•           Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

 

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

 

 

•           Recommend effective business strategies based on an analysis of domestic and global operating environments, market dynamics, and internal capabilities.

•           Analyze the external and internal environment for opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.

•           Describe strategic planning techniques used to formulate alternative strategies designed to achieve stated business goals.

•           Analyze strategies for exerting the internal leadership needed to drive the implementation of strategic initiatives and improve operating excellence.

•           Use technology and information resources to research issues in strategic management.

•           Write clearly and concisely about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.

 

BUS599 Week 10 Discussion

“Nike’s Sustainable Strategy”  Please respond to the following:

•           From the e-Activity, evaluate the success of Nike’s global network structure in terms of centralization of authority and horizontal differentiation. Next, analyze the fundamental manner in which the company’s outsourcing strategy facilitates both resource sharing and the leveraging of its competencies around the world. Provide a rationale to support your response.

•           From the e-Activity, evaluate the appropriateness of the type or types of basic strategies that Nike implements in order to expand globally. Next, analyze the most important manner in which Nike’s organizational structure, control systems, and culture influence its international strategy. Provide a rationale to support your response.

 

 

BUS599 Week 11 Discussion

“Strategic Management”  Please respond to the following:

•           Based on what you have learned in this course, select two (2) companies from any industry of your choice, and compare their business models. Analyze the manner in which the set of strategies that each company pursues enables it to gain a competitive advantage.

•           Based on what you have learned in this course, determine three to five (3-5) fundamental challenges of strategic management overall. Support your position with at least two (2) examples of the challenges in question from industry.