Assurance of Learning Exercise 5c, Steps 1-2

Assurance of Learning Exercise 5C, Steps 1-2

Purpose: This exercise can improve your understanding of various strategies by giving you experience classifying strategies. This skill will help you use the strategy-formulation tools presented later. Consider the following 8 actual year-2009 strategies by various firms:

What type of strategy best describes the 8 actions cited?

1. Microsoft developed a new video camera for its Xbox 360 console that allowed players control games with the movement of their bodies, rather than by holding a plastic wand in their hands, as required with Nintendo’s popular Wii game console.

Product Development

2. Wells Fargo and Bank of America began to “tweet”-post messages of 140 characters or less on Twitter.com, so customers could see product features. Banks are also putting marketing videos on You Tube.

Market Penetration

3. The United Kingdom’s huge telecom firm, BT Group PLC, cut 15,000 more jobs on top of the 15,000 the prior year.

Retrenchment

4. Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp. acquired Osaka, Japan-based Sanyo Electric Company.

Horizontal Integration

5. News Corp. sold off many of its television stations.

Divestiture

6. More than 1,000 Chrysler dealers closed their doors and ceased doing business.

Liquidation

7. Germany’s Metro AG, the world’s fourth-largest retailer after Wal-Mart, Carrefour SA, and Home Depot, is expanding aggressively into China.

Market Development

8. Time Warner plans to spin off or sell all or part of AOL.

Divestiture

References:

David, F. R. (2011). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. Upper Sadle River: Pearson Education Inc.