Reference no: EM132622545

Answer all the following questions.

Question 1
McDonald's had been recording declining profits since 2001. Although turnover was increasing, there was a continuous decrease in its operating profit and net profit margins. To turnaround its fortune, the company adopted the "Plan To Win" strategy in 2003.
• List McDonald's Key initiatives of the Plan-to-Win strategy.
• What 3 tests must winning strategy have?

Question 2
Business success is all about effective strategies. There can be the difference between a company rising to greatness and a company sinking to bankruptcy. Well-crafted plans help a company visualize its objectives. The strategy-executing process requires constant adapting because plans often go off course. Good plans involve forecasting and dealing with unlikely, but severe, business setbacks. Effective execution strategies will also measure progress regularly.
• What does the strategy-making, strategy-executing process entail?

Question 3
Why does it matter if there is confusion about Vision and Mission statements, or if they are written in a certain way? For the same reasons it is fundamental and valuable for any organization to have a strategic plan as a roadmap for success, it is important to develop a plan around a clearly defined and well written Vision and Mission. Both serve important, yet different roles as core elements of a strategic plan.
• Differentiate between Mission, and Vision.
• List the characteristics of an ideal Mission statement and Cite an example of 2 companies.

Question 4
The larger and more diverse the operations of an enterprise, the more points of strategic initiative it will have and the more managers at different organizational levels will have a relevant strategy-making role. In diversified companies, where multiple and sometimes strikingly different businesses have to be managed.
• Describe a firm's strategy-making hierarchy. Ensure that you explain each of the 4 levels of hierarchy.

Question 5
When a business consistently is losing money, top leadership may vent a frustration and an urgency that department heads are not doing the kinds of things necessary to prevent the operational demise that is unfolding and to deal with it effectively. To right the organization's operating ship, senior executives may formulate fresh financial and strategic goals that functional heads must follow to the letter.
• What are four of the obligations of a Firm's Board of Directors?

• What is the difference between financial objectives and strategic objectives?

Question 6
Industry rivalry usually takes the form of jockeying for position using various tactics (for example, price competition, advertising battles, product introductions). This rivalry tends to increase in intensity when companies either feel competitive pressure or see an opportunity to improve their position.
In most industries, one company's competitive moves will have a noticeable impact on the competition, who will then retaliate to counter those efforts. Companies are mutually dependent, so the pattern of action and reaction may harm all companies and the industry.
The intensity of rivalry among competing sellers within an industry depends on a number of identifiable factors. What are those factors, as are summarized in Factors Affecting the Strength of Rivalry.

Question 7
Competitive strategies are essential to organizations competing in markets that are heavily saturated with alternatives for consumers. To be successful in such type of market it is necessary for an organization to define its winning proposition in simple and compelling way.
• Discuss a company's competitive strategy.
• Describe five distinct competitive strategy approaches.

Question 8
An oil and natural gas company might form a strategic alliance with a research laboratory to develop more commercially viable recovery processes. A clothing retailer might form a strategic alliance with a single clothing manufacturer to ensure consistent quality and sizing. A major website could form a strategic alliance with an analytics company to improve its marketing efforts. Now,
• What is Strategic Alliance?
• An alliance becomes "strategic," as opposed to just a convenient business arrangement, when it serves which purposes?