Topic:Strategy and the Generic Business Strategies

From SharedExperienceProject

Contents 1 Topic Highlights 2 Introduction and Motivation 3 Learning Activities 4 Learning Objectives

Topic Highlights

(What you will learn)

• What is strategy?
  
• Various perspectives, both historical and leading-edge, e.g.:
  • How is the success of a strategy measured?
  • Internal vs. external viewpoints
  • Prescriptive vs. emergent viewpoints
• The concept of generic strategies:
  • The strategy positioning model
  • The corresponding cost structures
• A first look at strategy formulation, assessment and implementation
  

Introduction and Motivation

(Why learn it)

We've been talking around strategy for some time now, all the while setting the stage for today's discussion in which we will really sink our teeth into the topic. As you get into the learning materials, you should find yourself well prepared with a toolbox full of tools like visioning and objective setting, design of your economic offering and value proposition, business modeling, internal strategic analysis, and external strategic analysis. In fact, the motivation for strategy should not need much introduction and many of the terms and concepts will not be new to you.

If you are running your own company, you will soon appreciate the importance of having strong skills and a mature way of thinking about strategy. From developing the appropriate strategy for your new firm, to effective management of the balance between exploitation and exploitation, you will be in great shape if you can translate these skills into behaviors.

If you join a company that already has a strategy, then you will soon find these skills put you in good stead among your peers. You'll be able to better understand the direction being set by the firm's executive team, for example, and this understanding will allow you to make stronger more effective contributions in every aspect of your work.

Remember our earlier discussions about the importance of alignment to successful implementation - an employee can't be aligned with s strategy if he or she does not really understand it. Luckily, you are becoming quite well qualified in this area. Let's dig in a little deeper...

Learning Activities

(How the levels of understanding will be gained)

Learning activities

Type	Name	Direction
Reading	Read before class: Creating Business Strategies This is a good introduction to the concept of a business strategy and to how one formulates, classifies, and implements a business strategy	Self-directed
In-class lecture	Introduction to Strategy Slides This discussion provides an introduction to the same concepts, including many examples It also provides some context through a historical perspective and a discussion of some of today's competing theories	Instructor-directed
Personal activities	Review the learning objectives given below in this page	Instructor and self-directed

Learning Objectives

(Levels of understanding to be gained)

Learning objectives for this topic

Level of Understanding	Objective(s)
Very best	Can I carry out a strategic analysis for a new company - one I haven't seen before? After having carried out a strategic analysis, can I write a clear succinct summary of the analysis, including conclusions the implications for possible changes to the business strategy?
Highly satisfactory	Can I state my philosophy about strategy, e.g. considering the perspectives of inside vs outside, prescriptive vs emergent, etc...? Do I very clearly understand the difference between a business that applies differentiation, and on that is just different in its industry? Do I know how to strengthen and validate my classification of a business strategy (in Porter's model) by using the basic cost structures we saw in class? Do I know the steps for analyzing a strategy (we studied four in class)?
Satisfactory	How would I measure the performance of a strategy? Is it the same for everyone? Should it be? Am I familiar with the internal and external perspectives of strategy? How about the emergent and prescriptive perspectives? Can I classify a strategy using Porter's generic strategy positioning model? Do I understand how the concepts are applied in the examples we saw in class, e.g. Costco, WestJet, Starbucks?
Maybe just enough to pass	Do I know what the term strategy means? Can I name the three "questions of strategy"? Do I know the two dimensions on which Porter's strategy model hangs? Can I name and discuss the four strategic positions in his model?