https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vQdDX-Zgi0LjVC78GBM1A7lHn2f4vZvx/view?usp=sharing
Possible test/exam questions
The ability to influence or even own a standard can be critical to establishing and sustaining a competitive advantage. Explain.
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Is “mission” and “corporate strategy” the same? Explain. What does the McDonald story tell us in this context?
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Let’s assume you earn a salary of 23000€/year and you consider to invest in your own business (and giving up your current job). You have 2 alternative projects with the following cash flows. What do you do? Do you go for project 1 or 2, or do you keep your current job? Explain.
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Y0 |
Y1 |
Y2 |
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Project 1 |
Cash in |
0 |
200000 |
300000 |
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Cash out |
100000 |
200000 |
100000 |
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Project 2 |
Cash in |
100000 |
100000 |
300000 |
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Cash out |
300000 |
50000 |
50000 |
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Porter’s Five Forces of Competition, the Industry Life Cycle Analysis and the Value Chain Analysis are strategic tools. Please compare. Which one of these is the best?
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Porter’s five forces of competition and the Prisoners’ dilemma game are 2 tools for industry and competitive analysis. Please explain the models and make a critical assessment. Can you show that one of the most regulated industries, the tobacco industry, is one of the most profitable ones?
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How could a car manufacturer gain or maintain a competitive advantage over its rivals?
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Demonstrate what capability-based competition means by using the cases of Walmart, Honda, and Banc One.
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The CEO of an internationally active company makes the following statement to his leadership team and employees at a town hall meeting: “Let me be very clear. We want to be the best company in the world and only employees who make a substantial contribution have a future in this company”. Please analyse this statement from a strategic management perspective.
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Porter’s Five Forces of Competition, the Industry Life Cycle Analysis and the Value Chain Analysis are strategic tools. Please compare. Which one of these is the best?
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Your strategy team presents to you as the CEO of a Belgian SME the following 2 strategic investment projects (Project 1 and 3) for an extended/improved branch network of different sized branches and outreach which results in different cost and revenues streams shown in the following table. All figures are in ‘000€.
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Y0 |
Y1 |
Y2 |
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Nominal Cash Flows |
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Project 1 |
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Cash in |
0 |
100 |
2400 |
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Cash out |
-1000 |
-500 |
-100 |
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Project 3 |
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Cash in |
2000 |
2300 |
2600 |
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Cash out |
-2500 |
-2000 |
-1500 |
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1. Please calculate for each project the a) Net Cash Flow b) profitability (based upon non-discounted values).
2. Please calculate the NPV based upon a reasonable discount rate reflecting the current and expected economic situation in Belgium. Please give reasons for the choice of the discount rate.
3. Based upon the analysis carried out under 1 and 2, which project do you finally approve and why?
4. Would a “quick and dirty” (graphical) sensitivity analysis change your mind? Why?
5. From a strategic point of view could you imagine reaching a different decision taking into consideration other/additional criteria/aspects than those listed under 1, 2 and 4?
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How does diversification differ - if at all - from differentiation; and mission from corporate strategy?
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“The Virgin Group case is a very nice example of diversification or even hyper-diversification”. Discuss.
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What is the strategic relevance of the industry life cycle?
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Internationalisation is one option of a corporate strategy. Discuss.
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Please select a case study of your choice we have read in class. What is the context and the story line? What are the main “take aways”?
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The tobacco industry contradicts to a large extent the characteristics of a mature industry. Explain.
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“The tobacco industry contradicts to a large extent the characteristics of a mature industry.” Do you agree?
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Value Chain Analysis
- Explain the tool and its strategic relevance.
- Using this tool, adapt it to the specific case of a postal operator, analyse and draw strategic conclusions.
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What are the current trends in strategic management?
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What is strategic management about?
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Portfolio planning matrices are the main strategic tool for facilitating portfolio management in a multi-business firm. Please explain 3 of them and make a critical assessment.
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“The tobacco industry is an almost perfect example of a mature industry.” Discuss.
A portfolio planning matrix is a main strategic tool for facilitating portfolio management in a multi-business firm. In a short essay, provide the following for three portfolio planning matrices:
a) a description of the context/corporate strategic level of the 3 matrices;
b) an explanation of each model; and
c) provide a critical assessment of each model.
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The airline industry has all characteristics of being a dynamic, competitive and some even say "sexy" industry. However, the ROE has been negative over the last 20 years. Why this contradiction?
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Please analyse Google’s strategy and summarise the “key take aways” of the case.
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“Marketing Myopia” by Theodore Levitt. What does this article tell us?
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Why do mergers and acquisitions so often fail?
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Which three strategic options do we have on the corporate level?
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How does corporate strategy differ from business strategy?
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Porter’s Five Forces of Competition
- Explain the tool and its strategic relevance.
- Using this tool, analyse the postal industry and draw strategic conclusions.
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Balanced Scorecard
- Explain the tool and its strategic relevance.
- Using this tool, adapt it to the specific case of an airline company, analyse and draw strategic conclusions.
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Coordination and collaboration are often seen as the key challenges of any organizational architecture. Explain and develop approaches to meet these challenges.
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We have dealt in class with four different approaches to analyse the industry environment. Please compare the four approaches with each other and identify the best one.
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Explain the concept of Malik’s “healthy company”.
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What strategic issues do arise in a multi-business firm? How can you manage them?
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Corporate Strategy
- Explain what Corporate Strategy is about and analyse its three main options in terms of relevance, possible benefits and risks.
- What could the Corporate Strategy of an airline company look like? Analyse and explain.
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Druckversion 