Question: Firms should formulate and implement strategies

> Think about two businesses: (1) a manufacturer of athletic gear and (2) a property and casualty insurance company. How might the internationalization of each of these companies differ from one another? What factors might account for these differences?

> Are GMA or cognitive ability tests more trouble than they are worth? Given that some minorities may score lower on such tests, would it be advisable to find some other method for predicting job success?

> Explain the difference between “actuarial” and “clinical” or “holistic” prediction.

> "The most efficient solution to the problem of interview validity is to do away with the interview and substitute paper and pencil measures." Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

> Contrast an unstructured interview with a situational or behavioral interview.

> Describe how an organization might improve the reliability and validity of interviews.

> What is stereotyping? Give examples of legal and illegal stereotypes.

> Why it is important to understand a systems model of training (needs assessment, development, and evaluation)? Which aspects are employers most likely to skip when developing training programs? Why is this a problem?

> What are the advantages and disadvantages of using home-country, host-country, and third-country nationals? Under what specific circumstances might an organization choose to utilize third-country nationals?

> Why is trust so important for PFP systems?

> If unions are to survive, what do you think they will have to do to attract and maintain members?

> If unions are to survive, what do you think they will have to do to attract and maintain members?

> Describe the business culture in Mexico.

> List six desired results of “ethics training programs” in terms of recommended business ethics policies/procedures in the firm.

> Discuss requirements of doing business in India.

> Do you believe strategic management should be more visible or hidden as a process in a firm? Explain.

> What is an initial public offering (IPO)? When is an IPO good for a company? Why did Facebook recently utilize an IPO? Was that a wise strategic move? Why?

> Describe the business culture in China.

> How can firm’s best ensure that their code of business ethics is read, understood, believed, remembered, and acted on rather than ignored?

> Compare Mintzberg’s notion of “crafting” strategies with this textbook’s notion of “gathering and assimilating information” to formulate strategies.

> What is Treasury Stock? When should a company purchase Treasury Stock?

> Describe the business culture in Germany.

> If you owned a small business, would you develop a code of business conduct? If yes, what variables would you include? If no, how would you ensure that your employees were following ethical business standards?

> Give a hypothetical example where Company A buys Company B for a 15.0% premium.

> Discuss the limitations of EPS/EBIT analysis.

> Discuss the new principles of marketing according to Parise, Guinan, and Weinberg.

> Describe the business culture in Brazil.

> Wa, quanxi, and inhwa are important management terms in Japan, China, and South Korea, respectively. What would be analogous terms to describe American management practices?

> Complete the following EPS/EBIT analysis for a company whose stock price is $20, interest rate on funds is 5%, tax rate is 20%, # of shares outstanding is 500 million, and EBIT range is $100 to $300 million. The firm needs to raise $200 million in capita

> Why are some industries more “global” than others? Discuss.

> Diagram and label clearly a product-positioning map that includes six fast-food restaurant chains.

> Do you feel that protectionism is good or bad for the world economy? Why?

> Explain why projected financial statement analysis is considered both a strategy-formulation and a strategy-implementation tool.

> Do you believe strategic management is more an art or science? Explain.

> Explain how you would estimate the total worth of a business.

> What are the advantages and disadvantages of beginning export operations in a foreign country?

> Describe the business culture in India.

> How could/would dividends affect an EPS/EBIT analysis? Would it be correct to refer to “earnings after taxes, interest, and dividends” as retained earnings for a given year?

> Identify some key financial ratios that would be important in evaluating a bank’s strategy.

> Give an example of “consonance” other than the one provided by Rumelt in the chapter.

> List six reasons that strategic management is more complex in a multinational firm.

> A product-positioning rule given in the chapter is that “when there are only two competitors, the middle becomes the preferred strategic position.” Illustrate this for the cruise ship industry, where two firms, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, dominate. Ill

> What effect is e-commerce having on firms’ efforts to segment markets?

> To what extent do you feel political unrest in the Middle East will spread outside the region? Would that be a good or bad thing for global business? What countries do you feel may experience political unrest? Why?

> Describe the business culture in Egypt.

> Discus the major requirements of an EMS under ISO 14001.

> As executive director of the state forestry commission, in what way and how frequently would you evaluate the organization’s strategies?

> Why is it important not to view the concept of “whistle-blowing” as “tattle-telling” or “ratting” on another employee?

> Explain how and why the Internet makes market segmentation easier.

> Why is it essential for organizations to segment markets and target particular groups of consumers?

> What are several especially attractive aspects of the Philippines for beginning business operations in that country? What are some drawbacks?

> Define and give an example of business analytics. Why is this technique becoming so widely used in organizations today?

> How do social policies on retirement differ in various countries around the world?

> How important or relevant do you believe “purpose-based marketing” is for organizations today?”

> Do you believe strategic management should be more a top-down or bottom-up process in a firm? Explain.

> Compare and contrast U.S. versus foreign cultures in terms of doing business.

> Describe some marketing, finance/accounting, R&D, and management information systems activities that a small restaurant chain might undertake to expand into a neighboring state.

> Why has strategy evaluation become so important in business today?

> List in prioritized order the top four countries in Africa that are safe, worthwhile, and potentially lucrative for opening new business operations. Give a rationale for each.

> How could a strategist’s attitude toward social responsibility affect a firm’s strategy? On a 1 to 10 scale ranging from Nader’s view to Friedman’s view, what is your attitude toward social responsibility?

> As owner of a local, independent supermarket, explain how you would evaluate the firm’s strategy.

> Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “Television viewers are passive viewers of ads, whereas Internet users take an active role in choosing what to look at – so customers on the Internet are tougher for marketers to reach.” Explain your

> Describe the business culture in Japan.

> Discuss bribery. Would actions such as politicians adding earmarks in legislation or pharmaceutical salespersons giving away drugs to physicians constitute bribery? Identify three business activities that would constitute bribery and three actions that w

> What are the major differences between U.S. and multinational operations that affect strategic management?

> What types of quantitative and qualitative criteria do you think Ellen Kullman, CEO of DuPont, uses to evaluate the company’s strategy?

> For companies in general, identify and discuss three opportunities and three threats associated with social networking activities on the Internet.

> How often should an organization’s vision/mission be changed in light of strategy evaluation activities?

> Explain how awareness of business culture across countries can enhance strategy implementation.

> Evaluating strategies on a continuous rather than a periodic basis is desired. Discuss the pros and cons of this statement.

> Compare the EEOC with the OCR in terms of mission and scope of operations.

> Show algebraically that the price earnings ratio formula is identical to the number of shares outstanding times stock price formula. Why are the values obtained from these two methods sometimes different?

> Ask an accounting professor at your college or university the following question and report back to class: “To what extent would my learning the IFRS standards on my own give me competitive advantage in the job market”?

> The chapter says HP has more $goodwill than the $book value of the firm. Explain what this means, how it could occur, and what can be done about this situation?

> Make a good argument for keeping the statutory corporate tax rate in the USA the highest in the world. Make the counter argument.

> Compare procedures in the corporate world versus a university setting in terms of how sexual harassment complaints are investigated outside the organization.

> Discuss the nature and implications of the upcoming accounting switch from GAAP to IFRS in the United States.

> Lowe’s Companies is aggressively buying its own stock. What are situations when this practice is recommended or especially beneficial?

> Exports from the USA comprise about 11 percent of GDP, compared to about 35 percent of Germany’s GDP. What are implications of this for American firms doing business globally?

> Compare tax rates in the USA versus other countries. What impact could these differences have on “keeping jobs at home?”

> Compare and contrast the British Bribery Law with the American Bribery Law.

> How does an organization know if it is pursuing “optimal” strategies?

> Bristol-Myers Squibb, a company with single-A investment credit ratings, recently sold $2 billion of bonds that paid 3.35 percent interest. What are the pro’s and con’s of this activity, compared to issuing stock or borrowing money from a bank in terms o

> Why is globalization of industries a common factor today?

> Give specifics regarding income tax rates and practices across countries, and associated strategic implications.

> Explain why whistle-blower payouts by the federal government to informants are becoming more and more common.

> Develop a perceptual map for the six colleges and universities closest to your institution. Illustrate a market segment and a demand void in your map. What are the strategic implications of your map?

> Give specifics regarding the nature and role of “Union Membership across Europe.” What are the strategic implications of these facts and figures?

> Explain why concern for wildlife is a strategic issue for firms.

> Do you agree with privacy advocates who contend that Facebook should provide ways for users to opt out of the mobile ad targeting? Why or why not?

> In China, feng shui is important in business, whereas in Japan, nemaswashio is important. What are analogous American terms and practices?

> Why are some American companies, such as Eaton, reincorporating in foreign countries, such as to Dublin, Ireland, as did Eaton? What are the pros and cons of that strategy?

> Discuss the ethics of workplace romance.

> If a firm has two regions and two products, develop a sample framework for measuring organizational performance.

> Why is it both important and necessary to segment markets and target groups of customers, rather than marketing to all possible consumers?

> Why is the Balanced Scorecard an important topic both in devising objectives and in evaluating strategies?

> In developing projected financial statements, what should you do if the $ amount you must put in the cash account (to make the statement balance) is far more (or less) than desired?

> Why should you be careful not to use historical percentages blindly in developing projected financial statements?

> Based on the financial statements provided in this chapter for the Litten Company, calculate the value of this company, if you know that their stock price is $20 and they have 1 million shares outstanding. Calculate 4 different ways and average.

> In your own words, list all the steps in developing projected financial statements.