Business Strategy Course and Extra Teaching Aids

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

PowerPoint slide on Apple Inc.
Internet blog on value chains
2010 Annual report from Caterpillar
A newspaper report in Virgin Radio
Website on strategic decisions
Video on Chinese factory workers
Video clip on corporate strategy
Works Cited

PowerPoint slide on Apple Inc.

This aid is a PowerPoint presentation about Porters five forces that affect Apple Inc. The author begins with a brief description of the company and its history and then looks into the external forces that affect the companys business using Porters five models. In the degree-of-rivalry section, he identifies the Windows Operating System, Microsoft, and Linux as some of the software competitors. Dell and HP compete with the company in the hardware sections while Samsung, Napster, and Creative belong to the music and device industries.

Under threat of new entrants, Apple Inc must deal with disruptive technologies from Google, and streaming video and audio technologies from Verison or iTunes. Concerning the bargaining power of suppliers, Apple is confronted with powerful computer memory processors, such as IBM, Intel, or Motorola). It is also supplied by strong movie or music production firms like Disney, Warner Brothers, Sony, Fox, and Universal.

Under the bargaining power of customers, Apple Inc. must also deal with a formidable consumer market. They can download and share music for free using applications such as Limewire. Besides that, most retailers pressure the company to reduce prices. Lastly, the teaching aid talks about a high threat of substitutes in the industry. Customers can use different methods of accessing music such as DVDs and CDs. They may opt for satellite radio or other sources of videos such as Cable (Apple Inc 5).

The content relates to chapter 3 of Understanding Business Strategy by Ireland et al., which talks about the external environmental analysis. In that section, it is noted that an organizations external environment may consist of industry-related forces, market-based forces, and the macro-environment. Porters five forces assist in an analysis of the industry-related forces. They prepare their companies to align their strategies with the goings-on in their industries.

The slides will assist students concerning environmental analysis because it will provide a direct application of the principles learned in the Chapter concerning porters five forces. Apple Inc. is regarded as one of the most successful organizations in the US. Many students have tried Apples products; these include the iPad, Mac Computers as well as Mac OS. It will be quite insightful for them to learn that such a relevant company in their lives is affected by these external forces. The aid will expose the students to new vocabulary (disruptive technology, knowledge management) in the field of management, and will encourage permanent remembrance of the material.

Internet blog on value chains

The blog is a discussion about value creation in the Asian continent. It is essentially a summary of the Excellence in Value Creation Shared Services Excellence Awards 2011. In the article, the author describes how an unconventional organization- HP GBS scooped this award. It is asserted that the company used standardization methods to get to this point. HP worked on service deliveries, sales biding as well as efficiency. The company affected these changes through the use of information technology, process improvement, and people development. HP took its bidding management and quotations offshore, thus simplifying its business value chain (SSON 9).

Chapter 4 of Understanding Business Strategy by Ireland et al. applies to this blog article. It talks about the internal environment and how firms should analyze their primary activities for value creation. An organization ought to look at activities such as operations, marketing, or outbound logistics to classify them. Some competencies will be categorized as inferior while others will either be equivalent or superior. In the blog article, HP GBS classified its bidding management and quotation activities as inferior and thus chose to take them offshore. Consequently, the organization boosted efficiency as seen through its Value creation award.

This online resource will assist students to conceptualize a seemingly abstract concept such as value chain analysis. The blog looks at how a firm embraced a value-creating opportunity, and directly benefitted from the decisions. This will contribute towards a better understanding of internal environments among the students.

2010 Annual report from Caterpillar

This annual report is a summary of some of the decisions and issues that had affected the organization throughout 2010. The report is organized in the form of case studies done by various staff members. In certain instances, the piece talks about response to customer orders for parts within a distribution center. It stresses the importance of fast response times. On another page, the report describes Caterpillars willingness to relocate to a desert to provide customers with the right technical support for the equipment. By doing this, the company built strong relationships with its clientele (Caterpillar 22).

This annual report relates to chapter 5 of Understanding Business Strategy by Ireland et al., which focuses on a business-level strategy. In the chapter, it is asserted that businesses can choose to differentiate, become cost leaders, integrate cost leadership and differentiation, pursue focused cost leadership, or focused differentiation. In Caterpillars case, it decided to take on a differentiated strategy.

This aid will be highly useful to the students because it will teach them how to identify generic business-level strategies in all-purpose reports. The information found in the annual report does not necessarily talk about Caterpillars differentiation strategy; it merely discusses the companys sources of competitive advantage. Students can internalize some of the tell-tale signs of a differentiated strategy by using this annual report as an example.

A newspaper report in Virgin Radio

This is a newspaper report about one of Virgins Groups business subsidiaries Virgin Radio. The author reports that Sir Richard Branson has just acquired a new brand name for a radio station that had been sold to another group. He intends to take the radio to international dimensions by introducing it to several European markets as well as American markets. Virgin Radio intends on diversifying the business into different areas (Knapton 5).

The article is highly related to chapter 6 of Understanding Business Strategy by Ireland et al. It talks about the possibility of using corporate relatedness as well as operational relatedness in the execution of multiproduct strategies.

When companies choose such an approach, they must have a high competitive advantage and a vast resource base. Here, a company attempts to transfer core competencies at the corporate level with operational resources such as tangible resources or the primary activities it engages in. In this report, Sir Richard Branson was pursuing a multiproduct strategy of corporate and operational relatedness. He already owned resources and capabilities in the media industry. Furthermore, this was not the first radio station under his name.

After going through the article, students will be in a position to learn about how firms can execute one of the most difficult multiproduct strategies in the business environment. They will also learn about some of the forces that may cause firms to choose a diversification approach. In this case, the Virgin Group already had the resources, and the corporate-level competencies required to deal with the challenge, so it was only feasible for him to choose the approach. Furthermore, he thought about the geographic advantages that may come with this approach. Students can learn about the advantages and risks inherent in making this choice.

Website on strategic decisions

The teaching aid is a summary of some of the worst strategic decisions made in history. It describes the executives who made the decisions and the companies they worked for. The article then gives a background of the facts that led to the decision and its consequences. For instance, the first story is about the rejection of the Beatles by a recording company. Dick Rowe and Mike Smith were responsible for talent evaluation in Decca records.

At the time (1961), Mike Smith has seen the rock and roll band performing, so he asked them to perform at his Decca studios. Another executive, Rowe, told them that they were not the right fit for the organization because they used guitars and were four in number. This decision cost Decca records insurmountable sums of money because another recording company called EMI records took on the Beatles. In just two years, demand for the Bands records had exceeded EMIs capacity to produce them (The Stupidest business par. 2).

Educators can apply material from this website when teaching about strategic decisions in the course. The chapter talks about how the strategic decision-making process can either be rational or impulsive. Managers or administrators can still follow certain steps to boost the effectiveness of their decision-making processes. First, they need to be creative by checking their assumptions and developing novel ideas. Additionally, they ought to increase their knowledge by consulting and developing themselves. Thirdly, they ought to use their intuition, instead of focusing too much on logic. Fourthly, managers should get their timing right. Lastly, they must not think that their decisions are final.

This aid will provide a practical example of how a company failed to apply the above steps. Dick Rowe made a big mistake by not reassessing his assumptions. He thought that guitars and groups with four members were out, yet this was not true. Although such bands had been tried before, there was no reason why the trend could be redefined. Furthermore, the manager should have focused on the strength of the Beatles talent rather than their number.

He did not think about the timing of his decision; because this was a season when the Beatles brand of rock and roll was well received. If he had thought about these steps, then he would have made a more effective decision. The website will teach students about the consequences of poor decision making. It will also identify opportunities for improvement of the same.

Video on Chinese factory workers

The teaching aid is a video clip from YouTube. It essentially dwells on the horrible working conditions in Chinese factories. The subjects of the video under discussion are Chinese toy makers. One particular western organization that was mentioned in the analysis was Hasbro. The toy manufacturer outsourced business to these Chinese factories, regardless of the poor working conditions there. The journalist claims that most workers are crammed into small dormitory rooms. Most of them are given barely enough to eat, yet they have to work seven days a week, fourteen hours a day. Most of them have no access to work leave or other typical incentives.

This video clip relates to chapter 8 of Understanding Business Strategy by Ireland et al., which talks about globalization. In the course, it is asserted that one must think about the risks involved in adopting pro-global strategies. Firms ought to consider countries that have strong labor laws. Unfortunately, several countries that have cheap labor conditions often have poor labor regulation or enforcement (YouTube China factories).

The teaching aid will sensitize the students about the importance of external forces when choosing outsourcing destinations. It highlights the problems of globalization in an insightful and relevant way. Students will learn about the dynamics of going global.

Video clip on corporate strategy

The teaching aid is an interview with a Professor from UCLA University. In the clip, he talks about the challenges that businesses face when choosing a particular type of corporate strategy. He claims that the problem with most firms is that they make their business strategies too complicated. It becomes almost impossible to follow through on all aspects, and the core areas suffer (YouTube What is good).

The video clip relates to the chapter of Understanding Business Strategy by Ireland et al. that deals with corporate strategies. Businesses ought to consider their objectives and mission to make these decisions effectively.

The material will assist students in internalizing the role of business objectives in handling resources. Since the teaching material comes from a person who has a management background, then it will teach students about the most valuable matters in a business.

Works Cited

Apple Inc. 2011. Web.

Caterpillar 2011, Company Annual Report 2010. Web.

Ireland, R. Duane, et al. Understanding Business Strategy: Concepts and Cases. 2nd ed., Cengage Learning, 2008.

Knapton, Sarah. Virgin Radio to change name to Absolute The Telegraph. 2008. Web.

SSON. 2011. Who leads Asia in Value Creation?. 2011. Web.

The Stupidest business decisions in history. 2008. Web.

YouTube. China factories Brutal conditions described. 2007. Web.

YouTube. What is good corporate strategy? 2008. Web.

Click Here To Order Now!