Strategic Management (MGT 401)
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education Saudi Electronic University | المملكة العربية السعودية وزارة التعليم الجامعة السعودية الإلكترونية |
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
Assignment
Course Name: Strategic Management | Student’s Name: |
Course Code: MGT 401 | Student’s ID Number: |
Semester: Summer Term | CRN: |
Academic Year:2022-23-Summer term | |
For Instructor’s Use only
Instructor’s Name: XXXXXX | |
Students’ Grade: /30 | Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low |
General Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY
- The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via allocated folder.
- Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted.
- Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented, marks may be reduced for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover page.
- Students must mention question number clearly in their answer.
- Late submission will NOT be accepted.
- Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions.
- All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font. No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism).
- Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted.
- Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs):
- Recognize the basic concepts and terminology used in Strategic Management (CLO1)
- Describe the different issues related to environmental scanning, strategy formulation, and strategy implementation in diversified organizations- CLO2
- Explain the contribution of functional, business, and corporate strategies to the competitive advantage of the organization-CLO3.
- Distinguish between different types and levels of strategy and strategy implementation-CLO4
- Communicate issues, results, and recommendations coherently, and effectively regarding appropriate strategies for different situations-CLO6
Assignement Questions
Section I. Discussion Questions (15 marks)
Discuss briefly the following questions (maximum 200 words for each question). (3 marks each question)
- Why has strategic management become so important to today’s corporations and how does it typically evolve in a corporation?
- Discuss how a development in a corporation’s natural and societal environments can affect the corporation through its task environment.
- How can value-chain analysis help identify a company’s strengths and weaknesses?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a first mover in an industry? Give some examples of first-mover and late-mover firms. Were they successful?
- Why are many strategic alliances temporary?
Notes:
- Using the terminology developed in the course of strategic management will be highly valued.
- Your answers MUST include at least 7 outside references (other than the slides and textbook) using a proper referencing style (APA).
- Using references from SDL will be highly valued.
- You answers should not exceed 1500 words.
Section II: Case study (15 marks)
Read carefully case No 8 from your textbook (entitled ‘iRobot: Finding the Right Market Mix?)and answer briefly the following questions: (1.5 marks for each question)
- Draw the SWOT matrix of the iRobot company.
- What is the competitive strategy used by iRobot company?
- Use the five forces of the M. Porter matrix to describe the robot-based product industry.
- Describe the different functional strategies of the iRobot company.
- Describe the relationship of iRobot with its primary stakeholders.
- Describe the core competency and the outsourcing strategy of iRobot
- What kind of strategic alliance is used by iRobot? Why does iRobot choose it?
- What are the main challenges that iRobot faces?
- Assess the competitive advantage of iRobot in its market.
- Recommend solutions for iRobot to improve its competitive advantage.
Good Luck