Strategy - Week 2

Question 1

T/F: evolution of corporate strategy over time involved the shift of information from the c-suite to the rest of the company?

Answer 1

True

Question 2

T/F: companies don’t care if competitors know their strategies, only if they can implement it

Answer 2

True, execution is much more important/difficult than simply knowing the strategy

Question 3

what is the core purpose of strategy?

Answer 3

pursuit of a competitive advantage, rewards can be profit or other things

Question 4

the art of positioning, what is the most important aspect of this?

Answer 4

Positioning as being different than your peers

A set of activities that provide something different than your competitors ….

it depends on FIT

Question 5

First Order Fit

Answer 5

when there is consistency across all activities, like an overarching goal that is consistent

UofA making good classes

Question 6

Second Order Fit

Answer 6

when there is mutual benefit b/w activities

when professors use research experience to design courses

Question 7

Third Order Fit

Answer 7

a full system that works together and optimizes activities

an athlete’s diet, workout plan, all works together

Question 8

what’s the tradeoff b/w corporate decision making and competitor’s reactions

Answer 8

it’s important that decisions are sustainable;

if you raise prices, others can too and you don’t achieve any market share gain

Question 9

Porter’s 5 Forces: describe the idea behind it, not the 5 forces

Answer 9

instead of thinking about a company’s competitive advantage, it thinks about how a company’s comp. edge could be eroded away

Question 10

what are porters 5 forces

Answer 10

1. rivalry b/w competitors
2. risk of new entrants
3. risk of substitution
4. market power of buyers
5. market power of suppliers

Question 11

definition behind VRIO framework

Answer 11

a sustained competitive advantage can be achieved by satisfying all 4 levels of the VRIO framework

Question 12

what are the 4 levels of the VRIO framework

Answer 12

Valuable
Rare
Inimitable
Organized

Question 13

Power: the 3 dimensions (what are they)

Answer 13

1. decision making power
2. agenda setting power
3. ideological power

Question 14

define decision making power

Answer 14

determining the direction of an event, what way the team goes

Question 15

define agenda setting power

Answer 15

determining which issues are to be discussed

Question 16

define ideological power

Answer 16

subtle, less visible power that shapes individuals’ perceptions of their own interests

exercised through socialization and culture - influences your subconscious mind

Question 17

Power is as much about decision making as it is about …

Answer 17

… coalition building, persuasion and storytelling

Question 18

The fundamental challenge of leadership is …

Answer 18

… motivating others to get things done

(motivating and directing instead of purely ordering)

Question 19

6 principles of power influencing (Cialdini)

Answer 19

Principle of liking
Principle of reciprocity
Principle of social proof
Principle of consistency
Principle of authority
Principle of scarcity

Question 20

define the principle of authority

Answer 20

a person’s tendency to comply with people in positions of authority