Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach Concepts and Cases 17th Edition Instructor ma
| WT Strategies | |
| 1 | Increase Human Resource funds by 20% for a Cafeteria Model to retain and recruit top talent employees (W6, T10). |
| 2 | Hire two headhunters who specialize in recruiting experts for business departments as well as technical departments (W10, W2, W4, W9, T1, T2, T3, T10). |
| 3 | Aim for developing long-term partnerships with quality suppliers and technical companies that are reliable and willing to invest in the company (W3, T1). |
| 4 | Hire three lobbyists to persuade politicians to pass laws that allow Tesla to sell cars in restricted states (Connecticut, Michigan, Arizona, Utah, West Virginia, Texas) (W2, T7). |
Tesla stands on the frontier of automobile innovation and is associated with a luxurious and extravagant lifestyle. In the future, the company positions itself to be more affordable and suitable to the average population. Therefore, it is crucial for Tesla to build additional stores and customer service centers, in order to be accessible for customers all around the world. Besides this, Tesla needs to demonstrate operational excellence by employing the most competent personnel. By doing this, the company is able to bring in more institutional funding and increase the use of debt. In addition, it’s important to increase Tesla’s brand awareness and stay committed to the goal to increase market share across the globe. Looking forward, Tesla’s strategies intertwine with the goal to improve logistic, increase sales, and keep innovating.
ADDITIONAL NOT-IN-THE-BOOK ASSURANCE OF LEARNING EXERCISES WITH ANSWERS CHAPTER 1
ASSURANCE OF LEARNING EXERCISE 1AA:
Compare Business Strategy with Military Strategy
Purpose
This exercise will enable you to compare and contrast military strategy with business strategy because in many ways, operating a business is similar to conducting a military campaign. Many strategic-management concepts evolved out of the military. Napoleon Bonaparte listed 115 maxims for military strategy. U.S. Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest, however, had only one strategic principle: “to git thar furst with the most men” (to get there first with the most men). The strategy concepts given as essential in the United States Army’s Field Manual (FM-3-0) of Military Operations (sections 4–32 to 4–39) say there are nine key military strategy maxims:
1. Objective—direct every military operation towards a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective
2. Offensive—seize, retain, and exploit the initiative
3. Mass—concentrate combat power at the decisive place and time
4. Economy of Force—allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts
5. Maneuver—place the enemy in a disadvantageous position through the flexible application of combat power
6. Unity of Command—for every objective, ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander
7. Security—never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage
8. Surprise—strike the enemy at a time, at a place, or in a manner for which he is unprepared
9. Simplicity—prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough understanding
Instructions
Step 1 Consider the extent to which each of the nine maxims listed are applicable in formulating and implementing strategies in a business setting.
Step 2 Rank order the nine maxims above, from 1 = most important to 9 = least important in formulating and implementing strategies in a business setting.
Step 3 Compare your ranking to the authors’ ranking by getting the difference between each of your rankings and each of the authors rankings, and summing those differences, i.e., summing the absolute value of those differences.