Exam 9: Managing Strategically

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Competitive Strategies (Scenario) Carly's general manager has just given her a big assignment: develop three different potential strategies the business could use to maintain its competitive advantage. Its computer business was slowly losing market share to competitors, and everyone realized that something needed to be done. Carly glanced through the article by Michael Porter that her manager had provided. According to Porter, there were three different types of strategies to choose from. Carly began wondering if there was a way they could make their computers cheaper so they could be sold at a lower price. If they could reduce the price by $100 per machine, they would become the industry price leader. Carly wondered if they could find any lower-priced suppliers for the more expensive computer components. She knew that their computers were particularly appealing to small business owners due, in part, to price. They were able to offer the lower price because their computers were not as powerful or fast as some machines; but they did contain all the basic word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications required by the typical small business owner. This combination of program capabilities, lack of product frills, and good reputation for quality had worked successfully for them in the past. Now Carly wondered if they would be better off looking at a smaller segment of the market, such as small businesses with accounts receivable billings that could fully utilize the database capabilities. She knew this strategy would cut their market potential by 50 percent, but maybe targeting a smaller market niche would lead to better results in the long-term. Carly began compiling her report for Friday's meeting. -Positioning the company's products based on their reputation for quality with few frills but good programming capabilities involves the competitive strategy of __________.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Clubhouse Gourmet -A- (Scenario) Imagine that you are the president of Clubhouse Gourmet, a successful chain of fast-food restaurants with 60 locations across Canada. The success you have experienced in the last five years has you considering various options about what to do next with the business. Should you continue to expand the business at the current rate? Or perhaps open new and different restaurants? What should you do? -Another purchase you made was to acquire a small chain of coffee shops called Time-out Café. You don't anticipate much growth, and it will never achieve the scale of market leaders such as Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and Second Cup. According to the BCG matrix, Time-out Café would probably be a __________.

According to the BCG matrix, a __________ does not consume or produce much cash, and holds little or no promise for improved performance.

When athletic sportswear manufacturer Nike decided to open its own chain of retail stores, it was pursuing which corporate strategy?