strayer bus599 all weeks discussions

week 1″Staples” Please respond to the following:From the case study, determine Staples’ competitive advantage and its current business model. Next, use a brief SWOT analysis to analyze the primary way in which the company executes a strategy for growth based on its SWOT analysis.From the case study, recommend one (1) future strategy for Staples geared toward delivering better customer service. Next, demonstrate the fundamental manner in which the strategy you recommended could successfully change the shopping experience for the customer.week 2″Apple’s New Strategy” Please respond to the following:From the e-Activity, evaluate the level of success of Apple’s current competitive strategy. Next, suggest one (1) new innovation strategy for Apple geared toward maintaining an edge in the industry. Provide a rationale for your suggestion.Using Porter’s Five Forces Model located in Chapter 2 of your textbook, assess Apple’s strengths and weaknesses of each dimension of the model in comparison with those of Samsung, Apple’s strongest competitor. Justify your response by utilizing at least one (1) example based on customer focus.week 3″FedEx and UPS Superior Responsiveness” Please respond to the following:From the e-Activity, determine the functional level strategy of both UPS and FedEx. Next, compare and contrast each company’s quality practices and level of responsiveness to customers. Note: Be sure to relate the “Six Strategies for Creating Competitive Advantage” from the video into your response.From the e-Activity, determine the innovation strategies of both UPS and FedEx, and analyze the manner in which each company’s focuses on achieving superiority in terms of responsiveness and efficiency. Provide at least three (3) examples from the video to support your response.week 4″Starbucks Business Strategy” Please respond to the following:From the e-Activity, evaluate the effectiveness of Starbuck’s current business strategy execution in terms of pricing, differentiation, and market demand. Next, suggest one (1) modification to the strategy that could help the company to implement new distinctive competencies. Provide a rationale to support your response.From the e-Activity, evaluate the competitiveness of Starbuck’s positioning in its industry utilizing the Value Creation Frontier model. Next, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of Starbuck’s differentiation strategy, and determine the main possible implications inherent in the application of the strategy.week 5″Navigating through the Life Cycle of Maturity” Please respond to the following:From the first and second e-Activities, evaluate the effectiveness of Dell’s current turnaround strategies. Present at least three (3) examples to support your evaluation.From the first and second e-Activities, analyze Dell’s declining industry strategy. Next, compare the company’s strengths, relative to remaining pockets of demand, to the intensity of the competition in the declining industry. Provide one (1) example of Dell’s strength over the competition to support your response.week 6″Comparing First-movers in Technology” Please respond to the following:From the first and second e-Activities, analyze the key ways in which Intel and Microsoft capitalized on and reaped substantial first-mover advantages in pioneering new technologies. Provide a rationale to support your response.From the first and second e-Activities, compare Intel’s and Microsoft’s strategies in terms of their ability to profit from innovation. Next, analyze the manner in which shifts in new technologies revolutionized the structure of the industry, increasing profitability and growth through global expansion. Provide a rationale to support your response.week 7″Corporate-level Strategies” Please respond to the following:From the e-Activity, analyze the essential manner in which the new Southwest-AirTran merger and resulting low-cost structure strategy could maximize both companies’ long-term profitability. Support your response with at least two (2) examples that illustrate the manner in which each company would avoid risks associated with becoming too dependent upon its corporate partner.From e-Activity, determine the fundamental drawbacks associated with horizontal integration. Suggest another corporate-level strategy that could redefine the Southwest business model and thus allow the company to increase its competitive advantage within a changing industry environment. Provide a rationale to support your response.week 8″Multibusiness Models” Please respond to the following:From the case study, evaluate the efficiency of eBay’s evolving business model within the retail auction industry. Next, compare the key difference of the evolving business models of both eBay and its major competitors.From the case study, evaluate eBay’s new multibusiness model in terms of the company’s diversification strategy, levering of competencies, sharing of resources between business units, and ability to use product bundling. Provide a rationale to support your response.week 9″Effective Organizational Design” Please respond to the following:From the case study, evaluate the soundness of GE’s organizational design in terms of structure, strategic control systems, and organizational culture. Next, analyze the manner in which ecomagination products and services successfully implemented a new business model that increased the relationships among all functions and thus built distinctive competencies and contributed to environmental sustainability. Provide a rationale to support your response.From the case study, evaluate the degree to which GE’s new business initiative impacted its overall brand value, organizational structure, and culture. Provide at least two (2) examples that illustrate the impact of the new initiative on both the organization and GE’s competitive advantage.week 10″Nike’s Sustainable Strategy” Please respond to the following:From the e-Activity, evaluate the success of Nike’s global network structure in terms of centralization of authority and horizontal differentiation. Next, analyze the fundamental manner in which the company’s outsourcing strategy facilitates both resource sharing and the leveraging of its competencies around the world. Provide a rationale to support your response.From the e-Activity, evaluate the appropriateness of the type or types of basic strategies that Nike implements in order to expand globally. Next, analyze the most important manner in which Nike’s organizational structure, control systems, and culture influence its international strategy. Provide a rationale to support your response.week 1″Strategic Management” Please respond to the following:Based on what you have learned in this course, select two (2) companies from any industry of your choice, and compare their business models. Analyze the manner in which the set of strategies that each company pursues enables it to gain a competitive advantage.Based on what you have learned in this course, determine three to five (3-5) fundamental challenges of strategic management overall. Support your position with at least two (2) examples of the challenges in question from industry.