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ASSIGNMENTS
S&O Assignment 1
• Answer the three questions below in 800-1000 words (please include word count).
• Hand in to the lecturer at the start of the class. Sending in after class is not possible.
• Keep a copy to yourselves for the class discussion.
• The assignment should be made in English.
• Remember this assignment could be graded (see course description).
Week 1
Texts 2-6 all deal with the content of competitive strategy. All authors attempt to explain performance
differences between firms operating in a single business (or between individual business units of
diversified firms), but they do so from different angles and have different views on the strategic analyses
necessary to develop successful competitive strategies.
Questions
1. (understanding of texts)
Consider texts 2, 3, and 4. What are their main messages, and what are the main similarities and
differences between these messages?
2. (understanding of texts)
Now consider texts 5 and 6. What are the main ideas of these texts? And how do these ideas relate to each
other?
What is your team’s collective opinion on both paradoxes? And how is this opinion based on the insights
of texts 2-6?
• Note: in addition to answering question 3, formulate a short discussion statement on the basis of your
team’s opinion and be prepared to bring forward and collectively defend this statement in class.
1
S&O Assignment 2
• Answer the three questions below in 800-1000 words (please include word count).
• Hand in to the lecturer at the start of the class. Sending in after class is not possible.
• Keep a copy to yourselves for the class discussion.
• The assignment should be made in English.
• Remember this assignment could be graded (see course description).
Week 2
The texts of week 2 are all about corporate strategy. Corporate strategy focuses on issues that are dealt
with at the corporate level (headquarters) of diversified companies with multiple business units. These
issues include portfolio decisions (which businesses do we want to be in and why?), policies for achieving
synergies at the corporate level (in order to achieve a corporate value which is bigger than the sum of the
values of all business units), and more general managerial visions on the firm as a whole and the role of
the corporate parent.
Questions
1. (understanding of texts)
Consider texts 1-5. All authors develop views on one or more aspects of corporate strategy. What are
these views and what developments do you see in the thinking about corporate strategy?
2. (understanding of texts)
Now consider text 6. What are the main messages of this text, and how does it compare to the other texts
of this week?
What is your team’s collective opinion about these views? Which one do you consider most effective?
And how is this opinion based on the insights of the texts of this week?
• Note: in addition to answering question 3, formulate a short discussion statement on the basis of your
team’s opinion and be prepared to bring forward and collectively defend this statement in class.
2
S&O Assignment 3
• Answer the three questions below in 800-1000 words (please include word count).
• Hand in to the lecturer at the start of the class. Sending in after class is not possible.
• Keep a copy to yourselves for the class discussion.
• The assignment should be made in English.
• Remember this assignment could be graded (see course description).
Week 3
The texts of week 3 discuss strategic planning and possible alternatives to it. Some of the texts seem to
show a rather sharp debate between supporters and opponents of strategic planning. The different points
of view are about issues such as the methods for and level of detail of strategic analysis and strategy
formulation, the way the strategy development process should be organized and the level of formalization
that should be aimed for.
Questions
1. (understanding of texts)
Consider texts 1-3. What is the essence of strategic planning according to these texts? What do the
authors consider the main advantages of strategic planning and what are their main points of criticism?
2. (understanding of texts)
Consider again text 3, as well as texts 4-6. What are the main alternatives to strategic planning identified
in these texts? Please provide a brief description of each alternative. Which alternatives are responses to
specific criticisms on strategic planning, and why?
3
S&O Assignment 4
• Answer the three questions below in 800-1000 words (please include word count).
• Hand in to the lecturer at the start of the class. Sending in after class is not possible.
• Keep a copy to yourselves for the class discussion.
• The assignment should be made in English.
• Remember this assignment could be graded (see course description).
Week 4
The texts of week 4 all focus on human or “behavioral” factors in strategic decision making. The texts
highlight issues like bounded rationality, learning, politics, cognition, and culture, all of which have a big
influence on strategic thinking and decision making, as well as on people’s behavior. This influence is
noticeable at the level of individuals, top management teams, departments (and other groups/units) and
organizations as a whole.
Questions
1. (understanding of texts)
Consider texts 1 and 2. What are the main messages of both texts? Do you see any similarities between
them? Please explain your answer.
2. (understanding of texts)
Consider texts 3-5. What is the essence of each of these texts? What are the main similarities and
differences between them?
What would be your team’s collective opinion about the role of the following elements in good
leadership: logical incrementalism, bounded rationality, political behavior, cognition, intuition, and
culture? Please discuss the role of at least three of these elements.
• Note: in addition to answering question 3, formulate a short discussion statement on the basis of your
team’s opinion and be prepared to bring forward and collectively defend this statement in class.
4
S&O Assignment 5
• Answer the three questions below in 800-1000 words (please include word count).
• Hand in to the lecturer at the start of the class. Sending in after class is not possible.
• Keep a copy to yourselves for the class discussion.
• The assignment should be made in English.
• Remember this assignment could be graded (see course description).
Week 5
This week focuses on the importance of fit between organizational and environmental characteristics
(context). Like competitive strategy (see week 1), this fit can be approached from either a deterministic or
a more voluntaristic angle. Another aspect of context is the international environment in which
multinational companies operate. Should their international strategy be focused on selling standardized
products in different national markets and realizing cost efficiencies, or should it be focused on adapting
products to national markets and taking into account local tastes and conditions? And how should
multinational companies be structured and managed to execute these strategies?
Questions
1. (understanding of texts)
Consider texts 1 and 2. What is the essence of Mintzberg’s configuration approach, and what are its most
important elements? What are the main insights of text 2, and how do these insights compare to
Mintzberg’s approach?
2. (understanding of texts)
Consider texts 3-5, which discuss different ways in which multinational activities can be organized and
managed. For each text, briefly summarize these ways. What are the main similarities between the three
texts?
5
S&O Assignment 6
• Answer the three questions below in 800-1000 words (please include word count).
• Hand in to the lecturer at the start of the class. Sending in after class is not possible.
• Keep a copy to yourselves for the class discussion.
• The assignment should be made in English.
• Remember this assignment could be graded (see course description).
Week 6
The first four texts of week 6 discuss how firms can successfully implement their strategies and how they
can realize big organizational changes. The role of CEOs, business unit managers, and other employees is
particularly important here. The final text summarizes the main schools of thought in the area of strategy
and organization, and wonders whether they should be seen as separate animals or as one big beast.
Questions
1. (understanding of texts)
Consider texts 1, 2, and 3. What are the main messages of text 1? How does this text relate to
Burgelman’s text on corporate entrepreneurship? And how do both texts compare to Bourgeois &
Brodwin’s five approaches to strategy implementation?
2. (understanding of texts)
Consider text 4. Describe what the authors mean by their punctuated equilibrium model of organizational
transformation. Can organizational transformations be achieved through a series of incremental changes?
Briefly explain your answer. And what are the main factors driving such transformations according to the
authors?