MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE, GURGAON

BUSINESS STRATEGY Course, Instructor: Dr. Harsh W. Mishra

Guiding Questions for Articles & Cases

Hewlett-Packard: Creating, Running, and Growing an Enduring Company ______________________________________________________________________________ What organizational structure and business processes did Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard create in the small company HP to evolve and grow? How did they run and grow the business? Were they simply "lucky" in creating a highly successful company? What were their frameworks? How valid are those frameworks for current business conditions? _____________________________________________________________________________ McKinsey & Company ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. How was this obscure little firm of "accounting and engineering advisors" able to grow into the world's most prestigious consulting firm fifty years later? What was the unique source of competitive advantage developed by James O. McKinsey and later Marvin Bower? 2. How effective was Ron Daniel in leading McKinsey to respond to challenges adentified in the Commission on Firm Aims and Goals? What contribution did Fred Gluck make to the required changes? 3. Judging by the evidence in the three mini-cases of front-line activities in the mid-1990s, how effective has the firm been in its two decade long change process? 4. What is your evaluation of Rajat Gupta's "four pronged" approach to knowledge development?

GE's Two-Decade Transformation : Jack Welch's Leadership

1. How difficult a challenge did Welch face in 1981? How effectively did he take charge? 2. What is Welch's objective in the series of initiatives he launched in the late 1980s and early 1990s? What is he trying to achieve in the round of changes he put in motion in that period? Is there a logic or rationale supporting the change process? 3. How does such a large, complex diversified conglomerate defy critics and continue to grow so profitably? Have Welch's various initiatives added value? If so, how? 4. What is your evaluation of Welch's approach to leading change? How important is he to GE's success? What implications to his replacement?

Managing Xerox's Multinational Development Center 1

1. What have John Clendenin's business and personal objectives been at Xerox? 2. What obstacles did he confront in accomplishing these objectives? 3. What interpersonal and organizational strategies did he utilize to overcome these barriers and accomplish these objectives? 4. How successful has Clendenin been? 5. What actions should Clendenin take now? Why and how should he take these actions? Phrased differently, what career decision should he make ? At his new position, should he continue to use his strategies he used previously to achieve his objectives? _____________________________________________________________________________

What Leaders Really Do

______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Outline with examples significant differences between management and leadership? 2. Between Jack Welch of GE and John Clendenin of Xerox, who according to the article arguably possesses greater leadership qualities and why? 3. How is setting a direction different from long term planning? How does a leader set the direction? Explain with an example. 4. How is aligning people different from coordinating and organizing people? How does a leader align people? Explain with an example. 5. How does a leader motivate people? Illustrate with examples from your reading. 6. How does a leader develop people especially young or junior - for leadership? How did Clendenin perform in raising leaders within the MDC ? ___________________