STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT (SPRING,)
ANSWER FIVE (5) QUESTIONS IN TOTO (Maximum of 10 pages) Each question is worth 40 points for a total of 200 points.
N.B. Support your arguments and conclusions. Explain your answers thoroughly. Reference any appropriate readings in your answer.
1) How have recent changes in technology (for example, robots, 3-D printing, artificial intelligence (AI), Virtual reality (VR), blockchain) affected the four major business-level strategies – overall low-cost, differentiation, focused, and hybrid or combination strategies? How does this relate to the creation of sustainable competitive advantage for a firm?
2) If a firm is successful domestically, it is likely to be successful internationally? Why or why not?
3) What determines the level of competitive intensity in an industry?
4) Marcus Aurelius Antoninus said: “Time is a river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight then it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” Explain what you think this statement means and what are its implications for managing strategically.
5) It is widely recognized that changes in technology and competition have diminished many of the traditional roles of location. Resources, capital, technology, and other inputs can be efficiently sourced in global markets. Firms can access immobile inputs via corporate networks. It is no longer necessary to locate near large markets to serve them. Governments are widely seen as losing their influence over competition to global forces. It is easy to conclude, then, that location is diminishing in importance. Do you agree or disagree with the statement that location is diminishing in importance in the global economy? Support your conclusions.
