Go to investor relations website for Walmart.
- Read about Business Model page 13. Describe the business model of the current organization you work for by using the same business model components. Is that model effective? Please elaborate on this by using the knowledge learned about strategy. Give your best rationale.
- Select one of the following companies: Starbucks (investor.starbucks.com), Pfizer (www.pfizer.com/investors), or Best Buy to find examples of strategic and financial objectives and more. (1) List four objectives for the company, and indicate which of these are strategic and which are financial. (2) Click on the investor relations section, and (1) explore the latest annual reports and/or 10-K filings to see if you can identify the key elements of the company’s strategy. Use the framework provided in Figure 1.1 to help identify these key elements. What approach toward winning a competitive advantage does the company seem to pursue? (3) Check whether the company’s recent financial reports indicate that its business model is working. Can the company’s business model remain sound as more consumers go to the Internet to find general information and stay abreast of current events and new stories? Is its revenue stream from advertisements growing or declining? To what degree does its strategic response to changing industry conditions seem positive and deliberate versus reactive and adaptive (emergent)?
- Go to investor relations website for Walmart (investors.walmatrstores.com) and review past presentations Walmart has made during various investor conferences by clicking on the Events option in the navigation bar. Prepare a one or two-page report that outlines what Walmart has said to investors about its approach to strategy execution. Specifically, what has management discussed concerning staffing, resource allocation, policies and procedures, information and operating systems, continuous improvement, rewards and incentives, corporate culture, and internal leadership at the company?
- Go to BestBuy.com, click on the investor relations section, and explore Best Buy’s last annual reports and 10-K filings to see if you can identify, and explore key elements of Best Buy’s strategy. Use the framework provided in Figure 1.1 to help identify these key elements. What approach toward winning a competitive advantage does Best Buy seem to be pursuing?
