Homework answers / question archive / Chapter 4 (Dyer text) Let's discuss this chapter! Here some tasks to get you started (pick one or two and jump in): • Pick a key terms on pg

Chapter 4 (Dyer text) Let's discuss this chapter! Here some tasks to get you started (pick one or two and jump in): • Pick a key terms on pg

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Chapter 4 (Dyer text)

Let's discuss this chapter! Here some tasks to get you started (pick one or two and jump in): • Pick a key terms on pg. 82 (a terms that someone else hasn't already picked) and defined it (in your own words), then explain why it's important to corporate strategy • Pick a review question on pg. 82 (a question that someone else hasn't already picked), and answer it, then comment on a question that someone else has answered A couple thought questions: Isn't the message of this chapter basically that the biggest company wins? Why or why not? Here's another question: Why does this chapter treat labor inputs (see pg. 80) as equivalent to material inputs? Let's say that Company A makes product X and sells it for $10. Here are two scenarios: 1) Company A finds a way to better utilize its labor inputs (better organization, coordination, innovative work practices, etc.), this reduces the amount of labor required to produce product X, and the company is therefore able to reduce the price of product X to $9 (everything else stays the same, profit margin, hourly wages, etc.), or 2) Because Company A has a captive work force (it's the largest employer in a small town), it is able to lower wages; it uses labor savings to lower the price of product X to $9. Is there a difference between these two scenarios in terms of economic value? Is more economic value created under one scenario than the other? If so, why?

Chapter 5

You can address any/all of these questions or any of the review questions on pg. 103: • The textbook uses Facebook as a "differentiation" story. Wouldn't this same "story" apply no matter which company succeeded (since they are all different, MySpace, Friendster, etc.)? If that's true, then what's the point? Is Facebook's success really an example of successful differentiation? Why isn't the rise of Facebook better explained by network externalities? Can someone else come up with another story? • How are economic markets supposed to work if every product is differentiated? Properly functioning economic markets are supposed to deliver allocative and productive efficiency, and they're supposed to maximize social surplus. Will markets comprised of differentiated product offerings deliver these outcomes? Why or why not? What does the Walters chapter say is necessary if markets are to function properly? Why is this question important? • When does marketing become lying? • What does it mean to "hire" a product to do a "job" for you? Is this a useful perspective? Why or why not? • What does it mean to map the consumption chain?

Chapter 6

You can address any/all of these questions (or any of the review questions on pg. 124): • Explain the different levels of diversification. • Explain what it means to create economic value. Explain what it means to add value through diversification (see Figure 6.1). Are these two things the same? Is one a subset of the other? If I'm a shareholder of two different companies, why might I want them to merge? • What are the six Ss? • Can value be added in the same way regardless of the type of diversification? Or are their better ways to add value depending on the type of diversification involved? • What does it mean to destroy economic value? Give me a specific example. • What are the methods of diversification?

Chapter 1

From the book (Review Questions): • A convenient marker for the start of the modern CSR era is the publication of Bowen’s book, Social Responsibilities of the Businessman. What questions did Bowen ask in this book? Why are these questions still relevant today? • How is CSR different from Adam Smith’s concept of the invisible hand? Why is this important? • Based on the definitions of CSR in the chapter—including the author’s definition—what do you believe are the essential elements of CSR? Why? • Describe some of the CSR programs or activities you discovered on the websites of the company listed in Table 1. • Briefly describe the Concentric Circle Model of CSR and the CSR Pyramid. Explain how these models inappropriately compartmentalize economic, legal, and ethical considerations. • List and briefly describe the CSR-related terms highlighted in the text: sustainability, corporate citizenship, corporate social performance, philanthropy, stakeholder theory, and systems theory. Here's a couple big picture questions: What does CSR have to do with economic value (from our first discussion in Module 2)? What does it have to do with corporate strategy?

Bonus

The Academy of Management Review (Note: This is probably the most respected theoretical academic journal in the management area) just published (it's not out in print yet, but it's available online) a special topic forum on management theory and social welfare. There were a number of papers published in this forum. I'm attaching the introduction to the forum: Jones et al 2016 Social Welfare.pdf If you are interested in the topic of corporate social responsibility from a more philosophical standpoint, download this article and take a look at the section "Why the Eerie Silence?" that begins on page 220 and ends on page 225 (the last two pages--the "Conclusions and Implications" section--are also relevant). Here's a few questions to get this thread started: Take a look at your strategy textbook. Is there anything in our text that you could use to differentiate between corporate strategies that are likely to result in Pareto improvements and strategies that are likely to lead to Pareto inferior outcomes (see page 223 and 224 of the attached article)? According to our textbook, against what yardstick should potential strategies be measured? Why? What does this article say about that approach? Who's right (our textbook or this article)? Maybe a better question is this: "When is our textbook right, and when is this article right? Note: I've labeled this a "bonus" thread because you won't be penalized for ignoring it. If you expend the effort to engage in this discussion thread, however, I'll reward you for it.