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Strategizing is the process of perceiving, analyzing, and shaping competitive situations. This note aims provide some basic orientation and sketches some frameworks that can guide the strategizing process.

Decision trees can be helpful in analyzing the key drivers of profitability and in designing risk-mitigation strategies. When analyzing competitive situations, each player's viewpoint can be represented by a separate decision tree, creating a "decision forest." In some situations, it is also useful to summarize two players' decision trees in a single payoff matrix. This note introduces those concepts step by step.

This note introduces some key game-theoretic concepts and techniques, with an emphasis on their underlying motivations. It covers the following topics: • Domination • Iterated elimination of dominated strategies • Nash equilibrium • Randomized Stra

Incorporated in 1983, Giordano International consolidated its position as a leading casual apparel retailer in Asia Pacific by offering customers value for money, good customer service, and classic, simple designs. By constantly improving its operating efficiencies, the company survived the Asian economic downturn and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Its newest challenges, however, were increased competition, surging rents, higher interest rates, and the omnipresent threat from the avian bird flu. How Giordano could sustain its past success was perhaps the most critical question confronting its management. Provides an opportunity to examine what strategy would ensure Giordano's continued success over the intermediate and long-term future.

This case follows a classic student venture from on-campus conception in 1994, to harvest during the late 90s Internet wave, to its rebirth as a virtual business model. The enterprise began as a paper-based debit card that enabled Dartmouth College students to purchase merchandise at participating local pizza shops, copy centers, coffeehouses and the like. By the time founder Taren Lent and his partner took their system online in 1996, the 'Green Card' had a broad campus following, significant vendor participation, and average monthly revenue of $160,000. The entrepreneurs funded their expansion with informal investments from family, friends, angels, and a bank loan. In 1999-near the peak of the Internet bubble-they were scooped up by Student Advantage, a 'high-concept' venture-backed dot-com that was spending millions to build online market share in the higher-education space. Taren, who was heading up the campus card division, was astounded at how little attention was being paid to pursuing viable revenue models. When Student Advantage ultimately (and somewhat predictably), ran out of money and was liquidated, the campus card segment was sold to Blackboard. Taren Lent, however, had other ideas. He and a new partner left to start a virtual card venture focused on the higher education market. That focus would soon be put to the test by compelling opportunities that are doable, but not within their narrow strategic focus; e.g. business campuses, theme parks, and government agencies like NASA.

Reverse e-auctions, which enable suppliers to compete online in real time, are changing the way organizations select their suppliers. Explores how five large firms in different industries learned to use e-auctions and how e-auctions were integrated into their purchasing processes. To implement e-auctions successfully, organizations should: build e-auction competencies; organize for knowledge management; create a holistic sourcing process; focus on the total cost of ownership; and experiment with e-auction designs. Draws key observations from the case studies and presents implications for supply managers.

Although e-marketing is highly prevalent, there is currently no template for managers who wish to use the Internet/Web and related information technologies to market their products and services. Provides managers with a comprehensive, actionable, and practical methodology (E-MARKPLAN) to plan, enact, and analyze e-marketing activities. Uses five case studies to illustrate the diversity of e-marketing actions. E-MARKPLAN consists of five parts: goals, actors (i.e., those who take e-marketing actions), spaces (i.e., theaters of engagement), actions, and outcomes. The E-MARKPLAN methodology is versatile and is not limited to companies with e-commerce operations.

Practitioners, academics, and consultants are all calling for firms to drop their guard and collaborate with their business partners. At best, reports to date are mixed. Does collaboration work? Can firms do better? This research indicates the answer is "yes" to both questions, but managers must do more to reap long-term gains by formalizing relationships. Executives at many of today's most successful companies provide important insights about how this can be accomplished.

The Employee Benefit Outsourcing (EBO) unit of BPO, Inc. is experiencing rapid growth as a result of industry trends toward greater outsourcing of business processes. Despite rapid growth in revenues, the EBO unit has not been able to make a profit in part because of problems with its operations. A Six Sigma project has been initiated with the goal of developing a computer simulation model of the Health and Welfare Service Delivery process to help get a better handle on the operational problems. The define-and-measure phases of the Six Sigma project have been completed and the case includes the project charter, a process map, detailed operational data, and process performance benchmark data. Students are to use the data provided to develop their own simulation model, validate it with the benchmark data provided, and then use the model to complete the analyze, improve, and control phases of the Six Sigma project. More specifically, students can use the simulation model to test incremental changes to the current process as well as test more radical changes to the process such as the high-touch, low-cost option proposed by EBO's new Senior VP of Operations.

In 1995, Hiroshi Okuda, president of Toyota Motor Corp., considers whether to push for a more aggressive launch of the Toyota Prius--an automobile that incorporates Toyota's new and technically advanced hybrid power train. This launch decision allows discussion of the importance of the Prius in Toyota's overall product strategy and explores issues ranging from market structure to competitive advantage and competitive dynamics.

Sante Fe Relocation Services was a premium provider of relocation services based in Hong Kong. Founded in 1980, the company had built a reputation as a reliable, high-quality packer and mover of household goods. By 2000, the company also offered a full range of relocation support services, including visa and immigration applications, home searching, and cultural and language training. Santa Fe relocated expatriates and their families between Asian countries and between Asia and other regions. The company had its own staff and assets in Asia and managed its international operations through a network of partners. In 2005, the chief operating officer faced three key challenges: differentiating and positioning the brand in a crowded and often price-driven market; incorporating an expanded service line under the original brand and gaining market recognition for those additional services; and managing the brand across the Asian region with an effective balance of standardization vs. local adaptation.

Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd., the most famous Chinese beer producer, was surpassed by Yanjing Beer in the mid-1990s due to an inefficient operations system and fierce competition from home and overseas competitors. From 1994 to 2002, Tsingtao Brewery took over 47 small and medium-size companies and regained its dominant position in the beer industry. However, the quick expansion incurred many problems--capital and managerial pool bottlenecks, cultural conflicts, multiple brands, low profitability, and the other ailments associated with being such a big company. In July 2001, general manager Zuoyi died suddenly of a heart attack and Jin Zhiguo succeeded Peng. Jin decided to transform the business strategy of Tsingtao Brewery from "growing large to become powerful" to "growing powerful to become large," which focused on post-acquisition integration.

The national manager for technical training at Mercedes-Benz USA is considering using streaming media and distance learning as a supplement to classroom-based education, but is concerned that this innovative and risky IT investment could have a negative affect on the company's quality reputation. He needs to evaluate the viability of the e-learning option, including selecting between two vendors, Microsoft and Real Networks.

For many decades, the automobile industry had played a major role in Canada's economy. A large portion of Canadian jobs depended on the auto industry, both directly and indirectly. However, by 2005, Canada faced serious globalization threats. Analysts were stating that in the future the number of automobile-related jobs in Canada would depend upon the international competitiveness of Canadian plants. To continue to increase wages would raise Canadian production costs so far above the levels in Mexico, China and other emerging nations, that the assemblers would shift production to low-cost jurisdictions. Meanwhile, the Big Three were losing market share to their non-union competitors, especially Toyota and Honda.

The account manager at the Business Development Bank of Canada reviews a loan request from the owner and president of Miami Car Care Center Inc. Miami Car Care is a six-bay, self-serve, coin operated carwash. The owner, a previous client of the bank, has requested a $1 million long-term loan to finance the opening of a second location in the city.

Cash Technology Limited is a Xiamen-based manufacturer of self-service banking machines, touchscreens and related software. The company was set to issue its initial public offering on the Singapore Exchange. The proceeds from the IPO would help the mid-sized, entrepreneurial and private company secure its position in the burgeoning Chinese market for automated teller machines and related equipment. With six weeks left before the IPO, the chief executive officer and chief financial officer attempted to value their company by various methods and assess the reasonableness of the offering price proposed by the IPO manager. The case challenges students to examine the attractiveness and value of a business from the perspective of the issuer and potential investors, and can also provide the opportunity for students to develop a strategy for communicating with institutional investors.

Examines the corporate strategy of German energy giant E.ON. The firm is vertically integrated, horizontally diversified across electricity and natural gas, and active in numerous countries in Europe as well as in the United States. Explores the costs and benefits of the company's choices about its vertical, horizontal, and geographical scope. Considers the risks of economic regulation, increasing concerns about environmental externalities from carbon emissions and nuclear power, and political and price risks in upstream markets for fossil fuels.

Examines one of the most important entrepreneurial decisions made in the history of Porsche, made in early 1998: to build a sport utility vehicle (SUV)--the Cayenne. After decades of relying on one or two sports car models and nearly going bankrupt and losing its independence in 1993, Porsche had to diversify its product lines. Also examines the branding implications of the internationalization of production.

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When a senior audit partner at a well-established Washington-based audit firm discovers that one of his employees has disseminated inaccurate information, the partner must figure out the reason--lack of communication, racial tension, or misguided management are all possibilities--and subsequently decide what course of action to take. See also the B case (UV1345).