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Raises the dilemmas of making strategic decisions within an organizational construct. The divestment of a division of the company raises not only strategic issues but organizational and interpersonal ones as well. The decision is framed through the strategic planning process, and the case presents data in the form the general manager had available.

Provides a framework for the analysis of industry structure. Identifies the major structural features that influence the profit potential in industries and some illustrative implications of these for strategy formulation. Can be used as a reference note for business policy courses and/or as the background for a lecture on industry analysis.

A hypothetical case illustrates managerial problems in a firm that has lost strategic control of technology and its competitive edge by becoming insulated from technological realities and by allowing important technological decisions to be made by lower-level management or technical people. The company redefines its focus and prescribes remedies in terms of R&D project selection, competitive product position, strategic performance, and a more disciplined approach to monitoring the progress of R&D projects.

Describes the experience curve concept, details of its application, uses in competitive analysis, and a number of caveats and limitations.

Describes a method of competitive analysis used by the Boston Consulting Group to coordinate a portfolio of products at the corporate level. Construction and interpretation of product portfolio charts is an important aspect of the technique.

A complex formal planning process adopted by a multibillion-dollar, diversified corporation headquartered in Europe involved a three-cycle system. The first cycle involved corporate executives and division managers and served two purposes: 1) to develop a tentative set of agreements between corporate and division managers about overall strategy and goals, and 2) to provide for more detailed planning in the next cycle. The second cycle, involving functional managers, served a dual purpose: it allowed tentative agreements to be reached on action programs to be implemented over the next few years, and it expanded the strategic focus of the business. The third cycle dealt with resource allocation decisions and budgeting at the functional level.

Provides strategic analysis and recommendations.

Supplements the (A) case.

The profit impact of market strategies (PIMS) project is a study of 57 North American corporations representing 620 diverse businesses. The three factors in the PIMS profit model that substantially influence the return on investment (ROI) in a corporation are market share, investment intensity, and company factors. The market share of a corporation relates to its profitability; corporations with a large market share and a superior quality product average the highest return on investment. Investment intensity (the ratio of total investment to sales), also relates directly to profitability. A high ratio of investment to sales results in a low ROI. Company factors, such as size and diversity, also influence ROI.

Long-range planning often involves conflicts between creativity and practicality. It is important to maintain an equilibrium when making trade-offs between plans and budgets. Three questions influence this balance: how to link planning data and financial statements; how to integrate people responsible for planning and people responsible for budget; and how to determine the proper sequence of annual planning and budgeting cycles.

Discusses the technical, economic, and packaging trends in the metal container industry, and the impact of these trends on major companies within the industry. Shows the response of Crown Cork & Seal Co. to these trends. Based on Crown Cork & Seal Co. and Note on the Metal Container Industry by W.D. Guth and J.S. Garrison.

The evolution of Timex from its inception in the 1940s to its position as a leading multinational watch manufacturer in the early 1970s. Focuses on Timex's strategy for marketing, on a worldwide basis, and its line of inexpensive watches.

What happens when a management group turns its attention to strategic planning? Is such planning worth the unusual demands it places on management? Why does it perplex some executive teams that are otherwise effective in running their businesses? These related questions are explored. Synthesizes the experience of many organizations that have struggled with strategic planning.

The best strategy for a company is to create attitudes on the part of its competitors that will cause them to restrain their competition. This "persuasion" depends on emotional and intuitive factors rather than analysis or deduction. Three activities in which emotional and intuitive factors are paramount are negotiation, mutual self-restraint or cooperation, and the inhibition of aggressive competitors.

A method to arrange priorities ranks objectives from the broad to the specific. Good objectives are consistent with the overall design of the enterprise and are realistic in terms of internal and external constraints. Consideration of the creative conception of a range of alternatives and the realistic effectiveness and cost of each is important in setting meaningful objectives. A clarification of objectives results in better planning, a better choice of alternatives, improved management development, and increased organizational effectiveness and efficiency.

The experiences of a number of companies demonstrate appropriate and inappropriate corporate strategies. Six criteria provide a basis for determining whether a strategy is right for a company. These are: internal consistency, consistency with the environment, appropriateness in the light of available resources, satisfactory degree of risk, appropriate time horizon, and workability.