Business Communication - McGraw-Hill Books

Management• With the Business Strategy Game, teams of students run an athleticfootwear company in head-to-head competition against companies runby other class members. Company co-managers must make decisionsrelating to plant operations, distribution and warehouse operations,work force compensation, online sales at the company’s web site,sales and marketing, and finance. The challenge is to craft and executea competitive strategy that results in a respected brand image, keepsyour company in contention for global market leadership, and producesgood financial performance as measured by earnings per share, returnon investment, stock price appreciation, and credit rating. With GLO-BUS, teams of students run a digital camera company in head-to-headcompetition against companies run by other class members. Companyoperations parallel those of actual digital camera companies. Just as inthe real-world, companies compete with a product line that consistsof both entry-level and upscale, “multi-featured” digital cameras thatare sold worldwide.• Available via Premium Content in the OLC only, Case TUTORprovides direction to students on analyzing cases. It includes a set ofdownloadable files containing assignment questions for all 33 cases inthe text, plus analytically-structured “case preparation exercises” for11 of the cases that prompt them to do the strategic thinking needed toarrive at solid answers to the assignment questions for that case. Doinga conscientious job of completing the case exercise for an assignedcase helps students gain quicker command of and correctly apply theconcepts and analytical techniques, thus giving them a big assist indoing good strategic analysis and coming up with pragmatic actionrecommendations. The 11 cases for which there is a case preparationexercise are indicated by the Case-TUTOR logo in the case listing sectionof the Table of Contents (the Case-TUTOR logo also appears onthe first page of cases for which there is an exercise).• The fundamental character that has driven the text’s success over theyears is evident throughout the 15th. The chapter content continues tobe solidly mainstream and balanced, mirroring both the best academicthinking and the pragmatism of real-world strategic management.• The 13 chapters in this edition are arranged in the same order as theprior edition and cover essentially the same topics. But every chapterhas been given a refreshing facelift that includes the latest thinking andevidence from the literature, more refined presentations, and a greaternumber of current examples.• The comprehensive package of support materials is a breeze to use,highly effective, and flexible enough to fit most any course design.• Margin notes highlighting basic concepts, strategic managementprinciples, and kernels of wisdom help students by reinforcing keypoints in the text.• Extensive use of examples and Illustration Capsules, which accuratelyportray today’s business world and link theory to practice.CONTENTSPart I: Concepts and Techniques for Crafting and Executing StrategySection A: Introduction and Overview Chapter 1: What Is Strategy andWhy Is It Important? Chapter 2: The Managerial Process of Craftingand Executing Strategy Section B: Core Concepts and Analytical ToolsChapter 3: Evaluating a Company’s External Environment Chapter 4:Evaluating a Company’s Resources and Competitive Position SectionC: Crafting a Strategy Chapter 5: Five Generic Competitive Strategies--WhichOne to Employ? Chapter 6: Supplementing the ChosenStrategy: Other Important Strategy Choices Chapter 7: Competing inForeign Markets Chapter 8: Tailoring Strategy to Fit Specific Industryand Company Situations Chapter 9: Diversification: Strategies for Managinga Group of Businesses Chapter 10: Strategy, Ethics, and SocialResponsibility Section D: Executing the Strategy Chapter 11: BuildingBuilding an Organization Capable of Good Strategy Execution Chapter12: Managing Internal Operations: Actions That Promote Better StrategyExecution Chapter 13: Corporate Culture and Leadership: Keysto Good Strategy Execution / Cases / Section A: Crafting Strategy inSingle-Business Companies 1. Whole Foods Market in 2006: Mission,Values, Strategy 2. Oliver’s Market 3. JetBlue Airways: Can It Survivein a Turbulent Industry? 4. Competition in the Golf Equipment Industry5. Dell, Inc. in 2006: Can Rivals Beat Its Strategy? 6. Competition inthe MP3 Player Industry in 2005 7. Apple Computer 8. Netflix versusBlockbuster versus Video-on-Demand 9. easyCar.com 10. SmithfieldFoods’ Vertical Integration Strategy: Harmful to the Environment? 11.Zoe’s Kitchen 12. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in 2006: Is A TurnaroundPossible? 13. Kodak at the Crossroads: Making the Transition from Film-Based to Digital Technology 14. Adam Aircraft 15. KRCB Televisionand Radio: The Canary In The Coal Mine? 16. Western States Insurance17. Ebay 18. Google in 2006: Can the Strategy Support the Lofty StockPrice? 19. Copperfield Books 20. Harley Davidson Section B: CraftingStrategy in Diversified Companies 21. Adidas-Salomon 22. Procter &Gamble’s Acquisition of Gillette Section C: Executing Strategy andStrategic Leadership 23. Robin Hood 24. Dilemma at Devil’s Den 25.Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in 2006—Sustaining Growth and Combating Critics26. Outback Steakhouse: The Quest for Excellence in Casual Dining27. Moses at the Red Sea 28. Implementing Strategic Change: MonicaAshley’s Experience 29. Starbucks Global Quest in 2006: Is the BestYet to Come 30. TDC-Sunrise Section D: Strategy, Ethics, and SocialResponsibility 31. Merck and the Recall of Vioxx 32. Kimpton Hotels:Balancing Strategy and Environmental Sustainability 33. Monsanto andthe Genetic Engineering of Agricultural SeedsInternational EditionNEWCRAFTING AND EXECUTING STRATEGYText and Readings, 15th EditionBy Arthur A Thompson and AJ Strickland III, University of Alabama- Tuscaloosaes and John E Gamble, University of South Alabama- Mobile2007 (June 2006) / 640 pagesISBN-13: 978-0-07-313721-6 / MHID: 0-07-313721-9ISBN-13: 978-0-07-326980-1 / MHID: 0-07-326980-8(with OLC with Premium Content Card)ISBN-13: 978-0-07-110951-2 / MHID: 0-07-110951-X[IE with OLC Premium Content Card]Website: http://www.mhhe.com/thompsonThompson, Strickland and Gamble’s, CRAFTING AND EXECUT-ING STRATEGY, 15e presents the latest research findings fromthe literature and cutting-edge strategic practices of companieshave been incorporated to keep step with both theory and practice.Scores of new examples have been added to complementthe new and updated Illustration Capsules. More chapter-endexercises have been included. The result is a text treatment withmore punch, greater clarity, and improved classroom effectiveness.But none of the changes have altered the fundamentalcharacter that has driven the text’s success over the years.The chapter content continues to be solidly mainstream andbalanced, mirroring both the best academic thinking and thepragmatism of real-world strategic management. This paperbackversion of the text does not contain any cases, but it does include21 readings from noted business writers that support theconcepts in the main text portion. Instructors who would liketo create their own case packets to go with this book should goto www.mhhe.com/primis to make their selections.NEW TO THIS EDITION• Up-to-date coverage of the continuing march of industries and companiesto wider globalization, the growing scope and strategic importanceof collaborative alliances, the spread of high-velocity change to moreindustries and company environments, and how online technology isdriving fundamental changes in both strategy and internal operationsin companies across the world.• The resource-based view of the firm is prominently and comprehensivelyintegrated into the coverage of crafting both single-businessand multi-business strategies. Chapters 3 through 9 emphasize that acompany’s strategy must be matched both to its external market circumstancesand to its internal resources and competitive capabilities. Then,chapters 11, 12, and 13 on various aspects of executing strategy havea strong resource-based perspective that makes it unequivocally clearhow and why the tasks of assembling intellectual capital and buildingcore competencies and competitive capabilities are absolutely critical110HED 2007 Management.indd 11010/5/2006 1:24:29 PM