PART A
COMPANY: IKEA
Choosing a strategic direction that will set your organization apart from competitors in a way that enables you to stand out from everyone else. Jack refers to this as “changing the game.” Sherman refers to it as “breaking away from the pack” (Chapter 11).
- Using the company (IKEA) you selected for your course project, identify a potential game-changing move that you believe will create a sustainable competitive advantage. This potential move should represent a possible new move the company should consider for creating even more competitive differentiation.
- Briefly summarize how the move will fundamentally shift the playing field to the company’s advantage and beat the competition.
- Explain which of the four positioning categories described by Sherman (Breakaway, Reverse Positioning, Blue Ocean or Disruptive Innovation) best describes the move, and why.
PART B
Six Deadly Sins of M&A
- Review Jack Welch’s article “The Six Deadly Sins of Mergers and Acquisitions”
- Locate and post a link to an article published in the last 5 years in the The Wall Street Journal, or another reputable source, about a merger that did not go as planned.
- Which of these “sins” were committed, what issues arose as a result, and what behaviors could the organization have employed to prevent these errors?
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