Audio files
These audio case studies have been recorded by Chris McKenna, Lecturer in Strategy at Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Through them we aim to offer new case studies in established fields, or a fresh take on an established case study. All case studies feature web links, should you wish to explore further, and references to relevant passages in Strategic Management by Colin White.
You can listen to the case studies through your PC or by downloading them to another device. To listen to the audio files through your PC use your mouse to left-click on the MP3 or WMA links below. To download the files, right-click and specify the destination to which you would like to save the file. mp3 files can be downloaded to your mp3 player or your iPod. Listening to these files through your computer may be easier with the wma files. For more help, click here.
- General Electric
Leveraging scale as core competence in the diverse operations of the world's largest corporation. - Grand Metropolitan & Virgin
The apparently disparate elements of large conglomerates are linked by strategic practise. - Disney
The example of Disney proves that, when it involves complementary industries, diversification can work - even if born of necessity. - Hewlett Packard
The relative experiences of HP and Xerox illustrate the importance of long term strategic planning. - DuPont
The case of DuPont supports Alfred Chandler's assertion that structure follows strategy. - Otis
Good strategic decision making often has a firm basis in simple logic. - WNYT
Good strategy can sometimes appear counter-intuitive; it is not necessarily rooted in economic efficiency. - Apple
A collaborative research project between Apple, IBM and Motorola shows the importance of game theory in strategic thinking. - VW & Rolls Royce
A lesson in how game theory can inform corporate strategy and save a lot of money. - Honda
The success of Honda motorcycles was not a result of brilliant strategy, but a chance discovery of a market niche. - Rope-a-dope
Mohammad Ali: an exponent of emergent or planned strategy? - More.com
Certain Internet start-ups collapsed because they believed they could turn good strategy on its head.
General Electric
5:48
mins
mp3 (3.12MB) / wma
(1.35MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- General Electric's company strategy is thoroughly explained
in Chapter 16, Formulating Strategy. See Case Study Scenario, p. 569 and Case
Study 1, pp. 599-605.
- Core competencies are discussed in Chapter 7, Analysing
resources, capabilities and core competencies. See pp. 243-65.
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- The importance of scale as a core competence is covered in Chapter 1, Industrial Organization Economics. See pp. 19-21 & pp. 26-8.
- General Electric's efforts to leverage scale are discussed in Chapter 11, Leadership Perspective. See pp. 236-7.
Lasserre, Global Strategic Management
- General Electric's alliance with SNECMA in order to produce jet engines for the civilian market is covered in Chapter 4, Global strategic alliances. See pp. 102-4, pp. 113-4 and Fig. 4.9, p. 115.
Useful Web Links
General Electric: www.ge.com/en/
GE Capital: www.gecapital.com
GE Transportation - Aircraft Engines: www.geae.com
GE Energy: www.gepower.com/home
GE Industrial Systems: www.geindustrial.com
Grand Metropolitan & Virgin
5:05
mins
mp3 (2.97MB) /
wma (1.18MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- The Virgin brand is explored in an in-depth case study in
Part V. See pp. 773-7.
Richard Branson and Virgin are covered in Chapter 10,
Differentiating the product. See Strategy in Action, pp. 359-60 and Focus on
Practice, pp. 362-3
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- The diversified growth of Virgin is touched on briefly in Chapter 6, Transaction Costs and the Economics of Institutions. See p. 128.
Lasserre, Global Strategic Management
- Companies' value propositions in terms of strategic global positioning are discussed in Chapter 2, Designing a Global Strategy. See pp. 43-52.
See also Chapter 3, Designing a Global Organisation, pp. 67-95.
Pettinger, Contemporary Strategic Management
- Contemporary Insight 2.14, 'The Strategic Base of the Virgin Organisation', lists those points taken into account when Virgin considers new ventures. See p. 46.
- Richard Branson describes the problems associated with stretching the Virgin brand in Contemporary Insight 8.5, 'Richard Branson and the Virgin Brand'. See pp. 189-90. Branson's high risk strategies are discussed in Contemporary Insight 13.1, '"The greater the risk, the greater the reward" myth'. See pp. 292-3.
Useful Web Links
Grand Metropolitan's merger with Diageo: www.ukbusinesspark.co.uk/grn88548.htm
Diageo: www.diageo.com
Hanson: www.hansonplc.com
Virgin: www.virgin.com
Disney
4:15
mins
mp3 (2.49MB) / wma
(0.99MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- Diversification is explored in Chapter 11, Determining the
size of an enterprise. See p. 391. Diversification and risk is covered in
Chapter 14, Managing Risk. See pp. 516-7.
- The establishment of Disneyland, Disney World and Euro
Disney is covered in Chapter 15, Participating in the global economy. See pp.
545-7. This subject is also treated in an expanded Case Study in Part V. See pp.
743-7.
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- Veronique Ambrosini discusses diversification in Chapter 7, Resource-based view of the firm. See pp. 145-6.
Useful Web Links
Disney: www.disney.go.com
Disney online: www.disneyinternational.com
Walt Disney World: www.disneyworld.disney.go.com
Tokyo
Disney: www.tokyodisney.com
Disney Store Online: www.disney.store.go.com
Hewlett Packard
4:01
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mp3 (2.13MB) / wma (964KB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- The Hewlett-Packard/Compaq merger is detailed in an
in-depth case study in Part V. See pp. 722-8.
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- Chapter 4, Business History Perspective, outlines various long term strategies employed by UK companies.
Lasserre, Global Strategic Management
- Hewlett Packard's Global R&D projects are discussed and illustrated in Chapter 10, Global Innovation. See pp. 270-1.
Pettinger,
Contemporary Strategic Management
- The importance of timescales in strategic thinking is outlined in Chapter
2, Strategic Thinking. See pp. 44-5.
Useful Web Links
Hewlett-Packard: www.hp.com
HP Labs - advanced research at Hewlett-Packard: www.hpl.hp.com
Xerox: www.xerox.com
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center: www.parc.com
DuPont
4:23
mins
mp3 (2.57MB) / wma
(1.02MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- The assertion that strategy determines organizational
structure is discussed in Chapter 12, Integrating the strategists. See Strategy
and organizational design, pp. 431-41.
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- DuPont and the multidivisional structure (M-form) is discussed in Chapter 4, Business History Perspective. See pp. 63-4 and 74.
The Chandler thesis is explored in the same chapter. See pp. 62-6. Chandler's views are briefly summarised on p. 77.
Lasserre, Global Strategic Management
- See Chapter 3, Designing a Global Organisation, pp. 67-95.
Pettinger,
Contemporary Strategic Management
- See Chapter 12, Strategic Management and Organisation Structure, pp. 263-90.
Useful Web Links
DuPont: www.dupont.com
General Motors: www.gm.com
Alfred Chandler: www.caslon.com.au/biographies/chandler.htm
Otis
6:28
mins
mp3 (3.79MB) / wma
(1.51MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- Rational decision making is outlined in Chapter 4, Reading
an uncertain future. See pp. 116-9.
- Barriers to entry are explained in Chapter 6, Reading the
competitive environment. See pp. 207-9.
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- The practical application of theory is covered in Chapter 13, Can Multiple Perspectives on Strategic Management Inform Practice?, pp. 264-6.
Lasserre, Global Strategic Management
- The expansion of Otis into Europe is explained in Chapter 1, The Process of Globalisation. See pp. 10-12.
See also Chapter 6, Assessing Countries' Attractiveness, pp. 156-85 and Chapter 7, Entry strategies, pp. 187-215.
Pettinger,
Contemporary Strategic Management
- Chapter 2, Strategic Thinking, emphasizes the depth of knowledge and understanding required in strategic thinking - yet the defined, disciplined approach advocated in this chapter also reveals how simple, almost stepwise, logic can be used. See pp. 23-50.
Useful Web Links
Otis: www.otis.com
WNYT
Good strategy can sometimes appear counter-intuitive; it is not necessarily
rooted in economic efficiency.
3:58
mins
mp3 (2.32MB) / wma
(950KB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- The multi-divisional model is discussed in Chapter 12,
Integrating the strategists. See Strategy and organizational design, pp. 431-41.
- Michael Porter's role in applying the academic framework of
economics to strategic thinking is introduced in Chapter 1, Introducing strategy
and strategy making. See pp. 11-12. His five forces are outlined in Chapter 6,
Reading the competitive environment. See pp. 203-7.
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- The Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) Paradigm and Michael Porter's 5 Forces are covered in Chapter 1, Industrial Organization Economics. See pp. 29-31.
- DiMaggio and Powell's work on institutional isomorphism - including mimetic isomorphism - is detailed by Gerry Johnston & Royston Greenwood in Chapter 3, Institutional Theory Perspective. See pp. 48-9.
Lasserre, Global Strategic Management
- Industry, competitive structure and Michael Porter's five forces are covered in Chapter 6, Assessing Countries' Attractiveness. See pp. 168-9.
Pettinger,
Contemporary Strategic Management
- Michael Porter's work is discussed in Chapter 5, The Foundations of Competitive Strategy. See pp. 100-102.
Useful Web Links
WNYT: www.wnyt.com
Michael Porter: www.fastcompany.com/online/44/porter.html
Alfred Chandler: www.caslon.com.au/biographies/chandler.htm
Apple
6:06
mins
mp3 (3.52MB)
/ wma (1.42MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- Game theory is outlined and described in Chapter 13, When
to compete and when to cooperate. See pp. 467-71.
IBM, Intel and the manufacture of silicon chips is
discussed in Chapter 4, Reading an Uncertain Future. See Focus in Practice, pp.
124-5.
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- See Chapter 5, Game Theory and Strategy, pp. 91-112.
Pettinger,
Contemporary Strategic Management
- See Chapter 5, The Foundations of competitive strategy, pp. 98-123, especially 'Offensive and defensive strategies', pp. 113-5.
Useful Web Links
Apple: www.apple.com
Motorola: www.motorola.com
Motorola's Freescale Semiconductor: www.freescale.com
IBM: www.ibm.com
IBM Research: www.research.ibm.com
Intel's DDJ Microprocessor Centre: www.x86.org
Game theory websites:
cepa.newschool.edu
www.gametheory.net
plato.stanford.edu/entries/game-theory
VW & Rolls Royce
5:33
mins
mp3 (3.26MB) /
wma (1.30MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- Game theory is outlined and described in Chapter 13, When
to compete and when to cooperate. See pp. 467-71.
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- See Chapter 5, Game Theory and Strategy, pp. 91-112.
Pettinger,
Contemporary Strategic Management
- See Chapter 5, The Foundations of Competitive Strategy, pp. 98-123, especially p.101, where Rolls-Royce is discussed in Contemporary Insight 5.1, 'Top Brands'
Useful Web Links
VW: www.vw.com
BMW: www.bmw.com
Rolls Royce: www.rolls-royce.com
Bentley: www.bentleymotors.com
Game theory websites:
cepa.newschool.edu
www.gametheory.net
plato.stanford.edu/entries/game-theory
Honda
6:48
mins
mp3 (3.99MB) / wma
(1.59MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- Product differentiation in the motorcycle industry is
discussed in Chapter 10, Differentiating the product. See Strategy in Action,
pp. 353-4 and Focus on Practice, pp. 354-5.
Pettinger,
Contemporary Strategic Management
- See Chapter 6, Strategic Management in Practice, pp. 127-54, particularly 'Making strategic decisions and choices' pp. 129-30, and 'Critical success factors'. pp. 130-4.
Useful Web Links
More on the Honda Motorcycle case: www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/dick.rumelt/Docs/Papers/HONDA.pdf
Honda: www.honda.com
Honda Motorcycles: www.powersports.honda.com
Harvard
The Boston Consulting Group: www.bcg.com
Rope-a-dope
6:10
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mp3 (3.61MB) / wma
(1.44MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
White, Strategic Management
- Henry Mintzberg's strategic programming is covered in
Chapter 2, Thinking and acting strategically. See pp. 56-7.
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- Rationality and game theory are explored in Chapter 5, Game Theory and Strategy. See 'Culture: game theory and human behaviour', pp. 102-3.
Pettinger,
Contemporary Strategic Management
- See Chapter 2, Strategic Thinking, pp. 23-50.
See also 'Making strategic decisions and choices', pp. 129-30.
Useful Web Links
The Rumble in the Jungle: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/specials/ali_at_60/1729812.stm
When we were kings: www.filmeducation.org/secondary/Kingsbios.html
Henry Mintzberg: www.henrymintzberg.com
More.com
4:17
mins
mp3 (2.51MB) / wma
(1MB)
Tie-ins to Palgrave Textbooks
Ambrosini
& Jenkins, Strategic Management
- The importance and successes of strategic management in business history are outlined in Chapter 5, Business History Perspective. See pp. 62-84.
Lasserre, Global Strategic Management
- See Chapter 14, Globalisation and the Internet, pp. 381-95.
Pettinger,
Contemporary Strategic Management
- Chapter 2, Strategic Thinking, includes Contemporary Insight 2.2: The dot.com Revolution, which stresses the timelessness of good strategic thinking in any business environment. See p. 30.
Useful Web Links
More.com - now a magazine homepage: www.more.com
Gillette - still going strong: www.gillette.com
