Critical Thinking : Corporate Strategy and Diversification

Corporate diversification strategies raise a wide range of strategic management issues. For this week’s critical thinking assignment, read the case study found in your textbook: Case 16: Manchester City: Building a Multinational Soccer Enterprise, p.554 (in the textbook).

Remember, a case study is a puzzle to be solved, so before reading and answering the specific case and study questions, develop your proposed solution by following these five steps:

1. Read the case study to identify the key issues and underlying issues. These issues are the principles and concepts of the course module, which apply to the situation described in the case study.
2. Record the facts from the case study which are relevant to the principles and concepts of the module. The case may have extraneous information not relevant to the current module. Your ability to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information is an important aspect of case analysis, as it will inform the focus of your answers.
3. Describe in some detail the actions that would address or correct the situation.
4. Consider how you would support your solution with examples from experience or current real-life examples or cases from textbooks.
5. Complete this initial analysis and then read the discussion questions. Typically, you will already have the answers to the questions but with a broader consideration. At this point, you can add the details and/or analytical tools required to solve the case.

Case Study Questions:

1. Under what circumstances can a company extend its competitive advantage from its home market to an overseas market? Issues concerning the transferability and replicability of the firm’s competitive advantage are critical here.
2. What are the distinctive features of City Football’s strategy? What mode of foreign market entry should City Football adopt? Why? Again, issues of resources and capabilities and the need for local market knowledge, distribution, and political and business connections become critical here.
3. What criteria can companies apply in deciding what new diversification to pursue and which should City Football apply in deciding?
4. What changes in the financial structure, organizational structure and management systems would you recommend?