Business Policy & Strategy

Thinkpiece #3

Please number all of your answers.

Please support your answers with evidence from the cases and associated readings. All of these questions ask your opinion about the cases. In order to answer the questions you will need to understand and use the course concepts correctly.

1. Both Countrywide/the mortgage industry and the private prison industry have had and continue to have a big impact on American society.
   1. What are the main effects on society of private prisons?
   1. What are the main effects on society of the practices by the mortgage industry, as described in the Countrywide case?
2. Benihana: Choose Rocky’s BEST option for expansion and make a strong argument.
3. Benihana: Choose Rocky’s WORST option for expansion and make a strong argument.

For both questions above, make sure you include at least a—d below. Use the appropriate concepts from the textbook, and support your answers thoroughly with evidence from the case.

1. What kind of diversification is this option?
   1. How risky is this opportunity?
   1. If this opportunity includes expansion outside of the US, what is the best entry strategy to use?
   1. How well does this align with Benihana’s core competency? (Note: in order to answer this question, you will also need to explain what you think Benihana’s core competency is.)
2. Look back at all the cases we have studied this semester. Which one company do you think is the best overall at choosing and implementing its strategy? Why? Support your answer with at least three reasons; each reason should use a different concept from the class. (And no, you do not need to compare this company to all the other cases for this question!)