Addis Ababa University

College of Business and Economics

School of Commerce
Business Strategy and Policy (MHRM 612-1)
Tutor Marked Assignment II
1. What is the difference between cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy? Is it
possible for a company or business unit to follow a cost leadership strategy and a
differentiation strategy simultaneously? Why or why not? /4 marks/
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a first mover in an industry? Give
some examples of first mover and late mover firms in Ethiopia. Were they successful? /4
marks/
3. What are the differences and the similarities between corporate parenting and portfolio
analysis? Discuss corporate parenting with local example? Describe in detail the General
Electrics Business Screen Approach of portfolio analysis. /7 marks/
4. What skills should a person have for managing a business unit following a differentiation
strategy? Why? What should a company do if no one is available internally and the
company has a policy of promotion from within? When should someone from outside a
company be hired to manage the company or one of its business units? /5 marks/
5. Controls are established to focus on output, behavior, or input. Discuss with example
behavior control, output control, and input control. Moreover, in the strategy evaluation
and control process, each stakeholder has its own set of criteria to determine how well the
corporation is performing. These criteria typically deal with the direct and indirect
impacts of corporate activities on stakeholder interests. Customers, suppliers, financial
community, employees, customer advocates, and environmentalists are among the
common stakeholders of a company. Mention at least one stakeholder measure for each
stakeholder category and substantiate your list with example. /5 marks/