ACTIVITY 3
MR609 Capstone: Strategic Management and HRM
Lesson 3: Strategy Formulation
Activity 3: Differentiation vs. Cost Leadership
Your task is to identify two (2) companies pursuing two (2) fundamentally different strategies:
one, differentiation and the other, cost leadership. The companies need not be in the same
industry, but both must be publicly traded and based in the U.S. You must cite all resources used
and include an APA-formatted bibliography. (100 points) (A 4-page response is required.)
Part A Answer the following questions.
1. Explain why each firm has opted for its chosen strategy. Specifically, you should
highlight the exogenous and endogenous factors that might have contributed to
their choice. For example, is cost leadership the only feasible strategy in the
industry in which your firm operates? If so, explain and discuss why
differentiation is non-implementable? If not, discuss why the company chose this
strategy over the other. If they chose the differentiation strategy, discuss the same
aspects above to include what valuable, rare, inimitable resources the company
holds that allows it to successfully implement differentiation.
2. If the fundamental strategies of the companies you have chosen have changed in
the recent past, you should explain the drivers of the change. For example, has
there been a change in leadership or in consumer taste?
Part B Discuss the impact on performance of each company’s chosen strategy. Have these
companies been successful relative to their competitors? Why or why not? If so,
how? Please be sure to clearly identify a direct link between the company’s strategy
and its economic outcome.
Grading Rubric
Please refer to the rubric on the following page for the grading criteria for this assignment.
