Group Assurance of Learning Exercise 2

Purpose

This exercise can improve your understanding of various strategies by giving you experience classifying strategies. This skill will help you use the strategy-formulation tools presented later. Consider the following 8 actual year-2009 strategies by various firms.

Step 1

1. Product Development - Product Development. "Product development is a strategy that seeks increased sales by improving or modifying present products or services" (David, 2011, p. 142).

2. Market Penetration -"A market penetration strategy seeks to increase market share for present products or services in present markets through greater marketing efforts" (David, 2011, p. 141).

3. Retrenchment - "Retrenchment occurs when an organization regroups through cost and asset reduction to reverse declining sales and profits" (David, 2011, p. 146).

4. Horizontal Integration - "Horizontal integration refers to a strategy of seeking ownership of or increased control over a firm's competitors"(David, 2011, p. 141).

5. Divestiture - "Selling a division or part of an organization is called divestiture. Divestiture often is used to raise capital for further strategic acquisitions or investments" (David, 2011, p. 148).

6. Liquidation - "Selling all of a company's assets, in parts, for their tangible worth is called liquidation" (David, 2011, p. 149).

7. Market Development - "Market development involves introducing present products or services into new geographic areas" (David, 2011, p. 142).

8. Divestiture - "Selling a division or part of an organization is called divestiture. Divestiture often is used to raise capital for further strategic acquisitions or investments" (David, 2011, p. 148).

Step 2

The type of strategy that best describes the 8 actions cited is Market Penetration. This type of strategy mainly focuses on increasing market share for present products or services in present markets through greater marketing efforts (David, 2011, p. 141). The 8 actions cited by the companies are all ultimately trying to increase their market share by taking actions to increase marketing efforts. Market penetration also includes increasing the number of salespersons, increasing advertising expenditures, offering extensive sales promotion items, or increasing publicity efforts (David, 2011, p. 141). Most of these actions by the companies are trying to do one of those things.

Assurance of Learning of Exercise 5F

My church is closely affiliated with MANNA Worldwide, which is a non-profit organization that helps feed over 8,000 children and their parents. We as -a church have sent out a missions group each year for the last 5 years to the country of Laos. Each trip has the opportunity to make a difference there, to help others feel and see the grace of God.

Bruce O'Neal started manna in 1991 while he and his wife were missionaries in the Philippines. On a daily basis they saw the need for more help, so that they could reach even more people to feed and clothe them. Upon returning to the states he decided