1. ASHFORD BUS 402 Entire Course
(DQ's, Critical Thinking Quiz, Assignment, and
Final)
PLEASE DOWNLOAD HERE
BUS402 Strategic Management & Business Policy Tutorial
Course Text:
Marcus, A.A. (2011). Management Strategy: Achieving Sustained Competitive
Advantage (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. ISBN: 9780078137129,
bundled with case: Starbucks’ Global Quest 2006: Is the Best Yet to Come?
Week One
Required Readings
Chapter 1: Strategy Basics
Chapter 2: External Analysis
Chapter 3: Internal Analysis
Discussions
Week 1 - DQ1 - Environmental Changes- BUS402 Strategic Management &
Business Policy
Provide an example of an industry or company that has changed its strategy over
time as environmental factors such as technology, competition, and consumer
preferences have changed. Explain the changes in environment and in the
industry’s or company’s evolving strategy.
Week 2 - DQ2 - Vision and Mission - BUS402 Strategic Management & Business
Policy
Share the vision and mission statement of your firm (or one with which you are
familiar). How is that vision and mission statement communicated to employees
and the public? What is the role of the vision and mission statement in driving the
activities of the firm? If there is no vision and/or mission statement, discuss
possible reasons why it is not clear.
Week Two
Required Readings

2. Chapter 4: Timing and Positioning
Chapter 5: Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestures
Discussions
Week 2 - DQ1 - Components of External Environment - BUS402 Strategic
Management & Business Policy
What are the two most relevant externalities from Exhibit 2.6 for a firm with which
you are familiar? Have these externalities made the industry in which the firm
operates more, or less, attractive to you as consumer? Explain your rationale.
Week 2 - DQ2 - Components of Internal Analysis - BUS402 Strategic
Management & Business Policy
Using “The Seven-S Framework” from pages 58-59 to examine a firm with which
you are familiar and address how the firm stacks up in respect to the “qualities of
excellence” list on page 59. Does alignment with this list help explain why the firm
is currently successful or unsuccessful (use any metric you think is appropriate to
judge success)?
Assignments
Week 2 - Assignments - S.W.O.T. Analysis - BUS402 Strategic Management &
Business Policy
Watch the video, How to Perform a S.W.O.T. Analysis, and then conduct an
S.W.O.T. analysis using the Starbucks’ Global Quest 2006: Is the Best Yet to
Come? case provided in the Course Materials section of your course shell. The
analysis should address the components of the organization’s environment
(internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats),
alternatives to consider, and your assessment of the quality of the decision made
by the company and/or your recommendation(s) for improvement. (NOTE: This
will become part of your final paper.) Your paper must be four to five pages in
length, incorporate at least two resources from the University’s Online Library
collection, and be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved
APA style guide.
Week Three
Required Readings
Chapter 6: Globalization
Chapter 7: Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Discussions

3. Week 3 - DQ1 - Market Positioning Strategies - BUS402 Strategic Management &
Business Policy
Chapter 4 addresses timing and positioning (or market niche) strategies. Using
Exhibits 4.8 and 4.9 to assess a firm of your choice. What generic strategy is this
firm employing? Are they using a combination approach? What are the
advantages/disadvantages of consciously using a generic strategy? Explain your
position.
Week 3 - DQ2 - Vertical Integration - BUS402 Strategic Management & Business
Policy
Is your company vertically integrated? If so, is it fully, or partially, integrated? If
not, would such a move yield potentially high competitive rewards? Explain your
rationale. You can also use a past firm or one with which you are familiar.
Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ posts.
Quiz
Critical Thinking Quiz. This quiz consists of 25 multiple choice questions.
Week Four
Required Readings
Chapter 8: Continuous Reinvention
Chapter 9: Implementation
Discussions
Week 4 - DQ1 - International Markets - BUS402 Strategic Management &
Business Policy
What issues are likely to arise in a developing country when a global giant like
Coca-Cola begins operations there? What kinds of advantages does such an
expansion bring to the globalizing organization? Support your thoughts with
research. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ posts.
Week 4 - DQ2 - Multi-business Corporations - BUS402 Strategic Management &
Business Policy
Consider how a large diversified organization sets strategy. PepsiCo, for
example, has beverages (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Aquafina,
Dole,
and tea and coffee through partnerships with Lipton and Starbucks) and food
companies (Frito Lay, Quaker, Sabritas, Gamesa, and Latin Americas Foods). Do

4. you think all the business units should have the same strategy, or should they be
independent and set their own strategies? Explain.
Assignments - Not included in this tutorial at this time!
Program Comprehensive Exam. Complete the comprehensive exam, which will
take approximately two hours and will be graded based on your score.
Week Five
Required Readings
Husted, B., & Allen, D. (2007). Corporate social strategy in multinational
enterprises: Antecedents and value creation. Journal of Business Ethics, 74(4),
345-361. Retrieved from ProQuest Database.
This article is a study of corporate social responsibility (C.S.R.) as it is specifically
applied to multinational firms, emphasizing the need for C.S.R. to be strategic in
order to create value.
Dwyer, R.J. (2009). "Keen to be green" organizations: A focused rules approach
to accountability. Management Decision, 47(7), 1200-1216. Retrieved from
ProQuest Database.
This article discusses a practical approach to businesses that incorporate green
initiatives into their strategies.
Discussions
Week 5 - DQ1 - Corporate Social Responsibility - BUS402 Strategic Management
& Business Policy
Think of companies that are concerned not only with the bottom line, but also with
being good corporate citizens. Share examples and the reasons why you think
these companies practice social responsibility.
Assignments
Week 5 - Assignments - Final Case Study and Strategic Plan - BUS402 Strategic
Management & Business Policy
Final Project
The final assignment for this course is a Final Case Study and Strategic Plan.
The purpose of the Final Project is for you to culminate the learning achieved in
the course by describing your understanding and application of knowledge in the
field of Strategic Management & Business Policy through the analysis of a mini
case. The Final Project represents 30% of the overall course grade.

5. Focus of the Final Paper
Read the Starbucks’ Global Quest 2006: Is the Best Yet to Come? case provided
in the Course Materials section of your course shell. From the perspective of an
executive with the firm, prepare a ten- to twelve- page, three-year strategic
management proposal to Starbuck’s managing board of directors. Your proposal
must be future-oriented and include an economic assessment, marketing
assessment plan, a financial plan, an organizational structure recommendation,
and supporting rationale. Use non-course materials to support your contentions
and incorporate pro-rata financial statements and supporting documentation. Use
APA style and submit your proposal to the instructor by the last day of class.