Please read Fitbit, Inc.: Has The Company Outgrown Its Strategy?
Answer the questions below to complete Mini-Case #1.
Assignment Questions
1. What is competition like in the activity tracking industry? How strong is the competitive strength of buyers?and suppliers? New entrants and substitute products? Rivalry among competing sellers? Prepare a Five Forces Model of Competition to support your conclusions.
2. How would you best describe Fitbit’s competitive strategy?
3. Perform a SWOT analysis for Fitbit. What are the company’s primary strengths and weaknesses? What external opportunities and threats exist?
4. Analyze the company’s financial performance. Do trends suggest that its strategy is working?
5. What recommendations would you make to Fitbit management to address the most important strategic issues facing the company?
SECOND MINI CASE
Please read Tesla Motors in 2016: Will Its Strategy Be Defeated by Low Gasoline Prices and Mounting Competition?
Answer the questions below to complete Mini-Case #2.
Assignment Questions
1. What are the key elements of Tesla Motors’ strategy?
2. Which one of the five generic competitive strategies discussed in Chapter 5 most closely approximates the competitive approach that Tesla is employing?
3. Are you impressed by the strategy Elon Musk has crafted for Tesla? Why or why not?
4. What is your assessment of Tesla’s financial performance as shown in case Exhibit 2? Use the financial ratio information in Table 4.1 of Chapter 4 to assist you in calculating a revealing set of financial ratios and interpreting them.