Haberberg and Rieple: Strategic Management 
Multiple choice questions
Answers to case study questionsHaberberg and Rieple: Strategic Management
Chapter 05
Go to http://www.investopedia.com/articles/03/012703.asp and http://www.cr1.dircon.co.uk/TB/3/Econsofscale.htm for overviews of the concept of economies of scale. Go to http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1908/model.t.html and http://www.modelt.ca/background-fs.html for an historical survey of the Model T Ford, how Henry Ford relentlessly pursued scale, and how it eventually lost popularity.
For access to the writings of Andrew Campbell and his colleagues Michael Goold and Marcus Alexander on corporate parenting, diversification and acquisitions see: http://www.ashridge.org.uk/Website/IC.nsf/SearchView/
A concise summary of the issues to do with diversification, along with a fun list of some of the terms used in M&As, can be found at: http://www.mgmtguru.com/mgt499/TN8.htm#top. See also http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/management/diversification.php for a short, thoughtful article on the perils of diversification.
Another interesting article on the reinvention of conglomerates is to be found at: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/2971.html
The Walt Disney Company website (http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/overview.html) is an interesting example of how a major corporation explains the links between the different elements of its portfolio. For a different approach, see how the Citizen Watch Company explains its corporate strategy at: http://www.citizen.co.jp/english/corporate/idea.html and http://www.citizen.co.jp/english/corporate/task.html
For some more information on Sumner Redstone’s breaking up of Viacom see: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a58sB37XqkSk&refer=top_world_news
For a counter view on whether Time Warner should have been similarly broken up see: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2006/tc20060101_234594.htm
For some more information on Sony’s recent organizational restructuring see: http://news.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/0,39029672,39192299,00.htm, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article569410.ece, http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=Sony+Computer+Entertainment%2C+Inc.&id=070607010160&ct=0&nclick_check=1, and http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gQlP3HNqwGAU1pOTx_IMqsaW2U4gD8TF9HU83
An article on Sony’s attempts to make headway in a networked world can be found at: http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=sony+battles+networked&aje=false&id=050126006959&ct=0
The “Wired” article on the digital distribution of ‘long tail’ products can be found at: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail_pr.html
The Long Tail (http://www.thelongtail.com/) is Chris Anderson’s blog about the concept of the long tail and its applicability across a wide range of business situations. Frequently updated, it contains some articulate observations about contemporary business, which should interest even people who are not completely convinced by Anderson’s theory.
For more information on ebay and the ebay / Skype acquisition see: http://pages.ebay.com/aboutebay/thecompany/executiveteam.html#Omidyar, http://investor.ebay.com/, www.ebay.com, and http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/technology/02ebay.html, and for some less than complimentary opinions on the acquisition see: http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/10/02/ebay-lowers-reserve-on-skype/
The end-of-chapter case study also refers to PayPal, and Kijiji.
Other diversified companies mentioned in the chapter include the Virgin Group, Nouvelles Frontières, and Gillette.
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