MGT599 - 2016 Oil and Gas Trends

MGT599

Please respond to the following in 200 words per question:

• Read the article titled “2016 Oil and Gas Trends”,located at http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/trends/2016-oil-and-gas-trends. Next, argue for or against this statement: Acompany should determine its goals and values before performing an industry analysis”. Explain your reasoning– you may use examples from other industries as well to support your response.
• Examine the main different types of values that a company could seek to maximize. Give your opinion as to whether or not a company should maximize its profits or social good, when these two (2) are in conflict. Provide a rationale and / or a real-world example to support your response.
• Read the article titled “Game Theory” at http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/GameTheory.html. In the article, the authors discussed a classic case of game theory (zero-sum games) of the Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD). There are many variations of this game in use. Suggest the manner in which organizations could apply PD to their business’ strategy formulation. Provide support for your response.
• Refer to “Case 11 Ford and the World Automobile Industry in 2015” located in the “Excess Capacity” section, page 542 in your textbook, or use the Internet to research two to three (2-3) articles on the North American automobile and its market segments. Next, analyze the key ways that segmentation provides a competitive advantage or disadvantage to the North American automobile. Provide a rationale for your response.
• Per the textbook, there are many possible structures that an organization can adopt. Give your opinion on the significant ways that an organization’s structure affects the organization’s ability to adapt to strategy initiatives. Provide a rationale and / or a real- world example to support your response.
• Per the textbook, strategy is concerned with matching a ?rm’s resources and capabilities to the opportunities that arise in the external environment. Resources sometimes can be a constraint to an organization. Speculate on the role of stakeholders in resource identification in order for value creation and establishing competitive advantage for an organization. Support your response.
• One staple of consulting is to advise clients to so-called “re-invent” themselves. Suggest the fundamental ways in which innovation matures a company. Provide a rationale and / or a real-world example to support your response.
• It is well known that Apple has successfully established itself as the market leader in smartphones with its iPhone. Use the two primary dimensions (i.e., cost advantage and differentiation advantage) to recommend a strategy for Apple to sustain its competitive advantage in this market. Provide a rationale for your response.