Read the following articles as well as the text readings:
http://www.ceo.com/leadership_and_management/ignoringthisissuecouldruinyourcompany/
http://www.supplychainbrain.com/content/index.php?id=5032&cHash=081010&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=16722
Now consider the company Mr. Coffee focusing
solely on their coffee makers (http://www.mrcoffee.com/coffeemakers/).
What
type of strategic fit do you think they have (or do they have any?). In this day and age of high end coffee machines, Keurig’s, etc…
how are they surviving (or are they?)? If you were in charge of redesigning
Mr. Coffee’s strategy, what would you do to ensure
they didn’t become a “commodity” as suggested by the articles? How could you segment them in the coffee maker marketplace?
How would you manage the talent within your employees?