Corporate-level strategy - a discussion agenda

The topic of Corporate-level Strategy is taught in Strategic Financial Management as well as in Strategic Management. The following is a discussion agenda:

1. Specific topics in Corporate-level Strategy
• Corporate parenting,
• Portfolio management,
• Diversification and,
• Penetration, consolidation and development
2.  Strategic direction
• Ansoff matrix on strategic direction (re: Exhibit 7.2), in terms of the two dimensions of markets and products
• Market penetration
• Consolidation
• Product development
• Market development
• Diversification
3. Diversification
• Reasons for diversification
• Good reasons: efficiency gains, stretch corporate parenting capabilities, increase market power
• Bad reasons: respond to market decline, spread risk,  meet expectations of powerful stakeholders
• Related diversification and unrelated diversification
• Diversification and performance
4. Value Creation and the Corporate Parent
• Value-adding and value destroying activities of corporate parents
• Role of corporate parents
• As a portfolio manager
• As a synergy manager
• As a parental developer
5. Portfolio matrices
• The growth share (BCG) matrix
• The directional policy (GE-McKinsey) matrix
6. The parenting matrix
• The Ashridge Portfolio Display

Related handwritten notes:

References

1. Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy, Prentice Hall.
2. Ansoff matrix (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AORoMxgp428
3. On synergy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergy