Look up this company https://squareup.com/ca/en. and do the following questions( Each answer must be one paragraph and straight to the point(150-200 words each):
1. Can you define your firm’s generic strategy as in Exhibit 6.2 (broad/focused differentiator/cost leader)? What are the 2 main things it does to increase value (if a differentiator) or reduce cost (if a cost leader)? Now conduct a mini strategy canvas (Figure 6.10, but with just 5 attributes) for your firm’s industry, putting your firm there as well as the industry’s main competitor. Then come up with a new business idea using Blue Ocean thinking.
2. Try out Porter’s diamond framework (Exhibit 10.9) for your home country/home industry. Does it have any national competitive advantage that might be leveraged in other countries? Pick a country for your firm to expand to. Why? Which of the 4 strategies in Chapter 10.4 would you take on?
3. List the most important non-market factor that impacts either value or cost, and is able to be influenced through some form of firm or industry-level actions. Outline a strategy for influencing that. Does your firm have the requisite capabilities to be effective at this?
4. Pick the most promising of the products/activities that you identified in J.E.4 (e.g. the upstream, downstream, or diversification idea) and do the build-borrow-buy framework in Exhibit 9.1. Then come up with a potential firm to “borrow” or “buy” and say why/how. If you end up at “build,” then describe how you might build it, and then come up with a firm for which you would be an attractive target for that firm to buy.(refer to attached document for J.E.4)
5.What is your firm’s business model, that is, how does the firm make money? What are some metrics of its performance? Among the “popular business models” listed in chapter 5.2 of the text, are there any that your firm should consider?
