4MBS601 International Business Strategy, Semester One 2002-2003

	C/w	Exam	Overall
Mean	54.6	52.0	48.7
Std deviation	8.38	8.47	14.94
Exam <35		4%
Fail grades		6%	7%
Third		19%	19%
Lower second		54%	57%
Upper second		17%	16%
First		0%	0%
		100%	100%

These are crude grades. The proportion of fails is smaller than that shown after special circumstances are taken into account.

Examination

Overall, as the results suggest, this was a mediocre set of papers, which failed to reflect the application and imagination that the same students showed in their assignments. While there were not many really poor answers, there were regrettably few students who seemed to have thought the case through to the point where they were prepared to demonstrate independence in their thinking.

1. Identify the key elements of Neopets’ business strategy, showing how they have enabled the company to achieve profitability in such a short time. [Good answers are likely to draw on several or all of the following concepts: environmental analysis, competitive stance, strategic resources, value chain, strategies for e-commerce. Other concepts can be used if you think them appropriate.] (35 marks)

This question was reasonably well answered, though there were some students who looked at the phrase “environmental analysis” in the hints underneath the answer and decided, incorrectly, that this required them to set down every last detail of their PEST and five forces analysis for past, present and future. Other answers went into great detail of the value chain without actually relating it to the question. We were looking for more selective and penetrating answers that “drew on” rather than simply repeated the concepts mentioned in the hints. The best answers tended to make good use of the Evans and Wurster framework for the analysis of competitive advantage in e-commerce. They were also prepared to think through the issue of who Neopets’ real customers were – the young people that used the site or the advertisers who funded it.

2. To what extent might Neopets’ culture and architecture need to change as the company grows and comes into more direct competition with larger, established corporations? Give reasons for your answer. [Good answers are likely to draw on one or both of the following concepts: cultural web, Goffee-Jones matrix. Other concepts can be used if you think them appropriate.] (30 marks)

Again, the answers to this question were reasonable rather than inspiring. Students needed first to identify the current culture, using one of the models identified in the question, and then to show why it might need to change. Rather too many students identified Neopets’ position on the Goffee Jones grid without supplying any evidence about sociability or solidarity. They were also rather flummoxed by the second part of the question, and were unable to provide solid reasons why the culture or architecture might need to change.

3. Identify the three most important strategic issues confronting Neopets at the end of the case study. Identify the main strategic options that Neopets should be considering, and show how they would help resolve the issues you have identified.

[Notes:

The question does NOT require you to use RACES or similar frameworks to evaluate the options you discuss.

You are expected to give supporting evidence and argument to show why the three issues you identify are strategically important

The examiners are looking for 3-5 options, explored in depth. Answers that list lots of options, without explaining fully how they address the issues, will receive a poor grade.] (35 marks)

Answers to this question were terribly disappointing. Students seemed flummoxed by the idea that they should not be evaluating the options they put forward, and when it came to relating the options to the issues, they ended up using their RACES analysis, at least half of which was entirely irrelevant, in spite of the note after the question. It was also clear that few students had thought the issues through clearly and many wrote no more than half a sentence on each issue they highlighted as important. It should have been clear from the question that the issues were at least as important as the options and needed to be discussed at length. Finally, hardly anybody seemed to have thought beyond the problems that Neopets’ management were considering in the case study, although it is far from clear that the Asian market is really the most important strategic that the company needs to deal with at the time of the case. And not many people demonstrated their creativity by putting forward any proposals that were not already mentioned in the case study.