CASE STUDY

When Maria Bellisario became director and CEO of ITALTEL,a state owned
telecommunication equipment manufacturer in Italy, the company was in trouble, high
losses, large debts, insufficient research and development and an overstaffed unionized
organization. Multinational companies had entered the Italian market, but fortunately since
ITALTEL was a state owned company, the government was trying to protect it among other
domestic companies. Ms. Bellisario took some major steps to turn the company around and
to improve productivity. Here are some examples of the new direction;
i. Restructuring the organization into business units which was accomplished through
open communication and cooperation with the union.
ii. Leading the company into dynamic management information systems which required
retraining of employees.
iii. Developing a programme to upgrade low skilled women in the workforce.
iv. Pushing for intra European cooperation with the companies in France, England and
Germany
v. Improving efficiency through innovation and manufacturing process.

Question 9
a) Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for ITALTEL
telecommunications.
b) Assuming Ms. Bellisario had consulted you to make a strategic decision for this
company, illustrate the strategic management process that you could follow and
briefly explaining the steps. How can Ms. Bellisario evaluate the success of strategic
decision that she makes for this company? Illustrate.

QUESTION TWO

A nation's competitiveness is very important more so in the present global economic

world with a very volatile business competition.Michael Porter has given the Diamond
model as a tool to measure the nations competitiveness.With a clear illustration discuss in
detail the application of professor Michael Porters Diamond model in the Kenya's vision
2030, and how Kenya will be expected to become competitive globally.(10 marks).
QUESTION THREE
a.)The role of careful formulated strategies is quite significant in all types of
organizations business or non-business,public sector or private sector,large or small,in
developed countries or underdeveloped countries.Explain the four main roles of a
strategy.(5marks).
b.)Managers must be trained to avoid the risks of unintended negative consequences
involved in strategy formulation and implementation.What are these
consequences?(5marks)
QUESTION FOUR
a.)When talking of situational analysis,industry analysis and competition analysis are the
two main factors that require an in-depth analysis.Explain these two situations.(2marks)
b.)ABC limited,a newly established company could want to open a local detergent
manufacturing plant in Kenya by the mid 2012.You have been appointed a a consultant to
help the company conduct an industry and competition analysis.Discuss the main issues
or activities that you could analyze in order to understand the detergent
industry,competition level and structure in Kenya with the help of the five forces
model.(8marks)
QUESTION FIVE
a.)To identify the competitive position of an organization,one can use life cycle
analysis.With relevant illustration discuss the life cycle analysis model indicating demand
and supply conditions.(5marks)
b.)The Boston Consulting Group(BCG)tool matrix is one of the tools used in product
portfolio analysis.Clearly illustrate and explain the analogy of the BCG matrix.(5 marks).