Module 4 – Case

ECONOMICS OF ORGANIZATION AND STRATEGY

Assignment Overview

Apple and Samsung are often mentioned together, as they are both world leading producers of smartphones. However, they are much different companies in a variety of ways. Carefully review the background readings concerning diversification and vertical integration. Then do some extensive research on Samsung and Apple concerning their diversification and vertical integration strategies.

Case Assignment

When you have finished your research, write a four- to five-page paper answering the following questions. Make sure to cite both the required background readings as well as articles on Samsung and Apple:

3. 1. To what extent does Apple engage in related diversification? To what extent do they engage in unrelated diversification?
   2. To what extent does Samsung engage in related diversification? To what extent do they engage in unrelated diversification?
   3. To what extent does Apple engage in backward (upstream) vertical integration? To what extent do they engage in forward (downstream) vertical integration?
   4. To what extent does Samsung engage in backward (upstream) vertical integration? To what extent do they engage in forward (downstream) vertical integration?
   5. Overall what major differences or similarities do you find between Samsung and Apple’s diversification and vertical integration strategies?

Rubric Name: MBA/MSHRM/MSL Case Grading Rubric for Quantitative Business Courses -Timeliness v1

Criteria	Level 4 – Excellent	Level 3 – Proficient	Level 2 – Developing	Level 1 – Emerging
Assignment-Driven Criteria	19 points Demonstrates mastery covering all key elements of the assignment in a substantive way.	18 points Demonstrates considerable proficiency covering all key elements of the assignment.	17 points Demonstrates partial proficiency covering all key elements of the assignment.	16 points Demonstrates limited or poor proficiency covering all key elements of the assignment.
Presentation, Computation, and Relevance of Quantitative Information	10 points Demonstrates mastery in presenting quantitative information in a format appropriate for the discipline. Supporting computations are relevant and accurate.	9 points Demonstrates considerable proficiency in presenting quantitative information in a format appropriate for the discipline. Supporting computations are mostly relevant and accurate.	8 points Demonstrate partial proficiency in presenting quantitative information in a format appropriate for the discipline. Supporting computations are not necessarily relevant and somewhat misleading.	7 points Demonstrates limited or poor proficiency in presenting quantitative information in a format appropriate for the discipline. Supporting computations are not relevant, misleading or absent.
Critical Thinking	10 points Analyzes quantitative and qualitative information as the basis for deep and thoughtful discussion, drawing insightful, carefully qualified conclusions from this work.	9 points Analyzes quantitative and qualitative information as the basis for competent and thoughtful discussion, drawing reasonable and appropriately qualified conclusions from this work.	8 points Analyzes quantitative and qualitative information as the basis for workmanlike (without inspiration or nuance, ordinary) discussion, drawing plausible conclusions from this work.	7 points Analyzes quantitative and qualitative information as the basis for tentative or limited discussion; and is hesitant or uncertain about drawing conclusions from this work.
Business Writing	6 points Demonstrates mastery and proficiency in written communication to an appropriately specialized audience.	5 points Demonstrates considerable proficiency in written communication to an appropriately specialized audience.	4 points Demonstrate partial proficiency in written communication to an appropriately specialized audience.	3 points Demonstrates limited or poor proficiency in written communication to an appropriately specialized audience.
Timeliness	5 points Assignment submitted on time or collaborated with professor for an approved extension on due date.	3 points Assignment submitted 1-2 days after module due date.	2 points Assignment submitted 3-4 days after module due date.	0 points Assignment submitted 5 or more days after module due date.
Overall Score	Level 4 45 or more	Level 3 40 or more	Level 2 35 or more	Level 1 0 or more

Module 4 – SLP

ECONOMICS OF ORGANIZATION AND STRATEGY

For this final SLP, imagine that your business has become successful and you are now considering expanding the scope of your company. Carefully review all of the required background materials, and then write a three-page paper answering the following questions. Make sure to cite at least one of the required readings for each of your answers:

1. If you were to engage in horizontal integration, which of your direct competitors would you decide to acquire? Overall, do you think horizontal integration is the best long-run plan for your business if it is successful?
2. Do you think your business should vertically integrate over time? Should you engage in backwards vertical integration, forward vertical integration, both, neither? Explain your reasoning.
3. How about diversification/conglomerate strategy? Any advantage to diversifying your business? Discuss unrelated diversification and related diversification and whether or not these strategies might be good for your business. Explain your reasoning.

SLP Assignment Expectations

• Answer the assignment questions directly.
• Stay focused on the precise assignment questions. Do not go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
• Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references. Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure they are from a credible source.
• Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 11- 14 on in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is found under “My Resources” in the TLC Portal.

Rubric Name: MBA/MSHRM/MSL SLP Grading Rubric for Quantitative Business Courses -Timeliness v1

Criteria	Level 4 – Excellent	Level 3 – Proficient	Level 2 – Developing	Level 1 – Emerging
Assignment-Driven Criteria	9 points Demonstrates mastery covering all key elements of the assignment in a substantive way.	8 points Demonstrates considerable proficiency covering all key elements of the assignment.	7 points Demonstrates partial proficiency covering all key elements of the assignment.	6 points Demonstrates limited or poor proficiency covering all key elements of the assignment.
Presentation, Computation, and Relevance of Quantitative Information	7 points Demonstrates mastery in presenting quantitative information in a format appropriate for the discipline. Supporting computations are relevant and accurate.	6 points Demonstrates considerable proficiency in presenting quantitative information in a format appropriate for the discipline. Supporting computations are mostly relevant and accurate.	5 points Demonstrate partial proficiency in presenting quantitative information in a format appropriate for the discipline. Supporting computations are not necessarily relevant and somewhat misleading.	4 points Demonstrates limited or poor proficiency in presenting quantitative information in a format appropriate for the discipline. Supporting computations are not relevant, misleading or absent.
Critical Thinking	6 points Analyzes quantitative and qualitative information as the basis for deep and thoughtful discussion, drawing insightful, carefully qualified conclusions from this work.	5 points Analyzes quantitative and qualitative information as the basis for competent and thoughtful discussion, drawing reasonable and appropriately qualified conclusions from this work.	4 points Analyzes quantitative and qualitative information as the basis for workmanlike (without inspiration or nuance, ordinary) discussion, drawing plausible conclusions from this work.	3 points Analyzes quantitative and qualitative information as the basis for tentative or limited discussion; and is hesitant or uncertain about drawing conclusions from this work.
Business Writing	5 points Demonstrates mastery and proficiency in written communication to an appropriately specialized audience.	4 points Demonstrates considerable proficiency in written communication to an appropriately specialized audience.	2 points Demonstrate partial proficiency in written communication to an appropriately specialized audience.	0 points Demonstrates limited or poor proficiency in written communication to an appropriately specialized audience.
Timeliness	3 points Assignment submitted on time or collaborated with professor for an approved extension on due date.	2 points Assignment submitted 1-2 days after module due date.	1 point Assignment submitted 3-4 days after module due date.	0 points Assignment submitted 5 or more days after module due date.
Overall Score	Level 4 27 or more	Level 3 24 or more	Level 2 21 or more	Level 1 0 or more

Module 4 – Background

ECONOMICS OF ORGANIZATION AND STRATEGY

Required Reading

To start off this module, take a look at the following video for a relatively comprehensive overview of several concepts from this module. This video is a little longer than previous videos you’ve watched for this class, but covers very useful information such as vertical and horizontal integration strategies as well as conglomerate (diversification) strategy:

Holden, P. (2011). Business integration – vertical, horizontal and conglomerate. St. Lawrence College. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG9xNElFzRk

Now delve a little deeper into this subject with the following chapter that will reinforce what you’ve learned in the video plus some important additional concepts such as transaction costs:

Stengel, D. (2012). Economics of Organization. Managerial Economics Principles. Flat World Education http://saylordotorg.github.io/text_principles-of-managerial-economics/s05-economics-of-organization.html

Now read the following chapter for more detail on the concepts of vertical integration and horizontal integration. Also covered in this chapter is diversification strategy, also known as conglomerate strategy. Pay attention to the discussion of related versus unrelated diversification:

Ketchon, D. & Short, J. (2012). Chapter 8: Selecting corporate-level strategies. Strategic Management: Evaluation and Execution. Flat World Education. https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_mastering-strategic-management/s12-selecting-corporate-level-stra.html