The case can be found in your ebook.

The cases in the class are important because they challenge students to have a somewhat in-depth look at a situation and apply what they have learned. You will be able to see how strategy can be applied to a situation and start to formulate your own thoughts about what the best alternatives are. Working on the cases will help you meet LO1: Understand the relationship between strategy and organizational performance, LO2: Understand and apply an important strategy concept (such as strategy process, internal and external environment, competitive and corporate strategy, corporate governance and controls) AND LO3: Critically discuss current business events.

General guidelines for the case analysis are:

1) Prepare an analysis which should be 2-3 pages single spaced and focus on answering the questions provided for the case. The questions will also be posted on Packback for discussion.

2) On Packback, all students (for every case) should be prepared to discuss the questions of the case and raise a question to be considered.

The questions for this case are:

Case 1 (Alphabet)

1. How would you characterize Alphabet’s current level of diversification, and how did the organization achieve this? Do you think the firm is over diversified?
2. How has the relationship between structure and corporate-level strategy at Google changed over time? How have these transitions affected the organization, and how do you think Alphabet will respond to the new structure in the future?
3. Google, now Alphabet, is known for sponsoring quite a few “moonshot” projects, which are bold, risky, and typically expensive explorations into innovations that will hopefully generate value-adding products and services but that may or may not pay out in the long run. Should investors support this type of project? Why or why not?