FAQ
Rumelt's Evaluation Criteria

Note that these responses are not official additions to the theory, only explanations for the cases based on the specific questions received.

You wrote "no perfection" on my quiz. What does that mean?

There are no perfect strategies. All strategies have strong and weak points. Therefore, subparts 3 and 4 and not going to say, "the strategy is perfect, it matches every single thing." Go back and find the problems with the strategy and discuss them.

My written quiz response on "consistency" lost a lot of points. What did I do wrong?

The major problem with the consistency response was that consistency measures the match between the stated strategy and the internal functions. You must address at least three different functions (preferably four). Talking about one function is not enough, that does not make consistency. Look at each of the major internal functions and discuss them in all four subsections.

I lost a lot of points on the "consonance" quiz. What happened?

See answer above regarding consistency. Consonance deals with external trends. This doesn't mean one trend and it doesn't mean what competitors are doing. There should be an analysis of at least three external trends and how they match (or don't) the strategy.

I lost a lot of points on the Rumelt question. You wrote that my answers were incomplete. What did I do wrong?

Reread the question. As discussed in class, I expect a FULL ANALYSIS and COMPLETE answer to all parts of the question. Your answer, a couple of sentences on each part, does not represent a FULL analysis. Many parts of the question are completely ignored; the answers are vague (e.g., "they are consistent" is way too vague, you need to discuss specifically how they are consistent); there are few examples; and no relation of your answers back to Rumelt's definitions of each term. A full analysis generally would require at least a page on each criteria.

You said my answers on the quiz weren't related to the strategy.

All parts of the Rumelt question must be related to the strategy you state the company is currently pursuing. For example, if you say the strategy for a retailer is to expand from Florida to Georgia, what trends (under consonance) match that strategy and which don't? For example, growing markets and increases in consumer spending in Georgia would support the strategy (a and b); however, lower average income levels (versus Florida) might be a negative (c). To counter that in d, a suggestion might be to expand to Georgia, but with somewhat smaller stores, or emphasizing lower priced items.

Your feedback on my quiz stated that my strategy was functional. What does this mean?

If you said use computerized distribution centers to reduce handling costs, you have stated something functional. That isn't a business/corporate strategy. Take a look at David's generic strategies for the types of things that are business/corporate strategies (be sure not to actually use something vague and generic). Also, review the list of characteristics that a strategy must have.

 

- Last revised 1/26/2007 -

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