You have just been hired to the HBY company as its new Vice President of Strategic Planning. The corporation is a conglomerate with divisions in the film industry, theme park industry, digital music distribution industry, and mass merchandiser industry. The corporation has seen lackluster performance in recent years because its competitors seem to have a more effective strategy, and, at the same time, business and economic conditions have changed appreciably from what they were five years earlier.
Given the multibillion dollar size of the corporation and the fact that it is a conglomerate with a very diverse portfolio of companies in varying industries, the CEO whom you report to has already given you permission to hire a staff of recent MBAs to assist your efforts. You recently completed the interviewing and hired four people with minimal real business experience.
In coming months, you and your team will be creating a completely new—and, presumably, more effective—strategic plan. You plan to begin by holding a kick-off meeting with your team.
