Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Case Notes
Chapter 5: Strategic and Operational Planning
FedEx Corporation
1. How does FedEx engage in both strategic and operational planning?
FedEx management uses strategic planning to develop its long-term plan for success. As
2. Conduct a SWOT analysis of FedEx. Based on this analysis, what can you
conclude about the company?
Strengths
• The company’s expansive global network of operations gives it huge reach
in a variety of markets.
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
3. What is FedEx’s competitive advantage?
FedEx has a number of sources of competitive advantage including the following:
• Its global mindset has made it a leader in moving into new markets such as
those in the Middle East and Africa.
4. What are the human resources functional strategies used at FedEx?
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
FedEx’s functional strategies for human resources have enabled the company to make
5. Do you think it is beneficial for organizations to engage in a strategic planning
process? Why or why not?
6. Think about a student organization you have been involved with, or a part-time
job, or internship you have held. Did this organization have a competitive
advantage? If so, what was it?
The Not So Friendly Skies: Air Canada’s Plan of Attack on U.S. Markets
1. Air Canada’s launching new services to a half dozen U.S. cities could be
categorized as what type of plan?
There are two types of plans: strategic and operational. Strategic plans are broad in scope,
2. What environmental factors has Air Canada taken into account with their
planned expansion into the U.S.? What might they have overlooked?
The expansion into the U.S. seems to have addressed consumer demand (“best-kept
3. Which industry factors negatively affect the profitability of this industry?
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
The five industry forces include buyer power, supplier power, threats of substitutes,
4. Assume that Air Canada performed a SWOT analysis before they adopted the
grand strategy of growth. What would have been the general results of that
analysis to support growth?
With growth, the firm makes an aggressive attempt to increase its size through increased
5. Air Canada is expanding its operation. What actions have they taken to increase
their core competencies in providing air services?
A core competency is what a firm does well and is the foundation for supporting a firm’s
6. Air Canada has stated that it will launch new service to a half dozen U.S. cities by
May 2017, including smaller markets such as Memphis and Savannah. What is
missing from these goals to make them effective objectives?
Effective objectives are specific, measurable results that are tied to a specific target date.
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
7. What specific growth strategy(ies) is Air Canada utilizing?
Growth strategies include: concentration (aggressively sell existing services), integration
8. Which adaptive strategy seems to best fit Air Canada’s decision to expand into
markets that are more international?
Adaptive strategies include: prospecting (aggressively offering new products and services
9. Michael Porter defined three competitive strategies—which one best fits Air
Canada?
The three competitive strategies include: low cost (low prices supported by strong cost
10. What type of resources would be needed to support Air Canada’s expansion
plans?
Managers’ resources include human resources (labor, skills), financial resources (tangible
Instructor Resource
Lussier, Management Fundamentals 8e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
11. What international trade agreement(s) appear to allow Air Canada to easily
expand into the U.S.?
The North American Free Trade Agreement eliminates trade barriers between the U.S.
12. Decisions are made under conditions of either certainty, risk or uncertainty.
Which condition best describes Air Canada’s decision to expand into the U.S.
market?
Decision-making under conditions of certainty indicates that you know the outcome of