Which strategic position (differentiation or cost leadership) to engage in what range of products and services should be offered what stages of the industry value chain to participate in where, globally, the company should compete?

Steele bicycle manufacturing company currently produces the handlebars used in manufacturing its bicycles, which are high-quality racing bikes with limited sales. steele produces and sells only 10,000 bikes each year. due to the low volume of activity, steele is unable to obtain the economies of scale that larger producers achieve. for example, steele could buy the handlebars for $31 each: they cost $34 each to make. the following is a detailed breakdown of current production costs: after seeing these figures, steele's president remarked that it would be foolish for the company to continue to produce the handlebars at $34 each when it can buy them for $31 each. calculate the total relevant cost. do you agree with the president's conclusion?

Gerda, a real estate agent, is selling a moderately priced house in a subdivision. she knows from her uncle that the factory being built half a mile from the subdivision will be manufacturing dog food, using a process that creates a very strong odor that permeates the surrounding neighborhood. a buyer, who is unaware of the type of factory under construction, makes an offer on one of the houses gerda is selling, and within a short time, the deal goes through. what does this scenario best illustrate?

David burdick is the ceo of acme bubblegum, a successful public company. as one of the cofounders of the company, burdick has enjoyed speaking and writing about the success of acme bubblegum for several years. typically, he speaks at conferences or directly to the press, but recently, he has been blogging about his firm anonymously. specifically, he defended a recent advertising campaign that was unpopular among consumers and pointedly attacked one of acme bubblegum’s competitors. burdick deeply enjoys his anonymous blogging and believes that none of his readers actually know that he works for acme bubblegum. should burdick be allowed to praise his company’s performance anonymously online? should he be allowed to attack his competitors without disclosing his relationship with the company? how would you feel if the ceo of a company at which you shopped was secretly writing criticisms of his or her competition? how would you feel if you knew a writer for your favorite blog was actually closely involved in a company that the blog discussed? 1. define the ethical issue? 2. who are the primary stakeholders? 3. what are the possible alternatives? 4. how could you evaluate the ethical implications of the alternative actions (use appropriate decision rules)? 5. what action would you recommend and why?