Strategic Management

Part 1: 650 words
Describe the role of strategic planning in achieving a competitive advantage. 
Assess Caterpillar Inc. to determine whether their top focus is accounting profitability, shareholder value creation, or economic value creation.
Assess whether Caterpillar Inc. leverages the appropriate value and cost drivers for their business strategy.
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of Caterpillar Incs competitive advantages.
Evaluate the influence of ethics, social responsibility, and legal considerations on strategic planning. 
Discuss the value of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and determine if Caterpillar Inc.s CSR meets those values.
Analyze the role of ethics and social responsibility in developing Caterpillar Inc.s strategic plan while considering stakeholder needs and agenda.

Part 2: 650 words
Assess whether Caterpillar Inc. is using the appropriate measures to verify its strategic effectiveness. 
Summarize Caterpillar Inc.s organizational structure.
Determine whether Caterpillar Inc.s organizational structure is considered a traditional organizational structure or a Holacracy. 
Detail why it is important for Caterpillar Inc. leadership to study and understand the companys internal and external environments. 
Evaluate Caterpillar Inc.s competitive position and how they have responded to shifts in the external and internal environments. 

Part 3: 625 words
Identify Caterpillar Inc.s short-term versus long term goals.
Evaluate how mergers and acquisitions in the past 5 years have contributed to Caterpillar Inc.s performance. 
Assess Caterpillar Inc.s global strategy (international, multi-domestic, global-standardization, or transnational).
Discuss the types of innovation Caterpillar Inc.s uses such as radical incremental, disruptive, and architectural innovation. Identify types of innovation Caterpillar Inc. has used over time.