Part I: St. Louis-based Panera Bread Company operates and franchises more than 1,200 bakery-cafes in some 40 states under the Panera Bread and St. Louis Bread Company brands. Its mission statement, "A loaf of bread in every arm," reflects the company's purpose and its passion.
Discussion Questions:
Question 1. What corporate, competitive, and functional strategies is Panera using to realize its goal of turning the concept into a national brand under the Panera Bread name? Be as specifica as possible.
Question 2. How would you recommend Shaich and his management team evaluate whether the company is accomplishing its corporate strategy?
Question 3. Panera Bread was on BusinessWeek's "hot growth companies" list for several years. What problems might arise if the company grows too fast? How might they know whether they were growing too fast?
Question 4. The company depends heavily on franchising to fuel its growth. Do some research on franchising. What advantages and drawbacks might it present?
Question 5. What other examples of affordable indulgences can you think of? What strategic risks are there to such a trend? How can Shaich ensure that Panera doesn't fall victim to those risks?
Part II: The Tata Group, based in Mumbai, India, is the largest conglomerate in that country. Tata has more than 95 companies in seven main business groups: chemicals, communications and IT, consumer products, energy, engineering, materials, and services. Its two largest businesses are Tata Steel and Tata Motors. Its Tata Tea, which owns the valued Tetley brand, is one of the largest tea producers in the world.
Discussion Questions:
Question 1. Discuss the advantages and drawbacks of going international using Tata Group's experiences.
Question 2. What strategic challenges do you think Ratan Tata might face as he guides his company? Using what you know about managing strategically, how might he respond to these challenges?
Question 3. Do some research on India's economic and political environments. What opportunities and threats do you see? In light of these, do you think Ratan Tata's strategy of pushing outside India makes sense? Explain.
Question 4. Do some research on the Tata Group (www.tata.com). What is its purpose? How would its core values influence strategic choices? Does it international strategy approach seem to be working?