Case studies are an essential learning strategy in business classes as they provide an opportunity for you to critically analyze events that have taken place in real-life businesses. This develops your critical thinking and research skills as you research the competition and industry in which your business resides in order to formulate a recommendation for the challenges faced by the company.
For this unit, review the Marketing Spotlight: LEGO case study in Chapter 5 of your textbook. This assignment will be comprised of two parts; one part will ask you to respond to questions, and the other will require you to complete a case analysis.
Part 1
Evaluate this case and respond to each of the following questions using both theory and practical managerial thinking.
• How does LEGO manage to constantly reinvent its business?
• What role did marketing research play in LEGO’s market success?
• What differentiates LEGO from its competitors? Is LEGO’s competitive advantage sustainable?
• Review any potential ethical implications with LEGO. How are they aligning with good ethical practices?
Your Part 1 response must be at least two pages in length. Follow APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. Note that you will submit Part 1 and Part 2 in one document.
Part 2
Complete a case analysis of LEGO. This requires that you conduct research on LEGO beyond the case study material in the textbook. In the case analysis, you will look at the situational analysis, problem, and alternatives, and you will provide a recommendation. Refer to the instructions below as you construct your analysis.
Situational Analysis
• Discuss the external environment through the compilation of a PEST (political, economic, sociocultural, and technology) analysis.
• Discuss the internal and external environment through the compilation of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.
Problem
• Identify at least one organizational problem that LEGO is currently having or one that you project it will have in the future. Base this on your research and critical thinking.
• Alternatives
• Compile three or four potential marketing-related solutions to the problem above. Remember that these are potential alternatives; you will not select all of the alternatives to solve the problem.
• Recommendation (Marketing Strategy)
• Select one or two of the alternatives above to solve the problem that you identified in this case analysis.
• Discuss your rationale for choosing these and not the others. Include supporting research that will increase the depth of your analysis.
In order to successfully complete Part 2 of this case study, you need to review the video and task learning guides (TLGs) below. The following resources will provide you with the skills to research industries/competitors.
Company and Industry Research video (transcript for Company and Industry Research video)
How to Find Company Information in the Business Source Ultimate Database TLG
Since its founding in 1932, the Danish corporation Lego has developed into one of the most well-known names in the world when it comes to children’s toys. Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund (where the company is now situated), is credited with founding it. In 1916, he purchased a carpentry company and started producing furniture for nearby farmers. He changed his product line in the 1930s to produce children’s toys for a variety of reasons, and in 1934 he gave the business the name “Lego” derived from the Danish terms leg and godt, which mean “play well.”
His early creations, which included wooden pull toys, piggie banks, and automobiles and trucks, were affordable.
crete bunkers would be mowing down soldiers. Artillery fire from kilometres behind the enemy trench would fire huge explosive shells at the advancing soldiers all while the enemy could be firing at you with rifles and trench mortars. If you were able to reach the trench and get past the barbed wire, you would be greeted by soldiers with bayonets, knifes and trench shotguns where bloody hand to hand combat would then take place. As you can see, it was very difficult to make any ground during trench warfare and it wasn’t until 1918 that the stalemate would be broken with the introduction of tanks and armoured vehicles. This brings me to the next technological advancement, the tank. A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat, with heavy firepower, strong armour, tracks and a powerful engine providing good battlefield manoeuvrability. Invented by the British in 1916 but not used commonly until 1918 (the final year of the war). The first tanks were invented with the sole purpose of crossing no man’s land (the area between two opposing trenches). And that is exactly what they did. With their heavy armour and mobility tanks were able to cross no man’s land as they were bulletproof, taking enemy trenches with ease and breaking the stalemate on the western front. This invention was the determining factor for the allied victory during World War one. Tanks have changed the course of warfare not just during World War One but for all of time, warfare will never be the same again thanks to the invention of the tank.
Modern Warfare World War Two
The Second World War was the bloodiest conflict ever. An estimated 70 million civilians and soldiers from the Axis and Allied powers died during the war. World War II is generally said to have begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany prompting France and the United Kingdom to declare war. By 1941 most of Europe had fallen to the Axis powers and the werhmact (German Army) was preparing its invasion of the Soviet Union. The Empire Of Japan had conquered most of Pacific and the United States had entered the war after the bombing of pearl harbour. The war continued on for another 4 years involving the vast majority of the world and ending in 1945 with the invasion of Germany and the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Warfare and technology had significantly evolved since the First W