STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS POLICY

BA 469 – Sections 003 & 004 – BEXL 207

Spring 2005 T-R, 2:00PM – 3:50PM; 4:00PM – 5:50PM;

Professor

Clay Dibrell, Ph.D. Office: Bexell Hall 400b, Office Phone: 737-4110, e-mail: dibrellc@bus.oregonstate.edu. Office hours are scheduled for Tuesday (12:00 PM to 1:00 PM), Wednesday (3:00 PM to 4:00 PM), and Thursday (1:00 PM to 2:00 PM). If necessary, appointments can be arranged at other times.

Text

Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach Sixth Edition. Charles W. L. Hill and Gareth Jones (Your text should include the cases).

Course description

Strategic Management & Business Policy is a capstone course for business students and is generally taken near or after completion of courses in all functional areas. This course concentrates on strategy and policy formulation and implementation at the top management level where major decisions are made. Advanced problems in determination, execution, and control of the strategic management process in light of complex environmental change will be focused on in this course.

Course prerequisite warning

Prerequisites: BA 340, BA 350, BA 352, BA 357, BA 390, and senior standing.

Course objectives

The aim of this course is to provide students with a broad overview of the basic concepts in strategic management. Students will be exposed to a number of frameworks and models to better understand and analyze the macro-environment, the industry environment, and firm level resources. At the end of the course, students should be able to think strategically, as opposed to only having a functional orientation, and students should be able to formulate and to implement creative and innovative strategies that are conducive to the demands of the firm and the environment in which it resides.

Learning outcomes

1. To develop skills in determining company wide strategy.

2. To develop an awareness of the impact that external environmental factors have on business strategy.

3. To develop the ability to discern between the causes and the symptoms of business problems.

4. To understand the problems associated with long-term strategy formulation and implementation.

5. To understand the difficulties encountered by people working in organizations and groups.

6. To increase your knowledge of how business works.

Class procedures

Class will be conducted with equal emphasis on lecture and class participation. Class lectures will relate to chapter reading assignments but will not attempt to cover all the material in the text. Because this course is senior level, it makes heavy use of cases and is designed to generate discussion of problems that you may face in real business settings.

Student conduct and expectations

Cheating and other academic misconduct will not be tolerated. Violations will be subject to disciplinary actions as specified by the Oregon State University Academic Regulations. Class members are expected to treat each other with courtesy and respect. The outcome is not that you have met certain “minimum” standards; the outcome will be that you will leave this class with knowledge of how to formulate and to implement an innovative company strategy that you may utilize in the future. Behaviors that signify to me that a student is committed to excellence include:

1. Attending class regularly (and arriving on time!).

2. Being prepared for daily case analyses and reading assignments.

3. Leaving such distractions as newspapers and other courses’ assignments outside of the classroom.

4. Not talking in class while someone is presenting.

5. Participating in class with active listening, questions, or comments.

6. Talking with the instructor anytime an issue discussed in class is unclear.

Student expectations of instructor

In order for this course to be a personal success for you, it is necessary that you receive certain commitments from me to receive maximum benefit. Just as I have challenged you to pursue academic excellence in this course, I must do the same, and I commit to doing the following:

1. Listen to your comments.

2. Keep you informed about the direction of the course including any changes to the course calendar.

3. Be prepared for each class period including starting and dismissing class on time.

4. Be open to your ideas, opinions, and questions.

5. Be available to discuss any problems or questions through office hours or appointments with you.

6. Return out-of-class assignments and tests so that you have feedback in a timely manner.

Evaluation and grading

Students are expected to do both individual and group work and to remember that this is a writing intensive class (WIC). As this is a WIC course, you will be asked to write several different papers to assist in your learning of the key concepts of strategic management. For example, you will be given an opportunity to demonstrate your business knowledge through both un-graded and graded writing exercises. This course satisfies the WIC requirement for business majors. Please submit all assignments on time. Grades for late assignments will be reduced by 20% for every class period submitted late. Please talk to me if you have any problems with understanding the material or completing the scheduled assignments/examinations.

How I Grade:

1. A = Exceptional & Outstanding Work. You have wowed me.

2. B = Very Good Work

3. C = Average Work

4. D = Sub Par Work

5. F = Exceedingly Poor Work.

Your grade will be composed of the following components:

1. Partner project 5%

2. Daily Quizzes 20%

3. Individual case papers 25%

4. Mid-term exam 20%

5. Final exam 30%

1. Partner Project and Presentation: As a partial fulfillment of the WIC requirements, you are to find a partner from the class and seek out a strategy related newspaper, magazine, or journal article on a company or industry. You should not use a company press release for your article. If you do use the company’s website, then the information garnered from the website should be supplemental to the original article. Please be sure to provide bibliographic information for your chosen article. On your assigned day, you are asked to explain the article at the beginning of class and turn in a two page written summary. In addition to your written summary, you will need to turn in a handout of your slides and a copy of your reported article.

The topic for your article report will depend on the day you sign up to present it. You should find a topic that was recently covered or soon will be covered according to the class schedule in this syllabus.

Your presentation should be ten minutes or less for both of you (not including time for Q&A) and should tell us how the article relates to the course material. 50% of your partner project grade will be based on your combined presentation and the other 50% on your written summary. Please let me know if you and your partner do not think you should each get the same grade because one of you contributed significantly more than the other.

You will do well if:

Your topic is appropriate for your assigned date.
Your written summary is clear and includes the article or a reference. Likewise, you should integrate all applicable strategic terms to your paper.
Your presentation is reasonably interesting.
Your presentation is clear and shows some link to the course material.
You are creative in your presentation style.
You stay within the ten-minute time limit.
You do not read from the overhead slides or from your notes.

I will provide a sign-up sheet for assignment of particular dates on a “first come, first served” basis on the date identified in the course calendar.

2. Daily Quizzes: For most classes, there will be one short five question quiz (which could consist of short answers or multiple choice questions) given covering that day’s assigned material. Students who enter or leave class at break or leave class early will not be allowed to receive a grade for the quiz for that date. You must be in class for approximately 95% of the scheduled class time to receive a grade for the quiz for that date. I will accept 10 out of 13 of your highest graded quizzes (which could include a time when you do not take the quiz). Students who read each assigned chapter, case, routinely participate in class discussions, and go over the available PowerPoint slides should feel comfortable taking the daily quiz.

3. Individual Papers (Case Analysis): Each student is required to turn in a typed four to five page, 12pt Times New Roman font, and double-spaced concept paper of each assigned case. You should not have a cover sheet nor go over the five page limit. Each case paper should include each of the following components (1) the major problem facing the company (e.g., 1 to 3 sentences), (2) you will be assigned to do only one of the following analyses for each case: a Strategic Financial Analysis, a SWOT analysis, a Portfolio of Core Competencies analysis, or an Industry analysis depending upon which analysis is assigned for that specific case (e.g., 1 to 1^1/2pages), (3) your recommendation to solve your self-identified problem (e.g., 1 to 3 sentences), (4) strategic implementation (1 page), and (5) the strategic implications of your recommended solution (1 to 1^1/2 pages). Remember that managers operate with the limitations of their situation. They make decisions based on the facts available, and often have less than perfect information. Managers accept responsibility for their decisions and fully realize that there may be a better solution.

Grade breakdown for each case paper for the following components:

Identify the major problem facing the company (1 point).
Assigned analyses chosen from one of the following: a Strategic Financial Analysis, a SWOT analysis, a Portfolio of Core Competencies analysis, or an Industry analysis depending upon which analysis is assigned for that specific case (2 points).
Recommendation to solve your self-identified problem (2 points).
Strategic implementation steps (2 points).
Strategic implications of recommended solution (3 points).

You will do well if:

You have creative solutions and implementations.
You have thought through the potential implications that will be derived from your recommended solution.
You have integrated all applicable strategic terms in your paper from class.
Your work is reasonably insightful and shows a strong linkage to the course material.
Your work is clear, concise, and organized.

Please follow the format above – do not recap the entire case. Likewise, your paper should be free of spelling errors, as it will be one of the criteria that you will be graded upon. I will drop one of your lowest scores for the term (which could be a time that you don't turn anything in). Additionally, you will have the opportunity to resubmit two of your papers on the day of the final exam to be re-graded. You must attach your original paper to your revised paper when you turn them in to me with your changes highlighted or bracketed on your original case. This assignment is partial fulfillment of the WIC requirements.

College of Business Entrepreneurship Speaker exception rule (CBES): Under the CBES exception rule, you will be able to substitute one written case grade through attendance to one, two, or three of the scheduled CBES presentations to be held. If you go to one of the scheduled CBES presentations, then you will receive a grade of 80 in lieu of a case. If you go to two of the scheduled CBES presentations, then you will receive a grade of 87 in lieu of a case. To receive at least a grade of 92 and up to 100 in lieu of a case, you must attend all three presentations and write a four page reaction paper on what you learned in the CBES presentations. Please be sure to use several strategic terms in your paper. If you attend all three presentations and do not write a paper, then you will receive an 87 in lieu of a case. At each presentation, you will be required to sign-in with me or my student assistant to receive credit at the end of the presentation. I will provide you a list of the three scheduled presentations for credit in the near future.

4. Exams: There will be two exams that may consist of multiple choice, short answer, case analysis on the final, and/or essay answer – no make-up exams. However, you may take the exam in advance, if you have an acceptable reason.

5. Personal SWOT Analysis: You will be assigned to write a two-page personal SWOT analysis at the end of class. Your SWOT analysis will not be graded but will serve as a personal assessment tool to guide you in your career development. This un-graded written assignment is partial fulfillment of the WIC requirements for this course.

Final Grade Scoring

The + and – systems will be used in this class, and I round up or down. Examples are listed below.

80-81 = B-

82-87 = B

88-89 = B+

Example 1: If you earn a final grade of 81.4 for this class, you will receive a B- for the term.

Example 2: If you earn a final grade of 81.5 for this class, you will receive a B for the term.

Negative Participation Rule: I reserve the right to lower the final grade of any student who I feel has had a detrimental, distracting, or negative effect on the classroom learning environment over the course of the term up to one letter grade.

Final Comments

I may change the course schedule during the term. However, these changes will be done in consultation with the class and will be announced well in advance. Students not attending class on the date changes are made to the schedule have the responsibility for obtaining the information regarding the changes. If an exam is missed due to a changed date, then the excuse of not being in class will not be accepted, and a grade of zero will be given.

I will do everything that I can to help you learn the material and make our class a meaningful experience. I hope that you will do everything possible to be prepared so that you can enjoy your learning experience.

Spring 2005 Course Calendar

Dates	CH	Concepts	Deadlines
TUE 3/29	1	Course Introduction; Strategic Management.	Glossary of terms.
THUR 3/31	2	External Analysis; Mini-Case Discussion.	Practice Case (Nothing needs to be turned into me): Nike: Sweatshops; page C129.
TUE 4/5	3	Internal Analysis.	Self-Select Partners & Sign-up for Date to Present Article.
THUR 4/7	4	Functional Level Strategy.
TUE 4/12	5	Business Level Strategy.	Case 1: A Hundred-Year War: Coke vs. Pepsi, 1890s-1990s; page C356; SWOT.
THUR 4/14	6	Competitive Strategy and the Industry Environment.
TUE 4/19	7	Strategy in High-Technology Industries.
THUR 4/21	8	Strategy in the Global Environment; Strategic Financial Ratios.	Case 2: The Home Video Game Industry: From Pong to X-Box; page C279; Industry analysis.
TUE 4/26		Finish Any Remaining Topics; Exam Review.
THUR 4/28		Midterm.
TUE 5/3		The Relationship of the Ecological Environment to Business
THUR 5/5		The Natural Step	Case 3: Kikkoman Corporation in the Mid 1990s: Market Maturity, Diversification, and Globalization; C558; Strategic Financial Analysis.
TUE 5/10	9	Corporate Strategy: Integration and Outsourcing.
THUR 5/12	10	Corporate Strategy: Diversification.	Case 4: Tosco and the New Millennium; page C412; Portfolio of Core Competencies Analysis.
TUE 5/17	11	Corporate Performance, Governance, and Ethics
THUR 5/19		Video: Pirates of Silicon Valley
TUE 5/24		Discussion of Entre- & Intrapreneurship.	Case 5: Iridium: Communication for the New Millennium; page C345; Industry Analysis.
THUR 5/26	12	Strategy Implementation in Single Industry.
TUE 5/31	13	Strategy Implementation Across Industries and Countries.	Personal SWOT Analysis is due.
THUR 6/2		Finish Any Remaining Topics; Review for Final Exam
TUE 6/7		Group Final Exam	7:30 AM; WNGR 153; Opportunity to revise two individual papers deadline.

Case Analysis Code Key

Spring Term List

WIC Survival Guide

Past Quizzes on-line with reference pages.