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BA
469 -- STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS POLICY
Spring
2005
[Schedule] [Handouts] [Lecture Notes] [Chapter Discussion Questions]
Professor: Thomas Dowling
(dowling@bus.oregonstate.edu)
Office: Bexell 224C (737-6013)
Hours: Tuesday 12:00 - 1:00
Thursday 12:00 - 1:00 and by
appointment
Required Text:
H&J Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach,
6thed.
C. Hill and G. Jones
(Houghton Mifflin, 2004)
Course Objectives/Content
This course focuses on the
activities of the general manager, who has the responsibility for establishing
the shape, character, and direction of the total enterprise (or one of its
business units). The general manager
must combine a broad understanding of the organization as a whole, and its environment,
with a detailed knowledge of the functional areas of the business.
This course will provide you
with a broad overview of the basic concepts in strategic management. You 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 you
should be able to think strategically, as opposed to only having a functional
orientation. And you 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 competes.
We will pursue the following
course objectives:
Ø
To develop skills in determining company-wide strategy;
Ø
To develop an awareness of the impact that external environment factors
have on business strategy;
Ø
To develop the ability to discern between the causes and the symptoms
of business problems;
Ø
To understand the problems associated with long-term strategy
formulation and implementation;
Ø
To gain an appreciation for the complexity of the general manager's
job, the types of strategic decisions that all organizations must make, and the
variables which drive and constrain strategic decisions.
Methodology
Strategic Management and Business
Policy builds on the other business courses you have taken. In many ways, strategic management is more a
business approach or "way of thinking" than an academic discipline.
Yet thinking and managing strategically requires careful analysis, insightful
problem-solving, and being open to new approaches.
Strategic management cannot
be best taught or learned in the conventional read-lecture-test manner. Strategic management is most effectively
learned by discussing and debating real-world issues with others. Case studies provide an excellent means for
raising pertinent managerial issues, framing discussion and debate of these
issues, and involving students actively in analysis and managerial
decision-making. Thus, case studies form
the foundation for this course. Class
sessions will involve lectures, discussion of assigned cases, and formal group
presentations of case analyses.
Student Responsibilities
Attendance
As this is a case-oriented course,
the most important part of the learning will take place in the classroom. Your contribution in class is essential; your
participation will be significantly missed if you are absent. Thus, I consider attendance to be very
important. Attendance will be monitored
and will figure significantly in your class participation score. Even when absent, you are responsible for
ensuring that any assignment is handed in on time.
Class Participation
One necessary skill for job
holders and managers at all organizational levels is to effectively articulate
the methods and results of business analysis; a second is to convince others of
recommendations based on such analysis.
Active class participation is an invaluable opportunity to develop and
improve these skills. Therefore, class
participation is also an essential part of the learning experience in this
course. By failing to take an active
role in class discussions, you lose a major incentive to prepare your analysis
with the thoroughness which leads to real understanding, and you forego the
opportunity to develop career essential communication skills.
Therefore, you are expected
to be prepared to discuss EVERY case, to make brief presentations when called
upon, and to respond to the points made by other students. At a minimum, case preparation should enable
each student to:
Ø
Clearly explain (not merely identify) the major issues in the case;
Ø
Describe the impact of these issues on the company;
Ø
Formulate alternative courses of action which directly address the
issues;
Ø
Recommend alternatives to management.
Assignments and Grading
Students will be evaluated
according to their performance on the following individual and group
assignments. Students are encouraged to
discuss their ideas and analyses with others, both inside and outside their
case teams. However, individual written
assignments should reflect only your individual effort, and
group assignments should reflect only the team's efforts. As the class will
discuss each written assignment on the day it is due, late case assignments will not be accepted.
Team Assignments
Students will form case
teams the first day of the term. These
case teams will be responsible for preparing an in-class case presentation,
developing case critiques, and presenting a sector analysis for the industry
that the team’s case company competes in.
Each student's contribution to the team will be evaluated by her/his
peers at the end of the term using an evaluation form to be provided by the
instructor. This evaluation will help determine the student's individual case
team assignment grade.
Ø
Sector Analysis: Each case team will be required to report in
class the week of their case presentation significant developments and
strategic issues in an industry sector. This presentation will provide an
industry analysis based on the business sector that the case company
participates in. This presentation is to
be based on standard industry analysis techniques. The instructor will provide a separate
handout explaining this assignment in more detail.
Ø
Case Presentation: Each team will present an
analysis of one of the "presentation" cases (indicated on the
schedule). The prepared portion of the
presentation SHOULD NOT EXCEED 25 TO 30 MINUTES (not counting time for answering
questions). Every team member must
be involved in the presentation. Case
presentations will be evaluated on content, clarity, and the extent to which
the presentation is professionally delivered.
A case presentation outline
and grading form will be provided by the instructor. Extensive class case discussion will follow
each presentation. Students who are not
involved in that day's presentation are still responsible for analyzing the case
and contributing to the discussion (see Case Critique below).
Powerpoint graphics are
expected for this presentation. For the Sector Analysis and the Case
Presentation, a copy of the PowerPoint graphics must be sent as an e-mail
attachment to the instructor for grading purposes by 8:00 a.m. the day of the
presentation. A copy of other
supporting presentation materials (i.e. overheads, financial illustrations)
used in class should be provided to the instructor immediately following the
presentation.
Ø
Case Critique: Each team will participate in a review of
each case presentation. Each team member
must participate in the critique. Your
team is expected to have questions prepared prior
to the case discussion to ask the presenting group. These questions and a summary of key issues
for your functional area must be turned in to the instructor (typed) at the beginning of class on the day of the
case presentation.
The case critique matrix
included as part of this course outline provides different organizational
'views' your team will be responsible for this term. The quality of each team=s case critique (identifying
key issues & preparing insightful, challenging questions) will be a
component of the case team assignments score for each team member.
Individual Assignments
Ø
Case Memos: You will be required to write a case memo for
each case presented by student case teams (except for the one presented by your
team). Each memo will be written as if
to the CEO of the case company. The
instructor will provide focus questions plus issues for analysis and comment
for each case.
Final Grades - will be based upon the following distribution of points:
Group Assignments:
Sector Analysis Presentation 10.0% (100 points)
Case Presentation 20.0% (200 points)
Case Critiques 5.0% (_50 points)
Individual Assignments:
Case Memos 20.0% (200 points/50 points each)
Midterm Exam 17.5% (175 points)
Final Exam 17.5% (175 points)
Class Attendance/
Participation, Peer 10.0% (100 points)
Evaluation Quality
Note: There will be a peer review
process within each of the case teams to ensure an equitable distribution of
work and individual contribution.
The expanded letter grade
system is used in BA 469.
The University policy on academic honesty will be strictly observed.
Team Case Assignment &
Responsibilities
The following table provides the case
assignment for each team. All cases are
in the textbook.
Case Team #
|
Case name
|
|
#1
|
Case #19
|
The Home Video Game
Industry: From Pong to X-Box
|
#2
|
Case #24
|
A Hundred-Year War: Coke
vs. Pepsi, 1890’s – 1990s
|
#3
|
Case #25
|
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.:
Strategies for Dominance
|
#4
|
Case #33
|
AOL Time Warner:
Creating a Colossus
|
#5
|
Case #37
|
Eli Lilly & Company:
The Global Pharmaceutical Industry
|
Case Critique
Responsibilities
The case critique responsibilities for each
team throughout the term are as follows:
|
Case
Critique Responsibility Matrix |
|
|||||
|
Case
#/Name |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 3 |
Team 4 |
Team 5 |
|
|
19. Home
Video Game |
P |
I |
M |
F |
E |
|
|
24. Coke vs.
Pepsi |
E |
P |
I |
M |
F |
|
|
25. Wal-Mart |
F |
E |
P |
I |
M |
|
|
33. AOL –
Time Warner |
M |
F |
E |
P |
I |
|
|
37. Eli
Lilly |
I |
M |
F |
E |
P |
|
|
P |
= |
Present
Case |
|
E |
= |
Executive
Team (Senior Management) |
|
F |
= |
Finance
& Accounting |
|
M |
= |
Marketing /
R&D / Operations |
|
I |
= |
International
/ Human Resources / MIS |