Oregon State University

Oregon State University Home Page

Instructor:        Dr. Donald Neubaum

Office:             400E Bexell Hall

Phone             541-737-6036

Email              don.neubaum@bus.oregonstate.edu

Office Hours: TT 3:00 – 4:30PM, or by appointment

 

Required Materials

Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization (Concepts, 8th Edition)

Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson

ISBN 978-0-324-58112-6

 

An ebook version of this text can be purchased below for about $65.00

 

http://www.ichapters.com/tl1/en/US/storefront/ichapters?cmd=catProductDetail&ISBN=9780324581126&cid=APL1

 

Business Strategy Game

www.bsg-online.com

 

Everyone MUST register on-line for the BSG Simulation. It requires a credit-card purchase.

 

Overview

In this course, students will be introduced to the basics of strategic management principles. Along side class lectures and discussions, students will form teams and run a large global manufacturing organization in a business simulation. Teams will compete head to head and make both strategic and operating decisions.  This exercise will force students to think clearly about strategy and hone their skills in making sound decisions based on logic, analysis, and gamesmanship.  Team performance is based on the quality of its decisions relative to its rivals.

 

Course Assignments and Grading

Grades will be determined as follows:

 

Individual Grades – 50%

            Midterm Exam                                                                       20%

            Final Exam                                                                             20%

            Article Summary and Presentation                                     10%

            Game Quiz                                                                               5%

Group Grades          

            Game Performance                                                              20%

            Game Assignments                                                              10%

            Strategic Presentation                                                         15%

           

Final grades will be determined based on the following percentages:

 

            A                     93-100                                    A-        90-93

            B+                   88-90                                      B         83-88

            B-                    80-83                                      C+       78-80

            C                     73-78                                      C-        70-73

            D+                   68-70                                      D         63-68

            D-                    60-63                                      F          60 or lower    

 

 

Individual Grades

Midterm and Final Exams

Midterm and final exams will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions (probably about 60% multiple choice, and 40% short answer).  For the most part, questions will come from the lecture notes. However, your text has a number of bolded terms in each chapter. Those terms are certainly fair game for multiple choice questions. As the quarter progresses, I will give you study guides to help you prepare for the exams. In general, make-up exams are discouraged. Should you have a prior conflict, please see me about arranging a mutually agreeable time to take a make-up exam.  Failure to make arrangements to take the first exam in a timely fashion could result in the final exam being worth 40% of your grade, substituting for your first exam score.

 

Strategic Issues Summary

In an effort to avoid subjecting you to the cruel and unfortunate fate of having to listen solely to me the entire quarter, I am soliciting your skills to help relieve you and your classmates of this punishment. In particular, you are required to identify an article related to a specific aspect of strategy. Articles from the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Business Week and alike are best suited for this assignment. You can also easily find articles related to business and strategy at Yahoo, MSN, and Google as well.

 

You are required to:

1) write a two-page, double spaced summary of the article. In particular, explain the article and how it relates to strategy. You will hand in this summary for grading

2) create a SHORT PowerPoint presentation (approximately 3-5 slides, about 3-5 minutes) summarizing the article for the class. You will also hand in a copy of your slides for grading.

3) provide 2-3 questions at the end of your powerpoint presentation intended to stimulate class discussion of the topic.

 

This assignment is worth 10% of your grade.  I will pass around sign-up sheets so that you can sign up for specific days. You will be graded 50% on your paper and 50% on your presentation. Ten percent of your grade will be deducted if you are not ready to present on the day you signed up. If you miss your assigned day, you are expected to present the next class session. Points will continue to be deducted (10%) until you present and complete your written summary. 

 

Please bring an extra copy of your powerpoint slides to class so that I may use them to grade your presentation.

 

Group Assignments

Early in the quarter, you will be divided into groups (or better yet, you will divide yourself into your own groups) of four or five. In these groups, you will work together on ungraded activities, as well as a computer simulation, which will require a significant investment of your time and represents a substantial portion of your final grade.

 

The Business Strategy Game

As suggested above, students in this class will form teams and compete against one another in a business simulation.  Each team (composed of 4-5 students) will manage a company in the Business Strategy Game (BSG). The teams will make a series of decisions over the course of the term, where each decision represents a year of business operations.  There will be two practice rounds at the beginning of the simulation. It is strongly recommended that teams use these two practice rounds to learn about company operations, coordinate team decision making processes and hone your company’s strategy. The initial years of the BSG are critical to your success. Times and dates for decision entry deadlines will be posted and announced at the beginning of the course. Be aware of these deadlines.  Late decisions or missing a decision will have devastating effects upon your team’s performance. Before the start of the game, there will be an on-line quiz, designed encourage the players to study and understand the mechanics, procedures and details of the game and its play.  This quiz is worth 5% of your grade.

 

This simulation is a critical feature of this course. It demands practical decision making and application of managerial concepts, and engages you in a competitive way. The industry in which you will be competing is the athletic footwear industry. This is an industry with a product you are intimately familiar and features industry practices easily grasped by all, which increases the effectiveness of a simulation from a teaching/learning perspective. The simulation features competition in several continents, enhancing the global aspect of the game.  Products are manufactured and sold in four geographic regions or the company’s Web site. A US private label market also exists, thus allowing the firms to choose a wide variety of strategic positions.

 

Decisions to be made include production and operations, plant capacities and location, worker compensation and training, shipping, pricing and marketing, celebrity endorsements, manufacturing technologies, and financing.  Each team’s challenge is to craft and execute a competitive strategy that results in a respected brand image in footwear, keeps their company in contention for global market leadership, and produces good financial performance as measured by earnings per share, return on investment, stock price appreciation, and credit rating.

 

A competition-based simulation gives you an opportunity to practice what you have read in the textbook chapters. As mentioned above, company co-managers have to wrestle with charting a long-term direction for their company, setting strategic and financial objectives, and crafting strategies that produce good results and perhaps lead to competitive advantage. Within the context of the simulation, you are provided cost benchmarks and comparative financial statistics allowing you to diagnose the company’s market standing vis-à-vis rivals.

 

On the last day of class, each team will make a presentation to the class which will act as the firm’s Board of Directors meeting. The presentation will include the firm's strengths and weakness and evolving strategy including budgeted vs. actual financial results. Problems solved during the semester, and issues and or problems still facing the team will be discussed along with recommendations for future strategy. Teams will use audiovisual aids and handouts to enhance their presentation. (A written report to the instructor is NOT required.) Your grade on the simulation game will be based on 1) the Quiz, 2) your team’s overall performance as determined by your success or failure relative to the other teams with up to 10% based on trend of sales, profits, etc. as determined by the Professor, and 3) the Final Report to the Board of Directors. Team grades will be adjusted by your individual contribution as reported by your team mates on the peer evaluations.

 

Strategic Plan – Presentation – As a team, you will conduct an analysis of a firm of your choosing. You, however, must get prior approval of your choice from me. Your research will culminate with a 20 minute presentation of your analysis, including recommendations. Your analysis and plan will be presented to the class on either March 10th or March 12th.  Specific presentation days will be assigned later in the term. Teams must bring me a copy of their slides on the day of their presentation.  This assignment is worth 15% of your grade.

 

Peer Evaluation

Two times during the terms, your peers will evaluate your effort using an on-line Peer Evaluation form.  The first evaluation, which will occur right after the midterm, is merely for feedback, letting you know how your peers view your performance thus far.  The second evaluation, which will occur at the end of the term, will be used to calculate an individual Peer Evaluation. These scores may then be used to adjust individual grades on group projects up or down by the amount warranted by your peers’ evaluation of your contributions.  If your group members report you did little to no work throughout the quarter, then your grades will reflect this. Your group grades will be a reflection of the effort you invested. If your group members report you went beyond the call of duty to aid the group, then your grade might get boosted upwards accordingly.  Grades can be adjusted up and down by as much as 50%, depending on the severity or strength of your peers’ feedback.

 

One Minute Papers

At the end of some classes, I will ask you to write what I call a “one-minute paper.” This is an ungraded assignment, but is considered part of your class participation.  In a one minute paper, you may write on a variety of topics, including 1) something you learned in class, if anything; 2) giving an example of a topic we spoke of in class; 3) asking a question or seeking clarification; 4) making a comment about class; or 5) anything else. I will read these after each class and respond, if necessary, to your comments or thoughts.

 

I will also assess your attendance, participation and one-minute papers throughout the quarter. Students who regularly participate will receive more credit than those students who are either not prepared or do not contribute during these exercises and assignments. While your participation and attendance are not specifically graded, final letter grades might be adjusted upwards, or downwards, (up or down a full letter grade) based upon my assessment of your level of engagement throughout the quarter. Students present every class session for the entire quarter will earn 5 bonus points on their final exam. 

 

Academic Dishonesty

Cheating is a violation of student academic behavior standards. This may include:

 

a) Unauthorized assistance or communication to another through written, visual, or oral means.

b) Presentation of material which has been obtained by someone else's effort and used as part of an exam, assignment or project.

c) Unauthorized possession of course related material.

d) Plagiarism, whereby another's work is used without any indication of the source, thereby attempting to convey the impression that such work is the student's own, including the failure to credit ideas or material taken.

e) Students who assist others in any of these activities can be considered equally responsible.

 

When a violation of student academic behavior standards becomes known, the instructor shall take appropriate measures, including the assignment of an F for the class grade to the recommendation of further disciplinary action.  This action is permitted by Academic Regulations and Procedures as described in the Schedule of Classes. I expect you to know and understand these policies and procedures. If there is any doubt about their meaning and interpretation, ask me for an explanation.

 

Saying “I did not know” is not considered a viable excuse because now you know.

 

See http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/achon.htm for more information.

 

Standing-O

To earn a five-point bonus on your first exam, I allow you the opportunity to do a standing-O. In a standing-O, you come to the front of the class and announce a recent accomplishment or achievement you have received. After you tell us of your experience, everyone in the class will applaud your efforts. While you may do as many Standing-Os you want in the quarter, you can only earn the 5 point bonus once. Standing-Os can be done anytime during the quarter. Those done after the mid-term can still be used to add 5 bonus points to the mid-term exam grade.

 

Team Specials

Throughout the quarter, I will be offering a series of activities, bonuses, tasks, or assignments worth a variety of points. These may be academic (like a chapter quiz), or just something goofy (name a piece of art contest). Each team is responsible for keeping track of its own points. Each team will create their own team specials folder to keep track of these assignments. Team special scoresheets are available on my website.  You can keep track of your progress on these sheets. At the end of the semester, the teams with the most points will be awarded the following awards:

First Place -               Exemption from taking the final exam

Second Place -         15 points added to their final exam

Third Place -              Opt out of one short answer question on the                                                                      final

 

Everything is Relative

As you will learn in class, everything in strategy is relative. Your performance in the class is evaluated not only by some standard I set, but also by your performance relative to your classmates. What does that mean for you? It means this class is competitive. You are competing against your classmates when taking your exams, writing your papers, and doing your presentations.  In other words, you might inadvertently LOWER your grade by help another classmate boost theirs. Do you own work.


SCHEDULE FOR WINTER 2009

(EXAM AND ASSIGNMENT/PRESENTATION DATES ARE FIXED; THE LECTURE SCHEDULE MIGHT HAVE TO BE REVISED BASED ON PROGRESS)

 



Dates

Content

Assignment Deadlines

Week 1

Mon 9/28

Course Introduction

Tale of Three Tales

Chapter 1-2

 

Wed 9/30

Robin Hood

BSG Introduction

Chapter 1-2

 

Week 2

Mon 10/5

Chapter 1-2

 

Wed 10/7

Chapter 3

 

Week 3

Mon 10/12

Chapter 3

 

Wed 10/14

Chapter 3

 

Week 4

Mon 10/19

Chapter 4

 

Wed 10/21

Chapter 4

 

Week 5

Mon 10/26

Chapter 4

 

Wed 10/28

Chapter 5

 

Week 6

Mon 11/2

 

Midterm

Wed 11/4

Chapter 6  

 

Week 7

Mon 11/9

Chapter 6

 

Wed11/11

Chapter 8

 

Week 8

Mon 11/16

Language of Leadership

 

Wed 11/18

Chapter 8

 

Week 9

 

Mon 11/23

Chapter 9

 

Wed 11/25

Chapter 9

 

Week 10

Mon 11/30

 

Presentations

Wed 12/2

 

Presentations

Finals

Wednesday, December 9th, 6:00PM

 

Final Exam