BA469 Syllabus

Strategic Management is referred to as the capstone course in the business curriculum. The perspective of the CEO or general manager is taken, focusing on the whole organization and drawing on all business functions. In addition to Strategic Management, this course is also known at other universities as Business Policy, Corporate Strategy, Competitive Strategy, or simply Strategy. These titles capture the essence of the course, which is to understand how business strategies are developed, managed and executed. We will build on, and bring together, the individual functional pieces that each of you have studied in your business education to date.

Economics teaches that an environment of perfect competition is made up of many homogeneous (similar) firms that sell homogeneous products and earn "normal" economic profits (i.e., just enough profit to cover the firm's cost of capital). If a firm develops some competitive advantage, such as a hot new product, or a new means to lower the cost of production, it is not able to maintain earning above normal profits. This is due to the economic assumption of perfect information, other firms quickly learn about the new advantage and the above normal economic profit is competed away. Thus a new equilibrium of normal profits is quickly established.

The field of strategic management narrows the scope of study to groups of firms and individual firms. The fundamental premise is that while the economic models may hold true in the aggregate, performance between groups of companies and between individual companies within groups varies widely. The objective of strategic management is to understand this variance. This improved understanding of why some companies are successful and others fail has obvious important implications for the formulation and implementation of business strategies.

In the course we will endeavor to understand theory that has been developed by strategic management researchers and discuss how well (or poorly!) this theory does in fact describe what goes on in actual business organizations. The form of our discussions will be both verbal and written.

This course has been designated as the writing intensive curriculum (WIC) course for all business majors. As you might imagine, this means I will be asking you to do a significant amount of writing of various types throughout the term. It also means you will have a great opportunity to reveal your thinking to me through your writing.

All written work you do for this course must be your own and must not be work you have done for any previous class (unless you acknowledge where the work came from). Be diligent about citing any work you do use in your papers (however it is not necessary to cite information from the textbook when writing your case analysis papers). We all know how easy it is to cut and paste material that’s available electronically, however doing so without citing the source is not only inappropriate but could have severe consequences on your academic progress. Here’s a link to the statement of expectations for student conduct on the university website: http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/achon.htm.

It is my expectation that we will get to know each other quite well in this class and quickly feel comfortable expressing our ideas in writing and in spirited discussions. I encourage you to actively engage yourself with the material and to constructively challenge the ideas presented in the text and cases, as well as in our class discussions.

Please let me know if you need any particular accommodations during the course. The following statement is from the university web site regarding accommodations for students with disabilities: "Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Students with accommodations approved through SSD are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through SSD should contact SSD immediately at 737-4098."

Specific course learning outcomes:

1. Be able to skillfully use the strategic management process model to formulate strategies and develop implementation plans that enable a firm to set and achieve goals and objectives.

2. Develop expertise in the use of strategic management tools and techniques.

3. Understand the importance of fit between a firm’s strategy, structure and systems in order to achieve high levels of firm effectiveness.

4. Comprehend the difficulties encountered by people working in organizations and groups.

5. Communicate your ideas coherently through both oral and written mediums.

6. Listen to the ideas of others and appropriately incorporate them into your thinking.

Grading: Class Participation 20%

Written Case Analyses 25%

Presentation Project 10%

Midterm Exam 17.5%

Final Exam 27.5%

Class Participation:

It is important for you to participate during class discussions by offering your ideas, insights and by being respectful of others. By doing so the class will learn from each other and you will be able to practice communication of your ideas. I will grade you both on the quantity and quality of your contributions. In order to create an environment conducive to good discussion I strongly encourage you to come to class on time and prepared.

I will provide a handout with discussion questions for each chapter in the text. Please think through your responses to these questions before each class as they will provide the focus for our discussions. In order for you to do well and optimize your learning in class you must do the assigned reading before coming to class.

There are several other important ways that you should contribute to the class. One is by asking questions (of me, of other students, and of any guest speakers). Another is to actively participate in the frequent in-class group projects we will do. And a third is by writing and sharing a journal of “lessons learned” throughout the term.

The journal assignment requires you to write at least five double-spaced typed pages reflecting on what you are learning and thinking about as the course progresses. As a means to make this a practical and helpful assignment you may want to write about how the ideas presented in class apply either to your career and job search or to the development of some type of business or organization you are involved with. It will also be a more valuable assignment if you work on your journal every week throughout the term (i.e. don’t leave it until the night before it’s due). Your class journal will be peer reviewed by your fellow classmates on the review date noted on the course schedule, and a final revised version is due on our last class meeting. The journal assignment will contribute to a part of your class participation grade.

I’d also like you to attend at least one Austin Entrepreneurship Program “Fireside Chat” during the term. These are usually at 7:30pm on Thursdays and last an hour or so. They are held in the Trysting Tree room of Weatherford Hall. Here’s a link with information on the speakers:

https://www.bus.oregonstate.edu/aepfellows/home.aspx

My method of grading class participation (other than the journal assignment) is as follows. Each day after class I go through the class list and think about the contribution each of you made to that day’s class. I record your contribution at one of three levels, the lowest is you were in class and alert, but made no explicit contribution. The next level is you actively participated in some way and demonstrated that prior to class you read and thought about the material assigned for that day. If your participation was especially significant, I will make note of your high level contribution to the class. At the end of the term if you have mostly medium and high marks you get a high participation grade whereas if there are many classes with nothing recorded, or only the lowest level, you get a low grade. About half way through the course I will give you some feedback on how I see your participation grade up to that point.

Written Case Analyses:

You are asked to turn in a written analysis for at least four of the six cases we will discuss in class. Your paper should be approximately three, but no more than four pages, double spaced. Your paper should address specific questions for each case that I will provide to you.

Each case analysis essay will be graded on a ten point scale. An outstanding paper should communicate excellent:

1. Structure. Flow from an engaging introduction to a supportive body and end with a summarizing conclusion.

2. Course Concepts. Tie your case analysis to the concepts discussed in the text and in class (provide support for your recommendations).

3. Relevance. Address the specific issues raised in the questions I provide you.

4. Grammar. Demonstrate good grammar.

5. Style. Be interesting.

I will drop your two lowest scores for the term (which could be times when you don’t turn anything in). Therefore, a total of four papers will make up your written case analyses grade. Because it’s a bit unusual, I’ll give anyone who writes up the Billy Budd case a one point bonus to his or her grade for that case.

You should obviously read and prepare all the cases for our class discussion whether or not you formally submit your analysis.

Your written analysis is due by the beginning of class on the day the case is assigned. Late papers will be docked two points and no papers will be accepted more than one week beyond the class date they were due. The reason for allowing you to drop your two lowest scores is to not penalize you if some catastrophe strikes which occasionally prevents you from turning in your paper on time. So don’t “waste” your drops and please don’t ask me for any exceptions to the above rules.

In order to give you practice revising your written work, you may resubmit one or two of your papers on our last class before the final exam to be re-graded. Please attach your original paper to your revised paper when you turn it in. If your paper is significantly improved from the original version I may revise your grade.

Partner Presentation Project:

You are to find a partner from the class and seek out a strategy related newspaper, magazine or internet article on a company or industry. On your assigned day you are asked to explain the article at the beginning of class and turn in a two page written summary at the time of your presentation. Your information must come from a source other than the company you are studying (i.e. don’t just go to the company web page as the information there is presented to reflect favorably on the company). I’d also like you to include some type of numerical analysis as part of your presentation. The written summary should include a copy of the article or a reference list explaining where the sources of your information could be found.

Your presentation should be twelve 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. Fifty percent 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 don’t think you should each get the same grade because one of you contributed significantly more than the other.

You will do well on your presentation if:

1. Your presentation is interesting.

2. Your presentation is clear and is connected to the course material.

3. You stay within the twelve minute time limit.

4. At least one student from the audience asks a question.

5. Your written summary is clear and includes the article or a reference on where is can be found.

I will provide a sign-up sheet for assignment of particular dates on a “first come first served” basis.

Midterm Exam:

The midterm will be based on the assigned materials, lectures and class discussions covered prior to the midterm exam. A sample of a past midterm is included in the course notes packet.

Final Exam:

The final will be based on the assigned materials, lectures and class discussions covered in the course with an emphasis on new material since the midterm.