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STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS POLICY
BA 469 – BEXL 416
Spring 2007, Section 005 MW 2:00-3:50 PM
Section 006 MW 4:00-5:50 PM
Professor
Clay Dibrell, Ph.D. Office:
Bexell Hall 400b, Office Phone: 737-4110, e-mail: clay.dibrell@bus.oregonstate.edu.
Office hours are scheduled for Monday
1:00-2:00 pm and Wednesday Noon-1:00 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 (4 credit hours
– meets 4 lecture hours per week)
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.
Mandatory 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.
Measurable
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students
should have the ability to:
1.
Determine company wide strategy.
2.
Identify and explain the impact that external
environmental factors have on business strategy.
3.
Discern between the causes and the symptoms of business
problems.
4.
Use appropriate strategic assessment tools to
identify company wide problems.
5.
Identify and explain problems associated with
long-term strategy formulation and implementation.
6.
Create solutions to problems associated with
business-related problems.
7.
Think through the strategic implications associated
with solutions to business-related problems.
8.
Comprehend the difficulties encountered by people
working in organizations and groups.
9.
Communicate ideas and principles coherently to a
business-related audience through both oral and written mediums.
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.
Statement
regarding 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."
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. http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/achon.htm.
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 the 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 and presentation 10%
2.
Class
participation 10%
3.
Individual
case papers 25%
4.
Midterm
exam 22.5%
5.
Final
exam 32.5%
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
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. 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.
- The article should not be a press
release from the company.
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.
Class
Participation: Having read the assignments prior to class,
students should come to class prepared to discuss/debate the chosen daily topic
and case material. Students will be
graded upon their relevant comments or lack thereof to the class
conversation. In order to do well on
this component, you must not only be in class, but you must also participate in
class discussion. Those students who
choose not to participate in class will get a lower participation grade in
class compared to those that come to
class and actively participate.
Additionally, I will ask each student to nominate three peers that they
believe have been the most active participants during our course. I will take these nominations under
consideration when I calculate final class participation scores.
3. Individual
Papers (Case Analysis):
Each student is required to turn in a typed four page paper, 12pt Times New
Roman font, and double-spaced concept paper of each assigned case. You
should not have a cover sheet and should try and stay within the four 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, or an Industry
analysis depending upon which analysis is assigned for that specific case
(e.g., 1 pages), (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
11/2 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, 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. The first two cases
will be reviewed by your peers to provide you un-graded feedback, which you can
incorporate prior to formally submitting it.
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.
4. Exams: There will be two exams that consisting of
multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions – 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 describing your strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats for your life. 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.
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.