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BA 469 - Strategic Management and Business Policy

Winter 2007 (Sec 002)

 

[Schedule][Course Requirements] [Data Files]

 

Professor:    Manolete V. Gonzalez, Phd             Email: gonzalezm@bus.oregonstate.edu

                        Office: B 224B

                        Office hours: T: 4:00-5:00pm; W 3:00-4:00pm; Th 1:00-2:00pm

 

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

 

After you leave the University and enter the “real world,” you will encounter positions or roles with responsibilities over the ultimate success of a significant portion of an organization; at some point, you could be the head of a functional unit of a company, e.g. head of Marketing and Sales, of a business unit in a multi-business organization, or you could be the head of the whole organization.  Indeed some of you may already be occupying the role of a “general manager” of an organization, in one way or another.  A classic definition of an organization is, “a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or more persons.”  Organizations can be as varied as a business corporation, a fraternity or sorority in which you are a member, the University student council, and a volunteer organization.  As a general manager, you have to make decisions that have long-term consequences for the organization.  The objectives of this course are:

1.      to expose you to the general manager’s perspective,

2.      to provide you with strategic management tools and concepts that you can use in evaluating different situations as a “general manager,” i.e. tools and concepts that can help you understand the strategic situations confronting your organization, and

3.      to provide opportunities to apply these tools and concepts through case discussions. 

Your efforts to understand these tools and concepts and to apply these in analyzing cases should help you appreciate the complexity of the general manager’s challenge. 

 

The tools and concepts that we will cover in this capstone course fall under the management discipline usually referred to as Strategic Management and Business Policy.  In terms of learning outcomes, you must demonstrate that:

1.      you can correctly describe strategic management tools and concepts and know when these can be used;

2.      with a general manager’s perspective, you can use the appropriate strategic management tools and concepts to diagnose selected strategic situations, as described in cases assigned throughout the term;

3.      you can contribute to class and group discussions of these cases.

These learning outcomes will have to be mastered by each of you.  Your classmates and I can help you through the term, but there is no substitute for your effort.   You will have to do it yourself.  I will provide a roadmap as to how you can master these learning outcomes, create the conditions and provide situations that will hopefully facilitate your learning, and establish the methods by which we can determine whether you have mastered the learning outcomes.


 

E-mail Communication: All students registered for business courses have an assigned e-mail address on the College of Business computer system.   If you are not familiar with the system, signs in the Hewlett-Packard Computer Lab (Bexell 112) explain how to access your account.  Also, if you prefer to use your ONID e-mail address, Bexell lab assistants can explain how to have mail addressed to @bus.orst.edu automatically forwarded to your ONID address.   I may communicate outside of class using e-mail; it is important to check your e-mail regularly.  

 

TEXT

 

Hill, C. W. L.. & Jones, G. R., (2004). Strategic management: An integrated approach. MA: Houghton Mifflin.

 

COURSE PREREQUISITES

 

I will assume that all students have senior standing and have taken BA 340, BA 350, BA 352, BA 357, and BA 390.  I will assume that you can apply what you have learned in these courses in analyzing case situations and in understanding the reading material. 

 

LEARNING PROCESS

 

Strategic Management and Business Policy courses are traditionally taught using the case method.  This method uses case analysis and discussion as the method of instruction.  We will follow a modified approach by mixing lectures and case discussions as indicated in the schedule. 

 

There will be classes where a chapter from the text will be covered.  For these classes, you are expected to have read the assigned chapter prior to coming to class.   You should also test your understanding using the study aids contained in the chapters.  During class, the content of each chapter will be explained through lecture, class discussion, and in-class exercises.   

 

For classes where a case will be discussed, you are expected to read the assigned case, analyze it, submit a case brief or report, and be prepared to participate in class discussion.

 

You will be divided into groups early in the term.  Each group will submit two case reports as indicated in the syllabus schedule.  You may use this group as a discussion group to gain better insights into cases assigned for individually written case briefs.

 

We will also use portions of some class periods to discuss readings on various issues that are of strategic importance to business organizations and to students seeking to enter the business world.  These readings will be posted in the public folder; you are encouraged to supplement these with your own research.