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TSTD 297.10 Advanced Topical Studies -- Applied Strategic Planning

Spring 2006

Time: Wednesdays, 3:30 to 6:00 p.m.

Location: 1776 G Street, N.W., downstairs in Room 104

Instructor

Dr. Douglas C. Frechtling

Professor of Tourism Studies

Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management

2201 G Street, N.W., Funger Hall Room 301Q

Telephone: 202-994-4456

Fax: 202-994-1630

Email:

Office hours: 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays

Course Description

Required capstone experience for tourism administration students who do not select the thesis or MBAD 295 Consulting Practicum options. Analysis of case situations involving policy formulation or management decision making; emphasis on applied strategic planning and management approaches.

Required Textbook

Leonard D. Goodstein, Timothy M. Nolan, J. William Pfeiffer, Applied Strategic Planning: How to Develop a Plan That Really Works, San Diego: Pfeiffer & Company, 369 pp. , ISBN 0-07-024020-5

Web Related

- Wizard for basic business planning; also, resource materials and software for more complex business plan development

- This is an informative site containing resources and tools focused on strategic planning.

- This is an extensive resource that you can use for every step of the ASP process. It is recommended that you use the needs assessment checklist as you begin work with your organization. Although the steps are designed for small and medium size business in Canada, they can be used with adaptation to other country SME applications and, to some extent, for non business organizations. You should refer to the step relevant to each unit in the outline section as you progress through the ASP process. In particular, you can use the diagnostic tools and the resources to assist you and your client in dealing with the ASP issue being addressed.

Resources available on the Internet for business planning.

Free books on business accessed by the Internet

Item Web Library Resources

WTOelibrary_login.pdf (165.262 Kb)

The above file is a guide to downloading publications from the World Tourism Organization's eLibrary. Please do not share these instructions with anyone outside GW.

This leads useful guides to Tourism/hospitality Management, Event Management and Sport Management information sources that our Gelman Library Resource Specialist, Mr. Shmuel ben Gad, maintains.

Item Requirement

Students are expected to actively participate in all course activities. To achieve the objectives for this course, students will follow the instructions for preparing an applied strategic plan described in the text and exercises and further amplified in the lectures and class discussion.

Course Objectives

As a result of this capstone course, students should attain competencies which will enable them to:

  1. Select and present the rationale for addressing a critical issue facing an organization willing to participate in the applied strategic planning process
  2. Analyze the organization’s current situation in terms of its internal, competitive, industry and macro environment, mission, major stakeholders and related factors
  3. Assess the major driving forces influencing the organization’s capacity to manage change
  4. Formulate an organization’s desired future (vision, expected results, goals) using collaborative approaches
  5. Evaluate an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in terms of its capacity to achieve the desired future.
  6. Propose alternative solutions or actions necessary to reach the desired future.
  7. Argue the pros and cons of each alternative and recommend actions that are realistic, practical and responsive to organizational realities.
  8. Propose responses to best and worst case contingency scenarios
  9. Apply strategic planning principles and practices to addressing a critical issue resulting in the presentation of findings and recommendations to a client in oral and written formats.

Method of Instruction

The instructional approach is a blend of lectures, class discussions and independent research, using collaborative processes. Concentration advisors should be asked by students for help in selecting an organizational sponsor and to provide advice throughout the ASP process if needed. Students will choose an organizational sponsor and identify a critical issue related to their scholarly or professional interests, with approval of the professor. A detailed outline of topics, class schedule, and text assignments is included in this description.

The course will include the following:

Seminars on the case study approach and applied strategic planning techniques, including quest lectures. Group discussion of applied strategic planning methods their application to cases selected by students.

Extensive student fieldwork to conduct strategic planning activities with client. Students should document direct client contacts with a log describing the activity , date and amount of time. The client log should document a minimum of 10 hours of client contacts. The log should be attached to the draft final report.

Progressive case study reports to sponsoring organization, class members and professor.

Review of practice oral presentation for client.

Oral presentation and final report to client and professor for review and critique.

Two “open book” tests.

This course will be periodically enhanced to take advantage of the interactive mediated learning support made possible through Blackboard. PowerPoint slides and lecture notes are provided for each session. You should download the slides and open to the notes view and review before each class. Other materials or instructions may be added before each class. Please check this Blackboard course prior to each class session for updates.

Method of Evaluation

Your grade will be determined on a base of 1000 points by your performance as follows:

Exam 1 - 200 points

Exam 2 - 200 points

Client Contact Log - 80 points

Critique of ASP presentation by organizational client representative(s) – 120 points

Final written ASP report – 300 points

Class participation - 100 points (10 points for each required class for attendance and participation)

Letter grades are assigned based on the distribution of total points for the course:

A = 920 - 1000

A- = 900 - 919

B+ = 880 - 899

B = 820 - 879

B- = 800 - 819

C+ = 780 - 799

C = 720 - 779

C- = 700 - 719

F = Below 700

Academic Dishonesty Policy

This course will abide by the George Washington University Code of Academic Integrity. The Code is printed in the Schedule of Classes and is also available on the GW website at Note carefully the definitions of "cheating" and "plagiarism" under this Code. A case of academic dishonesty in this course will lead to an "F" on the assignment in question at a minimum, and may lead to failure of the course. In this course, the tutorials and the exams are individual efforts. For the cases which are designated group efforts, giving and receiving assistance is fine. Please accord your professor and your fellow students complete respect and abide by the Code.

Note Carefully

If it appears that snow, ice or extreme cold might affect the University class schedule, call (202) 994-5050 for a taped message about whether classes are canceled or not, or click on the “Campus Advisories” link on the front page of the GW Web site,

Item Spring, 2006 Class Schedule

Required Sessions/Dates:

1: January 18

2: January 25

3: February 1

4: February 8

February 15: No class--client consultation

5: February 22

6: March 1

March 8: No class--client consultation

March 15: No class--Spring Break

7: March 22

8: March 29

9: April 5

10: April 12 -- Practice Presentations

11: April 19 -- Practice Presentations

12: April 26

Oral Presentation to the Client -- To be scheduled by students with clients after practice presentation.