BUS 491 (03): M 6-9:40p Dr. Gilinsky/page XXX
Fall, 2008
Course Outline for
BUS 491 (03) — Seminar in Management Strategy & Policy
Sonoma State University
Stevenson 3026
Monday: 6:00 a.m. - 9:40 p.m.
September 8 – December 15, 2008
Dr. Armand Gilinsky
Professor of Business
Stevenson 2026F: 707.664.2709 (by appointment)
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA 94928 USA
Required text: Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., and Gamble, J. E. (2008) Crafting and Executing Strategy: Concepts and Cases, 16th ed., hardcover, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, [website: www.mhhe.com/thompson]
Instructor website: www.sonoma.edu/users/g/gilinsky/
Username: gilinsky
Password: TBA in class.
By accepting this learning contract, I (the student) also agree to abide by and comply with the terms of the University’s Honor Code.
Welcome to our Fall 2008 Strategic Management course!
My vision is to help you to generate world-class, cutting-edge business solutions. The overriding objective of this course is to provide the questions you need to ask to make the right decisions about the future of a business or non-profit organization. Strategic management entails generating choices to be made among competing alternatives to produce a competitive advantage and earn above-average returns.
Rapid technological change, mergers and acquisitions, increasing pressures for globalization, and changing local environments for businesses have heightened the urgency to ask the right questions about the future, such as:
1. Which distinctive competencies should we be developing for our businesses?
2. Where should we compete?
3. How do we communicate our strategy to our stakeholders?
We will indeed be fortunate to have your collective wisdom as well as that of possible guest speakers from the business community to help guide us through complex strategic issues.
Learning objectives. The primary goal of this course is to teach you how to think and act strategically. By successfully completing BUS 491, you will learn:
1. What are the interrelationships among the functional areas of an enterprise;
2. How to develop and use skills in decision-making and oral and written presentation;
3. How to analyze, formulate and implement strategies, especially the role of top management teams in performing these activities.
By the end of the course, you should be able to analyze thoroughly a company, its industry and its competitors and to recommend a well-supported strategy to your Board of Directors.
Course description. This course in business policy focuses on integrative, multifunctional approaches to the solution of organizational issues and problems. A practical perspective, rather than a merely theoretical one, is stressed via discussion of case studies. Why use a case-study approach? Three levels of learning take place:
1. We share the generalized insights of leading theoreticians;
2. We test the applicability and limits of these theories to specific case studies; and
3. You develop your own special amalgam of insights based upon empirical observations and inductive reasoning (from case analyses).
How are cases used in BUS 491?
• As discussion vehicles for probing the benefits and limits of certain approaches;
• To provide class members with opportunities to apply and test concepts and tools related to dimensions of management thought (e.g., marketing, accounting, finance);
• To help you to understand the nature of “better” answers, as well as the complexity of reaching solutions and implanting them in organizations.
What do you—as class member—need to do? First, understand what went on in that situation:
• What has changed?
• What are the key questions about the future that need to be answered?
• What further information is needed to answer those questions?
Major emphasis is placed on action and implementation, not just on analysis. Each case features a top management team (TMT) facing a specific set of issues and problems. So, during the course, you will have an opportunity to see a wide range of TMTs in action, and to think about their specific choices and actions as if you were the TMT in charge.
This course calls on you to integrate concepts of all other prerequisite business courses, i.e., bringing together and applying the learning from core courses to the analysis and solution of strategic management problems. The course is intended to enhance the following skills:
1. Your ability to decipher detail and to analyze information in order to identify and to diagnose the major problems and opportunities confronting business organizations;
2. Your ability to take a cross-functional, top management perspective in developing feasible overall strategies as well as specific problem solutions;
3. Your ability to decide from among alternative courses of action and to formulate feasible plans for their implementation;
4. Your ability to present a position and to defend it.
Study groups. You will be assigned to study groups consisting of four (or five) members, meeting regularly to discuss the cases and readings before they are discussed in class. Teams may not exceed four members without my permission. The aim of these groups is to share and critique individual analyses and to enhance class participation. Each day, class time will be set aside for meetings; as the course progresses, you may find it necessary to spend several hours meeting outside of class.
Class participation. You should come prepared for class discussion of cases and supplemental readings, that is, with an outline or condensation of your case analysis, stating your perception of the underlying problem, some supportive data, and your recommended plan(s) of action. Bear in mind how difficult it is to assess your participation if you are absent from class! Attendance will be taken. Your class participation grade will be based on: 1) evidence of careful preparation of the cases and readings; 2) clarity and conciseness of your analysis; and 3) strong and convincing presentation of your findings and conclusions. Guidance for class participation is on p. 12.
Performance evaluation. Strategic issues seldom have clear-cut or singularly “right” solutions. This means that my evaluation of your performance will be based upon your managerial aptitude in problem diagnosis, generation of solutions, and communication of your position. I will be looking for demonstration of logical argumentation and consistency in your thought processes. Grades will be based on your performance in (a) oral discussion and argument (defense) of your ideas and (b) written communication. These will be weighted as follows:
Class preparation, attendance & participation [see Guidelines, pp. 10–12] 30%
Written case analysis [three (3) issue briefs, see Course Calendar, pp. 5–9] 20%
In-class case presentation [see pp. 16-17] 10%
Final presentation [in class, 12/8, see pp. 16-17] 20%
Final examination [due in class 12/15 at 5:00 p.m., see p. 15] 20%
Total 100%
Written case analyses. In order to create opportunities for us to explore more basic strategy issues and discuss methods of formulation and implementation that might otherwise have to be rushed, we will be using an electronic submission format for Issue Briefs. Please submit your individual case analyses as an MS Word file attachment (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt font, 1 inch margins) to me at with both the e-mail subject line and file name reading <CaseAbbrev.yourlastname.doc> (e.g., for for the Panera Bread Company, PAN.Gilinsky.Doc, or for Costco, Inc., COST.Gilinsky.doc). Please use the following format:
1. Indicate your key case decision (what the GM needs to do now and why) in one succinct sentence (17-20 words, maximum);
2. Support your decision by three (3) bullet points – less than one line in length; use dimensions of strategic management thought; avoid judgment here; your three bullet points are essentially a table of contents (preview) to the rest of (body) of your analysis;
3. Add any qualitative and/or quantitative comments/discussion which you feel is/are necessary to substantiate your analysis. (1-2 page limit, about 250-500 words, plus exhibits, which should be numbered consecutively and referred to in the body of your analysis); and then
4. Conclude by restating the central problem or issue and recommendation for action, stating lessons learned about strategic management, linking to readings that you have gleaned from the textbook.
Do not answer the study questions! Study questions (see Course Calendar, pp. 5-9) are intended to get you thinking about the issues in the case and to lead you through the process of analysis. Issue Briefs are due by 8:00 a.m. on class days for which Issue Briefs are assigned (see Course Calendar, below). Timely submission of case analyses will facilitate review of your work as well as a summary of the section’s qualitative/quantitative comments. You should always keep a hard copy of your Issue Brief for yourself and bring this to class. Your Issue Brief will serve as a personal document from which you could lead a class discussion. Acceptable Issue Briefs are given a “check,” which is roughly equivalent to a “B” grade. Unacceptable or late submissions will be assigned a “check minus,” roughly equivalent to a “C” grade. Issue Briefs not submitted on the date due for any reason will be assigned an “F” grade. An outstanding effort will receive a “check plus,” roughly equivalent to an “A” grade. Grading and coaching comments on your Issue Briefs will be returned to you as soon as possible.
Final examination. The final examination (see pp. 16–17) will consist of an oral presentation and a written case analysis, both prepared and submitted by your study group team. The final examination will give you the opportunity to present and write a lengthier case analysis and will be assigned a letter grade. NOTE: Written case analysis (issue brief) assignments due in the latter half of this seminar, i.e., after Week 7, will be weighted more heavily than those at the beginning.
COURSE CALENDAR
Week 1 — Monday, September 8, 2008
Topics: Introduction, Framework for Strategic Analysis; Critical Thinking
Read: Syllabus (handout)
Case: “Robin Hood” (T&S&G Case 22: C-318) [RH] (also on Syllabus, pp. 19–20)
Participate and do: Meet with study group partners; discuss Robin Hood [RH]: 6:00 – 6:50 p.m.
Class discussion of “Robin Hood”: 7:00–9:40 p.m.
Class cards and one-page résumé assignment (due next week)
Watch and listen: Intro lecturette; Outro: Dead Poets' Society (video, in class)
Week 2 — Monday, September 15, 2008*
Topic I: Assessing a Firm’s Financial & Cultural Health/Building Teams
Prepare: “A Note on Ratio Analysis” (see Syllabus, pp. 21-26)
T&S&G, Ch. 1, “What Is Strategy and Why Is It Important?”
Your one-page résumé and class card (turn in both at the beginning of class)
Participate and do: Study groups: Calculate financial ratios from Kalari Burns case.
Review financial ratio analysis & class discussion: 6:30–8:00 p.m.
Don’t forget: *One-page résumé and class cards (with snapshot) are due!
Topic II: Core Purpose & Values Exercises (see pp. 14–15)
Manager’s Toolkit Exercise (in class – see p. 19): 8:20–9:40 p.m.
Week 3 — Monday, September 22, 2008*
Topic I: Crafting & Executing Strategy – Processes & Leadership
Prepare: T&S&G, Ch. 2, “The Managerial Process of Crafting & Executing Strategy”
Case: “Costco Wholesale Corporation” [COST]
(T&S&G, Case 1: C-01)
*Issue brief due from each student by 8:00 a.m.
Participate and do: Study groups meet 6:00 – 6:50 p.m.
Class discussion of “Costco Wholesale Corporation”: 7:00–9:40 p.m.
Study questions for the COST case:
1. What grade would you assign to CEO Jim Sinegal as a leader? Justify your answer.
2. Evaluate Costco’s business model. Consider carefully the company’s mission, human resources practices, business philosophy, and code of ethics. What has Costco done well? Which areas should it focus upon for continual improvement?
3. Evaluate Costco’s financial performance over the 2003-2006 fiscal years. Calculate financial ratios to support your evaluation. What stands out? What is in need of improvement?
4. What should Costco do now to maintain its leadership position in the membership warehouse retail segment? How would you recommend that Sinegal proceed? Prioritize! What are the likely consequences of your recommendation(s)?
Week 4 — Monday, September 29, 2008
Topic: Industry Analysis and Competitive Positioning
Prepare/Read: Michael Porter’s “How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy” (website)
T&S&G, Ch. 3: “Evaluating a Company’s External Environment”
Case: “Competition in the Bottled Water Industry in 2006” [BWI]
(T&S&G, Case 4: C-48)
Participate and do: Study groups meet 6:00 – 6:50 p.m.
Class discussion of “Bottled Water Industry”: 7:00 – 9:40 p.m.
Study questions for the BWI case:
1. Is the bottled water industry attractive? How do you know? Justify your evaluation!
2. Perform a Porter “5 Forces” analysis of the bottled water industry. (T&S, pp. 54-74, and/or use the Porter reading to guide your efforts). What do these 5 forces reveal about the opportunities for profitability in the bottled water industry? Which are strongest? Weakest?
3. How would you characterize the competitive position(s) of each of the major bottled water companies’ mentioned in the case? Which are strong? Which are not so strong? Why?
Week 5 — Monday, October 6, 2008*
Topic: Situation Analysis: Internal Assessment
Prepare: T&S&G, Ch. 4, “Evaluating A Company’s Resources and Competitive Position”; “A Note on Conducting Situation Analysis” (download from instructor website)
Case: “Panera Bread Company.” [PAN] (T&S&G, Case 8: C-85)
Participate and do: Study groups meet 6:00 – 6:50 p.m.
Class discussion of “Panera Bread”: 7:00 – 9:40 p.m.
*Issue brief due from each student by 8:00 a.m.
Study questions for the PAN case:
1. Describe the dominant business and economic characteristics of fast-casual segment of the restaurant industry. Which of these characteristics stand out?
2. Describe Panera Bread’s competitive strategy. Is this strategy well suited to its industry situation? To achieving management’s stated objectives, namely expanding the number of locations by 17% annually through 2010 and achieving earnings per share growth of 25% annually?
3. Perform SWOT and financial ratio analyses for Panera Bread; what stands out as strengths or weaknesses?
4. What recommendations would you make to Panera Bread’s management to improve the company's performance and outdistance its closest rivals?
Week 6 — Monday, October 13, 2008
Topic: Competitive Advantage; The Resource-Based View of Strategy
Prepare: T&S&G, Ch. 5: “The Five Generic Competitive Strategies”
Case: “Ryanair” [RYAN] (T&S&G, Case 28: C-389)
Participate and do: Study groups meet 6:00 – 6:50 p.m.
Class discussion of “Ryanair”: 7:00 – 9:40 p.m.
Study questions for the RYAN case:
1. Which key forces are driving competitive rivalry in the global passenger airline industry?
2. How has RYANAIR chosen to compete in the airline industry? What is its generic strategy? Evaluate its success in developing this generic strategy.
3. Which challenges does RyanAir need to meet and overcome now to stay ahead of rival air carriers?