Course Title: Business Strategy & Organization

MASTER OF LAWS

Course Code: MGMT643

Course Title: Business Strategy & Organization

Instructor: Dr Adel F Dimian

Title: Associate Professor of Strategic Management Practice

Email:

Date Updated: April 13, 2013

Pre-requisite/CO-REQUISITE/MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE cOURSE(S)

none

COURSE specialisation

Compulsory

Grading BaSIS

Graded

Course UNIT

1 CU

FIRST offering term

Academic Year: AY2013/2014

Academic Term: Term 1

COURSE DESCRIPTION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

A. Theories of Strategic Management

By the end of this course, students will know:

• The fundamental theories and frameworks which help us understand strategy in a firm
• The interaction of the internal and external environments on a firm’s strategy
• Understand how the functions of a firm combine to deliver strategic success

B. General skills

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Apply frameworks to develop sound strategies
• Use tools to analyze the environment of a firm
• Apply relevant practices to organize and execute strategy in a firm

C. Action-oriented Attitude

By the end of this course, students will:

• Have a practical understanding of the role and practice of strategic management
• Understand their role in the analysis, formulation and execution of strategy
• Be able to apply strategic thinking to any industry and opportunity
• Be able to participate and lead strategy

Pre-requisite/ CO-REQUISITE/ MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE cOURSE(S)

none

Recommended Text and Readings

Strategy Analysis & Practice 2nd ed; McGee, Thomas, Wilson; McGraw-Hill.

Glo-Bus Strategy Simulator Game Access Card (included in course text).

Case Studies:

Apple Computer 2010(HBS# 9-710-467)

JetBlue Airlines: Starting from Scratch(HBS# 9-801-354)

ColaWars Continue (HBS# 9-702-442)

Zara: Fast Fashion(HBS# 9-703-497)

Dimbulah Coffee SMU-11-0004

Food EmpireSMU-11-0010

Additional reference material

Supplementary material: In addition to the required textbook, course packet if cases and articles and simulator access, the following texts on strategic management and alternate theories are available in the library for supplementary reading. Use these texts for reference or further learning/clarification of the material taught during the course. They are not required readings but may enhance your learning.

Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, Michael E. Porter (Free Press, 1998).

Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Michael E. Porter (Free Press, 1998).

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space & Make the Competition Irrelevant, W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne (Harvard Business School Press, 2005).

Game Theory at Work: How to Use Game Theory to Outthink and Outmaneuver Your Competition, written by James D. Miller (McGraw-Hill, 2003).

Business dailies/weeklies to include: The Asian Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Times, Financial Times.

Assessment Method

INSTRUCTIONAL MethodS AND EXPECTATIONS

Participation (Case Discussion)

This course is designed around the case study methodology (25% of the grade). As such, it is critical that you prepare thoroughly prior to class discussion. In this portion of the grading, it is most important to prepare so that a meaningful and challenging discussion may ensue among your classmates and your professor. Students are encouraged to think freely and express thoughts based on the case facts. In many cases, there is no right answer and it is heartily encouraged that students challenge convention, though this challenge should, at a minimum, be based on solid theory and practical outcomes. Through analysis and discussion in class, you will learn to better understand the nature of firm’s strategy and the processes of its formulation and execution. Questions to ponder while preparing the case are shown below, these are meant as a guide to the relevant point of the case:

• Apple

Describe the Personal Computer (PC) industry structure and the external environment that Apple and the PC industry faced in the early 1980’s and compare it to the industry structure and external environment today. How did the i-products (i-pod, i-phone, i-pad) affect the forces in the PC industry? Comment on Steve Jobs and his leadership at various times in his career. When did he show positive attributes and when did he show less than positive attributes. How did he change?

• Jetblue

Discuss the internal capabilities that JetBlue used to achieve competitive advantage. What part of the value chain played the most critical role in their success? Why? Was David Neeleman smart to enter the US domestic airline at that time? What part of his leadership do you think was his strongest attribute?

• Cola Wars

Historically, how do Coke and Pepsi compete? What is the nature of their completion and by what basis to they try to distinguish themselves? If you could be a bottler or a concentrate producer, which would you choose? Who is winning the “Cola Wars?”

• Zara

What is the nature of Zara’s competitive advantage? Describe their upstream and downstream strategy and how they may work together. How did they achieve this and what is the overall driving philosophy behind it? How would you manage the portfolio of Inditex businesses?

• Food Empire

Why Russia? Should Nair stay in Russia based on what he knows in August 1998?

• Dimbulah Coffee

What recommendations would you give to Chris Wanden to grow his business 10-fold? Should he?

Simulator

Teams will apply their learning’s from the course to a simulator game (25% of the grade) in the last portion of the course. Using the concepts in strategy formulation and execution, students and their teams will compete head-to-head in a strategy game that measures the outcome of strategic decisions and their follow-through.

Learning Journal (25%)

Learning Journal: The learning journal is a 2 page minimum submission to the designated dropbox. In that journal, I am looking for what you have learned in that week related to our course material and discussion, application of your own experiences, thoughts that derived and are related to the learning, additional information you found and your interpretation of its support (or not) etc. It is an open format and it is yours to use to reflect upon your learning and experience. The learning journal is due by Sunday midnight every week during the course i.e. there are 2 learning journals to be submitted.

Final Exam

Details of the final exam (25% of the grade) will be provided in class.

A Note on laptops and Phones

The policy for electronics in class is based purely on the goal to maximize the learning environment. Laptops and devices are not allowed to be open or in use during lecture and case discussion. Laptops may be called for during certain team break-out sessions--bring them to class but please keep them off the table until requested. Phones should be turned to silent and left off the table. If you are expecting an urgent call or have a situation, please inform prior so we can make arrangements that do not disrupt the class. We all need to be present so let’s unplug while we share our knowledge and learn. Thanks in advance.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Important: Academic Integrity

All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation of acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam questions, or tampering with the academic work of other students) are serious offences.

All work (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment must be the student’s own work. Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero marks for the component assessment to expulsion, depending on the nature of the offence.

When in doubt, students should consult the instructors of the course. Details onthe SMU Code of Academic Integrity may be accessed at

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