SYLLABUS FOR MGT 693: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT SEMINAR
Rex C. Mitchell, Ph.D. - Fall 2008
Office: JH 4202 (818)677-3531, (818) 677-2457 (Dept.)
email: http://www.csun.edu/~hfmgt001
Office Hrs: T 1220-1330 & 1820-1850; Th 1400-1520; & by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES
This course is an integrative, graduate seminar, usually taken during the last semester of MBA course work, that deals with broad strategic management/business policy problems via the case method. Concepts and approaches for analyzing companies, identifying critical issues, and formulating and implementing appropriate strategies to deal with the issues are reviewed and applied, using combinations of cases and exercises. Organizations are considered in a broad context that involves the external environment, including international complexities. Strategic/critical thinking skills are improved and applied to evaluate alternative strategic actions and their effects on an organization's long-term survival and success. Students are expected to use their personal experience and apply the background and analytical techniques obtained from specialized courses as they diagnose and develop recommendations to address organization-level problems.
The major learning objectives, which I hope you will embrace, are:
1. To improve your critical/strategic thinking, including skills in thinking systemically (i.e., thinking about the broader system involved and interactions within it when considering specific decisions) in order to develop a strategic perspective and apply it to business decisions
2. To integrate your previous business course concepts into an interdisciplinary framework that so that you will be better able to apply the concepts in the future, with appreciation of the competitive and cooperative relationships among the considerations of various business disciplines
3. To develop your skills in analyzing complex business situations, identifying key issues, and developing appropriate strategies and actions to deal with the issues, including consideration of the complexities of international environments
4. To improve your ability to support conclusions and recommendations, and communicate clearly, effectively, and cogently in both oral and written modes.
The two sections of Mgt. 693 this semester will be taught jointly by Professor Daniel Degravel and me. Although we will retain our individual pedagogy and approaches to the subject, we will coordinate on content and each of us will teach some topics for both classes. Both of us will be available for discussions with members of both classes.
REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
The following six items will be graded:
1. (20%) Active participation in class discussions, including good preparation for each discussion plus short written assignments to help participation (students are expected to be well-prepared to present analysis & discuss any aspect of each case on its scheduled date).
2. (20% each) Three comprehensive, individually written case analysis reports.
3. (7%) One short written case brief
4. (13%) An exam on concepts, models, & methods.
The specific nature & requirements for each of these are described in the Assignment Details Module on the web site, and will be discussed in class. Late assignments will receive no credit (unless there is an extraordinary reason to allow partial credit.) Plus/minus grading will be used for assignments and the course. Students may be required to complete an on-line evaluation of the course and instructor.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
1. Mitchell, Rex C. (2008). Strategic management seminar (Cases). New York: Prentice Hall Custom Business Resources. ISBN 0555-04780-6 in bookstore.
2. Mitchell, Rex C. (2008). Mgt. 693 class materials. On web site: http://www.csun.edu/hfmgt001
OTHER COURSE EXPECTATIONS
Personal Responsibility: This is a last-semester MBA seminar. This means that you are an adult who takes full responsibility for all of your actions and inactions. This includes doing all your work on time and according to the given requirements. It means that you will discuss any requests for special conditions IN ADVANCE with the professor, and you will not try to negotiate something after the due date. It includes arriving on time at the beginning and after breaks plus remaining to the end so that the class can start on time and continue without disruption. Students who disrupt the class, other than in an emergency, can expect a significant grade penalty.
Class Participation: Most of the learning you will gain from this course will result from your preparation of cases and participation in discussions of them. Therefore, both preparation prior to class and regular, active participation in class discussions are vital and will be expected. The instructor is a discussion leader, not a lecturer or major contributor of facts and analysis. The students will present the case analyses and solutions, as well as critique them. Students are expected to be well-prepared to present analysis and discuss any aspect of each case on its scheduled date. Showing evidence of prior analysis and thinking plus contributing to the progress of the overall case discussion are valued, rather than taking up a lot of "air time" with monologues loosely connected to the flow of the discussion.
I evaluate each student's participation in each class according to demonstrated evidence of:
1. Adequate preparation (e.g., have read and understood the assigned material, have done case analysis and brought specific diagnostic conclusions plus recommendations)
2. Contributing to the joint learning of the class through appropriate, relevant comments that relate to and build on what others are saying. This means that a shy person with fewer, but good and relevant, comments may demonstrate greater contribution than an extrovert who offers frequent comments that are often impromptu and marginally connected to the flow of the class discussion. On the other hand, it's impossible to satisfy either of these criteria without talking in class regularly!
Academic Honesty: Please practice this! Any cheating or plagiarism will result in severe penalties in accordance with University policy (see the University Catalog for a complete discussion). This includes, but is not limited to cheating on exams and plagiarism (turning in a paper that contains any non-referenced writing other than your own work, including modified/resorted/pasted pieces from another paper).
SCHEDULE & ASSIGNMENTS
We will follow this schedule closely; exam and assignment due dates will not change. Content modules are all on my web site [ http://www.csun.edu/~hfmgt001/693page.htm ]. Cases are in the Prentice Hall Custom paperback set of cases, except for two (see footnote a).
Date / Topics & Activities/ Reading & Preparation (before class) / Assignment Due
8/26 / Course introduction, strategic thinking, strategic management process / Syllabus, Assignment Details, Strategic Mgt. Process, Strategic Mgt. Terms, Strategic Thinking (all on Web site)
9/2 / Strategic thinking. Start diagnosis stage, Start Nike case; we will apply concepts to Nike as we proceed / Notes on Case Method (copy also in case book), Diagnosis (especially External Environment), Nike case (in case book)
9/9 / Finish diagnosis, including internal analysis, SWOT, and critical issues / Nike case, Diagnosis
9/16 / Sources of competitive advantage, strategy formulation and implementation, case report writing / Strategy Formulation, Strategy Implementation, Avoiding Common Writing Problems
9/23 / Finish Nike discussion. Strategic management in international organizations / International Organizations. Assignment Details (again as you write the report) / 1st case report (Nike)
9/30 / Discuss Vincor case & Alex Sander case / Vincor and the New World of Wine case. A Day in the Life of Alex Sander case (a)
10/7 / Gucci Group case. Thomas Green case / Gucci Group case. Thomas Green: Power, Office Politics & a Career in Crisis case (a)
10/14 (b) / Strategic management in entrepreneurial and small business organizations. Strategic management in not-for-profit organizations / Small & Entrepreneurial Organizations. Not-for-profit organizations. (Strategic Management in)
10/21 / Sun Microsystems case / Sun Microsystems case. / 2nd case report (Sun Microsystems)
10/28 / Margaux case. Discuss Vermont Teddy Bear Co. case / Marketing Chateau Margaux case. Vermont Teddy Bear case
11/4 / Lincoln Electric case
(holiday 11/11) / Lincoln Electric case / 3rd case report (Lincoln Electric)
11/18 / Ethics & Values. Recalcitrant Director at Byte Products case. Exam overview, then discuss your questions as you prepare for the exam. / Ethics & Values. Recalcitrant Director at Byte Products case.
11/25 / Exam on concepts and methods. New ventures / Case: How Venture Capitalists Evaluate Potential Venture Opportunities / Exam. Brief on case
12/2 (b) / New trends in strategic management
12/9 / Case (TBD)
(a) Download Thomas Green (item #2095) and Alex Sander (item #2177) cases from http://hbsp.com/hbsp/case_studies.jsp (they were not available when I put together the case book)
(b) Joint session with both sections of Mgt. 693, room TBD
last modified 8/16/08