BU 699 MBA Capstone

First Assignment

Please read Chapter One and the Kodak Case prior to the first class on March 29th. In addition, please note that attendance on March 29th is mandatory!

Avila University

School of Business and Economics

Course Syllabus

COURSE TITLE:Organizational Policy and Strategy (BU699) - 3 credits

TERM/YEAR:Spring 2016

SECTION/ROOM:RoomORI 205, ORI 105;T 6:00 - 9:20 p.m.

INSTRUCTOR:Daniel George, Ph.D.

OFFICE:Whitfield 505-A

OFFICE HOURS:T R12:30pm-2pm, 5:30 – 6 pm, or by appointment

PHONE: 816 501 3799

EMAIL:

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is concerned with the functions and responsibilities of top-level management. We will examine the process by which top-level managers make strategic decisions within a competitive market. In addition, we will discuss the difficulties involved with matching an organization's competence with the opportunities in the market and achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, we will examine the scope of the firm in terms of the number of areas and industries it should participate in to further value of the firm. Success in this course requires the application of functional skills from accounting, finance, marketing, and management, in addition to the strategic management concepts introduced in the course.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

  1. To understand the various strategic management tools, techniques and concepts.
  1. To integrate the skills and knowledge students have obtained in previous course work.
  1. To provide students with a general framework and process for decision-making and strategic analysis.
  1. To develop a "top-management" orientation in all students.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

  1. Grant, Robert M. 2014. Contemporary Strategic Analysis (8th edition). Blackwell. Available from Bookstore.
  2. Case Packet put together by Daniel George. Available from Bookstore.
  3. Capsim Simulation. This is to be purchased online and I will provide you instructions.

GRADING

Class Participation10%

Simulation25%

Group Project20%

Midterm Examination10%

Final Examination25%

Business Field Test10%

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Total100%

Grading Scale:

A90 – 1004.0

B80 – 893.0

C70 – 792.0

D60 – 691.0

FBelow 600.0

CLASS BEHAVIOR AND NORMS

Students are expected to display behavior that is appropriate for graduate students. You are expected to the respectful of everyone else and not engage in distracting behaviors. Some guidelines as to what constitutes inappropriate behavior include:

  • Eating in class.
  • Speaking out of turn or interrupting another.
  • Use of mobile phone/tablet PC/laptop, etc. for any purpose whatsoever in class.
  • Engaging in private conversation.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

This is a case analysis course, which means that every class session will involve discussion of specific case situations. These cases are actual descriptions of real organizations and real events. Through in-class analysis and discussion you will grow to better understand the nature of business strategy. Lectures/Chapters from the text will provide a theoretical framework for evaluating the cases. EACH CASE WILL TYPICALLY REQUIRE FROM 3 TO 4 HOURS OF PREPARATION TIME. LONGER CASES MAY TAKE MORE TIME. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU COME TO CLASS FULLY PREPARED TO DISCUSS THE RELEVANT ISSUES OF THE CASE.

Thorough preparation and active class participation are essential for success in this course. Being present in all classes is an expectation but does not constitute participation by itself. Class participation grades will be determined on the basis of each student's contribution to the case discussions. It is possible that students with weak participation records will be asked case-related questions. Students will be evaluated for each case discussion (except Honda) using the following scale:

0-Not present for case discussion

1-Poor

2-Average

3-Good

4-Excellent

At the end of the semester, the scores you receive on all the cases discussed will form the basis of your class participation grade. You are advised to keep a diary of your participation record and check the postings on Angelkeep track of your class participation scores.

ATTENDANCE

I expect that you will attend all the classes and, therefore, record absence(s) from class. Absence from class, for any reason whatsoever, will have consequences for your grade:

  • Attendance at the first class is mandatory.
  • You will receive a zero in terms of class participation for any case discussion you miss in addition to being marked absent.
  • Examinations, tests and presentations cannot and will not be rescheduled unless there are extremely compelling circumstances. Trust me, exceptions are rare.
  • If you miss the equivalent of more than 2 full sessions, you will automatically get an F.

Notwithstanding any of the above, absence and/or late arrival to class do not excuse you from meeting deadlines and other obligations/requirements of the course.It is your responsibility to find out details of anything you may have missed.

SIMULATION

You will be required to take part in a simulation, which entails managing a company with the help of your group. The class is divided into companies that make up an industry and the simulation creates an environment for the companies to compete with each other. I will give some time in class, depending on how much time is left after case discussions, lectures, exams, etc., but you are expected to devote considerable time outside of class in making these decisions. You are also expected to make a presentation/report to the class/me at the end of the semester in the form a report on the company you have been managing. Finally, there will be an exam/assessment based on the simulation towards the end of the semester.

GROUP PROJECT

You will be required to do a group project as part of the course. You are expected to pick a company, collect data and information on the company and the industry it operates in and apply the concepts learned in class to analyze the company’s present situation, identify potential problems and issues and make your recommendations. The group project is broken down into different phases with deadlines for each of them. It will culminate in a presentation to the class, and in a final written report to me. The requirements for the group assignments are as follows:

Paper 1

  • Identify a company and the industry/environment it operates in.
  • How well is the company doing relative to its competitors? How does the company you selected stack up against the competition? Is it stronger or weaker than the competition? What is your prediction regarding what the relative positions of these players will be in the coming years? Make comparisons among these players in terms of profitability and market share for the last few years (minimum three years).
  • Are there important issues facing the company? (Examples of issues can include poor financial performance, failure of products, poor market share, entry into a new market, introduction of a new product, acquisition of another firm, merger with another firm, etc.) You need to convince me that the issue you have selected is worth looking at and is important for the company. Also, as part of this paper, you could state some reasons for the current state of the company and suggest some new directions.

Paper 2

In this paper you should try to determine why your company is facing the problems you identified in the previous paper. Broadly, you should consider whether factors internal to the firm or forces in the external environment explain your chosen’s firm’s performance.

  • You should identify the company’s strategy, their resources and capabilities and consequent key strengths and weaknesses that may explain their superior/weaker performance. (Chapters 5, 7and relevant sections of Ch. 8-10should prove useful in helping you frame this discussion.)
  • Furthermore, you should also consider the forces in the external environment that may explain their performance. (Chapters 3 & 4 will be helpful for this part of the paper.)
  • Also, identify whether the company is following a cost leadership or differentiation strategy, if applicable. (See first bullet point above.)
  • Does any combination of the above shed light on the strategic issue you identified in Paper 1?

Final Report & Presentation

In your final report you should incorporate the material covered in Papers 1 & 2 and address the comments I provide on these. In addition you may need to address the following topics, depending on the company you are researching:

  • Do vertical integration, global and/or diversification strategies shed any light on the current state of affairs of the company? (Refer to Chapters 11-13.)
  • Suggest a course of action for the company to sustain its superior performance/ward of challenges/turn itself around. In doing so, you must consider any issues of resources and capabilities, business-level strategy, vertical integration, global, and diversification that may be relevant to the course of action you recommend.

The class presentation and final report will be evaluated for determining the group grade on the project. The presentation in class, which will be graded by the rest of the class and me, is worth 7points, and the report, which will be graded by me, is worth 13points. The grade sheet used to evaluate the presentation and the report are attached to this syllabus.

The deadlines for each of these reports are given in class schedule.

EXAMINATIONS

There will be twoin-class closed book examinations worth 35% of the total grade. The first one is worth 10 % of your grade and will be on Apr. 26. The second examination will be 25% of your grade and will be on May 24.

  1. The midterm, worth 10% of your final grade, is based on the Samsung case. You will be allowed to keep the Samsung case with you and may have your hand-written notes in the case. No text or additional notes.
  2. The final examination, worth 25% of your final grade, will require you to read and analyze a case handed out a week in advance. You are required to bring the case to the exam and hand it in along with the exam. You are not permitted to write/type/photocopy/print/staple anything on the case or to the case. Also, you are not permitted to write anything on the case.In other words, you are allowed to bring only the printed case, given to you by me, to the exam.

Please remember that these areindividual examinations; therefore, you are not permitted to discuss the case with anyone in class or outside of class. Any action in violation of this requirement will result in severe consequences, including failure in the course and any other disciplinary action the University deems fit.In addition, please be sure to bring a pen, not pencil to write your answers.

BUSINESS FIELD TEST

You will be required to take a business field test, administered by ETS, as part of this course. The exam will be on-line, closed-book and will be held in-class on May 31. You will need your Avila login ID and password to use the computers in the labs. The scores on the business field test will form thebasis to determine 10% of the grade in this course. The forrnula used is given below:

{(Your score – 220)/(highest score achieved by Avila graduate over the last year – 220)}x5 = percentage points added to your total for the course.

CHEATING/PLAGIARISM

Any case of cheating in any form (including plagiarism) will be reported to the appropriate authorities for academic action and may result in failure of the course.

CLASS SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS (Tentative – may be altered by me)

Please read all assigned cases and chapters before class

DateTopic and Assignment

Mar. 29Introduction and course overview

Case: Kodak and the Digital Revolution (A)

Chapter 1 – Grant

Chapter 2 – Grant

Apr. 5Case: Cola Wars Continue

Chapter 3 – Grant

Chapter 4 – Grant

Apr. 12Case: Southwest

Chapter 5 – Grant

Chapter 7& 8 - Grant

Group Project Paper 1 due

Apr. 19Case: Starbucks

Chapter 5, 7 & 8 – Grant

Simulation: Introduction and Decision 1

Apr. 26Case: Samsung

Chapter 3, 4, 5, 7 8 – Grant

Midterm Examination

Simulation: Decision 2

May 3Case: Haier

Chapter 11 – Grant

Group Project Paper 2 due

Simulation: Decision 3

May 10Case: Arcor

Chapter 12 – Grant

Simulation: Decision 4

May 17Case: Apple

Chapter 13 – Grant (entire chapter)

Simulation: Decision 5

May 24Final Examination

Simulation: Decision 6

May 31Business Field Test

Simulation: Decision 7

Jun. 7Group Project - Presentations

Group Project – Final Reports due

Simulation: Reports due