Management 495 – 01 Strategic Management Fall 2010 (8/23/2010~12/17/2010) Time: 4:00-5:15 Monday/Wednesday Place: Smith Hall 347 Instructor: Mina Lee (pronounced as “Meenah”) Office: Smith Hall 339 Phone: (513) 745-3128 E-mail: leem1@xavier.edu Office Hours: 1:00-4:00 Tuesday/Thursday and by appointment COURSE OBJECTIVES The objectives of this course are to develop students’ skills at: 1) analyzing the external environment of the firm 2) understanding the internal resources of the firm 3) realizing the gap between planning and actually implementing the strategy 4) getting used to the key terminologies in strategic management 5) developing team works We study strategic management to develop a coherent business plan, which is not based on instinct or luck, but based on logic and theory. To do so, we will learn 1) industrial organization economics 2) resource based view 3) transaction cost economics 4) agency theory and other relevant theories. At the same time, students should understand that reality is more complex than what theories describe. Often times, we observe that a perfect strategic planning does not necessarily mean a successful implementation of a chosen strategy. Stakeholder analysis is especially relevant to explain a gap between planning and implementation. Throughout this course, you should be able to learn how to work as a team, which is critical in the real world. REQUIRED TEXT Textbook: “Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization -” by Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson. 8th edition. Published by South-Western Cengage Learning. ISBN-10:0-324-65559-2 ISBN-13:978-0-324-65559-9 Electronic textbook can be obtained from “http://www.cengagebrain.com/market/index.html” METHOD OF EVALUATION Group work: 40% Oral Case Presentation (team) 200 points 20% Case analysis (team) 50 points*4 cases (out of 8 cases) = 200 points 20% Individual work: 60% Instructor evaluation of Class Participation 50 points 5% Attendance 50 points 5% Exam 5*100 points 500 points 50% 1000 points 100% Exam V. (Optional): If you take Exam V, your lowest exam score among Exam I, II, III, IV, V, and Final Exam will be dropped. GRADING SCALE Calculation of final course grade from test / group presentations / class attendance points / individual assignments scores. A 910 points and above out of 1000 points A- 890-909 points B+ 850-889 points B 800-849 points C+ 750-799 points C 700-749 points D 600-699 points F Below 600 points MY EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENTS COMMUNICATION Students are responsible for making sure that the e-mail account that they check regularly is listed on the Blackboard site for this course. Please check e-mail and/or the Blackboard site in the semester so you do not miss any additional readings, changes, or announcements. CLASS PARTICIPATION The course objectives and format are centered on your preparation for and participation in class. Please treat this class as a workshop for honing your skills in issues concerning International management. Your class participation should demonstrate: (1) evidence of careful preparation of cases and readings; (2) clarity and conciseness of your recommendations; and (3) strong and convincing analysis to support your recommendations. Attendance is mandatory. You may miss only one class without penalty. If you miss two classes, your final grade will drop by one grade, unless you have a valid documented medical reason. If you are likely to more than two classes, it is recommended that you drop this course and take it later. If you are late to class on multiple occasions, you will be marked absent on those days. You will be participating in several in-class group activities during the semester. If you are absent for an in-class exercise, you will be given no points for that activity. The in-class informal case presentations and activities should reflect an understanding and application of the key concepts in the course. Following each class session, the grade for class participation will be awarded as follows: 0 Partial or complete absence, arriving late on multiple occasions 1 Attended, but no involvement 2 Attended and contributed to discussion, reflecting a good understanding of material and evidence of preparation ATTENDANCE Regular attendance is expected. If you attend every session, you will receive 100% of the attendance points. If you miss a class, your attendance point will be deducted accordingly. PROFESSIONAL ORAL CASE PRESENTATION Each student is required to be involved in an oral case presentation for a company of their choosing. Case presentations will be prepared, presented and graded on a TEAM basis. Presentations should be at least 40 minutes long, not including questions and answers. Presentations that are either too short or too long will be penalized. Each team should ONLY present detailed recommendations of what they think the company should do. Each member of the team must participate equally in the oral presentation. Public speaking is a mandatory part of this course and anyone who does not participate in giving the presentation will receive a grade of “F” for the course, NOT just for the presentation. Visual aids should be incorporated into the presentation to help streamline and clarify the recommendations being made. The keys to giving a good presentation are: preparation, coordination, interpretation, and explanation. Following the presentation there will be a question-and-answer session with questions being posed by members of the class. Presentation grades will be based on the content of the presentation (depth, thoroughness, and detail) and presentation skill and quality (how effectively the material was presented and delivered). See the attached check sheet for a detailed list of the criteria utilized in evaluating class presentations. Send your Power point file and written report to the instructor two calendar days before the presentation date. The due time is 5 PM. The report should be double-spaced, and the body no more than 10 pages, exclusive of exhibits and references. The border margins should be set at no less than one inch on all sides. The font should be 11 point (Times Normal preferred). You can choose one out of ten choices. You may use the library resources and newspapers to research about the firm. Suggest their future direction and way to improve the firm. An example of a case presentation structure. – Approx 10 minutes » identify the (possible) problem(s) facing the company along with the symptoms of the problems and their weakness. – Approx 15 minutes » outline the central issues confronting the company, » analyze these issues using course concepts and models, – Approx 15 minutes » develop at least two alternatives for solving the problems facing the company, and » recommend one of the alternatives along with a discussion of potential implementation issues » Suggest a way to improve the firm List of 7 firms (Selected from ‘Best companies to work for’ 2010, by Fortune) 1. Intuit 2. Google 3. Monsanto 4. Nordstrom 5. Fedex 6. Starbucks coffee 7. P&G • SOURCES OF INFORMATION Information for the project may be obtained from the Xavier Library, University of Cincinnati Library, Public Library, the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce World Trade Division, and the U.S. Department of Commerce Regional Office. World Wide Web sources: 1. http://www.hoovers.com/features/industry/industries.html 2. http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe 3. http://www.yahoo.com/Regional/countries/ 4. http://www.usitc.gov/ 5. http://www.wto.org/Welcome.html 6. http://www.businessweek.com/ 7. http://www.ft.com/ 8. http://www.pathfinder.com/fortune/ 9. http://www.wsj.com/ PEER EVALUATIONS At the end of the course each student will be evaluated by their team members. Each student will be asked to evaluate their team members by grading them on a scale and then giving a brief narrative supporting the grade that was given. An average score will be calculated for each team member and their presentation grade will be calculated by multiplying their peer evaluation score by the team presentation grade. For example, if your team received a grade of 80% on the presentation and your average peer evaluation was 70%, the presentation grade that you would receive is 56% (80% x 70%). Peer evaluations will be anonymous and will not be shared with team members. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you work well with your team members. I recommend that students develop a working relationship with their team members early in the semester to avoid any problems later on. CLASS ACTIVITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS NO excuses will be accepted for late assignments and ALL late assignments will receive a grade of zero. Case write-up assignments are due at the beginning of class. Send the case analysis report in pdf format to my e-mail leem1@xavier.edu. Other assignments may be done in class and no prior announcement will be made. EXAMS If you believe you have an excellent reason for not being there, you must get permission before the exam and arrange a make-up exam. Exams may include multiple choice, short answer, case analysis, and/or essay questions. All exams will be in-class, closed book exams. In total, we have six exams: Exam I, II, III, IV, V, and Final Exam. Exam V is optional. If you take Exam V, your lowest exam score among Exam I, II, III, IV, V, and Final Exam will be dropped. I will only take top five scores. CASE ANALYSIS Each group is expected to submit a minimum 4 pages (11 points, one-and-half spaced) typed analysis for four cases out of eight cases. This analysis may consist of a 1) problem statement, 2) your recommendation for a solution, 3) identification of key results areas to manage, and 4) a brief discussion of implementation issues. Use the framework you learned in the class. This preparation will help each class member to have discussion questions prepared for the consultant and management teams. CLASSROOM COURTESY Everyone is expected to be on time for class. Coming in late for class disrupts the flow of the class. As a common courtesy to everyone in the class all cell phones, pagers, lap top computers, and other electronic devices must be turned off during class time. Also, no eating is allowed during class time. It is expected that everyone will be respectful of their fellow classmates. Interrupting speakers (whether the instructor or fellow students), carrying on personal conversations, reading newspapers or other reading materials not related to this course will not be tolerated. Such behavior shows a lack of respect for others and disrupts the class and impedes the learning process. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT All forms of cheating will result in an F for the course. In this class cheating includes plagiarism (using country write-ups and case/individual reports from other students (previous or current)). Plagiarism also includes case write-ups (partial or full) downloaded from the Internet. The academic policy of Xavier University will be strictly enforced in this class. Course Changes: The professor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus subject to reasonable notice. DISABILITIES Students with documented or suspected cases of disabilities should contact the Counseling Center located on the ground floor of the Orr Center for assistance. If you have a documented disability or suspect that you might have a disability you are required to notify your instructor at the beginning of the semester and have your disability documented by the Counseling Center. Tentative Class Schedule Week 1 8/23 Mon Introduction. Ch 1. Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness. Submit the list of team members and your chosen case for presentation. 8/25 Wed Ch 2. External Environment Week 2 8/30 Mon Ch 2. External Environment 9/1 Wed Submit your case analysis of Dell. Case discussion – 1. Dell (p85) Week 3 9/6 Mon University Closed 9/9 Wed Ch 3. The Internal Organization Week 4 9/13 Mon Ch 3. The Internal Organization Submit your case analysis of 3M. Case discussion – 2.3M (p1). 9/15 Wed Wrapping up Ch 1~3. Exam 1 (Ch 1, 2, 3) Week 5 9/20 Mon Ch 4. Business-level Strategy 9/22 Wed Ch 4. Business-level Strategy Ch 6. Corporate-level Strategy Week 6 9/27 Mon Ch 6. Corporate-level Strategy Submit your case analysis of Wal*Mart. Case discussion – 3. Wal*Mart (p353). 9/29 Wed Wrapping up Ch 4, 6. Exam 2 (Ch 4, 6) Week 7 10/4 Mon Ch 5. Competitive Rivalry and Competitive Dynamics 10/6 Wed Ch 5. Competitive Rivalry and Competitive Dynamics Submit your case analysis of Boeing. Case discussion – 4. Boeing (p49) Week 8 10/11 Mon Ch 7. Acquisitions and Restructuring Strategies 10/13 Wed Ch 7. Acquisitions and Restructuring Strategies Submit your case analysis of Microsoft. Case discussion – 5. Microsoft (p243) Week 9 10/18 Mon Wrapping up Ch. 5, 7. Exam 3 (Ch 5, 7) 10/20 Wed Ch 10. Corporate Governance Week 10 10/25 Mon Ch 10. Corporate Governance Submit your case analysis of Nestle. Case discussion – 6. Nestle (p261) 10/27 Wed Ch 11. Organizational Structure and Controls Week 11 11/1 Mon Ch 11. Organizational Structure and Controls Submit your case analysis of Lufthansa. Case discussion – 7. Lufthansa (p233) 11/3 Wed Wrapping up Ch 10, 11. Exam 4 (Ch 10, 11) Week 12 11/8 Mon Ch 13. Strategic Entrepreneurship 11/10 Wed Ch 13. Strategic Entrepreneurship Submit your case analysis of Netflix. Case discussion – 8. Netflix (p275) Week 13 11/15 Mon Ch. 8. International Strategy 11/17 Wed Ch. 8. International Strategy Week 14 11/22 Mon Exam 5 (Comprehensive, Optional) 11/24 Wed Team Meeting Time Week 15 11/29 Mon Presentations: Team 1 12/1 Wed Presentations: Team 2 Week 16 12/6 Mon Presentations: Team 3 12/8 Wed Presentations: Team 4 (If we do not have Team 4, Final exam review) Week 17 12/13~12/17 Final exam (Comprehensive, Time: TBD) Note: The course instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus. Team Presentation Rubric Poor Fair Excellent Content/Preparation (70%): Organization is clear, logical, etc. 1 2 3 4 5 Appeared to be prepared 1 2 3 4 5 Completeness (covered all pertinent areas) 1 2 3 4 5 Financial analysis (assessment of financial strength and viability of recommendations) 1 2 3 4 5 Explanation and interpretation of recommendation 1 2 3 4 5 Provided details and steps for implementation of recommendation 1 2 3 4 5 Provided a detailed timeline 1 2 3 4 5 Presentation Skills (30%): Eye contact was maintained throughout presentation 1 2 3 4 5 Enthusiasm/energy/spirit 1 2 3 4 5 Avoided grammatical errors and filler words (ah, um, like, uh, etc.) 1 2 3 4 5 Flow/Transitions between presenters (smooth/logical) 1 2 3 4 5 Well designed visual aids (readable, clear, understandable, etc.) 1 2 3 4 5 Management of visual aids (smooth flow, transitions) 1 2 3 4 5 Consistency of visual aids throughout 1 2 3 4 5 Used time wisely 1 2 3 4 5 Confidence/poise 1 2 3 4 5 All team members where professional in appearance and behavior 1 2 3 4 5 Presented without reading from a script 1 2 3 4 5 Effective closing/conclusion/ summary 1 2 3 4 5 Overall evaluation 1 2 3 4 5