STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Course Booklet Semester 1 2011/2012

FTMBA/MBAIB Course

Contents

Page Number

Course Details .................................................................................................... 4 Course Description and Objectives .................................................................... 4 Course Objectives .............................................................................................. 4 Learning Outcomes ............................................................................................ 5 Planned Student Learning Experiences ............................................................. 5 Teaching Approach............................................................................................. 5 Assessment ........................................................................................................ 6 Guidelines for formatting and Submission: Team Case Studies and Teaching Note .................................................................................................................... 6 Guidelines for formatting and Submission: Team Presentations ........................ 7 In-class role-play examination: Notes and Guidelines........................................ 7 Feedback ............................................................................................................ 7 Guidelines for Formatting and Handing in Assessed Work: ............................... 7 Failure to Attempt or Complete Assessed Coursework or an Examination ........ 8 Exam Arrangements for Disabled Students........................................................ 9 Plagiarism Statement.......................................................................................... 9 Appeals............................................................................................................... 9 Consultation........................................................................................................ 9 Course Monitoring Surveys .............................................................................. 10 Required Text(s) ............................................................................................... 10 Primary Text ..................................................................................................... 10 Secondary Texts............................................................................................... 10 Course Website ................................................................................................ 11 Advised Preparatory Work................................................................................ 11 Course Lecturer ................................................................................................ 11 Study Programme............................................................................................. 12 Lecture Outlines and Readings ........................................................................ 14
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Exam Papers .................................................................................................... 14 Appendix 1: Further Reading............................................................................ 14 Further Reading: Texts ..................................................................................... 14 Further Reading: Journals ................................................................................ 14

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Course Details
Course Code: Title: College: School: Course Organiser: Contact Hours: Semester: BUST11213 Strategic Management Humanities and Social Science The University of Edinburgh Business School Dr. Brad MacKay 35 1

This is a 10-credit course. As per the Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework (SCQF), this means that it should entail 100 hours of student effort. For example: Contact hours 10X30 min Lectures 10X2 hrs Case Discussions 10X1 hrs 10x2.5 hrs in advance of lecture 1X15 hrs Presentation Prep 1X15 hrs Case Study Prep 1X10 hrs Exam Prep Total 5 20 10 25 15 15 10 100 student effort hours

Preparatory reading Assignments

Course Description and Objectives

This course is concerned with the strategic management process. Rarely is the formulation of strategy straightforward. Corporate complexity and market uncertainty often result in messy and sometimes political processes. Consequently, many of the concepts, frameworks and tools that we use often appear very straightforward in theory, but can be difficult to apply in practice. This is because at its heart strategy is a social process, which can be difficult to quantify or to analyse objectively. But, ultimately, it is these social processes that underpin economic performance. This course is designed to both introduce strategic management to MBA students, and to begin integrating knowledge from your previous learning and experience to identify and address strategic concerns of firms. The first four days is structured around eight overlapping and interweaving key themes. They include strategic leadership, the context of strategic management and society, competitive analysis, strategy in the multi-business firm, disruptive innovation, transformation and renewal and strategic resilience. Each theme is based around a case. For each theme there will be a one hour case discussion, 30-minute lecture on theory, followed by 60 minutes of group discussion and analysis of the case in syndicate groups, and finally, 45 minutes of a case de-brief and Q&A. The first four days is designed to encourage students to reflect on their own experiences and to share them with the rest of the class. The fifth day of the module will comprise of group presentations of a case that has been developed over the module. Course Objectives The aim of this course is to allow students to examine strategic management processes. The major themes covered in the course include processes of strategic leadership, innovation and renewal. The course is also designed to encourage debate, discussion and reflection. The module is designed to dove-tail into the core Corporate Strategy module in Semester 2a, where business-level and corporate level strategy are covered in more depth. The module also links with the Semester 2a option in Scenario Planning and Strategy, the Economics of Strategy module, and the Semester 2b Global Strategy option, which covers such topics not covered in this course such as global versus regional strategy, alliances and acquisitions, and strategies for emerging markets. The overall objectives are therefore:

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to integrate the functional courses which form the rest of the MBA programme; to introduce strategic management concepts and cases; to understand the concepts and contexts of strategic management process; to reflect on strategic management concepts in the context of your own experiences and to share this learning with the class; to be aware of competing arguments behind a number of strategic approaches. To be able to analyse and synthesise strategic management issues.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding: The complexity of strategic management in firms; A knowledge of key concepts associated with strategic management process; Different perspectives for managing strategically; The current issues being faced by strategic managers. Cognitive Skills: The ability to manage and synthesise relevant information about firms in a clear, sound and explicit way; Broad, integrative thinking; The ability to use management concepts to produce persuasive conclusions about real firms Ability to apply theories and models to new environments and contexts Ability to evaluate and critique business theories and models Subject Specific Skills: Ability to analyse complex business situations Skills of argument development and persuasion Group working and presentation skills The ability to communicate analyses and conclusions clearly and persuasively By the end of the course students will have learned Useful approaches of strategic analysis, and their limitations Knowledge of strategy alternatives for firms in different contexts Different perspectives for managing strategically

Planned Student Learning Experiences

Learning from each other in the group situations in the preparation of case studies Learning the process of argumentation towards a senior-management type decision A strategy workshop facilitated by a guest lecturer; In interactive plenary sessions, to learn from each other and from the teachers input

Teaching Approach
With the main difficulties in strategic management being faced in applying rather than knowing the concepts, learning will be through learning by doing, with the concepts and ideas presented in class, and read about in the textbooks and reading, applied to cases of real firms. Specifically, all teaching will be based around application of concepts to nine cases, each representing a theme. Following a one hour case discussion, and thirty minute lecture on a given theme, students will break into syndicate groups to apply concepts/frameworks/models to the case. Groups will then be asked randomly to present their analysis in the case de-brief. Syndicate groups will monitor the participation of their members by allocating marks from a given total to their peers. On the fifth and final day,

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student groups will present their own case study for assessment, which will have been developed over the duration of the term. In addition, a five page written version of the case study will also be submitted for assessment before the presentations begin. An open book, essay style exam will take place during the regular exam schedule. For the exam, students will be required to apply their learning to a case study disseminated during the week. The teaching approach thus emphasizes integration of theory and case-based learning, debate, discussion, practical application of concepts, reflection and experience.

Assessment
Form of Assessment: Assessment is linked directly to the aims and objectives of the module, and is based on the application of the concepts and frameworks to real cases. The assessment for this course comprises the following components, with the marks allocations in parentheses: A. Teams written case study and analytical note (X1) of their case (10%) B. Teams case study presentation (X1) of their case study and analytical note (10%) C. Participation (peer assessed within syndicate groups) (10%) D. Written examination role play (70%) Dates of Assessment: A: Written Case Study and Analytical Note: Wednesday 23rd November 2011 at 4pm. B: Assessed Case Presentations: Printed presentations handed in Thursday 24th November 2011 by 8:30am C: Peer-assessed participation: Monday 28th November 2011 at 10am D: Role-play examination: tba

Guidelines for formatting and Submission: Team Case Studies and Teaching Note
Each team case study is based on your own choice of organization. The development of your case study should follow the general format of the case studies distributed and used for discussion in class. The case study should include: 1. 2. 3. 4. Introduction (who is the main protagonist, what is the organization, what is the key issue/challenge) 1-2 pages; Background to the Company and Industry (history, turning points, products/services, key quotes, trends, competitors, industry structure, change etc) 4-6 pages; Focal Decision (what is the central decision? what is the background context? what is the urgency? what are the possible consequences? etc.) 3-5 pages; Exhibits (financial information, marketing information, industry information, any other relevant information)

A case study is a story (complete with main characters, suspense, a plot, timeline etc.), but one which also organizes information in such a way as to lead the reader to the central decision/issue. This decision/issue should be a generalizable business problem faced by organizations. Number of pages per section is indicative only. The case study analytical note should include (3-4 pages maximum): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Case Synopsis Case Objectives Suggested Analysis Case Analysis Outcomes/Possible Recommendations References for Further Reading

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Guidelines for formatting and Submission: Team Presentations

The team case presentation will be based on the case study and teaching note that the team develops over the course of the module. Each presentation should be directed to a senior director of the firm. The presentation will last no more than 20 minutes, with a maximum of 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions. Case studies normally consist of four major sections: The presentations will be given credit for: 1. Coherence of argument 2. Reflection of case data 3. Use of international business concepts 4. Response to questioning 5. Overall persuasiveness All programme participants are expected to be present for all presentations!

In-class role-play examination: Notes and Guidelines

The role: You have been asked by the Chairman of a Board to advise the CEO of a firm about its strategic situation. You have been supplied with some details of the company (a written case study) on Friday November 25, 2011. The Chairman meets you and in a taxi presents you with his key strategic problems (the exam questions). The questions will be those that a CEO at the case company might ask a consultant specialist who has completed a Strategic Management course as part of an MBA degree. They may well be quite predictable from the material supplied, but might not. This explains why there is not a choice of questions. He wants to meet you in two hours, and in the interim, you can prepare your answers (your exam scripts). Examination answers will be marked on the basis of the following criteria: i. ii. iii. iv. Presentation of an effective answer Effective employment of concepts from the course Effective use of data from the case Integration of concepts with case data

The exam will be two hours in length and it will be essay style, which will be broken down into several parts. This will be an open book examination, and the questions will be based on a case study supplied to you on Thursday December 1, 2011. More data beyond that provided in the case study will not be required.

Feedback
Individual essay/assignment feedback will be provided on a feedback form in the appropriate format. Assignment marks and feedback will be made available by (Course coordinator to provide a date should be within one month of submission or before students sit their degree examination) Feedback Format Formative Feedback Formal Feedback Presentation Formal Feedback Case Study

Week 1-4 Dec 15, 2011 Dec 15, 2011

Guidelines for Formatting and Handing in Assessed Work:

All completed assignments should be stapled and clearly labelled with the students examination number. Names should NOT be written on the assignments themselves, so that they can be marked anonymously. Students are asked to attach an assignment submission sheet as front cover. The

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students name should be written on this sheet along with the examination number. A template for this can be found at www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/mybiz. When the assignments are received the assignment submission sheet will be removed before the assignments are sent to the relevant lecturer(s) for marking. Students must also submit each assignment electronically by TURNITIN which can be located on WebCT. For the group assignment, once the groups have been composed, a group member will be assigned as responsible for this. Please see instructions via the student portal. This is to enable checks to be carried out for plagiarism on a random basis, or if suspicions are raised. The University has a standardised penalty for late submission of coursework. The School will apply a uniform penalty of a reduction of 5 marks for each 24 hours beyond the coursework deadline (Saturday, Sunday and University Public Holiday not included) unless late submission has been requested in advance of the submission date and approved in writing by the course organiser. For example: - an essay with a mark of 65% which is less than 24 hours late will be given a final mark of 60% - an essay with a mark of 65% which is between 24-48 hours late will be given a final mark of 55% - an essay with a mark of 65% which is 48-72 hours late will be given a final mark of 50% and so on... The penalty will not be applied if good reasons can be given, such as documented illness. COURSEWORK DEADLINES ARE ABSOLUTE AND MUST BE STRICTLY ADHERED TO OTHERWISE THE STANDARDISED PENALTY WILL BE APPLIED WITHOUT EXCEPTION. Extensions to coursework deadlines will normally only be granted in cases of illness or other extenuating circumstances. An extension can only be granted by the course organiser; requests for an extension to the deadline must be agreed with the course organiser prior to the coursework deadline. If this proves impossible, students must attach a letter of explanation to the coursework, signed and dated. If you are given an extension, you must ensure that the Postgraduate Office (Room GF.15, 29 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9JS) has written proof of this, e.g. in the form of an email from the course organiser.

Failure to Attempt or Complete Assessed Coursework or an Examination

Where a student fails to attempt or fails to complete assessed coursework or an examination, the course organiser will seek to establish from the student whether the failure is legitimate (i.e. supported by appropriate documentary evidence) or not. A failure to attempt assessed coursework or an examination without good reason will result in a zero mark being awarded for that element of assessment. In the case of a legitimate failure to attempt or complete assessed coursework, the course organiser may decide to offer an extended submission deadline (without marks deduction for late submission). Where a student is able to produce evidence of legitimate reasons for failure to attempt or complete an examination, and where it has not been possible to offer an extended submission deadline for a legitimate failure to attempt or complete assessed coursework, the course organiser will refer the case to the Special Circumstances Committee.

Groupwork Issues
Where group work is involved, should there be any problems with the group dynamic, these should be raised by two concurring members of the team with the course organiser before the Reading Week.

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Exam Arrangements for Disabled Students

If required, specific reasonable adjustments will be made to enable disabled students to sit examinations, including any written, practice or oral examination, continuously assessed coursework or dissertation which counts towards the final assessment. For more information about the support disabled students can receive and the approval process for making reasonable adjustments visit http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/disability-office/students/support-we-offer. Arrangements for degree examinations must be approved in advance by the Registry (650 2214), and the Disability Office (650 6828) for dyslexic students, and reported to the examiners. The Registry requires notification of specific examination arrangements for dyslexic students well in advance of examination weeks and specific deadlines apply (see http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/registry/otherinfo/dyslexia). For all other disabled students the Registry must see and accept a medical certificate or similar documentation relating to the student or be satisfied that an acceptable certificate will be produced. Such students should discuss their requirements with their Programme Director and/or the Disability Office at the earliest opportunity.

Plagiarism Statement
Plagiarism and cheating are offences against the University discipline. The full text of the Universitys regulation on plagiarism and cheating can be found on the Universitys website at http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Discipline/StudentGuidanceUGPGT.pdf

Appeals
The process for students appealing against the assessment of grades is described in the Code of Practice for Taught Postgraduate Programmes.

Consultation
Students are encouraged to raise any concerns of a subject specific nature with the relevant course organiser. All but the simplest issues take time to resolve, and so please raise the issues as soon as you are aware of them. In the event that your course organiser cannot assist you, please contact your Programme Director.

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Course Monitoring Surveys

Because the PGT programmes are constantly being streamlined to remain progressive and contemporary, it is essential that you provide feedback on the courses you undertake so that the academic and administrative staff can be aware of your needs and the needs of your peers; the only way we can do this is if you let us know our strengths and what can be improved to make your learning experience with us as relevant and fulfilling as possible. At the conclusion of every semester you will be asked to complete anonymous online course monitoring surveys. You will be notified when the surveys relevant to your programme become live. The results of these surveys will then be collated and distributed to the course lecturer(s) who will in turn provide feedback on the course. All information provided by students and course lecturer(s) will be taken into consideration by decision makers within the Business School and may alter the way that future courses are administered. We are providing you with an outlet to voice your opinions and it is very important for the current state and the future of the Business School and its students that you do so.

Required Text(s) Primary Text

Leavy, B. and McKiernan, P. 2009. Strategic Leadership: Governance & Renewal. Palgrave

Secondary Texts
Ackermann, F. and Eden, C. 2011. Making Strategy. Sage Grant, R. 2010. Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Wiley Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B. and Lampel, J. (2008). The Strategy Safari. NY: Free Press.

Additional references will be provided in class as appropriate. You should also be able to relate the concepts introduced on this course and others you have learned from elsewhere, to the strategies and environments of companies and industries now. Business press useful for this includes the Financial Times, business pages of other quality newspapers including the Independent, Herald, Scotsman and Times and business journals such as Management Today and Business Week. Course participants are encouraged to find those which are of interest to them. Academic journals such as the Journal of Management Studies, Academy of Management Review and Journal, the Strategic Management Journal and the Journal of International Business Studies provide cutting edge research of strategic management issues within organisations and should be consulted along with the core texts.

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Course Website
Lecture materials will be made available online via WebCT, which is accessible from the quick links area on MyBiz http://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/mybiz/home On the course website you will be able to find a copy of this booklet, course handouts, announcements and other facilities. It is important that you regularly check the WebCT system in order to keep up to date with the course. You should be automatically registered for all your courses; if you are not please consult Stuart Mallen, Programme Secretary (email office+mba@businessschool.ed.ac.uk) to ensure that your records are in order. A user guide and full details of how to logon and use the system are available on the website. N.B. It is vitally important that you check your WebCT mailbox regularly OR set it up so that it forwards messages automatically to your regular email account.

Advised Preparatory Work

It is highly recommended that you read before beginning the course: A) the course text, so that you can devote your time to applying the concepts when the course is underway B) the nine cases, so that class and syndicate group discussions will be more profitable. Syndicate groups will be randomly selected to present their case diagnoses in each case de-brief discussion, based on the concepts and models posed in the lecture.

Course Lecturer
Dr. R. Bradley MacKay Tel:0131 651 5246 Office: Room 2.13, Business School, 29 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9JS Email: Brad.Mackay@ed.ac.uk A strategist, Brad MacKay has consulted widely on strategic planning in both the public and private sectors. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Head of the Strategy and International Business Group at the University of Edinburgh Business School. His main areas of consultancy and research interest are in the areas of strategic management processes and scenario planning. Working with managers of companies in areas as diverse as automotive, consulting, cultural industries, financial services, general manufacturing and oil and gas, he researches how organizations can develop strategy and decision processes in complex, turbulent and uncertain industry environments. His research has been published in a number of leading scholarly journals and books. He is also the co-founder of the Strategic Foresight Special Interest Group (SIG) of the British Academy of Management, where he served as its Chairperson between 2003 and 2007, and the Strategic Foresight Caucus at the Academy of Management in the United States.

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Study Programme
Date Thursday November 03, 2011 Time 8:30-9:00 Lecture Day 1 Morning Description Introduction to the module

9.00 9:45AM 9.4510.30AM 10:3010:45AM 10:4511:45AM 11:4512:30PM 12:3013:30PM Afternoon 13:3014:15PM 14:1515:00PM 15:0015:15PM 15:1516:15PM 16:1517:00PM Date Thursday November 10, 2011 Time 9:009:45AM 9:4510:30AM 10:3010:45AM 10:4511.45AM 11:4512:30 12.3013.30 PM 13.3014.15PM 14.1515.00 PM 15:0015:15PM Lecture Day 2 Morning

Case Discussion: Google Inc. Lecture 1: Strategic Purpose, Mission, Vision, Values Reading: L&M: 1-67 Coffee Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case Case De-brief Lunch

Case Discussion: Apple Inc. Lecture 2: Competitive Analysis Reading: L&M:125-149 Coffee Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case Case De-Brief

Description Case Discussion: Global Climate change and BP

Lecture 3: Strategic Context: Business and Society Reading: L&M: 69-124 Coffee Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case Case De-brief Lunch Afternoon Case Discussion: The Walt Disney Company: the Entertainment King Lecture 4: Strategy in Multi-business firms Reading: L&M: 167-202 Coffee

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15:1516:15PM 16:1517:00PM 17:0018:00PM Date Thursday November 17, 2011 Time 9.00 9:45AM 9:4510.30AM 10:3010:45AM 10:4511:45AM 11:4512:30PM 12:3013:30PM Afternoon 13:3014:15PM 14:1515:00PM 15:0015:15PM 15:1516:15PM 16:1517:00PM Date Thursday November 24, 2011 Time 9.009:30AM 9:009:20AM 9:209:40AM 9:4010:00AM 10:0010:20AM 10:2010:40AM 10:4011:00AM Lecture Day 4 Morning Evening

Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case Case De-Brief

Guest Lecture: tba

Lecture Day 3 Morning

Description Case Discussion: Tata Nano the peoples car

Lecture 5: Disruptive Strategy Reading: 149-166, 203-241 Coffee Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case Case Application: Cirque du Soleil Case De-brief Lunch

Case Discussion: Globalization at Komatsu Lecture 6: Strategic change and transformation Reading: L&M: 243-285 Coffee Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case Case Application: Anne Mulcahy: Leading Xerox through the perfect storm Case De-Brief

Description Presentations

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Coffee

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11:0011:20AM 11:2011:40AM 11:4012:00PM 12:0012:20PM 12:2012:40PM 12:4013:00PM 13:0014:00PM Friday November 25, 2011 14:0017:00 17:00PM Afternoon

Group 6 Group 7 Group 8 Group 9 Group 10 Exam overview Lunch

Live Case Study Participation Assessment Social

Lecture Outlines and Readings

As above

Exam Papers
Where applicable all available exam papers can be found on the University of Edinburgh website at: http://www.exampapers.lib.ed.ac.uk/

Appendix 1: Further Reading Further Reading: Texts

De Wit, R. and Meyer, R. (2010) Strategy (4th ed), London: Thomson. De Wit, R. and Meyer, R. (2010) Strategy Synthesis (3rd ed), London: Thomson. Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy (8th ed), Prentice Hall. Lynch, R. (2009). Strategic Management. (5th ed). Prentice Hall. Mintzberg, H. Lampel, J. Quinn, J. Ghoshal, S. (2003). The Strategy Process: Concepts, Cases, and Texts. Prentice Hall

Further Reading: Journals

Academy of Management Journal Academy of Management Review Strategic Management Journal Long Range Planning Harvard Business Review Sloan Management Review California Management Review Journal of Management Studies

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