MANA 6240 Strategic Management

Instructor: David R. King, Ph.D. Office: Straz Hall Room 383 E-mail: david.king@marquette.edu Office Phone: 414-288-7393 Office Hours: After class, or by appointment. Course Materials: 1. Books a. Harrison, J.S., and St John, C.H. 2010. Foundations in Strategic Management, 5th ed. South-Western Cengage learning: Mason, OH. ISBN-13: 978-1-4390-8046-7 b. Hill, L.A., and Lineback, K.L. 2011. Being the boss: The three imperatives for becoming a great leader. Harvard Business Review Press: Boston, MA. ISBN-13: 978-1-4221-6389-4 2. Lecture PowerPoint slides: Voice-over discussion of basic concepts. The slides relate to the text, but cover different information. In other words, neither the slides nor the text fully substitute for the other. 3. Other materials listed in the syllabus, posted on D2L, or provided in class. 4. Class discussion will relate to current events where possible, so I encourage you to read the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and other business publications. Course Objectives This is the capstone course in the Graduate School of Business. It integrates your experience and concepts from your other courses and helps prepare you for the challenges of managing people and resources. The course focuses on the firm as a whole in relation to its environment, or an inherently complex subject. The primary objective will to introduce the perspective of mid and top-level managers along with key concepts and terminology. The objectives specific to this course include: Recognize organizations face an increasingly competitive and global marketplace Apply strategic management models to business situations and firms Conduct strategic analysis of different industries and competitive situations Use models to understand, organize and integrate information Adapt and extend concepts from prior coursework with real world situations to assess an organizations competitive advantage and strategic options Evaluate ethical dilemmas and apply values to business situations 1

(best way to reach me)

Integrate course concepts using critical thinking in written assignments and classroom discussion

Students will likely vary in competency on these outcomes based on class attendance, fulfillment of course assignments, and other factors. Strategy as a Field While associated with senior executives, the success or failure of business strategy affects everyone in an organization. Business strategy can trace its roots to military strategy, and writings on military strategy date back to the ancient Greeks and Sun Tzu or ~500 B.C. A basic view of strategy is that it involves a plan for achieving an established objective. However, the field of strategy covers several questions, including: What explains differences in firm performance, or competitive advantage? Are manager decisions rational, emotional, or some combination? Are internal firm resources or a firms environment more important determinants of success? What is the difference between management and leadership, and is one more important than the other? When should organizations focus on quality (differentiation) or cost (low prices)? Is it better to be a pioneer (first mover) or a fast follower? Does strategy drive organization structure, or vice versa? Are financial aspects of running a business an outcome or facilitator? How do cultural, regulatory and other environmental factors influence firm behavior? Toss in globalization, technology change, and other forces and the challenges facing an organization today are greater than ever. My current working definition of strategy is the processes that link an organizations goals and activities in a pattern of actions that maximizes the use of resources in relation to its external environment. Because it involves people striving to be successful, strategy is both a science and an art that is always changing. It is important to realize everyone practices strategysome are aware of it and even fewer are good at it. The better you understand strategy, the more you will understand yourself, the people around you, and how to achieve the things you and they want. Recommended strategy readings: Greene, R. 2006. The 33 strategies of war. Penguin Books: New York. Mintzberg, H. Ahlstrand, B., & Lampel, J. 1998. Strategy Safari: A guided tour through the wilds of strategic management. The Free Press: New York. Pfeffer, J. 1992. Managing with power: Politics and influence in organizations. Harvard Business School Press: Boston, MA. Instructors Learning Philosophy Kolb (1984) identified learning as a social process based on cumulative experience. The implication is that ideas are not fixed and immutable, but are formed and reformed through experience. As a result, knowledge is created through the transformation of experience (e.g., 2

reading, classroom) into a sense of order that guides future actions. Tension between expectation and actual experience is inherent in Kolbs (1984: 42) circular model of learning (see figure). Results inconsistent with expectation help to refine ideas.
Concrete Experience
Reflective Observation Observation Observation

Active Experimentation

Abstract Conceptualization

Under Kolbs experiential learning model, traditional instruction that focuses primarily on presenting material is not a sufficient means of learning. This philosophy of learning is applied to the course by leveraging your prior experience with the presentation of important strategy concepts. Discussion augmented with current events, case studies, videos and other media will help evaluate whether outcomes match expectations. Assignments and their discussion will help refine the understanding of concepts and their application to situations. Kolb, D.A. 1984. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Course Format The course is divided into online and in-person segments. The online portion will review concepts related to the text and related handouts. The in-person format will focus on cases and class discussions of D2L posts and other provided information. This syllabus provides a summary of requirements. Changes to the course syllabus may be necessary to better meet course objectives and can be made by mutual agreement by students (majority) and the instructor (retains veto).

Course Assignments ALL Assignments are due at Midnight the day before class. Written Assignments Writing is an important business skill and the majority of your grade will be based on your ability to communicate your ideas in writing. The courses written assignments deliberately build on one another (see Figure). NOTE: All assignments will be single-spaced within paragraphs and double spaced between paragraphs.

D2L Discussion (~20%) The goal of the D2L activities is to encourage reflection and prepare for class discussion on managerial issues. There is not an exam in the course and the intent is for D2L discussion to serve a similar function as short answer questions on an exam. Using D2L offers the additional benefit that everyone can see the answers and leave with a better understanding. Contributions in D2L will be evaluated using the rubric at the end of the syllabus. Each D2L post will be evaluated and feedback provided in grades in D2L using the rubric at the end of the syllabus and are due at Midnight the night before the assigned class. Further, at the end of the course there is also a bonus question to give share ideas on the D2L posts and the class. This is an individual assignment. Article Analysis (~6%) Daily events in the business world relate directly to the concepts of business strategy. To encourage reading and integrating concepts from the business, students will need to submit two summaries of a news article on a current business event by Week 7. The 1 page (single-spaced) submission should consist of a short summary that provides a link to the article, with at least 3 paragraphs, describing: 1) the event it covers, 2) relation of the event to concepts in the course, and 3) a summary of what makes the event interesting and/or relevant to you. A sample analysis is provided in D2L under content and course handouts. The articles can be submitted at any time prior to 5 November. This is an individual assignment. Case Assignments (~30%) Cases will be discussed to provide depth and context to course concepts. Cases help address the question of what a concept implies as well as how it applies to issues and situations. Even better, analysis can offer insights into firm policy and strategy relate to why firms pursue certain objectives. Cases help people understand and discuss key issues found in business and can help examine whether activities align with goals. The better these issues are understood, the

better professional choices people and firms can make. While problems rarely have a clear solution, negative impacts can be reduced through effort to better understand a situation and its context. There will be two kinds of case assignments and both should build on information or experiences outside the case: 1) individual mini-cases (1 page), and 2) team full case (~3 pages). Each case needs to be submitted to Dropbox by Midnight the day before the class it is assigned. There are two individual cases (1 page) that require your personal perspective worth 4 points each: 1) Admired leader: We can learn effective leadership styles by emulating others. Identify the person, provide background on them and some of their accomplishments, and then look behind the accomplishments of the leader, and identify the capabilities that contributed to their success. There is often confusion between an accomplishment and the capabilities needed to be consistently successful. It is an important (but not obvious) distinction. While short-term results can be achieved by almost any manager/leader, capabilities contribute to long-term success. Due Week 3. 2) Youre in Charge Part II: This case extends the challenge of a leadership transition (Part I) to direct planning and implementation of change to a team you lead. Challenges include dealing with morale problems, unfamiliarity with required procedures, and other uncertainties. Due Week 6. There are three team cases (~3 pages) that will be based on provided information, but will require additional research and analysis. Note: The firm each team is assigned for the cases is listed in the back of the syllabus. Team cases are worth 10 points: 1) An industry analysis of Large Commercial Aircraft manufacturing. Teams will be assigned to take the perspective of either Boeing or Airbus. Due Week 1. 2) A SWOT analysis of the Technology Titan firms. Teams will be assigned to take the perspective of Apple, Google, or Microsoft. Due Week 2. 3) A financial analysis and recommendation of the Acquire Ally case. Due Week 7. Final Project (~30%) The primary assignment in the course is a case analysis of a company selected by the student and approved by the instructor (5 pages, plus references). The Case assignment represents an opportunity to apply concepts from the course to an organization meaningful to the student. The case will have three separate turn-ins: 1) Identifying the organization and providing background (1 page, due Week 4), 2) Strategic analysis (SWOT or Industry) of organization with alternatives (3 pages, due Week 5), and 3) a final turn-in (~5 pages) that builds on the prior work to include a stakeholder analysis and final recommendation that considers implementation issues (due Week 8). There is a sample assignment on D2L and the Appendix to the Harrison and St. John text has information on case analysis. This is an individual assignment. Class Participation (~12%) The process of formulating ideas through reflection and discussion is inherent in the learning process. The course is intended to help you make sense of your everyday experiencesuse and

share your experiences to help interpret the material. I have learned from every class that I have taught as the concepts presented are applied in different contexts and examined by people with different perspectives. What is covered in class will not simply repeat what is in the reading (e.g., text), as this will be the focus on the voice over PowerPoint slides. Participating in class is essential for learning, and you are expected to attend class. Feedback on class participation will be evaluated three times (Week 3, Week 6 and Week 8) with 5 points available each time. This will allow me to focus on assessing the participation of people at different times. Participation involves a holistic assessment of a students contributions to constructive discussion of course topics. For example, simply being present is average or C performance, and off-topic contributions can result in below average performance. If you know will miss class, please let me know in advanceabsences will likely impact your grade. Discussion reflecting thorough preparation will positively affect your grade, while random or non-value added contributions will have the opposite impact. Examples of contributions include: Raising and answering substantive questions Sharing relevant examples, observations, and/or personal experiences Sharing information and analyses Generating potential issues and/or solutions Synthesizing ideas and relationships to other ideas or earlier discussions Identify values and biases that influence the interpretation of situations and solutions Constructively providing alternate points of view Pointing out subtleties or situations where something may not work Assignment Summary D2L discussion Article Analysis Individual Case - Admired leader (Week 3) - Youre in Charge Part II (Week 6) Team Case - Aircraft Industry (Week 1) - Technology Titan (Week 2) - Ally valuation and recommendation (Week 7) Final Project - Part I: Identify organization (Week 4) - Part II: Analysis (Week 5) - Part II: Final Turn-in (Week 8) Participation Total 24 (6 x 4 pts, Wk 8 bonus 4 pts) 8 (2 x 4 pts each) 4 4 10 10 10 4 16 20 15 125 points (plus 4 pt bonus)

Performance Appearance matters because to be taken seriously your ideas need to be presented so they appear worthy of attention. However, a flashy exterior will not substitute for a lack of content or understanding foundational knowledge and skills. In a field as complex as business strategy, there are multiple ways to achieve the same result (equifinality). This means there often is no single right answer, so I focus on the communication and support for your ideas at least as much as the ideas themselves when I evaluate assignments. I will use the following categories to grade your work and assign final grades. A AB B BC C Below 75% 94-100% 89-93.9% 84-88.9% 79-83.9% 75-78.9% Instructor discretion

In assigning final grades, your overall performance during the course, including an assessment of consistency, will be assessed. I may adjust the curve downward, but I will not raise the limits. In other words, if you achieve the above percentage you will at least get that grade. Academic Integrity Unethical behavior by business people regularly makes the news, and some question the role business schools play in preparing students. An emphasis on values is a strength of a Marquette University education. To maintain that strength, questions of academic dishonesty must be addressed. Academic dishonesty refers to any attempt to gain an advantage in class performance that is not available to other students, to assist another student in gaining an advantage, or violating a condition of an assignment. For example, plagiarism involves quoting from a source (including another student) without appropriately identifying and citing borrowed material. The attribution standard is to always give credit for work that is not your own by fully and accurately disclosing all resources used to accomplish your work. Plagiarism also includes submitting your work from another course. Placement of your name on tests and assignments affirms the contents are your original work for this class. All written assignments are subject to submission to a plagiarism detection service, such as Turnitin. Students are required to turn in electronic versions of their written assignments to Dropbox on D2L using Microsoft compatible files (e.g., Word). If you are unsure of an issue, please ask me. Failure to abide by standards of academic integrity will result in NO credit for a given assignment and the potential for additional penalties allowed by University policy. In summary, a lack of integrity can cripple someone that would otherwise be successful. Use of Electronic Devices in the Classroom I recognize this is a potentially touchy subject, but when you are in class you need to be present for yourself and others. This means that cell phones and laptops need to be turned off. There are reasons for this request. The most straightforward is that multi-tasking is a myth people are not

good at it and it only short changes what you think you are completing. My advice: Wherever you arebe there Prioritize what is important, dedicate time to it, give it 100% of your attention, and only then move on to the next thing. Your cooperation in this area will be appreciated. Late Assignments Assignments are due by Midnight the day before the assigned date. I do NOT grade late assignments. This is justified on two grounds. First, assignments and their due dates are defined up front and you have the option to turn in assignments early. Allowing late assignments is unfair to the people that hand in assignments on time. Second, the due dates are chosen to support defined events (e.g., class discussion and turning in grades). Simply, missing work deadlines has consequences. Assignmentseven if latemay need to be completed to avoid receiving an incomplete for the course. In Case of Emergency Safety of students is the primary concern and unusual events may require locking down or evacuating the classroom. Course Schedule Week 1 19 Aug (Fri) Topic: Introduction to Strategy & Managerial Perspective Reading: Hill & Lineback (Chapters 1 & 2) Harrison & St John (Chapter 1) Other: Strategic Analysis (SWOT & Stakeholder) Case: Youre in ChargeNow What? (Part I) D2L PowerPoint: Week 1-1 Strategy PowerPoint Week 1-2 SWOT Analysis Week 1-3 Stakeholder Analysis For Class: Discuss Case D2L Post: None Assignment Due: None Topic: External Environment Reading: Hill & Lineback (Chapters 3 & 4) Harrison & St John (Chapter 2) Other: Porter 5 Forces Article Case: Aircraft Industry D2L PowerPoint: Week 1-4 Industry Analysis Week 1-5 Value Chain Analysis D2L Post: Rivalry For Class: Discuss Case and D2L post Assignment Due: Team Case Industry Analysis

20 Aug (Sat)

Week 2 27 Aug (Sat) Topic: Firm Resources Reading: Hill & Lineback (Chapters 5 & 6) Harrison & St John (Chapter 3) Other: Basics of Business Valuation Case: Technology Titans D2L PowerPoint: Week 2-1 Resources D2L Post: Workplace Woes For Class: Discuss Case, D2L post & Valuation Assignment Due: Team Case -- SWOT (see appendix)

Week 3 10 Sep (Sat) Topic: Strategic Leadership Reading: Hill & Lineback (Chapters 7 & 8) Harrison & St John (Chapter 4 & Appendix) Case: Technology Titans D2L PowerPoint: Week 3-1 Leadership Week 3-2 Governance D2L Post: CEO Accountability For Class: Discuss D2L post, and research little known fact about Technology Titan founder or current CEO Assignment Due: Individual mini-case: Profile a leader you admire

Week 4 24 Sep (Sat) Topic: Business Strategy Reading: Hill & Lineback (Chapters 9 & 10) Harrison & St John (Chapter 5) Case: Technology Titans D2L PowerPoint: Week 4-1 Business Strategy Week 4-2 Industry Cycles D2L Post: Out on Site For Class: Discuss d2L post, and Technology Titans business models/tactics Assignment Due: Final Project Part I

Week 5 8 Oct (Sat) Topic: Corporate Strategy (NO Class) Reading: Harrison & St John (Chapter 6) D2L PowerPoint: Week 5-1 Corporate Strategy Week 5-2 Alliances D2L Post: None Assignment Due: Final Project Part II

Week 6 22 Oct (Sat) Topic: Strategy Implementation Reading: Hill & Lineback (Chapters 11) Harrison & St John (Chapter 7) Case: Youre in ChargeNow What? (Part II) D2L PowerPoint: Week 6-1 Implementation Week 6-2 Entrepreneurship D2L Post: Execution For Class: Discuss Case and D2L post Assignment Due: Individual mini-case: Youre in Charge Part II

Week 7 5 Nov (Sat) Topic: Strategic Control & Restructuring Reading: Harrison & St John (Chapter 8) Case: Acquire Ally? D2L PowerPoint: Week 7-1 Control Week 7-2 Acquisitions D2L Post: New Responsibility For Class: Discuss Case and D2L post Assignment Due: Team Case: Ally valuation and recommendation Article Analysis (2)

Week 8 19 Nov (Sat) Topic: Organizational Politics & Course Summary Reading: Lessons from Xenophons Retreat Savvy Program Management D2L PowerPoint: None D2L Post: Bonus For Class: Discuss readings Assignment Due: S ubmit final case (Dropbox)

The capacity to learn is a gift; The ability to learn is a skill; The willingness to learn is a choice. -- Anonymous

10

Rubric The following rubric provides a guide in how D2L posts, article analysis, individual cases, and class participation will be evaluated. In the case of class participation, 5 points are possible and will relate to hitting one out of the park.
Criteria
Other descriptions to describe this kind of work

Exemplary 4 Points
Outstanding Superior Excellent Exemplary The Goal in This Class Clearly addresses multiple aspects of issue Rich in content Full of thought, insight and analysis Clear connections to course content Clear connections to experience and real-life situations Introduces new ideas Demonstrates personal new understanding or perspective of course concepts Clear attention to language use, including format, style, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Though style may be more or less formal, and does not have to be flawless, wording, spelling and grammar do not noticeably distract from content.

Proficient 3 Points
Average Acceptable Accomplished Satisfactory Moving in the Right Direction On topic, but addresses only obvious aspects of issue Substantial information included Some thought, insight and analysis evident Makes the obvious connections with course content or personal experience

Below Expectations 1-2 Points

Basic Poor Incomplete Developing Drifting Largely off-topic or superficial Some information included Thought, insight and analysis superficial

Appropriate Focus Critical Thinking

Makes Connections

Limited, if any, connections are included or they consist largely of generalities

Includes Individual Input

While largely echoes what has been provided or discussed, makes new perspectives and insights Some attention to language use, including format, style, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Language use lapses are regular and patterned, but do not undermine the communication of ideas.

Generally repeats covered course concepts with limited evidence of individual thinking and input

Language Use

Limited attention to language use, including format, style, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Language use, such as grammar, spelling and word choice error are frequent enough to detract from content and muddle ideas.

NOTE: Missing or late assignments that fail to meet minimum standards will receive NO credit.

11

APPENDIX: Strategy Team Case Assignments

Team blue blue blue blue blue blue brown brown brown brown brown brown gold gold gold gold gold gold green green green green green green purple purple purple purple purple purple First Name Linda Greg Stacy Luke Brad Scott Chuck Melissa Ikjot Randy Joe Brian Debbie Sarah Eric Bill Mikhail Matt John Jason Mike Krishna Mike Sagar Last Name Industry SWOT Valuation

Edelstein Guse Hetherington Klatka Mahoney Searles Fastner Goins Grewal Louwagie Mauthe Stephens Hammer Heronymus-Rolfs Hudak Klingsporn Palatnik Prange Emmerling Feucht Gresl Ranganathan Sulhan
Thirumurthy

Boeing Boeing Boeing Boeing Boeing Boeing Airbus Airbus Airbus Airbus Airbus Airbus Boeing Boeing Boeing Boeing Boeing Boeing Airbus Airbus Airbus Airbus Airbus Airbus Boeing Boeing Boeing Boeing Boeing Boeing

Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Google Google Google Google Google Google Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Google Google Google Google Google Google

Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team Team

Tom
Kapil Jeff Jeff Christina Mark

Galfano Garga Hoehn Mayerl Seidner Stencel

12