MGT. 490 BUSINESS POLICY & STRATEGY - SPRING, 1995
Western Illinois University: RIRUC
Room 4-108 Monday, 6:15-8:55 pm & Room 3-312 Tuesay, 3:00-5:40pm
Terence C. Krell, M.B.A., Ph.D. Office Phone: 792-5330 Home Phone: 793-1998
Office Hours: Mon 5-6:15pm & 9-9:30pm; Tues 2:15-3pm & 5:45-6:15pm
(after class hours are for the students in that night's class only); and by appointment
WHAT THIS COURSE IS ABOUT (and why you are required to take it)
MGT 490 is intended to be a challenging and exciting capstone course for the undergraduate business school curriculum. It is first and foremost a course about "strategy" and about "managing success." The course centers around the theme that a company achieves sustained success if and only if its mangers (1) develop, and revise as needed, an action-oriented strategic plan and (2) implement and execute the plan with some proficiency. This plan manifests itself as the "business policy" the company follows, hence the title of the course.
In studying the tasks of managing strategy we shall also tackle another important function: that of trying to integrate much of the knowledge you have gained in the business curriculum. This is a "big picture" course, a trait that makes it a truly different kind of course from other business courses. Virtually all of the other required and elective courses you have taken were concerned with a specific functional area (production, marketing, finance, accounting) and/or a well-defined body of knowledge (economics, statistics, legal environment.). More than a few of your previous courses have been highly structured and related closely to a well-developed body of theory. Some provided quantitative techniques for you to sink your teeth into. Others related to information and specific skills the faculty believe you needed to acquire. This course shares few of these traits. The problems and issues of strategy formulation and implementation cover the whole spectrum of business and management. Many variables and situational factors must be dealt with at once. Weighing the pros and cons of strategy entails a total enterprise perspective and skill at judging how all of the relevant factors add up.
The faculty of WIU (as well as at all other good business schools) have seen fit to require you to take this course in order to drive home what the role and tasks of the "manager-in-charge" are, to introduce you to what strategy means, to lead you through the ins and outs of formulating and implementing a strategic plan, and to get you into the habit of automatically reviewing a firm's situation and reappraising the need for strategy revision. The overriding pedagogical objective is to sharpen your abilities to "think strategically" and to diagnose situations from a strategic perspective. Accomplishing this objective entails introducing you to how an enterprise must in fact deal with all of the complexities and constraints of the environment in which it operates, why these cannot be assumed away or ignored, and how they affect strategic decisions. It means giving you exposure to and some experience in trying to grapple with many determining factors and weighing how they shape what action needs to be taken from the perspective of the total enterprise. It means drilling you thoroughly in the tools of strategy analysis and exercising you in the managerial task of sizing up a company's strategic position. It means systematically exposing you to the rigors of industry and competitive analysis, to the process of formulating an attractive strategic plan, and to the varied administrative tasks associated with implementing and executing the chosen strategy as well as circumstances permit.
The content of the course has all of the ingredients needed to keep your interest and attention. In our minds, the glamour and the grand sweep of "strategizing" and managing an enterprise down the road of success make the course lively, fascinating, and fun. We sincerely hope this course will be the very best course you have ever had--that it will be instrumental in making you (1) "competitively superior," (2) successful in your career, and (3) much wiser about the secrets of first-rate management.
ORIENTATION
This is a course employing a combination of lecture and the case method. The lectures will reflect the theories and analysis in use in each chapter, and are to supplement, rather than repeat the information in the text. Therefore, you must read the chapters when assigned in order to participate in lectures. Case analysis requires extrapolating from given material to reality. Thus, answers to cases may require you to go beyond the material provided to additional material and knowledge. Therefore, cases are best studied for in groups to get a broader perspective. Do not underestimate the time required to prepare for case discussion. On the average, students require 1-3 Hours per case of preparation for class discussion, and 10-20 Hours per case of preparation for oral presentations and written cases.
It is expected that you are already proficient at Marketing, Finance, and Management issues, else you would not be about to graduate.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To increase your understanding of what managers must do to make business succeed over the long haul.
2. To develop your capacity to identify strategic issues and to reason carefully about strategic options.
3. To build your skills in conducting strategic analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations.
4. To improve your ability to manage the organization process by which strategies get formed and executed.
5. To integrate the knowledge gained in earlier business courses.
REQUIRED TEXT
Thompson and Strickland, Strategic Management; Concepts and Cases, Sixth Edition, 1992.
CLASS ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION IN CASE DISCUSSION
Attendance at all class sessions is expected, especially class discussion of assigned cases. To encourage attendance, the instructor will randomly assign "participation points" to all of those present.
Due to the fact that participation in class discussion of cases and your group counts 20% of your grade, each student must contribute significantly to in-class analysis of the cases. Each student is expected to be an active participant and to make meaningful comments on cases being discussed. Your grade on class participation is something to be earned via consistent, daily contribution to class discussion. You should, therefore, make a conscientious effort to attend class discussions of cases and to be sufficiently prepared to contribute to the case discussions. Merely coming to class is not sufficient.
Being shy is no excuse for not being prepared, and may mean you will choose not to participate as much as more vocal personalities. Quality of participation is more important than quantity in determining your participation grade. It is therefore the task of those who consider themselves shy to make sure the quality of their participation is higher than that of those who are more vocal. You should also bear in mind that, in general, shy people do not do as well in business as those who are not, and that shyness is a behavior you can change, not an inborn trait.
GRADING STANDARDS
95 - Exceptional, innovative, or comprehensively written; 80 - Solid performance to assignment; 70 - Marginal or unbalanced analysis, or poorly written; 60 - Completely off-target, minimal analysis, very poorly written 0 - Not turned in. Note that it is very unusual for anyone to get better than 90 on a case.
At the end of the semester, each grade will be weighted according to the grading plan and an overall percentage computed. 90 or above earns an "A", 80 or above a "B", 70 or above a "C" 60 or above a D. There are no preordained grade quotas, and a modified curve (to raise the average) will be used, which may lower the above grade required percentages. Overall, solid performance will earn a grade of "B". An "A" will be reserved for outstanding performance. Marginally acceptable work will earn a "C".
GRADING CRITERIA
Grades on individual assignments will be assigned on the basis of demonstrated accomplishment in applying concepts to management problems. Thus grades may not be consistent with students' backgrounds, level of input effort, or personal goals. Percentage grades from 0 to 95 will be earned for each assignment. Case grades are assigned based on form as well as content, and may be graded relative to other cases from the same class, rather than an absolute standard. Form, in this instance, refers to following the instructions for case preparation distributed by the instructor and other criteria described under case assignments below.
GRADING PLAN
Your course grade will be based on the following components and point distribution:
- Written case assignments (15% each) 30%
- Team Oral Case Presentation (short) 10%
- Participation in class discussion of cases 20%
- Final team written case & team presentation (long) 40%
READING ASSIGNMENTS
Students in all case courses have a tendency to skip over reading material. You are required to outline or otherwise master the assigned chapters adequately to participate in Socratic discussion. Thus you may be called upon at any time in class to answer a logical, conceptual question about the themes and theories in the text.
PREPARATION OF WRITTEN/ORAL CASES
Written case assignments are to be prepared on an individual basis, except for the Team case. The nature of each written assignment is indicated below.
The oral case presentations are to be prepared and orally presented on a team basis. There will be four teams. Presentations involve a comprehensive analysis in which the team is expected to identify, evaluate, and recommend as necessary; it is essential that you present an in-depth diagnosis and recommend a realistic, workable plan of action. The oral presentation will take the form of a formal presentation to the class of your analysis and recommendation. Formal means one or two individuals from your group will make a business type presentation. You are required to use visual aids (the overhead projector or flip-charts or some combination of these) to assist in communicating the points you wish to make. On the oral presentations and written documents you will receive a group grade. A peer review process will affect your participation grade.
SHORT PRESENTATION:
This is the first presentation you will make and is for practice, but is 5% of your grade. Multiple teams may present each case. You must also prepare, hand out to others in the class, and turn in to the instructor a summary of your analysis (a single summary for the entire group). Following the presentation will be a question-and-answer session, with questions being posed by members of other teams presenting the same cases and by the class at-large. Part of your presentation grade is based on your ability to stimulate questions/discussion from the class.
LONG PRESENTATION:
The long presentation is in the form of a comprehensive, final project that will be 35% of your grade. Essentially, you will be applying your group's case analysis skills to a real company using real data you acquire from the library. A brief lecture on how to acquire this data will be given. All of the standards for the short presentation apply, except that your group will provide a single, complete case write-up (such as you have previously done individually). The write up should be bound and include as Appendices all of the raw data and interim analysis upon which you base your write-up.
POLICIES REGARDING WRITTEN CASES
Written case assignments are due on the day the case is scheduled for class discussion and should be turned in to your instructor at the beginning of the class period. Cases turned in after the beginning of the class period are considered to be late. Create three copies: Turn in two copies, retain one copy for yourself for discussion purposes. Failure to turn in two copies on time will lower your grade. Turn in one copy of the final group case.
Cases turned in after the beginning of the scheduled class period are eligible for a grade no higher than a 70 (and that only if the paper is otherwise an 90 or 85 paper). No late papers will be accepted if submitted more than one day past the scheduled due date (except by prearranged consent of the instructor) or if the student was present during class discussion. (HINT: try to have your papers completed a day early).
All written cases are to be typed (double-spaced) and to follow correct form, spelling, grammar, etc. Staple sheets together. Do not use binders, notebooks, etc. except for the final group case.
Papers which, in the opinion of the instructor, employ disproportionately poor grammar and poor quality written communication skills will be assigned a grade that is one-letter (10 points) lower than would otherwise be assigned. Although you are allowed to discuss cases with other members of the class, the University rules on academic honesty and plagiarism apply: In brief, turn in your own work.
PREPARATION FOR CASE DISCUSSION
For cases that are assigned for class discussion, you are required to create a one page outline of the case that proves you have prepared to participate in discussion. This outline will be collected randomly and will be graded with a plus or minus, and returned without comments. These affect your participation grade.
THINGS IT IS ASSUMED YOU KNOW BEFORE COMING TO THIS CLASS:
1. Marketing: What is the marketing orientation? How is it different from the sales and production orientation? When is market research appropriate? When should advertising be emphasized over sales and vice versa?
2. Finance: How do you perform a ratio analysis? A cash-flow analysis? How do you determine what a company is worth?
3. Management: How do you tell if a company is run efficiently? If it is over or understaffed? How do you identify the management style in a company? How do you resolve group problems?
4. Business Communications: What is a cover letter, or letter of transmittal? What form does an executive summary or synopsis take? What form do you use for reports?
Knowledge in these areas is supposed to have been acquired by you in previous courses and although these concepts will be used in this course, no class time will be devoted to discussion of how to perform and use them. If you are weak in any of these areas, consider the following options:
A. Review all of your notes and texts from courses you have taken in the above areas.
B. Arrange to get a tutor in areas where you are weak.
C. Resign yourself to getting no better than a "C" in this class.
D. Drop the class and repeat the above courses.
In the interest of fairness review handouts for some of these concepts will be provided to you by the instructor
ASSIGNMENTS:
Week of:
1/23 Orientation and course overview. Group Selection.
1/30 How to do research for final presentation. Case Selection for presentations. Read Chapter 1, 2, and pages 277-288. Lecture / discussion: Intro to Strategy; How to do cases & Intro to Mission.
2/6 Case Discussion Kolapore, Inc. (handout). Preliminary statement of selected company due.
2/13 Lincoln's Birthday NO CLASS: Group Work on Term Project: 2.5 hour meeting at library for 2/27 data collection required this week.
2/20 Read Chapter 3, 4, 5. Lecture / discussion: Case Discussion: Cineplex Odeon
2/27 Read Chapter 6,7,8. Lecture / discussion. Industry & Competitive Info of selected company due.
3/6 Read Chapter 9, 10. Lecture / discussion Company Analysis of selected company due. Group Work.
3/13 SPRING RECESS
3/20 Case Discussion: Philip Morris Companies, Inc. Group Work ----Case Preparation.
3/27 Case Discussion: Club Med, Inc., Written Analysis Due.
4/3 Group Work ---- Case Preparation
4/10 The World Automotive industry; Oral presentations on four companies. Written Group Outline Due. Group Work----Case Preparation.
4/17 Case Discussion: Mary Kay Cosmetics, Written Analysis Due.
4/24 Group Work ----Case Preparation.
5/1 Oral team presentations
5/8 Last Day. Oral team presentations. Final Case Written Analysis Due. There is no final examination.
Assignments listed in italics are not due for a grade, but are milestones for you to gauge your progress on your Team case. If you are behind on these milestones, expect to have problems.
Return to Terence Krell's home page
Use the link below to send me e-mail at: