THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON
BUSA 4322 – Organization Strategy
Spring 2005
Section:
042
Instructor:
Abdul Rasheed
230 Business Building
Ph: 272-3867
e-mail: abdul@uta.edu
Office Hours:
By appointment
Class Time and Location:
Tuesdays and Thursdays
9:30 - 10:50 p.m.
Required Text:
Dess, G.G., Lumpkin, G.T., and Taylor, M.L.
Strategic Management: Text and Cases.. McGraw-Hill Irwin
2004.
Additional Reading:
Businessweek, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, etc.
Room 252
Course Description
The focus of this Business Policy course is on corporate level and business unit-level strategy
formulation and implementation. It requires the application of the knowledge and techniques learned in the
earlier courses in an integrated fashion and also introduces the critical business skills of planning and
managing strategic activities. The topics to be covered include the relationship of organizations to their
environments, organizational mission and objectives, formal and informal approaches to strategic planning,
the role of organizational structure in the context of strategy formulation and implementation and the
mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of strategic decisions and their implementation.
Along with the text material, case studies will be used in this course as a mechanism for the
development of analytical and decision-making skills and highlighting the reality of organizational and
environmental uncertainties in strategic decision-making. In short, this course attempts to encourage an
integrated multifunctional, "general management" perspective of the organization and its environment to
develop skills necessary and appropriate to corporate-level and divisional-level policy analysis, formulation and
implementation. You will be required to study the assigned text and cases, analyze them and share your
insights with the rest of the class.
Evaluation and Grading Procedure
The final grade for the course will be based on performance in the following:
Exams
Wall Street Journal Assignment
Term Paper
Class Participation
50%
20% (See page 7 of syllabus)
20%
10%
See next page for important information about evaluation and grading.
Assessment Exam
This class has been selected to receive an Assessment Exam this
semester. Most likely, this exam will be administered by an external
agency sometime in early to mid April. The Assessment Exam will cover
the entire course material and will be an important part of determining
whether our students are meeting their learning objectives. Your final grade
in the course will reflect your performance in the Assessment Exam. The
exact weight to be placed on the Exam is yet to be decided. Therefore, the
distribution of weights provided on page 1 is subject to further changes. We
may also be making minor changes to our class schedule to accommodate
the Assessment Exam.
BUSA 4322
Tentative Course Outline
Session
Date
Topic/Assignment
________________________________________________________________________________________
__________
1 Jan 18
Introduction/Administrative Matters
________________________________________________________________________________________
______
2
Jan 20
Chap 1: Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages
- Strategic Management Process
- Stakeholder Management
- Vision and Mission
3 Jan 25
Case: Funco Inc. (p. 802)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Should Funco Inc. discontinue selling video games with antisocial themes,
even though doing so could reduce revenue and profit?
2.
What should Funco Inc do about media requests for interviews or footage?
3.
Should Funco Inc. expect widespread backlash from angry parents and, if so,
what strategies could be employed in dealing with parents?
4.
What actions should Funco Inc. take to prepare for potential boycotts or
other activity by consumer activist groups?
________________________________________________________________________________________
______
4
Jan 27
Chap 2: Analyzing the External Environment of the Firm
- General Environment
5
Feb 1
- Industry Analysis
- Strategic Groups
6
Feb 3
7
Feb 8
Case: Fasten Your Seat Belts: Turbulence Ahead for Travel Agencies (p. 479)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Using Porter’s framework, discuss each of the five competitive forces
facing travel agencies.
2.
How has the intermediary role of travel agencies changed in the last
decade?
3.
Identify the emerging trends in the travel industry.
4.
How should travel agencies position themselves for survival and /or growth?
________________________________________________________________________________________
_______
8
Feb 10
Using Library Resources: An Overview
________________________________________________________________________________________
3
9
Feb 15
Chap 3: Assessing the Internal Environment of the Firm
- Value Chain Analysis
&
10
- Resource-Based View
- Evaluating Performance
Feb 17
Case: KUVO Radio (p. 576)
Issues for Analysis
1.
What is your assessment of the management and direction of KUVO at this
time?
2.
How would you assess KUVO=s competitive situation?
3.
What is KUVO currently doing that is particularly effective / ineffective?
4.
How should KUVO position itself to raise money without compromising its
commitment to the Hispanic community?
5.
What recommendations would you have for KUVO?
________________________________________________________________________________________
_______
11
Feb 22
Chap 4: Recognizing a Firm=s Intellectual Assets: Moving beyond a Firm=s
Tangible Resources
- Human Capital
- Social Capital
- Technology
________________________________________________________________________________________
______
12 Feb 24
Chap 5: Business Level Strategy
- Cost Leadership
- Differentiation
- Industry Life Cycle
Case: Outback Steakhouse Goes International (p. 449)
Issues for Analysis
2.
Evaluate the various aspects of Outback=s strategy. Why has the
company been so successful?
3.
Are Outback=s various strategy components sustainable in the
domestic market? Are they transferable to the international markets?
Why? Why not?
4.
What markets should the company enter? In what order? What
modifications in strategy will be required for these markets?
5.
Is expansion into international markets appropriate for Outback at this
time?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4
_______
13
Mar 1
Chap 6: Corporate-Level Strategy: Creating Value through Diversification
- Related and Unrelated Diversification
- Mergers, Acquisitions, Alliances and Internal Development
- Managerial Motives
14 Mar 3
Overflow
________________________________________________________________________________________
15 Mar 8
MID-TERM EXAM
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______
16 Mar 10
Case:Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
(p. 546)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Undertake a SWOT analysis of Wal-Mart.
In your analysis of firm=s
strengths, be sure to identify the firm=s core competences.
2.
Identify and evaluate the strategies that Wal-Mart has pursued to maintain its
growth and leadership position.
3.
Discuss the importance of changes in the external environment to an
organization like Wal-Mart.
4.
How much does the firm miss Sam Walton?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______
17 Mar 22
Chap 7: International Strategy: Creating Value in Global Markets
&
18 Mar 24
- National Competitiveness
- International Expansion
- Global and Multidomestic Strategies
Case: Ellen Moore (A): Living and Working in Korea (p. 632)
Issues for Analysis
1.
What are the problems and why do they exist?
2.
What alternatives exist at this point?
3.
In Andrew=s position what would you do?
4.
What changes would you recommend making for future projects?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5
19 Mar 29
Strategies
_______
Chap 8: The Internet and E-Commerce: Creating Value through E-Business
- Internet and Five-Forces Analysis
- Competitive Strategies
- Sustainability
20 Mar 31
Case: AUCNET USA: A Real-Time On-Line Auto Auction Company (p. 702)
Issues for Analysis
1. What should be done to increase the likelihood of this operation being
successful?
2. Should AUCNET USA expand into other markets, such as auctioning
heavy earth moving equipment in the U.S. or auctioning flowers in
Europe?
3. What other business expansion opportunities could AUCNET USA pursue?
______________________________________________________________________________________
________
21 Apr 5
Chap 9: Implementing Strategy: Achieving Effective Strategic Control
- Traditional Approach
- Behavioral Control
- Strategic Control at Different Levels
22 Apr 7
Case: A Nucor Commitment (p. 485)
Issues for Analysis
1. Analyze the steel industry using the five forces model.
2. Identify the most important threats facing the steel industry.
3. Given the threat posed by international competition, why did Iverson lobby
against import quotas?
4. Are there any indications of opportunities in the steel industry?
5. What is Nucor=s competitive advantage? How do the systems and culture of
the company reinforce this competitive advantage?
______________________________________________________________________________________
________
23
Apr 12
Chap10: Implementing Strategy: Creating Effective Organizational Designs
- Patterns of Growth
- Structural Forms
- Boundaryless Structures
24 Apr 14
Assurance of Learning Testing Related Discussion
Overflow materials
______________________________________________________________________________________
6
25 Apr 19
26 Apr 21
________
Chap 11: Effective Strategic Leadership: Creating a Learning Organization and an
Ethical Organization
- Leadership Activities
- Knowledge and Creativity
- Ethics
To be announced
______________________________________________________________________________________
________
27 Apr 26
Chap 12: Effective Strategic Leadership: Fostering Corporate Entrepreneurship and New
Venture Creation
- New Ventures and Small Business
- Corporate Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurial Orientation
28 Apr 28
Case: Badger Plastics: The Acquisition Process A, B, & C (p. 598)
Issues for Analysis
1.
What are the major challenges Davis faces and how should he
respond to them?
2.
What factors at Badger Plastics have impeded profitability? Why?
3.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of implementing each of the two
primary options under consideration - cutting wages/benefits or
cutting jobs?
4.
Was it appropriate to offer a small group of managers a deal in
exchange of their help? (Especially the guaranteed bonus)
5.
What questions can be raised about the ethics of Davis=s actions?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______
29 May 3
Case: Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc.: Passing the Torch (p. 820)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Was Robert Holland an appropriate selection for the position of CEO at
B&J? Why? Why not?
2.
What problems and issues is the company confronting? Undertake a
SWOT analysis.
3.
What alternatives are available to the company?
4.
What is your prognosis for the company? Why?
7
30 May 5
Project Related Discussion and Wrap up
________________________________________________________________________________________
________
FINAL
EXAMS
May 12 - Thursday 9 - 10:30 a.m.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Two Important Rules to Remember
1.
2.
Switch off cell phones when you come to the class.
During the class, you cannot engage in activities unrelated to the class like reading
newspapers, doing assignments for other classes etc.
Violation of the above rules will result in severe penalties
8
Wall Street Journal Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze critically a recent article (dated within four months from the
assignment due date) from the Wall Street Journal selected by the student. The assignment is to be done in
groups of two. "Base articles" will be approved on a "first come/first served" basis. There will be only two groups
permitted to use the same basic article. Approvals for base articles are to be obtained before Feb 10, 2005, and
the assignment is due by March 8, 2005.
An illustrative list of issues that the WSJ article may focus on are given below.
Internal Growth
Concentration
Market Development
Product Development
Innovation
Joint Ventures
External Acquisition Growth
Horizontal Integration
Vertical Integration
Concentric Diversification
Conglomerate Diversification
Disinvestment
Retrenchment, Operating Efficiency
Turnaround, Product/Marketing Refocus
Divestiture, Liquidation
Management Development
Labor Relations
Internationalization
Marketing (or emphasis on another functional area)
Corporate Culture
Reorganization, Restructure
Strategy Implementation
Organization Structure
Importance of Industry Context on Organizational Performance
You should address issues such as the following (may differ with regard to topic areas):
1.
2.
3.
What is the rationale (or lack thereof) for the action/decision?
Is the action/decision consistent with the organization's overall
strategy?
What do you think will be the implications of the action/decision
i.e., how should the action/decision improve or detract from the
organization's performance?
To address the above issues, the student should use a minimum of seven (7) outside sources of
information. Suggested references include Annual Reports, 10-K Forms, Business Week, Wall Street Journal,
Forbes, Fortune, and Moody's Industrial Manual. Do not rely too much on the same references -- select a
variety.
The written assignments should be approximately ten double-spaced (12 CPI) pages, (excluding
references and Exhibits). Ensure that the paper has an executive summary and that it is divided into sections
and subsections in a logical manner. "Stream of consciousness" papers will be severely penalized.
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