The Lee Kong Chian School of Business
Academic Year 2009 /10
Term 3A
MGMT 102 STRATEGY
Instructor Name
Title
Tel
Email
Office
: Dr. Victor Goh Yuan Sheng
: Adjunct Faculty of Management
: 6412 0740
: victorgoh@smu.edu.sg ; victorgoh@playwarestudios.com
: LKCSB Level 5
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course introduces students to the theoretical concepts and analytical tools required for formulating and
implementing appropriate strategies that affect the enduring success of the entire organization. Topics covered
include external and internal environmental analyses, business-level strategies, corporate-level strategies, strategy
process and implementation, and special topics such as competitive dynamics and competition in high tech industries.
This course emphasizes the application of theory to the real world strategic issues. Students are encouraged to
synthesize knowledge from other business courses into a comprehensive understanding of competitive advantage.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
 Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of competitive advantage
 Apply analytical techniques for diagnosing strategy formulation, including industry structure, resources, and
business/corporate strategies
 Apply analytical techniques for diagnosing strategy implementation, including corporate governance,
structure, and strategic leadership
 Identify strategic issues and design appropriate courses of action
PRE-REQUISITE/ CO-REQUISITE/ MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE COURSE(S)
Please refer to the Course Catalogue on OASIS for the most updated list of pre-requisites / co-requisites for this
particular course.
Do note that if this course has a co-requisite, it means that the course has to be taken together with another course.
Dropping one course during BOSS bidding would result in both courses being dropped at the same time.
ASSESSMENT METHODS
Please note that minor changes in the grading policy may be made, if necessary.
Class Participation (individual) (Throughout the term)
10%
Quiz (zes) (Weeks 7, 13)
10%
Individual Assignments (2 reports) (Weeks 5, 9)
20%
Group Project Presentation and Report (Week s12 -13)
30%
Final Exam (individual) (Week 15)
30%
Total
100%
Academic Integrity
Policy on Plagiarism
All work presented in this class must be students’ own work, and not copied without appropriate citation from any
source, including the Internet. Presenting of copied work not the student’s own will result in disciplinary action,
which may include award of zero marks for the assignment or a fail grade for the class. This policy applies to all work
submitted, either through oral presentation, or written work, including outlines, briefings, group projects, self-
1
evaluations, etc. Students are encouraged to consult the lecturers if they have questions concerning the meaning of
plagiarism or whether a particular use of sources constitutes plagiarism.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND EXPECTATIONS
Individual vs. Team Activities: Both individual and team activities will determine your grade in this course.
Whereas Class Participation, Assignments, and Final Exam are individually graded, Case Presentation and Group
Project are team activities. All members in a team are accountable for team assignments and activities. At the end of
the term, each member may evaluate the overall contributions of other members in his/her team (relative to own
contribution). All members in a team will receive the same grade for team activities. However, your individual grade
for all team activities may be adjusted downward if a majority of your team members evaluate your contribution
unfavourably.
Class Participation (20%)
This is primarily a case course, which means that most class sessions will involve the discussion of specific case
situations. These cases will describe real organizations. Through analysis and discussion in class, you will learn to
better understand the nature of firm strategy and the processes of formulating and implementing it. Lectures and
assigned readings will provide the theoretical framework with which to read and evaluate the cases. You may be
called (at random) at any time during class to contribute to or critique the on-going discussion. Therefore, you will be
expected to come to class well prepared to discuss and ask questions about all assigned chapters and all cases. We
will not spend any significant amount of class time repeating what was contained in the cases. You should be prepared
to discuss all assigned readings.
•
Come to class well prepared. Read the case several times and think about how the concepts from the chapter or
discussed in class can be applied. Make notes that you can refer to during class. I encourage you to meet with
your team or friends before class to discuss the case.
•
Contribute ideas and analysis to the class discussion. Given the complexities of the real world, there is no single
right answer. What is more important is how you use strategic concepts and tools to analyze a situation.
•
Listen carefully to your classmates and suggest supporting or alternative views.
Your class participation grade is determined based on quality of contribution and quantity of contribution. Not
participating in class discussions will affect your final grade significantly, even if you attend all class sessions. Therefore,
not speaking up during class will be a deliberate choice that you make, being fully aware of its effect on your final
grade. Understandably there are circumstances that may cause you to miss a class; unfortunately, nothing can replace
in-class participation. Submitting your ideas to the critique of your classmates and the challenge of defending them in
an open forum cannot be duplicated. Therefore, it is extremely important that you attend all class sessions. Each
absence, for whatever reason, will reduce your class participation grade.
Individual Assignments (20%)
You will be responsible for submitting two assignments on assigned cases answering the case discussion questions of
these cases. All questions must be answered concisely. The total number of pages for each assignment should not
exceed 6 pages. Your assignments are due at the beginning of the class in which your case is being discussed.
Term Project (30%)
During the first week, students are required to form a team of 5 or 6 members. Each team is required to perform an
in-depth, longitudinal analysis of a company and the industry in which it operates. Each team is required to submit one
written report and make one presentation for the term project.
Written report: Each team should submit one term report. The term project report should be type written, 1.5 linespaced, using 12-point size font, and should not exceed 20 pages (excluding appendices, references, and endnotes).
The cover page should provide the complete name of the team members, student ID number, and course code. The
report should contain the following sections: (1) A cover page listing team members; (2) Table of contents; (3)
Executive Summary; (4) Company Background/History; (5) Industry Analysis (including Environmental/Industry
analysis/Future trends, Competitor analysis, etc); (6) Company Analysis (Resources, Core competences, Value chain,
and Tracking/discussion of company performance over time, Important issues and problems faced by the company
and reasonable solutions to these issues/problems); (7) List of references; (8) Exhibits (Tables and charts).
Presentation: Each team is required to present their analysis to the class. Each presentation should not exceed 20
minutes. Immediately after finishing its presentation, each team will host a Q&A session of
2
5-10 minutes. Teams should prepare for their presentations as though they will be addressing their respective
company’s Board of Directors and dress appropriately for the occasion. Also, note that interesting presentations offer
a judicious mix of anecdotes and analysis. Therefore, do not try to cram every single detail from your written report
into your presentation.
- Dress code: casual
- Submit your presentation slides by email 24 hours before class starts.
Final Exam (30%)
The 3-hour final exam will cover the entire contents of this course. It may take a case analysis and/or a combination
of short-answer, multiple choice, and essay questions. No make-up exams will be administered. If you miss the final
exam, no grade will be given.
RECOMMENDED TEXT AND READINGS
Required material
Gregory G Dess, Univ Of Texas At Dallas
Alan Eisner, Pace University
G.T. (Tom) Lumpkin, Syracuse University
Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantage, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin
ISBN-13: 978-0073381213 Copyright year: 2007
Additional readings will be assigned. Students are expected to keep abreast of current developments in the AsiaPacific region by reading leading business dailies/weeklies like the Asian Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic
Review, The Economist, Business Times and Business Week.
Supplementary material: Apart from the required textbook and course packet, the following two popular books
on strategic management are available in the library for supplementary reading:
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Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, written by Michael E. Porter (Free
Press, 1998).
•
Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, also written by Michael E. Porter (Free
Press, 1998).
LESSON PLANS
No.
1
2
Topic
Readings
Introduction to the course, case analysis, project.
Approaches to studying
What is strategy?
Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages
Chapters 1
Business Purpose, Direction, SWOT
External analysis and industry structure
Chapter 2
Discussions on strategic issues and options
3
4
5
6
Internal analysis, resources, and core competence
Chapter 3
Case discussion (External environment)
Case 1
Business-Level Strategy: Creating and Sustaining Competitive
Advantages
Chapters 5
Case discussion (internal analysis, Business-level strategy)
Case 2
Corporate-Level Strategy: Creating Value through
Diversification
Chapter 6
Case discussion (Business-level strategy)
Case 3
International Strategy: Creating Value in Global Markets
Chapters 7
3
No.
7
Topic
Readings
Case discussion (Corporate-Level strategy)
Case 4
Entrepreneurial Strategy and Competitive Dynamics
Chapter 8
Case discussion (International strategy)
Case 5
8
9
10
11
Mid-term Break
Strategic Control and Corporate Governance
Chapter 9
Case discussion (Entrepreneurial strategy)
Case 6
Creating Effective Organizational Designs
Chapters 10
Case discussion (Strategic control)
Case 7
Strategic Leadership: Creating a Learning Organization and an
Ethical Organization
Chapters 11
Case Discussion (Strategic Leadership and ethics)
Case 8
12
Project Presentation
13
Review of course and summary and project presentation
14
Revision
15
Final Exam
4