SYLLABUS - July 11, 2006 Updated with Cases and corrected Office hours
MANAGEMENT 4090 SECTIONS B & NA
Management Policy & Strategy
Summer 2006
Instructor: Blaine Lawlor
Office:
E452
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday. 10 AM – 12 noon (or by appointment)
Telephone: 382-7193
E-mail:
blaine.lawlor@uleth.ca(This is the primary means of communication.)
Texts: Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, Rowe & Sheppard (2006). Strategic Management Competitiveness
and Globalization – Concepts (Second Canadian Edition)
Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, Sheppard & Rowe (2006). Strategic Management Competitiveness
and Globalization – Cases (Second Canadian Edition)
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To teach you the fundamental aspects of strategic planning, industry analysis, strategy
implementation, competitive dynamics, organization design, cooperative strategies (strategic
alliances), global strategies, and corporate governance.
2. To integrate and apply the knowledge you’ve gained in the core course offerings in the functional
areas of the business school curriculum.
3. To enhance your oral and written communication skills through group presentations and
individual writing assignments.
4. To expose you to ethical, global, and technological issues associated with strategic management.
5. To develop your skills as a strategist in the areas of intuition, decision-making, opportunity
recognition and exploitation, and critical thinking.
6. To provide you with the opportunity to practice what you learn through case analysis.
To provide you with an opportunity to work as part of a team. Within the business world, effective
participation on a team is what can distinguish one employee from another.
CLASSROOM POLICIES
Feel free to ask questions or make comments at any time. The questions you ask or comments you
make will likely help the other students better understand the issues being discussed. Be sure to
read the assigned material before coming to class. There is no better way to truly learn the
material. Please contribute to in-class discussions of chapters, readings, outside lecture material, and
cases. Plan to attend all sessions. Attendance will be taken each class period, and good attendance
(no more than two absences) will help borderline grades at the end of the semester. Please make
sure your wireless phones do not ring during class.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
No form of academic misconduct will be tolerated. Please see your student handbook or school
catalog for the University’s policy.
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SYLLABUS - July 11, 2006 Updated with Cases and corrected Office hours
PARTICIPATION & ATTENDANCE
Participation and attendance is an essential element of this course. As such each student must have a
name card with full first (name most commonly used) and last name clearly written and displayed on
the desk in front in each class.
EXAMS
There will be two closed-book exams covering the text, lectures and cases. Each exam will consist of
multiple choice, short answer, or true/false questions. I may also include a few essay-type questions.
Make-up exams will only be given in extreme circumstances. You must obtain approval from
me prior to the day of the exam. No hats are allowed in the exams.
GRADING PROCEDURES *
Exam # 1 ........................................................................................................................... 150 points
Final Exam (Comprehensive) ........................................................................................... 200 points
Group Project Analysis & Presentation ........................................................................... 100 points
Group case assignments & discussion ................................................................................ 75 points
Assignments/Class Participation & Attendance ................................................................ 75 points
Total .................................................................................................................................. 600 points
* Grades will not be given out over the telephone or by email at the end of the semester.
Grades will be based upon the following scale:
95% or more =
A+
90-94.9%
=
82-85.9%
=
B+
78-81.9%
=
70-73.9%
=
C+
66-69.9%
=
58-61.9%
=
D+
50-57.9%
=
A
B
C
D
86-89.9%
74-77.9%
62-65.9%
< 50%
=
=
=
=
ABCF-
GROUP INDUSTRY/COMPANY PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
Only one group will be allowed to analyze a particular industry and firm. Choice of industry and
firm is on a first-come, first-served basis. Approval of industry/firm is unofficial until presented to
me in writing. Five points will be deducted if late.
Each group member must participate in the presentation. Business attire is suggested. Each
presentation should last approximately 30 minutes. This should allow plenty of time for discussion
after each presentation.
I require a two-page executive summary and a copy of the materials you intend to utilize on the day
of the presentation. Late papers will be NOT be accepted. The grading of your assignment will be
based on the:
- Executive summary
- Thoroughness of your analysis, conclusions & recommendations
- Quality of your presentation materials
- Excellence of your presentation
The information that must be included in the project is shown below. Feel free to add additional
information and analysis as you see fit.
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SYLLABUS - July 11, 2006 Updated with Cases and corrected Office hours
Industry Analysis Structure: The industry analysis should be organized as follows:
1.
Industry Environment
- Discuss the competitors and their market shares.
- Discuss the products or services produced by the firms in this industry.
2.
Strategies and Critical Success Factors in the Industry
- Which firms in the industry are pursuing which business-level strategies?
- What must a firm do well to compete effectively in this industry?
3.
General Environment
- How have demographic changes influenced this industry?
- How have technological changes influenced this industry?
4.
Strategic Groups within the Industry
- Identify strategic groups within the industry.
- Discuss why you’ve placed each competitor in each strategic group.
- Provide a detailed discussion of your grouping criteria (i.e., price/quality).
- Provide an X-Y chart of the groups.
5.
Key ratios and measures (ensure you are examining market share growth and trends of
own company and key competitors. Are there any surprises? What should be done
about those surprises?
6.
Key Issues and Future Scenarios
- What key opportunities exist for this industry? Which company (or companies) is
most likely to take advantage of these opportunities? Why?
- What key threats (in terms of new entrants, product life cycle, product obsolescence,
substitute products, etc.) exist for this industry?
Company Analysis: please address the following issues in your company analysis:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Description of the Firm
- Company history.
- Product lines.
- The scope of the firm (geographic, target customers, technologies, etc.)
- The size of the firm (sales, assets, employees, etc.)
- The firm's culture and philosophies
Identify competitive advantages/disadvantages and overall evaluation using value
chain and the Resource-based view (VRIS) 5 forces and SWOT
- Which functional areas within the firm are particularly strong and which are
particularly weak? Why?
- Discuss the firm's financial (ROA, ROS, sales growth, etc.) and non-financial
(employment stability/growth, innovation, customer relations, etc.) performance over
the last three to five years.
Current Strategy
- Describe the firm's strategies at the corporate, business, and functional levels.
- Discuss each in detail, and evaluate the "soundness" of each.
Identify opportunities and Threats and how they relate to the current strategy.
- Provide a discussion of the opportunities and threats within the industry that are
particularly applicable to your firm. What are the key issues for the firm?
Recommended Actions
- What should your firm change about its corporate, business, and functional
strategies to become more effective? (Hint: Be creative. Don't just discuss what
they've been doing in the past. Provide solid recommendations for future actions.)
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SYLLABUS - July 11, 2006 Updated with Cases and corrected Office hours
Detailed Schedule July 4th – Aug 17th, 2006
Date
July 4
July 6
Topic
Reading Assignment
Course overview & Chapter 1
Chapters 2 & 3 Be prepared to discuss the
Chapter 2 – Strategic Management and Firm Performance opening cases.
Chapter 3 – The External Environment
Complete experiential exercise on pg 59
and be prepared to discuss in class
Prior to class complete experiential
exercises on Pg 130 and 131
July 11
Chapter 4 – Internal Environment & Case 1 Adventus
July 13
Chapter 5 Business Level Strategy & Case 12 Heat Savor All projects approved.
Review
Study for midterm over the weekend
July 18
Midterm - Chapters 1 – 5
Work time on projects
July 20
Chapter 7 - Corporate level Strategy & Case 16 Meridian
Magnesium
July 25
Chapter 8 – Acquisitions/Restructuring & Case 15
Lufthansa
July 27
Aug 1
Chapter 9 – International Strategy & Case 5 Caterpillar
Chapter 11 – Corporate Governance & Case 1 Adventus
Aug 3
Aug 8
Aug 10
Aug 15
Aug 17
Chapter 13 – Strategic Leadership & Ethics discussion
Presentations & Review
Presentations
Presentations
Final Exam. Comprehensive
Time to work on projects
4
Be prepared to discuss mini case at the
beginning of the chapter
Bring in an example on unethical
behavior
All projects due!
Study for final