MANAGEMENT 4090 SECTION C
Course Outline
Fall 2012
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Brad Olson
EMAIL:
bradley.olson@uleth.ca
OFFICE:
M 4077
CLASS TIMES:
Tuesday & Thursday, 9:25 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. - Room: M 1060
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday 10:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. & Thursday 12:45 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
or by appointment.
TEXTS: Carpenter, M., Sanders, WM., & Harling, K. (2012). Strategic Management: A
Dynamic Perspective, (First Canadian Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Syllabus, power point slides etc… can be found on the Class Web Site.
Ivey Website – download the cases.
COURSE PREREQUISITES:
Current Prerequisites (under 2003-2004 calendar):
For 40-course B. Mgt program: Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90 credit
hours) including MGT 2060, MGT 3020, MGT 3031, MGT 3051 (or POLI 3421), and
MGT 3061.
For Post-diploma B. Mgt program: Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90 credit
hours) and admission to the Bachelor of Management program via Diploma Admission
Route, including MGT 3031, MGT 3051 (or POLI 3421), and MGT 3061.
Former Prerequisites (under calendars prior to 2003-2004):
For all B. Mgt programs: Fourth-year standing (a minimum of 90 credit hours)
including MGT 2060, MGT 3010, MGT 3020, MGT 2030 (3030), MGT 3040, and MGT
3051 (3050).
COURSE OBJECTIVES: To provide students with the knowledge to integrate core
business functions and implement sound strategic decisions. Students will become
familiar with the terms, concepts and theories associated with business policy and
strategy. During and after this course, it is hoped that students will understand and
appreciate that strategic decisions affect the entire organization, and thus learn the
importance of integrating disciplines such as economics, accounting, finance, etc.
Emphasis will be placed on the development of analytical skills, critical thinking, and
written and oral communication skills.
METHOD: To convey the foundation of business policy and strategy, I will incorporate
lecture, class activities, case analyses, presentations and videos throughout the semester.
The student, therefore, must be fully prepared so that he or she is aware of what is being
covered in each class.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:
Case question(s):
Content exam 1:
Content exam 2:
Case final exam:
Group case assignments:
Participation:
Group project/presentation:
50
175
175
200
200
50
150
1,000 total points
860 – 1000: Excellent - 950 – 1000 = A+; 900 – 949 = A; 860 – 899 = A-;
740 – 859: Good - 820 – 859 = B+; 780 – 819 = B; 740 – 779 = B-;
620 – 739: Satisfactory - 700 – 739 = C+; 660 – 699 = C; 620 – 659 = C-;
500 – 619: Pass - 580 – 619 = D+; 500 – 579 = D;
0 – 499: = Fail - 0 – 499 = F.
MIDTERM EXAMS AND FINAL EXAM: There will be three exams given during the
semester. Two will be content exams consisting primarily of multiple choice and/or short
answer questions and some essay-type questions. Content exams will cover chapters
assigned and material brought up in lecture but not limited to your assigned readings. The
final exam will be a case analysis. We will discuss the format of the case exam during
the semester. The final case exam is an individual case, thus, there shall be no assistance
from others. The case for the final will be from the Ivey School of Business Website.
There will be a nominal cost to download the case so this cost should be factored in your
text book costs. Make-up exams will only be given in extreme circumstances. You
must get approval from me before the day of the exam. I reserve the right to refuse
any request for a make-up exam. No hats are allowed in the exams. IPods, cell
phones and other such devices must be turned off.
GROUP CASE ASSIGNMENTS AND GROUP PROJECT/PRESENTATION:
Classes will be divided into groups consisting of 3, 4 or 5 members (depending on class
size). The intent of these group case assignments/projects is to prepare students to work
with others that have different responsibilities within a company. Therefore, groups
should consist of different majors (i.e. accounting, management, finance, and marketing),
if possible.
Each group will participate in the group case assignments and group project/presentation.
I will incorporate between 5 to 7 cases throughout the semester. I will choose two cases
to grade. There is no minimum page limit; however, there will be a 15 page, double
spaced, maximum limit (excluding tables, graphs, references). These assignments will be
announced in class. Graded group cases will be due at the beginning of class. Group
cases that are late will not be accepted and thus your group will receive zero points for
that case.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The group project/presentation should be performed on a private or public company. For
the group project/presentation, your group will complete and present a feasibility study.
Whether it is a private or public company, you must interview someone in upper
management (ideally the CEO or founder) and someone from either middle or lower
management so that primary data can be collected. Collecting secondary information is
also important for this study.
Your analysis could include, but not be limited to, the following:
Company Analysis
1. Description of the Firm
- i.e. history, product lines, scope of firm, firm size.
2. Strengths and Weaknesses
- Which functional areas within the firm are particularly strong and which are
particularly weak? Why?
- Financial and non-financial performance analysis
- Other
3. Current Strategy
- Describe the firm’s strategies at the corporate, business, and functional levels.
Are they effective? Why?
Industry Analysis:
The industry analysis could be organized as follows:
1. Industry Environment
- Discuss the competitors
- Discuss the products and services produced by the firms in this industry.
2. Strategies in the industry
- Business-level strategies being pursued by firms within the industry
- What must a firm do well to compete effectively in this industry?
3. General Environment
- How have the general environmental factors (i.e. demographic) influenced the
industry?
4. Industry Specific Environment
- i.e. Porter’s five forces. – or could have incorporated within
opportunities/threats section
5. Strategic Groups within the industry.
- Identify strategic groups within the industry.
6. Industry Opportunities and Threats
- What are the key opportunities and which companies are most likely to take
advantage of these opportunities?
- What are the key threats and which firms are likely to be most affected by
these threats?
Summary/Recommendation
Please note that the above format is just one suggestion as to how to approach your group
presentation. The important point is that you incorporate concepts learned in this class.
Creativity and innovation will be part of your grade.
Your choice of industry and firm must be approved by the end of the fourth week of class.
There will not be a formal write-up, however, you must cite and reference your sources.
The group project/presentation will be graded on the quality of the content of the material
as well as the content of slides and the actual presentation of the material. Finally, there
will be a question/answer period. Thus, a portion of your grade will be based on how
well you answer those questions. Therefore, I will need a copy of your slides and
organized notes (no cue cards or hand written notes) by no later than 3:00 pm two days
before the presentation. It is essential that these organized notes are clear, specific and
well supported. Groups that are late will receive at a minimum 10% deduction from their
group project/presentation grade. Disorganized materials will result in points taken off. I
will provide more specifics on the analysis as the semester progresses.
There will also be peer evaluations for group assignments/projects. These peer
evaluations will be conducted to assess individual contributions to team performance; I
will adjust grades as necessary based on the peer evaluations. However, I do have the
right to adjust any evaluation if I deem it unfair.
CASE QUESTIONS: You will be responsible to be prepared for each case. For the
cases not graded, I will choose at least one case where I will ask one or two questions that
you (individually) will write responses to during the class period. There will be a time
limit on the written responses. If you miss this class, you will receive zero points on that
question(s).
PARTICIPATION: Participation will be determined by your involvement in class
discussions. Coming to class prepared (or not prepared) will increase (or decrease) your
participation points. Therefore, attending and preparing for class are essential. Rudeness
to the instructor or to your fellow peers will not be tolerated. Talking to classmates while
the instructor or other peers are in discussion is not acceptable, and you will be marked
down for such actions. The distribution of these points is solely at the discretion of the
instructor. Attendance does not equal participation, meaning coming to all classes will
not, in itself, warrant points associated with participation. Therefore, even if you came to
every class, yet you do not participate or participate very little in relation to other
students, then you should expect a small portion (i.e. 50%) of participation points.
ATTENDANCE: You are expected to attend each scheduled class. If you must miss
a class, it is your responsibility to get notes, assignments and other information from
another student. I will make announcements of any schedule or exam changes in class.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: No form of academic misconduct will be tolerated.
Please see your student handbook or school catalog for the University's policy.
FINAL NOTE: It has been my experience (in both academic and job-related settings)
that the best way to learn is to enjoy what you are doing. So let’s have some fun. Let’s
come to class prepared and then together share what we have learned. My goal as an
educator is to teach students what is relevant in the “real world”. Sharing experiences
and knowledge will help fulfill this goal.
4090 Section C
TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE ANY CHANGES DEEMED NECESSARY.
DATE
TOPIC
READING ASSIGNMENT
(OUTSIDE READINGS TBA)
09/6
Introduction/Strategic Management
Text: Chapter 1
09/11
Strategic Management
Text: Chapter 1
09/13
Strategic Leadership
Text: Chapter 2
09/18
Internal Environment
Text: Chapter 3
09/20
External Environment
Text: Chapter 4
09/25
Creating Business Level Strategy
Text: Chapter 5
09/27
Creating Business Level Strategy
Text: Chapter 5
10/2
Business Level Strategy exercise
10/4
Case Analysis
Edward’s Restaurant
10/9
Performance of the Strategy
Text: Chapter 7
10/11
Content Exam # 1
10/16
Corporate Level Strategy
Text: Chapter 9
10/18
Corporate Level Strategy/Case Analysis
Text: Chapter 9/Dell in 2009
10/23
Mergers and Acquisitions
Text: Chapter 12
10/25
Mergers and Acquisitions/Case Analysis
Text : Chapter 12/Rogers Communications
10/30
International Strategy
Text: Chapter 10
11/1
International Strategy/Case Analysis
Text: Chapter 10/Vincor and the New World…
11/6
Alliances
Text: Chapter 11
11/8
Alliances/Case Analysis
Text: Chapter 11/Coloplast: Ten years of…
11/13
Corporate Governance
Text: Chapter 14
11/15
Corporate Governance
Text: Chapter 14/Governance Failure…
11/20
Content exam # 2
11/22
Group Project Presentations (one group)
11/27
Group Project Presentations (two groups)
11/29
Group Project Presentations (two groups)
12/4
Group Project Presentations (two groups)
12/6
Group Project Presentations (two groups)
FINAL EXAM – TBA