Corporate Strategy Course Outline – Harvard Business School
David Collis
Day 1 - Introduction and Course Overview
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: INTRODUCTION AND COURSE OVERVIEW
As an introduction to the course, we will consider widely different approaches to corporate strategy
with respect to the optimal business portfolio and organization design. The readings provide some
examples and anecdotes to begin the discussion. You might also review your notes on corporate
strategy from the RC STRATEGY module that covered the Disney, Pixar, and Danaher cases.
Materials

Readings
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Corporate Strategy_Syllabus 2014
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Corporate Strategy_Final Paper Guidelines 2014
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Corporate Strategy_Course Outline 2014
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Corporate Strategy EC 2014_Introduction_Slides
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Introduction and Course Overview
1)
Does effective corporate strategy involve spinning off businesses and “sticking to the
knitting”’ as News Corp. and ITT have done, or leveraging a “core competence” into new
businesses like 3M (and Disney)? Why? Under what conditions?
2)
Is it better to structure a multibusiness enterprise by divisions as Sears (and Danaher)
has done, or by functions as Microsoft has done? Why? Under what conditions?
Collapse Thursday, January 30, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Day 2 - Newell Rubbermaid
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
MODULE ONE: RESOURCES AND THE CONTINUUM OF CORPORATE STRATEGIES
After the introductory session, we dive straight into a module that identifies the enduring logic of all
effective corporate strategies and provides an opportunity to apply the core frameworks of the course.
We start by noting that it is valuable resources that underpin effective corporate strategies. We then
demonstrate how those resources and strategies can be arrayed along a continuum that, simplistically,
extends from unrelated to related diversification, and how we can summarise corporate strategies
according to the Objective, Advantage, Scope (OAS) framework.
- How do we identify valuable resources?
- Under what conditions are they valuable?
- How do resources determine the alignment of the other elements of corporate strategy along the
continuum?
- How can we succinctly describe an effective corporate strategy?
Building on the RC module on Corporate Strategy, the course identifies valuable resources (popularly,
but incorrectly, termed core competences) that can function as the “Mickey Mouse” that adds value to
the corporate portfolio. By studying strategies at firms as different as Silver Lake and Tata, it
introduces a continuum, ranging from conglomerates and private equity firms to tightly related
corporate entities and startups, and demonstrates that the same logic of “better off” and “ownership”
applies to every effective corporate strategy. By looking at corporate strategy around the world we can
also demonstrate that the presence of market failures turns what appear to be pedestrian resources in
developed countries, such as management talent, into a source of value creation across businesses in
emerging markets. This explains the preponderance of “groups” in such countries.
Cases in the module also allow us to study three of the four levers corporations use to create value –
exploiting synergy across businesses, changing the strategy of the individual business units, and
allocating resources to more attractive businesses. The logic of any effective corporate strategy can
then be captured in a company’s statement of its objective, scope and corporate advantage.
TOPIC: EFFECTIVE CORPORATE STRATEGY
By comparing and contrasting a period of successful corporate strategy at Newell, with the company’s
later struggle to create value, we will identify the elements of an effective corporate strategy and find a
way to succinctly capture that in a brief statement of the strategy’s Objective, Scope, and Advantage.
Materials

Newell Rubbermaid: Strategy in Transition (HBS #704491)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Newell Rubbermaid
1)
What was the classic Newell corporate strategy? Why did it work so well?
2)
Why did Newell change corporate strategy in the late 90s? Did it have any other
alternatives?
3)
How do you evaluate the new corporate strategy under Joe Galli? How big a step change
is the strategy? What does he have to change?
4)
What should Newell-Rubbermaid do now?
Collapse Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Day 3 - AOL/Time Warner
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: SYNERGIES “REAL OR APPARENT”
In what is still the largest corporate merger in US history, AOL and Time Warner merged in 2000 in a
deal worth nearly $200 billion. The deal has since been identified by some (including Bloomberg
Business Week and Rupert Murdoch) as the worst merger in US history. We will use the arguments
advanced by analysts in favor of the merger, and then those advanced (even by some of the same
analysts) in favor of the demerger to understand the conditions under which real synergies are created.
Materials

AOL/Time Warner: To Merge or Demerge? (HBS #707556)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

AOL/Time Warner
1)
Should AOL and Time Warner have merged in 2000? How credible were the synergies
they identified?
2)
Should AOL and Time Warner have demerged in 2006? How credible are the gains to
demerger that are identified? How much farther should Time Warner go with its spinoffs if
AOL is demerged?
3)
Why did AOL and Time Warner merge in 2000?
Collapse Thursday, February 6, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Day 4 - TPG China
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: CHANGING STRATEGY IN THE BUSINESS UNITS
We will examine the new strategy put in place at a Chinese shoe retailer, Daphne, by its new owner,
the private equity firm TPG. We will first focus on whether there is a valid strategic logic to the new
business model of “fast fashion”, and then ask whether and how corporate entities (whether pe or
public companies) are able to know more about delivering the best strategy for a business than
executives who run that business full-time.
Materials

TPG China: Daphne International (HBS #813055)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

TPG China
1)
As a limited partner of TPG would you support the deal to invest in Daphne
International in 2009?
2)
Is the new strategy proposed for Daphne by TPG likely to be successful? Under what
conditions is “Fast Fashion” a viable strategy for retailers like Zara?
3)
How can corporate parents, whether pe or public companies, know more about the
strategy for a business than experienced executives in those businesses?
4)
What levers does TPG have to get Daphne to adopt the new strategy?
Collapse Friday, February 7, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
Day 5 - International Management Group
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: OWNERSHIP AND APPROPRIABILITY OF RESOURCES
In 2001, International Management Group (IMG) is the dominant company in talent representation and
sports marketing. Over 40 years under its founder and CEO, Mark McCormack, who is credited with
having created the industry of sports management, IMG has expanded from athlete representation into
a host of other arenas--including producing and broadcasting television shows, operating training
academies, and representing models and classical music artists. We will use the case to discuss whether
there is a logic to IMG's broad vertical and horizontal scope, and examine where ownership of the
firm’s, as opposed to the talent’s, unique resources vests.
Materials

International Management Group (IMG) (HBS #702409)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Recommended Reading--Corporate Strategy: A Resource-Based Approach, Chapter
2: Resources and Rents (please read pages 27-55 only)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

International Management Group
1)
What do you consider to be IMG's corporate strategy?
2)
Where does the value in the relationship between clients and IMG reside? Is it with the
agents? With IMG? Elsewhere?
3)
Evaluate IMG's various decisions to enter new areas or lines of business. What is the
logic behind these moves, and how sound is this logic? What are the limits to IMG's
expansion into new businesses?
4)
What do you perceive to be the biggest challenges in structuring an organization such as
IMG's? How might these be difficulties be overcome?
5)
If you were a potential competitor to IMG, what strategy would you pursue to compete
against it? Where is IMG most vulnerable today?
Collapse Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Day 6 - Silver Lake
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: PRIVATE EQUITY AS A CORPORATE STRATEGY
The case describes the founding and evolution of Silver Lake -- the first and most successful private
equity firm to specialize in the technology sector. By 2010, Silver Lake is faced with the decision of
whether and where to expand -- into new sectors, new types of financing, or new geographies. If it
decides to grow internationally, in which countries should it invest and how should it enter these
markets? The discussion enables us to understand which (if any) are the valuable skills of private
equity firms, and whether and how these capabilities transfer across geographies and sectors.
Materials

Silver Lake (HBS #711420)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Silver Lake
1)
What were the historic reasons for Silver Lake's success?
2)
In what direction should Silver Lake expand today? why? what underlying
resources and capabilities will your suggestion expansion build on?
Geographically.
New types of investment within technology; e.g., venture capital, growth capital….
Additional business sectors; e.g., sustainable energy, infrastructure, retail…; other….
3)
If it grows geographically, which country/countries should it enter? What strategy for
entry into a new country should it adopt?
Collapse Thursday, February 13, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Day 7 - Creating a Corporate Advantage: The Case of the Tata Group
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: GROUPS IN EMERGING MARKETS
The case describes the Tata group , which although larger and more successful than many, is indicative
of a common corporate form in emerging markets – the diversified business group (often with family
ownership). We will investigate why this form of organization exists in such countries, but is less
common in developed markets; the challenges groups face as their economies become integrated into
the global economy; and how such groups are organized to create shareholder value across such
disparate sets of businesses.
Materials

Creating a Corporate Advantage: The Case of the Tata Group (ISB005)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Creating a Corporate Advantage: The Case of the Tata Group
1)
Why has the Tata group been successful? Is there a limit to the type of business in which
it can successfully compete?
2)
How is Tata organized to create value across such a disparate set of businesses? How is
that different to a conglomerate in the US (like Danaher or GE)?
3)
What changes would you recommend to the role of the centre? Should it make the
subscription of its services by group companies mandatory?
4)
Why are business groups like Tata common in emerging markets, but much less
common in developed countries?
5)
What strategic choices do such groups face as their economies open up to global
competition, and liberalise domestically?
Collapse Friday, February 14, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Day 8 - Video Lecture
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: RESOURCES AND CORPORATE STRATEGY
Materials

Video Lecture
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Corporate Strategy 2014_Resources Delivered_Slides
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Required Reading--Strategies of Unrelated Diversification (HBS #705480)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Video Lecture
The lecture will focus on the RESOURCES that corporate strategies are based on. It will
identify the conditions that make resources distinctive and valuable, and will outline a
resource based strategy. In addition the lecture will introduce the continuum of corporate
strategies that stretch from related to unrelated diversifiers, and will show how that continuum
can be interpreted as extending from specific to general resources.
The slides to accompany the video lecture can be found in the materials section of today's
class on the Learning Hub.
There will be no class on this day. Instead students can watch the streamed video lecture at
their convenience, and can use the time to begin work on their paper by identifying the
resources that underlie their subject company’s corporate strategy. A two slide PowerPoint on
that topic is due to be e-mailed to Prof. Collis at dcollis@hbs.edu by 6:00 p.m. on Wed., Feb.
19th.
Collapse Thursday, February 20, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Day 9 - Class Presentations
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: RESOURCES AND CORPORATE STRATEGY
Materials

Resources Example
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

ResourcesShortAmended
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Class Presentations
A two slide PowerPoint on the resources of the company, which is the subject of your
paper, is due to be e-mailed to Prof. Collis at dcollis@hbs.edu by 6:00 p.m. on Wed., Feb.
19th.
We will use this class for three purposes. First, to discuss questions, concerns or clarifications
arising from the video lecture. Second, we will examine a number of student analyses of their
subject company’s resources to see how the notion of resources can be applied in practice.
Third, we will resolve any issues remaining from earlier classes.
Collapse Friday, February 21, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Day 10 - Birds Eye
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
MODULE TWO: THE SCOPE OF THE CORPORATION
The second module in Corporate Strategy addresses the issue of the scope of the corporation – how far
can a company extend its operation into additional markets. These markets could be new channels of
distribution, new products, new technologies, new geographies, or additional steps (whether forward or
backward) in the value chain. As every company of every size has to determine the limit to its scope,
this module includes startups and smaller companies as well as large diversified corporations.
The first test of whether a company should expand its scope into a new market is the better-off test -is
there an improvement to the competitive advantage of the new business? Thus we must always
understand what are the company’s underlying resources and how they either increase the willingness
to pay or volume, or reduce the cost in the new business.
However, because there is always a contractual alternative to keeping the new business inside the
corporate hierarchy, we must also consider the ownership test – is it cheaper to perform the new
activity or business inside the firm than through some form of contractual alternative?
In fact, to justify entering a new market it must be true that the “NET” of better off and ownership tests
are positive by keeping the new business within the hierarchy. In many cases, this occurs when the
firm’s resources do add value to the new business and the cost inside the hierarchy is lower than in the
market. However, there are cases, typically involving vertical integration, when the firm is actually not
better off in the new market (a third party is more efficient at that activity), but the ownership
advantage is so high because the cost of the market transaction is so high, that it is value creating to
extend the scope of the firm into that business.
The module begins by examining vertical integration in the classic case of Birds Eye and the
introduction of frozen foods in order to establish the principles involved in the theory of transaction
costs. It is these that determine the relative cost of performing activities inside a corporate hierarchy
and through market exchange, and so focus our attention on the ownership test. We follow this by
examining the contribution that vertical integration has made to the success of the New World in the
global wine industry.
The second part of the module looks at scope decisions within a business. Amgen has to decide
whether to expand from novel biotech products into the so-called biosimilar market. Cree has to decide
which emerging segment of the LED market is should pursue. These cases bring attention back to the
resources and the better off test, but remind us that we should never forget the underlying attractiveness
of any new industry we try to enter.
We then shift to consider what should be the appropriate scope of new businesses as we look at a new
online fashion retailer and an emerging technology that threatens to disrupt higher education MOOC’s. As well as determining what is the correct scope of these entities and the criteria that
determines that scope, we will ask the question whether strategy matters in small entrepreneurial firms?
The impression given in TEM and Field 3 is that strategy is perhaps unnecessary in the rush to test
MVP’s and given the ability to pivot and fail fast. Is this true? Or does strategy actually matter even
more to resource constrained entities that have to be very careful about their choice of scope?
TOPIC: VERTICAL INTEGRATION AND TRANSACTIONS COSTS
We begin the module that addresses the scope of the corporation with a classic example of vertical
integration – the make versus buy decision. Birds Eye introduces frozen food to the U.K. and has to
establish a frozen food distribution chain from the farm and sea, to the retailer and the consumer.
Which of the activities along the value chain, from farming, freezing, storing, transportation, retail
distribution, etc., should Birds Eye do itself, and for which should it buy from others on some form of
contractual agreement. Discussion of the alternatives at different points in the value chain allows us to
apply ideas of transactions cost economics to the vertical integration decision. By the end of the period
Birds Eye’s initial dominance of the emerging industry has eroded as merchant markets appear at each
stage of the value chain, and it is confronted with the need to reexamine its choice of scope.
Materials

Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (A) (HBS #792074)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Required Reading--When and When Not to Vertically Integrate, Sloan Management
Review, Spring 1993
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Recommended Reading--Corporate Strategy: A Resource-Based Approach, Chapter
5: Organizational Limits to Firm Scope (please read pages 115-147 only)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) (HBS #792078)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Birds Eye
1) Critically examine Birds Eye's choices of whether or not to integrate at each stage of the
value chain, specifically: a. Birds Eye's decision to own cold stores; b. Its decision not to get
into pea production itself, or to own the farmland on which peas are grown; c. Its decision not
to own pea harvesters, but to sign repurchase contracts with cooperatives; d. Its decision not to
manufacture display cabinets or rent them to retail stores. Which of these choices do you
consider to be compelling; and, which not?
2) How do Birds Eye's choices stack up against the transactions costs logic for vertical
integration that is described in the article by Stuckey and White?
3) Does a vertically integrated producer have a competitive advantage in 1982? What
would you recommend that Birds Eye do?
Collapse Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Day 11 - Global Wine Wars
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: VERTICAL INTEGRATION AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
The century’s old wine industry has seen more change in country market shares than most
manufactured goods businesses in the last three decades. Producers from the New World (Australia in
particular) have gained share against the traditional Old World producers (France in particular). We
will examine the reasons for this transformation of a mature agricultural business, and the role that the
structure of the industry in different countries plays.
Materials

Global Wine Wars: New World Challenges Old (A) (HBS #303056--case not
available for electronic download)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Global Wine Wars: New World Challenges Old (B) (HBS #304016--case not
available for electronic download)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Global Wine Wars
1)
How have "New World" countries and firms been so successful in the wine business?
Why have "Old World" producers failed?
2)
What should French wine producers do to restore their competitiveness?
3)
More generally, what role does industry structure play in the competitiveness of nations
in a global economy?
Collapse Thursday, February 27, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Day 12 - Amgen
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: SCOPE WITHIN AN INDUSTRY
Kevin Sharer, then CEO of Amgen Inc., is confronted with the decision to enter (or not to enter) the
emerging biosimilars business – the analogy of generics in the biotechnology-based drug world. This
was no run-of-the-mill decision; it represented a major shift in scope for Amgen – from focusing purely
on innovation to also pursuing imitation. Moreover, it was clear even then that the outcome of that
decision – whether it was a good or bad choice – would not be known for many years, but could
significantly influence Amgen’s future fortunes. We examine this critical decision in order to
understand the factors that determine the appropriate scope of a corporation within a related set of
businesses.
Note that the case protagonist, Kevin Sharer, is now a Strategy professor at HBS and taught some of
you last year. He will be attending class!
Materials

Amgen Inc.: Pursuing Innovation and Imitation? (A) (HBS #714424--case distributed
through Course Distribution)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Amgen Inc.: Pursuing Innovation and Imitation? (B) (HBS #714426)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Amgen
1)
Would you advise Kevin Sharer to enter the biosimilars market or to stay out?
2)
What factors are you basing your decision on? Quantitative or qualitative? Financial
returns? Industry structure and attractiveness? Competitive advantage? Resources and
capabilities? Risk? Other?
Note that estimating the size of the market and Amgen’s profitability under the two scenarios
described in the case might be useful in answering this question.
3)
How should Sharer proceed if Amgen does decide to enter biosimilars?
Collapse Thursday, March 6, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Day 13 - Cree
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: SCOPE WITHIN AN INDUSTRY
Cree, a world leader in LED technology, is confronted with deciding which market it should pursue. It
has to choose between going after the backlighting business for flat screen televisions (so-called LED
televisions), and/or to pioneer the general lighting market for LEDs by offering its own replacement
LED bulbs to consumers. While questions of technological progress and environmentalism impact the
choice, debating the merits of the three alternatives clarifies the criteria to be applied when expanding
the scope of the firm into adjacent markets.
Materials

Cree, Inc.: Which Bright Future? (HBS #711457--case distributed through Course
Distribution)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Cree, Inc.: An Update (HBS #711491)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Cree
1)
As of 2007, should Cree pursue the television backlighting or the general lighting
markets? Or should it go after both markets?
o
2)
If it pursues general lighting and sells its own brand of bulb should it go after the
residential or the commercial market? The replacement or the new construction
market? (Understanding the total cost of ownership from Exhibits 8, 9, and 10 should
be useful in this regard.)
What criteria lead you to make your decision?
3)
Is your choice affected by forecasts about the future costs and performance of LEDs?
Do you believe those forecasts?
Collapse Friday, March 7, 2014
Friday, March 7, 2014
Day 14 - Nasty Gal
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: SCOPE OF A NEW BUSINESS
Sophia Amoruso started Nasty Gal in her bedroom in 2006. By 2013 it has grown to be a successful
and cutting edge online retailer with revenues well over $100 million. Along the way Ms. Amoruso has
made a number of decisions about the appropriate scope of the emerging business. In early 2014 her
executive team is debating where to go next if the growth is to continue. The caselet allows discussion
of the link between resources and business scope; the sustainability of competitive advantage; and the
(un)importance of strategy to startup and entrepreneurial firms.
Assignments

Nasty Gal
1)
Why has Nasty Gal been a success? Will it continue?
2)
Should Nasty Gal expand its scope in any of the possible ways identified in the case?
Why? Why not?
o
3)
How does your recommended choice of scope relate to your answer to the first
question?
How much of a strategy do you believe that Nasty Gal has pursued along the way?
4)
Does strategy matter to firms that are developing their business model, or are the TEM
concepts for new ventures all that is necessary to ensure success?
Collapse Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Day 15 - edX
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: SCOPE OF THE CORPORATION
We will examine the future of MOOCs (massive online open courses) and their potential to disrupt the
higher education industry. In this context, what should edX – the Harvard University sponsored
platform for MOOCs - look like? What should be its scope? As Harvard Business School develops its
own online initiatives, how might that differ from edX and why?
Materials

edX Strategies for Higher Education (distributed in class on Friday, March 7)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

edX
Please read the edX case paying attention to the arguments for and against the MOOC form of
education.
Please go to the edX site at https://www.edx.org/ and sign up for the demonstration course
(demoX) at https://www.edx.org/course/edx/edx-edxdemo101-edx-demo-1038. You can then
browse that course for a few minutes to get a sense of what these things called MOOCs
actually look like!
1)
What do you think of MOOCs? Are they the future of higher education? Wildly
overblown?
a. Would you ever take a MOOC? Under what conditions?
2)
What role will MOOCs play in higher education in the future? Which type of
institutions and stakeholders will be most affected by their introduction?
3)
If you were the President of Harvard University what would you want to be the design
of edX given the objectives of broadening access to higher education, furthering research in
teaching and pedagogy, and retaining control of intellectual property?
a. What should be the business model for edX?
i.
Should it develop a consumer brand?
ii.
Who should own the IP for a course?
iii.
Who should credential and accredit students taking courses?
iv.
Other issues you would be concerned about as President?
b. How should edx be monetized?
4)
i.
Keep it free?
ii.
Freemium?
iii.
Other revenue sources?
What should HbX - Harvard Business School’s online offering - look like?
a. What courses? For whom? How delivered? At what price? Other considerations?
5)
Does your answer for HbX differ from your recommendations for edX? How? Why?
Collapse Thursday, March 13, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Day 16 - Video Lecture
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: SCOPE OF THE CORPORATION
Materials

Video Lecture
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Corporate Strategy 2014_Scope of the Corporation Assignment_Slides
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Corporate Strategy 2014_The Scope of the Corporation_Slides
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Video Lecture
A video lecture and slides will be available on this day (Thursday, March 13) that summarise
this module of the course.
Please e-mail two slides which address what you believe is the appropriate scope of the
company that is the subject of your paper to me (dcollis@hbs.edu) by 6:00 p.m. on Thursday,
March 13th. A template and examples are provided in the attached file. We will use this class
to review the ideas covered in the module, answer questions about the video lecture, and have
presentations on your papers.
Collapse Friday, March 14, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Day 17 - Class Presentations
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: SCOPE OF THE CORPORATION
Assignments

Class Presentations
Please e-mail two slides which address what you believe is the appropriate scope of the
company that is the subject of your paper to me (dcollis@hbs.edu) by 6:00 p.m. on Thursday,
March 13th. A template and examples are provided in yesterday's assignment. We will use
this class to review the ideas covered in the module, answer questions about the video lecture,
and have presentations on your papers.
Collapse Thursday, March 27, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Day 18 - Cadbury Schweppes (A)--(Day 1)
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
MODULE THREE: LEVERS OF CHANGE
This module addresses the levers that corporations have to change their portfolios and reconfigure their
corporate strategies. To date we have primarily looked at corporations at a point in time and asked
whether they have an effective corporate strategy. In this module we look at changes to portfolios over
time by examining the Merger and Acquisition process, internal entrepreneurship, ambitious corporate
transformation attempts, and ongoing resource allocation processes that each affect the direction of the
corporation.
While we have to be sure that the specific moves are consistent with the overall corporate strategy, the
emphasis in the module is on the managerial choices and challenges involved in successfully evolving
the corporate portfolio over time so that it continues to create shareholder value.
TOPIC: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
An obvious way that companies change their scope is through acquisition. We begin the module by
examining the strategic, financial and managerial implications of the acquisition process, as well as the
detailed analysis of potential synergies and the post-merger integration process. Cadbury has been
involved in M&A both as an acquirer and a divestor, and we will follow its progress over a decade as
its portfolio undergoes many changes.
We begin the two day series examining Cadbury’s bid for Adams, the number two player in the gum
industry. This will be a diversification away from Cadbury’s core chocolate and sugar confectionery
business and will be the largest acquisition it has made. Is this a sensible move? Are there synergies
between gum and chocolate? Across geographies? Between organisations?
Materials

Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (A) (HBS #708453)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

The Scope of the Corporation_Evaluation Criteria
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Cadbury Schweppes (A)
1)
As a member of the Board of Cadbury Schweppes would you approve a bid of more
than $4 billion for Adams? Why? Why not?
Collapse Friday, March 28, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Day 19 - Cadbury Schweppes (B)--(Day 2)
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
We will continue to follow Cadbury, beginning with a detailed quantification of potential synergies and
their calculation, before tracking the company’s evolution until today.
Materials

Cadbury Schweppes (B) (HBS #708454--to be distributed in class on Thursday,
3/27/14)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (B) (HBS #708454)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (C) (HBS #708455)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (D) (HBS #708491)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Cadbury Schweppes (B)
1)
Do the synergy plans make it more or less likely that you will support the bid? Which
do you believe? Which are you skeptical of?
o
o
o
How does Cadbury calculate the value at stake for each synergy?
What is the balance between cost and revenue synergies?
How do these synergies relate to the strategic issues we discussed yesterday?
Collapse Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Day 20 - Tennant
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: INTRAPRENEURSHIP
With Tennant we address the issue of corporate intrapreneurship – entrepreneurial behavior inside
larger organisations. In TEM you learnt about entrepreneurial startups – newly created entities that
seek to bring an innovation to market. Here was ask the question of whether and how corporations can
foster such behavior and so generate growth beyond their core business. What are the pros and cons of
cultivating a new business within an existing firm rather than as a stand-alone entity? If innovations
have a greater chance of success outside the corporate umbrella, where does that leave the future of
such entities?
The context is a revolutionary cleaning technology ech20 that has been developed in the research
department of a well-established floor cleaning company. The market potential for this is still uncertain
as is the best route to market and whether or not the technology should be made available to
competitors. The obvious entry is to work with Tennant’s existing clients, but how will the current
business react to such a move?
In deciding how Karla Leis, the newly appointed head of the initiative, should move forward, we will
examine the tradeoffs involved in keeping an entrepreneurial venture inside a large corporation.
Materials

Tennant Company (HBS #810040--case distributed through Course Distribution)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Tennant Company
1)
Assume the technology works as projected. Where will Orbio be in revenues in 5 years?
(a) 0-$5M, (b) 5-25, (c) 25-50, (d) >50 million.
2)
If you were Killingstad, what decision would you make regarding Orbio’s (a)
governance, (b) financing, (3) measurement, (4) management and compensation, and (5)
transfer pricing with other divisions of Tennant.
3)
If you were Leis, what decision would you favor regarding Orbio’s (a) governance, (b)
financing, (3) measurement, (4) management and compensation, and (5) transfer pricing with
other divisions of Tennant.
4)
Suppose that Orbio was a “pure” start-up. How would a pure startup created to pursue
the Orbio opportunity differ from this company?
5)
Would the chances of success for Orbio be better or worse if it were an independent
company?
6)
Should Tennant spin-off Orbio? If so, when?
7)
What are the three most pressing decisions the company must make to successfully
launch Orbio?
8)
How should Leis assess and prioritize the potential markets that Orbio might pursue?
Collapse Thursday, April 3, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Day 21 - The Transformation of Thomson
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION
When confronted by poor performance, a declining core business, or a massive change in its external
environment, large scale transformation is often the only way forward for a business. In LEAD you
saw examples of such transformations, including Jack Welch at GE. Here we adopt the corporate
strategy framing of WHAT changes are necessary to transform a corporation, rather than focusing on
the process of HOW to change the corporation. The two are obviously intertwined so we will draw on
your earlier learnings in the class ie spend a little time reflecting on the GE case, but the intent is to
examine the levers that have to be altered and how those fit together to form a coherent new corporate
strategy.
The context is the transformation of Thomson – a previously State owned French enterprise – which
exits its core business – consumer electronics – after decades of struggle (and having previously
acquired the GE and RCA consumer electronics assets that Jack Welch was divesting!). By 2007
Thomson is in the middle of recreating itself as a “video solutions provider operating all along the
video value chain” and we will evaluate its progress and consider next steps.
Materials

The Transformation of Thomson (HBS #708428--case distributed through Course
Distribution)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

The Transformation of Thomson
1)
How do you evaluate the transformation of Thomson so far? How much further do they
have to go?
2)
What levers has Thomson employed to effect change? Which are easier to deploy? More
difficult?
3)
What are the next steps that Frank Dangeard should take? Does he have the right
businesses? The right organization structure? Culture?
4)
How does the Thomson case compare to other corporate transformations you have
studied? What makes for a successful transformation?
Collapse Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Day 22 - Ciba-Geigy
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: RESOURCE ALLOCATION
Every corporation has to allocate resources, capital, people, etc among the various businesses in the
portfolio. How this lever is applied can make a substantial difference to corporate performance and to
achieving balance in meeting financial objectives. One of the great corporate strategy innovations –
BCG’s growth share matrix – introduced the terms cash cows, dogs, and stars to the corporate lexicon
and it, and other similar portfolio planning tools, have been widely adopted to manage the resource
allocation process. We will examine the use and misuse of such tools in this vital aspect of corporate
strategy.
The case describes an investment decision confronting the chemicals and pharmaceutical company,
Ciba-Geigy, in one of its more mature and competitive businesses. The firm operates with a rigorous
portfolio planning methodology that governs resource allocation across its various businesses and
which affects financial objectives, compensation, and staffing in those businesses. In principle,
portfolio planning suggests that the investment decision should not be made, but the business head
believes the investment is critical to the long term success of the business.
Materials

Portfolio Planning at Ciba-Geigy and the Newport Investment Proposal (HBS
#795040)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Ciba-Geigy
1) Should Ciba-Geigy make the Newport Investment and if so, which option should it
pursue?
2)
How does portfolio planning help or hinder this decision?
3)
What are the purposes of portfolio planning? Does it fulfil those goals?
4) What else needs to be considered when deciding in which businesses a corporation
should compete?
Collapse Thursday, April 10, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Day 23 - FBI
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
MODULE FOUR: ORGANIZATION DESIGN
In the last module of the course we turn our attention to the internal organization design of the
corporation. How can the organization structure, systems, processes and culture be designed to ensure
that businesses in the portfolio truly benefit from corporate resources and yet still pass the ownership
test?
We will examine formal organization structure as one tool for designing the administrative context;
we'll see what roles the corporate headquarters should play and what degree of authority they should
have over the operating units; the debate over public versus private ownership; as well as revisiting
organizational approaches to maintaining innovation and supporting continuous corporate
transformation.
TOPIC: ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
We start the module looking at organization design in a non-traditional setting – the FBI. After the
impact of 9/11 in 2001 the country is confronted with the need to add a new mission (think new
business) for the FBI (domestic intelligence) to the FBI’s traditional role of law enforcement. The
President has to decide how best to organize the country’ s agencies and whether the new mission can
best be accommodated within the FBI’s structure. If Director Mueller of the FBI is given the role, how
should he alter the agency’s organization design and move forward in the protection of the country’
security?
Materials

Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2001 (Abridged) (HBS #710450)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Federal Bureau of Investigation (B) (HBS #707553--to be distributed in class on
Wednesday, April 9)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Recommended Reading--Corporate Strategy: A Resource-Based Approach, Chapter
6: Managing the Multibusiness Corporation
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

FBI
1)
In 2001 should the President of the United States give the FBI ongoing, long term
responsibility for domestic intelligence? Or should he create a new specialized agency for the
task?
After reading the FBI (B) case:
2)
How do you assess the FBI's efforts through early 2007? Is the Bureau moving in the
right direction?
3)
Why does Director Mueller want to transform the FBI into an intelligence-led, threatbased national security organization? Practically, what must he do to pull off such a dramatic
transformation? What obstacles will he encounter, and how should he tackle them?
Collapse Thursday, April 17, 2014
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Day 24 - The Guardian
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: ORGANIZING FOR STRATEGIC CHANGE
The newspaper industry is currently being “disrupted” by online news and advertising. Many
newspapers are falling by the wayside, others, like the Washington Post and Boston Globe, are
changing hands with new owners, Jeff Bezos and John Henry, respectively, looking to find new ways
to maintain their viability. In this environment, the liberal British newspaper, “The Guardian”, has been
one of the most successful entities in addressing the changing external environment.
We will examine the drivers of change within the newspaper industry, and then focus our attention on
understanding how The Guardian has been able to succeed better than most in making the transition.
Materials

The Guardian: Transition to the Online World (HBS #709464)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Newspaper Cost Structure Exhibit
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Video Lecture
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Corporate Strategy 2014_Changing the Scope of the Firm_Slides
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

The Guardian
1)
What are the underlying causes of the collapse of the traditional print newspaper
business model?
2)
What will the structure of the text-based news industry look like in the future? Is a pure
online newspaper viable? (Examination of the Excel exhibit attached above on the cost
structure of a newspaper might be useful here.)
3)
Why has the Guardian been a relative success in its transition to the online world? What
else can/should the Guardian do going forward?
4)
What lessons can be learned about how to manage large corporations for strategic
renewal?
Collapse Friday, April 18, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Day 25 - Dell
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: PUBLIC versus PRIVATE GOVERNANCE
Last year saw founder, Michael Dell, make an offer with Silver Lake Partners to take the personal
computer company, Dell, private. The bid process lasted many months as the Board investigated
alternatives, addressed a rival offer from Carl Icahn, shopped the company, and sought guidance from
outside advisors. The case provides extracts from the presentations that were provided Board members
as they wrestled with deciding whether or not to accept a final offer from Michael Dell.
The case discussion allows us to confront the issue of corporate governance and debate the merits of
public versus private ownership. Who is the best owner for Dell as it struggles to remedy strategic
failings in the face of a declining and evolving pc market that it once dominated? Are there decisions
and actions that can only be taken when a firm is private, or do public firms actually have advantages
when attempting to change corporate strategy?
Materials

Taking Dell Private (HBS #714421)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Dell
1) What are the strategic problems facing Dell? Are the proposed solutions likely to be
successful?
2) What are the pros and cons of Dell making a strategic shift as a public vs. private
company?
3)
Did the Dell board run a good process? Would you have done anything different?
4)
As a board member of Dell, would you accept Michael Dell’s offer?
5)
Would you put your own money in Dell at Michael Dell’s price--$13.88?
Collapse Thursday, April 24, 2014
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Day 26 - Maersk
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: ROLE OF HEADQUARTERS
The Maersk group, Denmark’s largest company and a leader in the global shipping and oil businesses,
has undergone a radical transformation in the last decade. The group has moved from being run as a
single integrated business into a “premium conglomerate” with separate business units each
accountable for their own performance.
As part of this evolution, the group headquarters has been radically redesigned. After six years in its
new form, CEO Nils Andersen, is revisiting the size, roles and authority of the various group functions.
The case allows us to examine in what ways headquarters can add value to the business units, and how
the relationship between headquarters and business units can best be managed.
In particular, we will focus on three functions – a shared service (procurement); a value adding activity
(HR); and a required public company function (monitoring performance). Examining the different
determinants and requirements of these three functions allows us to cover the range of roles a corporate
headquarters undertakes in a multi-business corporation.
NOTE: Lucien Alziari the Group Head of HR will be attending class.
Materials

Group Functions at the Maersk Group (to be distributed through Course Distribution
on Tuesday, April 22 afternoon)
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Maersk
1)
Is the Maersk Group’s Headquarters effective in adding value to the “premium
conglomerate?” Is it the right size? Does it have the right authority?
Specifically,
2)
Why has group procurement grown in size greatly? Should it now take over the
purchasing of major capital expenditures?
3)
Does Lucien Alziari have the right approach to the role of HR in the group? Does group
HR add value to the business units?
4)
Is performance management effective in driving results in the business units? How
could it be changed to improve “pressure“on the business units?
Collapse Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Day 27 - Video Lecture
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
TOPIC: ORGANISATION
Every corporation has to design the administrative context within which the business units operate.
This includes the formal organisation structure, the size of and functions performed by the headquarters
staff, and the management processes for control and coordination of the discrete businesses. This
lecture will cover these issues and how their design can be aligned with the overall corporate strategy
so that they effectively deploy distinctive resources across the business portfolio.
Materials

Video Lecture
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM

Corporate Strategy 2014_Organisation_Slides
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Collapse Thursday, May 1, 2014
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Day 28 - Summary Lecture
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
CORP_STRAT: Corporate Strategy Section 01
Aldrich Hall 210
Materials

Corporate Strategy 2014_Summary Lecture_Slides
Available until May 29, 2014 11:59 PM
Assignments

Summary Lecture
There will be no class preparation.