University of Alberta School of Business
Department of Strategic Management and Organization
SMO 441
BUSINESS STRATEGY:
Competition and Cooperation
WINTER TERM 2011, Lec. B2
DRAFT: Jan. 11, 2011
Teacher: Prof. P. Devereaux (Dev) Jennings
Class Time:
Tue + Thurs 2:00-3:20 p.m.
Office:
BUS 4-30A
Classroom:
BUS B-09
Phone:
780 492-3998 (office)
Office Hours: Tues/Th 1:00-1:30
Email:
dj1@ualberta.ca
or by appointment
____________________________________________________________________________________
COURSE OUTLINE1 - The “Sylla-Book”!! ☺
Materials: Capstone® Simulation available at http://www.CAPSIM.com ($55 US/person) - required
SMO 441 Case Packet (approximately $44/person) – highly recommended, no posted .pdfs
SMO 441 Reading Packet (approximately $54/person) – optional, .pdfs posted when possible
Blackboard Course Web Site:
Prerequisites:
https://ulearn.ualberta.ca/webapps/login
Normally, all required first year undergrad (UG) courses (per UG Program requirement).
LEARNING ASSESSMENT GOALS
•
•
•
•
To learn how to write strategic business plans and business cases.
To improve your ability to make not only competitive but cooperative strategic decisions.
To enhance your ability to work in a strategy team.
To help you develop your own voice as a guru of strategy.
DESIGN OF THE COURSE
Business Strategy is one of the capstone courses in the undergraduate business curriculum. It focuses on
strategic decision making by organizational leaders in different situations. The strategic decisions include the
assessment of the situation, the development of alternative, and then the selection and implementation of
those decisions. “Organizational leaders” refers to very high profile decision makers, such as chief executive
officers and Assistant Deputy Ministers, and to less high profile individuals, like owners or managers of small
business outlets. The situations range from the highly competitive one of intra-industry competition among
small, equal manufacturing companies to the highly cooperative one of strategic alliances and the highly
constrained one of environmental regulation.
The improve your ability to make strategic decisions in a wide variety of situations, we rely on an experiential
approach to learning that involves reading or hearing, practicing, then reflecting. More specifically, you will
1As
of 11 January 2011. This syllabus is subject to change. “Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2)
of the University Calendar.” (GFC PM Section 61, 29 SEP 2003).
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Page 1 of 18
Winter Term 2011
first read about different strategic decision situations in cases or articles on strategy and hear about these ideas
in class or in videos. Then you will try these ideas in the computer simulation, CAPSIM®, where you make
decisions about your own company strategy or in your final project on improving a local organization’s
strategic decisions. Finally, you will be asked to reflect on the results of your decisions and how they might be
improved in the future
There is an inherent tension in strategy between how strategic decision makers should assess and respond to
highly competitive versus more cooperative situations. We have built this issue directly into the design of the
course. The first two-thirds of the course is explicitly devoted to intra-industry competitive dynamics; the last
third, to cooperative strategy inside and out of the firm. Strategic responses often involve hard decisions and
ethical stances, something we try to address along the way, if never in sufficient depth.
While this course design is considered by past participants to be useful for learning, it is also considered to be
quite intense in the beginning and middle of the semester in terms of personal commitment and workload,
particularly in the first few weeks of learning how to make CAPSIM decisions. While this should not be
surprising, given that this is the capstone course for your undergraduate degree, it does mean that you should
set your expectations accordingly.
DESIGN OF CLASSES
Classes are designed for variety. The content usually oscillates between a session on theory and a session on
applying theory to a case and/or CAPSIM and your final project. In addition, to increase variety, we use
lecture, speakers, exercises, in class demos. and student presentation.
This variety, however, is focused around the learning objectives shown in the syllabus for each class. The
course is meant to be a somewhat personal journal on how you make strategic decisions, in isolation and in a
team situation, along with your philosophy about strategic decision making.
As part of this personal journey, your c lass contributions are important and welcome. Students often
volunteer to present on topics they know about or on some critical strategic issue in organizations in which
they have worked. For instance, last year, students presented on Carlos Ghosn’s strategy for partially merging
Renault & Nissan. Others held a mock tribunal on predatory pricing.
Slides and Notes. To aid your preparation for class, draft slides of the lecture Powerpoints are normally
posted on the Web a few days before the lecture, then refined and posted again the day after the lecture.
In addition, I will make photocopies of key figures and exercises to be used in class and provide them at the
appropriate times during my lecture.
The Course Outline, which follows the “Evaluation” section below, contains the details on what activities will
take place, roughly, during each week and how they will be mixed in each class.
EVALUATION
Your learning will be based on the three sets of deliverables discussed above: The value of the various
assignments can be seen in the grid below. Detailed descriptions of the assignments follow the Outline of
Classes.
1. Competitive Strategy Decisions with CAPSIM®
A. CAPSIM®
Mini-Strategic Plan
Team’s CAPSIM® Performance
Presentation of Plan & CAPSIM® Results
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Page 2 of 18
15%
25%
15%
Winter Term 2011
B. Individual Contribution for the First Two Months
Total Part 1:
7.5%
62.5%
2. Cooperative Strategy Decisions*
A. Case memo or presentation on coop. strategy
B. Class Contribution: Last Month
Total Part 2:
3. Synthesizing Decisions*
A. 10 -page “Guru” paper
Total Part 3:
15%
5%
20.0%
17.5%
17.5%
Course Total
100%
*Alternate Assignment: Strategy Project
In lieu of both the cooperative strategy assignment and the final paper, you are welcome to substitute a twoor three-person group, real-life strategy project. That project should focus on how your team can improve an
operating organization’s strategy in some way. The project should add value to the organization’s own
assessment of its strategy and also follow REB guidelines. More details are below.
Grading
The majority, and often times all, of the grading is done by me. Teaching assistants are only used for
structured assignments with pre-set answers.
Grade Distribution Constraints
Unfortunately, unless each person can be shown to have performed extremely well on all course activities, I
cannot give everyone in the class an “A.” According to official U of Alberta grade policy, course grades for an
upper level undergraduate class should follow some rough bell distribution, ranging from high A’s down to
low C’s (with D’s or lower as failures—a rarity). Furthermore, normally, according to the UG Office, about
60% of the class should receive some form of B or lower.
Note that within the course, we will often use % grades for assignments. The percentage grades
approximately translate as follows: A+ = 97%+, A = 93.5-96%, A- = 90-93.4%, B+ = 87-89%, B = 84-86%,
B- = 80-83%, C + = 77-79%, C = 74-77%, C- = 70-73%, and below this is not passing for an undergraduate
course. At the end of the syllabus in the section “Details on Evaluated Components,” you will find further
discussion on each component and how it is graded.
The Undergraduate Associate Dean, Elaine Geddes in addition reminds you that: “Students are to advise the
instructor immediately if they have previously read an assigned case or discussed it in any course. Failure to
advise the instructor of previous exposure to this case could be grounds for a charge of academic misconduct
to be brought if the student is graded on said case. Students should not have access to the teaching notes for
this case, and any evidence that the teaching notes were available to the student could also be grounds for a
charge of academic misconduct.” Thanks.
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Page 3 of 18
Winter Term 2011
CLASS OUTLINE
Date
Wk 1
Jan. 11
Focus and
Subtopics
What is
Strategy?
Jan. 13
Strategy Teams
Date
Wk 2
Jan. 18
Focus and
Subtopics
CAPSIM®
Practice and
Planning Week
Jan. 20
CAPSIM®
Practice and
Planning Week
Wk 3
Jan. 25
Markets and
Industry
Competition in
Retail
For Class
Developing Your Views on Strategy and OT
For CAPSIM®
Please read “What is strategy?”
Please read “Essentials of Strategy
Teams”.
Sign up for CAPSIM® (see Web
address).
Please start on the CAPSIM® manual,
which is online.
Engage in individual (solo) practice for
one week to learn the CAPSIM®
program.
Team Member Profiles – Psychometrics
Intra-Industry Competitive Dynamics with CAPSIM®
For Class
For Personal Reflection
& CAPSIM®
Class Devoted to the basics of
Please continue reading the CAPSIM®
competitive strategy (e.g., Porter),
manual (found online).
admin., team formation, and the
Practice Teams Assigned
nature of CAPSIM®.
Class Devoted to the basics of
Start Practice Rnd 1 (Mrktng on) Wed.
competitive strategy (e.g., Porter),
Jan. 19thafter 9:00 a.m MST; Rnd 1 ends,
Sun. Jan. 23rd 1:00 a.m. MST; Rnd. 2,
admin., team formation, and the
(Mrktng, TQM on) starts Sun. 9:00 a.m.
nature of CAPSIM®.
and ends Wed. Jan . 26th at 1:00 a.m.
MST.
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Please read “Creating Comp.
Advantage”.
Please consider to what degree
strategy is the source of competitive
advantage?
Page 4 of 18
Review your learning from the practice
game.
Winter Term 2011
Evaluated Portion
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on key
question: “what is
strategy?”
Evaluated Portion
Evidence of CAPSIM®
practice (yes/no)
Individual contribution
(0,1,2)
Evidence of CAPSIM®
practice (yes/no)
Individual contribution
(0,1,2)
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on the
Wal*Mart case.
Jan. 27
Markets and
Industry
Competition in
Retail
Wk 4
Feb. 1
Building
Capabilities in
High Tech
Feb. 3
Building
Capabilities in
High Tech
(Prof. Jennings’
may be absent due
to knee operation)
Wk 5
Feb. 8
Gaming Your
Competitor in
Wholesaling
Feb. 10
Gaming Your
Competitor in
Wholesaling
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Please read “Wal*Mart Stores in
2003”.
Please how Wal*Mart has modified
its strategy over time to maintain
competitive advantage.
Please re-examine the Capstone®
Courier results for Practice Rnds 1
and 2.
Please read “Strategy from the
Inside Out”
Consider how capabilities differs as
a concept from competitive
advantage.
Please re-examine the Capstone®
Courier results for Practice Rnds 1
and 2.
Please read “Strategy from the
Inside Out”
Please read “Intuit”
Consider how Intuit Canada builds
competitive advantage.
Please examine the Capstone®
Courier results for Rnds 1 and 2.
Please read “Game Theory”.
Consider how competitive
dynamics differ using a competitive
advantage vs. a capabilities
perspective.
Please prepare “Amazon’s Kindle”
Case
Consider how Amazon’s Kindle
hopes to change the nature of the
game.
Page 5 of 18
Start on the Tournament Game: Rnd 1
(Mrktng on) 9:00 a.m. MST Wed. and
finish Wed. Feb. 2nd, 1:00 a.m. MST
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on the
Wal*Mart case.
Hand in your Mini Strategic Plan.
Mini Strategic Plan
handed in at the start of
class.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on
competitive dynamics or
on the Intel case.
Start Rnd. 2 (Mrkting, TQM, HRM on)
Wed, Feb. 2nd, 9:00 a.m. MST and finish
Sun. Feb. 6th, 1:00 a.m. MST. Start Rnd 3
(Mrkting, TQM, HRM on) Wed., Feb.
9th, 1:00 a.m. MST.
Mini Strategic Plan
handed in at the start of
class.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on
competitive dynamics or
on the Intel case.
Please finish Round 3.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on
competing in retail or on
B&N vs. AZ case.
Start Rnd 4 (Mrkting, TQM, HRM on)
on Wed. Feb. 9th, at 1:00 a.m. MST and
finish Sun. Feb. 13th, 1:00 a.m. MST.
Start Rnd. 5 (Mrkting, TQM, HRM on)
Sun. Feb. 13th, 9:00 a.m. and finish Wed.
1:00, Feb. 16th a.m. MST.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2)
Winter Term 2011
Wk 6
Feb. 15
Creating New
Markets in
Fashion
Feb. 17
Creating New
Markets in
Fashion
Wk 7
Reading Week
Feb 21-25
CAPSIM®
AGM Prep &
Project Day
Wk 8
Mar. 1
Mar. 3
Wk 9
Mar. 8
Mar. 10
CAPSIM®
PRESENTATIONS
High
Coordination in
M&A
High
Coordination in
M&A
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Please examine the Capstone®
Courier results for Rnd. 1.
Please read “The Perils of
Imitation”.
Consider how to create, not just
chase, fashion.
Please read and prepare the “Zara”
case.
Consider how Zara creates fashion.
Please finish Round 5.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2)
Grades for Mini Strategic
Plans Posted. Plans
returned.
Start Rnd. 6 (Mrkting, TQM, HRM on)
Wed. Feb. 16th, 9:00 a.m. and finish on
Sun. Feb. 20th, 1:00 a.m. MST.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on
fashion and the Zara
case.
Grades for Mini Strategic
Plans Posted. Plans
returned.
Start reading for your Guru Paper
or final project.
Please read “Strategic Stories”.
Please read “The Smart Talk
Trap”.
Bring project materials and
questions for discussion
Work on your CAPSIM® presentation.
Please read “Desperately Seeking
Synergy.”
Consider the pros and cons of
M&As in light of potential culture
clashes.
Please read and prepare the
“YouTube, Google, and the Rise
of Internet Video.”
Page 6 of 18
CAPSIM presentations – if the class is
not very large, we will do all presentation
on Thursday, March 3rd and let you prep
on Tuesday the 1st of March.
Individual Contribution
to Class (0,1,2) especially
on the One Number.
CAPSIM Presentation
Individual Contribution
to Class (0,1,2) especially
on the Intuit case.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on
M&A or corp. culture.
Case Questions: Please compute the
yields for the negative, neutral, positive
acquisition scenarios for Google’s
acquisition of the YouTube for a ten year
period. (Note: Feel free to supplement
your case with Web materials.)
For selected individuals,
a case memo or formal
presentation (15%)
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on
M&A or corp. culture.
Winter Term 2011
Beyond Intra-Industry Competitive Dynamics – Cooperative Strategy
For Class
Case Memos & Org. Projects
Please read “Risk and Alliances”
Consider how to weigh and respond
strategically to risk of various
alliance forms.
Date
Wk 10
Mar. 15
Topic
Moderate
Coordination in
Strategic
Alliances
Mar. 17
Moderate
Coordination in
Strategic
Alliances
Please read and prepare the “HPCisco Alliance”.
Wk 11
Mar. 22
Variable
Coordination
with
Stakeholders
Please read “Stakeholder
Lessons.”
Mar. 24
Wk 12
Mar. 29
Please read and prepare the
“Vancouver Olympics Case”.
Consider how to measure and
respond strategically to stakeholders
of varying power.
Coordinating at
a Distance
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Case Questions: Based on the timing of
this case, as Cisco would you have
pursued this strategic alliance? Why or
why not? As HP would you have? Why
or why not? (Note: the WEB provides
factual material that is important to
answer these questions, so feel free to
use it; but these facts will not substitute
for your judgment about the risks of
allying.)
For selected individuals,
a case memo or formal
presentation (15%)
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on
strategic alliance or on
games and strategy.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2).
Case Questions: Who are the main
stakeholders in the VANOC Case and
how should each of them have been
handled in order to overcome the
funding shortfall of 2007? (Note: the
Web provides additional details but the
case is in process, so there is not a final
answer, yet.)
Please read “Ghemawat, P. 2007.
Semiglobalization and Strategy.”
Consider how to balance global and
local concerns in the strategic
architecture of your organization.
Page 7 of 18
Evaluated Portion
Individual contribution
(0,1,2).
For selected individuals,
a case memo or formal
presentation (15%)
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on
stakeholders, power, and
not-for-profits.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2).
Winter Term 2011
Mar. 31
Coordinating at
a Distance
Please read and prepare “BRL
Hardy Wine Case”.
(Note Prof.
Jennings may not
be available this
day.)
Wk 13
April 5
Competing and
Coordinating
under
Institutional
Pressure
April 7
Competing and
Coordinating
under
Institutional
Pressure
Case Questions: Which strategic
option(s) would you have chosen if you
were Millar of BRLH and why? (Note:
the WEB shows some timing in the use
of different initiatives, but it does not
answer the question as to what you
SHOULD have done.)
Please read “Engaging
Individuals” by Werbauch.
Consider how to purse CSR and
other external normative and
regulatory frameworks as part of
your organizational strategy.
Please read and prepare “Global
Climate Change and BP”.
Consider how to purse CSR and
other external normative and
regulatory frameworks as part of
your organizational strategy.
For selected individuals,
a case memo or formal
presentation (15%)
Individual contribution
(0,1,2), especially on
strategies for doing
business globally.
Individual contribution
(0,1,2).
Case Questions: What strategy should
For selected individuals,
BP-Amoco pursue in the 2011+ period?
a case memo or formal
Should it stay the course of being
presentation (15%)
“green” or not? (Note: the Web reveals
Individual contribution
that there is some debate about the BP(0,1,2), especially on CSR
Amoco CSR stance, depending on which
or on strategies for
WEB site you consult.)
handling regulation
Course Evaluation Date
Wk 14
Guru & Project
Please read “Stop Making Plans,
The major projects will be presented
Presentations
Make
Decisions”.
in
class (15 mins. + 5 mins. of
April 12
and Wrap Up
questions). One or two guru projects
Consider what you have learned
per permission of Prof. Jennings, may
about organizational strategy.
also be presented – if there is time.
End of Classes and Final Assignment
Please e-mail Professor Jennings your final paper by Tuesday, April 19th, 5:00 p.m (or put a hardcopy version in his mailbox at the General Office,
3-23 Business Building).
Grades and Return of Papers
Detailed spreadsheet on your grades will be posted (using Student IDs with random row order) on the SMO 441 website as soon as the grades are
computed. Please review them and send any feedback about any potential errors. Thanks!
Upon e-mail request you can also pick up your paper directly from me next term. Please make this arrangement in advance, because I will be in my
research office a lot, not in the teaching one.
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Page 8 of 18
Winter Term 2011
DETAILS ON EVALUATED COMPONENTS
Competitive Dynamics with CAPSIM®
Our class will be organized into two industries of four or five companies per industry with four or five
individuals (but no more than five) per company team. Each week, your team’s company will make a set of
R&D, production, marketing, and financial decisions in order to complete one or two CAPSIM® “rounds”
(see the Class Outline). There will be two official rounds in the Practice Simulation in the second week of the
course. There will be six official rounds in the second, Tournament, simulation. As the simulation progresses,
the game will become more involved as more decision activities are added (e.g., Mrkting, HRM & TQM
choices). The Class Outline provides the details on the timing of the practice and tournament rounds. Web
tutorials are also available to help you learn the simulation.
For both the Practice and the Tournament Game, teams will be assigned on the instructor based on your
profiles, as developed in the first couple of classes. This is a realistic way to form teams, because in the
workplace, you will frequently be put into a team, not chose your own. You will be on the same team for both
the practice and tournament game, so that you will be able to apply what you learned from the practice
rounds directly to the tournament round. The only exception to these principles will be for individuals who
formally petition me with bona fide (learning related) reasons why they need to move to another team.
During the simulation, I will have several roles: of course, I will be your guide in CAPSIM, leading you
through the basics of the simulation; I will monitor your progress in CAPSIM, making sure that you have hit
the milestones in the simulation and syllabus; I will be your course evaluator, offering feedback on your
CAPSIM® strategic plans and your performance; I will be your team facilitator, making sure that the game is
played fairly by teams and that you have access to information in a timely manner, and, finally, I will be your
unofficial partner, providing ideas and readings and some experience to help your team learn more about
strategy. However, one role that I cannot take on is that of technical manager, partly because I do not have
nearly the expertise in this simulation that the CAPSIM technical staff have! ☺ For technical assistance,
please submit a support ticket to MSI® or call them at their toll-free number 888-472-7554.
The compressed version of the CAPSIM from the course outline is:
SMO 441 Winter ‘10 Syllabus Schedule to Run CAPSIM
Start
Practice Game
Rnd 1 Jan. 19th, Wed. 9:00 a.m
Rnd. 2 Jan. 23rd, Sun., 9:00 a.m.
Tournament Game
Rnd 1 Jan. 27 Wed. 9:00 a.m
Rnd 2 Feb. 2 Wed. 9:00 a.m
Rnd 3 Feb. 6 Sun., 9:00 a.m.
Rnd 4 Feb. 9 Wed. 9:00 a.m
Rnd 5 Feb. 13 Sun., 9:00 a.m.
Rnd 6 Feb. 16 Wed. 9:00 a.m
End
Jan. 23rd, Sun. 1:00 a.m.
Jan. 26th, Wed., 1:00 a.m.
Feb. 2 Wed. 1:00 a.m
Feb. 6 Sun. 1:00 a.m.
Feb. 9 Wed. 1:00 a.m
Feb. 13 Sun. 1:00 a.m.
Feb. 16 Wed. 1:00 a.m
Feb. 20 Sun. 1:00 a.m.
Mini Strategic Plan for CAPSIM® (15%)
Each team will write a ten-page Mini Strategic Plan (with 5 pages min. of text) that it will submit at the start of
the Tournament Game (the full simulation). In SMO 441, we will push on this approach further, using even
shorter strategic plans to guide and adjust our performances.
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Page 9 of 18
Winter Term 2011
The plan that I am requesting does not have to follow a strict script or recipe. It should reflect your team and
your team’s strategy, both in form and content. Nevertheless, each plan should cover some key strategic
questions: 1) “what are your objectives?”, 2) “what is your over-arching strategy(ies) for achieving them?” and
3)“how do you intend to implement your strategy(ies) through six rounds of play?” Your answers should
follow a logic that is both coherent and convincing. I encourage you to consult the readings on strategic plans
to see if you want to adopt one of their particular frameworks. I also encourage you to clip in various
CAPSIM® charts and tables to help bolster your arguments. Try to make the piece tight.
The format of the plan should be 11-point font, double-spaced with one inch margins all around. You may
inset diagrams and tables directly in the body of the plan or use an appendix. But the total plan should be no
more than ten pages (title page not included). References should be cited using footnotes with 9-point font.
The Mini Strategic will be evaluated using the template below, with a sample evaluation provided therein:
Objectives and Strategies
Strategic Content (30%)
Objective(s) Clear
Creative/Clever Strategy
Strategies Clear and Linked
to Objective(s)
28.5%
Xx
X
Xx
Broad differentiation is clear strategy; also it is linked well to
logic of how different products are managed and the
performance measures; that is, this focus runs throughout
the report. Good job.
Tactics/Implementation (60%)
Plan clearly linked to
strategies via separate
components/functions of
the company
Details in key items, e.g.,
via figures and diagrams
Creative
Team’s Organization
Discussed
57.5%
X
The logic was one from competitive position strat. Diff.
funct. Policies
trade-offs; that made sense, but last
category had lots of redundancies.
Writing (10)%
Organization clear
9.3%
X
Best/worst case scenarios are very good; but need more
discussion in the body of the report.
Xx
Xx
X
Lots of customized tables.
Great grammar
Xx
Less clear here, but non-standard format that fits well with
logic of strategy…
Seems very solid!
Good flow
Xx
Reads well.
CAPSIM® Tournament Performance (25%)
To score your team’s CAPSIM® performance, I will use one of the CAPSIM® reports. I will rely on the
CAPSIM® “Star Report”. The five measures in the report are common internal and external performance
measures. Each is discussed in detail in CAPSIM®. A sample is below:
Star Summary Report
Total of stars through round 6.
Company
Profit
Margin
Emer Loan
Inventory
Stock Price
Grand Total
Andrews
9
9
9
0
7
34
Baldwin
9
9
8
0
5
31
Chester
9
9
8
0
4
30
Digby
9
7
5
0
7
28
SMO 441, LEC B2 – Course Syllabus
Page 10 of 18
Winter Term 2011
At the end of the Tournament game, your grade will be computed based on the “Grand Total” of stars that
you have received across all rounds. The average number of stars in an industry (e.g., (34 + 31 + 30 + 28) =
123/4 = 30.75 in the above example) will be used to form the benchmark for an average grade (normally a
90% or A-/B+ letter grade). The range of grades will then be based on how much better (or worse), in the
instructor’s wisdom, the other teams have done relative to this average. Normally, the top team in each
industry receives some form of A, and occasionally, for a brilliant performance, an A+; the bottom performer,
a B+ or C-.
Presentation of Your CAPSIM® Strategy and Results (15%)
Following the last round of CAPSIM®, each team will present briefly on what their strategic plan has been
and their actual results in CAPSIM®. You will present to me as the Chair of your company’s board, to one
visitor as an outside major shareholder, and to the other members of class as if they were outside minor
shareholders. Because we have a lot of teams and limited time, as well as guests, we will have to have some
stricter procedures than in some other class periods. More specifically:
o Please load whatever software you will use prior to class. Check whether your laptop will
work or not with our machine. Note that the UofA machine’s ppt. software often does not
catch all of the fancy fonts and sounds from other machines or packages.
o At the start of class, I will announce at the start of class if Industry 1 or 2 is presenting first, then I
will announce the random assignment of presentation by teams within that industry.
o You will have 2 minutes to check your setup before starting your presentation
o Your presentation will be only ten minutes with one minute overage (with a -4% on grade penalty)
before I, unfortunately, will have to cut you off. I will warn you in the 9th minute that you have 1
minute to go.
o Your presentation should address key critical questions, such as:
o What was your original team strategy and how did you intend to implement it across the six
rounds.
o How did your team actually perform?
o What were some critical moments or decisions that affected your performance?
o What you would do next, assuming, for example, that you had four more rounds to play?
o You are limited to no more than nine powerpoint slides, because, on average we budget about 1
minute/slide in a presentation. Moderate hyperlinking within slides to other slides or figures is
allowed, but only as long as the linked slide can be seen on the screen from the middle row of class
without being expanded. That means you might be able to fit up to two diagrams/figures on a slide
and just expand each slightly as you discuss it; but you won’t be able to flip to new/linked slides.
o Everyone on the team does not need to speak; you won’t be penalized if they don’t. But using only
one person to speak will not be rewarded as much as using more speakers, because multiple speakers
normally generate more energy and are more difficult to coordinate.
o Each team will have three minutes to field one to three questions asked by the panel (Professor
Jennings and the two visitors). Time permitting, the audience will also ask questions. The grading
criteria will be similar to any presentation criteria, but the question period will be weighed in a bit
more. The template for grading is below:
Component
Content (45%)
Tells A Good Story
Comments
Uses Org. Strategy
Concepts Well
Consistent Logic
about Strategy and
Implementation
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Has Relevant Details
Form (40%)
Professional
Creative Format
Within Time
Number of Slides
Questions (15%)
Q1
Q2
Other
Performance Appraisal of Your CAPSIM® Team Members
Each team will construct a performance appraisal form for its CAPSIM® team using the template that I have
provided on the Web. The team may use the version provided by me, but it should be sure that the template
works with the team’s organization and purpose (see the details on the CAPSIM® Strategic Plan and
CAPSIM® team info. before you finalize your form).
A few days after your final presentation at the AGM, each team member will evaluate him/herself and all
others on the team. If you feel that anyone on the team deserves a different (higher or lower) grade than
everyone else, then assign some difference in weight based on your form’s scoring system, provide a rationale
for your difference, sign the form, and hand in a hardcopy for me. I will not reveal the specific contents of the
form or your name to anyone on the team, without your permission; but I will use your form (and those of
the other teammates) to adjust a member’s grade, if necessary. Based on your team’s forms and meeting with
team members, I may deem that a team members is a true outlier relative to his/her teammates and assign a
higher or lower grade to him or her. A person who is a moderate outlier will receive + or – 5% of the grades
on the performance and presentation above or below the average team member; extreme outliers, + or – 10%
(e.g., 90% team grade on a presentation and project – 10% = 80% for that person on the presentation and
project).
Your Personal Contribution to the Class During the First Two Months of the Semester
(7.5%)
I will try to keep track of your personal contributions to each class session and award scores based upon it.
The system is relatively simple, and, I hope, fair: a few quality comments per class will be awarded a “2,” one
or two standard, but useful comments will receive a “1,” and the lack of input will be left as a blank, which
later is recoded as a “0”.
Quality individual contributions to class can come in diverse forms; that is, from:
• Insightful, critical analysis supported by appropriate logic and evidence.
• Comments demonstrating that you have done a thorough job of preparation.
• Perceptive questioning.
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•
•
•
•
Relating class material to first-hand personal experience or other concrete (secondhand) examples.
Distinguishing central issues and assumptions from peripheral or extraneous ones.
Synthesizing prior points into a meaningful conclusion or provocative question.
Proposing meaningful new questions.
I strongly encourage mini-presentations or bring some article or item to my attention that I can share with
the class. A good quality, relevant article that I can distribute to the class or an informal, mini-presentation on
a relevant issue (5-7 minutes) will receive a “6”.
When the classes on competitive strategy are completed, I will add up all of your points across all the classes,
norm the scores, so that high scores receive 90% or more of the 7.5 pts for this component, moderate scores,
60% (.6 x 7.5) and low scores, 30%. A complete lack of participation will receive a 0%.
Beyond Competitive Dynamics - Cooperative Strategy
In order to go beyond the competitive dynamics of intra-industry competition, I will introduce you to several
topics in strategy and organization that involve cooperation and constraint, such as strategic alliances and
regulatory strategy. I will also ask you to develop your own thoughts on such topics and the tension between
competition and cooperation in the discipline of strategy.
To develop your own voice requires a more flexible set of assignments. Please choose one of the two
assignments below to complete:
1. Alternative: Individual Memo on an Assigned Case (15%)
In this assignment you are requested to select a case from the last third of the course on which to write up a
memo, one that I will distribute in class. Those cases and the relevant questions to be answered in the memo
are listed in the Class Outline above. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we can only discuss up to four
memos per class (i.e., a maximum of 20 memos in the course). The memos will be allocated on a firstrequested basis, but if too many individuals want to write memos, then a random draw procedure (lottery) will
be used to select the lucky writers! ☺
The format for the case memos that I prefer is below.
Standard Memo Format
To:
From:
Subject:
Date:
Senior decision maker outlined in case
Memo Author (This would be you)
Case Name or topic summary
Memo date
A case is designed to present an actual business situation and will not contain all the information in order to
perform a full analysis. It is important to remember that there is no right answer to the cases and each
student will take a different approach in their analysis and recommendations.
Your write-up should address the following areas:
1. Issues: important problems, decisions or issues.
2. Analysis: analysis of underlying causes of issues, and alternative actions considered, supported by
concepts, frameworks and other materials from readings.
3. Recommendations: a set of clear recommendations, supported by your analysis.
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Winter Term 2011
All elements should be reasonably specific, using case events, data and names for clarity. Although company
web-sites and other outside sources may be used to gain a better understanding of the industry or company,
your memo must primarily rely on the information given in the case. Try not to reverse-engineer your solution and
recommendations by obtaining more current information from outside sources such as the internet. Instead,
try to put yourself in the decision maker’s shoes, looking forward from the time of the case to the present day.
You will learn more that way.
While I recommend the format just discussed, the only required elements for each memo are a maximum of
1000 words (not including your name and a title page); double-spacing, 1 inch margins, 11 pt. font, and a
maximum of one page for an appendix. The appendix page does NOT count as part of the 1000 words.
Please provide a word count at the end of the memo.
All memos should be e-mailed to me by noon on Tuesday before class so that I can work them into the
lesson plan and photocopy them for use in class. If you do not want your memo distributed, please let me
know.
Late memos or memos that are too long will be docked 5% points for minor infractions, and 10%+ for more
major ones. Sorry. It is important to be fair. If you cannot get your memo to me on time, please let me know
this and try to provide a reason why not. Thanks.
2. Alternative: Group Presentation on a Cooperative Strategy Case (15%)
You may opt to do an 8-10 minute presentation on a case. If choose this option, you should form a two- or
three-person team and then decide on how you want to contribute to the case. This assignment is very openended: You can present your view of how to answer the case memo questions or add some new materials to
the case that have not been considered before. I will work with you to help you decide on what to present
because I have lots of additional items relevant to cases to offer you and many ideas that we never have time
to pursue in class.
Due to time constraints, normally, only one team can present per case day, so we will have to allocate teams
across the five classes in which we have cases. The slots for presentation will be allocated on a first-requested
basis, but if too many teams want to present or present on a particular day, a random draw procedure (lottery)
will be used to select the lucky presenters.
The format for grading the presentation will be one similar to what I have used in the UBC MBA Core:
Component
CONTENT (50%)
Good Theoretical/
Conceptual Material for
Day’s Case & Topic
Comments
Details/Description Were
Rich and Informative
FORM (50%)
Entertaining, Professional,
& Stimulated Questions
Mechanics Were Good
(Timing, Good Q. Answers,
etc.)
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Winter Term 2011
Your Personal Contribution to the Class During the Last Month of the Semester (5%)
The last month is designed to have more intensive class discussion and commentary on a broad set of
strategy-related issues and questions than the first two months, where CAPSIM® is much more the focus.
Thus, we weight class contribution slightly more than in the first two-thirds of the course, relative to the
number of days. Again, I will keep track of each person’s class contribution and award scores based upon it.
The system is the same as earlier in the term: two or three, high quality comments in a class will be awarded a
“2”, one or two, solid comments, a “1”, and if you decide not to make comments that day, the spreadsheet
will be unadjusted. A mini-presentation or some article of value brought forward and used in class will receive
a “5.” I will then add up the points across classes in the 2nd part of the semester, and norm the scores, so that
high scores receive 90% or more of 7.5 pts for this component, and low scores, 30% or less. (For more
details, see the discussion above entitled “Your Personal Contribution to Class During the First Two Months
of the Semester.”)
Final Assignment – Developing Your Own Voice
There are two potential final assignments that you can use to develop your own voice about strategy. The first
is to identify a strategy guru, review and critique his/her views on competitive and cooperative strategy. The
second is to work in a team on a company project involving strategy.
1. Paper on a Strategy Guru (15%)
If you opt to write a paper on a strategy guru, you should first chose a guru and some of his or her work(s) to
examine. Over the past few years, I’ve had students use several different types of gurus, these include Richard
Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Peter Frost, Anita Roddick, and David Suzuki. Some folks have also studied Jack
Welch, who discusses both competitive and cooperative strategies and their place; but Donald Trump and
Martha Stewart do not really fit here!
You should then write a ten-page paper assessing that guru’s views of competitive and cooperative strategy
and how (if) these strategies should be balanced. Try to be concrete and use real examples. After assessing the
guru’s views, inject your own views about strategy, building on what you’ve learned. Again, try to be concrete.
The grading scheme will be based on the following template:
Component
Guru’s Views (60%)
• Main View of Competitive
and Cooperative Were Clear
• Concrete and Relevant
Examples
Your Views (25%)
• Assessment of Pros and
Cons Clear
• Gurus Ideas Were Extended
• Concrete and Relevant
Examples
Writing (15%)
• Well-Organized
• Good Flow
• Entertaining
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Winter Term 2011
2. Modifying An Organization’s Strategy(ies) to Improve Its Performance (30%)2
You may opt to undertake a larger final project: a 20-25 page assessment of an organization’s strategy, along
with recommendations for improving it. If you choose to do this field study, you will not need to do a case
analysis or presentation on cooperative strategy, because you will have plenty of work gathering and assessing
information on the organization and coming up with useful recommendations.
To conduct the study, you should at least undertake the following four important steps.
1. Find a partner with whom you would like to work on this project. (If numbers require it, only one
three-person team will be permitted in the course.) The person should be someone with similar
interests and views on strategy, but complimentary skills and resources to bring to the project.
2. Select an organization (subunit or wholly own and run) that is using (or should use) some form of
competitive or cooperative strategy that you would like to modify.
I prefer local organizations with which you have ties over non-local ones or ones that
you do not know very well.
While I encourage you to use local organizations with which you have personal ties, it is
important that the information you use is publicly or readily available and thus
considered non-confidential information. If you feel there are any ethical issues that have
arisen while doing this assignment, please discuss them as soon as possible with me.
Also be sure to consult the REB Guidelines at http://www.bus.ualberta.ca/reb/ to be
certain that you do not need REB permission for the project. Unfortunately, if you do,
the project cannot be approved for this particular course.)
3. Based on your reading and cases in this course, review the current strategy and discuss their direct
and indirect effects on various types of organizational performance.
You may want to use comparison cases of similar firms not using such strategies (or
other means of benchmarking) in order to accomplish this step.
4. Relying on your analysis, recommend new or modified strategy(ies) and defend them.
Please try to be concrete and discuss implementation steps.
The final report should discuss the current strategies (esp. the cooperative strategy) using some framework
from this class (e.g., competitive dynamics, capabilities, game theory, etc.). The strategy should be illustrated
well by the organization selected, particularly with details in the appendices (charts and tables). The
performance effects (whether direct or indirect and of various types) should also be discussed. Finally,
modifications/ recommendations to use more cooperative strategy should be presented and defended.
The paper should be 20-25 pages (excluding the title and exec or abstract or TOC pages) with 11-12 pages of
text and the remaining pages as appendices containing diagrams, tables and figures. It should be formatted
with 11 pt. font and 1 inch margins. Any references should be offered as footnotes using 9 pt. font. Two
weeks before the end of class, please indicate what organization(s) and likely strategy(ies) you will be studying.
Your final paper should be handed in one week after the last class (see the Class Outline for details).
The paper will be evaluated using the following template, and, unless you provide strong evidence that the
grades should differ and how, each person in the pair will receive the same grade.
2
Pending REB approval.
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Winter Term 2011
Component
Comp. & Coop. Strategy (40%)
Interesting Strategy(ies) identified
and assessed well relative to some
strategy framework used in this
course. (15%)
Creative organizational example
and good detail to illustrate
strategies (15%)
Effects on Performance Clear and
Defended Well (10%)
Strategy Modification (30%)
Creative/clever new or modified
strategy(ies) offered (10%)
Pros and cons discussed (10%)
Implementation considered (10%)
Appendices (20%)
Appendices Support Analyses in
Depth and Breadth (15%)
High Quality/Creative Appearance
(5%)
Writing (10%)
Good Grammar, Well-Organized,
with Nice Flow
Comments
ADDENDUM:
UNIVERSITY COURSE PROCEDURES AND POLICIES
Course Standing and Grade Distributions. You are welcome to discuss your class performance and standing
in the course with me. The official University grading system will be implemented for this particular section of
this course using a combination of a particular distribution and absolute measures or marks (GFC PM Section
61, 29 SEP 2003, or online at http://www.ualberta.ca/~unisecr/policy/sec61.html#4).
Missed Assignments. Based on the material in the University of Alberta Calendar for exams (section 23.5.6),
any student who is incapacitated because of illness, is suffering from severe domestic affliction, or has other
compelling reasons (including religious conviction) may apply for an excused absence for a missed
assignment. The guidelines say that an excused absence for a missed assignment is a privilege, not a right, and
is granted at the discretion of the instructor or the Faculty, depending on the circumstances. Still, if you have
a great job opportunity that conflicts with our schedule, let me know and we’ll talk about it! ☺
Appropriate conduct. My goal in this course is to create a supportive environment for learning based on open,
constructive debate. This requires all of us to be engaged with the material and with each other in a
professional manner, with courtesy and respect for each other’s individuality. Discrimination, malicious
criticism, and disruption of class are examples of conduct that is not really acceptable. For other examples,
see the Code of Student Behavior [pp. 710-730 of the university calendar, or online at:
http://www.ualberta.ca/~unisecr/gfcPM.htm#30].
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Winter Term 2011
Finally, as a reminder, by University procedures (GFC PM Section 61, 29 SEP 2003): “The University
of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to
be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in
this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of
Student Behaviour (online at http://www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behaviour
which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or
participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or
expulsion from the University.”
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