Strategic Management (MBA 800-AE)
Fall 2010
Time:
Tuesday evenings 4:30PM - 7:10PM in Sawyer 929
Instructor:
Prof. Mark Lehrer, PhD, Dept. of Strategy and International Business
Office:
S666
Office hours:
T 3:00 – 4:15pm and by appointment
Telephone:
617-573-8338
Email:
mlehrer@suffolk.edu
Prerequisites: All core MBA courses and MBA 780.
Required Text and Readings:
1. Customized textbook: Chapters 1, 4, 8, 9, 2 from A. Marcus, Strategic Management: Achieving Sustained
Competitive Advantage
2. Additional cases and articles (provided on Blackboard)
3. Wall Street Journal – articles relevant to strategy topics (I will assign weekly)
4. Capsim Capstone simulation
5. Five modules that will be posted on Blackboard by the second week of class:
Module #1: Value Chain Analysis by Mark Lehrer
Module #2: Business Models by Mark Lehrer
Module #3: Industry Life Cycle by Mark Lehrer
Module #4: Industry Value Chains by Mark Lehrer
Module #5: Corporate Strategy by Mark Lehrer
1. Course Description and Objectives ...........................................................................
2. Required Material ......................................................................................................
3. Teaching Approach and Class Format ......................................................................
4. Performance Evaluation / Grading ............................................................................
5. Course Requirements ...............................................................................................
6. Contact & Communication ........................................................................................
7. Session Topics and Assignments .............................................................................
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Acknowledgment: I am highly indebted to my colleague Prof. Behnam for help in implementing the Capsim
Capstone simulation in this course and have extensively borrowed from his method and syllabus.
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COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
Welcome to MBA 800! The course is designed to help you integrate your knowledge of the functional areas of
business into an overall view of the firm, analyze the environment, and anticipate the future direction of the firm.
Additionally, the field of strategic management has developed a number of concepts and models unique to a
general management view. You will learn about why some firms survive and prosper while others do not.
A second purpose of the course will therefore be to apply the course concepts from the standpoint of the
practicing manager. We will build the analytic and communicative skills required by top managers in decisionmaking situations through a business case simulation.
This course covers theories of strategy that are both prescriptive (what firms ought to do strategically) and
descriptive (how firms actually act strategically and why). An important part of this course concerns the social
process of the formulation and implementation of strategy within firms. As you will discover, strategic
management is more than simply making recommendations. Making strategy is a messy, emergent process.
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Your active participation in class is essential. This is not a traditional lecture-based course. The course will
consist of participant-centered discussions, simulation exercises, and lectures. You are expected to attend and
be well prepared for each class, having read the required conceptual material. I also expect you to play an
active role in class discussion. If all class members prepare for and actively participate, we will all learn more
from each other and enjoy the course more. I will ask you to speak even if you have not volunteered, so please
be ready for discussion every class.
All slides of each session will also be posted on Blackboard by the following noon after the session.
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REQUIRED MATERIAL
2.1 Reading Materials
See the very first page of this syllabus.
2.2 “Capstone” Business Simulation
Team Member Guide 2010 and website registration at www.capsim.com.
Register under industry C39435. Make sure you register with the correct industry, as there are several listed
under Suffolk University. The guide will be handed out the first day of class. Go to
http://www.msimediaplayer.com/registration.htm for an audio visual demonstration of how to register for the
simulation and how to access your simulation website for “Getting Started”. The last step of registration will be
for you to pay for the simulation using a credit card or checking account online. The price is $44.99.
2.3 Fifteen-week student subscription to the Wall Street Journal
Cost: $29.99. This incredible bargain gives you the print and online version for $2 per week, plus access to
many assigned archived WSJ articles for which I will supply the URL once your subscriptions begin.
Most WSJ articles cannot be accessed online without a subscription, except on campus via the library. We will
use the WSJ intensively, so do consider the benefits of convenience through personal subscription.
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TEACHING APPROACH AND CLASS FORMAT
The course will combine theoretical thinking with practical, hands-on learning mostly through the business
simulation. Additionally there will be oral and written assignments.
You will work within a team for your assigned business simulation and classroom presentation. The simulation
will oblige you to make strategic decisions in multiple rounds of competition, applying the concepts and
frameworks covered in lectures and the text. The text and assigned readings will be supplemented by
discussion of new emerging trends in business, hence the vital role of the Wall Street Journal in providing “live”
cases to talk about. You are encouraged to bring your own interests to these discussions so that they best
supplement your own learning investments.
Generally speaking, each class session will start with lecture/discussion of concepts from the chapter readings,
proceed to the assigned articles of the Wall Street Journal and will conclude with substantial time for the
simulation. However, we will vary this format from time to time during the semester as the need arises. You will
be provided time each week in class for teamwork on the strategic management simulation. I will be available as
a consultant to teams during this time period. However, you will also need to spend considerable time outside of
class each week on the simulation. At the beginning you will experience a heavy workload as your team gets
organized and familiarizes itself with how the simulation works. This will typically ease over the course of the
semester as you develop a routine that works.
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PERFORMANCE EVALUATION / GRADING
4.1 CAPSIM Strategic Management Simulation (40%: team grade)
The simulation will involve multiple rounds of competition among teams competing in a hypothetical electronic
sensor industry. The competition will test both your ability to create shareholder value (your “earning”
performance) and your ability to conceptualize and implement corporate and business strategies (your “learning”
performance).
During the first week of class, teams will be organized for participation in the simulation game. Teams will be
responsible for engaging in out-of-class face-to-face or electronic meetings (e.g. Skype), making decisions to
implement decisions for two practice rounds and subsequently eight cumulative rounds of competition, and
preparing an oral and PPT presentation to be given on the last day of class. Grades will be awarded according
to each team’s relative learning performance at the end of the game. The overall performance of the team at the
end of the game constitutes 40% of the final grade (as reported in the Analyst Report of the simulation but often
moderated by special circumstances such as the ability to stage an amazing turnaround after a rough start).
Though this 40% component is generally a team grade, there may be individual exceptions. Your individual
contribution will be evaluated both by me (through monitoring the team and simulation activity of the individual
student) and by the team (providing peer group evaluation and feedback to each other and to me). Hence, free
riders who do not contribute to their team’s weekly simulation assignments will receive lower evaluations for the
CAPSIM than the rest of their team. Similarly, superstar contributors to their team’s learning and performance
will be recognized and rewarded accordingly. A superstar can receive an A- even if the rest of a comparatively
low-performing yet hard-working team receives a B.
4.2 Final Presentation on an Industry of Your Choice (10%: team grade)
Since not all industries are like the sensor industry, your team should select another industry to read about (e.g.
in the Wall Street Journal), especially an industry you would wish to apply for a job in. Then your final
presentation should essentially answer the following questions: What lessons from the Capstone simulation
would apply to this industry? What special skills have you acquired in this course that would qualify you for a
top management post in the target industry in a couple years? And why? By the same token, what would be
different about managing in the target industry than in the sensor industry? With regard to the last question, a
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mediocre presentation merely describes differences in products and markets (“Airplanes are different from
sensors …”). A thoughtful presentation makes reflective inferences about the different types of strategic
decisions and different decision-making challenges that would be needed in R&D, Marketing, Finance,
Production, etc. (“The role of finance in airplane manufacturing would involve a completely different set of
decision parameters, especially ….”).
4.3 Reflective Journal (30%: individual grade) – by email
It is not enough just to obtain simulated business experience running a firm. You also need to reflect on this
experience. The reflective journal will serve as a learning vehicle to apply different concepts to your simulation
experience. You will write 6 essays on 6 different topics and reflect upon how they relate to the simulation and
your strategic decision making processes. Your journal should be about 1 page for each topic; 6 pages in all),
plus an optional cover sheet. The journals should be typed, 12pt font Arial, 1 inch margin around, 1,5 spacing,
page-numbered and sent to me via email: mlehrer@suffolk.edu as a Word document. The journals are due
before our last class session and will account for 30% of your grade.
Topics: the six topics will be as follows.
Topics 1-4: you can select any four (4) strategy topics from the course other than industry evolution (which is a
homework assignment). You can select them either from the lecture topics (e.g. foresight), from the Marcus
chapters (e.g. strategic moves), and/or from the modules 1-5 (e.g. value chain). I will evaluate them according
to depth of insight. A trite or superficial essay, even if 100% correct, will not merit a top grade. The depth of
reflection is more important than the mechanical regurgitation of course material. Feel free to challenge or
disagree with the lectures / textbook / modules, or to develop your own original perspective. I especially laud
students who bring my attention to gaps in the topics we cover in this course.
Topics 5 and 6 are as follows. Tentatively (I may slightly adjust these topics), Topic 5 is assigned as the special
skill requirements of top management teams and how this affects your own career planning. Reflect on the way
members of a top management team (as in your simulation) came to routinize and perfect their teamwork, and
on what you learned about the qualities needed to be a top manager. Tell me the consequences for your own
personal career development plans. The second round of the survey in Week 13 will give you some data you
can use in writing up this reflective analysis. Tentatively, Topic 6 is assigned as Leadership: Theory and
Reality. You have taken leadership courses at Suffolk. I am curious as to how the Capsim simulation confirmed
or altered the theories of leadership you were exposed to. In the first paragraph (20%-30%) of the essay, very
briefly outline 1-3 major conceptions or theories of leadership you had gained from previous coursework. In the
remainder of the essay, explain how the Capsim simulation either confirmed, or deepened, or complemented, or
contradicted what you had previously learned about leadership at Suffolk. NB: leadership refers to the behavior
of followers as well as leaders!
4.4 Homework (10%: individual grade) – hard copy on paper
In October and again in November you will have 1½-page essays due on your firm’s strategy (October) and on
the evolution of your sensor industry (November). See the schedule (section 7) for details. I prefer hard copies
so I can give some feedback easily. The deal is this. If you submit by email, you get a grade but no feedback.
If you submit a paper copy, you get a grade and feedback. Emailed submissions take more time to access,
locate and print out. I absolutely do also grade your ability to fulfill the actual assignment!
4.5 Class Participation (10%: individual grade)
Participation in class discussions is a critical factor in your own and your classmates’ learning. It is important
that you have studied the assigned chapter and exercise materials on your own, so that we can use class time
most effectively. It is particularly important that you have thought about how the assigned chapters and
exercises relate to your own experience and to your simulation company. 10% of the evaluation is based on
each individual’s contributions to class discussion of weekly topics. Essentially you will be evaluated on the
extent to which you contribute to class-wide learning. You contribute little, obviously, when you are physically or
mentally absent. So even if your excuses are fantastic, you cannot realistically expect a 100% grade on this
component if you have any absences or read emails during regular class.
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4.6 Grade Calculation
Essentially I use a curve. I normalize the scores of the different components where deemed necessary, add
them up, and then display the total student scores from highest to lowest. I look at discrete breaks that make it
logical to distinguish between ranges of A, A-, B+, B, etc. I also make a decision about how good a class this
was as a whole. The higher my evaluation of my class as a whole, the greater the percentage of students who
will fall into the A and A- category.
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS
5.1 Attendance
You are expected to attend all class meetings and also to be punctual. Because learning in this course occurs
primarily through interactions with other participants during class, it is not easy to compensate for an absence.
There is no substitute for being present, prepared, and participating in the class discussion. Please note that I
take an extremely unfavorable view of students who come to class late either at the start of class or after
breaks. I reserve the right to treat chronic lateness as an absence, and therefore it will likely affect your final
grade. If you do miss class, it will be your responsibility to get notes, find out what was discussed, etc. from one
of your classmates.
Here’s how the policy breaks down: If you miss more than 2 classes, your final grade will be marked down a
third of a letter grade for absence #3 and again for absence #4. That means that with 3 absences you would
receive a B-minus if you would have otherwise received a B; a B+ if you would have otherwise received an Aminus, etc. Please note that if you miss more than four classes you will likely receive an F in the course. Thus, I
encourage you to take this course at another time if you think you’ll have other commitments such as job-related
activities that might prevent you from being in class.
5.2 Honor Code
I take violations of academic integrity very seriously. If you engage in any form of cheating such as (but not
limited to) copying someone else’s answers, plagiarizing (if you’re unsure what constitutes plagiarism, refer to
the student manual), having someone else write or prepare an assignment for you in part or in whole, buying a
paper, etc., you will be referred to the Dean of Students. This could mean a grade of F for the entire course.
5.3 University Disability Statement
Suffolk University is dedicated to a full university education for all its students and ensures that all students have
access to university services. If you have a learning, physical, medical, or psychiatric disability that may impact
your coursework, and are seeking classroom accommodations under the American with Disabilities Act, you are
required to 1) meet with me to discuss possible needs, and 2) register with the Dean of Students Office, 73
Tremont Street, 12th floor, 617-573-8239. I must receive verification from the Dean of Students Office before
accommodations are granted. All information and documentation is confidential.
5.4 Other Administrative Details
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Check Blackboard regularly.
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Mobile phones, smartphones, laptops, etc. must be turned off before class (don’t just put them on silent
mode). Reading your email during class lectures & discussion is very unprofessional and distracting to
other students and therefore will justly reduce your participation grade; grades should reflect, in part, my
assessment of your maturity and self-control. In contrast, what is appropriate behavior during your team’s
conferral time for the simulation is more up to you and your team to decide.
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Do not wait until the end of the semester to see me regarding problems with the course material or your
performance. Your performance in this class is important to me, so please see me early.
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Any assignments must be submitted on time. As managers, you will not be afforded the luxury of missing
deadlines (think of deadlines as “windows of opportunity”). Late assignments will be penalized 20% for each
day past the deadline and will not be accepted more than 3 days late. The decisions for your company
MUST be uploaded to the simulation website on time since the simulation moves forward to the next round
after the pre-determined deadline.
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Like managers executing actual strategies, we may find that the course syllabus must be amended slightly
as the semester progresses.
5.5 Course Catalogue Description
This course focuses on corporate-level and business-unit level strategy formulation and implementation.
Students develop a multi- functional general management perspective that requires the integration and
application of knowledge and techniques from earlier courses. Students will learn about the principal concepts,
frameworks, and techniques of strategic management. They will develop the capacity for strategic thinking, and
they will examine the organizational and environmental contexts in which strategic management unfolds.
Students will achieve these course objectives through a variety of learning activities.
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CONTACT & COMMUNICATION
I currently have office hours planned for Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m., and will hold additional office
hours by appointment. The best way to contact me is via email (mlehrer@suffolk.edu). I typically check my email
twice a day. Similarly, I would encourage you to check your email at least once a day, as I tend to communicate
through emails during the course of the semester. Please ensure that your Suffolk email account works.
In addition, please contact me if you have any concerns or can foresee unusual circumstances. Those with
potential work or family-related conflicts should see me during the first week of the semester to talk through
these issues. I cannot promise that accommodation is always feasible.
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SESSION TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS (DUE BEFORE EACH CLASS STARTS)
Week 1:
Sept. 7
Course Introduction and Survey
Capstone Introduction
Team Set-Up
Break students into Company Management Teams
Week 2:
Sept. 14
Introduction: Managing Amidst Uncertainty
Read:
Marcus, ch. 1 and assigned WSJ articles (email)
Register for Capstone at www.capsim.com as a “New Student” under industry C39435
Then log in and go to the Getting Started menu. Read the Introductory Lesson (and take the quiz), read the
Online Team Member Guide if you did not get one in class, then complete the Rehearsal Tutorial consisting of a
quiz followed by a process round. Have a look at the Capstone Courier. Finally, join the company you are
assigned to.
Week 3:
Sept. 21
Conceptualizing the Firm as a Whole: Value-Chain Strategies
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Practice Round 1, due on 9/27
Read:
Module #1: Value Chain Analysis, and assigned WSJ articles (URLs only provided by email)
In the Getting Started menu, complete the Situation Analysis. This is a key familiarization exercise for Capsim.
Next, familiarize yourself with the basic strategies (see also Ch. 10 of the Team member Guide). On this class
day, you and your team members must agree on a basic strategy for the practice rounds.
Week 4:
Sept. 28
Cost Structures, Margins, and Business Models – Debrief Practice Round 1
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Practice Round 2, due on 10/4
Read:
Module #2: Business Models, and assigned WSJ articles
Practice Round 1 due 9/27:
Team decisions due the (Monday) night before class at 9 pm!
Week 5:
Oct. 5
Foresight – Debrief Practice Round 2
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Competition Round 1, due on 10/11
Homework:
This class session will be asynchronous online. You will be given multiple video links with
instruction on foresight techniques. You will turn in individual or group homework (your choice)
to show you have watched the videos and performed the exercises legislated therein.
Practice Round 2 due 10/4:
Team decisions due the (Monday) night before class at 9 pm!
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Week 6:
Oct. 12
Competitor Analysis and Competitive Tactics -- DEBRIEF COMP. ROUND 1
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Competition Round 2, due on 10/18
Read:
Marcus, Ch. 4, and WSJ articles
Homework:
ESSAY TO HAND IN: Your own understanding of your team’s basic strategy and your
individual role in operationalizing this strategy as well as the biggest challenges you expect to
face; what is hardest about your job? (1.5 pages on a single sheet, printed front and back)
Competition Round 1 due 10/11:
Team decisions due the (Monday) night before class at 9 pm!
Week 7:
Oct. 19
Strategic Innovation and Reinvention -- DEBRIEF COMP. ROUND 2
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Competition Round 3, due on 10/25
Read:
Marcus, Ch. 8, and assigned WSJ articles
Homework:
Each student completes the Peer Evaluation form prior to processing the round.
Competition Round 2 due 10/18:
Team decisions due the (Monday) night before class at 9 pm!
By now you have the idea, so I will not repeat this anymore for competition rounds 3-8
Week 8:
Oct. 26
Anticipating Industry Evolution -- DEBRIEF COMP. ROUND 3
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Competition Round 4, due on 11/1
Read:
Module #3: Industry Life Cycle and Module #4: Industry Value Chains, and WSJ articles
Week 9:
Nov. 2
Strategy Implementation, Leadership, Mission, Vision -- DEBRIEF COMP. ROUND 4
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Competition Round 5, due on 11/8
Read:
Marcus, Ch. 9, and assigned WSJ articles
Week 10:
Nov. 9
Industry Analysis -- DEBRIEF COMP. ROUND 5
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Competition Round 6, due on 11/15
Read:
Marcus, Ch. 2, and assigned WSJ articles
Homework:
ESSAY TO HAND IN: Your vision of 1) how this industry has evolved, i.e. the core drivers of
change and competition; within the context of this, 2) a statement of team’s original strategy vs.
revised or emergent strategy; 3) how has your own role changed on the team? (1.5 pages, 3
parts of not necessarily equal length)
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Week 11:
Nov. 16
Corporate Strategy -- DEBRIEF COMP. ROUND 6
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Competition Round 7, due on 11/22
Read:
Module #5: Corporate Strategy, and WSJ articles
Week 12:
Nov. 23
Global Strategy -- DEBRIEF COMP. ROUND 7
Teamwork: Begin to Prepare Competition Round 8, due on 11/29
Read:
CMR article by Lehrer and Delaunay (2009); readings on corruption
These will be posted on Blackboard
Homework:
Each student completes the Peer Evaluation form prior to processing the round.
Week 13:
Nov. 30
DEBRIEF COMP. ROUND 8, Survey (Repeat), Group Presentations
Week 14:
Dec. 7
Group Presentations and Final In-Class Peer Evaluation
Homework:
Reflective Journals
Email the journals as Word attachments to me before start of class on 12/7
(Alternatively, a paper copy is OK, but please, refrain from doing both)
Please remember also to bring and hand in your two completed surveys
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