University of Parma
Professor Rob Mancuso
(voice: 617-697-4782; e-mail: rdjm12@aol.com )
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment, before or after class.
Fall Semester, 2014
Strategic Management
A. Text Information
-Required:
Strategic Management: Case Studies and Notes
(Harvard Business School Publications, Access via this link to set up an account https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/27264255)
-Recommended Readings:
Profit from the Core (Chris Zook, Bain & Company)
• Strategic Management (G. Saloner, et al.—excellent textbook)
• Why Globalization Works (M. Wolf)
• Competing on Internet Time (D. Yoffie)
•
B. Course Overview
This course focuses on the creation of long-term competitive advantage. It takes the perspective of top
management (i.e., CEOs and senior executives who report directly to them), as they are ultimately
responsible for ensuring the health and success of the firm.
Objectives
1. To develop a working knowledge of the "strategy concept" and the process
encompassing strategy formulation as a basis for integrating the various functional
areas,
analytical concepts, and techniques that have been assimilated in earlier
courses.
2. To give students the skill of being able to identify, evaluate, and recommend when dealing with a
particular business or corporate strategy.
3. To stress the role, perspective, and responsibilities of the general manager along with providing
opportunities for developing and practicing the skills considered important for the effective
performance of that role.
4. To introduce students to the strategic issues involved in new forms of corporate organization
and new forms of institutional arrangements.
5. To provide students with the tools to engage in comprehensive analysis of a
particular industry so that they can appreciate the competitive dynamics and make
tenable recommendations regarding the appropriate sustainable generic strategy.
6. To examine the managerial issues involved in controlling and coordinating a
multi-business corporation and to introduce the viewpoint that the corporation’s
organization structure, systems, and processes should be contingent on the
resources the firm is exploiting.
C. Performance Evaluation
The factors to be taken into account in determining the student's final grade are the following:
Factor
Class participation/attendance
Mid-term Exam
Final Exam
Approximate Weight
25%
30%
45%
Class participation is a critical component of this course. Students are expected to come to each class prepared to discuss
the cases/readings that have been assigned. There will be cold calling on most occasions. Your participation will be
evaluated along the following scale:
Outstanding Contributor: Contributions in class reflect a thorough analysis of the case and required readings. Ideas are
substantive, reflecting clear, well-reasoned insights grounded in strategic concepts. Positions are persuasive. If this person
were not a member of the class, the quality of the discussions would diminish substantially.
Good Contributor: Contributions in class reflect preparation of the case and readings. Some useful insights are provided,
building in part on strategic concepts. If this person were not a member of the class, the quality of the discussions would
diminish to a large extent.
OK Contributor: Contributions in class reflect some preparation of the case and readings. If this person were not a member
of the class, the quality of the discussions would diminish marginally.
Non-Participant: This person has said little or nothing in class. If this person were not a member of the class, the quality of
the discussions would not be changed.
Unsatisfactory Contributor: Contribution is based on inadequate preparation. Ideas lack substance and provide little or no
constructive direction for the class. If this person were not a member of the class, valuable airtime would be saved. Also, a
person who is disruptive or unprofessional and interferes with the learning of classmates is an unsatisfactory contributor.
It will be very difficult to achieve satisfactory performance if you do not consistently attend and participate in class. The university
recognizes only two types of excusable absence - family emergency or personal illness. Please notify the instructor as soon as
possible if either situation should arise.
Late papers will not be accepted unless there is a legitimate emergency.
*Finally, the use of laptop computers, cell phones, i-pads, etc. is strictly forbidden
during class discussions and video presentations.
D. Teaching Methodology
We will be using the case method in this course, which gives students the opportunity of learning by doing.
Please bear in mind as you prepare these cases that there is no one right answer or exclusive perspective for
them. Also, my role is not merely to "give" answers to questions implicit in the case, but to weave
together the threads of individual contributions into an intelligible pattern and to underscore the lessons of
each case.
Therefore, it is vital that each student wrestle with the case and do his or her own thinking. Of course, it
is much easier to be given answers, but often real learning is minimized in such situations. A noted
teacher and historian once said that "Men learn after all by being puzzled and excited, not by being told."
This sums up the philosophy of this class -- it may not always "tell" you very much but it will help you to
think in the presence of new and challenging business situations.
E. Assignments and Readings
HBS= (Mandatory Cases/Readings found in custom course package on
hbsp link on page 1. Must be read before Class.)
Class 1
Introduction
Lectures: (i) Course Framework
(ii) Components of Business Strategy
(iii) IFIN Review
Review/Read for class:
CreateYourOwnLuck.com
What is Strategy? (HBS)
Recommended: Creating Shared Value (HBS)
Lecture: Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy
Lecture: Past and Future of Competitive Advantage
The Ducati Legend [video]
Ducati Case (HBS)
Class 2
I Formulating and Implementing Business Strategy
The Value Chain and Vertical Integration
Lecture: The Concept of Value Added
Lecture: How to Design a Winning Business Model (HBS)
Lincoln Electric: Venturing Abroad (HBS)
The Lincoln Electric Company [video]
Lecture: Core Competence of the Corporation
Recommended: C. Prahalad and G. Hamel, “The Core Competence of the
Corporation,” Harvard Business Review May-June (1990): 79-93.
Class 3
Lecture: Evolving from Value Chain to Value Grid
Intel Corporation: 1968-2003 (HBS)
[(i) DRAM strategy; (ii) Microprocessor and Internet strategies; (iii) Value Capture; (iv) Sustaining
Value]
Lecture: Porter's Five Forces Model ++
Sustaining Superior Performance: Commitments/Capabilities (HBS)
Lecture: Sustainable Competitive Advantage/Threats
Class 4
Airborne Express (HBS)
Night Moves, Airborne Express (Video)
II Mapping Business Landscape/Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Lecture: Platform Strategies and Winner Take All in Networked
Markets; Competitive Advantage through Network Effects
Mid-Term Paper Assigned
Lecture: The New Business Landscape
Class 5
Apple Inc. in 2012 (HBS)
Class 6
Mid-Term Paper Due
Lecture: Transient Advantage
Transient Advantage (HBS)
Lecture: Transforming Executive Strategy
Recommended: G. Hamel and C. Prahalad, “Strategic Intent,”
Harvard Business Review May-June (1989): 63-76.
Google, Inc. (HBS)
[Discussion on Google’s early strategy and distinctive governance structure]
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs [video]
Microsoft Search (HBS)
Class 7
Mid-Term Paper review
Video: Google CEO, Larry Page, Zeitgeist
III Leveraging Resources: Expanding Geographic Scope
The Espresso Lane to Global Markets (HBS)
Haier: Taking a Chinese Company Global in 2011 (HBS)
Lecture: Resources and Strategy
Recommended: D.J. Collis, “Competing on Resources,” Harvard Business Review
Sept-Oct. (1995): 118-128
Class 8
HUGE and Digital Strategy (HBS)
IV Corporate Strategy – Creating Value at the Corporate Level
Lecture: Managing a Multi-Business Corporation/Conglomeration
Note on Corporate Strategy (HBS)
[Also, review “What is Strategy?” article by Porter]
Class 9
Lecture: Bain & Company View of Strategy
Recommended: How to make the Most of Your Company's Strategy
(HBS)
GE's Two Decade Transformation: Jack Welch's Leadership (HBS)
Video: Jack Welch interview
V Course Summary and Synthesis
Lecture: Wrap Up: Tying It All Together
The Enduring Logic of Industrial Success (HBS)
Final Paper Assigned - Cases (HBS) – The Walt Disney Company,
Grolsch: Growing Globally, Corporate Strategy at Berkshire Partners.
Class 10
** Final Paper Due**