MGMT E-5000 – STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Fall 2015
Dr. Mohsin Habib
Phone: 617-287-7871
E-mail: mohsin.habib@umb.edu
Class: W 7:40 – 9:40 (Sever Hall 213)
Office Hours: After class, by appointment
COURSE MATERIAL: Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage, Concepts
and Cases (2015, 5th ed.) by Barney and Hesterly. Pearson. (ISBN # 978-0-13-312740-9)
COURSE BACKGROUND: This course familiarizes the students with the broad
perspectives of general management and strategy. The focus of the course is on the
overall organization. It covers roles and responsibilities of general managers and
formulation and implementation of strategy, including such concepts as process and
content of strategy, interrelations between corporations and their environments,
interrelations among different functional areas of management, and role of management
systems in implementing strategy.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: This course will include cases on companies in domestic
and international markets, employing basic and leading edge technologies, and operating
within regulatory and environmental constraints. During the course you will learn how to
analyze company strategies; you will also learn via the tools of strategic analysis, how to
evaluate strategic options and how to develop an effective strategic plan. The course is
structured so that you will need to work continuously throughout the course, reading,
analyzing and preparing your cases.
COURSE FORMAT AND EVALUATION:
This course will use a text and a number of case analyses. These cases are usually long
and complex, and often require financial analysis.
Case Write-up: You will prepare two written case analyses in a group (2 students per
group). The written paper should be no longer than 3 pages (typed and single-spaced).
You can add as many exhibits, tables and figures as necessary. The paper is due at the
beginning of the class when the case will be discussed – no exceptions. You can choose
from the cases marked with an asterisk (see “Assignments” section). Useful frameworks
for doing case analysis can be found in Chapters 2 and 3 (External and Internal Analysis).
Also, read Appendix (pgs. 343-346) in the text to understand case analysis.
In general, there is no single correct answer to a case analysis. The key to a good case
analysis is to carefully analyze the situation, apply relevant conceptual materials, and
evaluate possible courses of action before selecting your own recommendations. Although
each case is unique and may require a different approach and analysis, your case writeup should include the following two elements:
1. An assessment of the current situation of the firm. This includes The environment in which the firm operates, the industry
The competitive situation and strategies of the firm including its financial results
with the objective of identifying the key issues that must be addressed
This is not a summary of the case but rather your personal evaluation/critique of the
situation using the relevant tools developed in the textbook.
2. A description of the alternatives to address the issues identified, followed by
detailed recommendations. This is a very important and potentially the most
difficult part of the case analysis. The search for alternatives must be broad and
should consider significant redirection, reorganization or disposition of parts or all
the business. Also, changes in business and competitive strategies are expected
here. Be specific in your recommended solution. Describe the (new or modified)
strategies, the financial objectives and the implementation plan.
Presentation: You will do a group presentation (4 students per group) on a strategy topic
of your choice. You can pick any topic that is related to strategy. Some examples are
balanced scorecard, barriers to entry, board of directors, competitive advantage, core
competence, cross-subsidizing, disruptive technology, dynamic capabilities, learning
curve, related diversification, strategic group, and value curve. Try to narrow down the
topic so that in-depth analysis is possible.
You will submit your topic proposal (no more than one page) to me by September 30.
Once approved, you will develop the presentation. You should start with a description of
the topic and explain its importance to business and strategy. Next, present the key
findings related to the topic that exists in the literature. Then, discuss the challenges and
unanswered questions associated with this topic. Finally, offer your recommendations for
dealing with the challenges. I expect your presentation to spend more time on the
challenges and recommendations sections. You can bring in examples of companies from
various industries to present your arguments. Alternately, you may choose one company
or companies from a particular industry as an example. Both the generalized approach
and the case study approach are fine with me.
You will have 15 minutes to present. This will be followed by a brief Q&A session.
Professional PowerPoint presentation is expected. You need to submit a hard copy of the
slides on the day of the presentation. Three sessions (11/18, 12/2 and 12/9) are allocated
for the presentations. I will assign the presentation dates for the groups.
Participation: Attendance will be taken during the semester. Missing more than two
classes without good reason will lower your participation grade. Participation also means
being able to make informed, relevant comments based on your knowledge of the
material.
Term paper: You will prepare a written term paper on a company of your choice. Please
submit the name and a brief description of the company you intend to analyze by October
7. The paper should be no longer than 6 pages in length (typed, single-spaced), with
added exhibits, tables and figures as necessary. Drawing on course material, analyze the
industry and competition, the company's strengths and weaknesses, its strategies, and
financial results (last 3-5 years). Offer specific recommendations for what the company
should do next (2015 and beyond), including the expected performance impact. Do
original research, through the library and online sources, citing references. The term
paper is due on the last day of the semester (December 16). You will submit it as an email
attachment (pdf or Word file) as there will be no regular class meeting on that day.
Academic Integrity: Please abide by the Harvard Extension School’s policies on
academic integrity regarding plagiarism. Take a look at the following link to understand
what constitutes proper use of sources and how to avoid plagiarism.
http://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources/tips-avoid-plagiarism
GRADING POLICY:
Case write-up (15 x 2)
Group Presentation
Participation
Term Paper
30%
20%
20%
30%
ASSIGNMENTS
Date
Topic of Class Lecture
9/2
What is Strategy? (Ch. 1)
9/9
External Environment (Ch. 2)
(1-1) SodaStream International
9/16
Internal Capabilities (Ch. 3)
(1-3) Wal-Mart Stores *
9/23
Cost Leadership (Ch. 4)
(2-1) Airasia X
9/30
Product Differentiation (Ch. 5)
Presentation Proposal Due
(2-4) Papa John's International *
10/7
Vertical Integration (Ch. 6)
Term Paper Proposal Due
(3-1) eBay’s Outsourcing Strategy *
10/14 Corporate Diversification (Ch. 7)
Case Assignment
(3-3) Starbucks *
10/21 Organizing Corp. Div. (Ch. 8)
10/28 Strategic Alliances (Ch. 9)
11/4
(3-5) Aegis Analytical *
Mergers and Acquisitions (Ch. 10) (3-4) Rayovac Corporation
11/11 International (Ch. 11)
11/18 Presentation
(3-6) McDonald's and KFC
11/25 Thanksgiving Break
12/2
Presentation
12/9
Presentation
12/16 Term Paper Due (No regular class)