Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
MANAGEMENT 223 - BUSINESS POLICY & STRATEGY
Spring Semester, 1999
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND SYLLABUS
Instructors:
Office:
Tel:
Email:
Phanish Puranam (PP) & Michael G. Jacobides (MGJ)
2061(PP) /2055(MGJ) SH-DH (Management Dept. Suite)
898-1231 (PP) / 898-1224 (MGJ)
puranam@management.wharton.upenn.edu
jacobides@management.wharton.upenn.edu
Class Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00 to 1:30pm
Office Hours: By appointment (PP)
Course Overview
This course focuses on strategic management and strategic decision making and examines issues
central to the long-term and short-term competitive position of the company or division / business
unit. Students are placed in the role of key decision-makers or their advisors and asked to solve
problems related to the development or maintenance of the competitive advantage of the firm.
We start the course by looking at strategy at the level of the business unit, which is the fundamental
level for competitive analysis. The perspective taken is of a manager in a given unit with particular
assets, capabilities and competitive challenges. We look at industry analysis, examine the sources of
competitive advantage, and explore generic strategies: How can we analyze the competitive
environment, and what are the basic options for business-unit level strategy? What are the bases of
competitive advantage? What is the nature of the value chain? Following that, we look at how
business units (but also entire corporations) build strengths, by analyzing the nature and value of
business and corporate resources and capabilities.
The next module of the course examines strategic management at the corporate level. We first look
at the vertical scope of the firm, i.e. the degree of its vertical integration. We also look at how the
supply chain is managed in different contexts, and how that ties in with Japanese lean production
methods. In looking at supplier selection and outsourcing tactics, we (inevitably) come upon some
tough ethical dilemmas where strategy meets social responsibility. We then move to the horizontal
scope of the firm, and examine how firms that are present in many markets and industries are
managed, and how strategy is made in diversified firms. We then briefly look at the problems
associated with corporate governance, and review the managerial & legal/institutional structure of
public companies as it relates to strategy. Having a better understanding of corporate structures, we
examine how firms can manage their scope to achieve competitive advantage. Under the sub
heading of scope, we look first at mergers & acquisitions, and inquire as to when (and for whom)
M&A’s are beneficial. We then examine how diversification as a corporate strategy can add value.
This module concludes with an analysis of strategic alliances & joint ventures, and the associated
promises, problems and challenges.
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
The last module is devoted to advanced topics in strategic management. The first week looks at the
challenges associated with managing in a globalized environment, and at the particular structures
and strategies used by multi-national corporations. The second week examines the particularities of
fast-changing technological environments, and at how firms can lose big or win big from
technological innovations. Strategies for hyper-competitive, dynamic business and technological
environments are considered. The third week expands on high-technology issues. The first session
examines the evolution of industries, and how firms should structure their strategies to profit from
increasing returns and industry life cycles. The second session examines the strategic challenges
posed by Information Technology, and in particular by the de-construction of the value chain and
the emergence of digital intermediaries. The fourth week in this module looks at the emerging area
of knowledge management, whose central tenet is that managing the knowledge resident in the firm
is a basic driver of competitive advantage, and examines the particular instance of management
consulting firms. Finally, the last session of this module looks at the role of organizational structure,
the process of strategy formation, and concludes the course by providing a synthetic perspective on
business and corporate strategy.
Readings
Readings for this course are in the textbook and the bulk pack. The bulk-pack is available at
Wharton Reprographics. The textbook for this class is Grant, R. M. 1998. Contemporary Strategy
Analysis, Third Edition. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell. It is available at the University of
Pennsylvania Bookstore.
The readings include both conceptual material and cases. The reading list provides detailed
information on the readings to be used in each class session and assignment questions for each of
the cases. In addition to thinking about the answers to the specific questions for each of the cases,
students should try to identify the reasons why the organization has or has not prospered, and the
critical issues facing management. Specify what actions you would take if you were the manager of
the firm. You are not required to bring a formal case write-up to class, but should bring your notes
on the case with you for your use in class discussion.
Course Requirements and Evaluation
This is a preparation- and reading- intensive class. Most weeks consist of two linked sessions; one
session is devoted to concepts and frameworks, while the other is meant for a case discussion .For
the first session of each week there are ususally two to three readings. In addition, there will be a
short in class exercise, which will complement the theoretical material covered in the session; we
will try to apply theory as much as we can to real-world cases. For the second session, there is a
case study that illustrates and expands the theory. For some focused topics, we may devote only one
session, which will occasionally contain a case. In addition to the material prescribed, there are
several optional readings (which you are not expected to have read) that may prove of interest either
now, or later in your careers, as references. At any rate, you will need to have thoroughly read the
case before coming to class, and also have familiarized yourselves with the analytical frameworks
provided in your readings. Please make appropriate time allowances for preparing every session.
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
Being adequately prepared for class discussion is a key part of this course. On the theoretical side,
you will be expected to illustrate and expand the concepts through the in-class assignment and minicase discussions. As for case studies, you are expected to be thoroughly familiar with case details,
and have prepared some answer to the motivating questions provided in the syllabus. Some class
discussions may be organized in adversarial format with groups of students assigned to support
different points of view. Specific responsibilities for particular questions may be assigned, and
students will be asked to participate if they don’t volunteer – orally, or in written form.As for
grading, the course requirements consist of class participation, an in class mid-term exam, a group
project and an in-class final examination. The course grade will be based on the points you get for
these four components, weighted 20%, 20% 20% and 40% respectively.
Class participation: Since this course uses cases extensively, the success of the course depends on
effective student participation in class discussions. In evaluating class participation, we shall be
asking ourselves first of all, whether the student is well prepared and interested. Beyond that, we
shall be concerned with the following questions: (1) Is the student considerate of other class
members? (2) Is the student responsive to the contributions of other class members and to the
general flow of the discussion? (3) Do the student's comments reflect careful analysis of the case?
(4) Do the student's comments contribute to a clearer formulation of the issues in the case? Any inclass written case discussions will constitute part of the participation grade. Please make sure you
are regular with attendance.Up to three (justified) absences will be allowed. If, for any reason, a
student has to miss more than three, his class participation score will be reduced accordingly. So
please take these factors into account when deciding whether to take this course!
Mid - Term Exam: The in-class, closed-book, closed-notes exam will be given during class hours on
Thursday, March 4th. A make-up may be made available, but note that the make-up may be more
difficult than the normal exam.
Group project: A maximum of four people may group together to prepare a written project
(maximum length 20 pages, exclusive of exhibits). The focus of this project is a strategic problem
faced by a firm or a group of firms, and your analysis of the situation followed by possible
recommendations. A list of indicative topics will be made available in class.
Final Examination: The in-class, closed-book, closed-notes exam will be given during exam hours
as per the date in the Calendar, and will consist of two parts, each lasting one hour. The first part
will contain objective questions on the courses’ substantive material. The second part will be a
subjective appraisal of a competitive situation, which should demonstrate your ability to use the
analytical tools and concepts you have been taught in this course correctly.
Grading for all four components and overall course administration will be undertaken by Phanish
Puranam, who will be the principal instructor this semester. Michael Jacobides will teach some
particular sessions (denoted by MGJ in the syllabus) and may participate in the oversight and
grading of some of the group projects.
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
Who should take this course:
We expect you to have a familiarity with several key business issues, and to have fared well in the
introductory management course. Also, some fundamental principles of corporate finance and
accounting or even economics may prove to be of help, even if they won't be explicitly used. What
is required, however, is that you be comfortable at figuring out what the numbers, figures, and ratios
at the "exhibits" of your cases mean. You should be able to understand business statistics, and
interpret financial information. If you feel that you have weaknesses in these areas, feel free to
consult with the instructors, and we will try to find the best way of dealing with them.
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
COURSE OUTLINE
PART I - THE CONCEPT OF STRATEGY
January 12
Tuesday
(PP)
Introduction and Course Overview
Readings:
1. Grant, Chapter 1: The Concept of Strategy.
2. A Guide to Case Analysis, HBS Press
3. The Return of Strategic Planning, BusinessWeek.
January 14
Measuring corporate performance
Thursday
(PP & MGJ)
Readings:
1. Grant, Chapter 2, Framework for Strategy Analysis
2. Valuing Companies (from the Economist)
3. Kay J, Why firms succeed, Chapters 1 (Corporate success and corporate
failures)& 2 (Adding Value)
Optional
1. Kay J. Chapter 13 The value of competitive advantage
Discussion Questions:
1. If strategy is the pursuit of profit, which measure of performance comes closest to
being the one you would use to judge the quality and effectiveness of a
corporations strategy?
2. What are the implications of using a given measure of performance to judge
corporate strategy.
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
PART II - BUSINESS LEVEL STRATEGY
January 19
Tuesday
(PP)
Industry Analysis and Strategic Interaction
Readings:
1. Grant, Chapter 3: Analyzing the Industry Environment (p. 70-75, skim)
2. Porter, M., Competitive Moves, Competitive Strategy, Chapter 5
3. Pindyck and Runbenfeld, Chap 13.
Optional
1. Porter, M. - Note on the Structural Analysis of Industries.
January 21
Thursday
(PP)
Case: The Airline Industry 1978-1988 (A) and (B)
1.
How has the structure of the U.S. airline industry changed since the first two
or three years after deregulation? What has happened to average industry
profitability?
2.
What has happened to each of the five structural forces that determine the
intensity of competition?
3.
What role have the strategies pursued by the major airline competitors played
in changing industry structure?
4.
Consider the competitive moves of airlines during 1978-1988. How can you
describe them in terms of Porter's analysis of competitive interaction? What
were the consequences of these moves? With the benefit of hindsight, do they
all appear appropriate?
5.
Which is the best positioned of the majors for the 1990’s? What its strong
and weak points?
6.
If you were an airline strategist in 1988, what factors would you be looking
at? What would be the factors you would look at in order (a) to diagnose the
competitive landscape, and (b) to prescribe actions to your client, CEO of
Fly-Into-The-Marsh Aviation Co.?
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
January 26
Tuesday
(MGJ)
Spring1999
The Wharton School
Sources of Competitive Advantage, the Value Chain, and
Generic Strategies
Readings
1. Grant: Chapter 8, Cost Advantage, and Chapter 9, Differentiation Advantage
2. M. Porter, Generic Competitive Strategies, (Competitive Strategy, Chapter 2)
3. M. Porter, The Value Chain and Competitive Advantage, (Competitive
Advantage, Chapter 2.)
Optional Reading:
1. Grant, Chapter 7 – Nature and Sources of Competitive Advantage,
January 28
Thursday
(PP)
Case: Hudepohl Brewing Company
1. What is Hudepohl’s Strategy? How does it fit into the generic strategy typology?
2. Can you analyze Hudepohl’s value chain? Where do you think Hudepohl draws
its strengths (and revenue!) from?
3. Can profits be improved by changing the mix of Hudepohl’s activities? Which
activities should be candidates for expansion?
4. What policy problems and options face Bob Pohl? What are the ones he is
focusing on? Do you think that he has framed the situation (and the problem he
should solve!) well? Why / Why not?
5. Should Hudepohl seek to become a major player in the regional (not just
Cincinnati) beer market? Why / Why not?
6. Given your readings, how would you combine the value chain analysis and the
generic strategy framework to propose changes to Hudepohl’s strategy? What
would your particular recommendations be? Substantiate them!
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
February 2
Resources & Capabilities: Drivers of Business and Corporate Success
Tuesday
(PP)
Readings:
1. Grant, Chapter 5: Analyzing Resources and Capabilities
2. Prahalad & Hamel: The Core Competence of the Corporation (HBR)
3. Montgomery and Collis :Competing on resources (HBR)
Optional Readings:
1. Stalk, Evans and Shulman: Competing on Capabilities (HBR)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19. Montgomery: Note on Resources & Capabilities (HBR)
February 4
Thursday
(PP)
Case : Nucor at Crossroads
1. What is the industry structure that Nucor faces? What are the structural forces
affecting it? What would be your expectation for Nucor’s success based on
Porter’s 5-forces model? What is the possible use of Porter’s framework for this
case?
2. What is the basis of Nucor’s success? Why do you think that it managed to
achieve such a financial and operational performance?
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
3. What is your assessment of Nucor’s success in the future? What, in particular, is
the role you expect to see Nucor’s rivals play? (Be specific!) Which are the
threats to Nucor’s success? What are the limits to its expansion?
4. Is Nucor well positioned to be a successful first adopter of the compact strip
production (CSP) technology? Why /Why not?
5. What would you do at this critical juncture? Would you adopt? Would you wait
for more evidence from the German supplier? Would you wait for competitors to
adopt first? Would you not adopt altogether? Substantiate your opinion and
prepare to defend it in class.
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
PART II – CORPORATE STRATEGY
February 9
Vertical Scope of the Firm: Vertical Integration, Sourcing Decisions, and
Tuesday
Managing the Supply Chain – and some Ethical Implications, too…
(PP)
Readings:
1. Grant, Chapter 13. The Scope of the Firm: Vertical Integration
2. Coordinating the Supply Chain, from Womack, Jones and Roos, The Machine
that Changed the World, ch. 6.
3. Kay J, Chapter 4 ,Relationships and contracts (Why firms succeed)
Optional Reading:
1. Dyer, Cho and Chu: Strategic Supplier Segmentation, (California Management
Review)
February 11
Thursday
(PP)
Case: Nike and Reebok
1. Do Nike’s sourcing strategies remind you of the GM or the Toyota “model”
discussed in the Womack et al chapter? How would you make your judgement?
2. Why did Nike want to keep is South Korean and Taiwanese sub-contractors, even
as it moved to mainland China and Indonesia? What kept it from shopping
around for the absolute lowest cost bidder?
3. What characteristics of sport shoes outsourcing dictate the way you should coordinate your supply chain? Why do you think that a few firms that don’t even
manufacture what they sell have such enviable financial performance?
4. Do you think that Nike’s memorandum of understanding is appropriate and
sufficient? How does Reebok compare? Do you feel that Nike is / is not
responsible for the torturous conditions and meager pay of its subcontractor’s
workers? Why / Why not?
5. If you were a manager in Nike or Reebok in 1994, when things started looking
harder, and wanted to contain your costs, what would you do vis-à-vis your
subcontractors? How “far” would you go? Would supplier management ethics be
an issue for your PR Dept, or the CEO? Why? Bring you values to the fore and
prepare for a heated discussion!
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
February 16
Tuesday
(PP)
Spring1999
The Wharton School
Horizontal Scope: Managing Multi-business Firms
Reading:
1. Grant, Chapter 15: Managing the Multi-business Corporation
Case: Disney Corporation
1. Examine the evolving mix of businesses Walt Disney is in. What can you
observe as for its diversification moves? What was Walt Disney after when
making its diversification? How was value added in such moves? What trends
can you indentify in the composition of Disney’s portfolio, and how can you
account for them?
2. What is it that “brings things together” in Disney? Can you identify any common
threads? Also, can you apply any of the concepts we have learnt so far in order to
account for Disney’s corporate success?
3. How did Disney’s diverse businesses work together? Where do you see the
mechanisms of coordination? How does the corporate level add value to Disney
as a whole?
4. What is the role of Headquarters, and how do they manage their businesses? How
does the evidence of the case compare with your readings? Do you think that
Disney is / is not typical of other multi-business firms? In which way?
5. Is the book division managed with the same philosophy and / or the same
financial criteria that movies are managed? Why / why not? What can you infer
from such differences? Use the readings to explain why such differences are
legitimate.
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
February 18 Scope, Expanded: Corporate Governance and Mergers & Acquisitions
Thursday
(MGJ)
Readings :
1. M. Blare, A Primer on Corporate Governance
2. Kay J. Chap 10 Mergers, (Why Firms Succeed)
Mini-Case: Sears Roebuck (Monks and Minow, Corporate Governance, p.399-411)
1. Why did Sears have such an abysmal performance in the period described?
Would that have happened if corporate structure / governance structure would be
different? Do you think that Sears would have “woken up” any sooner? Why?
2. Strategy succeeds when there is a clear set of objectives. What guides these
objectives in publicly traded corporations? What is the impact of different
definitions of corporate success? Why do trends in metrics of profitability affect
corporate strategies? What does the shift from accounting measures to marketvalue-based to economic-value-added measures mean, and what are its impacts?
3. Do you think that the company’s decision to invest its resources to fight off
Monks from becoming a board member was justified? If you were a middle
manager in Sears, what would have been your stance?
February 23
Tuesday
(PP)
Readings
1. Mastering the Acquisition Process: The Key to Value Creation (chapter 1)
Optional
1. Mastering the Acquisition Process: Understanding the Process (chapter 6)
Case: Kraft General Foods: The Merger
1. How can you describe the merger in terms of scope? What were the objectives of
GF when it bought Kraft? What were the steps taken in the post-deal process?
What did they accomplish, and what did they leave out? What was well and what
was poorly executed?
2. In your opinion, were there or were there not any synergies? What, in particular,
added value in this merger? How was value created? What remains to be done,
yet? Provide specific evidence to support your answer.
12
Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
February 25
Thursday
(PP)
Readings:
Spring1999
The Wharton School
Scope, Expanded: Diversification as a Strategy
1. Grant, Chapter 14: Diversification Strategy
2. Montgomery & Collis :Creating Corporate Advantage
3. Note on Diversification as a Strategy, M. Salter and M. Porter
Optional:
1. Learning from diversifying :R.Miles HBS Note
March 2
Tuesday
Diversification and Corporate Strategy
Guest lecturer:Prof. Harbir Singh
Readings: The limited
March 4
Thursday
Mid term exam
(In class, closed book, closed notes)
March 9
Tuesday
No Class (Spring Break)
March 11
Thursday
No Class (Spring Break)
13
Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
March 16
Scope expansions: Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures
Tuesday
(PP)
Readings :
1. Contractor & Lorange: Why Should Firms Cooperate : The Strategy and
Economics of Cooperative Ventures.
2. Hamel, Doz & Prahalad: Cooperate with your Competitors and Win (HBR)
Optional Readings:
1. Note on the Analysis of Strategic Alliances (HBS)
March 18
Thursday
(PP)
Case : GM and its Asian Alliances
1. If you were Roger Smith, would you have entered into the NUMMI joint venture
with Toyota? Why or why not?
2. What criteria would you use to gauge the success of NUMMI? How can you use
the readings to better assess pluses and minuses of that joint venture?
3. What did Toyota take out of the GM alliance? How did GM’s approach to
alliance shape Toyota’s actions? What were the trade-offs for both parties
involved, and how did they manage them?
4. Identify all of GM’s Alliances. What purpose did each of them serve? How
would you classify them, according to the readings? Do they seem to make sense,
and why / why not? Be prepared to discuss the objective and the way to assess
GM’s alliances.
5. Consider GM and the web of alliances it has entered. What are the particular
challenges of managing a complex and evolving set of alliances, rather than oneoff relationships?
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
PART III – ADVANCED TOPICS, STRATEGY PROCESS AND SYNTHESIS
March 23
Tuesday
Managing in a Global Environment;MGJ
(PP)
Readings :
1. Grant, Chapter 14: Global Strategies and the Multi-National Corporation
2. Ghoshal., S., Global Strategy : An Organizing Framework, (SMJ)
Optional :
1. Kogut B. A note on global strategies (SMJ)
March 25
Thursday
(S.Levine)
Case : Phillips and Matsushita.
1. How did Philips become the leading consumer electronics company in the world
in the postwar era? What were the strengths and competencies they built on?
What were their weaknesses?
2. What, in particular, was the organizational structure that Philips used to dominate
different markets? What were the advantages of its approach? What other
“global” strategic and organizational factors can account for Philips’ success?
3. How did Matsushita manage to displace Philips from its world-wide leadership?
What were its own strengths and failures?
4. Konasuke Matsushita only traveled abroad for the first time when he was 50
years old. How did Matsushita manage to become a global empire, and overtake
Philips in only 30 years? What part of their global strategy could be credited for
that success?
5. Why is Philips undergoing such drastic re-configurations in the 1980’s? And why
is it having such a hard time adjusting and changing? What form do you see
Philips taking, and why? What do you think of Matsushita’s planned changes?
What has brought them about?
6. What parts of the readings can illuminate the evolution of both Matsushita and
Phillips, as well as the sources of their strengths and weaknesses? Be specific in
using some of the concepts provided.
15
Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
March 30
Competition and Strategy in Technology-Intensive Industries
Tuesday
(PP)
Readings:
1. Grant, Chapter 11: Technology-Based Industries and the Management of
Innovation.
2. Porter M. Chapter 8 (Competitive Strategy)
Optional Reading:
1. Teece, Profiting from Technological Innovation
April 1
Thursday
(PP)
Case: EMI and the CT Scanner (A and B)
1.
What were the sources of the capabilities that lead to EMI’s early success
with the scanner? What were the weaknesses in its capabilities that led to its
failure to sustain that success?
2.
What were the advantages and disadvantages of the entry mode EMI chose in
going to the US market? What other alternatives would you think, and how
would you assess their potential value?
3.
What was Powell’s initial belief about the degree to which he had a strong
protection around the innovation? What turned out to be the degree of EMI’s
technology protection?
4.
Can you detect any role for complementary assets and co-specialized products
in EMI’s / CT scanner road to decline? If so, what do you think that EMI
could have done?
5.
What was the role of competitors in EMI’s failure? Could EMI have reacted
differently, and, if so, how? More generally, had Powell been blessed with the
opportunity to read today’s technology readings, how would his decision have
been different?
6.
How can you integrate the lessons learnt last session on managing global
businesses with EMI’s failure? What aspects of its structure and global
strategy were right, and which parts were wrong? What would you have done
differently, and why?
16
Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
April 6
Tuesday
(MGJ)
Spring1999
The Wharton School
Industry evolution, life cycles and network externalities
Swap!!!
Readings
1. Chapters 1 and 7 of Information Rules, Shapiro and Varian
Optional :
1. Increasing Returns and the new world of business, W Brian Arthur HBR
2. Brandenburger and Nalebuff: “The Right Game”, HBR, July-August
1995.
Case: Cusumano et al., "Strategic Maneuvering"
Questions:
April 8
Tuesday
(MGJ)
1.
Who was responsible for the evolution of the VCR industry?
2.
Who were the complementors in each side of this rivalry?
3.
How would this industry have evolved if increasing returns
were not present?
Strategy in a Digital Environment
Readings:
1. Evans& Wurster Strategy and the new economics of information.(HBR)
2. The Virtual Value Chain (HBR)
Optional:
1. The coming of knowledge based business
2. How information technology drives strategy
3. Crane & Bodie The Transformation of banking (HBR)
17
Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
April 13 ,
Knowledge management
Tuesday
(PP)
Readings:
1. Argyris C : Teaching smart people how to learn (HBR article)
2. Nonanka I. The knowledge creating company (HBR article)
3. Grant Chap 17, pp 433-437
Optional:
1. Skandia AFS: Developing intellectual capital globally
April 15
Thursday
(MGJ)
Reading:
Cases:
1. A note on knowledge management (HBS) Pages 1-5 mandatory, 6-20 optional
KPMG: One Giant Brain, and Knowledge Management in McKinsey
Questions
1. How did the KPMG system evolve? In which way was the system adopted ?
What kinds of information were put on the system implemented? What are the
different sorts of knowledge and information? How, very specifically, does
KPMG expect to derive benefit from it?
2. Given the above, are there implications on what kinds of knowledge management
mechanisms and incentives you institute in the face of different kinds of
knowledge?
3. What are the kinds of knowledge that McKinsey is interested to manage, and
what are those KPMG is? Which are the implications of these differences for the
knowledge management policies, both as for organizational structure / incentives
and as for technology used?
4. More generally, what do you see as the impacts of a knowledge management
system on the way a profesional services firm is structured? How do these relate
to career advancement? Centralization vs. autonomy? (differentiate between org.
structure and incentives!)
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Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
April 20:
Tuesday
Spring1999
The Wharton School
Group project presentation
April 22
What is Strategy? Strategy Process vs. Strategy Content,
Thursday
and Course Review
(PP & MGJ)
Readings:
1. Mintzberg, H. “Crafting Strategy” (HBR)
2. Porter M., “What is Strategy?” (HBR)
3. Mickelthwait and Wooldridge ,Introduction and Chapter 2 in "The Witch
Doctors"
Optional Readings:
1.Peters, T., R. Waterman and J. Phillips. “The Seven-S Framework”
2.Mickelthwait and Wooldridge Chapters 7 , in The Witch Doctors
3.Eccles and Nohria Chapters 1 , 2 3, in Beyond The Hype
Case: Honda (A) and (B)
1.
Read first Honda (A) and then Honda (B). What do you think? Is the Boston
Consulting Group analysis valid? Is it just smoke and mirrors? Is it just an
inaccurate description of the motivations of the main strategic actors?
2.
How can you differentiate between strategy as a content (i.e., the information
which refers to who will attain superior performance) and strategy as a
process (i.e., the formal strategic planning cycle)? Are these two incompatible
or complementary notions?
3.
How can you reconcile Mintzberg’s notion of crafting with all the material
we have covered so far? If strategy is such an endogenous, evolutionary,
almost haphazard process, what is the value of using analytical frameworks?
4.
How does the Porter article relate to the material we have covered so far? Do
you agree with his notion of complementarities, and with his caution against
growth as a target? Why / why not? Do you find any evidence of his theory in
Honda’s story?
5.
Given the process reading we have done, what do you think is the take-away
from a content article such as the Porter one – or of indeed, most of the
material we covered so far? Is the knowledge we gained too “theoretical”?
6.
What do you think that you can do with your knowledge of strategy? In which
way can you put your (hopefully superior) knowledge of strategy process and
content at work?
19
Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
BULK PACK LIST: Management 223 – Spring 1998
Business Policy & Strategy – Phanish Puranam & Michael G. Jacobides
* : Optional Reading
1. Syllabus and Course Description
2. A Guide to Case Analysis (p. 285-296)
3. The Return of Strategic Planning. (BusinessWeek)
4. Valuing Companies (Economist)
5. Chapters 1 and 2 ,from Why Firms Succeed , John Kay
6. Chapter 13 from Why Firms Succeed , John Kay*
7. Porter, M. Competitive Strategy, Chapt. 5 (pp. 88-100)
8. Chapter 13 from Pindyck and Rubenfeld
9. Porter, M. - Note on the Structural Analysis of Industries (HBS Note 376054) *
10. The Airline Industry 1978-1988 (A) and (B) [HBS cases 9-390-025 and 9-390-026]
11. Porter, M. Competitive Strategy, Chapter 2 (Generic Strategies) pp. 34-46
12. Porter, M., Competitive Advantage, Chapter 2 (Value Chain) pp. 33-61
13. Hudepohl Brewing Company [HBS case 9-381-092]
14. Core Competence, Prahalad & Hamel (HBR reprint 90311)
15. Competing on resources (Montgomery and Collis) HBR reprint
16. Stalk, Evans, and Shulman: Competing on Capabilities (HBR reprint 92209)*
17. Montgomery: Resources: The Essence of Corporate Advantage
[HBS Teaching Note N1-792-064] *
18. Nucor at Crossroads [HBS case 9-793-039]
19. Coordinating the Supply Chain, from Womack, Jones and Roos, The Machine that Changed the
World, chapter 6., pp. 138-168
20
Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
20. Kay J, Chapter 4 ,Relationships and contracts, from Why firms succeed
21. Dyer, Cho and Chu: Strategic Supplier Segmentation, California Management Review *
22. International Sourcing in Athletic Footwear: Nike and Reebok [HBS case N9-304-189]
23. The Walt Disney Company (A) and (B) [HBS cases 1-388-147 and 1-794-129]
24. Chapter 10 (Mergers) from Why firms succeed by John Kay
25. Blare, M., A Primer on Corporate Governance, Chapter 2, Ownership and Control
26. Sears-Roebuck Case, from Monks and Minow, Corporate Governance, pp. 399-411
27. Mastering the Acquisition Process, chapter 1: The Key to Value Creation
28. Mastering the Acquisition Process, chapter 6: Understanding the Integration Process. *
29. Kraft-General Foods: The Merger (A) [Harvard Business School case 9-391-139]
30. Creating Corporate Advantage (Montgomery and Collis) HBR reprint 98303
31. Note on Diversification as a Strategy, M. Salter and M. Porter [HBS # 9-382-129]
32. Learning from Diversifying: R Miles HBS Note 9-481-060
33. Contractor, F. & Lorange, P. 1988. Why Should Firms Cooperate : The Strategy and Economics
of Cooperative Ventures.
34. Hamel, Doz, and Prahalad: Cooperate with your Competitors and Win (HBR reprint 89104)
35. Note on the Analysis of Strategic Alliances (HBS note 9-939-029) *
36. GM and Its Asian Alliances [Harvard Business School case 9-388-094]
37. Ghoshal, S.: Global Strategy: An Organizing Framework (Strategic Management Journal).
38. Kogut, B: A note on global strategies (Strategic Management Journal)*
39. Philips and Matsushita [Harvard Business School case 9-392-156]
40. Porter, M. Competitive Strategy, Chapter 8 (Industry evolution)
41. Teece, D., Profiting from Technological Innovation *
21
Management 223 - Business Policy & Strategy
Phanish Puranam & Michael G Jacobides
Spring1999
The Wharton School
42. EMI and the CT Scanner (A) and (B) [HBS cases 383-194 and 383-195]
43. Chapter 1 and 7 of Information Rules, by Shapiro and Varian
44. Increasing Returns and the new world of business, W Brian Arthur HBR reprint 96401*
45. Brandenburger and Nalebuff: “The Right Game”, HBR reprint 95402.*
46. Cusumano et al, Strategic maneouvering (Betamax / VHS case)
47. Strategy and the new economics of information, Evans and Wurster, HBR reprint 97504
48. The Virtual Value Chain, HBR reprint 95610
49. The coming of knowledge based business *
50. M. Porter & Milar How information technology drives strategy*
51. The transformation of banking, Crane and Bodie, HBR reprint 96205*
52. Teaching smart people how to learn, by Chris Argyris HBS reprint 91301
53. The knowledge creating company , by Ijuro Nonaka , HBS reprint 91608
54. Skandia AFS: developing intellectual capital globally (HBS case 9-396-412)
55. Note on knowledge management HBS teaching note 9-398-031
56. KPMG Peat Marwick US: One giant brain HBS case 9-397-108
57. McKinsey & Co. Managing knowledge and learning HBS case 9-396-357
58. Mintzberg, H. “Crafting Strategy”
59. Porter, M., What is Strategy? (HBR reprint 96608)
60. Introduction and Chapter 1, in Mickelthwait and Wooldridge, Witch Doctors
61. Peters, T., R. Waterman and J. Phillips. “The Seven-S Framework”*
62. Chapter 7, Mickelthwait and Wooldridge, Witch Doctors*
63. Chapters 1, 2 & 3, in Eccles and Nohria, Beyond The Hype*
64. Honda (A) and (B) [Harvard Business School cases 9-384-049 and 9-384-050]
22