THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON
BUSA 4322 – Organization Strategy
Spring 2006
Section:
044
Instructor:
Abdul Rasheed
230 Business Building
Ph: 272-3867
e-mail: abdul@uta.edu
Office Hours:
By appointment
Class Time and Location:
Mondays and Wednesdays
9:30 - 10:50 p.m.
Required Text:
Dess, G.G., Lumpkin, G.T., and Eisner,A.B.
Strategic Management: Text and Cases.. (2nd Edition) McGrawHill Irwin 2006.
Additional Reading:
Businessweek, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, etc.
Room 251
Course Description
The focus of this Business Policy course is on corporate level and business unit-level strategy
formulation and implementation. It requires the application of the knowledge and techniques learned in the
earlier courses in an integrated fashion and also introduces the critical business skills of planning and
managing strategic activities. The topics to be covered include the relationship of organizations to their
environments, organizational mission and objectives, formal and informal approaches to strategic planning,
the role of organizational structure in the context of strategy formulation and implementation and the
mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of strategic decisions and their implementation.
Along with the text material, case studies will be used in this course as a mechanism for the
development of analytical and decision-making skills and highlighting the reality of organizational and
environmental uncertainties in strategic decision-making. In short, this course attempts to encourage an
integrated multifunctional, "general management" perspective of the organization and its environment to
develop skills necessary and appropriate to corporate-level and divisional-level policy analysis, formulation and
implementation. You will be required to study the assigned text and cases, analyze them and share your
insights with the rest of the class.
Evaluation and Grading Procedure
The final grade for the course will be based on performance in the following:
Exams
Wall Street Journal Assignment
Term Paper
Class Participation
50%
20% (See page 8 of syllabus)
20%
10%
See next page for important information about evaluation and grading.
Assessment Exam
This class has been selected to receive an Assessment Exam this
semester. Most likely, this exam will be administered by an external
agency sometime in early to mid April. The Assessment Exam will cover
the entire course material and will be an important part of determining
whether our students are meeting their learning objectives. Your final grade
in the course will reflect your performance in the Assessment Exam. The
exact weight to be placed on the Exam is yet to be decided. Therefore, the
distribution of weights provided on page 1 is subject to further changes. We
may also be making minor changes to our class schedule to accommodate
the Assessment Exam.
This is a cell phone free class.
You are not allowed to connect to the internet during the class.
BUSA 4322
Tentative Course Outline
Session
Date
Topic/Assignment
________________________________________________________________________________________
__________
1 Jan 18
Introduction/Administrative Matters
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2
Jan 23
Chap 1: Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages
- Strategic Management Process
- Stakeholder Management
- Vision and Mission
3 Jan 25
Case: The Skeleton in the Corporate Closet (Case 36, p. 834)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Was it possible for the right thing to be a lie?
2.
Should Hap Parker disclose the contents of the letter?
3.
What obligations does Hap Parker have to his multiple stakeholders?
4.
What options does Hap Parker have?
________________________________________________________________________________________
______
4
Jan 30
Chap 2: Analyzing the External Environment of the Firm
- General Environment
5
Feb 1
- Industry Analysis
- Strategic Groups
6
Feb 6
7
Feb 8
Case: Crown Cork & Seal in 1989 (Case 10, p. 597)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Using Porter’s framework, discuss each of the five competitive forces
facing the industry.
2.
What are the key strategic issues that Avery needs to consider?
What
strategic options are open to him?
3.
How well did Crown Cork do under John Connelly? What were the keys to
their success?
4.
What significant changes are taking place in the industry? How should the
new CEO, Bill Avery, respond? Is it finally time to change the Connelly
strategy that has been successful for over 30 years?
________________________________________________________________________________________
_______
8
Feb 13
Using Library Resources: An Overview
________________________________________________________________________________________
3
9
Feb 15
Chap 3: Assessing the Internal Environment of the Firm
- Value Chain Analysis
&
10
- Resource-Based View
- Evaluating Performance
Feb 20
Case: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Case 18, p. 670)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Analyze Green Mountain’s external environment. What are the general
environmental factors that have impact on this industry?
2.
What are the external forces of competition affecting this industry?
3.
Analyze the Green Mountain internal environment. What does the value chain
look like?
What about resources?
How would you evaluate strengths,
weaknesses and synergies?
4.
What business level strategy does Green Mountain appear to pursue?
What niche (cost, differentiation, focus) do they fill in this highly competitive
industry, and is it sustainable?
5.
What corporate level strategy should Green Mountain pursue?
________________________________________________________________________________________
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11
Feb 22
Chap 4: Recognizing a Firm’s Intellectual Assets: Moving beyond a Firm=s
Tangible Resources
- Human Capital
- Social Capital
- Technology
________________________________________________________________________________________
______
12 Feb 27
Chap 5: Business Level Strategy
- Cost Leadership
- Differentiation
- Industry Life Cycle
Case: Outback Steakhouse Goes International (Case 28p. 764)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Evaluate the various aspects of Outback’s strategy. Why has the
company been so successful?
2.
Are Outback’s various strategy components sustainable in the
domestic market? Are they transferable to the international markets?
Why? Why not?
3.
What markets should the company enter? In what order? What
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modifications in strategy will be required for these markets?
4.
Is expansion into international markets appropriate for Outback at this
time?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
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13
Mar 1
Chap 6: Corporate-Level Strategy: Creating Value through Diversification
- Related and Unrelated Diversification
- Mergers, Acquisitions, Alliances and Internal Development
- Managerial Motives
14 Mar 6
Overflow
________________________________________________________________________________________
15 Mar 8
MID-TERM EXAM
_______________________________________________________________________________________
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16 Mar 20
Case: Wal-Mart’s Strategy for the 21st Century: Sustaining Dominance (Case
41, p. 876)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Describe Sam Walton’s marketing/pricing concepts and how his basic
beliefs shaped Wal-Mart corporate culture.
2.
How did Wal-Mart’s management build on these fundamental values
and establish distinctive competencies to sustain growth throughout
the 90’s?
3.
What were the major challenges facing the firm as 2003 ended?
4.
Develop a “strategic intent” for the firm, recommending the set of
future/targeted distinctive competencies required to sustain 15+%
annual growth over the next 5 years.
________________________________________________________________________________________
17 Mar 22
Chap 7: International Strategy: Creating Value in Global Markets
&
18 Mar 27
- National Competitiveness
- International Expansion
- Global and Multidomestic Strategies
5
Case: Go Global – or No? (Case 17, p. 666)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Should DataClear go global?
2.
What might be some of the motivations for DataClear to pursue
international expansion? What are the associated risks?
3.
If DataClear moves to an international operation, what type of structure
should they adopt to ensure close and effective working relationships
between and among their various functional activities?
4.
If they remain a domestic operation, what might DataClear need to
consider regarding their current structure?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______
19 Mar 29
Chap 8: Digital Business Strategy: Leveraging Internet and E-Business Capabilities
- Internet and Five-Forces Analysis
- Competitive Strategies
- Sustainability
20 April 3
1.
Case: Panera Bread Company (Case 29, p. 783)
Issues for Analysis
How would you approach the question of “Can Panera achieve its ambitious
goals in light of the macro environmental forces? How would you
characterize the environment in which Panera operates, and how would you
evaluate the opportunities and threats to Panera or its business model?
2.
How would you characterize the strategies of Panera Bread Company, and
evaluate its effectiveness?
3.
Based on the answers to the above two questions, what would your answer
be to the case question of attainability of Panera’s goals?
4.
What general conclusions can you draw about effective strategic
management?
______________________________________________________________________________________
________
21 Apr 5
Chap 9: Strategic Control and Corporate Governance
- Traditional Approach
- Behavioral Control
- Strategic Control at Different Levels
22 Apr 10
Case: JetBlue Airways (Case 22 p. 700)
Issues for Analysis
1. Analyze the industry environment of JetBlue.
2. Analyze the internal environment of JetBlue
3. What are the salient aspects of JetBlue’s culture?
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4. Discuss the bases of JetBlue’s competitive advantage, and the merits and
demerits of both the components. Are combination strategies better? Is
JetBlue’s competitive advantage sustainable?
5. How will the new Embraer Jets impact the firm’s strategy? How
should they handle it?
______________________________________________________________________________________
________
23
Apr 12
Chap10: Creating Effective Organizational Designs
- Patterns of Growth
- Structural Forms
- Boundaryless Structures
24
Apr 17
Assurance of Learning Testing Related Discussion
Overflow materials
______________________________________________________________________________________
________
25 Apr 19
Chap 11: Strategic Leadership: Creating a Learning Organization and an Ethical
Organization
- Leadership Activities
- Knowledge and Creativity
- Ethics
26 Apr 24
Case: Trouble in Paradise (Case 40, p. 872)
Issues for Analysis
1.
Is the current joint venture structure adequate to ensure close and
effective working relationships between and among the various
functions and activities?
2.
What might be some of the original motivations for Heartland Spindle
to pursue an international operation?
What are the current
associated risks?
3.
Which entry strategy should Heartland Spindle have chosen that might
have minimized the degree of investment risk while maintaining
appropriate ownership and control? Should they consider changing
their strategy now?
4.
Evaluate Mike Graves’ ability to be a change agent and to overcome
barriers?
________________________________________________________________________________________
27 Apr 26
Chap 12: Managing Innovation and Fostering Corporate Entrepreneurship
- Innovation
- Corporate Entrepreneurship
7
- Entrepreneurial Orientation
28 May 1
Case: Segway: A New Dimension in Human Transportation (Case 35, p. 825)
Issues for Analysis
1.
To what degree has the Segway Company identified and analyzed
the overarching goals of the organization?
2.
Does Segway need a mission? If so, what should it be?
3.
What are some specific strategic objectives Segway should pursue;
what is the time frame and how should each be measured?
4.
To what degree has the Segway Company showed adequate
awareness of the opportunities and threats they face in the external
environment, and the resources and capabilities of their internal
organization?
5.
What’s going on in the external environment that might have to be
considered in order to craft an effective strategy for Segway?
6.
What internal resources and capabilities does Segway have that might
help them craft an effective strategy?
7.
To what degree has the Segway Company formulated an effective
strategy for gaining a competitive advantage?
8.
Who are Segway’s competitors?
9.
What generic strategy might Segway choose to use to further
develop this competitive advantage? What problems do you foresee
with your chosen strategy?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
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29 May 3
Chap 13: Recognizing Opportunities and Creating New Ventures
- Opportunity Recognition
- Entrepreneurial Resources
- Entrepreneurial Strategy
________________________________________________________________________________________
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FINAL
EXAMS
May 8 - Monday 9 – 11:00 am – 12:20 pm
________________________________________________________________________________________
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Two Important Rules to Remember
1.
2.
Switch off cell phones when you come to the class.
During the class, you cannot engage in activities unrelated to the class like reading
newspapers, doing assignments for other classes etc.
Violation of the above rules will result in severe penalties
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Wall Street Journal Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze critically a recent article (dated within four months from the
assignment due date) from the Wall Street Journal selected by the student. The assignment is to be done in
groups of two. "Base articles" will be approved on a "first come/first served" basis. There will be only two groups
permitted to use the same basic article. Approvals for base articles are to be obtained before Feb 13, 2005, and
the assignment is due by March 8, 2005.
An illustrative list of issues that the WSJ article may focus on is given below.
Internal Growth
Concentration
Market Development
Product Development
Innovation
Joint Ventures
External Acquisition Growth
Horizontal Integration
Vertical Integration
Concentric Diversification
Conglomerate Diversification
Disinvestment
Retrenchment, Operating Efficiency
Turnaround, Product/Marketing Refocus
Divestiture, Liquidation
Management Development
Labor Relations
Internationalization
Marketing (or emphasis on another functional area)
Corporate Culture
Reorganization, Restructure
Strategy Implementation
Organization Structure
Importance of Industry Context on Organizational Performance
You should address issues such as the following (may differ with regard to topic areas):
1.
2.
3.
What is the rationale (or lack thereof) for the action/decision?
Is the action/decision consistent with the organization's overall
strategy?
What do you think will be the implications of the action/decision
i.e., how should the action/decision improve or detract from the
organization's performance?
To address the above issues, the student should use a minimum of seven (7) outside sources of
information. Suggested references include Annual Reports, 10-K Forms, Business Week, Wall Street Journal,
Forbes, Fortune, and Moody's Industrial Manual. Do not rely too much on the same references -- select a
variety.
The written assignments should be approximately ten double-spaced (12 CPI) pages, (excluding
references and Exhibits). Ensure that the paper has an executive summary and that it is divided into sections
and subsections in a logical manner. "Stream of consciousness" papers will be severely penalized.
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