MMS 490S.03
SPRING 2015
GAME CHANGERS: FROM PANDA DIPLOMACY TO ZIPCAR
Instructor:
Dr. Pikuei Tu
E-mail:
pikuei.tu@duke.edu (please put in the subject line: MMS490PANDA)
Phone:
919-668-1927
Office:
017 John Hope Franklin Center
Class time:
Tuesdays 4:40 pm to 7:10 pm @ Gross Hall 104
Office hours:
Wednesdays 2:30-4:00 pm or by appointment
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to discover and draw inspiration from different types of game changers in a
variety of fields and disciplines--from politics and policy to business, environment and social
movement. The class will investigate how out-of-box thinking has brought creativity to problem
solving and changed the way people live, connect, and contribute to the society. We will also examine
the relevant factors and courage that helped successfully implement the core ideas that
innovators/entrepreneurs have encountered along the way. Students are to collaborate, identify, and
analyze paradigm-shifting ideas that would make meaningful impact for the society and our lives.
REQUIRED TEXT & READINGS
Catmull, Ed. & Wallace, Amy, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the
Way of True Inspiration, Random House, New York, ©2014. ISBN: 978-0-8041-3929-8
Drucker, Peter F., Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Harper & Row, New York, ©1985. ISBN:
978-0-06-085113-2
Froehlich, Julia K., Gibbert, Michael, Hoegl, & Martin, Using Thematic Thinking to Acheieve
Business Success, Growth, and Innovation, Pearson, Upper Saddle River, NJ, ©2014 ISBN:
978-0-13-344807-8
Gawande, Atul, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, Picador, New Year, ©2009.
ISBN: 978-0312430009
Mayer-Schönberger, Viktor & Cukier Kenneth, Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How
We Live, Work, and Think, Eamon Dolan/Mariner Books, ©2013 ISBN: 978-0544227750
Rumelt, Richard, Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters, Crown
Business, New York, ©2011. ISBN: 978-0307886231
Thiel, Peter A. & Masters, Blake, Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future,
Crown Business, New York, ©2014. ISBN: 978-0-8129-9301-1
o Additional supplemental readings and cases will be announced and/or distributed in class.
MMS490S.03 – Game Changers, Spring 2015
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FORMAT & CLASS ORIENTATION
The seminar course includes a mixture of learning activities together – class discussions, case studies,
individual and group projects and presentations. It is critical that each of you comes to class prepared.
“Prepared” means that you have completed the assigned work and readings as required AND are
ready to lead and discuss how they might apply or relate, or to raise questions about material that does
not make sense to you. Your full participation is required to achieve the goal of active and interactive
learning.
Class Participation, Preparation & Attendance Policy:
You are expected to complete assigned reading before each class and fully participate in class and
case discussion by bringing in examples/ideas, raising/answering questions, and offering
opinions/explanations. The quality as well as frequency of your participation will be evaluated as
part of the participation.
Electronic Devises (cell phones/laptops/tablets): all personal electronic devises including but not
limited to cell phones and computers are to be turned off before entering class. Texting is
considered using an electronic devise, thus not permitted in class. If a cell phone or other such
electronic devise goes off during class, the class may receive an unannounced quiz and the student
may be recorded as absent for that class.
Honor Code: Students are expected to observe and respect the University Honor Code. Any form
of cheating or plagiarism will result in an F grade for the course and possibly be subject to the
university disciplinary action (signing attendance sheet for your classmate is a form of
cheating/forgery.)
Assignments: Throughout the semester, a number of book analytical reports, short cases, field
research and exercises will be assigned. I expect you to have spent a sufficient amount of time
researching and preparing notes which will assist you in learning and during class discussion. All
written reports and assignments are due on Mondays at 5:00 pm, in other words, the day before class.
Typed-written work is mandatory for all assignments. I will not accept late assignments.
Team Project & Presentation: You are to work on one group project this semester. Each group will
research, analyze, and present analysis and forecast on an assigned topic. One written project report
with a complete list of relevant research reference is required. Teams are encouraged to meet with me
in advance or by appointments regarding your analyses, strategy approach, presentation style, etc.
The project should consider and apply the concepts and strategies we cover in class and in the text.
The presentation should be 30 minutes plus a Q & A (lead discussion) session. The in-class
presentation will be graded by the entire class and the instructor; and the written reports will be
graded by the instructor.
MMS490S.03 – Game Changers, Spring 2015
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Book Analytical Report and Presentation: You are to work on two separate book analytical reports.
You will also be provided with a short case study along with each of the books and then conduct
additional research to gather a fuller picture of the company/organization discussed in the case and its
industry. Prepare and submit a 15-minute PPT presentation on each of the two assigned books along
with the cases.
Individual Game Changer Project: You are to identify a game changer as your personal project for the
semester. Prepare a 15-minute presentation and convince your audience why you believe the
topic/phenomenon/organization you have identified is a game changer and in what ways. Detailed
guideline will be distributed in class.
Final Exam: The Final Exam may include multiple-choice and short answer/essay questions drawn
from the text, lectures, case studies, and class discussions. No makeup exam will be given.
GRADING
20% Class participation & attendance
20% Team Project
20%
10%
15%
15%
Two Book Analytical Reports
Homework assignments, individual case reflections and pop quizzes
Individual Game Changer Project
Final Exam
100% Total
MMS490S.03 – Game Changers, Spring 2015
pg. 3 of 5
Date
1/13
1/20
CLASS SCHEDULE & ASSIGNED READINGS
Topics and Cases
Readings & Assignments
Seminar Introduction
Panda Diplomacy
Lady Gaga Case study:
Making money from music
1/27
Amazon.com
Baker Stove Case Study:
Safe Cooking
2/3
Crowdsourcing
GE Case study:
GE’s innovator community
2/10
Henry Ford and the Ford
Motor Co.
Dyson Case Study: Washing
Hands the Thematic Way
2/17
Ted: Ideas Worth Spreading
Fiat and Lavazza Case Study:
Italian Lifestyle on the Road
2/24
Shale Gas Fracking
Xiaomi Case Study:
How Xiaomi wooed the best
suppliers
3/3
Changing Political Landscape
IKEA and TCL Case Study:
Swedish Design Meets Chinese
Technology
3/10
Review Syllabus
Thematic Thinking Ch. 1
Deloitte: Brawn from Brains
Washington Post: China, Malaysia and the weird world of panda diplomacy
Vox: How China wins friends and influences people — with pandas
Without Model: Lady Gaga – a new business model in the music industry?
Thematic Thinking Ch. 2
Economist: Taking the long view
Fast Company: The Real Story Behind Jeff Bezos's Fire Phone Debacle And What
It Means For Amazon's Future
Bloomberg: Jeff Bezos
Fast Company: A Simple, Elegant Stove to Make cooking Safer in Africa
Thematic Thinking Ch. 3
Mayer-Schönberger, Viktor & Cukier Kenneth (2013) Big Data
NYTimes: Big Data book review
Huffington Post: Crowdsourcing: Just a Trend of a Real Game-Changer?
Crowdsourcing Explained
Clean Technica: Corporate Open Innovation Platforms That Can Be Helpful For
Cleantech Startups, Universities & Research Labs
Thematic Thinking Ch. 4
Drucker, Peter (1985) Innovation and Entrepreneurship
NYTimes: Innovation and Entrepreneurship book review
HBR: Leadership in Denial
The Henry Ford: Henry Ford and Innovation
PBS: American Experience: Henry Ford
Fast Comany: Dyson’s Latest Coup: A $1,500 Sink Faucet That Dries Hands, Too
Thematic Thinking Ch. 5
Catmull, Ed. & Wallace, Amy (2014) Creativity, Inc.
WSJ: Creativity, Inc book review
HBR: When TED Lost Control of Its Crowd
Entrepreneur: Why You Need to Know TED
Forbes: Make A Bigger Impact: 3 Success Strategies Entrepreneurs Can Learn
From TED Talks
CNN: Debate brews around espresso machines in new Fiat
Thematic Thinking Ch. 6
Gawande, Atul (2009) The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
NYTimes: The Checklist Manifesto book review
Economist: Shale Oil- In a bind
U.S.News: An Energy Lifeline: Fracking a Game-Changer for U.S. Economy
Fracking Explained
The Guardian: China rising: Xiaomi becomes world's third biggest smartphone
manufacturer
Thematic Thinking Ch. 7
Thiel, Peter (2014) Zero to One.
The Atlantic: Zero to One book review
The New Yorker: Covert Operations
BBC: Money in Politics, More than a Game
NPR: How the Koch Brothers Remade America’s Political Landscape
Forbes: The business behind Change.org’s activist petitions
CNN: Change.org gets 25 million from big names
Slate: An Ikea Television? Why Not?
Spring Break (No Classes)
MMS490S.03 – Game Changers, Spring 2015
pg. 4 of 5
3/17
Toms Shoes
3/24
Zipcar, and now Uber?
Adidas Case Study:
Teenage Consumption
3/31
4/7
4/14
4/21
5/1
Game Changer Project
Presentations and Case
Discussions
Game Changer Project
Presentations and Case
Discussions
Game Changer Project
Presentations and Case
Discussions
Semester Review
Final Exam 7 pm – 10 pm
MMS490S.03 – Game Changers, Spring 2015
Game Changer Project Progress Report and Discussions
Standford Social Innvoation Review (2014): Inside the Buy-One Give-One Model
The New Yorker: Beyond Buy-One-Give-One Retail
PRI: TOMS Shoes rethinks its ‘buy one give one’ model of helping the needy
Triple Pundit: How Toms Shoes and Warby Parker Give Differently
Dreamwork- Bee Movie (2007)
Thematic Thinking Ch. 8
Rumelt, Richard (2011) Good Strategy Bad Strategy
The Washington Times: Good Strategy Bad Strategy book review
EMC2: Innovating a Business Model
Inc.: How Fast Can This Thing Go, Anyway?
Dx3 Digest: Game-Changing Retail Tech: Adidas’ Neo Window Shopping
Prepare for presentations and critiques
(project/case readings distributed in advance)
Prepare for presentations and critiques
(project/case readings distributed in advance)
Prepare for presentations and critiques
(project/case readings distributed in advance)
Thematic Thinking Ch. 9
Cumulative Final Exam
pg. 5 of 5