Stevens Institute of Technology
Howe School of Technology Management
Syllabus
MGT 699
Strategic Management
Semester: Spring 2014
Instructor Name & Contact Information:
Murad A. Mithani, Ph.D.
Phone: 201-216-3462
Email: murad.mithani@stevens.edu
Day of Week/Time: Tuesday 6:15 – 8:45pm
Morton Complex 205
Office Hours:
Babbio 411: Monday-4:00 pm to 6:00pm and By
Appointment
Class Website:
Moodle
Course Description
This course develops an understanding of the fundamentals of strategic management in the
context of profit and non-profit organizations. Topics treated include: assessment of
organizational environment and capabilities; sources of competitive advantage; organizational
resources and structure; and governance systems with some exposure to the agency theory,
behavioral theory of the firm, prospect theory and the stakeholder theory. The case method of
instruction is used extensively in this course.
Course Objectives
MGT 699 is a core course in the MBA program. It aims to familiarize students with the various
tools available for strategy development, execution and evaluation, and to build on this
foundation an intuitive understanding of the corporate, business and functional level strategies.
Course Outcomes
After completing this course, the student will be able to :
1. Comprehend the elements of the Strategic Management process, research and theories.
2. Apply the Strategic Management process to real life business cases, including current
world/business news, and develop recommendations to help firms create and sustain
competitive advantage.
3. Become proficient in the use of concepts and terminologies associated with strategic
management through individual and team assignments.
4. Recognize and appreciate the general manager’s cross-functional perspective of complex
problems and the decision making process required to build strategy in organizations.
1
Required Text(s)
Text: Pearce and Robinson,. Strategic Management: Planning for Domestic & Global
Competition. McGraw-Hill Irwin: New York.
Edition: 13th; ISBN: 007-802-9295
Additional Readings
There are supplemental readings (articles and cases) for most classes. Most of those readings
will be available on Moodle. If not, the instructions for how to obtain those readings will be
available on Moodle.
Assignments
Readings, lectures, case analyses/discussions, and class exercises will be employed to achieve
the above objectives.
Brief Description of Assignments:
(Note that more detailed description is available in the slides for Class 1)
Class Participation
To get the most learning from this course, you must actively participate in the classroom
experience. Participation means actively participating in the course discussions. Examples of
‘active’ participation include:
 Contributing new and relevant information to the course discussion and from readings of
the textbooks;
 Commenting in a positive manner;
 Building on the remarks of your fellow students;
 Posing questions to your fellow students;
 Demonstrating practical application of the week's key concepts from your professional
and personal experience.
Individual Presentations
Each student will prepare and present one of the class readings during the course. The use of
power point is encouraged. The presentation will be accompanied by a 1-page (double sided)
handout that summarizes the key ideas of the reading. Students have to submit three choices
pertaining to their selected readings (and the corresponding date of presentation) by the 2nd class.
The layout of the presentation is discussed in Class 1 slides (available on Moodle).
Group Presentations
All student groups will prepare all cases assigned to the class. Of these, each group is expected to
present three (4) cases during the course, serve as decision committee resembling the top
management team for three (4) other cases that are presented by their peer groups. The first of
these cases will be preparatory and will not have any accompanying report.
The three cases that are expected to be presented by each group include two cases assigned by
the instructor. The final case requires the development of a strategic management program for an
actual company that the group has chosen. The plan will include the identification of a new
market for the expansion of the company and the necessary details that are sufficient to convince
the top management of the company regarding the feasibility of the idea.
Presentation: Groups are expected to present their findings in 10 minutes to the class (20
2
minutes for the final presentation).
Written Report: All presentations will be accompanied by a 10 page report (final project
needs to include projected income statements for 5 years and the explanations of each
revenue and cost item as an appendix). The report for the first two presentations will be
submitted in the same class as the presentation and the report for the final presentation is due
in the second-last class.
Submission Requirements
I expect professional, high-quality work. Writing style, grammar, and spelling will be
considered in determining the grades. All written assignments must be typed on a computer,
double-spaced and in 12-point font such as Times New Roman with one-inch margins at all
sides.
All assignments must be submitted on or before the specified due date. I will not accept
any late assignments.
Presentation Reviews
As mentioned above, each student group will also function as decision committee (management
team) to evaluate the quality and preparedness of the presentation from their peer groups. This is
an integral component of the course and students are expected to use these opportunities to
understand the norms of evaluating and critiquing peers. This duty will be randomly assigned in
each class and requires all groups to be prepared with the case even when they are not
responsible for the presentation.
Exam
There will be two quizzes in the semester. Their dates are listed on the schedule. They will
mostly include multiple choice questions (including a case) and will cover all the material
discussed until the previous class. Each quiz will last approximately 45 minutes.
Your grade in the course will be based on the following:
Individual Assignments:
Individual Presentation
Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Team Assignments:
Presentation 2
Review 2
Presentation 3
Review 3
Presentation 4 (Final)
Review 4 (Final)
In-Class Exercises
Total
Grade Percent
10%
15%
15%
10%
5%
10%
5%
20%
10%
15%
100% + 15% Bonus Marks
3
Grading
A
AB
B-
93-100
90-92
87-89
83-86
C+
C
CF
80-82
77-79
73-76
<70
Ethical Conduct
The following statement is printed in the Stevens Graduate Catalog and applies to all students
taking Stevens courses, on and off campus.
“Cheating during in-class tests or take-home examinations or homework is, of course, illegal and
immoral. A Graduate Academic Evaluation Board exists to investigate academic improprieties,
conduct hearings, and determine any necessary actions. The term ‘academic impropriety’ is
meant to include, but is not limited to, cheating on homework, during in-class or take home
examinations and plagiarism.”
Consequences of academic impropriety are severe, ranging from receiving an “F” in a course, to
a warning from the Dean of the Graduate School, which becomes a part of the permanent student
record, to expulsion.
Reference:
The Graduate Student Handbook, Academic Year 2003-2004 Stevens
Institute of Technology, page 10.
Consistent with the above statements, all homework exercises, tests and exams that are
designated as individual assignments must contain the following signed statement before they
can be accepted for grading.
“I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this
assignment/examination. I further pledge that I have not copied any material from a book, article,
the Internet or any other source except where I have expressly cited the source.”
Signature ________________
Date: _____________
The following statement is printed in the Stevens Graduate Catalog and applies to all students
taking Stevens courses, on and off campus. I will follow these guidelines in our class.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism, unfortunately, is a common ethical offense. Please note that the definition provided
by Webster’s for plagiarism is: “the unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another
author and the representation of them as one’s own.” It is the responsibility of the student to
understand basic rules for referencing material. The excuse that you did not understand such
rules (e.g., because of language barriers) is not acceptable.
Consequences of academic impropriety are severe, ranging from receiving an “F” in a course, to
a warning from the Dean of the Howe School, which becomes a part of the permanent student
record, to expulsion.
4
Course Schedule
The Course Schedule includes a summary of what we will be covering in each week (e.g., topics,
text chapters, additional readings) as well as the due dates for individual and team assignments.
Please refer to this schedule on a regular basis. Revisions may be made to the schedule as the
semester progresses and will be announced in class. Please check Moodle frequently.
SPRING 2014
Week
Dates
1
1/14
Topics
Course Overview
- Fundamentals
- Vision, Mission, SWOT
Strategic Planning
2
1/21 Competitive Advantage
- Types
- Ansoff Strategy Matrix
3
1/28 External Environment
-5 Forces
4
2/04
Internal Environment
- VRIN
Strategic Organization
5
2/11 Organizational
Structure
- BCG Matrix
- Product life cycle
6
2/25 Organizing
Internationally
- Mergers & Acquisitions
Strategic Leadership
7
3/04
QUIZ 1
Strategy
Implementation
- McKinsey 7S
- Strategic Fit
8
3/18 Strategic Advantage
- FMA/SMA/LMA
9
3/25
Power and Politics
- Managing relationships
Strategic Control
10
4/01 Evaluation
- Agency Problem
- Corporate Governance
11
4/08
QUIZ 2
Corporate Social
Responsibility
12
4/15 Feedback Loop
- Reviewing Strategy
- Behavioral Theory
Text
Readings
-
Individual Presentation (Papers are
fixed for each date)
Deliverables
-
-
Chapters 1
&2
-
Chapter 4
&5
Kanter (2011) - How great companies
think differently.
Porter (1996) - What is strategy?
Kotter and Schlesinger (2009) Choosing strategies for Change
Kim Mauborgne (2002) - Charting your
company's future.
Individual
Assignment
1 (no grade)
Individual
Assignment
2 (no grade)
Chapter 6
Chapter 9
& 11
Chapter 7
Chapter
10 & 12
Chapter 8
Clegg
'2005:
Chapter 5
Chapter
13
Chapter 3
Chapter
14
Prahalad and Hamel (1990) - The core
competence of the corporation.
Kim and Mauborgne (2004) - Blue ocean
strategy.
Eccles, Lanes and Wilson (1999) - Are
you paying too much for that acq?
Lovallo and Kahneman (2003) Delusions of Success.
Porter & Millar (1985) - How
Information gives you competitive
advantage.
Kaplan and Norton (2008) - Mastering
the management system.
Porter (1990) – Comp. adv. of nations.
Bartlett and Ghoshal (2000) - Going
global: Lessons from late movers.
Krackhardt Hanson (1993) - Informal
Networks.
Maccoby (2000) - Narcissistic leaders.
Pozen (2011) - The case for prof. boards.
Breene Nunes Shill (2007) - Chief
strategy officer.
Porter Kramer (2002) – Competitive
advantage of corp. philanthropy.
Kanter (1999) - From spare to real change
Nunes Breene (2011) - Reinvent your
business before its too late.
Bladwin Clark (1997) – Man. modularity
CASE 1
Presentation
(no grade)
Individual
Assignment
3 (no grade)
CASE 2
Presentation
and Report
CASE 3
Presentation
and Report
-
-
5
13
4/22
Integrating the
Strategic Plan
-
14
4/29
Final Presentations
-
Thomke Hippel (2002) - Customers as
Innov.
Johnson Christensen Kagermann (2008) Reinventing your business model.
-
CASE 4
(Final)
Report
CASE 4
(Final)
Presentation
6