355002001
MBA
Strategic Management
Fall Semester, 2012
3 credit hours
Professor Yegmin Chang, Ph.D.
Department of Business Administration
Office: 1012 Comm Bldg
Phone: x-81012
Email: ymchang@nccu.edu.tw
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is the capstone course in the MBA program. After finishing functional
management courses such as marketing management, financial management, human resource
management, etc. with which to learn to become a competent functional manager, students
will study this course to learn how to integrate these functional courses and make business
decisions that view the company as a whole. In other words, students learn to analyze business
problems or issues confronting the total enterprise, not just interpret them as personnel,
money, product, or production problems. The total enterprise perspective is the strategy
perspective and making strategic decision from the-company-as-a-whole point of view is the
job of general managers. Therefore, this course is designed to train students to analyze
business situations from the point of view of the practicing general manager. General managers
have responsibility for making strategic decisions that insure the long-term prosperity of the
entire firm or a major division.
The key tasks of the general manager, the content of general management, include the
determination of purpose and direction of the company or division, the detection of
environmental change, the identification of opportunities and strategies to pursue the
opportunities, the procurement and allocation of critical resources, the integration of activities
across various parts of the organization, and, the monitoring of the whole process to achieve
expected results. In short, the general manager is the mediator between environmental change
and internal organization’s response. To be effective, general managers need to have foresight
of environmental changes and at the same time have a sound understanding of how an
organization with its loose-coupling parts produces outcomes. He needs relevant knowledge in
functional areas such as marketing, finance, R&D, and production which students have already
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learned the subjects in previous courses. He also needs relevant knowledge and skills in
environmental analysis to understand emerging trends in demands and competition. These
knowledge and skills will be the focus of this course.
Not everyone who takes this course will ultimately become a general manager. Yet, for
two reasons, this course will benefit virtually all students. First, recent trends in the corporate
world towards creating “flatter”, less hierarchical organizations have resulted in strategic
decisions being made at lower hierarchical levels. Thus, even non-executives are likely to make
decisions and initiate actions that have significant strategic implications. Similarly, even the
lowest level employees within firms are now being asked to contribute innovative and creative
ideas that will improve the functioning of the organization as a whole. Thus, it is increasingly
important for non-executives to understand how their actions affect the whole enterprise.
Second, functional specialists will also benefit from developing a general management
perspective so they will have a better understanding of the problems they are dealing with and
of the expectations of the top executives. Ultimately, every function’s actions must be
coordinated with the overall needs of the business. In fact, functional specialists are the people
on whom general managers must rely to implement strategy. Since functional managers are
often under pressure to fix problems in their own areas without regard to the overall needs of
the business, it is critical that functional managers develop a keen awareness and appreciation
of the challenges facing the enterprise as a whole.
TEXTBOOK and CASES:
1) Recommended Textbook：
(a) Barney, Jay B. Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage. 3rd Ed., Prentice-Hall,
2008.
(b) Rebert M. Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis. 6th ed.,, Oxford: Blackwell
Publication. 2009.
(c) Kim, W, Chan, and R. Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested
Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant. Harvard Business School Press,
2005.
2) Readings: a couple of Harvard Business Review articles could be found in university’s Moodle
learning website under the course number..
2
3) Cases: Harvard Business School Cases (to be purchased from PERDO office).
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
1. Porter, M.E. Competitive Strategy, Free Press, 1980.
2. Hamel, Gary, and C.K. Prahalad, Competing for Future, HBS Press, 1994.
3. Hamel, Gary, Leading Revolution, HBS Press, 2000.
4. Barlett, C. A. and S. Ghoshal, The Individualized Corporation, Harper-Collins, 1997.
5. Porter, M. E., On Competition, HBS Press.
6. Mintzberg, . et. al., Strategy Safari: A Guide Tour through the Wilds of Strategic
Management. Free Press, 1998.
7. Bossidy, D. and R. Charan, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, 2002.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. The general manager’s perspective, or strategic perspective.
2. The strategic management/strategic planning/strategic decision making process, including
SWOT analysis.
3. The strategy content, including business level strategy, corporate-level strategy, and
international strategy.
Specifically, the course aims to assist students to
1. Develop and reinforce a general management point of view -- the capacity to view the firm
from an overall perspective, in the context of its environment.
2.
Develop an understanding of fundamental concepts in strategic management: the concept
of strategy, the strategic decision making process, environmental analysis, competitive
analysis, and strategy implementation and organizational change.
3.
Synthesize the knowledge gained in previous courses.
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4.
Obtain familiarity with tools of industry analysis by analyzing the key characteristics of an
industry.
5.
Develop a better understanding of the inner workings of large, complex organizations – the
goal being for students to better understand their future work environment.
6. Apply in working out business strategies and implementation plans.
7. Develop habits of orderly, analytical thinking and skill in reporting conclusions effectively in
both written and oral form.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
Lecture
10%
Discussion
65%
Group activity (Group
presentation)
15%
E-learning
5%
Others (Field Trip)：
5%
SCHEDULE
Week Date
1
9/17
2
3
4
9/24
10/1
10/8
Class Content & study material
Course Overview
Reading: Porter, What is Strategy (HBR)
The Concept of Strategy
Reading: Can You Say What Your Strategy Is
(HBR)
Case: Harley-Davidson Preparing for the Next
Century
Required Reading: CMR84-Perspectives on
Strategy Real Story Honda
Five Forces and Industry Structure
Reading: Porter, The Five Competing Forces
that Shape Strategy (HBR)
Case: Crown Cork and Seal in 1989
Case: Apple Inc. in 2010
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Source
Moodle
HBS 906410
Moodle
Moodle
HBS 973035
HBS 710467
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
10/15 Case: Bally Total Fitness
HBS 706450
Case: Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in
HBS 711462
2010
10/22 Understanding Competition and Emergent Strategy
Case: Netflix
HBS 607138
Case: HTC Corp. in 2009
HBS 709466
10/29 Competitive Positioning
Reading: Ghemawat, Creating Competitive
Moodle
Advantage
Case: Wal-Mart Stores, 2003 (Abridged Version) HBS 709423
Case: Tata Nano the People's car
11/5 Case: Samsung Electronics
HBS 705-508
Case: Airborne Express
HBS 798070
11/12 Reading: Value Innovation the Strategic Logic of Moodle
High Growth (HBR)
Case: Edward Jones in 2006: Confronting
HBS 707497
Success
11/19 Midterm individual paper due
11/26 Case: Zara: Fast Fashion
HBS 703497
Competitive Dynamics
12/3 Case: Asahi Breweries, Ltd.
HBS 389114
Case: Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A)
HBS 700115
Related Diversification
12/10 Reading: Creating Corporate Advantage
Moodle
Case: Walt Disney Co.: The Entertainment King HBS 701035
12/17 Case: The Walt Disney Company and Pixar
HBS 709462
12/24 Globalization as Diversification of Markets
Case: Haier: Taking a Chinese Company Global
HBS 706401
Case: Globalization at Komatsu
HBS 910415
12/31 Company Visit
1/7
Final Presentation of Group Case Projects
1/14 Final Presentation of Group Case Projects
ASSESSMENT:
1)
2)
3)
Individual class participation
Individual mid-term paper
Final Group Case Project-report & presentation
5
45%
25%
30%
Class participation
It is important to appreciate that the students in the class are co-producers of the class
discussion. It is crucial that you listen carefully to the questions that are posed and that the
class collectively attempts to answer them. For this to happen, class members need to listen
carefully to one another and to extend or critique prior comments. The discussion should be a
conversation in which al participants recognize that they have an obligation to advance our
understanding of the issue at hand. The extent of your contribution to this learning process will
be appraised in addition to the content of what you contribute.
Consider the following questions when monitoring the effectiveness of your own
participation:
1. Are the points relevant to the discussion? Are they linked to the comments of others
and to the themes that the class is exploring together? Do they significantly advance
the discussion?
2. Do the comments add to our understanding of the situation? Are they incisive? Do
they cut to the core of the problem? Comments that simply repeat case facts get no
credit.
3. Is there a willing to challenge the ideas that are being expressed? Playing “devil’s
advocate” often exposes new perspectives and provokes interesting debate. Such
contributions are particularly value.
Individual mid-term paper
Write an essay paper summarizing/synthesizing an emerging/new issue/concept within
the discipline of strategy/strategic management based on at least three related articles you
select from these three journals: Harvard Business Review, California Management Review,
Sloan Management Review. The paper should be at least two pages long, double spaced, using
12-point font. The due time is 11:59pm, November 14.
Final Group Case Project-report & presentation
Group case project is to write and present a case analysis of a successful firm
headquartered in SE&E Asia region. There are two types of case style to be adopted:
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One is the general strategy case. The focus of the case is to report the strategy of a
company. The case may include: (the case part) (a) A description of the brief history of the
company, its strategy, its products, markets, and scope of operation; (the analysis part) (b) To
explain why the company has been successful in the past in light of the company’s environment,
resources, key managers’ decisions, or other relevant factors. (c) To conduct a SWOT analysis
that analyze the current environment concerning its future trends and their impact on the firm
and competition, as well as its internal weaknesses against achieving goals, and (d) to suggest
changes (if any) that need to be made.
The second type is the strategy case with focused themes. The case may be about
industry analysis and competitive dynamics, or about the company’s strategic issues with
strategy themes such as merger and acquisition, diversification, investment expansion, new
product launch, new market entry, restructuring, alliances,…etc. The case may include: (the
case part) a description of the strategic decision situation, firms involved; (the analysis part) the
theme/issue. Use of SWOT analysis is optional.
Each group may conduct field interview (the college has EMBA students) or library
research or a combination of both to prepare the case. Each member of the group is expected
to contribute a similar amount of effort to the teamwork. Each group may turn in (a) their
PowerPoint file with no bonus points; or (b) a more complete version of the written report
either in printed or electronic form as the final report with bonus points up to 10% of the
original grade earned from this case project.
Expectations from students for creating a healthy learning environment
1. You are encouraged to form a study group that meet every week prior to the class to
discuss and exchange viewpoints about each case. It will facilitate your participation
in class case discussion. The study group may not be the same group that will work
on the final case project.
2. Your class participation should not benefit from notes of case discussion from
students who have taken this course in prior semesters or at other schools, nor from
other sources such as Google, friends in Internet, etc. Also, simply reading from
notes handed to you by a study group member is not acceptable.
3. Be prepared for every class. Students whose hands are not raised will be called on in
addition to those who raise their hands. If you are not prepared for the class, let me
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know before the start of the class your personal problem or emergency that had
made it impossible for you to prepare adequately for that class.
4. Because a case-oriented course relies on class participation for its success,
attendance at every class is considered extremely important. Please schedule other
activities at times other than when class meets. Missing classes will seriously
adversely affect your grade.
5. This is an integrative class – I shall be expecting you to draw on knowledge you have
gained from your prior work or other courses. If you feel you do not have good grip
of some important concepts, you are always encouraged to refresh your previous
learning by checking on other textbooks or to google related key words of these
concepts.
6. Please arrive on time and stay from beginning to end.
7. If you have discovered that you are not ready for this level of course, or not
comfortable with case discussion, please drop from this course as early as possible.
Case Discussion Questions:
Case: Harley-Davidson Preparing for the Next Century
1. Historically, how did Harley-Davidson manage to dominate the US market? How did it do
so and what were its sources of competitive advantage? And starting in the 1970s
Harley-Davidson got into trouble, what changed? Internally? Externally?
2. What were the major ingredients of Harley-Davidson’s transformation process/ What
elements seemed to you to be the most important? What is your evaluation of the
transformation process?
3. What are Harley-Davidson’s current sources of competitive advantage? Can these be
sustained in light of the latest competitor moves? If you are Honda, where do you think
Harley-Davidson is vulnerable? What is the Harley-Davidson mystique?
4. What are challenges facing Harley-Davidson as it enters the 21st century? What is your
evaluation of their current strategy? What specific recommendations do you have for
Jeff Bluestein? Short-term? Long-term?
Case: Crown Cork and Seal in 1989
1. How attractive has the metal container been over the years?
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2. How well did Crown Cork do under John Connelly? What were the keys to their success?
3. 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?
Case: Apple Inc. in 2010
1. What, historically, have been Apple’s competitive advantages?
2. Analyze the personal computer industry. Are the dynamics favorable or problematic for
Apple?
3. How sustainable is Apple’s competitive position in PCs?
4. How sustainable is Apple’s competitive position in MP3 players?
5. How do you assess Apple’s competitive position in smartphones?
6. What are the prospects for the iPad?
Case: Bally Total Fitness
1. What does the health club industry look like in 2004? Who are the
customers/suppliers? What is their relative power? What are the barriers to entry?
Which companies are substitutes for Bally Total Fitness? How strong is the rivalry in the
Fitness Industry? How attractive is this industry?
2. How is Bally Total Fitness positioned in the health club industry? What is Bally’s
strategy?
3. If you were in charge of Bally Total Fitness, what would you do next?
4. What are the basic economics of health clubs?
5. How structurally attractive was the health club industry in 2004? What average level of
returns would you expect it to support?
6. What do you see as the key trends in the industry in 2004? How do you think these
trends will affect profitability, and evolve over time?
7. What advantages did Bally’s scale bring? What challenges did Bally face? Evaluate
Bally’s response. What else might Bally do?
Case: Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010
1. Is the soft drink industry profitable? And why or why not?
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2. Compare the economics of the concentrate business to the bottling business: Why is
the profitability so different?
3. How has the competition between Coke and Pepsi affected the industry profitability?
Are these firms making strategic mistakes? And why or why not?
Case: Netflix
1. Would you have been long or short Blockbuster stock at the time of the case? How
about Netflix? Why?
2. Did Netflix do the same jobs for consumers that Blockbuster did? How did this evolve
over time?
3. Compare Blockbuster’s and Netflix’s profit models. How might the differences affect the
respective company’s strategies?
4. As you examine each major shift in Netflix’s strategy, what might have been an
assumptions checklist that they might have used at each stage? What assumption
checklist might you use for VOD?
Case: HTC Corp. in 2009
1. Evaluate HTC’s performance to date. What are its competitive advantages and
vulnerabilities?
2. What should HTC’s OS strategy be? Should it stick with Windows Mobile and Android?
Should HTC build its own platform? Add/drop others?
3. All smartphone companies with operating systems have opened their own app store,
trying to emulate Apple’s success. Samsung and LG announced plans to do the same as
well. Should HTC build its own app store> Do something else?
4. Peter Chou and Cher Wang want to make HTC into the leading smartphone company in
the world. What kind of strategic actions are needed to achieve this goal?
Case: Wal-Mart Stores, 2003 (Abridged Version)
1. What are the sources of Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage in discount retailing?
2. How sustainable their position in discount retailing will be in the future?
Case: Tata Nano the People's car
1. What drove Tata to commit to design an affordable car?
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2. How did Tata leverage his network to produce the Nano?
3. What enabled Tata to produce a disruptive innovation from such a large company?
4. How would you describe Tata's leadership style? How is that different from Chairman
Lee at Samsung or Steve Jobs at Apple? Is one leadership style better than the other?
What role does culture play? What criteria should we use to measure leadership
success? Do different cultures have different measures?
5. The case mentions a thin margin on the Tata Nano, estimate the break even point in
units if Tata invests in plant capacity for an aggressive launch. Recommend your
investment decision
Case: Zara: Fast Fashion
1. With which of the international competitors listed in the case is it most interesting to
compare Inditex’s financial results? Why? What do comparisons indicate about Inditex’s
relative operating economics? Its relative capital efficiency?
2. How specifically do the distinctive features of Zara’s business model affect its operating
economics? Specifically, compare Zara with an average retailer with similar posted
prices. In order to express all advantages/disadvantages on a common basis, you may
find it convenient to assume that on average, retail selling prices are about twice as high
as manufacturer’s selling prices.
3. Can you graph the linkages among Zara’s choices about how to compete, particularly
ones connected to its quick-response capability, and the ways in which they create
competitive advantage? What does the exercise suggest about such capabilities as bases
for competitive advantage?
4. Why might Zara “fail”? How sustainable would you calibrate its competitive advantage
as being relative to the kinds of advantages typically pursued by other apparel retailers?
Case: Samsung Electronics
1. What kind of advantage are the Chinese entrants seeking? How close are they to
achieving that advantage?
2. How much of Samsung’s performance is based on its reputed how-cost advantage?
3. Can Samsung’s low-cost advantage withstand the Chinese threat on costs?
4. Does anyone think the numbers mask the fact that Samsung’s differentiation advantage
is more important or easier to grow and sustain or both?
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5. If Samsung is both low-cost and differentiated, how does it do both?
6. Why can’t more firms in other industries do the same?
Case: Airborne Express
1. How did the express mail industry evolve over time? What are the main changes in
recent years and how were smaller competitors affected by these changes?
2. Compare Airborne Express’s strategy with the strategies of FedEx and UPS.
3. What is the advantage of Airborne Express Strategy? How has Airborne Express
managed to success in its industry?
Case: Edward Jones in 2006: Confronting Success
1. Why do you think Edward Jones survived the financial services crisis that has taken so
many of its brokerage competitors? Why has Edward Jones performed so well for so
long?
2. Can Edward Jones take advantage of the recent crisis I the brokerage business? What
should it change in order to capitalize on the opportunities?
3. Are there flaws in Edward Jones strategy? What, if anything, should it change to remedy
those flaws?
4. What do we learn from this case about strategy in financial services?
Case: Asahi Breweries, Ltd.
1. Why did Kirin become so dominant in Japan’s industry reading a market share of over
60%? What competitive advantages resulted from this dominant position and how
sustainable were they?
2. What specifically did Messrs. Mirai and Higuch bring to Asahi? How would you
characterize their policies, behavior, and contributions?
3. How and why did Asahi double its market share?
4. What will the Japanese beer market look like in terms of product segments in the
future? What alternate scenarios are plausible and what are their respective
implications for the competing firms? In light of your own assessment as to the future
evolution of the industry, would you recommend to Mr. Higuchi that he pursue his
strategic plans?
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Case: Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A)
1. What is your assessment of Ryanair’s launch strategy?
2. How do you expect Aer Lingus and British Airways to respond? Why>
3. How costly would it be for Aer Lingus and British Airways to retaliate against Ryanair’s
launch rather than accommodate it?
4. Ca the Ryan brothers make money at the I￡98 fare they propose?
Case: Walt Disney Co.: The Entertainment King
1. How did Disney achieve its status as the largest entertainment conglomerate?
2. How did Disney explore its synergy of entertainment conglomerate?
3. How should Disney maintain its goal of growth and profitability?
Case: The Walt Disney Company and Pixar
1. Which is greater: the value of Pixar and Disney in an exclusive relationship, or the sum
of the value that each could create if they operated independently of one another or
were allowed to form relationships with other companies? Why?
2. Assuming that Pixar and Disney are more valuable in an exclusive relationship, can that
value be realized through a new contract? Or is common ownership required (i.e., must
Disney acquire Pixar)?
3. If Disney does acquire Pixar, how should Bob Iger and his team organize and manage the
combined entity? What challenges do you foresee, and how would you meet them?
Case: Haier: Taking a Chinese Company Global
1. Why was Haier so successful in China?
2. Was Haier’s decision to globalize into developed markets early on a good strategy?
3. Can Haier build on its success in niche products to become a dominant global brand in
high-end white goods?
4. Is Haier’s “three thirds” strategy a viable or wise approach?
Case: Globalization at Komatsu
1. Describe the process Komatsu undertook to transform itself from a local company in
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Japan into a global giant in the earth moving equipment industry.
2. What are the sources of Komatsu’s success? What are Komatsu’s competitive
advantages?
CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT
01. 領導能力與團隊精神 (Leadership and teamwork skills)
3
02. 培養管理專業能力 (Cultivate professional management ability)
5
03. 啟發創新力 (Inspire Innovation)
2
04. 建立全球化觀點 (Establish a global perspective)
5
05. 發展執行力 (Develop implementation ability)
4
06. 倫理道德觀念 (Ethical and moral integrity)
2
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Evaluation Criterion of Case Presentation
Date of Submission:
Presentation Case:
Criterion
Structure/
Organization
Content
Issues and
Analysis
Presentation
skill, Handle
Q&A
Command of
Knowledge
Group #:
Description
Information presented in
logical sequence that
audience can follow
Demonstrate full
knowledge of the case
under investigation with
satisfactory explanation
and elaboration
Identification of, analysis
of issues, presentation of
solution/synthesis
Delivery, tone and voice,
and visual aids, Generate
discussions, response to
queries.
Demonstrate good
command of knowledge
learned from this course
and elsewhere.
Weight
10%
Score
Comments
30%
20%
10%
30%
Group Members and individual contribution (total: 100%):
Member ID No.
1.
__
2.
_
_________ Name
_________ _____Contribution_
________________ _______
_
______________ _________
3.
____________ ___________
4.
____________ ___________
5.
____________ ___________
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__
6.
____________ ___________
7.
____________ ___________
Evaluation Criterion of Case Written Report
Date of Submission:
Title:
Group #:
Criterion
Description
Context and
background
information/
relevance
Content
Why of this case. How does
this case relate to course
materials.
Writing
Analysis
Application
Case is informative and rich
in learning material.
Incidents are interesting and
realistically portrayed
Writing, free of errors,
format/organization,
information used
Identification of issues,
Analysis of issues,
synthesis/solution,
Application of knowledge
learned from this course
and elsewhere.
Weight
10%
Score
Comments
30%
10%
30%
20%
Group Members and individual contribution (total: 100%):
Member ID No.
8.
__
9.
_
10.
_________ Name _________ _____Contribution_
________________ _______
_
______________ _________
____________ ___________
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__
11.
____________ ___________
12.
____________ ___________
13.
____________ ___________
14.
____________ ___________
ASSURANCE OF LEARNING
Adherence to Mission
■ Technology 科技
■ Globalization 國際
■Innovation 創新
■Humanity 人文
Adherence to Program Learning Goals
After completing this course, students are expected to demonstrate a good grip
of key terminology in the strategy literature, a skill in analyzing a case from a
strategic perspective, ability in independent study of a company’s strategy and its
environment. Meanwhile, students will be more confident in presentation and
handling questions.
■ Lecture
Pedagogical Methodologies
■e-Learning
■ Study Group
 Seminar
■ Case Study
 Internship
■ Project
 Independent Learning
 Role-Playing
 Theater Learning
 Seminar
 Others
Student Abilities Enhancement
 Quantitative analysis 數量分析能力
■ Sympathy 同理心
■Theory Development and Conceptual ■Teamwork 團隊合作
Thinking 邏輯思考分析
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■Strategic Thinking 策略性思考
■Acceptance of Others 接受意見
■Critical Thinking 評論性思考
■Confidence 自信心
 Quick Thinking
■Self—management 自我管理
敏捷性思考
 Flexibility
彈性反應與適應力
■ Professional Knowledge 專業知識
■ Creativity
創造力
■ Others: Concept mapping____
其他能力:______________________
 Persistency
堅持力
 Others: ________________________
其他能力:______________________
■ Communication 溝通表達能力
 Others: ________________________
其他能力:______________________
■ Comprehension Ability 聆聽能力
 Others: ________________________
其他能力:______________________
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