Mgt 491-02
Business Policy and Strategy
Fall, 2007
Instructor: James Cox, MBA, PhD
Office: Bryan 377
Office hours: By appointment
Phone: 334-5521 (office), 334-5691 (Department of Business Administration office)
E-mail: jccox3@uncg.edu
Instructor Bio: http://www.uncg.edu/bae/people/cox
Class times: MW 3:30-4:45, Bryan 206
Required texts:
Dess, Lumpkin, and Eisner, Strategic Management: Text & Cases. 3rd. (2007) McGraw-Hill/
Irwin.
Course Prerequisites
Mgt 301,309,312,330; Mkt 320; Fin 315; Ism 280, 360 plus senior standing and admission to
approved major—Note that these are prerequisites, not corequisites.
Course Description
Business Policy and Strategy is considered to be the capstone course in your undergraduate
business education. The purpose of this course is to encourage you to look at business from a
general management perspective. The course integrates functional areas which you have studied
so far into a general management model, through a problem-oriented approach. The course will
use a variety of business situations across a variety of industries to allow you to gain valuable
practice in exercising business judgment and critical thinking skills. We also emphasize the
development of persuasive communication skills. The course is front-loaded in terms of reading,
so we’ll get off to a fast start. This organization should allow you to work on your final project
very early in the semester.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:
1. Understand the difference between situation analysis, strategy formulation, and strategy
implementation.
2. Understand how a fit between strategy and structure is a key implementation issue and assess
the appropriateness of various combinations with respect to firm performance.
3. Acquire a thorough understanding of how fitting functional strategy to business strategy is
important to achieving organizational goals.
4. Describe and apply a number of strategy supportive tools and programs (e.g. five forces
model, SWOT analysis, portfolio matrix models, and change management models).
5. Elaborate on the strategic issues introduced when a firm moves from domestic to multidomestic or global competition.
6. Identify the steps required to scale and expand the business over time to serve larger market
segments and larger shares within a segment.
7. Discriminate relevant from irrelevant strategic information in case studies of a firm.
8. Explain the role of government policy in creating incentives and disincentives for a variety of
competitive conditions for both domestic and international competition.
9. Conduct a significant strategic review of a publicly traded organization to determine the
current strategic position.
10. Synthesize an analysis of a firm’s current strategic position with information regarding the
firm’s core competencies and market trends to craft a strategy for the future.
Grading
Your final grade is composed of these elements:
Class Participation
Comprehensive Exam
Written Case Assignment
Midterm test
Second Test
10%
10%
20%
15%
20%
Group Industry & Company
Project:
Oral Part
Written Part
10%
15%
Teaching Method
I believe strongly in an active learning approach to class material; consequently, discussion is my
main approach to aiding you in learning. Note that this applies not just to case studies, but to
text material as well. Consequently, you must read and analyze all assigned chapters and cases
so that you are prepared to discuss them in class. I will typically open a class by asking “What
strikes you as significant about . . .” and then cold call on somebody. I will probably do very
little straight lecturing and even fewer PowerPoint presentations, as I have no desire to put you to
sleep.
So what’s the bottom line? Be prepared! Read the assigned material, whether or not you are
writing on that particular case.
Attendance: You must be in class on the first day. If you are not, your name will be
removed from the roll.
You can’t contribute to class discussion if you aren’t there. Furthermore, you’re out of the loop
as far as classroom information is concerned. Also, poor attendance will lower your group
participation grade considerably. So show up! Anyone missing more than 20% of classes (5)
will receive a grade of “F” on “class participation.”
On the Matter of Being Late for Class
Don’t.
Honor Code
We will abide by the UNCG Honor Code. Note particularly the section on plagiarism.
Inclement Weather
Follow university guidelines on this. Exercise good judgment. You alone are responsible for
your personal safety.
DETAILS
Tests: There will be two tests, probably multiple-choice and true-false.
Written Case Analysis: You are required to submit a 3-5 page written analysis of one of the
case studies you are assigned to read. All those with an asterisk (*) beside them on your
schedule are eligible. The papers are due at the beginning of class on the date we discuss that
particular case. You will be expected to analyze the case in whatever terms you think
appropriate, then draw conclusions and make appropriate, specific recommendations. The
number of students allowed to write on any particular case will be limited to five.
Group Industry and Company Project: The class will be divided into eight groups to conduct
an industry and company analysis. Each group will choose a publicly-listed company of your
choice, subject to my approval. Do not choose one from the Fortune 100. No two groups may
work on the same company. You should be able to start this project in mid-January.
The end products will be a 20-25 minute group presentation at the end of the semester and a
group written analysis of 17-20 pages due December 17. Early papers are welcome but will not
affect your grade.
Each student is expected to participate fully in the group process. While normally each member
of a group receives the same grade as the other members of that group, I reserve the right to
penalize or reward individuals in exceptional cases.
Guidelines for Industry/Company Analysis
1. Identification of the mission, vision and objectives, as well as problems and challenges
facing the company
2. Appraisal of the company’s industry environment:



The dominant economic characteristics in an industry
The nature and intensity of competition using Porter’s Five Forces Model
The drivers of change and critical success factors in the industry
3. Appraisal of the company’s current resources and capabilities:



Identify the company’s resources and capabilities.
Perform a SWOT analysis.
Perform a competitive strength assessment to determine its competitive position in the
industry.
4. Identification and evaluation of the company’s current strategy:





Discuss at least four functional strategies of the company.
Discuss how the functional strategies fit into the competitive strategy being pursued by the
company’s businesses.
Discuss the company’s corporate strategy.
Evaluate how the company’s current strategies relate to its internal resources and capabilities
and what is happening in its industry environment.
Evaluate the impact of the company’s current strategies on its strategic and financial
performance.
5. Present lessons learned and recommendations. The recommendations should be reasonable,
feasible, and able to be implemented.
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION
All 491 students (except for exchange students) will be required to take a comprehensive
examination covering the core elements of business education. The exam is tentatively
scheduled for Friday, November 2, from 2PM until 5PM in Bryan 160. The exam counts
10% of your grade for this course. You cannot complete your major without taking this test
on the date and at the time prescribed. Any questions about this test should be directed to Ms.
Pam Cash, Assistant Dean, in 401 Bryan.
Calendar and Requirements
Fall, 2007
August 20—Orientation; discussion of syllabus and Ch. 14 (Case Analysis)
August 22—Text, Chs. 1 (Basic Concepts), 2 (External Environment); Case 37 (UPS/FedEx)
August 27–Formation of company/industry project groups; Ch. 2 (continued); Case 6* (Pixar
Animation)
August 29—Ch. 3 (Internal Analysis)
Sept. 3–Labor Day—No class
Sept. 5--Case 39*(SW Airlines)
Sept. 10–Ch.4 (Intellectual Assets)
Sept. 12–Case 36* (Philips vs. Mashushita), Case 15* (Wal-Mart)
Sept, 17—Review discussion of text Chs. 1-4
Sept. 19– TEST 1: Chs. 1-4
Sept. 24—Ch. 5, 6, Case 27*
Sept. 26—Ch. 7, Ch. 8 (Digital Business Strategy) , Case 29* (Yahoo!)TBA
Oct. 1–Ch. 9 (Strategic Control & Corporate Governance); Case 30* (Enron)
Oct. 3–Ch. 10 (Organizational Design), Case23* (Johnson & Johnson)
Oct. 8—Ch. 12
Oct. 10—Ch. 13
Oct. 12-16—FALL BREAK (no class)
Oct. 17—TBA
Oct. 22–Review discussion of text Chs. 6-10, 12, 13
Oct. 24–TEST 2: Text, Chs. 6-10
Oct. 29–Case 13* (Dippin’ Dots); Case 40* (Toys “R” Us)
Oct. 31–Case 7* ( eBay)
Nov. 2 (Friday, 2PM)–COMPREHENSIVE TEST
Nov. 5--Case 5* (Green Mountain Coffee)
Nov. 9–Case 28* (Casino Industry)
Nov. 12—Case 21* (FreshDirect)
Nov. 14—Case 18* (Xbox)
Nov. 19—TBA
Nov. 21-25—THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov. 26–Presentations
Nov. 28--Presentations
Dec. 3–Presentations
Dec. 5–Presentations
Dec. 10—Last day of classes
Dec. 17—Group paper due at 3:30 PM
*indicates a case which you may choose to write about; due at the BEGINNING of class the day
of discussion of that case
I reserve the right to make changes if necessary.