Spring 2009
Business Policy and Strategy
MGT 491 -- 01
Mon & Wed 3:30 – 4:45
Bryan Building 202
Instructor:
Terrie Reeves, Ph.D.
Instructor: Dr. Terrie C. Reeves
Office: Bryan Building 369
Phone: 336 256-8591
Email address: tcreeves@uncg.edu
Office hours:
Text
Dess, G.G., Lumpkin, G.T., & Eisner, A.B. (2008). Strategic Management: Text and Cases (4th Ed.).
New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Thompson, A.A. Stappenbeck, G.A. & Reidenback, M.A. (2006). GLO-BUS: Developing Winning
Competitive Strategies. Participant’s Guide.
Occasional required articles will be posted (or the URL will be posted) on BlackBoard.
In addition to class time, I will communicate with you via email through BlackBoard and I will post
notices on BlackBoard. Please check BlackBoard and your email regularly. In order to learn
everyone’s name quickly, during the first weeks of classes, I will probably take your photograph.
Catalogue Course Description:
Capstone course in top management policy and strategy determination. Students learn to
integrate various business functions and to develop skills and judgment in solving problems of the
organizations as a total system in relations to its environment.
Prerequisites: MGT 301, 309, 312, and 330; MKT 320; FIN 315; ISM 280: SSM 320; senior standing;
admission to approved major.
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Course Goals:
This is a course about organizational strategy and about how organizations become
competitively successful. Thus, the first goal of course is to facilitate your understanding of
strategic management concepts, theories, decision support techniques, and tools. Secondly, a goal
of this course is to help you develop your analytical abilities and your abilities to think critically
and strategically in analyzing management situations while using strategic management concepts,
theories, decision support techniques, and tools. Thirdly, the course is designed so that you can
integrate and synthesize knowledge, skills, and experience from previous courses and jobs.
Approach used in the Course:
Your ability to become an effective and successful strategic manager who is able to make
good decisions for your organization will not depend upon simply memorizing facts. Similarly, a
good grade in this class will not depend only upon memorization. Instead, your grade will, above
all, depend upon how well you understand course concepts and how well you can apply them. It
will also depend on your ability to critically analyze business situations, using your prior course
work and your professional experience in conjunction with decision support tools. Finally, it will
depend on how convincing you are in presenting your ideas--supported by facts and analysis.
Your opinions are valued in this class and you are encouraged to voice them! Everyone
benefits from hearing different viewpoints. Active class participation will allow you to develop
some of the skills you’ll need as a manager and will help your fellow students deepen their
understanding based on your comments. Both in writing and in class discussions, please be
prepared to back your ideas and opinions with facts and analysis.
Course Teaching Objectives:
I designed this course to:

Teach you key theories, concepts, models, tools, and techniques of strategic management.

Help you integrate and synthesize previously learned knowledge and skills with strategic
analysis knowledge and skills.

Develop your analytical and critical thinking abilities.
Course Learning Objectives:
If you successfully complete this course, you will be able to:

Understand the strategic issues and policy decisions facing businesses and how current
management concepts address these issues.

Understand and describe:
o The strategic management process
o The difference between strategic analysis, strategy formulation, strategy
implementation, and strategic control
o The complexity of strategic issues
o How to use new and existing knowledge to analyze "real world" cases
o How organizational culture and ethical factors influence strategy, strategy
implementation, and strategic control

Identify and apply the most appropriate analytical tools, techniques, or theories in
evaluating an organization’s competitive and strategic position
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
Analyze new knowledge and use existing knowledge to conduct strategic and competitive
analysis in a variety of industries.

Evaluate business, corporate, and global level strategies, business and corporate strategic
types, and alternative strategic actions and based on that analysis, to make sound strategic
decisions using what-if analysis

Discuss the managerial tasks associated with implementing and competently executing
organizational strategies

Assess the role of government policy in creating incentives and disincentives for a variety
of competitive conditions for both domestic and international competition.

Demonstrate your ability to integrate, synthesize, and apply functional-area oriented
business courses and this course’s concepts by managing a company--through a business
simulation game--and by conducting a strategic and competitive analysis of a company.
Methods:
Readings on relevant topics in texts and occasionally in the business press.
Short lectures on relevant topics
Class and team discussions of topics and cases.
Occasional classroom exercises
Team case preparations and presentations.
Team company simulation exercises, analysis, and presentation.
Course philosophy
I commit to making the course as enjoyable as possible. I will work hard to make sure that the
class is successful. But, it is not possible for me to make the course successful without you. I
make some assumptions about your efforts in exchange for my very best efforts. I assume that
students taking this course are willing to learn new materials, to react and respond to materials
their classmates and I present, to debate the issues explored in class, and thus to actively
participate in their own learning and in the learning of their classmates. I assume that students
are willing and able to work on projects independently, although I am always available for
consultation if needed. I assume that students taking this course will devote the time and effort
required to complete assignments by the dates specified. The work load for this class will be quite
heavy—remember that the course is your capstone course, the course in which you can practice
“putting it all together.” You should be prepared to spend about 5 hours each week outside of
class, a couple of hours to read the assignments, a couple of hours to prepare the case, and a
couple of hours working on your team’s projects. Although the course will be demanding, if you
spend the time to be prepared, you will find the course to be rewarding and enjoyable. For
additional information about the learning the learning community, you may go to
http://www.uncg.edu/bae/faculty_student_guidelines_sp07.pdf
Class Policies and procedures
Attendance: You must be present in class in order to join in class discussion and participation,
which will be a large part of your grade. I will take attendance. Coming in more than 10 minutes
late or leaving more than 5 minutes before the end of class will count as an absence (unless you
make prior arrangements with me and I consider your reason for being late or leaving early
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appropriate). Once you have accrued 3 absences, for each additional absence, you will lose one
letter grade, i.e., from B+ to B.
Electronic Devises: I do not answer my cell phone during class time, and I expect that you will
show your classmates and me the same courtesy. Your cell phone must be off (not just on silent
mode) and put away. After one warning, your final grade will drop 10% each time your cell
phone rings and/or each time you check or interact with your cell phone in class. The same
rules apply to other electronic listening devices such as IPods or other MP3s.
Laptop computers will be used only for classroom activities. In other words, close them until I
ask you to use them.
BlackBoard
A number of course documents will be posted to BlackBoard. In addition, I may communicate with
you through BlackBoard or make announcements on BlackBoard. Access to and frequent checking
of BlackBoard will contribute to your success in this course.
Grading:
Introduction
Participation in class discussion
Comprehensive Exam
Individual case analysis
Quizzes (4@20)
Exams (2@100)
Team case discussion and presentation
GLO-BUS Simulation:
20
100
100
100
80
200
100
320
Simulation quiz
Simulation performance
Strategic Plan
Presentation of strategy and
discussion of performance
Written report
TOTAL
20
130
55
30
85
1020
Assignments:
General instructions for assignments:
All assignments require that you express yourself understandably in English.
If you did not hand in an assignment by the due date as noted in the topic and assignment
schedule, you cannot hand it in later.
All assignments are due at the beginning of class unless otherwise noted.
TEAM ASSIGNMENTS
Team Case Discussion and Presentation (worth 100 points): I will assign teams in order to get
the maximum amount of diversity in each team. Research shows that diversity contributes to the
best decision making in a business setting. You and your team will analyze and present a case,
chosen from those on the assignment schedule. Each case will only be presented by one team on a
first-come-first-served basis. Each team will give a copy of the presentation materials in hard copy
to the instructor at the beginning of the presentation and will post the presentation materials on
BlackBoard for the class.
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The object of this assignment is to help you analyze business situations, including political or
global pressures, and management’s actions, to apply the theories and tools of strategic
management in performing strategic and competitive analyses, to apply knowledge gained in our
other course work to the situation, to make conclusions about the situations, to develop
alternatives about the situation, and to present your analyses and finding to your class mates.
Grading will be based on the depth and accuracy of your analysis, use of appropriate theories and
tools, logic of relationship of conclusions to analysis, and clarity and conviction of presentation.
GLO-BUS Simulation (worth 320 total points): This is a business simulation assignment played in
a team that will allow you to practice making business decisions based on appropriate analysis.
After we have become familiar with GLO-BUS, you and your team will make strategic decisions
about your “company” based on the external environment, your company’s competitive position,
and your company’s strengths and weakness.
The objects of this assignment, which will be discussed in greater detail in class and will be
handed out or posted on BlackBoard or in GLO-BUS, are to give you practice in making strategic
decisions, and to help you develop the ability to compete successful in the global market place.
The final deliverable is a report, to be handed in at the end of the term that details your GLO-BUS
strategic and managerial decisions and your progress in the game. Your grade on the assignment
will be based on how well your “company” performs and on your written report.
Please remember: Use facts and analysis of data only to support your writing; do not use your
personal opinions. You must cite ALL of your sources in the body of the text, including web
pages, using APA style. For help on APA style, go to
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. Any quote or anything that you cut-and-paste
from any on-line source must be enclosed in quotation marks and followed by a citation
including the page number. All references will be included in a bibliography, in APA style, at the
end of your work.
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS:
Introduction (possible points 25)
Write an introduction for yourself under the “Introductions” Discussion forum on BlackBoard. The
objectives of the assignment are to contribute to a positive learning environment in the classroom,
and to help you understand your classmates better. This assignment will be graded based on the
clarity of your introduction and how much it contributes to the assignment’s objectives.
In-class discussion participation (possible up to 100 points): Participation is a substantial portion
of your grade, so come to class prepared to discuss the chapters and cases assigned. Read and
analyze the chapters assigned. Come to class with written notes listing the things you found most
interesting and why, and listing the questions you have about the material. We will discuss a case
almost every class period, so you can earn points for case discussion almost every class period. I
will post questions about each case on BlackBoard. The best way to earn maximum points for case
discussion is to come to class with your notes about the case and/or answers to the questions. In
addition to the questions posted on BlackBoard, here are some general questions to guide you in
all cases:
What is the major problem (not the manifestation of the problem) facing the organization?
Based on the material you have learned in this class, what steps should the organization
follow, or what procedures should it instigate in order to solve the problem?
Does the organization have a competitive advantage? If so, upon what is it based and is it
sustainable? If not, why not?
The objective of this assignment is that you can interpret and assess what you read, relate what
you have read to the larger topic of strategic management, synthesize what you have read with
your other knowledge, make reasoned comments on what you have read, explain your
interpretations and reasoning to others, and use the terminology and jargon of strategic
management. Grading will be based on evidence of a) thoughtful deliberation about the case and
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its relationship to the topics we have studied in class, b) strong reasoning for a position taken, and
c) correct use of the terms we learn.
Comprehensive Exam (worth 100 points):
Required of all Bryan School seniors in MGT 491
(except for exchange students). This is a standardized comprehensive exam covering the core
elements of business education. There will be no make-ups for this exam. The exam is required in
order for you to graduate. The exam will be given on FRIDAY, April 3, 2009, from 2:00 – 5:00 in
Bryan 160. I will give you a sheet with more information about this exam, but please note that
there will be no make-up times for this exam, so mark your calendar NOW. The objectives and
assessment methods for this assignment will be on the sheet.
Individual case analysis (worth 100 points): You will choose one of the cases marked with an
asterisk (*) to analyze. You may NOT choose the same case that your team presents and discusses
for the class. Your analysis is due at the beginning of the class on the day the case will be
discussed by a team.
The object of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to analyze business situations without
input from your team mates. Like the team case analysis, this assignment’s objectives are to help
you apply the theories and tools of strategic management to the situations, make conclusions
about the situations based on application of theories and tools, and to develop alternatives about
the situation. Grading will be based on the depth and accuracy of your analysis, use of
appropriate theories and tools, logic of relationship of conclusions to analysis, and clarity with
which you write out your analysis.
Again, please remember: Use facts from the case and analysis of data only to support your
writing; do not use your personal opinions. You must cite ALL of your sources in the body of the
text, including web pages, in each installment using APA style. For help on APA style, go to
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. Any quote or anything that you cut-and-paste
from any on-line source must be enclosed in quotation marks and followed by a citation
including the page number. All references will be included in a bibliography, in APA style, at the
end of your work.
In-class quizzes; each worth 20 pts for a total of 80 points: These will be multiple choice tests
given at the beginning of the class period covering materials assigned. The object of this
assignment is to encourage you to read and comprehend assignments
Two Examinations, each worth 100 pts, for total a possible 200 points: There will be two
examinations (timed closed book exams as noted in the Schedule). The most likely format for the
exams will be multiple choice with a few short answer questions. The object of this assignment is
to allow you do demonstrate your mastery of the material covered in the class.
Grading: Grades will be assigned as follows:
950
920
880
850
815
765
740
700
675
640
610
609
points and above
– 949 points
– 919 points
– 879 points
– 849 points
– 814 points
– 769 points
– 739 points
– 699 points
– 674 points
– 634 points
or less points
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY IS TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY IN THIS CLASS!!
You are responsible for knowing and following the academic integrity policy of UNCG. Any
breaches of academic integrity policy will result in the maximum sanctions allowed under the
policies! I really mean it! We will discuss this policy briefly in class, but you are responsible for
knowing all parts of the policy, whether we cover all parts in class or not. By signing the last page
of this syllabus, you agree to abide by and be bound by the academic integrity policy of UNCG,
which can be found at http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu/complete/
In addition to many other things, being bound by the UNCG academic integrity policy means that
you have not copied from anyone or anywhere without attributing the copied materials to that
person or place. In other words, you have one of two options.
1) Either you do not ever use any information (oral or written), any materials, any writing, or any
representations of any sort
a.) that were prepared by anyone other than yourself (or you and your group), or
b.) that were given or sold to you by current or former students or paper-writing services or
c.) that were taken from any electronic sources;
2) Or, alternatively, you do include a complete citation for the source of any materials,
information, writings, or other representations that were prepared by others that you used in any
assignment.
We will discuss citations in class. Please come talk with me if you have any questions about
academic integrity! There is no reason for you to cheat in this class, so don’t do it.
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Topic and Assignment Schedule (subject to revision, especially toward the end of the term): Assignments due at the beginning of
class on the dates in that row unless otherwise noted
Date
Topic
Reading Assignment
Case Assignment
Other assignments due
Jan 21
Orientation and analyzing cases
Chapter 13
Case 1 Robin Hood
Signed last sheet due at end of class
Introduction due by 5 PM Jan 23
Jan 26
Strategic Management
Chapter 1
Case 2 Boehm
Assign teams, choose cases
Jan 28
External Environment
Chapter 2
Case 25 Casino Industry
Feb 2
Case presentation
Whole Foods *
Team 1 presents
Feb 4
Internal Environment
Chapter 3
Case 23 WWW
Feb 9
Case presentation
United Way *
Team 2 presents
Feb 11
Intellectual Capital
Chapter 4
Case 18 Southwest
Feb 16
Business Level Strategies
Chapter 5
Feb 18
Presentation
Ann Taylor *
Team 3 presents
Feb 23
Discuss GLO-BUS
GLO-BUS practice decision due Feb
24 by 8 PM
Feb 25
Corporate Level Strategies
Chapter 6
GLO-BUS decision 1 due Feb 26 by 8
PM
Mar 2
Case presentation
Team 4 presents
Caribou Coffee *
GLO-BUS decision 2 due March 1 by
8PM
Mar 4
Exam on Chapters 1 -- 6
Mar 7—15
Spring Break
Mar 16
International & Entrepreneurial Strategies
Chapter 7 & 8
GLO-BUS decision 3 due March 15
by 8PM
Mar 18
Case presentation
Fresh Direct *
Team 5 presents
GLO-BUS decision 4 due March 17
by 8PM
Mar 23
Case presentation
Sun Life *
Team 6 presents
GLO-BUS decision 5 due March 22
by 8PM
Mar 25
Strategic Control, Governance, Design
Chapters 9 & 10
Case 10 Enron
GLO-BUS decision 6due March 24
by 8PM
Mar 30
Leadership, Ethics, and Fostering
Chapters 11 & 12
Case 3 Skelton
GLO-BUS decision 7 due March 29
Entrepreneurship
by 8 PM
GLO-BUS 3 Year Strategic Plan
(years 8 – 10) due March 29 by 8 PM
April 1
Case presentation
Team 7 presents
Johnson and Johnson *
GLO-BUS decision 8 due March 31
by 8 PM
April 6
Case presentation
Team 8 presents
Dipping Dots *
GLO-BUS decision 9 due April 5 by 8
8
PM
April 3
April 8
April 13
April 15
April 20
April 27
April 29
May 4
Comprehensive exam
Bryan 160, 2:00 – 5:00 PM
Team meetings
Exam on Chapters 5 -- 12
Teams 1 and 2 presentations
Teams 3 and 4 presentations
Teams 5 and 6 presentations
Teams 7 and 8 presentations
Final GLO-BUS reports due
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GLO-BUS decision 10 due April 7 by
8 PM
Business Policy and Strategy
MGT 491 -- 01
Written Case Evaluation Criteria
Name __________________________________ Case ___________________________________________
______ (20 points possible) Identification of the major problems discussed in the case (not the manifestation of
the problems).
______ (20 points possible) Use of the strategic concepts and tools you have learned about in class.
______ (20 points possible) Use of data and information given in the case to inform your analysis. Be sure to
quote specifics and be sure to use ratio analyses if appropriate.
______ (20 points possible) Identification of all appropriate alternatives, and recommendation of the most
appropriate one.
______ (10 points possible) Organization and clarity of your paper including grammar, spelling, punctuations,
syntax, and layout. HINT: use of headings makes it easier for a reader to follow your thoughts.
______ (10 points possible) Professional presentation of your report. Did you include a cover page, page
numbers, correct margins, correctly formatted references and citations, etc?
Total possible points = 100
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By signing this sheet, I agree that I have read and will abide by the academic integrity policies of
UNCG, which may be found at http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu/complete/.
(If you agree, by the end of the first class session, please sign your name below and return this sheet
to me. If you do not agree and will not sign, please drop the class as you will not be graded in the
course.)
________________________________________
Print name
___________________________________
Print date
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sign name
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