National University of Singapore
NUS Business School
BMA 5013_F1 Corporate Strategy
Semester 1, 2012
Instructor: Sai Yayavaram
MRB, #06-46
6516 3154
sai.yayavaram@nus.edu.sg
Textbook and Reading Material
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Grant, Robert M. Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Seventh Edition (Wiley).
Additional readings are available on Library E-Reserves through IVLE.
We will use several Harvard and Ivey cases and five cases from Singh, K., Pangarkar, N.,
& Heracleous, L. Business Strategy in Asia: A Casebook (Cengage, 2010) (SP&H). The
method for procuring these cases will be discussed during the first class.
Course Description
Perspective
This course is about the creation and maintenance of a long-term vision for the
organization. This means that it is concerned with both the determination of strategic
direction and the management of the strategic process. As such, it deals with the analytical,
behavioral, and creative aspects of business simultaneously. Our perspective in this course is
that of the general manager whose responsibility is the long-term health of the entire firm
or a multi-functional unit (e.g., a major division of a corporation). The key tasks involved in
general management include the detection of and adaptation to environmental change; the
procurement and allocation of resources; the integration of activities across subparts of the
organizations; and, at the most senior levels, the determination of purpose and the setting
of corporate direction.
General Managers, from our perspective, are managers who are in the position to
make strategic decisions for the firm. Note that such managers are not "generalists" in the
sense that they need to know a little bit of everything, but not very much of anything. To be
effective, general managers need to have in-depth understanding of the generic problems in
all the relevant functional areas. Furthermore, they must be able to deal with problems and
issues at the level of the total enterprise and its relationships with relevant external
environments.
Functional specialists can benefit from the general management perspective even
though they may not be general managers. Every function's actions should be coordinated
with the overall needs of the business. In fact, functional specialists are the people on whom
general managers must rely to implement their strategies. Since such functional managers
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can be subject to suboptimizing pressure, they too need to understand the general
manager's perspective.
Components of the Course
The pervasive concept in this course is that of strategy. We will start our study of strategy at
the business level and examine the challenges of managing a firm competing in a single
industry. An integral part of this study will be an exploration of the components of strategy
and how they vary among settings and situations. In most large and medium-sized firms,
corporate strategy is different from business strategy because of the multiplicity of
businesses in which the firm is involved. We will explore the differences in corporate and
business-level (or divisional-level) strategies and the requirements each places on managers
at different levels in the firm. At each level, competitive strategy issues will be considered.
Successful general managers are highly competent in problem identification and
analysis and have a strong action orientation. One purpose of this course is to provide an
environment that will allow you to hone these skills, while at the same time gain a
conceptual understanding of the strategic manager's task. While few people start their
careers as general managers, this course should benefit virtually all students for several
reasons. First, ongoing trends in the corporate world towards “flatter”, less hierarchical
organizations have resulted in strategic decisions being made at even lower hierarchical
levels, often by relatively junior people. Second, a number of factors, including technological
change and the shift to global markets, have forced established firms to become
increasingly innovative and entrepreneurial, and such initiatives often spring from lower
level organizational ranks. Third, functional specialists such as professionals in MSIS,
marketing, and finance are the people whom general managers rely both to implement a
firm’s existing strategy and collect the information needed to update and revise it. Since
functional managers are often under pressure to fix problems in their own areas without
regard to the overall business, it is critical that they develop a keen awareness and
appreciation of the challenges facing the firm as a whole.
Strategic management is more than analysis. To be sure, strategic analysis is an
important part of this course, and we will explore and apply several analytical techniques for
positioning a firm or a business unit within a competitive environment. But, strategic
analyses are complicated by the trade-offs inherent in any situation. These trade-offs reflect
the fact that organizations consist of many players with multiple, competing objectives.
When dealing with these tradeoffs, general managers must confront the judgmental issues
involved in establishing organizational purpose and balancing economic and noneconomic
objectives. To the extent possible, in each class we will attempt to balance these tradeoffs
and to test our ideas about the appropriate relationships among them.
Finally, strategic management requires moving beyond analysis and trade-offs into
the realm of strategic action. Once the analytical problem of selecting a business or
corporate strategy has been dealt with, we should know what to do. Knowing how to
execute the selected strategy is essential to success. To the extent possible in each case, we
will concern ourselves with the various combinations of systems (for example, information,
control, reward, etc.), organization structures, and people necessary to execute a given
strategy. We will test our ideas about the relationships between strategy and these other
elements as we proceed through the course.
General Flow of the Course
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The assignments are detailed in a later section. Please read through them to get an idea of
the specific content of the course and each class meeting. In general, we will start with
single-business or dominant-business companies and proceed to multiple-business
companies. Similarly, we will begin with basic techniques of analysis and then expand and
modify them to fit a range of situations. We will examine many sectors of the economy (for
example consumer products, service businesses, and hi-tech). As we proceed through the
course, the classes and cases used in them will "build" on each other in such a way that the
knowledge and skills gained in analyzing one session can be used in subsequent cases.
Throughout the course we will maintain our concern with both analysis and
implementation.
Course Objectives
1. Development and reinforcement of a general management point of view -- the capacity
to view the firm from an overall perspective, in the context of its environment.
2. Development of an understanding of fundamental concepts in strategic management:
the role of the general manager, the levels and components of strategy, competitive
analysis, and organizational evolution.
3. Development of those skills and knowledge peculiar to general management and the
general manager's job that have not been covered in previous functional courses.
4. Synthesis of the knowledge gained in previous courses and understanding what part of
that knowledge is useful to general managers.
5. Development of an awareness of the various impacts of external environmental forces
on business and corporate strategy.
6. Practice in distinguishing between basic causes of business problems and attendant
symptoms.
7. Practice in working out business strategies and implementation plans.
8. Development of habits of orderly, analytical thinking and skill in reporting conclusions
effectively in both written and oral form.
9. Familiarity with some of the practical realities of running different types of businesses.
Performance Measures and Feedback
Grading Policies
Your grade for the course will be based on the following components:
35% Class participation (inclusive of online quizzes)
15% Short group presentation
20% Written mid-term case analysis – individual assignment
30% Group Project
Class Participation
The quality of the sessions, in a course such as this, is highly dependent on your involvement
and participation. These marks are given for both attending the session, and proactively and
vocally participating in the discussions. Opportunities for more informal online interaction
(the IVLE online forum) will also be made available. You are required to take an online quiz
on IVLE before each class (starting from session 2). The online quiz will be based on the
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assigned textbook chapter and case. Your class participation grade will also depend on your
performance in these online quizzes.
Short group presentation
Each group is expected to make a short presentation on an assigned topic. You are
encouraged to get in touch with the instructor if you need any clarifications or suggestions
on preparing for the topic. You can also choose another topic (that is appropriate for the
class in which you are slotted to present) after getting approval from the instructor. The
presentation should not exceed fifteen minutes. Submit a hard copy of your slides before
your presentation and post a copy on IVLE as well.
Mid-Term Individual Case Analysis
The mid-term case analysis is an individual assignment. Only the course text and other
course reading materials should be used to prepare for the case analysis. In preparing the
paper, you may of course use exhibits to support your arguments or conclusions. The results
of the application of various analytical tools, for example, are appropriate for exhibits. You
may use as many exhibits as you deem necessary. Be sure to refer to each exhibit in the
relevant places in the paper. Your analysis, exclusive of exhibits, should not exceed 5 pages
(double-spaced, 12 font size and 1 inch margin on all sides). Papers should be submitted
without folders, cover sheets, or any other incidental pages. Please submit a soft copy on
IVLE as well. The case will be handed to you during the class on September 14th and your
paper is due by 30 September, 5 PM.
Group Project
There will be two components to the Group Project: a written submission and a
presentation. Each group member’s contribution will be taken into account, through peer
review, before the group’s marks are apportioned to each individual group member.
Students are required to form a group of 4-5 to analyze one of the following aspects of a
selected company:
1. Business Strategy
2. Corporate strategy
3. Globalization strategy
4. Technology strategy
5. Organization structure and control
The paper can be written on the basis of 1) findings of personal interviews of senior
managers and information gathered from secondary sources; or 2) information from
secondary sources only. You are strongly encouraged to use primary sources (i.e., talk to
managers) for this project. If you are planning to do a report based only on secondary
sources, please let the instructor know in advance. Additional details will be made available
on IVLE.
The maximum length of the group paper is 15 pages (double-spaced, 12 font size and 1 inch
margin on all sides) excluding references, tables and charts. The group paper is due on 4th
November, 5 PM, and the presentations are to be made during the classes held in sessions
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13 and 14. All students are expected to attend the presentations irrespective of whether
their group is making the presentation.
Other Administrative Details
Since faculty members tend to have somewhat different expectations as to class behavior
and course norms, I'd like to outline a few of my expectations concerning such matters.
1. I plan to be prepared for every class and I expect you to do the same. Since I frequently
call on individuals whose hands are not raised, you should let me know before the start
of the class if some emergency has made it impossible for you to be prepared
adequately for that class.
2. I consider attendance at every class to be very important. Please schedule other
activities at times other than those during which this class meets. In the event that you
do have to miss a class during the semester, I would appreciate it if you would let me
know in advance of that class.
3. I will be happy to discuss the course, your progress, or any other issues of interest to you
on an individual basis.
4. Given the importance of this course, I will do everything that I can to use class time
effectively and ask that you do the same. This will include arriving, starting, and ending
on time.
5. Group work is acceptable and strongly encouraged for purposes of case preparation for
classroom discussion.
6. Laptops, smart phones, and other electronic devices may not be used in class.
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BMA 5013_F1 - Class Outline
Date
Course Plan
Article/ Case
Session 1
Course Introduction
The Concept of Strategy (Grant, Ch. 1)
Industry Competitive Analysis
(Grant, Ch. 3)
Organizational Resources & Capabilities
(Grant, Ch. 5 & Ch. 6)
Competitive Dynamics & Sustaining
Competitive Advantage
(Grant, Ch. 4 & Ch. 8)
Cost Leadership & Differentiation Advantage
(Grant, Ch. 9 & Ch. 10)
What is Strategy (Porter)
Technology and Innovation Management
(Grant, Ch. 12)
The Scope of the Firm: Diversification &
Portfolio Planning
(Grant, Ch. 16)
3M Optical systems
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Session 6
Session 7
Session 8
Session 9
The Scope of the Firm: Vertical Integration
(Grant, Ch. 14)
The Scope of the Firm: Alliances & Acquisitions
Session 10
Global Strategy
Session 11
Session 12
Organization Structure & Strategy
Implementation
(Grant, Ch. 7 & Ch. 17)
Integrated Case
Session 13 & 14
Project Presentations
Suggested Topics for Student
Presentations
The five forces that shape competitive strategy (Porter)
IOI Group from Malaysia
Harlequin Enterprises: The Mira Decision
Matching Dell
South Beauty Group: In Quest of a ‘Beautiful’ Growth Story
How FC Barcelona’s resources and
capabilities contribute to its performance
Dell’s recent performance
Sheng Siong - Cost leadership strategies
in retailing in Singapore/ Uniqlo’s
competitive advantage
Emergence of Facebook Groupon
Why focused strategies may be wrong for emerging markets (Khanna &
Palepu)
Sony Corporation (A) – The vision of tomorrow (SP&H)
Sony Corporation (B) – Back to the future (SP&H)
Mini cases (to be distributed in the class)
Diversification in emerging markets
When to ally and when to acquire (Dyer, Kale & Singh)
Tata Motors (A): Acquisition of Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company (SP&H)
Tata Motors (B): Integration of Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company (SP&H)
P&G Japan: The SK-II globalization project
Alliances in the airline industry
Singapore Airlines: Aligning Strategy and Organization (SP&H)
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Singapore’s national competitive
advantage
Sony vs. Samsung – Differences in
Organization Structure