MIS 64185 Fall 2012 Israeli
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BUSINESS STRATEGY, Syllabus – Fall 2012
Class: T 6:35-9:15 pm, Stark Campus
Course & Section: BAD 64185 SEC 001/002
Professor: Dr. Aviad Israeli
Email: aisraeli@kent.edu
Phone/Voicemail: (330) 672-1149
Office and office hours: Kent Campus – A422 BSA MW 10:30-11:30, Stark Campus – by appointment
Required Texts and Materials:
Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, and Strickland, Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage, 18th Edition. ISBN: 0078112729
Class notes, assignments, grades and other course related material will be accessible through the FlashLine – Backboard Learn course site.
Course objectives:
1. To develop your capacity to think strategically about a company, its present business position, its long-term direction, its resources and competitive capabilities, the caliber of its strategy, and its opportunities for gaining and sustaining competitive advantage.
2. To build your skills in conducting strategic analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations and, especially, to provide you with a stronger understanding of the competitive challenges of a global market environment.
3. To integrate the knowledge gained in earlier core courses in the business school curriculum, show you how the various pieces of the business puzzle fit together, and demonstrate why the different parts of a business need to be managed in strategic harmony for the organization to operate in winning fashion.
4. To develop your powers of managerial judgment, help you learn how to assess business risk, and improve your ability to make sound business decisions and achieve effective outcomes.
Course expectations:
Your participation in class discussions and your presentation of the assigned group case and the group case write-up will allow you to benefit from this course and will all count in determining your overall grade in the course. In addition, the final exam will include all reading from the textbook. Therefore, each student is expected to contribute to in-class analysis and discussion. Merely coming to class and listening to the discussion of assigned cases is not sufficient; attendance is not participation.
Before each group’s case presentation, you should read the “Guide to Case Analysis” posted in the “Student Edition” section of the text Web site (www.mhhe.com/thompson). This is especially important for class members are not familiar with the case method and with how to prepare a case for class discussion and for written analysis. The guide provides explicit direction in the mechanics of coming to class adequately prepared for class discussion of an assigned case. The hints and pointers in the Guide to Case Analysis should help students get off to a better start and orient them to the traditional analytical sequence of (1) identify, (2) evaluate, and (3) recommend.
Attendance at all class sessions is expected and will be graded, but attendance is mandatory on the dates assigned for students’ case presentations. If you must miss class discussion of an assigned case, you will need to provide advance notice. In addition, you are required to turn in answers to the assignment questions for the case. The make-up work for the missed case discussions is due no later than the following class period.
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Grading:
Points are allocated as follows:
Assignment
Points
Class participation and contribution
20
Case write-up
20
Case presentation
20
Final exam
40
The grading scale is as follows:
Total percentage earned
Grade
≥ 92.5 points
A
≥89.5 points
A-
≥87 points
B+
≥82.5 points
B
≥80 points
B-
≥77.5 points
C+
≥72 points
C
≥68.5 points
D+
≥ 62points
D
Below 62 points
F
According to University Guidelines the grades are converted to your grade point average by the following rules: A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B = 3.0, B- = 2.7, C+ = 2.3, C = 2.0, C- = 1.7, D+ = 1.3, D = 1.0, F = 0.0
Academic Honesty Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. In addition, it is considered to cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.
Student Feedback: Formal class evaluations will be distributed at the end of the term. However, if there are any problems or concerns during the semester, this feedback will be appreciated. Student can e-mail me at aisraeli@kent.edu and offer any suggestions, insights or other feedback throughout the semester.
Students with Disabilities: University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary adjustments for conducting the examinations. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability) for more information on registration procedures.
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Course calendar: Please note that this is a tentative course calendar. In case of significant changes, I will inform you by email.
Meeting date:
Class topics:
Read chapters (before class meeting).
Suggested complementary readings (in bold)
August 28
Introduction
1
September 4
What is strategy and why is it important
Charting a company’s direction
2,3
September 11
Evaluating a company’s external environment
4
Porter M.E. (2008) "The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy" Harvard Business Review, January 2008: 79-83.
September 18
Evaluating a company’s resources capabilities and competitiveness
5
Gautam R, Barney J.B. Muhanna W.A. (2004) "Capabilities, Business Processes, and Competitive Advantage: Choosing the Dependent Variable in Empirical Tests of the Resource-Based View", Strategic Management Journal, 25: 23–37
September 25
The (five) generic competitive strategies
6
Parnell J.A. (2006) "Generic Strategies after Two Decades: A Reconceptualization of Competitive Strategy" Management Decisions, 44(8): 1139-1154.
October 2
Strengthening a company’s competitive position
7
October 9
Strategies for competing in international markets
8
October 16
Corporate strategy
9
October 23
Ethics, corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability and strategy
10
October 30
Building an organization capable of good strategy execution
11
November 6
Managing internal operations, corporate culture and responsibility
12, 13
November 13
Case presentation and discussion
November 20
Case presentation and discussion
November 27
Case presentation and discussion
December 4
Review – current issues in corporate strategy
Finals week
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PLEASE NOTE that the timing of the final exam is not under the control of your instructor, but has been posted long ahead of time on the University Registrar’s website. Its timing, as well as that of your other exams, can be verified by accessing the official Registrar’s website.
Cases (two students per group):
Case 12 Google’s Strategy in 2010
Case 15 Skype versus AT&T and the Future of Telecommunications
Case 23 Starbucks’ Strategy and Internal Initiatives to Return to Profitable Growth
Case 25 Good Hotel: Doing Good, Doing Well?
Case 28 Countrywide Financial Corporation and the Subprime Mortgage Debacle
