MIS 44285 Spring 2011 Teeters

M&IS 44285: INTEGRATED BUSINESS POLICY / STRATEGY

College of Business

Kent State University

Spring 2011

 Section 007 CRN 15230

Classroom: BSA 206

Time: T/Th. 5:30 – 6:45p.m

 

 

PROFESSOR:           Brian Teeters

Office:                         BSA Adjunct office 4th floor

Telephone:                   317-374-0500 cell

E-mail address:           bteeters@kent.edu
Office hours:               By appointment

 

READING MATERIALS:

Required:        1. Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization Concepts, 9th Edition, 2011, Michael A. Bitt, R. Duane Ireland, & Robert E. Hoskisson.  (Available at KSU bookstore, or at www.iChapters.com)

 

2.  Course pack with cases selected by the professor (available at www.shop.coursepacksetc.com).           

 

Optional:         A general business magazine or newspaper such as Business Week, Fortune, or The Wall Street Journal is recommended. Selected materials from these sources may be assigned from time to time.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course draws upon theoretical developments and empirical findings in the field of strategic management to provide an understanding of how organizations choose to compete in a given marketplace, why some succeed and others fail, and what can be done to improve a firm's competitive position and economic performance. In a nutshell, the course is about business success and failure. We will explore sources of competitive advantage and disadvantage of individual businesses and consider ways in which they could enhance their strategic position. We will also discuss sources of long-term shareholder value created (or destroyed) by diversified corporations.

 

The course takes the perspective of a practitioner general manager. Two main implications derive from this. First, the course is not just about concepts and analytical frameworks, but rather about their practical application to real-life business situations. Second, the emphasis of the course is on making the total organization successful, as opposed to concentrating on any single business function. As such, the course is designed to build upon previous work in the business program, providing a "total business" perspective. You will be able to integrate, and build upon material you have learned previously in your economics, finance, marketing and organizational behavior courses.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

This course provides students with the opportunity to:

(1) Improve general business knowledge and provide understanding of the interplay among different business areas.

(2) Learn about a number of influential strategic management ideas, concepts, principles, and analytical frameworks.

(3) Apply these concepts, principles, and frameworks to real-life business cases.

(4) Hone analytical skills and managerial decision-making ability.

(5) Develop the ability to structure, present, and sustain arguments in front of colleagues, as well as the ability to listen and react to the arguments of others.

 

CLASS FORMAT:

The course is a broad survey of several topics of interest within the academic field known as Strategic Management. For each topic you will be assigned one book chapter and one case to prepare. Book chapters introduce concepts and managerial tools related to the topic. Cases provide real-life business situations that call for application of the concepts and tools learned. We will meet in class to discuss both kinds of materials. Accordingly, class time will be evenly split between theory and case analysis sessions.

During our theory sessions, I will review and extend what you have read in the assigned book chapters. The purpose of these sessions is three-fold: (1) to reinforce main ideas, (2) to discover and clarify any remaining misconceptions, and (3) to provide you with an opportunity to ask further questions on each topic.

During case analysis sessions, the focus will be on diagnosing what is critical in a complex business situation and on finding pragmatic solutions to the strategic and/or organizational problems at hand. We intend to benefit from group thinking and to learn from each other during these exchanges. I will take on a discussion facilitator role, guiding the group toward main discussion themes and/or asking specific questions. In turn, students are expected to introduce their own ideas and points of view, and to draw, challenge, and build upon ideas expressed by others. The liveliness and pedagogical value of these sessions will largely depend on the extent to which students engage the material and take ownership for class discussions.

 

WORK EXPECTATIONS:

Pages 10 to 18 of this syllabus contain a detailed course schedule, with reading assignments and study/discussion questions for each of our meeting times this semester.

 

For each class session, it is expected that:

(1) Students will be prepared. For a theory session, this means having read the
assigned chapter and being familiar with the concepts and tools contained therein.
For a case-study session, it means having read and analyzed the case, and coming to class with a set of personal notes containing your best thinking. Study questions are provided to highlight key issues and to guide your analysis. If students are unprepared for class, written assignments based on chapters or cases will be assigned on the spot.

(2) Student will be active participants. During theory sessions this means answering questions presented by the professor, asking your own questions, and volunteering experiences or insights related to the topic. You may also be called upon to talk about an issue.

 

During case sessions, it means contributing your own ideas as well as building
upon, or disagreeing with, ideas expressed and positions taken by others. You may also be called upon to present your analysis or to lead a discussion. You cannot be an active participant unless you are fully prepared for class.

 

Given work load and expectations, here is my estimate of what it will take for you to be
successful in this course:

(1) Assigned chapters are about 30 pages each. Accordingly, you should plan on a
minimum of 2 hours of reading to prepare for a theory session.

 

(2) Assigned cases are also about 20 pages each. However, preparing a case is a bit more involved and it will require a minimum of 6 hours distributed as follows:

(i) Review of assigned discussion questions (to be found in pages 10 to 18 of this syllabus) followed by a first read of the case, highlighting important information and making notes on the margins. The objective here is to learn about the case's facts and to identify those that are most relevant. (2 hours).

(ii) A focused second read of the case (mostly you go over your prior marks and notes). The objective now is to gain further familiarity with issues pertinent to the required analysis. (1 hour).

(iii) Your critical analysis. Typically, you will be asked to identify and characterize the roots of problems, which will call for you to apply tools, concepts, and models introduced in the preceding theory session(s). Often, you will also be asked to propose appropriate solutions as well. Use your best thinking and try to come up with practical recommendations that make good business sense. (2 hours, minimum).

(iv) Producing a minimum set of notes containing your analysis and final
conclusions. (1 hour).  

 

You should bring your case notes to class with you, to support your arguments during our discussion. To the extent possible I also recommend that you meet in small, informal groups to further discuss cases before class. Experience shows that students in large class groups tend to participate more when they have adopted a position before walking into class, and when they have some smaller group that they identify with. Create a study group that meets after everyone has completed their own independent analysis of the case's facts/issues. This will provide opportunities to present your preliminary conclusions and have others react to them, prior to the large-group discussion in class.

 

In sum, you should plan on investing a minimum of 8 hours per topic to prepare for class (work loads are lighter for the first 5 weeks and heavier afterwards).

EVALUATION:

Class Participation, Quizzes and Write-ups:   30%

            Examinations:                                     70%

                        First Exam:                  25%

                        Second Exam:             25%

                        Final:                           20%

 

GRADING SCALE:

Final course (letter) grades will be assigned using the new plus/minus grading system adopted by the University. Also, numerical grades for all course components will be expressed in a 4.0 scale. The equivalence between numerical and letter grades will roughly follow the same scale used by the University to award academic honor points. Specifically, the grading scale for this course will be as follows:

3.6 - 4.0           A

3.4 - 3.5           A-

3.1 - 3.3           B+

2.7 - 3.0           B

2.4 - 2.6           B-

2.1 - 2.3           C+

1.7 - 2.0           C         

1.4 - 1.6           C-

1.1 - 1.3           D+

0.8 - 1.0           D

0.0 - 0.7           F

 

PARTICIPATION:

Participation is instrumental to achieving the learning objectives of the course: Obviously, participation is directly related to Learning Objective (L.O.) #5. Also, participation in case discussions relates to L.O.s #3 & #4. Finally, the active participation format provides constant incentives to be prepared for each and every class, which in turn contributes to L.O.s #1 & #2. Correspondingly, participation is an important component of your course grade.

 

Credit for participation will be earned as follows:

 

Session contributor. When you contribute your understanding (either voluntarily or prompted by the professor), or pose interesting questions.  You should be ready and try to contribute every single class.

Prepared student. Completing your assigned work by the date indicated in this syllabus is an absolute requirement; not a source of credit.
You are not participating unless you go a step further and contribute your thoughts to the class discussion. I encourage you to do so.

Unprepared student. Students are expected to have completed the assigned work for each and every class. If called upon and found unprepared, this is almost as memorable to the instructor as brilliant insight that a student might share.

Also, students' personal case-analysis notes (see below) may be collected for review at any time; quizzes or short exercises may be assigned in class at the professor's discretion. Evaluation of all these areas will become part of your participation grade.

Personal case analysis notes collected- 5 points each.

Formal (typed) case analysis- 15 points each.

Quizzes - 1-5 points each

Extra Credit reports- 10 points each.

 

 

 

If for unexpected reasons you could not complete the assigned work for a one class, you should approach me at the beginning of the session and let me know about it. I will excuse your participation for that day and make sure not to call upon you. I will exempt you, as well, from any on-the-spot assignment/review that might take place during such class period.

 

REMEMBER: Any and all comments/opinions emanating from your understanding of course materials are always welcome. And you get participation credit every time you add to our discussion. One doesn't need to be "right" to make a contribution. First of all, there is typically more than one reasonable alternative solution to managerial problems. Hence, the very idea of a "right" solution is often an oxymoron in the context of this course. Second, bold proposals or somewhat faulty arguments often make most valuable contributions: The former may open a new line of argument, while the latter gives us something to work with and may trigger a clarifying and enriching debate. So, just come to class prepared and share your best thinking with us!

 A student must be prepared and be an active and persistent contributor to get a good participation grade.

 

 

WRITE-UPS:

There is no format requirements for case analysis notes that you bring regularly to
case sessions, as these are intended for your own personal use during the discussion (e.g.,
notes need not be typed -even if they end-up being collected by the professor). The
exception to this rule occurs when you are given advanced notice that a particular case
analysis will be turned in. In such instances, it is expected that your write-up will be
typed, and that it will conform to the format guidelines discussed below.

 

At this time, three of your regular case reports are scheduled to be collected: (1) the "Saturn" case report, due Feb. 8; (2) the "Adolph Coors" case report,
due Feb. 24; and (3) the "SITEL" case report, due April 28. Other report submissions may be announced as the semester progresses. Scheduled 'hand-ins' will be graded on a points basis, with points contributing towards your participation/write-up grade. To receive
credit, write-ups must (i) tackle and complete the assignment and (ii) follow the format
requirements outlined below. Therefore, please make sure that you understand the assignment and to fully execute the task(s) at hand. Feedback for these exercises will be
provided immediately after submitting reports, in the form of class discussion. Two implications derive from this: First, no late write-ups can be accepted. Second, students
should bring an extra-copy of their hand-in to class and use it to record feedback as the discussion progresses. You will receive a subsequent notice of points earned for your work. Hand-ins, are typically not returned.

 

Besides required hand-in of regular course assignments, there is an opportunity to
submit two additional case write-ups, for extra-credit. Materials subject to this opportunity are extension cases and write-ups are optional. For each case, discussion
questions are provided which constitute your assignment [for details, see pages 11 and 13
of the course schedule]. Extra-credit assignments will receive 10 points, depending on "quality". The latter refers to the level of understanding of the analytical tool(s) used, the depth and insightfulness of the analysis, and the judiciousness of conclusions and recommendations. Written feedback will be provided on these exercises.

Format. Case reports should be written as if you were a consultant working for
management. Several implications follow: First, your reader is busy running the
business and won't have the time to read a lengthy document. Therefore, try not to be
verbose; provide only information that is directly pertinent to answering the assigned
question(s); and think about the most effective way to present your ideas (may be a
table?). Second, your reader is very familiar with the firm and its industry. Hence, you
should refrain from wasteful repetition of the case's framing and/or unnecessary case
facts. Finally, your reader is most interested in the bottom line of your arguments,
conclusions, and final advice regarding the issues brought to your attention. Therefore,
state your findings and recommendations clearly.

 

The lion's share of your time should be spent gaining a good understanding of
case information and, then, analyzing the issues assigned -i.e., thinking, as opposed to
writing. When you finally reach your conclusions, you summarize your analysis and
recommendations in a direct, brief, and persuasive manner (e.g., use bullet points!). Your
 report should be focused, and your writing-style should be succinct and to the point.

 

Write-ups should be typed, using 1 inch margins and size 12 fonts. There should
be a cover page with the case title and student name on it. After that, assigned discussion questions should be addressed, one at a time, and in the assigned order. Number and
repeat each discussion question (as it appears in your syllabus) at the top of a new page,
and submit your best arguments after that. Format is important and it affects your grade.

 

EXAMINATIONS:

There will be two in-class examinations during the semester and a final exam.

Test dates (and time for the final) are provided in the course schedule (pages 10 to 18). Any/all changes to this schedule will be announced and documented as part of our class progress and discussions.

 

COURSE POLICIES

 

LATE ASSIGNMENTS:

Assignments may be turned in prior to the due date for full credit. Late work
without prior arrangements due to special circumstances will receive no credit. “Assignments due at beginning of class on……” means 5:30 PM that day.

 

 

 

 

MISSED CLASSES:

 

         When it is necessary for you to miss class, please secure discussion topics and notes from a classmate.

 

 

 

 

MISSED TESTS:

It is your responsibility to be in class at the assigned date and time for each exam
(unless arrangements were made in advance for an alternative time—see Test Make-up
Policy bellow). In order to adhere to standards of professionalism and academic rigor, as
well as out of fairness to students that meet course requirements, there will no make-up
tests for missed exams. The only exception to this policy might be under the rare
circumstance of a last minute emergency (i.e., accident, sudden illness, etc.) -see
"unplanned absences" bellow.

 

TEST MAKE-UP:

Since tests are scheduled during regular class periods or during the exam week,
there should be no time conflicts with other classes. Hence, make-up tests will be
arranged only under extenuating circumstances that justify your absence. There are two
types of justified exam absences:

·         Planned absences: If you do have an unavoidable time conflict (e.g., job interview trip, intercollegiate sports team travel), speak to me well in advance of the scheduled test date to make arrangements for an alternate time. There will be no make-up tests provided, due to planned absences, unless arrangements are made with me at least a week in advance of the test date. Also, no makeup test will be permitted more than one week after the regularly scheduled test date.

 

·         Unplanned absences: If an unplanned circumstance (i.e., illness or medical emergency) were to occur that makes you unable to attend an exam, you (or someone on your behalf) must get in touch with me as soon as possible, via phone or e-mail (indicating a phone number where you or the contact person can be reached). You will also need to provide a doctor's note or other proper verification of the confining emergency. Make-up tests will be provided only if and when your inability to physically attend the scheduled exam has been established.

 

 

 

OTHER UNIVERSITY and COLLEGE POLICIES

 

The following University and/or College policies apply to all students in this course:

 

A.    Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being
deregistered from the class.

 

B.     Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. You are
advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine)
during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this
class and section. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until
Sunday, January 23^rd to correct the error. If registration errors are not corrected
by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the
conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

 

C.     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.

 

D.    For spring 2011, the course withdrawal deadline is beginning of March.     Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

 

E.     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 classroom adjustments. 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 in registration procedures).

 

F.      Applying for graduation: It is your responsibility to apply for graduation before the
set deadline. If you apply after the deadline you will be assessed a $200 late fee.
Please see your academic advisor as soon as possible if you are uncertain as to your
progress toward graduation.

 

 

 

                  May Graduation: Apply before September 15^th.

                  August Graduation: Apply before December 15^th.

                  December Graduation: Apply before March 15^th.

 

 

 

To apply for graduation complete the following steps:

1.      Log onto your Flashline account

2.      Click on the Student Tools tab

3.      Look in the Graduation Planning Tool Box

4.      Click on Application for Graduation

 

*If an error message appears, you must contact your advisor.

 

 

M&IS 44285

Brian Teeters
Spring 2011 – Section 007 CRN 15230
COURSE SCHEDULE

 

 

Jan 11             Briefing: Course Presentation and overview

 

Lecture: Introduction to Strategic Management

 

Jan 13             Strategic Management: Key Concepts and Theories

               

Study Questions:

1.      What is strategic competitiveness, competitive advantage, and above-average returns?

2.      What is the difference between strategic mission and vision?

3.      According to the industrial organization (I/O) model, what should a firm do to earn above average returns?

4.      According to the resource-based view (RBV) model, what should a firm do to earn above average returns?

5.      What are the parts of the strategic management process? How are these parts interrelated?

 

 

Jan 18             External Environment Analysis

 

Study Questions:

1.      Why is it important for firms to understand the external environment?

2.      What are the different parts of external environment analysis?

3.      What are the differences between the general and the industry environment analysis?

4.      What is an industry? What determines profitability of an industry?

 

Jan 20             Porter's Five Forces Model

 

Study Questions:

1.      How does each of Porter's five forces impact profitability of an industry?

2.      What are the drivers of "Threat of Substitutes".

3.      Provide a definition for each of the drivers under "Threat of Entry"? How is each driver impacting this force? Can you come up with examples?

4.      Ditto for "Rivalry".

 

 

Jan 25             Porter's Five Forces Model (cont.)

 

Study Questions:

5.      What is the difference between barriers to entry and barriers to exit?

6.      Provide a definition for each of the "drivers" under "Bargaining Power of Suppliers"? How is each driver impacting this force?

7.      Ditto for "Power of Buyers".

 

                 Jan 27                    "The Boeing Company" case

 

Discussion Question:

Is the commercial jet aircraft manufacturing industry attractive in 1995?

 

[Hint: Perform an analysis of substitutes, barriers to entry, bargaining power of buyers, and rivalry. For each force, assess the strength of its component "drivers" and then reach a conclusion about the overall strength and key determinants of that force. Finally, combine your conclusions on the four forces analyzed to reach an overall judgment of the attractiveness of the industry].

 

 

Feb 1               "The Boeing Company" case (cont.)

 

Discussion Questions:

What changes are taking place in the industry? What is the industry outlook? Will the industry be more or less attractive in the future?

 

Feb 3               ** Optional Assignment due: "Crown, Cork, & Seal" write-ups will be collected at the beginning of class.

 

Internal Environment Analysis

 

Study Questions: (continued on next page)

1.      What are the differences between tangible and intangible resources?

2.      What are capabilities? How are they developed?

3.      What 4 criteria are used to determine which of a firm's resources & capabilities are its core competencies?

4.      What is the value chain and how can it aid in internal analysis?

5.      What does it mean for resources to be '''valuable''?    What does it mean for resources to be "rare"?

6.      What are the potential benefits & risks of outsourcing?

7.      What is the difference between imitability and substitutability?

8.      What mechanisms make core competencies costly to imitate?

9.      What is it meant by the 'test of organization'?

10.  What are core rigidities?

 

 

Feb 8               "Saturn: A Different Kind of Car Company" case

[Case write-ups 'will be collected at the beginning of class]

 

Discussion Questions:

1.      Is Saturn a successful company in 1994? Does it seem that Saturn has a competitive advantage at the time?

2.      What activities support Saturn's strategy for creating value?

[Hint: Use the value chain framework to list activities that are both valuable and rare. Focus your analysis on Operations (Mftg), Mktg & Sales, and HRM].

 

Feb 10             "Saturn: A Different Kind of Car Company" case (cont.)

 

Discussion Question:

3. Can these activities be easily duplicated? How sustainable is Saturn's positioning in the small car segment?

4.  How can Saturn's experience and knowledge be transferred throughout GM?

 

Briefing: Module Q&A and Exam information.

 

 

Feb 15             FIRST EXAMINATION

 

Feb 17             Business-Level Strategy

 

Study Questions:

1.      What is a proper definition of strategy and what are business-level strategies?

2.      How is competitive advantage achieved under each of Porter's generic business strategies?

 

 

Feb 22             Business-Level Strategy (cont.)

Study Question:

3. What are the requirements and risks associated with implementing each generic strategy?

 

Briefing: First Exam Feedback.

 

Feb 24             Adolph Coors in the Brewing Industry" case

 

[Case write-ups will be collected at the beginning of class]

 

Discussion Questions:

1.      Coors was very successful through the mid-l 970s. What was its strategy up to that point: How was its value chain configured at the time? What type of generic competitive advantage did such a value chain confer?

2.      How did Coors' operating performance change relative to its competitors' in the period between 1977 and 1985?

 

[Hint: Use Exhibit-9 in the case to produce a table with the entire operating statements of Coors and its key competitors for the years 1977 and 1985 in $ per barrel (so that statements are comparable across firms). Figures for 1985 should be expressed in $'s of 1977 (to be able to compare across time as well)]

 

 

Mar 1              ''Adolph Coors in the Brewing Industry" case (cont.)

Discussion Question:

3.  What are the reasons behind changes in Coors' performance? Are these changes dictated by changes in the industry environment, or are they rather the result of Coors own decisions/actions?

 

Mar 3              ** Optional Assignment due: "Husky Injection Molding Systems" write-ups will be collected at the beginning of class on March 3rd.

 

Corporate-Level Strategy.

 

Study Questions:

1.      What is corporate-level strategy? How is it different from business-level strategy?

2.      What is the difference between single, dominant-business, related-constrained, related-linked, and unrelated-diversified firms?

3.      How can the corporation create value over and above the value of its component businesses? What does corporate value mean? What is the ultimate test of a good corporate strategy?

4.      How do related diversified firms create corporate value?

5.      How is transferring core competencies different from sharing activities?

 

 

Mar 8              Corporate-Level Strategy (cont.)

 

Study Questions:

6.  Do unrelated diversified firms create corporate value?  How?

7.  What do we mean by external and internal motives to diversify?

 

"Eastman Kodak Company" case

 

Discussion Questions:

1.      Was Kodak a diversified corporation in the mid-1980s? What businesses had the firm entered at that point? Where these related or unrelated?

2.      How did Mr. Chandler modify the corporate portfolio of businesses? What were the results of his corporate strategy?

3.      How did Mr. Whitmore modify the corporate strategy? How would you evaluate his performance as CEO?

 

Mar 10            "Eastman Kodak Co. "case (cont.)

 

Discussion Questions:

4.      Does Fisher's down scoping strategy make sense, given Kodak's recent history?  What were its short-term results?

5.      What should be Kodak’s corporate strategy after the divestments?  Is it appropriate for Kodak to invest in emerging digital technology in 1995 or would it be best to manage the firm as a mature cash-cow?  Where would growth in the silver-halide business come from?

 

 

Mar 15            Acquisition and Restructuring Strategies

 

Study Questions:

1.      What are the alternative ways in which a firm may grow its portfolio of businesses?

2.      For what reasons might related-diversified firms choose to diversify by acquisitions?

3.      What problems are associated with acquisition strategies?

4.      What does 'restructuring' mean in the context of this chapter? What are the pros and cons of leveraged buyouts?

 

Mar 17            “Newell Company: Corporate Strategy" case

 

Discussion Questions:

1.      What is Newell's intended corporate strategy? What are all the ways in which Newell attempts to add value to the businesses within its portfolio?

2.      Does Newell have a successful corporate-level strategy? (i.e., is Newell adding value to businesses over and above the costs of corporate overhead?) How was Newell's performance through 19977

3.      Does the Calphalon acquisition make sense? Can Newell successfully service up-scale department store customers? Why or why not?

4.      Does the acquisition of Rubbermaid make sense?

 

Briefing: Module Q&A and Exam information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mar 22            Spring Break – No Classes

 

Mar 24            Spring Break – No Classes

 

 

Mar 29             Re-engage and review for exam.

 

 

Mar 31             Examination 2

 

 

 

 

Apr 5              Corporate Governance

 

Study Questions:

1.      What is corporate governance?

2.      What is an agency relationship? What assumptions does agency theory make about managerial agents? What are the alternative solutions to agency problems?

3.      What mechanisms are available to monitor top management in the context of the public corporation?

4.      What new developments in board governance resulted from the wave of corporate scandals in 2001-02 in the U.S.?

 

Briefing: Second Exam Feedback

 

Apr 7              Corporate Governance (cont.)

 

Study Questions:

5.      How can incentive compensation be used to align the interests of managerial agents with those of the firm's owners?

6.      What is the market for corporate control? How does this mechanism align top-level managers' and shareholders' interests?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apr 12                        "Sears, Roebuck & Co." case.

 

Discussion Questions:

1.      What was Sears’ situation during the second half of the 1980's? Was Ed Brennan's "new strategy" likely to reverse this situation?

2.      What was the role of the board of directors at Sears? Did directors fulfill their role? Why or why not?

3.      Where there any other governance mechanisms present in this case? How well were these mechanisms aligning the interests of managers and owners?

4.      Was Robert Monks' proxy contest in 1991 a kind of governance mechanism? What benefits (if any) resulted from it?

 

Apr 14                        Organizational Structure and Controls

 

Study Questions:

1.      What are the purposes of organization structure?  What is the difference between coordination and control?

2.      What are the basic types of organization structures, and what are their main characteristics?

3.      What are hybrid forms? What is a matrix organization?

 

 

Apr 19                        "Appex Corp." case

 

Discussion Questions:

1.      What are Appex problems when Shikhar Ghosh takes the COO Job? Do you agree with his early assessment that the company needed more "structure and control"?

2.      What was accomplished with the change to the circular structure? Did this resolve any of the original problems? What new problems resulted from this organizational solution?

3.      What was accomplished with the move to the functional structure in 1989? What new problems resulted from this structure? What changes were made, initially, to deal with these problems? Were changes effective? Why or why not?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apr 21                        "Appex Corp." case (cont.)

 

Discussion Questions:

4.      What benefits resulted from the company's transition to a divisional structure in 1990? What new problems emerged?

5.      What further structural changes would you recommend?

6.      What do you think of Mr. Ghosh's approach to organizational change? Where all the organizational changes necessary? Would you have done anything differently as CEO of Appex Corp. between 1988 and 1990?

 

 

Apr 26           Strategy-Structure Fit

Study Questions:

1.      What organizational structure characteristics are consistent with a cost-leadership strategy? What type of an organizational structure will support implementation of a differentiation strategy?

2.      What organizational structures are used to implement the related-constrained, related-linked, and unrelated diversification strategies?

3.      What are the main precepts and findings of the so-called "differentiated-fit" school of strategy implementation?

Briefing 1: Module Q&A and Exam information.

Briefing 2: Course closure and professor evaluations

 

Apr 28             Required hand-in: "SITEL Corp." case. Write-up is due.