REQUIRED TEXT:

Thompson, A. & Strickland, A.J., Crafting and Implementing Strategy: Text & Readings, Irwin Pub., 10th ed., 1998.

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

This seminar is designed as an integrative course which will create an atmosphere in which students can study and experience problems related to management of the total firm instead of its individual functions alone. The objectives are to introduce graduate students of business to the perplexities of multifunctional organization problems, to facilitate the development of a personalized approach to the analysis of them, and to introduce students to the principles of formal strategic management. The objective is not to try to teach students how to "run organizations," but rather to acquaint them with the idiosyncrasies to top management in contrast with functional management and to introduce them to issues and problems of particular concern to top managers. To accomplish the objectives of this course, it will be necessary to develop and/or improve the analytical, conceptual, technical, inter-personal, writing and speaking skills so necessary in your career. A basic understanding of economic, financial, marketing and management concepts is assumed.

SEMINAR OVERVIEW

This seminar will introduce the student to a variety of techniques and concepts for the formulation and implementation of a firm's strategy. The emphasis is on making strategic decisions under conditions of uncertainty and within the internal and environmental constraints faced by organizations. The seminar will have two primary segments. The segment of the seminar on strategy formulation will initially focus on the identification of a firm's strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities. This internal and external environmental analysis will facilitate the generation of strategic choices available which will capitalize on the firm's competitive advantages and core competencies while exploiting market opportunities. Inherent to the external environmental analysis will be the coverage of specific techniques for conducting industry and competitive analysis while the internal analysis will focus on functional and value chain techniques. Finally, the strategy formulation segment will conclude with the concept of "portfolio analysis" which is used to help in choosing the best corporate and business level strategies among the viable alternatives.

The second segment of the seminar will examine the components of the strategy implementation process. This involves designing appropriate organizational structures, choosing integration and control systems along with other administrative tasks that face a top manager in the strategic management of a firm. Other topics such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate entrepreneurship, new venture initiation and corporate social responsibility will also be addressed in this segment of the seminar.

In addition to being introduced to a variety of strategic management concepts and techniques, the primary purpose of this seminar is to integrate the individual's prior functional background in such a way as to enhance the student's ability to perform effective environmental and organizational analyses and improve unstructured decision-making from a top management perspective. Along with class discussions and lectures, this will be accomplished through intensive analyses of case descriptions of actual business situations.

METHODOLOGY:

There are two methodological aspects of the seminar: (1) the text and assigned readings, and (2) case analyses.

1. Chapters and assigned readings should be read and digested prior to class in the week for which they are assigned. They will be reviewed in class by lecture and/or class discussions. Individuals will be chosen to present certain aspects of the material covered. Since much of managerial work involves sharing ideas and group problem solving, your class participation will be considered an integral part of the course. It should be noted that, in my opinion, at this final stage of your academic career the importance and value of lectures are limited. Most of the reading materials will be covered in class through class discussions, questions from the students and questions from the professor. In other words, the material studied will not simply be rehashed in class. It will be assumed that you understand the assignment unless you ask questions. That is why it is extremely important that you prepare the assignment adequately prior to our class meetings each week. As you will notice on the course syllabus, the preponderance of reading materials will be covered during the first half of the course while the second half will be mostly devoted to case analyses and presentations. The course is structured as such because it is felt that you must have the proper background prior to doing complex case analyses.

2. Case analyses will be conducted in three ways:

   1. Case Presentations:
      Each group will present two cases to the class. Groups are expected to present, discuss and debate their analyses. There will be a 25 minute time limit on all presentations. A high level of professionalism is expected in these endeavors. Each group will turn in a complete set of overheads(hard copy)used in the presentation.

   2. Case Discussions:
      Individuals should be prepared to discuss and answer questions on the assigned case. Your class participation grade rests heavily on this component.

   3. Individual Written Case Analysis: There will be one in-class case analysis at the end of the semester. Specific instructions will be discussed in class.

EVALUATION:

1. Group Case Presentation Analyses (2)
   Individual Class Participation & Case Discussions
   Individual Case Analysis

GRADES:
A = 900-1000 points
B = 800-899 points
C = 700-799 points
D = 600-699 points
F = 599 and lower
The +/- system will be used.

2. Peer evaluation: Each member of the group will turn in a "peer evaluation" of his/her group members at the end of the semester. These evaluations will be held in strictest confidence and results will not be disclosed to any individual until the close of the semester. At that point a student will have the prerogative to inquire about his/her total score as rated by his/her group. There will be no individual scores available for any reason. The obvious purpose of these evaluations is to assist the professor in determining an individual's contribution to the case analyses.

3. Class participation will be measured by your degree of preparedness and consistency of quality contributions to class discussions. In regard to discussions of case analyses participation will be assessed based on your willingness to challenge the ideas of peers and your ability to take and defend positions which may be challenged. Attendance and punctuality will also be included in this component.