Strategic Analysis and Decision Making - Dr. William G. Forgang Mount St. Mary's University
Course Description
This capstone course examines the design and execution of a firm's competitive strategy.
Students are organized into management teams and run the Capstone®; simulation. Each team directs a manufacturing company over eight rounds. Teams design their firm's competitive strategy and execute that strategy through operating decisions in product design and development, research and development, sales forecasting, production scheduling, capacity and inventory management, pricing, marketing, human resource management, financial management, and quality initiatives.
As a capstone class, prior learning in the MBA program is important. As in all courses with prerequisites, a student's grade is affected by prior learning.
The simulation is internet-based; teams upload their decisions according to a fixed schedule. The teams' decisions interact and simulate a competitive market place.
Rules and Procedures
- Students must comply with the course schedule. Teams that do not upload decisions on time will be dropped from the course, and (F) grades will be recorded. Uploads are due by midnight on the specified dates: see course schedule.
- I will run the simulation by noon on the day after team decisions are up-loaded.
Students: After each round. (a) Print a copy of the Capstone Courier. This document summarizes the results and sets the starting conditions for the next round. (b) Download the results to begin the next round. - Each Team must designate a CEO. The CEO is obligated to report if any employees are not making full contributions. Students can be -fired- and will earn an (F) for the course.
- The team with the highest stock price at the end of round #8 is the winner!
- Classes are organized as follows:
- Week #1: Mostly lecture with some time set aside for teams to work
- Week #2: Time will be set aside to answer questions; most of the class period is reserved for teams to make round #1 decisions. I will work with each team to prevent errors.
- Weeks #3 - #7: Some time will be reserved for teams to make their decisions; however, you will need to have most of the work done before coming to class. Most of the class time will be spent discussing planning and strategy.
- It is likely that each team will need to meet one time outside of class between class session #1 and session #2. After session #2, teams should be able to communicate via e-mail.
Accreditation and Outcomes Assessment
The Department of Business, Accounting, and Economics is working towards national accreditation through the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Educators. One important step in the accreditation process is the assessment of student learning. As a capstone course in the MBA program, MBA 519 is an appropriate place to administer assessment devices. You will be engaged in the assessment process in two ways:
De-Briefs
Written assignments in this course involve your de-brief of rounds of the simulation. Instructions and hints are shown in the syllabus. I will grade the de-brief as a regular course assignment. In addition, the papers will be evaluated by one other reader relative to the department's learning objectives. The learning objectives are presented in table format at the end of the syllabus.
Comprehensive Exam
In integral responsibility associated with the accreditation is an assessment of student learning. The Department of Business, Accounting, and Economics administers the Education Testing Service's MBA- field test. It is a nationally benchmarked exam for MBA students. The exam is comprised of multiple choice questions and in two ninety- minute sections. We will do one- half of the exam on May 29 and the second half on June 5th. A student's score on the national examine counts 10% of the course grade, as follows:
Scoring at the national average or higher results in a (A)
Scoring within two standard deviations of the national average results in a (B)
Scoring below two standard deviations from the national average results in a (C)
Schedule
Date | Activity | Topic | Assignment |
May 8 | Class #1 | Intro to Strategy Design and Execution and the Simulation | Register with Capsim Read: User's Manual and Text Chapter #1 |
May 15 | Class #2 | Competitive Strategy and Decision- Making | Due: Strategy Memo Upload: Round #1
|
May 22 | Class #3 | Performance Measurement Systems | Upload Round #2 Finish Reading Text De- Brief 1 Due |
May 25 Friday | Not A Class | Upload Round 3 Work at location of your choice | Upload Round #3 |
May 29 | Class #4 | Gelles Case and Strategic Decision Making | Upload Round #4 First half of exam |
June 5
| Class #5 | Competitor Strengths and Weaknesses Market Analysis And Asset Allocations Industry Analysis | Upload Round #5 Second half of exam |
June 12
| Class 6 | Five Forces of Competition Vertical and Horizontal Integration Managing the Supply Chain Upload round #6 | Upload Round #6
|
June 15 Friday | Not a Class | Upload Round #7 | Upload Round #7 |
June 19 | Class #7 | Open Discussion What is real and not real about the Simulation Process Round Identify Winners! | Upload Round #8 |
June 26 | Not a Class | Due: Lessons Learned |
Grading
Task | Date | Each student prepares three de- briefs over the semester. You will de- brief three of the first six rounds. De- briefs are due one week after the round has been processed. % Weight |
Strategy Memo Team | May 15 | 10% |
De-Brief 1 Individual | You pick the round | 20% |
De-Brief 2 Individual | You pick the round | 20% |
De- Brief #3 Individual | You pick the round | 20% |
Lessons Learned Individual | June 26 | 10% |
Participation Individual | All semester | 10% |
Comprehensive Individual | May 25 and June 5 | 10% |
Total |
| 100% |
Grading Policies
Grades are not directly tied to your firm's performance in the simulation. Success in the simulation matters but is not sufficient to earn an (A). Teams must explain the logic of their decisions, and capital expenditures must be justified via quantitative analysis.
Because of the weight assigned to -Participation- and because the Gregory's assignment is completed individually, team mates may not earn the same grade.
READ THE STUDENT GUIDE VERY CAREFULLY. KNOWLEDGE OF THE -RULES OF THE GAME- IS IMPORTANT. ERRORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LACK OF PREPARATION ARE SERIOUS!
The de-briefs will be graded as regular course assignments.
Hints
Strategy Memo
Write a mission statement for your firm
Define your firm's competitive strategy
Corporate level strategy and lines of business strategy
Build a weighted value proposition to display the lines of business strategies
Specify performance measures to monitor execution of corporate level and lines of business strategies.
Forecast the sweet spot for each product for each round
Forecast the size of the market for each product for each round. Project your sales by product and by round, assuming your market share stays constant. Identify, by product, when production requires overtime and when added capacity is needed. Think about how you will choose between over time (or second shift) and additional capacity.
De-Briefs
Consider these papers to be internal management reports
Each of the following items should be considered but the format of the papers is up to each team.
Each team should have rolling three year goals for: gross sales, market share by product, profit, stock price, and contribution margin. Each de-brief should include an assessment of the firm's performance relative to the goals, an extension of the goals to keep a rolling three-year set. You are to offer action plans for how the goals are to be met.
* Be sure to link action planning to your three year goals - be specific
Your firm's strategy and how decisions reflect execution of that strategy
Evaluate your firm's performance, using properly sequenced performance measures.
Provide a financial overview of the firm.
Use ratio analysis - do not rely only the ratios calculated by the simulation - to diagnose status of your firm
Report upon threats and / or opportunities
Cite impending (and costly) decisions
Justify major decisions using financial analysis:
Capacity expansion vs. over time
Justify all capital outlays (capital budget analysis)
Capacity expansion
New product introductions / elimination of products
Automation expenses
TQM initiatives
Significant changes in marketing
Assess the competitive position of your firm relative to rivals and consider important characteristics of individual markets
Consider how you and why allocated scarce resources among functions and products
The de- briefs are lengthy assignments. Expect papers to run 10 - 15 pages.
Lessons Learned
This is an individual assignment!
Write 3 - 5 pages describing the lessons learned from the simulation. Provide examples of how the course changed your thinking about competitive strategy, leadership, and decision making. How will the lessons affect your management style in the future?