Strategic Management Seminar - Dr. Mary T. Curren California State University, Northridge
COURSE OVERVIEW
I am a strong believer in active learning; consequently, this course entails the application of your business skills in a variety of contexts. For example, your analytic skills will be used in the discussion of a variety of cases and in the development of your simulation decisions and business plan. Your teamwork skills will be applied in your simulation group setting. Your listening skills will be applied in case discussions. Your oral communication skills will be used in case discussions and your presentation skills will be used in leading some of these discussions. Finally, your written communication skills will be used to develop case analyses, a memo on lessons learned from case analyses, a memo on lessons learned from working in a group, and a business plan for your simulation company.
COURSE PREREQUISITES
"Senior standing and completion of all other upper-division business major core courses. Passing score on the Upper Division Writing Proficiency Exam" (2000-2002 Catalog, p. 161). Proof of prerequisite fulfillment must be furnished by the second class meeting or you will not be allowed to remain in the class.
TEXTS
Hitt, Michael A., Ireland, R. Duane, and Robert E. Hoskisson (2001), Cases edition of Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization. Fourth Edition. South-Western College Publishing. ISBN: 0-324-04892-0.
Capstone®; Business Simulation Student Guide. Management Simulations, Inc. This book will be provided by the instructor in class; however, each student will have to register and pay for the simulation online at www.capsim.com. Team formation must occur before registration.
GRADES
Grading will use the plus/minus system and will be derived from the following:
20% Simulation Performance 20% Company Update
25% Business Plan 5% Memo on Group Learning
30% Participation
THE CAPSTONE®; BUSINESS SIMULATION
You will participate in a business simulation game with 3 or 4 partners. This is where you get to practice running a company without the risk of losing your job and/or real money. You will discover the strategic implications of cross-functional coordination between Research & Development, Marketing, Production, Human Resources, and Finance. You will quickly learn the value of strategic planning and execution as your team's competitive position is affected not only by your decisions, but by your competitors' decisions as well!
Decisions should be submitted to the website by 1:30 p.m. on the days noted in the schedule. Please allow time for technology mishaps (e.g., the network's being down, power outages). On those days when a game decision is due, I will be available for consultation in the Marketing Lab (BB 2103-2107) during class time and my office hours (BB 4144).
PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS
You are responsible for creating and implementing group performance appraisals for your simulation work (game and business plan). You must submit a signed copy of your performance appraisal form by the deadline for your first simulation decision.
When your group work is over, each group member should deliver his/her evaluation to the other members. In other words, each group member must individually evaluate each other group member and each group member should know how the others appraised his/her work. Then, I want each of you to provide me with your evaluation of the contribution made by each member of your team. I want you to take 100 points and allocate it appropriately across the team (include yourself). I will then use these appraisals to modify individual grades.
MEMO ON LESSONS LEARNED FROM GROUP WORK
Teamwork skills are important in today's business world. A memo on what you have learned from working in your team is due on November 27.
CASES
Over the course of your business career, you will be called on to make many decisions. Hopefully, your decisions will be based on sound reasoning, which requires a thorough examination of known factors and assumptions about the unknown. After analyzing cases all semester, you should be comfortable in analyzing any business situation. In order to ensure that you are prepared to discuss the case in class, I require you to submit a one-page, prioritized summary of the case issues at the beginning of class. These summaries are considered part of your class participation---I do not grade them per se, I skim them to make sure you were prepared for class discussion. I will not return these summaries to you.
PARTICIPATION
A good seminar requires active participation on the part of all members. I expect that each member will participate to the best of his or her ability. Participation requires preparedness, which is why I require a typed summary for each case. Write up the issues as you see them, prioritize your list, and hand this in when class starts.
The quality of your participation (both oral and written, with major emphasis on oral) will determine your grade. In order to make sure that you are not surprised by my assessment of your participation, I require you to complete a self-assessment in the middle of the semester. On October 18, a memo is due that indicates your perception of your participation (excellent, very good, good, fair, poor) and explains the basis for your perception. If my view is significantly different from yours, I will notify you and we can schedule an appointment to discuss it.
Please be professional and notify me in advance (e-mail, voice mail, message with secretaries) when you are unable to attend our meeting.
CASE UPDATE
Each student will prepare a written update of one of the companies we will examine in class. You will be responsible for sharing this information with the class on the day that we discuss that company.
Your update is not simply a research paper, although it must be based on research. You need to provide sufficient detail to enable the reader to recommend and justify a particular course of action for the company. I do not have a minimum or maximum page requirement. Keep in mind, however, that a good case provides sufficient detail while maintaining the reader's interest; thus, good organization is critical. Be sure to properly attribute credit to your sources. If you use the MLA style of referencing, you may be interested in the following website: www.noodletools.com/noodlebib.
BUSINESS PLAN
At the end of our simulation, your group needs to develop and hand in a business plan for your company. This paper is due during our final exam time. Here is an outline of what goes into a business plan:
I. Executive Summary
II. Organization and Staffing
III. Management
IV. Marketing Plan
A. Situation Analysis
B. SWOT Table
The following sections apply to the upcoming three years:
C. Objectives (these must be quantified: e.g., sales $, unit sales, market share)
D. Assumptions
E. Strategies and Tactics
F. Implementation Timetable
V. Financials (projections must cover the next 3 years and must be coordinated with the marketing plan)
A. Balance Sheets
1. Historic Balance Sheets
2. Projected (proforma) Balance Sheet
B. Income Statements
1. Historic
2. Projected
C. Cash Flow Statements (just projected)
NOTE FOR ALL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
COURSE SCHEDULE
8/28 Introduction. Email me at
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: tell me your name and class section.
8/30 Capstone®; team formation. Assignment of company updates. If you haven't e-mailed me yet, do so!
9/4 & 9/6 Capstone®; discussion. Register at www.capsim.com. Our SimID is CAP2482. You can use a credit card or electronic check.
9/11 Capstone®; - Practice #1. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
9/13 Capstone®; discussion and COBAE assessment test.
9/18 Capstone®; - Practice #2. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
9/20 No class: I will be at the Academy of Business Education conference in Wyoming.
9/25 Capstone®; - Practice #3. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
9/27 CASE: Amazon.com: Expanding Beyond Books.
If you intend to change teams for the real run of Capstone®; , you must let me know today.
10/2 Capstone®; - Period 1. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
10/4 CASE: Circus, Circus Enterprises.
10/9 Capstone®; -- Period 2. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
10/11 CASE: Cisco Systems, Inc.
10/16 Capstone®; -- Period 3. Decision due by 1:30 p.m. Draft of business plan (sections II-IVb) due.
10/18 CASE: LEGO. Memo on self-assessment of participation due.
10/23 Capstone®; -- Period 4. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
10/25 CASE: Mendocino Brewing Company, Inc. - 1996.
10/30 Capstone®; -- Period 5. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
11/1 CASE: Nucor Corp. and the U.S. Steel Industry.
11/6 Capstone®; -- Period 6. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
11/8 CASE: Southwest Airlines.
11/13 Capstone®; -- Period 7. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
11/15 CASE: Starbucks.
11/20 Capstone®; -- Period 8. Decision due by 1:30 p.m.
11/22 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
11/27 Memo on Lessons Learned from Group Work due.
11/27-12/4 Business Plan Workshop.
12/11 Business Plan due during final exam time (8-10).