Strategy Odyssey - Prof. Dr. Ufuk Çakmakçi Istanbul Bilgi University

STANBUL BILGI UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

A Strategy Odyssey: Capstone^®; ( Business Simulation - BUS 492)

LECTURER: Asst. Prof.Dr. Ufuk Çakmakçi ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Co-LECTURER: Kerim Paker ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Content

The course brings together various fields to help participants develop a unified understanding of business planning and strategy. Also, it bridges the gulf between theoretical class work and the business world. In that respect, the participant will apply theories and concepts that have been learned in previous classes to a 'real-world' situation.

Today's manager operate in an environment, where a wide range of technical and social relationships affect on his/her decision making, and must match the cost, quality and time considerations in his/her area of responsibility. The web-based computer simulation Capstone^®; (www.capsim.com) will allow us to operate a company in a competitive environment, bringing out the complexities of real-life situations. In doing so, Capstone^®; will empower us to

Refresh understanding on strategy and strategic management
Re-emphasise the importance of strategic analysis
Focus on functional coordination
Consider resource allocation
Embark upon competitor and financial analyses
Explore the nature of competition in markets
Enforce team-building and development.

Aims

The aim of the course is to combine several dimensions of the business with an emphasis on its complexities. More specifically, it has a number of objectives, which are to:

Demonstrate the effectiveness of multi-discipline teams working together and the importance of reaching consensus within the group
Develop strategic planning competence
Improve understanding on the relationship of functional business areas
Increase understanding of management decisions in relation to these functional areas
Start seeing the business organisation as a system with interrelated sub-systems
Design corporate and functional strategies, understand the strengths and weaknesses of alternative strategies and practice making critical decisions in the face of complex problems
Work on the interpretation of data and case analysis
Learn financial fundamentals
Grow an awareness of markets and competition.

Course Format

The course comprises a series of two-hour lectures and result reviews. The lectures will cover key theoretical issues and aim to improve our understanding of Capstone^®; . In some weeks, there will not be formal lectures. In some others, lectures will be held just to review results or lecturers will act as executive board members and participants will be asked to give presentations.

The indispensable part of the course is teamwork. Team meetings will be held outside the classroom. As each decision in the real business world is taken in consultation with colleagues and executives in an environment of discussion (goodwill or else), each participant will have the opportunity to select his/her team. The teams will require ample time to make decisions on the various aspects of a simulated company for a period of simulated time. Although the web-based Capstone^®; enables better tools for effective team communication, teams must meet regularly to analyse the strategic position of their company and to discuss issues and problems. The results of each company will be available to the management team of that company.

At the start of the simulation, each team will be required to:

Organise themselves and present their management structure to the class
Complete introductory tutorials and tests (on the website)
Prepare a mission statement and business plan for their company
Describe the products they have chosen and why they chose them
Submit a summary of functional level strategies (R&D, marketing, production, finance and HR) they intend to use to support their corporate strategies
Submit a summary of their planned decision processes, including techniques for making sales forecast, rules to determine investments and approaches for raising capital
Submit their decision set before the deadline for each round of the simulation (failure to do so will incur penalties in the form of consultancy fees for companies)

Assessment:

Mission Statement and Long-Term Business Plan: 10%

Simulation Performance (Company Standing): 30%

2 Strategy Presentations to the Board of Directors: 25% each

Peer Evaluation: 10%

Company standings translate as follows (based on selected success measures):

Rank 1: 100%
Rank 2: 90%
Rank 3: 80%
Rank 4: 70%
Rank 5: 60%
Rank 6: 50%

Any company that ends the simulation with a loss will receive 30% for company standing.

There are a number of ways a successful team in company standing will fail. These are:

The end of game market share is less than half of the starting market share
The end of game assets are less than 75% of Round 5 assets
The team undertakes end-gaming (selling capacity to buy shares or distribute dividend)
(Peer-evaluation result of a team member is less than 3.0).

The Board presentations and reports must involve, at a minimum:

Company's initial mission and strategy statement
A comparison of emergent strategies with the original intended strategy
An evaluation of intended and emergent strategies within the context of the company's internal SW and external OT analysis over time
An analysis of the market and competition
Description of the strategic decisions made over time, why they were made and how they were implemented
A discussion of what you learned from the experience, what worked well, and what you will do differently in the future.
Presentations cannot be more than 20 minutes long and this will be enforced. Teams are encouraged to use PowerPoint presentations and submit a thorough report.

The contributions of each individual within the team will be determined by his/her peer evaluation reports, website visits, contribution to classroom discussions, bonus question answers and final team presentation to the board of directors. Participants are invited to exchange their views in the class and this will be rewarded.

In peer evaluations, each member of the team will evaluate teammates' performance on a five-point scale by attendance at team meetings, willingness to co-operate and importance of contributions. Peer evaluation will be conducted before the final presentation to the board of directors. If significant problems are detected, the instructors will use discretion in grading.

Important note: A passing grade for the team does not mean a passing grade for an individual in that team.

Reading Material