Business Strategy - M. Ray Grubbs, Ph.D. Millsaps College

Course Purpose:

Business Strategy (Management 4000) is the capstone course in the Else School of Management's Undergraduate Business Program. It draws on everything you have studied and learned and integrates with the study of strategic decision-making (policy). The course will explore strategic decision-making from three perspectives - corporate level strategy, business level strategy, and functional level strategy - but the viewpoint will be that of top management. Courses that you have taken in marketing, operations, and finance and other areas of business study primarily focus on internal decision making - how to make the business more efficient - from the perspective of that particular function. The study of Business Strategy is primarily interdisciplinary and of forces outside the company, though not exclusively so. When considering forces outside the company, you will look at the international dimension, industry forces, government forces, economic and societal forces, technological forces, and other influences on business which are less controllable by management but as critical to success as internal efficiency. Additionally, you will consider the interrelationships between primary functions in an organization in the context of strategic decision-making. According to Kenneth Andrews in The Concept of Corporate Strategy, "business policy is the study of the functions and responsibilities of the senior management in a company, the crucial problems that affect the success of the total enterprise, and the decisions that determine its direction, shape its future, and produce the results desired. The policy problems of business, like those of policies in public affairs, have to do with the choice of purposes, the molding of organizational identity and character, the unending definition of what needs to be done, and the mobilization of resources for the attainment of goals in the face of aggressive competition or adverse circumstance."

The specific objectives of this course are to:

1. Make the student aware of strategic decision-making and policies, their impact on the organization, and the differences in management that account for the success or failure of organizations.
2. Make the student aware of the field of action in which executives must operate and make decisions.
3. Integrate the student's knowledge in previous specialized courses. The student should learn to relate the functional disciplines to strategic issues.
4. Realize that a decision made by a manager is likely to affect every other area of their organization because the areas are closely and strategically interrelated.
5. Assist in developing the student's analytical ability from the top management perspective.
6. Develop the student's awareness of the need and requirement to make decisions lacking complete information.
7. Teach the student how to improvise and compromise from previously learned concepts and theories.
8. Develop the student's ability to recognize the need for additional factual material which may be readily available or can be purchased from research or other outside suppliers.
9. Develop the student's communication skills by case writing, presentations to class and support for positions taken.
10. Allow the student to practice strategic decision making by use of a computer simulation.

Required Texts:

Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases 11th edition, Fred David, Prentice Hall

Foundation^®; Simulation: An Industry Simulation.

Team Member Guide (To be provided to you in class)

www.capsim.com

There is a charge for registration for the Foundation^®; Simulation.

Student Evaluation:

Case Analysis and Presentations (Team and Individual)	30%
Homework & Class Contribution (Individual)	10%
Exams (Individual)	20%
Performance on Simulation (Team)	20%
Performance on Comp-XM®; Simulation (Individual)	20%
Total	100%

Case Analyses and Presentations:

There will be two written analyses and one presentation required of each team in the class. First, there is an industry study requiring you to define and profile the industry you are assigned. Your industry update will be prepared in writing and will become part of your subsequent case submission. You will be provided a guide for the structure of your industry profile. Second, each team will be assigned one organization to research, develop, write and present a case analysis. Each individual in the class must actively participate in the discussion after having performed their own study and analysis and having prepared for the class discussion by reading each industry profile and case. Each team must present, to the entire class, a copy of their

industry study and case analysis by the due date indicated on the syllabus so each member of the class may prepare their analysis and be ready for class discussion. Electronic distribution of the case analysis is the preferred method for distribution to the class and is the required method for submission to your professor.

Class Contribution:

Each student is expected to actively engage in class discussion of the issues of strategic decision- making, the industry studies and the cases. This is a class which requires each student to contribute to each meeting. You must be prepared to challenge each other and to mirror an internal discussion of managers as a strategic decision is under debate. You may all read the same material and come to different, valid conclusions. You are obligated to state your views in this class even if it seems you are challenging the conclusions of your classmates. That is precisely what you are required to do.

Homework:

You will be asked to read chapters in our text and respond to the chapter questions assigned by the date due indicated on the detailed syllabus. Thereafter, you will be expected to draw from this information as you complete the remainder of the work of the semester concerning the industry and case analysis and the Foundation^®; Simulation.

Additionally, you will be asked to submit your team's plan prior to each Simulation Round and an assessment of your team's performance after receiving the results of each Simulation Round.

Business Strategy Simulation: Foundation^®;

You will be assigned to a team that will participate in the Foundation^®; Simulation.

This team will make decisions as if you are the senior management team operating a company. You must design a strategy to compete in the industry with your grade determined by how well your company performs relative to other companies in the industry. One interesting feature of Foundation^®; is that it is each team's discretion in selecting the criteria by which it will be judged in the marketplace. In the simulation, the other companies with which you will compete will be management teams of your classmates. Foundation^®; will report your team's performance at the end of each decision period so you will know just how you are doing. This feedback knowledge will give you the opportunity to adjust your strategy as additional information about your performance becomes available. Your final grade for Foundation^®; will be the final ranking of competitors at the end of the simulation and will be judged by how well each company performs along their selected performance criteria. The procedure for calculating the final score will be discussed in detail in the Foundation^®; material you will receive. The highest ranked company at the conclusion of the simulation will receive an A, the second a B, and other teams will receive a C. Individual team members may have their grade adjusted for the Foundation^®; Simulation according to feedback received from their management teammates.

Business Strategy Simulation: Comp-XM^®;

Using the knowledge and experience gained from participating in the Team-Based Foundation^®; Simulation, each individual student will be required to complete the Comp XM simulation during week 11 and 12 of the semester. The Comp-XM^®; Simulation is designed to provide individual feedback.

January 18	Introduction to Syllabus Distribute Foundation®; Manual Registration Process for Foundation®; Discussion of Foundation®; User Manual and Weekly Decisions Assignment of Teams Establishing Yahoo Groups Submit Resume to Instructor and Career Center
January 25	Assignment of Industries and Organizations Read Foundation®; User Manual and Submit Initial Practice Decision Debrief Initial Foundation®; Practice Decision Discussion of and Team Meetings David Text, Chapter 1. Text Discussion Questions 3, 5, 9.
February 1	Submit 1 st Foundation®; Simulation Competitive Decision David Text, Chapter 2. Text Discussion Questions 1, 3, 6. Discussion of requirements for Industry Study and Case Analysis
February 8	Submit 2 nd Foundation®; Simulation Competitive Decision David Text, Chapter 3. Text Discussion Questions 2, 3, 6.
February 15	Submit Foundation®; 3 rd Simulation Competitive Decision David Text Chapter 4. Text Discussion Questions 1, 3, 7. Exam 1, Chapters 1-3.
February 22	Industry Profile and Analysis Due Submit Foundation®; 4 th Simulation Competitive Decision David Text, Chapter 5. Text Discussion Questions 1, 4, 7, 21.
March 1	Submit Foundation®; 5 th Simulation Competitive Decision Team Meetings for Organizational Study David Text, Chapter 6. Text Discussion Questions 2, 3, 7, 11.
March 8	Submit Foundation®; 6 th Simulation Competitive Decision David Text, Chapter 7. Text Discussion Questions 1, 7, 10. Exam 2, Chapters 4-6.
March 22	Submit Foundation®; 7 th Simulation Competitive Decision David Text, Chapter 8. Text Discussion Questions 3, 9, 10. First Draft of Case Analysis Core 10 Reflective Paper Due
March 29 Oral Comprehensives - March 26 " 30.	Submit Foundation®; 8 th Simulation Competitive Decision Final Results David Text, Chapter 9. Text Discussion Questions 1, 6, 8. First Draft of Case Presentation
April 5 Oral Comprehensives - April 2 " 5.	Comp-XM®; Simulation Begins Final Case Analysis and Presentation Due
April 12	Comp-XM®; Simulation Ends Team Presentation " Andrews & Baldwin
April 19	Team Presentation " Chester & Digby
April 26	Team Presentation " Erie & Ferris