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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "MGT 498"
COURSE NAME: "Strategic Management"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall Semester 2012
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Pulino Silvia
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 15:00-16:15
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisites: Senior Standing and completion of all other Business core courses
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This “capstone” course focuses on the roles and skills of the General Manager and on diagnosing and finding realistic solutions to complex strategic and organizational problems. Business situations will be analysed from the point of view of the General Manager to identify the particular tasks related to his/her unique role, which calls for leadership, integration across the functional areas, organizational development, strategy formulation and implementation.

The course builds on previous course work by providing an opportunity to integrate various functional areas and by providing a total business perspective. Since the focus is on pragmatic, action-oriented General Management issues, the course will be taught primarily through the case method.

Conceptual background will be provided by reading assigned chapters of the reader and various articles, which the student is expected to read and digest to class discussion.

Study questions will be provided for each case as guidelines for analysis; however class discussion will not necessarily be limited to these specific questions. They are intended to help students gain sufficient understanding of the material to be able to think on their feet in the classroom and deal with the questions that develop from the discussion.

Students would benefit from preliminary discussion in small groups.

Individual written work, group written work and presentations will be assigned, primarily as indicated in the attached schedule.

Pre-requisites: Completion of all Core Business Courses

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The General Management Perspective and Business Policy. Head Ski Company, Inc. Phil Knight, CEO at Nike. Serengeti Eyewear: Entrepreneurship within Corning. Phil Knight, Managing Transformation. Industry and Competitive Analysis. How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Competitive Positioning / Differentiation. Skil Corporation. Competing on Capabilities. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Building Strategy. Komatsu Limited. Ingvard Kamprad and IKEA. Building Relationships. Bill Gates and the Management of Microsoft. Personal Values and Corporate Strategy. The Body Shop International. Building Organizational Capabilities. Banc One. Agnellis and the Fiat Group. Lincoln Electric Group. The San Patrignano Community. The Balanced Scorecard. New Profit Inc.: Governing the non-profit enterprise. Transforming an Organization. General Electric, 1981. Course Review and Summary.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Students who complete the course successfully should be able to:

1. Analyse the key competitive forces of an industry

2. Assess the overall attractiveness of the industry from the perspective of both the existing participants and potential new entrants

3. Identify key areas that require a strategic response

4. Assess the skills and capabilities of a firm, including the qualities of its leadership

5. Evaluate a company’s strategic health

6. Formulate a sustainable generic strategy

TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Class participation 15%
Mid-term exam 20%
Final exam 30%
Group Paper 20%
Group Presentation 15%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
No more than 3 absences allowed
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Class

Readings and Assignments

1

Course introduction

2

Case discussion – “Head Ski Company, Inc.” - Qualitative analysis

Review of assignment for Class 3

3

Case discussion – “Head Ski Company, Inc.” – Financial analysis I

Video – Howard Head

4

Case discussion – “Phil Knight, CEO at Nike” – Qualitative analysis

5

Case discussion – “Phil Knight, Managing Transformation”

Video – Phil Knight

GROUP PROJECT – GROUP SELECTION AND COMPOSITION

6

Case discussion – “Serengeti Eyewear: Entrepreneurship within Corning”

7

Class discussion: Roles and Skills of General Managers

8

Strategy – Industry and Competitive Analysis

Video – Michael Porter on Industry Analysis

READ “The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy” (coursepack)

9

Strategy – How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy

Video – Michael Porter on Competitive Positioning / Cost Leadership

10

Strategy – How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy (continued)

Video – Michael Porter on Competitive Positioning / Differentiation

11

Case discussion – “Skil Corporation”

Class exercise on positioning

12

Case discussion - “Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.”

13

Case discussion – “Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.” (contd.)

GROUP PROJECT

Submission of basic outline and work plan.

14

MID-TERM EXAM

Case will be announced during the previous class

15

Case discussion - “Komatsu Limited”

16

Case discussion – “Komatsu Limited” (contd.)

READ “Building Strategy” (Reader)

17

Case discussion - “Ingvard Kamprad and IKEA”

READ “The Business of Innovation: an Interview with Paul Cook”, by William Taylor, Harvard Business Review, March-April 1990, reprint 90203 (Library)

READ “Six Basics for General Managers”, by Andrall E. Pearson, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1989, reprint 89411 (Library)

18

Case discussion - : “Bill Gates and the Management of Microsoft”

GROUP PROJECT

Submission of first draft.

19

Case discussion - “The Body Shop International”

20

Case discussion - “Banc One”

21

Case discussion – “The San Patrignano Community”

22

Case discussion – “The San Patrignano Community” (continued)

23

Case discussion - : “New Profit Inc.: Governing the non-profit enterprise”

READ : “Charities need a bottom line too”, Harvard Business Review, 1987, Jan-Feb (course pack)

READ : “Using the Balance Scorecard as a Strategic Management System”, Kaplan, Norton, Harvard Business Review, 2007, Jan-Feb (course pack)

24

Case discussion - “General Electric, 1981”

READ “Transforming an Organization” (Reader)

PREPARE CASE : “General Electric, 1981”

25

Case discussion - “GE’s Two-Decade Transformation”

26

Case discussion - “GE’s Two-Decade Transformation” (continued)

Group project and presentation: discussion

27

GROUP PRESENTATIONS

28

GROUP PRESENTATIONS

FINAL EXAM