GEB 4890 Strategic Management Decision Making Syllabus and Course outline Spring 2013

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1 GEB 4890 Strategic Management Decision Making Syllabus and Course outline Spring 2013 PROFESSOR: Dr. Geiger OFFICE HOURS: OFFICE: Davis 257 MONDAY: OFFICE PHONE TUESDAY: 12:45-1:45 INSTRUCTOR Blackboard WEDNESDAY: HOMEPAGE FAX: THURSDAY: FRIDAY: CLASSROOM STG 111 or by appointment TIME 2-5 pm PREREQUISITES Senior standing and FIN 3403, MAN 3025, MAR 3023 COURSE DESCRIPTION The course is intended to provide a unifying, integrating, and coordinating opportunity to tie together concepts, principles, and skills learned separately in other, more specialized courses in business administration. Specifically, the purpose of this course is for you to utilize knowledge acquired from diverse course work and background experiences to seek approaches and solutions to real problems and policy issues in a variety of organizational situations. The course begins with presentation of information on strategic management with case materials used for illustration and discussion. As the course develops, more analyses of cases will occur, using the classroom situation as a forum for discussion. Information presented in the first half of the course, as well as from previous courses should provide you with various frameworks within which to view and discuss the cases. To complete the course, you will participate in a team project and prepare a case analysis for presentation to the class. LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. To develop an understanding of the complex relationship between an organization and its environment: to demonstrate the ability to perform internal and external analyses. 2. To develop skills in strategy formulation: to identify, assess, and recommend the mission, objectives, and strategies that an organization may develop to manage or adapt to its environment(s) (H2 Gen Ed Learning Goal). 3. To develop skills in strategy implementation: to identify, assess, and recommend the structures, culture, systems, and leadership needed for putting strategies into action (H2 Gen Ed Learning Goal).

2 REQUIRED TEXT Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble and Strickland. Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases, 18 th Ed., EVALUATION CRITERIA Exam 1 30% Exam 2 30% Individual Case Analyses 10% Group Project 20% Group Presentation 10% Total: 100% GRADING SCALE A A B B B C C C D D D F Exams: You will be responsible for all material covered. This includes the applicable chapters of the book in addition to whatever is discussed in class. The exams will be cumulative only to the extent that new information always builds on that previously discussed. All exams will be made up of multiple-choice questions. Those arriving late may not be allowed to take the exam. Individual Case Analyses: These serve as the basis for applying real world scenarios to the chapter content. Therefore, you must attend class to turn in the case and they will not be accepted early or late. Furthermore, you must attend the entire class to receive full credit for the homework. You are to turn in a 1-2 page answer to the question concerning the case that is listed in the. This homework will be graded on a 0-10 point basis based on the quality of your answer to the question I provide. The cases will come from the back half of the textbook. These are assignments and thus you should proofread your work if you expect to receive full credit. As such, points will be deducted for poor grammar and excessive typographical errors. Cases are to be doubled spaced and in 12 pitch Times New Roman font. Cases that do not follow this format will receive a 5 point deduction. Turning in cases for students not attending class is considered academic dishonesty. Group Project: This is the major project for the semester. Each student will participate on a team consisting of up to 5 members (depending on the size of the class). Team selection will be completed by the end of the third week of class. Each team will be assigned a strategic scenario and will be responsible for researching several topic areas for a given company. You will be assigned a hypothetical scenario in which you must determine if your company should acquire another company. In doing so you will need to examine company records (e.g., annual reports), independent sources and the popular press (Business Week, Fortune, Wall Street Journal,

3 etc.). All of these materials can be found in the University Library. I will also provide links to many resources on my blackboard page. The final product will be a presentation (20 minutes Max) and a written report (30 pages Max). Specific guidelines for this project will be provided in a separate file. Please note: If a group feels that an individual is not contributing to the group effort and/or is significantly disrupting the process of completing the project the group may remove this individual from the group. If you are removed from a group you will be forced to complete the project by yourself from the beginning and you will be given different companies to analyze. Furthermore, you will receive a 25% reduction in your overall grade. It is unlikely that such a situation will occur, but keep in mind the consequences if you choose not pull your weight in the group project. The easiest way to avoid this situation is to attend class and attend group meetings virtually or otherwise! Furthermore, your grade on this project will be a function of the grade received by the group and the evaluations you receive from your fellow group members. This formula will be given with the project guideline instruction sheet. Academic Dishonesty: See USF Policy on Academic Dishonesty and Disruption of Academic Process at Be aware that academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be treated seriously and most likely will result in severe penalties including an FF for the course and possibly suspension or permanent dismissal from the university. Remember plagiarized work is included in this (individual homework or group project work) and may result in a minimum of F in the course for the student that committed the offense. Please note that all individual homework must be done on your own. Also, all work submitted to me or your group for review on the group project throughout the semester is considered work turned in for review or a grade. As such, the above academic dishonesty policy applies to all work handed in during the semester including rough drafts to me or your group members. It is your responsibility to make sure you have properly cited sources before submitting rough drafts to me or your group. Because of the University s commitment to academic integrity, plagiarism or cheating on course work or on examinations will result in penalties that may include a grade of F for the specific exam or course work and a grade of F or FF for the course. Any incident of academic dishonesty will be reported to the dean of the college. Definitions and punishment guidelines for Plagiarism, Cheating, and Student Disruption of the Academic Process may be found at the web address listed above. Students with Disabilities: Please notify me if you have a learning disability or require special assistance with this course. Confidential personal and learning assistance counseling are made available to students through the Division of Student Affairs. Contact R. Barry McDowell (mcdowell@stpt.usf.edu) for more information. Writing Guidelines. Please ensure that your papers are free of spelling and grammatical errors. Use double spacing on all papers to be turned in. Be especially aware of the total page limits. These are for the bulk material; amendments such as tables, graphs, pictures, etc. will not be counted in the page limits. Also, please include page numbers in the group written report. Recording of Lectures. All unauthorized recordings of class are prohibited. Recordings that accommodate individual student needs must be approved in advance and may be used for personal use during the semester only; redistribution is prohibited.

4 Key Leadership Skill(s) and Perspectives Addressed in This Course: Interpersonal and Communication Analytical and Critical Thinking Information Technology Reflective Thinking and Experiential Learning Ethical and Social Consciousness Multicultural Competence Weeks 1-15 All Chapters All Cases Weeks 1-15 (project research) Weeks 2-15 Group Project Group Presentations All Cases Chapter 1 Chapter 12 Chapter 9 Whole Foods Case Chapter 7 Multiple Cases Note: Some outcomes of this class may be utilized to assess student learning for purposes of SACS and AACSB International accreditation.

5 WK DATE ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE TEXT 1 1/8 Introduction to the course What is Strategy? Chapter 1 2 1/15 Charting a company s direction Chapter 2 Case #2 Whole Foods Market in 2010 List three elements that should be included in a well written mission statement. Does Whole Food s Mission statement include these? Explain your answer. What was Whole Food s Return on Assets for Fiscal year end 2008 and 2009 (provide your calculations)? What does this indicate? 3 1/22 Evaluating a company s external environment Chapter 3 Case #4 Competition in the North American Warehouse Club Market Assess the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of substitutes, and the rivalry among competitors? Rate each force (strong, moderate, or weak) and justify your rating (see Chapter 3 and Chapter 3 lecture) 4 1/29 Evaluating a company s resources, capabilities, and competitiveness Chapter 4 Case #6 Netflix Assess the weaknesses and threats for Netflix (list and explain at least 4 weaknesses and 4 threats). What was Netflix s Long -term Debt to Capital ratio for the third quarter ending September, You will need to access this data online. Provide your calculations and explain what this figure means. 5 2/5 Competitive Strategies (and other strategies) Case #10 Apple Inc. Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Which of the five competitive strategies does Apple utilize? Compare Apple s Net Profit Margin to Acer for 2009? Provide your calculations and explain what this means. 6 2/12 Exam 1; Chapters 1,2,3,4,5,6 7 2/19 Corporate Strategy - Peer Evaluation 1 due (available on blackboard) Chapter 8 Case #17 Smuckers What type of corporate diversification does the center of the store strategy represent (see page 254 for types of diversification)? Provide an explanation for your conclusion. Have the acquisitions since 2002 been successful? Provide financial data to support your answer. 8 2/26 Strategies for competing in international markets Strategy and Ethics 9 3/5 Building a Capable Organization Chapter 7 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Peer Evaluation 2 due (available on blackboard) 10 3/19 Corporate Culture and Leadership Chapter 12 Case #28 Countrywide Financial Corporation Assignment TBA (this assignment will be a minimum 2 and maximum 4 page answer). 11 3/26 Managing Internal Operations Chapter 11 Case #23 Southwest Airlines Does Southwest have an adaptive culture? Explain and defend your answer with specific examples. See pages for material on types of culture. Discuss at least three rewards or practices they use to support their culture? 12 4/2 Exam 2: Chapters 7,8,9, 10,11,12 Chapter /9 Special Topic Day: To Be Announced 14 4/16 Group Presentations. (All group written project reports are to be handed in on 4/16 at the beginning of class). 15 4/23 Group Presentations. Peer Evaluation 3 due (available on blackboard) NOTE: I reserve the right to modify any or all aspects of this course and schedule should it become necessary in my judgment to do so. However, every effort will be made to adhere to this course syllabus so that the student can effectively and efficiently budget his or her time.