OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY

Business Policy and Strategic Management

MGT 750 - Fall 2004 - Syllabus

LOCATION: Peninsula Center/ Northern VA Center/ VA Beach/ ODU – Gornto 221

DATES/TIMES: August - 28^th

September - (4^th no class – Labor Day), (11^th no class-project), 18^th, 25^th (from NOVA)

October - 2, (9^th – no class – Fall Holiday), 16, 23^rd, 30^th

November - 6^th, 13^th, 20^th, (27^th no class-Thanksgiving)

December - 4^th, 11^th (final)

Saturdays - 11:15 PM to 2:15 PM

INSTRUCTOR: George M. Yacus, Ph.D. Home: 1219 Davis Avenue

Office: USCG Atlantic Area HQ Chesapeake, VA 23325

Office Phone: (757) 398-6417 Home: (757) 420-1056 (phone & FAX)

Office FAX: (757) 391-8132 Home E-mail: georgeyacus@att.net

E-mail: gyacus@odu.edu (preferred)

Office Hours: By appointment

TEXTBOOKS: Collis, David J. and Cynthia A. Montgomery, (2003). Corporate Strategy: Resources and the Scope of the Firm (Selected Chapters and Cases), (New York:McGraw Hill)

PREREQUISITES: Graduate standing, nearing completion of the MBA program.

COURSE

DESCRIPTION: This course analyzes strategy formulation and implementation. It covers how senior management makes strategic decisions, formulates corporate missions and objectives, analyzes business environments, develops strategic options, cultivates resources, creates distinctive competencies, and implements strategies to succeed in the international marketplace.

COURSE

CONTEXT: Most industrial activity in developed countries is carried out by large corporations which compete in more than one market. For example, in the U.S. in 1992, the 500 largest public companies sold $3.7 trillion worth of goods and services, or approximately 75% of the output of all U.S. public companies. On average these firms engaged in over 10 different lines of business, and had nearly 10% of their sales outside the U.S. The nature of these large corporations has undergone enormous change in the last thirty years, affecting both their scope and their structure. The merger and acquisition booms of the sixties and eighties extended the scope of existing multi-business corporations. More recently, capital market pressures forced every corporation to reassess its portfolio of businesses, level of overhead, and the way it coordinates and controls its multi-business activities. New forms of corporate organization, such as the LBO partnerships of the eighties, provoked a debate about the efficacy of corporate hierarchies. In addition, new institutional arrangements, such as joint ventures, alliances and franchising have come to prominence. Not surprisingly, only a few corporations have made it through the last thirty years intact. Of the Fortune 500 in 1950, only 262 firms were still on the list in 1980. Small single-business companies likewise face many of the same problems and issues faced by their larger competitors. Entrepreneurial start-up companies must decide the boundaries of the business activities they will undertake.

The intent of this course is to introduce students to the issues and the analytical arguments behind these concerns. In studying a range of firms, from start-up companies to global market leaders, the course builds on the tools introduced in nearly all the previous courses.

COURSE

OBJECTIVES: As a capstone course in our MBA program, students are required to have foundations in various functional areas: accounting, economics, management, marketing, finance, decision sciences, and so forth.

GRADING POINTS: Total percentage possible = 100 Grading System:

Participation & attendance 05 points 95-100%.............A

Team Topic Presentation 10 points 90-95%...............A-

Case Presentation (team) 20 points 88-90%...............B+

Final Case Analysis 30 points 83-88%...............B

Final Exam 35 points 80-83%...............B-

(Scales are guidelines...instructor not bound by these numbers)

GRADING: Grading is a function performed by the instructor to appraise how well the student comprehends and applies the course material. It is performed by the instructor, is not a negotiation, is independent of the student’s perspective, and is a result of student performance with respect to assignments and examination and in relation to other students. Grades are earned, not given. Students that make a serious attempt to perform well and put forth sincere effort have a good chance of doing well in the course. Students should confer early in the semester with the instructor if there are indications that the student is having trouble in the course. The instructor and the university want the student to succeed, learn the course material, and ultimately graduate with a good command of theory and application.

CASE PRESENTATION

(TEAM): Teams are expected to make a detailed, comprehensive presentation of their assigned textbook cases. One overall grade will be awarded per presentation. Powerpoint slides should be sent to the instructor for presentation to the class, and students that are attending in the ODU Library can present directly from the podium. You may switch or reorganize teams with the instructor’s approval.

TEAM TOPIC: Each team will present an assessment topic for the class designated by the instructor.

FINAL CASE

ANALYSIS: Students will create a case study concerning a particular company of interest. It will include a thorough business analysis concerning the company's ability to create a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. It can be current, meaning that the future has not yet determined whether the company picked the correct strategy, or it can be retrospective, showing what occurred and why it occurred.  It will be turned in to the instructor on Saturday, November 20th. While I do not necessarily expect to talk with all students, you are welcome to review your choice of subject with me during the semester if you are uncertain of a topic's suitability. The format of the paper should be text, exhibits and a bibliography of sources used. Multiple sources should be used and some degree of research is required.  While student initiative is always encouraged, it is not expected that you undertake field research for the paper, and calls to companies (other than to public relations department for basic information) are discouraged. The case should be no more than 10 double spaced pages of text and 10 exhibits (exclusive of bibliography). Length is not a virtue and students should “spend the time to make the document shorter.”

As you write your paper, you may choose to expand on some particular topical aspect that is relevant to the case.  For example:

1. Identify and evaluate the corporate strategy of a successful multi-business firm. Suggest changes (if any) that need to be/could have been made.

2. Explain the choice of organizational form that a corporation has adopted in part of its business, e.g., franchise, long-term contract, vertical integration. What are/were the merits/faults of this choice? Would an alternative form be/have been preferable? Attention should be paid both to the economic and managerial issues surrounding the choice of organizational form.

3. Identify a situation where competitors meet each other in multiple markets. or where there are strong scope economics across businesses. Describe the nature and extent of competitive interaction and evaluate its consequences.

It is expected that the conceptual frameworks detailed in the course will provide useful structure to the analysis. The paper should not only evaluate what the company in question has done, but should also discuss alternative courses of action that could have or should have been considered. Finally, the bulk of the paper should be your analysis of the situation, not a passive recounting of the company’s history. Your paper should be long on analysis and short on description.

FINAL EXAMINATION: 

Students will be tested on concepts covered in the main parts of the text.

Particular attention should be placed on the highlighted terms in the text, and students

should know what these terms mean and why they are important in the discussion of business policy and strategy.

CLASS ATTENDANCE

AND PARTICIPATION:

Class participation will play an important role in the overall success of the student. Student participation is expected. Participation is defined as regular attendance as well as contributing to class discussions and the learning experience of fellow students. Students are required to come to class fully prepared to discuss the readings and to have completed assignments on time. When students frequently miss class, the overall quality of the class is degraded and the student missing class suffers as well. Class attendance is a graded criterion. You get one free absence, and lose one point after that for each class missed, up to max of 5 points.

Course Outline – MGMT 750: Business Policy and Strategy, Fall 2004

DATE	TOPIC/SSIGNMENT	PRESENTERS	CASE	TEAM
Saturday, August 28th	Introduction to Corporate Strategy Chapter 1			Practice case of a company beginning with first letter of your last name
Saturday, September 4^th	LABOR DAY			NO CLASS TODAY
Saturday, September 11^th	PREP & READING DAY			NO CLASS TODAY
Saturday, September 18^th	Chapter 2 Resources & Rents	ODU Team 1	(1-1) (1-2)	(1-1) ODU Team 1 (1-2) ODU Team 2 Practice Cases
		ODU Team 2
Saturday September 25^th	Chapter 3 Scale & Scope Within an Industry	NORVA Team 1	(3-1)	(3-1) NORVA Team 1 Practice Cases
Saturday, October 2^nd	Chapter 4 Diversified Expansion	ODU Team 3	(4-2)	(4-2) ODU Team 3 Practice Cases
Saturday, October 9^th	FALL HOLIDAY			NO CLASS TODAY
Saturday, October 16^th	Chapter 5 Organizational Limits to Firm Scope	PEN CTR	(6-1) (6-2)	(6-1) PEN CTR (6-2) VA Beach Team 1
		VAB Team 1
Saturday, October 23^rd	Chapter 6 Managing the Multibusiness Corporation	NORVA Team 3	(6-4) (6-6)	(6-4) ODU Team 4 (6-6) VA Beach Team 2
		VAB Team 2
Saturday, October 30^th	Chapter 8 Cases Case Analysis Due	NORVA Team 2	(8-1)	(8-1) NORVA Team 2
Saturdy, November 6^th	Financial Assessment Operational Assessment	ODU Team 1 ODU Team 2	Intel Amazon
Saturday, November 13^th	HR as a Competitive Advantage The Global Marketplace	ODU Team 3 NORVA Team 3	Microsoft 3M
Saturday, November 20^th	Management Control Value & Process of Strategic Planning	NORVA Team 1 NORVA Team 2	Teradyne Apple
Saturday, November 27^th	THANKSGIVING			NO CLASS TODAY
Saturday, December 4^th	Balanced Scorecard Analysis Malcolm Baldrige Criteria	VAB Team 1 VAB Team 2	Wal Mart	Review
Saturday, December 11^th	Total Quality Management Final	PEN CTR