Howe School of Technology Management

Stevens Institute of Technology Howe School of Technology Management Syllabus

MGT 699 Strategic Management

Semester: Fall 2014 Day of Week/Time: Monday 6:15 – 8:45pm Burchard 430 Instructor Name & Contact Information: Office Hours: Murad A. Mithani, Ph.D. Babbio 411: Monday-4:00 pm to 6:00pm and By Phone: 201-216-3462 Appointment Email: [email protected] Class Website: Moodle/Canvas

Overview This course develops an understanding of the fundamentals of strategic management in the context of profit and non-profit organizations. Topics treated include: assessment of organizational environment and capabilities; sources of competitive advantage; organizational resources and structure; and governance systems with some exposure to the agency theory, behavioral theory of the firm, prospect theory and the stakeholder theory. The case method of instruction is used extensively in this course.

Learning Goals MGT 699 is a core course in the MBA program. It aims to familiarize students with the various tools available for strategy development, execution and evaluation, and to build on this foundation an intuitive understanding of the corporate, business and functional level strategies. Its primary goal is to help students develop analytical problem-solving skills.

Additional learning objectives include the development of: 1. Written and oral communications skills: through individual and group presentations 2. Team interaction skills: through team-based case assignments 3. An understanding of how technology is critical to the development of competitive advantage

Course Outcomes After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1. Comprehend the elements of the Strategic Management process, research and theories. 2. Apply the Strategic Management process to real life business cases, including current

1 world/business news, and develop recommendations to help firms create and sustain competitive advantage. 3. Become proficient in the use of concepts and terminologies associated with strategic management through individual and team assignments. 4. Recognize and appreciate the general manager’s cross-functional perspective of complex problems and the decision making process required to build strategy in organizations.

Required Text(s) Text: Pearce and Robinson,. Strategic Management: Planning for Domestic & Global Competition. McGraw-Hill Irwin: New York. Edition: 13th; ISBN: 007-802-9295

Additional Readings There are supplemental readings (articles and cases) for some classes. Most of those readings are available on Canvas/Moodle. If not, the instructions for how to obtain those readings will be available on Canvas/Moodle.

Assignments Readings, lectures, case analyses/discussions, and class exercises will be employed to achieve the above objectives. Brief Description of Assignments: (Note that more detailed description is available in the slides for Class 1)

Class Participation To get the most learning from this course, you must actively participate in the classroom experience. Participation means actively participating in the course discussions. Examples of ‘active’ participation include:  Contributing new and relevant information to the course discussion and from readings of the textbooks;  Commenting in a positive manner;  Building on the remarks of your fellow students;  Posing questions to your fellow students;  Demonstrating practical application of the week's key concepts from your professional and personal experience.

Individual Presentations Each student will prepare and present one of the class readings during the course. The use of power point is encouraged. The presentation will be accompanied by a 1-page (double sided) handout that summarizes the key ideas of the reading. Students have to submit three choices pertaining to their selected readings (and the corresponding date of presentation) by the 2nd class. The layout of the presentation is discussed in Class 1 slides (available on Moodle).

Group Presentations All student groups will prepare all cases assigned to the class. Of these, each group is expected to

2 present three cases during the course, serve as decision committee resembling the top management team for three other cases that are presented by peer groups. The first of these cases will be preparatory and will not have any accompanying report.

The three cases that are expected to be presented by each group include two cases assigned by the instructor. The final case requires the development of a strategic management program for an actual company that the group has chosen. The plan will include the identification of a new market for the expansion of the company and the necessary details that are sufficient to convince the top management of the company regarding the feasibility of the idea.

Presentation: Groups are expected to present their findings in 10 minutes to the class (20 minutes for the final presentation).

Written Report: The second and the third presentations will be accompanied by a 10 page report (final report has to include pro-forma statements for 3 years as an appendix). The second report should be submitted in the same class as the presentation and the third (final) report is due in the second-last class.

Submission Requirements I expect professional, high-quality work. Writing style, grammar, and spelling will be considered in determining the grades. All written assignments must be typed on a computer, double-spaced, in 12-point font such as Times New Roman with one-inch margins at all sides.

All assignments must be submitted on or before the specified due date. I will not accept any late assignments.

Presentation Reviews As mentioned above, each student group will also function as decision committee (management team) to evaluate the quality and preparedness of the presentation from their peer groups. This is an integral component of the course and students are expected to use these opportunities to understand the norms of evaluating and critiquing peers. This duty will be randomly assigned in each class and requires all groups to be prepared with the case even when they are not responsible for the presentation.

Exam There will be two quizzes in the semester. Their dates are listed on the schedule. They will mostly include multiple choice questions (including a case) and will cover all the material discussed until the previous class. Each quiz will last approximately 45 minutes.

Your grade in the course will be based on the following: Individual Assignments: Grade Percent Individual Presentation 10% Quiz 1 15% Quiz 2 15% Team Assignments: Presentation 2 10% Review 2 5%

3 Presentation 3 (Final) 30% Review 3 (Final) 15% In-Class Exercises 15% Total 100% + 15% Bonus Marks

Grading A 93-100 C+ 80-82 A- 90-92 C 77-79 B 87-89 C- 73-76 B- 83-86 F <70

Ethical Conduct The following statement is printed in the Stevens Graduate Catalog and applies to all students taking Stevens courses, on and off campus.

“ Cheating during in-class tests or take-home examinations or homework is, of course, illegal and immoral. A Graduate Academic Evaluation Board exists to investigate academic improprieties, conduct hearings, and determine any necessary actions. The term ‘academic impropriety’ is meant to include, but is not limited to, cheating on homework, during in-class or take home examinations and plagiarism.“

Consequences of academic impropriety are severe, ranging from receiving an “F” in a course, to a warning from the Dean of the Graduate School, which becomes a part of the permanent student record, to expulsion.

Reference: The Graduate Student Handbook, Academic Year 2003-2004 Stevens Institute of Technology, page 10. Consistent with the above statements, all homework exercises, tests and exams that are designated as individual assignments MUST contain the following signed statement before they can be accepted for grading. ______I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment/examination. I further pledge that I have not copied any material from a book, article, the Internet or any other source except where I have expressly cited the source. Signature ______Date: ______Please note that assignments in this class may be submitted to www.turnitin.com, a web- based anti-plagiarism system, for an evaluation of their originality.

4 Course/Teacher Evaluation Continuous improvement can only occur with feedback based on comprehensive and appropriate surveys. Your feedback is an important contributor to decisions to modify course content/pedagogy which is why we strive for 100% class participation in the survey.

All course teacher evaluations are conducted on-line. You will receive an e-mail one week prior to the end of the course informing you that the survey site (https://www.stevens.edu/assess) is open along with instructions for accessing the site. Login using your Campus (email) username and password. This is the same username and password you use for access to Moodle. Simply click on the course that you wish to evaluate and enter the information. All responses are strictly anonymous. We especially encourage you to clarify your position on any of the questions and give explicit feedbacks on your overall evaluations in the section at the end of the formal survey which allows for written comments. We ask that you submit your survey prior to end of the examination period.

Course Schedule The Course Schedule includes a summary of what we will be covering in each week (e.g., topics, text chapters, additional readings) as well as the due dates for individual and team assignments. Please refer to this schedule on a regular basis. Revisions may be made to the schedule as the semester progresses and will be announced in class. Please check Moodle/Canvas frequently.

FALL 2014 Week Dates Topics Text Individual Presentation (Papers are Deliverable* Readings fixed for each date) 1 8/25 Course Overview - - - - Fundamentals - Vision, Mission, SWOT Strategic Planning 2 9/08 Competitive Advantage Chapters 1 - Individual - Types & 2 Assignment - Ansoff Strategy Matrix 1 (no grade) 3 9/15 External Environment Chapter 4 Kanter (2011) - How great companies Individual -5 Forces & 5 think differently. Assignment 2 (no grade) 4 9/22 Internal Environment Chapter 6 Kotter and Schlesinger (2009) - - - VRIN Choosing strategies for Change Kim Mauborgne (2002) - Charting your company's future. Strategic Organization 5 9/29 Organizational Chapter 9 Prahalad and Hamel (1990) - The core CASE 1 Structure & 11 competence of the corporation. Presentation - BCG Matrix Kim and Mauborgne (2004) - Blue (no grade) - Product life cycle ocean strategy. 6 10/06 Organizing Chapter 7 Eccles, Lanes and Wilson (1999) - Are CASE 1 Internationally you paying too much for that acq? Presentation - Mergers & Acquisitions Lovallo and Kahneman (2003) - (no grade) Delusions of Success. Strategic Leadership

5 7 10/14 QUIZ 1 Chapter Porter & Millar (1985) - How - (Tue) Strategy 10 & 12 Information gives you competitive Implementation advantage. - McKinsey 7S Kaplan and Norton (2008) - Mastering - Strategic Fit the management system. 8 10/20 Strategic Advantage Chapter 8 Porter (1990) – Comp. adv. of nations. CASE 2 - FMA/SMA/LMA Bartlett and Ghoshal (2000) - Going Presentation global: Lessons from late movers. and Report 9 10/27 Power and Politics Clegg Krackhardt Hanson (1993) - Informal CASE 2 - Managing relationships '2005: Networks. Presentation Chapter 5 Maccoby (2000) - Narcissistic leaders. and Report Strategic Control 10 11/03 Evaluation Chapter Pozen (2011) - The case for prof. boards. Individual - Agency Problem 13 Breene Nunes Shill (2007) - Chief Assignment - Corporate Governance strategy officer. 3 (no grade) 11 11/10 QUIZ 2 Chapter 3 Porter Kramer (2002) – Competitive - Corporate Social advantage of corp. philanthropy. Responsibility Hallowell (2005) - Overloaded circuits 12 11/17 Feedback Loop Chapter Nunes Breene (2011) - Reinvent your - - Reviewing Strategy 14 business before its too late. - Behavioral Theory Bladwin Clark (1997) – Man. modularity 13 11/24 Integrating the - Thomke Hippel (2002) - Customers as CASE 3 Strategic Plan Innov. (Final) Johnson Christensen Kagermann (2008) - Report Reinventing your business model. 14 12/01 Final Presentations - - CASE 3 (Final) Presentation *Individual presentations are not visible as ‘deliverable’. Their date depends on the chosen paper. In addition, there are also in-class bonus exercises.