COURSE OBJECTIVES

Strategy is concerned with the long-term success of the organization as a whole. This course
examines strategy for the single-business firm (competitive strategy), strategy for the multibusiness firm (corporate strategy), and strategy process. We also discuss applications to nonbusiness contexts such as governments and non-governmental organizations.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Our aim is to develop the following:
1. The ability to apply strategy theory and frameworks critically to the analysis and diagnosis of
strategy problems
2. An understanding of how organizations align internal resources and capabilities to industry and
macro-environmental conditions to produce strategies in a variety of competitive contexts,
including single-business, multi-business, non-business and global contexts
3. The capacity to formulate and defend arguments in support of strategy proposals, using theory
and evidence
RUBRIC
Goals and strategies; competitive advantage; competitive positioning; resources and capabilities;
industry analysis; strategic change; diversification strategy; global strategy; non-business
strategy; strategy process
TEACHING APPROACH

All sessions will be interactive, with seven sessions devoted to applied case analysis.
Students should expect to contribute to class discussions, and to prepare accordingly.
The course will span over 20 classes, with 2 classes per week; in the first 19 lectures we will
cover all relevant study issues and in the last class we shall summarize our learning
throughout the ten weeks and prepare for the final exam.
Case Preparation and Class Participation: Throughout this course we will put a lot of
emphasis in learning through analyzing cases, which means that most of the learning will be
generated inductively from our case discussions. The case method places the burden squarely
on your shoulders: by advancing and critiquing arguments, we will collectively arrive at
many important insights. Without your active participation, we will not make these
discoveries. The case-based class is therefore a simulation of a managerial process or
meeting. If you do not put in the work on the cases, you will emerge from the course having
learned nothing more than a set of labels.
READINGS

There are three types of reading material for this course:

TEXTBOOK
Contemporary Strategy Analysis (6th edition or newest edition) Robert M. Grant
COURSE PACK

Everything in the course-pack is required reading for this course. It includes cases that we
will discuss throughout the course and relevant articles that will enhance our understanding
of the relevant issues. The cases are descriptions of real-life situations from a variety of
industry and country settings, including some classic cases well-proven as effective learning
vehicles, and more recently published cases.
COURSE SCHEDULE/ CALENDAR
Required
Reading

MGT 489

Session

Topics
covered

to

Simulation

be

Assignments

Contemporary
Strategy Analysis Robert M. Grant

Chapters 1 & 2;
Epilogue:
Monkeys
are
people
too;
Article:
Hamas
and
Health
Insurance

Simulation disc./ Intro,

scope,
vision-missiongoals

Str.
Mgmt.
history

Strategy & game

theory

Threats, Promises, and

Sequential Games

Case discussion

Case
1
Manchester
United

Competitive
positioning, RBV, X
factors

Chapters 5 & 7; Thomas

Powell -- "Unlock the
deep
structure
of
competitive
performance"

Case discussion

1st Group Submission

(Every group submits
Case 2 - Cirque 1000
word
case
du Soleil
analysis)
Group 2 presents on
case

5 forces; value
chain;
profit Chapters 3 & 4
pools; value net

Case discussion

10

Chapter 10;
PESTLE; Ind. Life
Article:
cycle; Dominant
Regulatory
design
Capture

In

Group 1 presents on
case

Case 3 - Robert Group 3 presents on

Mondavi
case

Case 4 - US Group 4 presents on

airline industry
case

11

Case discussion

12

Midterm
examination

13

Portfolio
models;
Synergy;
Related
diversification;
Core
competence

Chapters 6 & 15;

Article:
Break
This
Window,
Grab That Land

14

Case discussion

Case 5 - Richard
Branson & the Virgin
Group

15

International
expansion;
products;
insiderization

16

Case discussion

17

Dominant
logic;
Corporate parenting;
M&A

Chapter 16

Case discussion

2nd Group Submission

(Every group submits
Case 7 - GE's two
1000
word
case
decade
long
analysis)
transformation
Group 7 presents on
case

19

Emergent
strategy;
Logical
incrementalism;
Dynamic capabilities

Christensen,
C.M.
-"Making
strategy:
learning by doing";
Kathleen Eisenhardt &
Jeffrey
Martin
--"Dynamic Capabilities:
What Are They?"

20

Group exercise

21

Comprehensive Review

18

global

Group 5 presents on
case

Chapter 14; Hamel, G.

and Prahalad, C.K. -"Do you really have a
global strategy?";

Article: The NonAggressive Indian

Case
6
Group 6 presents on
Launching
a
case
start-up in China

GRADING COMPONENTS
Students will be assessed through a combination of group and individual business-case
analysis and exams or industry research.

Individual:
1. Midterm - 20% of grade
2. Final not comprehensive 20% of grade
3. Class attendance & participation 20% of grade

Component

Weights

Date due

Group case assignment 1

10%

Session 7

Group case assignment 2

10%

Session 18

Group presentation

20%

Will depend on group number

Midterm

20%

After session 11

Final (not comprehensive)

20%

University will fix

Attendance & Participation

20%

All term

CASE PREPARATION
There are no set assignment questions for the case studies. This is because (i) problem
diagnosis is part of the skill set we are practicing; (ii) these real-life situations are open to
more than one interpretation of the underlying issues. At a simple level, the assignment is
always the same: What should these managers do? In almost all cases, in the introduction
to the case you will find a description of how the managers think about the problem (and this
is often re-stated at the end of the case text). But you should look carefully at the evidence
presented in the case and feel free to arrive at your own more subtle diagnosis of the key
issues facing the managers involved.
CLASS DISCUSSION
Your analysis of the case study should be the basis for your contributions to the class
discussion of the case.
Great comments are characterized by:

Depth of insight: a detailed understanding of the business problem, the creative synthesis and
inference from this understanding to creative solutions, and, more generally, the ability to
help the class make an important discovery in the learning process.
Rigor: the logical and disciplined use of both qualitative and quantitative case information to
diagnose the strategic issue, to demonstrate the reasonableness of assumptions, to support a
recommendation, or to challenge someone elses conclusions and plans.
Consistency: the extent to which your argument offers a cohesive and integrated approach to
the strategic problem.
Realism: the degree to which your action plan involves specific plausible recommendations
that attends to the constraints of the business situation.
A solid argument combines the above elements and will often include a clear
recommendation, a statement of assumptions, and a logical connection from case information
to analysis and recommendations. It is important that you come to class with a specific action
plan and are prepared to debate with your classmates the value of your approach versus
possible alternatives.
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