Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Strategic Management
BUSI1317
Contents
1. WELCOME......................................................................................................................................... 3 2. INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE.................................................................................................. 3 2.1 AIMS............................................................................................................................................3 2.2 LEARNING OUTCOMES ..................................................................................................................... 3 2.3 LEARNING AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES................................................................................................... 3 3. CONTACT DETAILS.......................................................................................................................... 4 4. COURSE CONTENT.......................................................................................................................... 5 5. ASSESSMENT DETAILS................................................................................................................... 9 5.1 SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT................................................................................................................ 9 5.2 ASSESSMENT ONE GROUP PRESENTATION AND INDIVIDUAL REPORT............................................................9 5.3 ASSESSMENT TWO CASE ANALYSIS................................................................................................. 10 5.4 RESIT ASSESSMENT....................................................................................................................... 11 5.5 WRITING YOUR ASSIGNMENTS..........................................................................................................11 5.6 ANALYSING STRATEGY CASES SOME TIPS....................................................................................... 12 6. READING......................................................................................................................................... 13 6.1 CORE TEXTBOOKS........................................................................................................................ 13 6.2 SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTBOOKS........................................................................................................... 14 6.3 ACADEMIC JOURNALS..................................................................................................................... 14 6.4 NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS ......................................................................................................... 15 7. OTHER DETAILS............................................................................................................................. 16 8. FEEDBACK SHEETS...................................................................................................................... 16
1. Welcome
Dear students,
Welcome to the final-year course Strategic Management. We hope that you will enjoy the course. This course gives an overview of both the context and practices of Strategic Management, and introduces you to the four major steps and levels of Strategic Management. The four main steps of strategic management are: strategic analysis, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and strategy evaluation. This course will cover these topics in this order. While all four steps of strategic management are equally relevant, the second step is the most time-intensive one. Strategy formulation can take place at three levels: the business level (Business Strategy, i.e. strategy at the level of the business unit), the corporate level (Corporate strategy, i.e. strategy for the entire company), and the functional level (i.e. strategy for a business function, such as Strategic HRM). This course handbook explains how the course is organised and what the assessments are. It also lists the lecture and tutorial topics. Tutorials accompany the weekly lectures, and are designed to deepen your understanding of the topic using real-life examples. We expect you to attend all lectures and tutorials, and to do all the prescribed reading (detailed in section six) generally, you have to read at least one chapter per week from the course textbook. Again, we hope that you will enjoy the course and find it useful! Good luck!
7. Identify and evaluate the role of leadership, organisational structure and changemanagement in strategy-implementation
3. Contact Details
Name Course Leader Vu Chi Mai 4th floor, maivc@fsb.edu.vn FSB 2 0912234206 Room E-mail Phone Office Hours
Programme Administrator Dang Thanh Nga 2nd floor, ngadt@fsb.edu.vn FSB 1 0902257000 Mon-Fri, 09:00-17:30
4. Course Content
Lecturer: Vu Chi Mai
What is strategy? Schools of thought on strategy and strategic management The context of strategic management
Reading Core: Barney/Hesterly 2011, ch. 1 Additional: Johnson et al. 2010, ch. 1 Tutorial 1 Introduction to course (reading, assignments, handbook etc.)
How to read a strategic management/business case? What steps are involved in analysing a case?
Reading Tutorial 2 Core: Analyzing Strategic Management Cases, available on Moodle
Cases: Google, Electrolux Lecture 3 Strategic Analysis I The external context (opportunities and threats) (NW)
Lecture 4 Strategic Analysis II Internal strategic capabilities (strengths and weaknesses) (NW)
activities
PART 2: Strategy Formulation I Business Level Strategies Lecture 5 Cost and quality leadership (NW) Reading Core: Barney/Hesterly 2011, ch. 4 Additional: Johnson et al. 2010, ch. 6 Tutorial 5
Case: Ryanair
Lecture 6 Product and service differentiation (NW) Reading Core: Barney/Hesterly 2011, ch. 5 Additional: Johnson et al. 2010, ch. 6 Tutorial 6
PART 3: Strategy Formulation II Corporate Level Strategy Lecture 7 Vertical integration (RJ) Reading Core: Barney/Hesterly 2011, ch. 6 Additional: Johnson et al. 2010, ch. 7 Tutorial 7
Lecture 8 Horizontal integration, corporate diversification (RJ) Reading Core: Barney/Hesterly 2011, chs 7 and 8 Additional: Johnson et al. 2010, ch. 7 Tutorial 8
Case: Grand Met Group presentation #2 (Grand Met case, on horizontal integration)
Lecture 9 Mergers and Acquisitions, strategic alliances (RJ) Reading Core: Barney/Hesterly 2011, chs. 9 and 10 Additional: Johnson et al. 2010, ch. 10 Tutorial 9 Case: EEIG Group presentation #3 (EEIG case, on alliances)
PART 4: Strategy Formulation III , Strategy Implementation and Eva luati on Lecture 10 International and global strategies (RJ)
Management and operations issues, considering new implementation levers, considering new ventures and corporate renewal Strategy review, evaluation, and control
Core: Johnson et al. 2010, chs. 11 and 12 (available in library), and also read the Texo case in this study guide (pp. 93-95) Review / Conclusion (RJ) Core: Johnson et al. 2010, ch. 15 Conclusion and revision Case (if time): Strategic Leadership at Lufthansa
5. Assessment Details
Your mark for this course is made up from two components: a case analysis, and an individual report, based on a group presentation. For details, see below. The case analysis counts for 70 per cent of your mark, and the report (including the grade for the presentation) for 30 per cent. The pass mark is 40 per cent.
You must follow the instructions given for each assessment; otherwise your assignment will be marked down.
It is important that you hand in both pieces of coursework on time (before 3pm on the due date). Late submissions will be marked zero (unless you are granted extenuating circumstances, e.g. for being ill; see Programme Handbook for details).
Please see the programme handbook for general marking criteria. For more specific marking criteria, and to understand what is required from you, refer to the feedback forms in section eight of this handbook.
Part one:
The presentation mark counts for one sixth of your overall mark for assignment one. (It will be recorded on the feedback sheet for your individual report.) NB: If you do not participate in preparing and delivering the presentation, the entire assignment one will automatically be marked zero (unless you have extenuating circumstances). Part two: Prepare an individual report summarising the findings of the presentation. The report should follow the instructions in sections 5.5 and 5.6. It should develop your points from the presentation further, rather than just repeating them in written form. Your report should be based on extensive individual research on your topic and your case, and should be referenced throughout. It is important that you critically analyse the strategies used by the companies in your case, and develop an argument, rather than providing a mere description of the case. This is an individual piece of work (that is, you are not to write it collectively with fellow students); and that you should develop your points from the presentation further, rather than just repeating it in written form. NB: You have to attach the feedback sheet from your presentation, otherwise your entire assignment will be marked zero. Have a look at the feedback sheets in section 8 to see what is required!
Sources to be used:
Strategic management textbooks (658.4012 in library catalogue; also see section 7.2) Academic journals (see section 7.3)
Word Limit: 1,500 words Due Date: Weighting: Format: Feedback 23 April 2012, 3pm This assessment is worth 30% of the overall mark for the course. Word-processed, eleven point font, 1.5 spacing, wide margins (2.5 cm top, left and bottom; 5cm right); attach a header sheet You will receive written feedback. It is important that you read it. The individual report must be your own and not copied by or from another student or from books etc. If you use ideas, quotes or data (such as diagrams) from books, journals or other sources, you must reference your sources, using the Harvard style. Make sure that you know how to reference properly, and that understand the guidelines on plagiarism! If you do not, you might fail!
Nota Bene: If you do not follow the prescribed format, you will be marked down.
Scandinavian Airline Systems in 1988 (on vertical integration) Socit Gnrale de Belgique (on restructuring) Chemical Labour Grouping, EEIG (on strategic alliances)
(see handbook pp. 31-89 for the cases) NB: You have to choose a different case than the one you analysed in your first assignment. If you chose the same case, you will automatically be marked zero. Again, it is important that you critically analyse the strategies used by the companies in your case, and develop an argument, rather than a merely providing a description of the case.
Word Limit: 2,000 word (excluding list of references and appendices) Due Date: Weighting: Format: Feedback 08 May 2012, 3pm This assessment is worth 70% of the overall mark for the course. Word-processed, eleven point font, 1.5 spacing, wide margins (2.5 cm top, left and bottom; 5cm right); attach a header sheet. You will receive written feedback. It is important that you read it as it will help you with your next assignment. The work must be your own and not copied by or from another student or from books etc. If you use ideas, quotes or data (such as diagrams) from books, journals or other sources, you must reference your sources, using the Harvard style. Make sure that you know how to reference properly, and that understand the guidelines on plagiarism! If you do not, you might fail!
Nota Bene: If you do not follow the prescribed format, you will be marked down.
Resits will usually take place in August and will usually involve a new coursework topic or exam. Where you have been deemed to have failed an assignment, any resit will normally involve a similar piece of individual coursework.
If you have been notified that you have to complete coursework resits, we will tell you the details of the assessment as well as submission dates.
You should analyse the cases, and the strategies chosen, which means that we do NOT want you to just describe (or re-tell) what has happened that is not very interesting (the case is just a tool). What we want you to do is to analyse the strategies. That is: why have certain decisions (for example, to integrate horizontally or vertically) been taken, and why have that decisions been taken at that point in time (i.e. analyse both the external context and internal capabilities)? Here, you will have to refer to certain theories you encountered in the course. Essentially, you should complete the following four steps: 1. Briefly analyse external environment and internal strategic capabilities (you could do this using, for example, SWOT analysis but dont just provide bullet points, write in whole sentences) of the company your presentation was on.
2. Explain the strategic choices made (WHAT strategies were chosen, and WHY?). Here, you should focus introduce some concepts and theories (i.e. vertical integration, horizontal integration, alliances, or restructuring). 3. Explain how the strategy/strategies was/were implemented. How did this impact on the company and its resources? Was it successful? 4. Briefly evaluate the strategies that were implemented. (How feasible have those strategies been, and why?) The focus should be on section 2.
If you need some more ideas on how to analyse your case, have a look at the following section.
The longer that a case study is given to sink in to your subconscious, the deeper the understanding you will get and the better your answers will be. Read the case material for the first time as soon as you have been allocated it as an assignment or seminar example. Get a general impression:
Is the organisation doing well or badly now, and how has it performed in the past? Is it a company that has an unbroken record of success? Or a successful company that has fallen on hard times? What are the main issues and choices confronting the company? Is it in an expanding industry, or a maturing one? Are customer needs changing? Does the firm confront a variety of opportunities? Or is there a particular business decision which the case is oriented towards? What information is there in the case, as tables and annexes?
Put the case aside for a few days before reading it a second time. Then, start to analyse it seriously:
Look at the development of the organisation over time. What strategies has it pursued? Which have succeeded and which have failed? Which are the types of environment where it has been able to succeed, and in which types has it had problems? Use the tools and techniques of strategic management theory, to see what insights they give you. What is the nature of the competitive environment? What kind of strategic resources does the organisation have and which does it lack? How successful has the organisation been and how do you know? Look carefully at all the tables, annexes and appendices. Why are they there? What information is the case writer trying to get you to get out of them? If there are numerical data in the case analyse them. What trends over time do they show? What ratios can you use to analyse performance in areas that are important to the organisation?
Then, if you have time, put the case aside again for a day or two, and let all this sink in. You may at this stage like to use SWOT analysis as a framework for a preliminary analysis of your thinking.
Now start to relate the analysis to the task or question you have been set.
What elements of the strategic analysis do you require to carry out the task, and how do they relate to it? Is there further information or analysis that you need?
Have you really demonstrated them, backing up your reasoning with hard evidence (events and results) from the case study? Have you allowed yourself to be swayed by the opinions of the organisations own managers? They have a vested interest in showing their actions in the best possible light. You do not have to agree. Do the facts support their claims of success, or their excuses for failure? Beware of being taken in by the rhetoric of the case writer. Sometimes they may genuinely believe that this is a wonderful company, sometimes they may just be trying to mislead you. We can read what they think we want to know what you think! Dare to be different if you can marshal the evidence to support what you say.
If you are asked for a particular decision or recommendation, make sure that it is clearly stated (i.e. not just implied) in the report. You may have come up with fifteen good reasons why the company should enter the market in Utopia, but unless you clearly state that that is what you recommend, you will lose marks.
You have considered the alternatives. There is hardly ever just one, single obvious response to a strategic problem. And bear in mind that, if there is, all the companys competitors will have thought of it, too! You have made it clear why the recommendation you have chosen is the best of the available alternatives. That means showing what is wrong with the others! You have looked at the downside of your proposals. Try to avoid proposals that would bankrupt the company if they failed, or which can be easily copied by the competition.
6. Reading
6.1 Core Textbooks
Barney, Jay B. and Hesterly, William S. (2011): Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage (4th ed). ISBN: 0132560453. Regular price: 47.99, or 43.20 at the campus bookshop (tbc), or 35.99 at Amazon (see www.amazon.co.uk/Strategic-ManagementCompetitive-Advantage-Barney/dp/0132560453). NB: The Book will be available from 28 September, but you can pre-order it at the campus bookshop or on Amazon. This textbook, which you are required to purchase, is essential to prepare you for, and help you with, lectures, tutorials, and assignments. The book is available in the university bookshop, which is located in the Mews building at the Greenwich Maritime campus (the first building on the left when entering the campus through the West Gate, opposite the library). An alternative textbook, which is available in the library, is the following one by Johnson et al. The core reading for lecture eleven is from this book. You are not, however, required to purchase this book. Just make sure that you copy the relevant sections well in advance. Johnson, Gerry; Whittington, Richard; Scholes, Kevan 2010: Exploring Strategy, Text & Cases (9th ed). Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
The following journals gerneral Management journals, which are useful background reading. Harvard Business Review (available in the library) Academy of Management Journal MIT Sloan Management Review McKinsey Quarterly
Les chos (France, daily; www.lesechos.fr) Il Sole 24 Ore (Italy, daily; www.ilsole24ore.com) Nikkei (Japan, daily; in Japanese and English; www.nni.nikkei.co.jp) Economic Observer (China, weekly; in English and Mandarin; www.eeo.com.cn/ens) The Economic Times (India, daily; in English, Hindi, and Gujarati; http://economictimes.indiatimes.com)
7. Other Details
Please refer to your programme handbook for any further information you might require including methods of submitting assignments, advice and administrative procedures.
8. Feedback sheets
The following three pages show the feedback sheets that your tutors will use to mark your assignments. Have a look at them to see what is required!
BUSINESS SCHOOL
ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK
Marker:
NW PR RJ
A
70+
B
6069
C
5059
D
4049
E
0-39
Comment
Content
Overall, how relevant was the content of your talk?
Conceptual
How well did you illustrate the concept (e.g. horizontal integration)?
Environment
How well did you analyse the external environment?
Capabilities
How well did you analyse the internal strategic capabilities?
Strategic Choices
How well did you analyse the strategic choices?
Strategy Implementation
How well did you analyse the strategy implementation?
Structure
How logical was the order you put your ideas into?
Visual Support
How well did you use slides etc to support your talk?
Sources
Did you use appropriate academic soures (not just internet sources)?
BUSINESS SCHOOL
Length
How well did you keep to the given time? (15 minutes)
NB: Each sections carries roughly equal weight. Key to Grades: A: Excellent, B: Good, C: Satisfactory, D: Some inadequacies, E: Poor
Grade:
BUSINESS SCHOOL
ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK
BUSI1317 Strategic Management Student: _________________________ A
70 +
NW PR RJ
C
5059
D
4049
E
039
2) Structure
Good introduction (appropriate length, defines topic, gives overview of report) Good main section (appropriate length, divided well into subsections using subheadings) Good conclusion (appropriate length, summarises case analysis well) Introductions not good or missing
BUSINESS SCHOOL
General comments:
Final grade:
BUSINESS SCHOOL
ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK
BUSI1317 Strategic Management Student: _________________________ A
70 +
NW PR RJ
E
C
5059
D
4049
039
2) Structure
Good introduction (appropriate length, defines topic, gives overview of report) Good main section (appropriate length, divided well into subsections using subheadings) Good conclusion (appropriate length, summarises case analysis well) Introductions not good or missing
BUSINESS SCHOOL
3) Format
Style: fluently written, in academic writing style Presentation: well set out, correct overall length Referencing: correct referencing in Harvard style Syntax: correct spelling and grammar Inelegantly written, informal writing style Untidy and difficult to read, under / over length Incorrect or missing referencing Incorrect spelling and grammar
4) Sources
Good range of appropriate academic sources used
NB: Each of the six sections above (1a, 1b, 1c, 2, 3, 4) carries roughly equal weight towards the final mark; but marks are not derived mechanically from above feedback. Key to Grades: A: Excellent, B: Good, C: Satisfactory, D: Some inadequacies, E: Poor
General comments:
Final grade: