Strategic and International Management

MNGT 681.AO1/NO1

Summer 2017

Professor:                          Dr. Ernest H. Hall, Jr., Ph.D. Office:                                BEC 1022

Phone:                               465-7038

Skype ID:                           ernest.hall412

E-mail:                                 ehall@usi.edu

COMMUNICATION GUIDELINES

My preferred method of communication is e-mail (ehall@usi.edu). I will respond to your e- mails during normal business days (Monday through Friday from 8:00 am-4:00 pm).  You can expect a response to your message within 48 hours of my receiving your e-mail.  It should be noted that e-mails sent on Fridays might not receive a response from me until Tuesday of the following week.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL TIMES (DUE DATES, ETC.) ARE POSTED USING CST (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME)

SKYPE

Students can use their USI Eagles email as a Microsoft Live account to access Skype (http://www.skype.com) to meet with their professors. The how-to video tutorial is available at http://vimeo.com/69903651.

A webcam, headset, and microphone are required to be able to chat with the professor online. For system requirements please visit the following web site: http://www.usi.edu/distance/students/current/requirements.

SUPPORT RESOURCSES

Please understand, that since your professor is not a trained technology expert, he will not be able to assist you with your technical needs. Please contact the Help Desk at (812) 465-1080 or send an email to  it@usi.edu for all your technical support needs.

For any technical assistance with Blackboard, Voice Thread, or any other computer related issues please visit:  https://www.usi.edu/it/students

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The primary emphasis of this course is on developing an executive perspective of business utilizing the following: corporate and business level strategy, strategy formation, strategy implementation, and the strategic management process.  In particular, the primary purposes of the course are to develop the ability to analyze complex corporate problems from a global perspective, and an awareness of the impact of the changing business conditions and government policies on global organizations. Specific attention will focus on how strategy interacts with and guides an organization within its environments (both internal and external). In order to accomplish this task you need to be able to integrate information previously acquired during your college career from the following functional areas: finance, accounting, marketing, management, and economics. This course is about the "BIG PICTURE" and how all the pieces fit together. We are interested in the linkages that exist among the various departments, divisions, businesses, and groups throughout the organization. Therefore, this course is different from any course you have previously taken in the MBA program. Through the use of text material and readings you will be exposed to different viewpoints that will help you develop your critical, analytical, and thinking skills.  It is one of the goals of this class to provide you with a forum in which you can explore divergent opinions and ideas.  In this class it is expected that you will not agree with all the opinions and ideas that will be expressed in the readings or by your classmates. It is in this spirit that I would like to invite you to participate in broadening your understanding of business in general, and strategy in particular. In order for this to work it is essential that everyone be respectful of each other and strive to develop an open and trusting atmosphere for learning.  At the conclusion of this course it is expected that students will be able to:

     apply the tools and concepts of strategic planning as they apply to a business and its various stakeholders,

        identify the key issues and drivers that determine a company’s strategy,

     display a sensitivity and understanding of various “constituencies” of a company and how they influence and are influenced by a company’s strategy,

     exhibit the capacity to think strategically about a company, its business position, and how it can gain sustainable competitive advantage,

        conduct a thorough strategic analysis,

     show a deep understanding of the competitive challenges of a global market environment, and

     display a consciousness about the importance of ethical principles, personal and company values, and socially responsible management practices.

However, throughout the duration of the course the overriding focus of everything that we do will be centered on increasing and developing your ability to THINK CRITICALLY.

PREREQUISITES

Prerequisites for this class include ACCT 601, ECON 601, FIN 601, MKTG 601, MNGT 601, and MNGT 611.  Students are expected to be familiar with accounting, finance, economic, marketing, and management theories and practices. Class time will NOT be spent covering the basics of these areas. If a student is not familiar with these areas he/she should consult textbooks in the area of strategic management.  In addition, not all strategy terms and concepts will be covered in class.

CLASS STYLE

This course is focused on integrating, synthesizing, and critically evaluating the readings and text materials.  Everyone should understand that it is acceptable and even highly desirable in some cases to disagree with the opinions of the authors of the readings.  However, you need to understand that just because you disagree with the author(s) of a reading does not mean that you are correct.  Having a different opinion on a subject can be a good thing, but only if you are able to support your point of view by using theory, facts, data, evidence, etc.  So, you will need to be able to defend your position and convince others that you are right.  This means that you should be able to provide a clear understanding of your viewpoint and the rationale or logic for your conclusions.  Theory, concepts, applications, and readings will be covered in the class materials.  The intent is for the articles to expose you to new or sometimes not so new ideas or theories and thereby, expand or broaden your viewpoint. Students should start their work early in the week. It is important for you to understand that just reading the articles is not enough.  You must analyze, interpret, decipher, integrate, and assimilate the information that you have collected. Therefore, I recommend reading the articles and text chapters early in the week so that the ideas will have time to percolate. In this manner you will be able to realize the full import and impact of the readings and how they affect your daily work experience. Waiting until the last minute will result in disaster and lead to confusion.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Grant, R. M. 2016. Contemporary Strategy Analysis (Text Edition), 9th ed., John Wiley & Sons. ISBN # 9781119120834.

Segal-Horn, S. 2004. The Strategy Reader, 2nd ed., Blackwell Publishing: MA.

ISBN # 1405126876.

The course is assignment-based and therefore, there will be a number of assignments throughout the semester.  Assignments will be used instead of a mid-term and final examination to assess you ability to critically think about the issues that have been raised in the readings/chapters. Each assignment is due by the deadline that is scheduled. Late assignments will not be accepted and will receive a grade of zero (0).  There are no excuses for late assignments, since students have the option of completing the assignments earlier than the deadline. Please do not ask for extensions of deadlines.

In the assignments the general criteria that will be used to evaluate the quality of your work are as follows:

        Are the points made relevant to the issue(s) being addressed?

     Do the comments go beyond a mere recitation of case facts or a restatement of the opinions of others, including the author(s) of the readings and text?  I do not want you to prove to me that you can tell me what the author(s) have said in an article.  My assumption is that you can comprehend what the author(s) are saying.

     Are the implications of these ideas clearly and explicitly explained?  Are they well supported?  Remember to look and think more deeply about the topics we are addressing. The issues we are addressing are more complex than they first appear.

     Is there evidence of analysis rather than just the expression of a thought?  Opinions must be supported by logic, rationale, evidence, etc.  Explain why you believe something is the right thing to do. Also, explain how to do it. I want to know what you think about a given topic and not what the supposed experts think.

        Did the contribution further the understanding of the issue(s)?

        Did the contribution add additional insights or thought provoking ideas?

QUIZZES

Quizzes will be given on each chapter from the Grant textbook. The quizzes will test overall content knowledge of the areas of strategy and will be administered online via BlackBoard. The quizzes will only cover the material from the Grant textbook. The readings from the Segal-Horn book will serve to help expose you to different strategic thinking that will be utilized on the assignments.

PROBLEM SOLVING TERM PROJECT

Each student will be part of a team.  All teams will analyze the same company: Apple Inc. (AAPL). The focus of the project is to study, research and analyze Apple, and develop a strategic plan to ensure the long-term prosperity of the company. The project should focus on the key strategic issues facing Apple, recommendations for rectifying the problems, explanation and support for the course of action recommended, and a detailed implementation plan. The paper should be well written and concise (12-15 pages doubled spaced, including references). The project must be original work.

Term projects are due at 11:50 pm on June 17, 2017.  Pleas not that this is earlier than the last day of the class.  Late term projects will not be accepted and will receive a grade of zero. Since students are allowed to turn projects in early, there are NO excuses for late projects.  My advice is that you start your project early.  Please make backups of your term project as you continue to compose and develop your ideas throughout the semester to avoid any disasters.  Disasters will NOT be accepted as excuses for a late project.  Planning is the key to developing a successful term project.  Please make sure that you adequately support your recommendations.  Merely stating that you think or feel something is true is not proof that it is true. Therefore, you MUST explain in detail why and how you arrived at your conclusions, which means that the term project should be rigorous and well researched. Only by being intimate with the company that you are studying will you be able to provide an insightful plan to address the strategic issues being studied.

TEAMS

Students will be randomly assigned to teams by the professor. Each team will consist of 3-4 students. Members of a team may terminate a member who is not contributing to the team effort. If it is determined that a team member is not pulling his/her fair share of the work, the members of the team should contact the noncontributing member and explain their complaint and seek to resolve the problem.  If this attempt at reconciliation does not result in a workable solution, the members of the team should submit a letter of termination to the professor. The letter of termination should contain the following items: name of team member to be terminated, a statement stating that the team has communicated with the noncontributing member, discussed the matter and were unable to reconcile the problem, state the reasons why the member should be terminated, and the signatures of team members endorsing the termination. At this point the person will be terminated from the team. The individual who has been terminated will then become solely responsible for an individual problem-solving project on a different company that will be assigned by the instructor.  The termination process must be completed and delivered to the instructor by 5:00 pm on Friday, June

2, 2017.

PEER EVALUATIONS

At the end of the course each student will be evaluated by their team members. Each student will be asked to evaluate their team members by grading them on a scale from 0-100 and then giving a brief narrative supporting the grade that was given.  If everyone worked well in your team you do not need to send me a peer evaluation. The default assumption is that all team members contributed equally to the final project, unless you notify me of a member that did not pull their fair share of the work.  An average score will be calculated for each team member, and their problem solving project grade will be calculated by multiplying their average peer evaluation score provided by their team peers by the team grade for the term project. For example, if your team received a grade of 80% on the term project and your average peer evaluation average score was 70%, the term project grade that you would receive is 56% (80% x 70%).  Peer evaluations will be anonymous and will not be shared with team members. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you work well with your team members. I recommend that students develop a working relationship with their team members early in the semester to avoid any problems later on. Peer evaluations are due on or before June 23, 2017 at 11:50 pm.

DEFINITION OF PLAGIARISM

Students are reminded of the Romain College of Business expectations regarding the avoidance of plagiarism, which includes:

(1) failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas,

(2) failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks, and

(3) failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words.

(Source: Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, 2e, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1997, p.

92.) Students are specifically reminded that electronically copying text from a source document, such as a web page, and pasting that into one’s own document without putting the borrowed language in quotation marks is plagiarism, even if the source of that language is included in an in-text citation and reference list.  Simply put, borrowed language must be set off in quotation marks.

Second, even if language borrowed from a secondary source is appropriately referenced, Romain College of Business faculty expects more from students.  Copying and pasting someone else’s words and ideas into a document file does not demonstrate your understanding of the material. Secondary sources are appropriate and necessary for a research project, but your contribution should involve more than simply assembling the words and ideas of others.

DISABILITIES

If you have a disability for which you may require academic accommodations for this class, please contact Disability Resources at 812-464-1961 or email Ronda Stone at rfstone@usi.edu as soon as possible. Students who are approved for accommodations by Disability Resources should request their accommodation letter be sent to their online instructors.  Due to the nature of online courses some accommodations approved for on campus courses may not apply. Please discuss this with Disability Resources to clarify as needed. Students who receive an accommodation letter from Disability Resources are encouraged to discuss the provisions of those accommodations with their professors before or during the first week of the semester.  If you will be in an internship, field, clinical, student teaching, or other off-campus setting this semester please note that approved academic accommodations may not apply.  Please contact Disability Resources as soon as possible to discuss accommodations needed for access while in this setting.  For more information, please visit the Disability Resources website at  http://www.usi.edu/disabilities.

Course Changes:  The professor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus subject to reasonable notice.