You are on page 1of 18

BPS 6310 – STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Fall 2009

Professor: Seung-Hyun Lee


Office: SOM 4.409
Tel: 972-883-6267 E-mail: lee.1085@utdallas.edu
TA:

Office Hours: Wednesdays 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.


Class: Wednesdays 7:00-9:45 p.m.
Classroom: SOM 2.722

Text: Dess, G.G. and Lumpkin, G.T., (4th edition)—Strategic Management, McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Case book: Harvard Case book available at the off-campus bookstore

Class materials are available through the Web-CT.

Course Objective: The emphasis of this course is on developing a general understanding of the
administration of business firms from the point of view of top management. The course emphasizes
application of theory-based knowledge to real world situations through the use of lecture and case
studies. The course is divided into discussions of:
1. the role of strategic management
2. analyzing the industry and macro environment
3. analyzing the internal resources of the organization
4. corporate strategies
5. business-level strategies
6. implementation of strategic decisions

We will be using case analyses to 1) analyze the external environment of a firm, 2) assess the
resources and capabilities of a firm, and 3) assess the firm’s current strategy to integrate skills
acquired in FIN, AIM, MKT, and MIS courses to create a successful generic strategy.

In addition, written essays will cover identifying the stakeholders of the firm and designing ethical
strategic responses.

By the end of the course, students should have an understanding of how strategic issues are framed,
the range of generic strategic decisions that are faced by most organizations, and how some of the
concepts learned in other classes (i.e., NPV, breakeven analysis, ratio analysis, etc.) can generate
information used for strategic problem solving. Plus, ethics in business will also be covered in the
class since it is an important part of strategic management.

Class Format: This class is structured differently from other classes you have taken. There is an
emphasis on using case analysis as a way of practicing your business thinking skills, your oral
presentation skills, as well as your writing skills. The goals of this class are 1) to learn about
strategy and 2) help you make the transition from education to work. Because of this,
professionalism and integrative thinking are emphasized. Our use of cases provides a mechanism
to help students learn skills and techniques associated with oral presentations and written briefs.
These skills can often make the difference between getting and keeping a job and losing one.

Most strategic issues are non-routine and unstructured. This is your opportunity to use what you
have learned in lecture and other classes to solve problems presented in the case. The quality of
the case analysis usually determines the quality of the solutions. The primary responsibility for
the quality of the case analysis comes from the student participants.

Grades: Your grade in the course will be based on objective and subjective criteria. Grades will
be given with the following criteria using the max of 100.

A: over 90
A-: 87-89.9
B+: 83-86.9
B: 80-82.9
B-: 77-79.9
C+: 73-76.9
C: 70-72.9
D+: 67-69.9
D: 63-66.9
D-: 60-62.9
F: below 60

Each class will be curved separately. Grades will be based on the following:

WSJ article analyses (group): 15%


Group (written) case analyses (4 cases): 20%
Individual case (Progressive: written) 10%
Group oral presentation (1 case) 15%
Final Exam (in class): 20%
Peer Evaluation: multiplied with the group case evaluations
Participation: 20%
Total 100%

WSJ article analyses Assignment (presentation): The class will be divided into groups of equal
size. You will be either assigned to your group or choose your group members. Your group will
be responsible for oral presentation only. The group selection will take place on the second day
of the class and each team will have 4-5 members. The number of members in a group can vary
depending on the class size. Preferably we would want to have 6-7 teams.

WSJ article analysis should be a comprehensive analysis of the facts of the case and application
of concepts learned in the lecture and textbook. Your group case analysis grade will be based on
the quality of the group's work. Part of your learning experience is managing the coordination of
tasks required to create a good product. Part of your grade will be based on each individual's
assessment of the relative contribution of each group member (peer evaluation).
Each WSJ article analysis will be graded according to the case evaluation criteria shown in the
case evaluation sheet. It is important that you make use of library search engines. Only using
company homepage and Google or its equivalent (e.g. Yahoo) is not enough (they are not
considered as outside sources).

For WSJ article analysis, to address the above issues, students should use outside sources of
information. In addition to using the library search engines, suggested references include Annual
Reports, 10-K Forms, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Moody’s Industrial
Manual, Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, etc. When you use outside
sources, make sure that you make the references bold, so the instructor can easily find out how
many outside sources (other than company homepage and Google) are used. One of the librarians
or the instructor will spend some time to explain how to meaningfully use library search engines
for analyses. Do not rely too much on the same references—select a variety.

You will bring copies of PP slides for the instructor and students. In the copies, source of
references should be included in both PP slides and a separate reference appendix.

Case analyses: There are written and oral portion of the case analyses. Your group case analysis
grade will be based on the quality of the group's work. As mentioned above, part of your grade
will be based on each individual's assessment of the relative contribution of each group member
(peer evaluation). There is only one individual case. Individual cases will be graded individually.
Late cases are not accepted.

Written portion: There are eight (8) cases that we will cover in class altogether. Each team is
responsible to turn in any four (4) (out of 8) case analyses during the term. Each case analysis is
due at the beginning of the class that the case is assigned. Each case analysis cannot exceed 5
pages - double spaced (font 11) excluding figures, tables, and references. No cover sheet is needed.
Each written case analysis is worth 6 points (6x5=30). Ensure that the paper has an executive
summary and that it is divided into sections and subsections in a logical manner. Written part
will be graded as 5/5: excellent, 4/5: very good, 3.5/5: good, 3/5: fair 2/5: poor, 1/5 very poor,
and 1/6: extremely poor. One individual case will also be graded using the case evaluation
sheet.

Oral portion: Each team is responsible to present a case in the classroom. Oral presentations
should be approximately 15 minutes in length with approximately a 5 minutes discussion period.
The oral presentation will count 15% of the assignment grade. The cases will be chosen when you
form your groups on the second day of the class. Oral part will be graded using the case
evaluation sheet.

Class Participation: Class participation is highly encouraged in both the lecture portion as well
as the case discussion portion of the class. Quality of class contributions will be weighted more
heavily than quantity. Frequent and valuable participants are who attend most of the classes,
participate regularly in every class attended, and at least make one significant contribution in each
class attended. “Participation and contribution” is a meaningful portion of the total course grade –
20%. To help the instructor learn each student’s name and grade “participation and contribution”
as fairly as possible, you will prepare and bring a “nameplate” to each class.

Here are some guidelines in participation grades. The instructor has the sole authority in assigning
participation grades.
20/20 (excellent participation): attend most of the classes, participate regularly in every class
attended, and at least make one significant contribution in each class attended

17.5/20 (very good participation): attend most of the classes, participate regularly in every class
attended, and at least make significant contributions in most classes attended

15/20 (good participation): attend most of the classes, participate regularly in most classes
attended, and make significant contributions in many classes attended

12.5/20 (fair participation): attend most of the classes, participate regularly in most classes
attended, and make significant contribution in several classes attended

10/20 (poor participation): participates in some of the classes attended, and make significant
contribution in a couple classes

5/20 (very poor participation): participates in some of the classes attended

0/20 (extremely poor participation): I hope nobody falls in this category

Peer Evaluation: Each team member will evaluate the rest of the team members for their
contribution to group work. Details on how to calculate peer evaluation and how to incorporate
into the group projects are shown in the peer evaluation sheet. Peer evaluation sheet will be
provided on the final exam day with the exam.

Exam: One final exam will be given at designated point in the semester.

Honor Code Information: No case write-ups, exams, or student's notes from current or previous
business school students should be consulted in doing your case analysis. You can, however,
consult your notes and reading materials as well as information in the library. Any material
quoted directly or paraphrased should be referenced in your written and oral cases. Plagiarism is
a serious infraction and will be dealt with accordingly.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and
regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of
each student and each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and
regulations which govern student conduct and activities. General information on student
conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is
provided to all registered students each academic year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of
recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules
and Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI,
Section 3, and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s
Handbook of Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to
students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist
students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).
A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of
citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the
Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to
discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off
campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty.
Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work
done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high
standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related
to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own
work or material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves
one of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic
records. Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary
proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from
any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on
plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of
turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication
between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises
some issues concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange.
The university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a
student’s U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff consider email from students
official only if it originates from a UTD student account. This allows the university to
maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the
security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email
account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The Department
of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T.
Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level
courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog.
Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle
withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any
student. You must do the proper paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade
of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled.
Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and
Activities, of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other


fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a
serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or
committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”).
Individual faculty members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and
evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted
in writing to the respondent with a copy of the respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is
not resolved by the written response provided by the respondent, the student may submit a
written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the School Dean’s
decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate
Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic Appeals Panel. The
decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic appeals
process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably
missed at the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An
incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the
subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course and to remove the
incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is
changed automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational


opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in
room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to
6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30
p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:


The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable
adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example,
it may be necessary to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in
the case of dog guides) for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment
requirement may be substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation
for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with mobility
impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university
may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility
assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty
members to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals
requiring special accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office
hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required
activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose
places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas
Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible
regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused,
will be allowed to take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after
the absence: a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A
student who notifies the instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not
be penalized for the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment
within the prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose
of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the
student has been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or
examinations, either the student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief
executive officer of the institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or
designee must take into account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student
and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.
Wall Street Journal Assignment – oral presentation (Groups of 4-5)
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze critically a recent article (dated within four months
from the assignment due date) from the Wall Street Journal or its equivalent (e.g. Financial
Times) selected by the students. The oral presentation will be done in groups. Each group will
present the case as shown in the class schedule.

An illustrative list of issues that the WSJ article may focus on includes:

Internal Growth
Market Development
Product Development
Innovation/Internal Development
Joint Ventures/Strategic Alliances

External Acquisition Growth


Horizontal Integration
Vertical Integration
Diversification

Disinvestment
Retrenchment, Operating Efficiency
Turnaround, product/Marketing Refocus
Divestiture, Liquidation

Internationalization
Reorganization, Restructure
Strategy Implementation
Importance of Industry Context on Organizational Performance

You should address issues such as the following (may differ with regard to topic areas):

1. What is the rationale (or lack thereof) for the action/decision?


2. Is the action/decision consistent with the organization's overall strategy?
3. What do you think will be the implications of the action/decision i.e., how should the
action/decision improve or detract from the organization’s performance?
4. How does your analysis incorporate strategic management concepts in the textbook and
in other sources?

The WSJ article should be attached to the oral case presentation materials (powerpoint slides and
reference appendix) when you distribute them to the instructor and students on the day the team
presents.

Note: Oral presentations should be approximately 15 minutes in length with approximately


a 5 minutes discussion period. The oral presentation will count 15% of the grade.

8
SESSION DATE ACTIVITY/ASSIGNMENT
1 Aug 26 Course Overview/Objectives
Chapter 1 CREATING COMPETITIVE ADVNATAGES

2 Sep 2 Chapter 1 CREATING COMPETITIVE ADVNATAGES continued


Chapter 2 EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

Selection of groups

3 Sep 9 Chapter 2 EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT continued

Using library search engines


Doing case analyses

4 Sep 16 Chapter 2 EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT continued

Case 1 : Saturn corp. in 1998


5 Sep 23 Chapter 3 INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Case 2: Collision course in commercial aircraft: Boeing-Airbus-
McDonnell Douglas 1991 (A)
6 Sep 30 Chapter 3 INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT continued

Case 3: Cola wars continue: Coke and Pepsi in the twenty-first century

7 Oct 7 Chapter 4 INTELLECTUAL ASSETS


Case 4: Microsoft: Competing on talent (A)

8 Oct 14 Chapter 5 BUSINESS-LEVEL STRATEGIES


Case 5: Innovation at Progressive (A): Pay-as-you-go insurance
(Individual case)
Oct 21 Chapter 6 CORPORATE-LEVEL STRATEGIES
Case 6: Gucci group N.V. (A)

9 Oct 28 Chapter 7 INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES


Case 7: Komatsu Ltd: Project G’s globalization

10 Nov 4 Chapter 13 Creating new ventures


Case 8: Amazon.com: Going public

11 Nov 11 Chapter 9 STRATEGIC CONTROL (first half)


Chapter 11 ETHICAL ORGANIZATION (second half)

12 Nov 18 Exam review

9
13 Nov 25 Final exam (bring Scantron sheet- 882 E)
**Nov 26-27: Thanksgiving holidays
14 Dec 2 Group presentation* (Wall Street Journal article analyses)

15 Dec 17 Group presentation* (Wall Street Journal article analyses)

*The number of presentations will vary depending on class sizes.

10
Case Evaluation Sheet: BPS 6310

1. Summary of the critical issues (10pts) Exceeds Expectations 10 pts


Most of the information in the case is not repeated. Meets Expectations 8-9 pts
Identificaton of internal and external issues. Marginally Meets Expectations 7 pts
Identification of the most important issues Does not Meet Expectations 5 pts

2. Strategic Analysis (20 pts) Exceeds Expectations 19- 20 pts


Evidence of deeper analysis beyond what is written or presented. Meets Expectations 16-18 pts
Suggests realistic options for the company (or industry). Marginally Meets Expectations 13-15 pts
Identifies pros and cons of options. Does not Meet Expectations 10-12 pts
Provides realistic, case-based support for the options.

3. Recommendation (10 pts) Exceeds Expectations 10 pts


Quality and support of the recommended option. Meets Expectations 8-9 pts
Implementation impact of the recommendation. Marginally Meets Expectations 7 pts
Does not Meet Expectations 5 pts

4. Other grading criteria (10 pts)


Clarity and logic of ideas Exceeds Expectations 10 pts
Use of exhibits Meets Expectations 8-9 pts
Use of outside materials Marginally Meets Expectations 7 pts
Grammar, spelling, structure Does not Meet Expectations 5 pts
Organization of presentation
Speaking style, use of visual aids and
handouts, balance of speakers
Dress and overall professionalism

11
Peer Evaluation Sheet

Team # ______________

Name __________________________

Name Self
Score
(1-5)*
Reasons

• 1 (extremely unsatisfactory) – 2 (very unsatisfactory) – 3 (unsatisfactory) – 3.5 (neither


satisfactory nor unsatisfactory) - 4 (satisfactory) – 4.5 (very satisfactory) – 5 (extremely
satisfactory)
• if 1, then the person gets 0.2
• if 2, then the person gets 0.4
• if 3, then the person gets 0.6
• if 3.5, then the person gets 0.7
• if 4, then the person gets 0.8
• if 4.5, then the person gets 0.9
• if 5, then the person gets 1
• Then the participation score will be multiplied with the score one gets from 2 group
projects (WSJ article analysis and case analysis: written and oral). For example, if a
student gets 11/15 for WSJ assignment and 28/30 for case analysis as a group for the two
group projects and 3 from the peer evaluation, then the actual grade is 39/45*0.6 =
23.4/45, not 39/45.
• Be objective in evaluating other members in your group and specify reasons.
• The evaluation should be turned in on the final exam. Peer evaluation sheet will be
provided along with the exam booklet.
• If one fails to turn in the peer evaluation sheet, then everybody in the team gets 4
(0.8).

12
INFORMATION FOR CASE ANALYSIS:
1. Your position is that of a business consultant to the chief executive officer of the company.
You have been hired to do a strategic analysis of the company and the industry using case
materials, library research, electronic data sources, and tools suggested by the text. The goal
is to determine what direction the company should take and make specific recommendations
about what the company should do next and why. Sometimes the printed case will call
attention to certain problems that exist and other times you’ll be on your own to determine
problem areas.

In all of your presentations you should be addressing the company (i.e. “This is what YOU
should do.” Not “This is what THEY should do.”) The basic question is “What must this
company do to improve it’s performance in the long run?”

2. Identify the current position of the company using concepts from Chapter 2 and information
from the library and electronic resources.
• What is its current strategy to compete in the industry?
• What are the key characteristics of the industry and the industry competitors?
• What forces shape the industry?
• Identify key threats and opportunities that exist in the environment.

3. Identify the internal characteristics of the company. What gives the firm an advantage over
its competitors? Use concepts from Chapter 3 as well as information from the case and your
research to understand this.
• What are the tangible and intangible resources that the firm has?
• How does the financial strength of the firm stack up against other firms in the
industry? Other potential competitors?
• What core capabilities and core competencies give the firm a competitive advantage?
• Is the competitive advantage sustainable over time? Is it valuable, inimitable, rare,
hardly substitutable, and organizationally exploitable? (e.g. exhibit 3.7 from Ch.3.)
• Identify the key strengths and weaknesses apparent from your internal analysis.
• How do the strengths and weaknesses compare to the threats and opportunities
apparent in the environment?

4. From the analysis above, identify the KEY STRATEGIC ISSUE or PROBLEM the company
must face. To what extent will this key issue affect or be affected by the current strategic
orientation of the company. Is there a problem with the current strategy? Should it be
changed? Or does the problem concern how well the company is implementing a strategy
that should work? The strategic orientation of the company can be identified as:
• Business Level Strategies: Low cost, differentiation, or focus (See Chapter 5 in the
text.) These categories are broad and you should be able to discuss specific tactical
strategies that fall into the categories.
• If you embark upon a strategy, what is the probability that a competitor will respond?
How will they respond? How should your company respond to the competitor?

13
• Corporate Level Strategy: Related or Unrelated Diversifications are strategic
categories. Under these broad categories are decisions to emphasize one industry
over another within the company. Acquisitions and divestitures are corporate level
strategies. Comparing one division to another and trying to improve overall
performance also come under this category. See Chapter 6 for descriptions of the
strategies and tools to evaluate information.

5. Once you have evaluated the case, identified the strategic problem, and evaluated the impact
of the problem on current and/or future strategy, you must form some conclusions and
recommendations regarding the future position of the company. Support your evaluation
with appropriate research.
• What alternatives can the company consider? Alternatives should be mutually
exclusive. Mutually exclusive means the company can go down only one road. It
cannot pursue both strategies simultaneously.
• What are the tradeoffs associated with the alternatives? You should NOT think in
terms of “good” versus “bad”, but rather what does the company GAIN from an
alternative and what does it LOSE. That way you can compare gains and losses
across the alternatives. Gains and losses may be in terms of customers, revenue, cost
competitiveness, market share, profitability, core competence, time to market, future
growth, survival, etc.
• Select an alternative to recommend. Make a logical, clear, and integrated argument,
backed by research to support why the gain and loss tradeoff from this alternative is
better than the other alternatives.
• Recommendations should be made only if backed by analysis and logic. Trivial or
unrealistic recommendations or recommendations that are inconsistent with the firm’s
goals, resources, the industry environment, and the culture of the company must be
avoided.

6. FINALLY, go back to the strategic issue or problem you identified earlier. How does your
solution SOLVE or at least improve the strategic problem? Will your recommendation allow
your firm to improve its financial performance in the long run? What implementation issues
might come up? What is the realistic probability of success if the company follows your
plan?

INFORMATION FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATION

1. Each team is scheduled for two oral presentations. Visual aids must be employed, including
the use of handouts, overhead projectors, PowerPoint, crash carts, etc. Ask the instructor
about equipment availability. You are encouraged to use slides on disk rather than printed
color transparencies.
2. Oral Presentation Teams are required to dress professionally and exhibit the same level of
decorum and consideration that you would in a real business setting.

14
3. All team members must be involved in the oral presentation with each team member
presenting a segment. Segment definition is the responsibility of the team. A printout of
your slides as well as a bibliography (references) should be given to your instructor and other
class members (include a copy of the newspaper clip). The title page of your presentation
should list the case name, the date, the names of each team member, and the segment each
member will cover. The instructor in each class may ask for full sized black and white
copies of the slides.

4. Library and online research beyond the case are REQUIRED. Analysis in hindsight is not
permitted in either oral or written reports. “What a company did” is not justification. There
are many possibilities that companies do not consider. Also, in the long run, the company’s
action may not be successful.

Just searching company website and/or citing free web information is not enough. Take
advantage of the paid search engines in the library homepage. It contains the following search
engines. Should you have further questions, contact liaison librarians in the library (Loreen
Phillips, Loreen.Phillips@utdallas.edu or visit http://www.utdallas.edu/library/.

Here are some of the helpful search engines available through the UTD library homepage.

• Business and Company Resource Center


• Business Source Premier
• Business & Management Practices
• CCH Internet Tax Research Network (tax service)
• Wall Street Journal (1984-current)
• Academic Universe Lexis Nexis (then under Business)
• Disclosure Data from Academic Universe Click on Business, then Company Financial
(company financial info)
• Mergent Online (formerly Moody's FIS Online) (company financial information)
• National Trade Data Bank (NTDB)
• EconLit (economics)
• ECONbase
• PAIS (public affairs)
• Business Dateline (index to regional business publications)
• Business Organizations
• Regional Business News (from TexShare)
• EDGAR Financial Reports (company financial information)
• Social Sciences Abstracts
• Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science/Web of Knowledge)
• Essay & General Literature Index
• Web of Science (Web of Knowledge) (citation indexes)

15
• WorldCat (OCLC)
• General Databases (multidisciplinary)
• For psychology in the workplace: Psychology and Human Development Databases

5. When presenting, indicate the outside sources used. If you present industry averages, for
example, or demographic data, indicate where you got them both in the slides and in the
reference appendix.

6. After you have presented; be prepared to receive questions regarding your assumptions, your
use of data, your conclusions, your logic, and your recommendations. Other class members
may not agree with your analysis. Your instructor may challenge your evaluation of
environmental or internal characteristics. DO NOT BECOME DEFENSIVE. This is a
natural part of the process. You are being asked to think on your feet and demonstrate that
you have a deep understanding of the case issues. ALL team members should participate in
the question and answer session. Rigorous probing by the instructor reflects the high
expectations that he/she has for the class. Everyone learns from this experience, even class
members who are not presenting.

INFORMATION FOR THE WRITTEN PRESENTATION

1. The individually written analyses of the assigned cases are due at the start of class. Exhibits
may use charts, tables, and professional strategic planning tools found in the text. DO NOT
add charts just to the sake of length. All exhibits should ADD VALUE to the written
analysis. Summarizing facts of the case through a SWOT analysis or using tables for
evaluation of alternatives can save space and improve clarity.

2. Hand in one copy of your written report. Keep an additional copy for yourself. Graded copy
will be returned. DO NOT USE REPORT BINDERS OR COVER SHEETS.

3. Suggested format:

Course Number and Section


Class Time
Group Number
Your Names
Date

Name of Case (centered)

A. Introduction

B. Analysis of Environment, Company, Current Strategy, Competitors

C. Identification and Justification of Key Strategic Issue that comes from the Analysis

16
D. Identification and Evaluation of Alternatives

E. Selection of Recommendation and Justification

F. Exhibits and References. (Exhibits should be labeled sequentially and in the order they are
discussed in the text. If you do NOT talk about an exhibit in the text, it probably isn’t doing
anything except taking up space.)

STRONG POINTS IN REPORTS

1. Evidence of thorough case study.


2. Judgments supported by evidence from the case or outside sources.
3. Organization and clarity of the presentation (whether orally or in writing).
4. Identification of the key drivers and/or forces in the external environment and how that may
affect the future of the firm or the industry.
5. Identification and evaluation of pertinent company’s capabilities, weaknesses, resources, and
sources of competitive advantage in the context of the industry and competitive environment.
6. Clear articulation of the strategic issue you are addressing.
7. Use of professional tools and concepts from the text and lectures. (This includes tools used in
other courses such as ratio analysis or market share analysis.) – a sample of ratios are
available at
http://www.va-interactive.com/inbusiness/editorial/finance/ibt/ratio_analysis.html
8. Alternatives that are realistic and fall from the analysis.
9. Examination of tradeoffs associated with alternatives.
10. Justification for the recommendation that is consistent with company strategy and resources.
11. Use of a “company-wide” view…not just a functional, short-term perspective.

WEAKNESSES IN REPORTS

1. Not well organized or presented clearly.


2. Failure to proofread ANY written material (in written or oral presentation) and correct
obvious misspellings, errors, and sloppy grammar.
3. Mere repetition of case facts without analysis. (I.e. Rehash of the facts of the case is not
value added.)
4. Failure to identify outside sources.
5. Exhibits that are extraneous to the analysis. The reader or viewer is left to draw his/her own
conclusions and wonder why the exhibit is there.
6. Failure to ANALYZE. Don’t just give facts, do ANALYSIS!
7. Lack of consideration of non-economic issues (i.e. culture, values, ethics, etc.) if it is
relevant.
8. Failure to support opinions by evidence or logical explanation.

17
9. Failure to perceive or present an “organizational” or “strategic” viewpoint.
10. Lack of adequate outside research.
11. For oral presentations: Lack of coordination, rehearsal, and preparation.
12. For oral presentations: Dominance by one individual.
13. For oral presentations: Speaking too quietly and/or too quickly.

18

You might also like