MGT 595 SL: Strategic Management

Summer Semester 1999
Tu 6:00-9:45 p.m., Room G
Instructor: Dr. Randall S. Hansen
Office Phone: 904-822-7495
E-mail: Randall.Hansen@stetson.edu
Home Page: http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/

Objective:

This course provides students an opportunity to draw upon previous experiences and education to apply various business concepts and analytical tools to complex problems and issues in organizational settings. Students address strategic organizational problems and optimization of the total enterprise. All these things are accomplished through a series of lectures, discussions, and individual and group projects.

Furthermore, because of the value placed on good communications skills, there will be a heavy emphasis on quality writing and presenting of material.

Texts:

Required: Strategic Management. Fred R. David (Prentice Hall)

Recommended: Write Your Way to a Higher GPA. Randall S. Hansen and Katharine Hansen (Ten Speed)

Internet Materials:

Because so much information about corporations and the environments they operate in is now on the World Wide Web, it is expected students will also be proficient in using the Web as a research tool. To aid students in this process, it is suggested students use:
• Guide to Researching Companies
• Writing a Strategic Management Case
• Strategic Management Key Issues Slide Show

Grading:

Grading will be done on a numerical scale during the semester, with a final letter grade determined at the end of the course. Each graded item has been given a point value, and the percentage of points to total points will determine grade. Eg., 830 points (out of total 1,000) is a ‘B.'
Points Distribution


Personal Mission Statement	100 points
Group Case Assignment/Presentation	100 points
Industry Analysis Report/Presentation	150 points
Annual Report Analysis	100 points
Company Case Analysis/Presentation	350 points
Midterm Case Examination	100 points
Final Case Examination	100 points
Maximum Obtainable Points	1,000 points

Final Grading Scale


900 to 1,000 points earned	Grade of 'A'
800 to 899 points earned	Grade of 'B'
700 to 799 points earned	Grade of 'C'
600 to 699 points earned	Grade of 'D'
Under 599 points earned	Grade of 'F'

Please refer to the Strategic Management Calendar for due dates and assignments.

Personal Mission Statement:

A mission statement is a declaration of an organization's purpose. A clear mission statement is said to act as an "invisible hand" that guides employees of an organization. Mission statements should be:
1. realistic;
2. specific;
3. reflective of the current environment;
4. based on distinctive core competencies;
5. motivating.

For more information on mission statements, refer to Chapter 3 in the text, or view the chapter 3 slide show on mission statements.

For this assignment, you are required to develop a personal mission statement. The mission statement can be up to one page in length. Because the mission statement is obviously a personal document, grading will be based on the thoughtfulness, the seriousness with which you treated the assignment, and the absence of serious writing flaws (such as run-on sentences and misspellings/typos).

Follow this link for a sample mission statement. Follow this link to read Dr. Hansen's mission statement.

Group Case Assignment:

This is a team project. The class will be assigned a case from the text and each team will be expected to prepare both a report and a presentation.

Case analyses should be no longer than five (5) double-spaced type-written pages. Do not use a cover sheet.

The case exam will be evaluated on the following criteria: quality of analysis, adequacy of recommendations, writing clarity, and organization.

Follow this link for an outline for Writing a Strategic Management Case.

Company Annual Report:

This is a team project. The companies and industries have already been chosen. Each team will choose a company within an industry to complete this assignment. This assignment involves examining a company's annual report and presenting the analysis in a short paper.

The details of this assignment can be found in Reviewing an Annual Report.

Industry Analysis:

This team project focuses on a particular industry. The industry is based on the company chosen in the Company Annual Report project. This project requires teams to submit both a written report as well as make an informal (10 minute) verbal presentation. This project should involve using one of the several available resources for conducting an industry analysis, as discussed in the Guide to Researching Companies.

The paper and the presentation should highlight the key participants in the industry (beyond the companies chosen for this class), past industry performance, future industry potential, critical environmental factors affecting performance, key opportunities and threats, and other issues of strategic importance. The paper should be concise and is limited to 10 pages in length. Presentations shall be informal, but should still be informative and lively.

For more information on industy analyses, refer to Chapter 4 in the text, or view the chapter 4 slide show on external assessment.

Company Case Analysis:

Student teams will submit written comprehensive company analyses and make formal class presentations (lasting no more than 20 minutes) on the company chosen in the Company Annual Report assignment. This project requires a complete strategic analysis of the company and should draw upon the entire set of readings and discussions of the course.

Secondary information beyond the company report and industry analysis should be gathered. The focus of the analysis should be on the issues currently facing the firm and recommendations intended to address them. There is no page limit on the written analysis, but teams should try and limit papers to 10 pages. Furthermore, presentations are encouraged to be informative, lively, and complete with "bells and whistles."

Projects will be graded according to the following criteria: thoroughness of secondary research, appropriate use of analytical tools and techniques, quality of analysis, comprehensiveness of recommendations, writing clarity and form, presentation clarity and quality, and organization of both written and verbal reports.

Midterm Case Exam:

A case will be assigned as the midterm examination. Case analyses should be no longer than five (5) double-spaced type-written pages. Do not use a cover sheet.

The case exam will be evaluated on the following criteria: quality of analysis, adequacy of recommendations, writing clarity, and organization.

Follow this link for an outline for Writing a Strategic Management Case.

Final Case Exam:

A case will be assigned as the final examination. Case analyses should be no longer than five (5) double-spaced type-written pages. Do not use a cover sheet.

The case exam will be evaluated on the following criteria: quality of analysis, adequacy of recommendations, writing clarity, and organization.

Follow this link for an outline for Writing a Strategic Management Case.

Attendance:

It is expected. You will not lose points for being absent from a class, however, no projects, quizzes, etc. can be made-up. Nothing can be made up unless arranged with the instructor prior to class.

Etc.:

I am always willing to see my students and will go out of my way to schedule meetings. Please make sure that if you make an appointment, that you keep it. Also, please do not call me at home later than 11 p.m. -- and never during Letterman! (But, you can email me at anytime.)

Times and dates are subject to change. Please refer to the Strategic Management Calendar.

IMPORTANT: All work completed in this class is expected to be your own and original for this class.

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