BUS 499
Business Policy and Strategic Solutions
Fall II 2007
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Bob Castaneda
PHONE:
312-498-2028
EMAIL:
[email protected]
FAX:
312-945-3169
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Title
Author(s)
Copyright
Publisher
ISBN
Edition
Strategic management: Creating competitive advantages
Dess, Lumpkin, & Taylor
McGraw-Hill
0-07-287290-X
(2nd edition)
This Course Requires the Purchase of a Course Packet:
YES
NO
Argosy University
COURSE SYLLABUS
BUS499
Business Policy and Strategic Solutions
Faculty Information
Faculty Name: Bob Castaneda
Campus:
Contact Information: Phone: 312-498-2028 - Fax: 312-945-3169 - Argosy Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: 9AM to 10PM Mon-Fri - 9AM to 5PM Saturday
Short Faculty Bio: Roberto Castaneda received his graduate degree (DBA) in Accounting from Argosy University/Schaumburg; (MM/MBA) in Marketing and
Finance from Northwestern University, and his undergraduate degree in Accounting and Marketing from DePaul University. He is also a Certified Public
Accountant. Dr. Castaneda has worked in senior finance positions at American Express, PepsiCo and McDonald’s Corporation in a number of international
countries.
Course description: This integrative course is the culmination of the Bachelor Science in Business Administration Degree Completion program and focuses on
analyzing a company’s current strategy, performance, and results. Students investigate the external environment, industry dynamics, and competitive forces in a
strategic business plan. Attention is given to special issues, topics, and challenges faced by those making corporate strategy. This course must be taken in the
students’ final semester.
Course Pre-requisites: None
Required Textbook:
Dess, Lumpkin, & Taylor. Strategic management: Creating competitive advantages (2 nd edition). McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0-07-287290-X
Technology: Pentium III CPU/ Windows 98; 128MB RAM, printer; Microsoft Office Acrobat (full version), Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (PC) 5.0 (MAC) or
Netscape Navigator 4.08. Norton Antivirus.
Course length: 7.5 Weeks
Contact Hours: 45 Hours
Page 2
Credit Value: 3.0
Program Outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Communication
1.1 Communicate business concepts effectively, both written and orally appropriate to the audience
Team
2.1 Define the attributes of an effective team member and leader and the characteristics of an effective team in reaching specific business goals
Cognitive
3.1 Problem Solving – Given a business problem, select and defend a business solution chosen from specific alternatives
3.2 Information Literacy – Given a business research question, access information from a variety of sources, select appropriate sources to respond to a
business question
Analysis/Application
4.1 Integration – Describe the interrelationship of the functional business areas of statistics, accounting, operations, finance, marketing, and strategy
Ethics/Diversity
5.1 Diversity – Identify the issues and challenges related to diversity in current business organizations
5.2 Ethics – Identify the issues and challenges related to ethics in current business organizations
Course Objectives:
1.
2.
Strategic Management Process: Work individually and in teams to gather information and apply the tools and process of strategic management to
create sustainable competitive advantage for a firm (Program Outcome(s): 1, 3.1, & 4)
1.1. Understand the three key phases of strategic management.
1.2. Determine the relationship between/among mission, vision, goals, and strategy.
1.3. Articulate and identify when to use the appropriate analytical tools during the strategy analysis phase of strategic management.
1.4. Articulate and identify when to use the appropriate analytical tools during the strategy formulation phase of strategic management.
1.5. Articulate and identify when to use the appropriate analytical tools during the strategy implementation phase of strategic management.
1.6. Apply ethical reasoning and ethical principles throughout strategic management process.
External Environment Analysis: Work individually and in teams to gather information and conduct an analysis of a firm’s external environment for
use in its strategy formulation. (Program Outcome(s): 4)
2.1. Understand and apply environmental scanning to understand the dynamic forces that impact companies in the industry.
2.2. Apply the Five Forces Model of Competition to the Industry and how the concept of the value-net has modified this analysis.
2.3. Apply the concept of strategic group mapping to further clarify competition within an industry.
2.4. Apply ethical reasoning and ethical principles in gathering competitive intelligence in this phase of the strategic management process.
Page 3
3.
4.
5.
6.
Company Situation Analysis: Work individually and in teams to gather information to assess the effectiveness of firm’s current strategy and current
situation using a variety of analytical tools. (Program Outcome(s): 4, & 5.2)
3.1. Determine the effectiveness of current strategy by identifying its key elements and how the firm is performing vis a vis key performance
indicators and its competition.
3.2. Identify significant trends or patterns in the firm’s financials that impact strategy.
3.3. Conduct a SWOT analysis to summarize findings from company situation analysis (internal) and external environment.
3.4. Interpret SWOT analysis and expand on it by reviewing resources, capabilities and fit with current strategy.
3.5. Identify firm and industry strategic issues and determine their implications and impact.
3.6. Apply ethical reasoning and ethical principles throughout strategic management process.
Strategy Formulation: Business Unit and Corporate Level Strategy: Work individually and in teams to gather information to formulate strategic
options available to a firm at the business unit level. (Program Outcome(s): 1, 2, 3.1, & 5.2)
4.1. Describe the distinction between business unit level strategy and corporate level strategy.
4.2. Identify the generic strategies in use in various corporations.
4.3. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each generic strategy and how each addresses the five forces of competition in a particular industry
4.4. Articulate how and when a firm can combine the generic strategies of overall cost leadership and differentiation,
4.5. Recognize when a turn-around strategy is needed.
4.6. Determine how corporate level strategies create value.
4.7. Identify how firms create value through diversification (related or unrelated).
4.8. Develop a set of reasonable strategic alternatives and recommend the best course of action for the corporation to pursue; defend with logic and
analysis.
4.9. Apply ethical reasoning and ethical principles throughout strategic management process.
Entering International Markets and Leveraging the Internet: Work individually and in teams to gather information to determine when international
expansion is a viable diversification strategy and how to enter new global markets. Know when and how to apply e-business strategies to grow a
business (Program Outcome(s): 4)
5.1. Identify the variety of strategies that can be used by firms to enter global markets.
5.2. Apply global market entry approach to an individual firm.
5.3. Determine how an e-business strategy can improve competitive position.
5.4. Leverage Internet and e-business capabilities.
5.5. Determine how to create value in global markets.
5.6. Apply ethical reasoning and ethical principles throughout strategic management process.
Corporate Governance, Leadership, and Ethics: Work individually and in teams to gather information to identify the characteristics needed to create
an ethical culture and a learning organization. (Program Outcome(s): 2, 4, & 5.2 )
6.1. Understand the role leaders play in creating an ethical culture.
6.2. Apply the concept of learning organization to the firm to demonstrate how knowledge can be a source of competitive advantage.
6.3. Understand the role a leader’s emotional intelligence plays in an organization.
6.4. Describe how corporate responsibility may affect a firm’s performance.
6.5. Apply ethical reasoning and ethical principles throughout strategic management process.
Page 4
7.
Problem Solving: Work individually and in teams to gather information to identify problems and develop a plan for implementing solutions to those
problems. (Program Outcome(s): 3.1, & 4)
7.1. Develop a business strategic plan which integrates the information and analysis gathered in weeks 1-7 culminating in a Business Plan
document (See Attached Business Plan Template).
Assignment Table
Module
1
Module Topics
 Key Concepts of Strategic
Management
o What is Strategic
Management
o Key Features of Strategic
Management

Strategic Management Process
o Strategy Analysis
o Strategy Formulation
o Strategy Implementation

Stakeholder Management

Strategic Direction
o Vision
o Mission
o Goals
Readings
Dess, Lumpkin, &
Taylor
Chapter 1
Assignments
Discussion Questions:
1.
Read the Carnival Cruise Line scenario and visit their Web site:
http://www.carnivalcorp.com
a. Log on to the discussion area assigned to your group.
b. Familiarize yourself with each group member. You may exchange email addresses and phone numbers for easy communication.
c. Discuss with the group your view of the project scenario and the
development of the strategic business plan.
d. Develop and discuss the project timeline. Reach consensus on the
timeline and assign work so that you have a good idea of all the
assignments you will perform during the course of the class.
e. Discuss and formalize as a group:
i) The information/data that the plan will contain under the various
sections.
ii) A working plan for the entire project.
2.
Corporate leaders often encounter cynicism from employees? When
leaders announce that they are presenting a “new” mission or vision
statement for the corporation.
a. Why do you think employees react in this way?
b. What can leaders do to avoid this skeptical reaction on the part of
employees and ensure that the new vision/mission is embraced?
c. Justify your viewpoint using examples.
3.
What happens to corporate performance when the vision, mission, and
strategic objectives are not linked? How is alignment achieved? Why do
Download and review
the latest Annual
Report from the
Carnival Cruise
Corporation Web site:
http://www.carnivalco
rp.com
Review the Word
document:
Strategic Business
Plan.doc
Page 5
strategies fail? Justify your viewpoint using examples.
Click this link for assistance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_planning#Why_strategic_plans_fail
Assignments:
1.
The Weekly Column: Stakeholder Management
You work in a management firm and write a weekly column for a
management newsletter. The editor assigns the following topic for your
article in for the next week’s edition: “Zero Sum Stakeholder Management
Approach vs. Symbiotic Stakeholder Management Approach.”
Utilize publications such as Business Week
(http://www.businessweek.com), The Economist
(http://www.economist.com), and The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us and the BBC at www.bbc.com to research
and then compile your article into a two-page Microsoft Word document.
Ensure that you include in your article:
a. Your viewpoint on the two alternative stakeholder management
perspectives.
b. Why you believe the two views exist. Base this on chapter readings,
an understanding of economics, and the prevalence of the “building
shareholder wealth and value” view.
c. Why should a manager choose one from the other? What are the
consequences to the organization and to the stakeholders of making
and exercising a choice?
2.
Ecomagination
You work as a manager at TotalSolutions Corp. The Vice President (VP)
of your company attended a management conference where the buzzword
was “Ecomagination.” The VP wants to know more about it. She asks you
to research the subject and send her a memo of your findings.
A colleague hints that GE launched Ecomagination on May 09, 2005.
From this lead, visit the following Internet Web sites to research the
Page 6
concept:
Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com
The Economist: http://www.economist.com
The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/public/us
www.ge.com/en/
Compile your findings in a one- to two-page memo addressed to the VP,
which outlines:
a. What is “Ecomagination” and what is GE doing in this area?
b. What prompted the GE leadership to take this approach?
c. What outcome or result does GE expect from this approach?
d. Is there anything new here or it is corporate PR? Support this with
valid arguments.
View the corporate advertising campaign at:
http://www.ge.com/en/company/companyinfo/advertising/eco_ads.htm
3.
Final Project Activity 1a: Carnival Corporation: Business Overview for
New Planning Team Members
Instructions for this assignment: Perform this activity individually and not
as a group.
As a member of Carnival Corporation’s strategic planning team, you have
been asked to create a five to six slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation
titled “Carnival Today: A Brief Overview of the Business” to orient
members who have been newly added to the strategic planning team. The
PowerPoint presentation should include — at a minimum — the
following:
a. The CEOs vision and overview of 2004 performance
b. The organizational structure and management team
c. A brief description of each of the brands/business units and the
products and services offered
d. Key corporate goals and/or objectives such as new ships, new
markets, and new customers
Page 7
e.
Total Revenues in 2004 and Net Profit in 2004
Send your presentation by e-mail to the members of your group and to
your facilitator.
Final Project Activity 1b: Key Competitors in the Cruise Line Industry
Instructions for this assignment: Perform this activity individually and not
as a group.
The Sr. Vice President of Strategic Planning at Carnival Cruise Lines
Corporation (CCL) has asked you to find three articles from the business
press that talk about competition in the cruise line industry. Your goal is to
learn about the two main competitors in this industry, Royal Caribbean
and Star Cruises.
2



External Environment of the Firm
o What is External
Environment
o Environmental Scanning
o Environmental Monitoring
o Environmental Forecasting
Competitive Environment
o Porter’s Five Forces Model
o Value Net Analysis
o Dynamics of Competition
Strategic Challenges and Issues
facing the Industry
Dess, Lumpkin, &
Taylor
Chapter 2
Research the
stakeholders in the
external environment
of the cruise industry
and investigate their
claims or concerns.
This research will
influence your
environmental analysis
and stakeholder audit.
Be prepared to use
your findings in the
She would like you to read the articles and draft a preliminary profile of
two competitors of CCL. Each profile should be no longer than one page
in length and should touch upon the points in Activity 1a above. You will
be adding this information to the profile in Week 3. Send your report by email to your facilitator.
Discussion Questions:
1.
Based on the distinction between environmental scanning and
environmental monitoring, discuss whether CCL should be using
environmental scanning or environmental monitoring as important input
for analyzing its external environment?
Explain why you selected what you did and identify what the strategic
planning team at CCL should scan and/or monitor.
2.
Many general environmental factors influence the firms in the ethical
pharmaceutical strategic group in the pharmaceutical industry.
Outline what these factors are and prioritize them in terms of their impact
on the firms. Discuss and defend your ranking and describe why you
prioritized them as you did.
Page 8
following
assignments:
http://www.bized.ac.u
k/current/argument/arg
21.htm
www.cruisejunkie.com
www.boatingchannel.c
om
(Article from the
Boston Globe on
“Cruise Ships Getting
Bigger, Causing
Passenger and Port
Trouble.”)
www.oceana.org
3.
Analyze and explain movements across strategic groups in the U.S. retail
industry. Focus on discount retailers entering grocery retailing such as
Wal-Mart and Target both have or on Starbucks entering the music retailer
space. How do these movements within the retail industry change the
nature of competition? What are some key environmental trends that
impact retailing? Rationalize with the help of examples.
You can visit http://retailindustry.about.com/ for information about the
retail industry. In addition visit the Top 100 Retailers list.
4.
Visit http://www.kroger.com
What are the top-three forces driving industry competition and which
affect the profitability of this firm? Provide examples to support your
viewpoint.
5.
What are the legal and ethical issues involved in collecting competitor
information in the following scenarios:
To find out their competitors’ key production strategies, a car
manufacturer offers to employ a key employee of the other car
manufacturer at two times the original salary.
A large company, using a false name, has posted a “request for proposal”
on an online bidding site. It wants to solicit bids, some of which could
come from its current suppliers, to see if the quotes the suppliers submit
come in lower than what the large company is currently paying. What do
you think of this practice? Is it legal? Is it ethical? Is it good business?
Assignments:
1.
Buyer Profile: Luxury Segment
You are a market researcher at a consulting firm that specializes in the
cruise industry. Your client wants an updated buyer profile of the luxury
segment of the cruise industry. After completing your research develop a
buyer profile for the client, which includes:
a. Key demographics and psychographic characteristics of the buyer
segment
Page 9
b.
c.
The amenities and services the client want
The length of cruise and the cruise destinations that this buyer
segment prefers
Compile your findings in the form of a two-page Microsoft Word report.
You may find an article that describes the ultra-luxury end of the market
for resort amenities in the August 24, 2005 issue of Wall Street Journal
interesting.
2.
Improving Your Competitive Position
You are a business analyst in the strategic planning office of a midsized
computer software manufacturing company in California’s Silicon valley.
Key specifics about your company:
a. Software development and research
b. 2,500 employees across two national locations
c. $17 million in fixed assets
d. $105-million earned revenue during the last year
e. 6% projected quarterly growth rate in revenues for the next year
The Sr. VP of strategic planning has asked you to write a two-page report,
outlining key strategic moves that your firm can take to decrease the
intensity of industry competition it currently faces. The report should
provide prescriptive advice about what activities are possible to improve
your firm’s competitive position.
Address your report to the Sr. VP Strategic Planning.
3.
Final Project Activity 2: External Analysis
Instructions for this assignment: Perform the first part of the assignment as
a group. The group leader, in consultation with the Facilitator, should
divide the tasks for Part I of the assignment among the group members.
Part II of the assignment should be performed individually. Do not
consult with other group members when working on this part of the
assignment.
Page 10
Part I
As part of the Strategic Business plan, the strategic planning team has been
asked to:
a. Analyze the driving forces for change in the external environment of
the cruise line industry.
b. Analyze the dynamics of competition using Porter’s Five Forces
Model of Competition.
c. Provide some statistics about the size of the cruise industry such as
revenues, growth rate, number of ships, and number of berths.
d. Summarize the strategic issues firms in this industry face and
identified its biggest threats.
Research the topic that the group leader selected. Log on to the team’s
discussion area on Day 3. Discuss and share the data you gather with the
group.
Hint: You might want to e-mail the data you gather to your group
members a day before the discussion. This will ensure that everybody has
read the data and has input ready.
3





Internal Environment
SWOT Analysis
Value Chain Analysis
o Primary Activities
o Secondary Activities
Resource-Based Analysis
o Internal Analysis
o External Analysis
o Achieving Sustainable
Competitive Advantage
Financial Ratio Analysis
Dess, Lumpkin, &
Taylor
Chapter 3
Review Carnival
Corporation’s (CCL’s)
financials from the
annual report. Hint:
Return to the site to
review the Investor
relations data available
Part II
a. The CEO has requested the information in two formats:
b. A ten-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation
c. An executive summary of no more than four-six pages that presents
your analysis and conclusions
Discussion Questions:
1.
Sustainable competitive advantage is the “holy grail” of corporate strategy
but it is elusive. Using all you have learned to date about Carnival
Corporation, analyze whether or not Carnival has a source of sustainable
competitive advantage. Defend your answer using examples from your
readings, the Annual report, and your critical thinking about what you
know.
2.
Your editor, refer to Assignment 1, Week 1, was very pleased with the
article you wrote for the newsletter about stakeholders. The editor would
Page 11
o
o
Ratio Analysis
Balanced Scorecard
in download form. It
might help you save
time.
Find three recent
articles in popular
business magazines —
online or printed —
about CCL. Ensure
that the articles focus
on CCL’s business
operations, marketing,
human resource
practices,
environmental stance,
and future direction.
Some resources you
can utilize to start
looking for
information include:
Business Week:
http://www.businessw
eek.com
The Economist:
http://www.economist.
com
The Wall Street
Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/p
ublic/us
Read and understand
Financial Ratio
Analysis Techniques
from the textbook,
Appendix to Chapter
like you to write a story on outsourcing. You know that many corporations
are analyzing their value chains to understand how and which activities
provide value to customers. This has led many firms to outsource non-core
activities in which they do not excel or activities that do not provide value
to customer. To write a comprehensive story you will engage in a
discussion that touches on the following points:
a. Is outsourcing a good idea?
b. Under what circumstances should it be done?
c. Does the corporation have any duties or responsibilities to the
employees who are affected by outsourcing? If yes then what duties
do they have?
d. If you were going to advise a college student, what type of career
would you recommend to avoid being outsourced?
Visit www.about.com, click Business, and perform a search to see what
you find on these topics.
3.
The resource-based view of the firm emphasizes three types of resources:
tangible, intangible, and organizational capabilities.
Further for the firm to have sustainable competitive advantage over its
rivals, over time the resources must be valuable, rare, difficult to imitate,
and difficult to substitute. What does this mean?
Using this framework of sustainable competitive advantage, find two
examples and justify why you believe they are good examples of
sustainable competitive advantage.
Assignments:
1.
The Value Chain of Argosy University
Assignment 1
Each firm has a value chain but not every primary or secondary activity
creates value for customers.
a. Map the value chain of Argosy University and identify if and how the
activities provide value to students.
Page 12
3.
Read the article from
Harvard Business
Review to understand
the Balanced
Scorecard approach to
evaluating firm
performance.
ValueChain_ArgosyU
niversity.doc
b.
c.
2.
Make at least three suggestions about how value could be added and
identify which activity in the value chain would be modified and how.
Post the filled document to the Discussion Board. Review each other’s
documents and notice the difference. Do you agree with the views
presented? Why or why not?
Service Differentiation at Best Buy
You work as a business strategist for a top convenience store chain. You
need to implement a strategy to build customer loyalty and increase sales.
Your supervisor thinks that one such strategy is service differentiation.
You decide to research this concept for information.
You discover that Best Buy had implemented service differentiation
successfully.
Visit http://www.csnews.com/csn/index.jsp to find out about the case.
Search the story titled Best Buy Differentiates through Service, August 21,
2005.
a. Write a one- to two-page Word memo to your supervisor describing:
b. How the successful implementation of these strategies required
changes in Best Buy’s primary and secondary value chain activities?
c. What possible impact do you foresee if you decide to implement
service differentiation in your company?
3.
Values and Limitations of the SWOT Analysis
At lunch you hear two successful executives at your firm challenge the
value of the (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) SWOT
analysis, calling it “too static” and only a “snapshot” at one point in time.
The challenge intrigues you because with experience, you believe that the
SWOT is the first step to understand the internal environment of the firm.
When you return to your office you decide to send an e-mail message to
the executives, stating:
a. The value and limitations of the SWOT analysis.
Page 13
b.
How SWOT fits into the resource-based view of the firm.
Send the analysis as a one to two-page Word document to the Facilitator
4.
The Balanced Scorecard
Your company is “bottom-line-driven” and in your role as marketing
director, you know that placing more emphasis on listening to the
customer, reducing the need for “after-sales” service by improving product
quality, and meeting customer deadlines will improve sales, customer
satisfaction, and most importantly, customer loyalty.
You have been asked to develop a PowerPoint presentation for the next
executive committee meeting, where you will logically argue that a
balanced set of metrics that focuses on the customer, internal business
processes, and deployment of learning and technology will improve
company performance. This represents a shift from analyzing company
performance solely based on financial performance to a broader view of
corporate performance.
You have read a Harvard Business Review article titled The Balanced
Scorecard by Kaplan and Norton. It makes perfect sense to you, and you
decide it will serve as the basis of your presentation. The COO has asked
to review your PowerPoint presentation before the meeting.
In the presentation you should present arguments in favor of the Balanced
Scorecard and compare it to financial metrics alone.
5.
Carnival Cruise Lines’ Internal Analysis
The Sr. VP of Strategic Planning is feeling some pressure now to show
your progress to the executive team. She suggests that the planning team
use the “divide and conquer” approach to this week’s deliverables.
She wants to see the following from your team by the end of the week.
The initial tasks — titled Team tasks — will be performed in a group. The
creation of PowerPoint presentations and supporting Word Documents
will be performed individually — titled Individual tasks. The group leader,
in consultation with the Facilitator, should divide the tasks of the Final
Page 14
project activity between the group members.
A financial analysis and a BSC analysis are two ways to assess the
effectiveness of CCL's current strategy.
a.
Team Tasks
i) Perform a ratio analysis using CCL’s five-year financial
performance. Interpret the meaning of the ratios and financial
performance.
ii) If you were going to create a BSC, what would be the key metrics
you would measure in each of the four BSC areas: Financial,
Customer, Internal Business Process, and Learning and Growth.
b.
Individual Tasks
i) Summarize the findings in a PowerPoint presentation of not more
than five slides titled The Analysis of CCL’s Current Strategy:
Two Views. Support the presentation with a one- to two-page
Word document narrative.
Building on the competitor analysis performed in Week 1, Project Activity
1, the Sr. VP also wants to see an analysis of the financial strength of two
key competitors.
c.
Team Tasks
i) Your team must decide which two competitors present a
competitive threat to CCL.
ii) Perform financial ratio analyses for the two competitors after
looking at trends in financial performance over five years and
compare the trends to industry averages.
iii) Be sure, as a team, you have a clear ranking of the industries’
competitors.
d.
4

Cost Leadership Strategy
Dess, Lumpkin, &
Individual Tasks
i) Summarize the findings in a three-slide PowerPoint presentation
titled Competitor Analysis and a Word document of not more
than two pages in length and submit to the Facilitator
Discussion Questions:
Page 15
o
o
o
What is Cost Leadership
How Cost Leadership
Leads to Sustainable
Advantage
Advantages and
Disadvantages

Differentiation Strategy
o What is Differentiation
o How Differentiation Leads
to Sustainable Advantage
o Advantages and
Disadvantages

Focus Strategy
o What is Focus
o How Focus Leads to
Sustainable Advantage
o Advantages and
Disadvantages


Taylor
Chapter 5
1.
Read the summary of
The Experience
Economy: Work is
Theatre and Every
Business a Stage by B.
Joseph Pine II and
James H. Gilmore
Harvard Business
School Press, Boston,
Mass., 1999 ISBN 087584-819-2, or
Visit
http://www.bizsum.co
m/articles/art_theexperienceeconomy.php to read
more about the book.
Research Wal-Mart’s current performance and relate what you find with
the quote by Leslie Wexner, CEO of The Limited, who said, “Success
doesn’t breed success. Success breeds failure because the more you know
a thing works, the less likely you are to think that it won’t work. When
you’ve had a long string of victories, it’s harder to see your own
vulnerabilities.”
Hint: You may want to find out why Target Corporation is doing so well at
www.target.com or review Vogue magazine, September 2005, for clues.
You will also find many other articles about Wal-Mart’s challenges. You
are free to respond to any or all the challenges it faces.
2.
Combining Cost Leadership,
Differentiation, and Focus
Industry and Firm Life-Cycle
o Strategic Implications in
Each Stage
Until recently Wal-Mart — www.walmart.com — seemed unstoppable
with its sophisticated logistics and supply chain management innovations.
It is the overall cost leader, which is their generic strategy, in the discount
retail industry. Recent events have caused the Benton Arkansas behemoth
to stumble.
In strategic terms “stuck in the middle” has many consequences, most of
them negative.
How does a firm end up in this position and what are the resultant negative
consequences? What can be done to avoid this undesirable position?
Justify your viewpoint using examples.
Hint: Think of K-Mart in retail as the classic example.
3.
Visit www.tollbrothers.com.
Toll Brothers Homebuilders is a good example of a firm pursuing a
differentiation or generic strategy in the homebuilding industry.
Based on your review of the Web site, discuss the points of differentiation
that the company emphasizes. How has Toll Brothers’ differentiation
strategy enhanced its position with respect to the five forces of competition
in its industry? What are the risks it faces? Use examples to illustrate your
viewpoint.
Page 16
On November 8, 2005, Toll Brothers issued a statement that it is lowering
its expectations of home sales in 2006 because of various risk factors.
Determine what factors Toll Brothers identified as contributory to its home
sales shortfall.
4.
One way corporations reduce costs is through supply chain optimization.
Does supply chain optimization lower costs, improves customer service,
and improves sales? Or all the above. Visit www.cscmp.org, which is the
Web site of the Council on Supply Chain Management Professionals, and
review it to help you analyze the answer. You could also use other
examples to justify your viewpoint.
In addition visit www.about.com and click business and search for supply
chain management or supply chain optimization. Avoid the vendorsponsored sites.
5.
In the Introductory stage of the product life cycle, what are some unethical
practices that managers could engage in to enhance their firm’s market
position? What could be some of the long-term implications of these
actions? Justify using examples.
Assignments:
1.
Toyota’s Successful Combination Strategy
The Sr. VP wants to be sure that CCL has a product for all cruisers and
that it captures the next generation of the cruise market.
She believes Toyota is an excellent example of a company that combines
overall cost leadership and differentiation while having a product line
without gaps – a full line of car/truck/SUV/hybrids.
a. Write a two-to-three page report describing how Toyota successfully
achieves the combination of overall low cost and differentiation. Be
sure to describe the factors leveraged across a range of Toyota brands
and why having a full product line is important to its over-all business
strategy.
b. Include in your report your preliminary views on whether or not CCL
can adopt a similar strategy to Toyota’s and achieve success. Explain
Page 17
your views.
2.
Final Project Assignment: Brand Analysis — Carnival Corporation
The analysis of current strategy and competitor analysis you conducted
last week impressed the Sr. VP. She now needs you to delve into the
brands and analyze them. This is your business unit analysis.
Refer to the Web site of each brand and review the annual report for
relevant details of the size, scope, target market, services and amenities,
and other salient points of differentiation. Again the “divide and conquer”
approach is suitable to accomplish this analysis.
Team Tasks
From the research and analysis of the business units, identify:
 A description of each brand or business unit that provides a clear
picture of the brand and its place in the overall portfolio of CCL
 The target market of each brand
 How the brands are alike and how they differ
 A preliminary analysis of any gaps that exist in the portfolio that
might lead to opportunities to add to the brands
 Your analysis of why CCL and plc merged and what was achieved or
accomplished through the merger.
Note: Mergers and acquisitions will be dealt with in depth in Chapter 6 of
the textbook and Week 5 lectures.
Individual Task: Worksheet
Fill up the Brand Analysis worksheet with your findings and submit to the
Facilitator
Market_Analysis_WS
.doc
5

Introduction to Diversification

Related Diversification
Dess, Lumpkin, &
Taylor
Chapter 6
Discussion Questions:
1.
“Synergy” is an often-used word in business but as the popular press and
Page 18
o
o
o
Economies of Scope
Revenue Enhancement
Market Power

Unrelated Diversification
o Financial Synergy
o Parenting

Methods of Achieving
Diversification
o Mergers and Acquisitions
o Strategic Alliances and
Joint Ventures
o Internal Development

the textbook suggest, many efforts at diversification do not provide value
to customers or shareholders. Based on your analysis of CCL to date and
its merger, describe how it has done or could do the following:
a. Find economies of scope. Provide examples of specific actions CCL’s
managers could take to reduce expenses or share activities through
horizontal relationships across brands. An example could be
leadership training.
b. Find ways to achieve economies of scope by leveraging assets and
capabilities across business units.
c. Find ways to enhance market power by pooling and negotiating or
vertical integration. Owning travel agencies is an example of vertical
integration.
2.
Corporate Ethics in Value Creation
Visit the Altria Web site at www.altria.com.
Altria is an example of unrelated diversification, which when done well,
yields financial synergies and vertical benefits from a strong parent
corporation. Review “Altria at a Glance” and the history of the corporation
and the businesses within the holding company.
Discuss why Altria is diversified in this way and assess its portfolio of
businesses to determine if and how it achieves the benefits of unrelated
diversification.
3.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are on the rise in the United States.
M&A are perceived as the easiest way to enter new markets, acquire new
competencies, and gain control. A downside can be the premium paid for
the acquired firm and the costs incurred on integrating the acquired firm
into the business.
See this article on Investopedia:
http://www.investopedia.com/university/mergers/mergers6.asp
For additional information visit: www.oligopolywatch.com
After additional reading on the strategy of M&A, discuss your analysis of
why CCL and plc merged. Provide your prognostication of the efficacy of
this merger and its probability of creating synergy and market power.
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4.
Debate the following: Executives ought to have protections built into their
employment contracts to protect them if their firm is acquired. What do
you think are the pros and cons of this debate? Support your views with
evidence and debate your point with examples.
Assignments:
1.
Synthesis Paper
To ensure you clearly understand how CCL has grown to date, review
your documents, including articles, annual reports, press releases, and
other documents and write a clear summary that answers the following
questions:
a. What business is CCL in? Are its businesses congruent with its stated
mission?
b. How has the business grown over the past five years? Internal growth,
which includes adding new brands that are internally funded;
acquisitions, alliances, vertical integration, or a mix of the above?
c. What is CCL’s current strategy? Use concepts that pertain to
corporate-level strategy (Chapter 6).
d. How well has CCL integrated the merger with plc in 2003?
e. What functional areas, resources, capabilities, and strengths does CCL
possess?
 Marketing: New product development, integrated marketing
planning, marketing communications, and building customer
loyalty. You can also focus on the impact of blogging and refer to
an article on blogging in the cover story of the May 2005 issue of
Business Week.
 Operations: Quality, service, and consistent execution.
 HR: Hiring, training, developing talent, and performance
planning. Avoided law suits and bad PR due to its hiring
practices. Is ethical in its HR practices.
 Executive leadership: Industry knowledge and experience, vision
about where the industry is heading, and strategy execution.
 Supply Chain Optimization: Strategic sourcing of input, vendor
management, integrated IS, and joint forecasting with suppliers.
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

2.
Corporate Responsibility: Concern for corporate citizenship and
the environment.
Safety, Security, and On-Board Health: How cruise lines are
dealing with security and health threats.
Stakeholder Issue Analysis Responsibility Plan
Most strategic plans address key corporate responsibility issues in the
business. The Board and Executive team at CCL want a corporate
responsibility strategy that addresses challenges from environmental and
labor groups.
After selecting an issue, write a three-page White Paper on an issue
analysis for the Board and Executive team. The White Paper should
outline:
a. The concerns of stakeholders and what they want
b. What CCL has done to date and what more it could do in the future
3.
Bold Strategies
a. The executive team will soon want your ideas about bold strategies
for the future. The strategies you recommend will have to contribute
to growth and profitability, as outlined in the Annual Report. You will
want to pay special attention to exploring vertical integration, strategic
alliances, and the internal growth of new brands entering new
geographic markets, and/or additional acquisitions. As a team discuss
the following:
i) Whether or not CCL (CCL) is competing in the right businesses,
given the opportunities and threats present in the external
environment. If not how can CCL realign its diversification
strategy to achieve competitive advantage? This would include
additional diversification to take advantage of opportunities such
as further vertical integration. It could perhaps include buying a
business unit with a very high profit pool.
ii) Is the corporation managing its portfolio in a way that creates
synergy among its businesses? If so what additional businesses
should it consider adding to its portfolio?
Page 21
b.
After you have discussed the growth and profitability strategies,
individually brainstorm a list of possible strategies to present a full
range of ideas. Create a PowerPoint presentation titled Bold Strategies
to Ensure Future Growth and Success—Draft One. This is your first
draft and by no means your final recommendation.
The presentation should include your complete list — all potential
ideas — for the SVP. This is your chance to be creative. Next rank
your ideas from best to worst. To do this, keep in mind several things
such as fit with current strategy, resources and capabilities, and
difficulty of execution.
For each of your top five ideas, add the following:
 Briefly describe the strategy
 Why you picked it as one of the top five
c.
Think about such things as: Does the strategy build on current
competencies and foster horizontal relationships among brands? In
other words what can be leveraged or shared? What are the pros and
cons of this strategy?
d.
6




Introduction to the Global Economy
o Factors Affecting An
Economy
Motivations and Risks
o Motivations for Expansion
o Risks in Expansion
Competitive Advantage in Global
Markets
Entry Strategies for Global
Expansion
Dess, Lumpkin, &
Taylor
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Caux Round Table
Principles for Business
at
www.cauxroundtable.
org
Submit the PowerPoint presentation to the Sr. VP so that she can
review the alternatives and provide you with feedback about your
ideas.
Discussion Questions:
1.
Using Porter’s diamond framework for national competitiveness, discuss
the success of the software industry in India. How do the four factors in
Porter’s diamond explain the success of this industry over related
industries in the country? Over the next five years what do you predict
might happen to the software industry in India based on all that your have
learned so far in all your classes?
2.
The Internet has lowered entry barriers for smaller firms that wish to
diversify into international markets. Why is this so? Provide at least two
examples.
Page 22
3.


The Internet as a Means to Going
Global
o How the Internet Adds
Value
o Internet Business Models
o Competitive Strategies
The Caux Roundtable has developed a set of principles to guide businesses
doing business globally based on both eastern and western philosophy.
Visit the site and familiarize yourself with this Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO), review the principles, and assess how CCL measures
up to global principles:
www.cauxroundtable.org
In your opinion what are some of the barriers to practicing these principles
when entering new markets in less-developed countries? Support your
conclusions with examples.
Leveraging E-Business Capabilities
Assignments:
1.
The Experience economy and the Rise of Guerilla/Buzz Marketing
Techniques
Toyota used ideas from the book, The Experience Economy, and guerilla
marketing when it launched its Scion vehicle.
The Sr. VP wants you to determine whether CCL can employ some of
these marketing strategies to enter new markets. As a result you need to
first define what is meant by “the Experience Economy.” Next you will
apply the ideas by reviewing what Toyota did with Scion. Finally you will
apply the ideas to CCL and provide recommendations to the SVP.
Visit www.scion.com and answer the following questions:
a. Who is the target market? Write a paragraph describing the customers
for this car.
b. Describe the various ways this site engages the consumer, creates
community, and builds loyalty and aids in the buying process.
c. Why is it important for Toyota to capture “the next generation of car
buyers?” How successful has this strategy been? How have car sales
of the Scion been?
In a two-paged memo to the Sr. VP, outline your research of the Toyota
business case and your preliminary conclusion about whether or not CCL
Page 23
can enter new markets employing these marketing strategies. You need to
justify your conclusion to the Sr. VP.
2.
The Rules of Competition: How is the Internet Altering Them?
You are a freelance business strategy consultant. A small retail business
owner, offering niche products to a local market, hires you to investigate
whether she should go online.
You know that shopping on the Internet is fast growing, considering the
percentage increase or (Compound Annual Growth Rate) CAGR of
Internet sales over the past five years. You can shop for clothes, furniture,
accessories, and even engagement rings online. The Internet provides a
common platform for everybody to advertise.
In this context describe to your client:
a. How is the Internet altering the rules of competition?
b. What are the pros and cons of entering the Internet for a small
business?
c. What should be the marketing strategies for a small business on the
Internet?
d. Support your arguments with specific examples. Articulate your
thoughts in a two- to three-page White Paper for your client and
submit to the Facilitator
3.
The Eco-Tourism and Adventure Tourism Markets
Eco-tourism and/or adventure tourism is a growing part of the travel
market. Research this market segment — or segments if you think they
constitute two distinct segments — and create a buyer profile that:
a. Analyzes the size of this market and how fast it is growing.
b. Describes eco-tourists succinctly. Are they different from adventure
travelers? What are their travel values? What value proposition does
this segment(s) respond to?
c. Identifies who the key players in this segment(s) of the market are.
d. Identifies other cruise lines that specialize in eco-tourism or adventure
travel.
e. Explains how this fits with the experience economy.
f. Whether or not CCL or any of its brands should enter the eco-tourism
Page 24
market? If yes what should be the entry strategies? If no why
shouldn’t CCL enter the eco-tourism market?
Compile your analyses in the form of a two- to three-page Word report for
the Sr. VP and submit to the Facilitator
4.
Assignment CCL’s Use of the Internet: Your Assessment
Final Project Activity 6a
[Note: Through this activity the students will research how well CCL
(CCL) has leveraged the Internet to educate consumers, provide productrelated information to help consumers evaluate product offerings, book
cruises, services, and destination excursions, and provide other servicerelated problem-solving activities.]
Part 1
The Sr. VP is excited about the teams work and has one more major
assignment before she asks you to pull this together into a plan.
You have analyzed all the brands in CCL’s portfolio and have visited its
Web sites numerous times. You have working knowledge of the sites’
functionality and have analyzed the degree to which each site “speaks to”
its target market and what brand messages achieve this.
She would like you to select the best site and justify your rationale for
selecting it. Remember best doesn’t mean the one you like best or the
brand you would like to cruise with, it is the one that achieves its
objectives most successfully. Discuss this as a group and reach a
consensus. After the group has decided which site is best, write a short
memo to the Senior VP titled, “The Best Site Award goes to…..”
Part 2
Working individually the Sr. VP would like you to recommend ways to
improve the Web site and make it more “sticky.” She would like to
increase Web traffic to the sites by 20% over the next year. This will
involve research to determine an array of interactive tactics that build
traffic and loyalty to a Web site and brand. Please send her a menu of
ideas, in Word, with an explanation of why you are recommending each.
Page 25
Be sure you have provided recommendations that achieve the increase in
traffic or hits, the number of pages visited, and repeat business to the
cruise brand.
Final Project Activity 6b
You have received feedback from the Sr. VP on your draft list of
recommendations that you submitted in a PowerPoint presentation as part
of the Project activity in Week 5. It is time to review them again and
determine which set of recommendations provides the best set of strategies
for CCL going forward.
a. Work individually and redo your PowerPoint titled Bold Strategies to
Ensure Future Success and Growth. You will submit these bold
strategies again but this time you will:
i) Add your rough forecast of revenues from the strategy. For
instance if you are recommending adding a new ship to focus on a
particular market niche, roughly estimate the berths X the
passengers X the length of the trip X per year to obtain a rough
estimate of revenues. You should forecast revenues for five years.
b. Complete a timeline for how long it will take to implement the
strategy and what value chain activities will be modified because of
implementation.
c. Provide as much detail as needed to support your recommendations.
7

Corporate Leadership
o Direction Setting
o Organizational Design
o Organizational Culture

Leadership Traits

Building an Ethical Organization

Building a Learning Organization
Dess, Lumpkin, &
Taylor
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Harvard Business
Review article, “The
Parable of the Sadhu”
The superlative finance team at corporate headquarters will assist the team
in this part of the project.
Discussion Questions:
1.
Strong corporate cultures have a powerful affect on employee behavior.
Discuss how this creates inadvertent control mechanisms. For example are
strong cultures an ethical way to control behavior? Provide examples to
support your views.
2.
How has the role of Boards of Directors changed in the post Tyco, post
Enron era? What are some key governance mechanisms that ensure that
managers and shareholder interests are aligned?
3.
How can rewards and incentives be aligned to foster ethics and learning
Page 26
within a corporation.
4.
In the organizations you are familiar with, do you see more hard controls
or soft controls being used? Provide examples to justify your answer.
Assignments:
1.
Developing Leadership Talent
Because of your exceptional performance in the strategy team, you have
been selected to join the Carnival Leaders of the Future development
program. As part of the two-year development program, you will take a
series of assessment instruments to determine your leadership style and
emotional intelligence.
Gaining Self Insight: For Part I of this assignment visit the following Web
site, take the instrument, and write a one-page development plan for
yourself in Word. This plan should focus on how you will develop
emotional intelligence, what aspects of emotional intelligence you are
strong in, and what needs further development.
http://quiz.ivillage.com/health/tests/eqtest2.htm
Observing Others: Part II of this assignment involves observing the
presence or absence of emotional intelligence in people around you. For
three days observe interaction among your team members, their behavior
with each other, and the statements they made. What did you observe?
Were there any patterns of interaction that stood out? Did you observe
high emotional intelligence? Did you observe low emotional intelligence?
Illustrate your observation in a one- to two-page Word document with
examples and submit to the Discussion Thread
2.
The Parable of the Sadhu
Read the classic (Harvard Business Review) HBR article, ‘The Parable of
the Sadhu,’ and write your personal reflection on this case study. Be sure
to answer the following questions in a three-page Word document:
a. Describe in a paragraph the moral or ethical dilemma Bowen McCoy
Page 27
b.
c.
d.
e.
faced on the Himalayas.
Analyze the actions of each stakeholder in this story and rank them on
a continuum from ethically sound actions to ethically questionable
actions. Include in your analysis the climbers, the Sherpa guide, the
porters, and the sadhu. Justify your answers with examples.
What would you have done in this situation? And why?
How were the dynamics on the mountain similar to those in a
corporation? Use examples to illustrate the similarities.
How were the dynamics on the mountain dissimilar to those in a
corporation?
Post your assignments in the Discussion Thread, read your colleagues
papers, and comment on their analyses/papers.
1.
Final Project Activity 7: Code of Conduct for Doing Business Globally
As you finalize your PowerPoint presentation and Strategic Business Plan,
ensure you have developed a Code of Conduct for doing business globally.
This “Code of Conduct” should be a two-page Word document. You may
draw on readings in the class and research other firms’ codes of conduct.
In addition develop an action plan to communicate and reinforce the Code
of Conduct throughout the corporation. The action plan should include at
least 10 ideas to implement, communicate, and ensure the adoption of the
Code of Conduct, guaranteeing that everyone in the firm understands and
practices it and that it serves as a framework for action.
8

Business Plan Guidelines
o What is a Business Plan
o Purpose of a Business Plan
o Sections of a Business Plan
o Compiling Data in a
Business Plan
o Presenting a Business Plan
Dess, Lumpkin, &
Taylor
Chapter 9
This “Code of Conduct” will be part of the strategic business plan that you
finalize in Week 8.
Discussion Questions:
1.
Based on your reading this week and all you have learned throughout the
course, frame your David Letterman’s Top Ten List of Strategy
Implementation Dos. Make sure the advice you give is valid, but it can be
funny too. Share your Top Ten list with the class and vote on the best Top
Ten list.
2.
Self-reflection is the key to good leadership and good management.
Review Chapter 9:
Strategic Control
Review the HBR
article by Kaplan and
Page 28
Norton, The Balanced
Scorecard.
Visit the site
http://www.themanage
r.org/Knowledgebase/
Strategy/Implementati
on.htm and read the
following three
additional articles on
strategy
implementation:
1. A Strategic Look At
Strategy Execution
Top executives are
skilled at developing
strategy, but setting
plans in motion is
where they fail, says
Lawrence Hrebiniak,
Professor at the
Wharton School, in
this Optimize Q&A.
Reflect on what you have learned in this class and on what you gained
from your BS Completion program. Based on your reflections discuss the
following with your fellow students:
a. What are five-six key “lessons” learned from the textbook and the
content that will help you in your career?
b. What you have learned about yourself.
c. Your hopes for the future.
3.
Discuss the importance of communication and the best way to gain support
and buy-in for change. Do you think a communication strategy should be
placed on an equal footing with other established strategies supported
throughout the academic and professional worlds?
4.
You are in an elevator and you are asked to talk about your skills and
experience in two minutes. This could lead to a potential job in an industry
you love, at a company you admire, in a role that you would most certainly
enjoy and be well compensated for too. What would you say? Be sure to
time yourself to make sure your monolog is two minutes or less. Post and
respond to each other’s elevator speech.
Assignments:
1.
Setting Balanced Scorecard Metrics
As one of your final assignments in the strategic planning team, you need
to develop Balanced Scorecard targets or goals and metrics or
measurements for the strategic plan.
a. Using your readings and research and your knowledge of CCL’s
annual reports, stated goals, and objectives, draft key targets and
metrics for the:
i) Customer Perspective
ii) Internal Process Perspective
iii) Learning and Innovation Perspective
b. Challenge yourself to link the targets to specific initiatives you have
identified in the Business Plan you are developing for CCL.
2.
Anticipating Resistance to Change
Anticipating that resistance to change and new initiatives is part of
2. Communicating
Your Strategy The
forgotten
fundamentals of
strategic
implementation by
Jake Laban, MBA and
Jack C. Green, Ph.D.
3. Operational
Alignment: Bridging
the Gap between
Page 29
Strategy and
Execution by Jonathan
D. Becher
planning for their execution/implementation. Visit www.themanager.org
and search articles about change and change management. Select twothree articles and summarize them in a PowerPoint presentation to the
executive committee of CCL.
Title your PowerPoint “In Anticipation of Resistance” and identify where
in CCL, the change will occur most because of the Business plan and
suggest several organizational development and change management
strategies to help overcome the anticipated resistance. Please restrict the
number of slides to six.
3.
Final Project – Strategic Business Plan-Final
This week you will submit the written Strategic Business Plan and
PowerPoint presentation “In Anticipation of Resistance” to the Sr. VP. She
will review it and provide feedback.
You will present the final Business Plan and the PowerPoint presentation
to the Executive Team, so ensure that the PowerPoint is well done,
visually interesting, succinct, and complete.
Note: Do this activity individually.
Grading Criteria
Grading Scale
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
Grading requirements
100 – 93
92 – 90
89 – 88
87 – 83
82 – 80
79 – 78
77 – 73
Page 30
CD+
D
DF
72 – 70
69 – 68
67 – 63
62 – 60
59 and below
Attendance/participation
Weekly Assignments
Final paper
Optional
Optional
25%
20%
35%
10%
10%
100%
Page 31
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