DMSB711
Schepker
Global Strategic Management
DMSB 711 – Spring 2017
Class time:
M/W 8:15 – 11:15 AM (54658)
Instructor: Donald (DJ) Schepker, Ph.D
Class Room: DMSB 128
Office:
DMSB 410D
Office Hours: By appointment only
Email:
[email protected]
Phone:
(803) 777-5977
Course Description and Objectives
This course explores why and how firms differ and how management decisions influence
overall firm performance. Strategic management is the process by which the firm’s
decision makers plan and implement firm-level policies to achieve competitive advantage
based on an integrated and externally oriented concept of how the firm plans to achieve
objectives.
This is a critical thinking course. Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process
of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or
evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience,
reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. This course is designed to
build upon knowledge and skills you have developed through prior courses and integrates
these skills to help understand how organizations coordinate actions.
The primary objectives of the course are as follows:
1. Develop your capacity to think strategically about companies, their business
positions, long-term direction, resources and capabilities, the caliber of present
strategy, and opportunities for gaining sustainable competitive advantage.
2. Understand fundamental strategic management concepts: levels and components
of strategy, competitive analysis, and the evolution of firms and industries.
3. Integrate the knowledge gained in earlier courses in the business school
curriculum, show how the business puzzle fits together, and demonstrate why
different parts of the business need to be managed in strategic harmony for a
company to operate in a winning fashion.
4. Provide hands-on experience in crafting business strategy, reasoning about
strategic options, using “what if” analyses to evaluate action alternatives, and
making sound strategic decisions.
5. Develop managerial thinking and communication: thorough analytical analysis
and effective written and oral presentation of conclusions/recommendations.
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Outcomes
By accomplishing the learning objectives of this course, you will leave with a stronger
appreciation for strategic issues and improved analytical and communication skills.
These outcomes are valuable in a variety of careers, such as:
 Entrepreneurs and senior executives – Have responsibility for setting the firm’s
strategy.
 Managers – Make decisions consistent with the overall goals and objectives of the
organization. Your ability to do this will help determine your success.
 Consultants – They often advise on how to develop and implement strategy.
 Investors and analysts – As they must judge a firm’s strategy and performance.
 Non-profit employees – As non-profits are increasingly administered like
businesses and performance is measured in for-profit fashion.
Expectations
This course’s approach is practical and problem-oriented, with the focus placed on
applying concepts and frameworks to real-world examples and enacting strategic
decisions in a simulated environment. I intend to keep lecturing to a minimum and,
instead, engage participants through case discussions and application to your own work.
For class to work well, preparation is of utmost importance. All students are expected to
read all assigned material and arrive at class having prepped the assigned case or
materials being prepared to offer their thoughts. This includes bringing all assigned
materials and having prepared material for discussion (including highlighting or
underlining key thoughts for insights). During discussions, students are expected to
actively listen to their classmates and are encouraged to engage in civil discussions /
debates.
Course Materials
Course Book
The course book contains required readings and cases for the class. This custom course
pack is published by McGraw-Hill, and is available either through the bookstore or
through McGraw-Hill’s website (in eBook format).
Please keep in mind that our institution adheres to copyright law, so any copyrighted
material should not be copied or duplicated in any way. If you wish to order your book
online, go to http://create.mcgraw-hill.com/shop and follow these steps:
 Click on “Search for and select book by Title, ISBN, Author, or State/School.”
o ISBN: 9781308446134
o Title: Strategic Management
 Add the book to your cart and pay using a credit card or access code.
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Capstone Simulation
We will be running Capstone®, a computer-based business simulation as part of our
class. The simulation, which costs $53.99 is available at www.capsim.com. Each
enrolled student is required to purchase an individual license.
 Go to www.capsim.com, and click on the “Register” button. Read and accept the
terms.
 In the box at the top of the next page, enter the Industry ID code (C87607_000).
Click “Enter Industry ID”.
 Enter your personal information on the next page, then click “Continue”.
 Complete your purchase by credit card.
I will distribute a hard copy of the Capstone Student Guide to you in class. An electronic
copy will be posted on Blackboard. If you would like to pick up a hard copy before class
starts, please contact me to make arrangements to pick one up.
Blackboard
Finally, over the course of the semester, I will use Blackboard as a vehicle for posting
important course information and materials. I encourage you to check it often.
Evaluation and Grading
This course develops critical thinking and communication skills throughout. Your grade
will be based on the following:
Assignment:
Individual (65%)
 Class Participation
 Final Exam
 Case Study Write-Ups (4)
 Simulation Assignments
Group



Weighting
%
20
30
10
5
(35%)
Capstone Simulation Performance
Board Presentations
Current Events Presentations
Σ=
20
10
5
100%
Final grades are determined based on the university’s grading scale and in accordance with the
percentages noted below (without rounding):
A: 90.0+
B+: 87.0
B: 80.0
C+: 77.0
C: 70.0
D+: 67.0
D: 60.0
F: Below 60.0
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In-class participation (20 percent)
An important part of your learning in this course takes place in the classroom. Therefore,
regular attendance is essential. Missing more than 2 classes for any reason can result in
losing a letter grade or more on your participation grade. If you are not here, you cannot
participate. Further, engaging in disruptive behavior during class results in a loss of
participation points, including reading for other courses, using cell phones or other
electronic devices, talking to others, arriving to class late and doing homework for other
courses. Each student is expected to actively participate and to offer meaningful analyses
and convincing arguments. Therefore, it is necessary that you prepare before class and
actively participate. Effective preparation includes bringing your textbook and having
highlighted or taken notes on cases. In general, participation is evaluated as follows:
 90-100%: substantive comments based on outstanding preparation; ideas offered
provide significant insights and direction; articulates well supported arguments
showing active listening; uses relevant outside information; quality of class
discussions would be much worse if this person was absent.
 80-90%: usually substantive ideas based on satisfactory preparation; ideas offered
sometimes provide useful insights but seldom offer a major new direction;
comments that show this person is a good listener; quality of class or discussion
boards would be diminished somewhat if this person was absent.
 70-80%: regular attendance, occasional contribution to discussion that reflects
little preparation; comments show person to be a passable listener; little effect on
the quality of class discussion.
 <70%: contributions in class (if any) reflect inadequate preparation; may be
habitually absent or late; ideas offered are seldom important or relevant, and do
not provide a constructive direction for the class; such persons benefit from the
thinking and courage of their peers while offering little in return; if this person
were absent the quality of discussion would be unchanged or possibly improved.
Final Exam (30 percent)
There is a comprehensive final exam covering important class material designed to test
understanding of concepts to ensure that students understand strategy. The exam will be
made up of multiple choice questions, with several essays. Makeup exams are allowed
only with pre-approval of the instructor or with an acceptable, documented reason.
Acceptable reasons for makeup exams include severe illness, family emergencies or other
unavoidable events. The final is scheduled for Monday, May 1st at 9:00 AM.
Case Write-Ups (10 percent)
Each student is responsible for providing a 2-4 page write-up on questions provided for
four case discussions during class as outlined on the course schedule. The questions and
information to complete these assignments is located at the end of the syllabus. All writeups are due at the start of class, either electronically or in hard copy.
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Current Events Presentations (5 percent)
Each group will present twice at the beginning of class on a current event in strategic
management. Current events should be taken from a recent edition of a reputable national
periodical and selected with an eye on strategy. Each team member is responsible for
presenting during each presentation. Presenters should discuss the issue raised in the
article, discuss its relevance with concepts learned in the course, and evaluate the strategy
providing their own opinions. Articles must be posted on Blackboard under discussion by
5:00 PM the night before class. All students should read the article and prepare their
thoughts prior to class. Presentations are evaluated based on their relevance to course
concepts, ability to integrate with class material, and their discussion ability.
Simulation Exercise
Capstone ® is one of the premier business simulation programs in the country. This
simulation will give you the opportunity to work as a team to run a company while
competing against your classmates. Your decisions and the decisions of the other teams
will be processed to provide ongoing feedback on your company’s performance. You are
responsible for reading the manual and understanding how the simulation operates.
Time inside and outside of the room will be used for the simulation. Time has been set
aside for you to individually familiarize yourself with the program and make a number of
“practice” decisions as a team. The simulation website (www.capsim.com) provides
excellent help and tutorials not only on the program, but on the content of your decisions.
If you have questions about the technical details of the simulation, Capsim provides
support on the phone and via email.
Company Performance (20 percent)
Your team will be graded on how well your company performs on the balanced scorecard
in Capstone. Each team member will be assigned the same grade. However, the instructor
may modify individual grades based on peer evaluations and other factors as deemed
appropriate. After teams are assigned, you will work together on several practice decision
years to give you time to think through the strategy you want to implement.
Simulation Assignments (5 percent)
You will complete four assignments to prepare for the start of the simulation. Due dates
for all assignments are found on the next page:

Capstone rehearsal tutorial and quiz - The rehearsal tutorial walks you through all
phases of decision making in the simulation and has you work with simulated
information to understand its operation. In order to get credit, you must make
decisions and complete at least one round in the rehearsal tutorial.
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
Capstone Situation Analysis – done through the Capsim website as discussed in class.
The Situation Analysis familiarizes you with Capstone concepts and illustrates core
principles. You must complete all sections of the analysis to receive credit.

Capstone Business Plan - The business plan will be a 3 page summary of the strategy
your group expects to follow through the simulation. Your group should document
the strategy you choose prior to the first round of Capstone and indicate how you are
planning to implement the chosen strategy in each aspect of the value chain and
through your decisions you can make in the simulation.

Capstone Budget to Actual Analysis – Following simulation round 3, you must
complete a budget to actual analysis of the round’s results. Prepare a proforma
income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows (this may be copied
from within Capstone) prior to round processing. When results are processed, analyze
actual results for all three financial statements compared to projected (Proformas).
Teams must submit a documented (2-3 sentence) explanation for each value where a
variance of greater than 5% from budget exists. A template will be provided on
Blackboard. This assignment is due at the start of class on Wednesday, April 12th.
Board Presentation (10 percent)
Teams will give a 12-15 minute oral report to your company’s Board of Directors, where
you analyze what transpired during Capstone and what you learned from the simulation.
Each member will be assigned the same grade, conditional on peer evaluations. Each
team will be assigned another team in the class and is responsible for asking that team
one thoughtful question based on the team’s strategy, outcomes, and presentation.
Capstone Schedule - All decisions and all assignments, other than the budget to actual
analysis, are due at 11:00 PM
Assignment / Decision Round
Rehearsal Tutorial
Situation Analysis
Group Practice Round 1
Group Practice Round 2
Group Practice Round 3
Group Practice Round 4
Business Plan
Budget to Actual
Capstone Round 1
Capstone Round 2
Capstone Round 3
Capstone Round 4
Capstone Round 5
Capstone Round 6
Capstone Round 7
Due Date
March 19th
March 19th
March 22nd
March 24th
March 27th
March 29th
March 31st
April 12th
April 3rd
April 5th
April 7th
April 12th
April 14th
April 17th
April 19th
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Team Problems and Peer Evaluations
If you are having interpersonal problems in your group, try to work it out among
yourselves. If the problem persists, bring it to my attention during the semester. Each
student will be required to fill out an anonymous peer evaluation of his/her teammates
that can affect individual grades. Thus, it is possible for individuals to receive
adjustments to grades by distinguishing themselves either positively or negatively.
Late Assignments
Late assignments will be accepted, but will be deducted one full letter grade for each 24
hour period the assignment is late; however, it is better to turn in all assignments
regardless of the penalty to be received.
Academic Honesty
Please become familiar with the University's Honor Code found in the Official Student
Handbook available on the Web at http://www.sc.edu/academicintegrity/honorcode.html
"It is the responsibility of every student at the University of South Carolina Columbia to
adhere steadfastly to truthfulness and to avoid dishonesty, fraud, or deceit of any type in
connection with any academic program. Any student who violates this Honor Code or
who knowingly assists another to violate this Honor Code shall be subject to discipline."
Accomodating Disabilities
Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If
you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class, all
accommodations must be approved through the Office of Student Disability Services.
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Date
1
3/13
Topic
Assigned Readings
Schepker
Deliverables
M
Course Introduction
What is Strategy?
“What is Strategy?”
(Blackboard)
Kavanagh (Blackboard)
Friedman (Blackboard)
Stout (Blackboard)
Capstone Manual
Textbook pgs. 2-41
Capstone Rehearsal Tutorial
Capstone Situation Analysis
2
3/15
W
Corporate Social Responsibility / Governance
Capstone Introduction
3
3/20
M
General Environment Analysis
Industry Analysis
Capstone Individual Practice
4
3/22
W
General Environment Analysis
Industry Analysis
Case: The Movie Exhibition
Industry in 2013
Current Events (A)
Case write-up
Capstone Group Practice Round 1
Capstone Group Practice Round 2
(Fri 3/24)
5
3/27
M
Internal Firm Analysis / Value Chain
Textbook pgs. 42-73
Current Events (B)
Capstone Group Practice Round 3
Internal Firm Analysis / Value Chain (Cont.)
Capstone Business Plan
Case: Netflix
Current Events (C)
Case write-up
Capstone Group Practice Round 4
Capstone Business Plan (Fri 3/31)
Textbook pgs. 74-109
Capstone Year 1
6
3/29
W
7
4/3
M
Business-level Strategies
Capstone Practice Debrief
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Date
Topic
Assigned Readings
Schepker
Deliverables
Current Events (A)
8
4/5
W
Corporate Level Strategy
Diversification and Portfolio Management
Textbook pgs. 110-145
Capstone Year 2
Capstone Year 3 (Fri 4/7)
9
4/10
M
Mergers and Acquisitions
Cooperative Strategies
Capstone Budget to Actual
Textbook pgs. 146-176
Current Events (B)
Case write-up
Capstone Budget to Actual
Capstone Year 4
Capstone Year 5 (Fri 4/14)
10
4/12
W
Innovation / Real Options
Case: Nucleon Inc.
11
4/17
M
International Strategies
Case: Wal-Mart Stores:
“Everyday Low Prices” in China
Capstone Year 6
12
4/19
W
Case: Walt Disney: The
Entertainment King
Current Events (C)
Case write-up
Capstone Year 7
13
4/24
M
Board Presentations
Course Wrap Up
14
5/1
M
FINAL EXAM – 9:00 AM -12:00 PM
Capstone
Wrap up case
Capstone Board Presentations
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Questions for Case Write-ups:
For each case, prepare a 2-4 page, double spaced writeup on the following questions.
Responses are due at the beginning of class either electronically or in hard copy.
March 22: The Movie Exhibition Industry in 2013
1) Considering the external environment facing the movie exhibition industry, what
is the greatest opportunity for the industry and what is the greatest threat?
2) Analyzing the industry, how profitable is the movie exhibition industry (high,
medium, or low)? What are the two greatest threats to the industry’s profitability?
Is the industry attractive to enter?
March 29: Netflix
1) In its original business model, whereby Netflix charged a per rental fee with late
fees if customers were slow to return movies, did Netflix have a sustainable
competitive advantage? Why or why not?
2) Upon revising its business model to a monthly subscription fee, what were
Netflix’s core competencies? Did Netflix have a sustainable competitive
advantage? Why or why not?
April 12: Nucleon
1) Nucleon’s management has five options from which to choose (see the matrix
below): if you were Nucleon’s senior management, which option would you
choose? Why is this option superior to others and why are other options inferior?
Phase I / II
Phase III
Option 1
Nucleon
Nucleon
Option 2
Nucleon
Licensee
Option 3
Contractor
Nucleon
Option 4
Contractor
Licensee
Option 5
Licensee
April 17: Walmart Stores in China
1) What resources and capabilities have helped Walmart develop a sustainable
competitive advantage in the United States?
2) Was Walmart able to successfully recreate these capabilities in China to develop
competitive advantage? Why or why not?
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Grading Rubric for Assessing Individual Case Write-ups
Criteria for Evaluation
Evaluation
Expectations to Earn Evaluation
Outstanding
(A)
Grammatically correct with rare misspellings; Illustrates strong conceptual
understanding of the issues of the case and how they pertain to strategic
management; Uses appropriate frameworks from our course to answer
questions provided; Employs the course’s language of strategic management;
Provides comprehensive incorporation of data from the case to support each
logical argument made; Expresses opinions and ideas in a clear and concise
manner.
In short, such a case writeup demonstrates mastery in understanding and
applying course frameworks to a real-world setting using appropriate logical
argumentation supported by a variety of data.
Above Average
(B)
Writing illustrates a solid understanding of the case and its key insights; Few
grammatical errors or misspellings; Utilizes a broad understanding of course
frameworks while failing to illustrate the finer points or nuances of
frameworks which might apply; Employs some data to support all (or most)
arguments, but could go further given information provided in case.
Such a case writeup demonstrates a strong understanding of the case’s key
insights and how strategic management frameworks can help in generating
such insights, but falls short in connecting all of the dots between the case
and course material, between arguments and supporting data, or in
illustrating understanding of course frameworks.
Satisfactory
(C)
Illustrates the student has read the case and understands some, if not most,
of the key insights from the case; Provides limited to no data to support
claims; Has grammatical errors or numerous misspellings; Employs only a
limited understanding of the language of strategy; Utilizes only portions of
course frameworks without illustrating understanding of the entirety of
concepts.
Such case write-ups demonstrate a limited understanding of the case’s key
insights or course frameworks and their application to real world scenarios.
Poor (D or
Below)
Writing fails to illustrate an understanding of the case’s key concepts and fails
to use appropriate strategic management frameworks in logical
argumentation; Does not use data to support assertions or data is used in a
manner inconsistent with arguments made; Uses extremely poor grammar or
contains numerous misspellings.
Logical argumentation is difficult to follow and fails to clearly articulate
meaningful arguments consistent with the objectives of the course.
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