BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr.

Hugh Courtney

Class, Office Hours, and Contact Information Section DC01 Office: VMH 4516 Room DC 330-B Telephone: 301-405-9544 Monday, 6:25-10:00 p.m. Email: hcourtney@rhsmith.umd.edu Office hours: Monday, 12:30-3:00 p.m., immediately before or after class, or by appointment Course Overview and Objectives The fundamental question that this course addresses is why are some firms more successful and more profitable than others? This is both a static and dynamic question, in that we can ask why a given firm is profitable at a moment in time, as well as how a firm has sustained competitive advantage over a period of time. Theory and empirical research suggest that success is determined by the fit between a firms internal environment (e.g., its assets, capabilities and resources) and the external environment (e.g., the industry it competes in and the competitors it faces) it competes in. For a firm to be successful in the short run, there must be a good fit between what it does well and the profit opportunities that exist in competitive markets. For a firm to be successful in the long run, it must continuously update its capabilities to fit its changing market environment. Fit is a function of both business unit and corporate strategy decisions. A company in search of fit can choose to reposition its existing businesses to better fit opportunities and threats in those markets, or it can change its portfolio of businesses through acquisitions, divestitures, organic growth or other decisions that change the corporations scale and scope of activities. This course aims to give you the tools, frameworks, and ideas necessary to develop business unit and corporate strategies for your own organizations that fit, both in the short run and the long run. As noted above, this requires that we focus on how best to analyze and identify profit opportunities and threats in different industry and competitive environments; how best to analyze and identify a firms valuable assets, resources and capabilities and how they might be protected, leveraged, and extended in the market; how to organize your company to be best prepared to adapt its strategy over time as the market environment changes; and how to use organic growth as well as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, alliances, and divestitures to ensure that the firm maintains the proper scale and scope to compete effectively over time. The course is also about top management and the total organization. As such, it is an integrative course emphasizing a general management or total organizational perspective as opposed to a functional viewpoint (accounting, finance, marketing, operations, etc.). A general management perspective is necessary because the formulation and implementation of effective strategies requires a precise understanding of the interrelationships among the different functions of the organization and the relationships of these functions to the business environment.

BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr. Hugh Courtney

Class Format While I will use short lectures and group discussions to highlight some of the key lessons from the course readings, this is not a traditional lecture-based course. Conceptual material will be illustrated and applied to the real world through rigorous class discussion of business cases, examples, your own business experiences and your group project presentations. Your classmates and I expect you to attend and be well prepared for each class, having read the required conceptual material and analyzed the assigned case studies ahead of time. If all class members prepare for and actively participate in each class discussion, we will all learn more from each other and enjoy the course more. General tips on how to analyze assigned cases and prepare for class discussions are provided in Appendix A. In addition, specific case discussion preparation questions are included in the Course Outline for each case. Please refer to Appendix A and these case-specific questions when preparing for each class. Required Readings There are two course reading packs available for purchase from XanEdu. The first XanEdu pack called Journal readings contains readings from academic journals such as the Harvard Business Review. These journal articles are also available through our library and VBIC. Therefore, purchase of this XanEdu pack is optional. You can purchase it from XanEdu if you prefer the convenience of accessing all of your readings in one packet. Otherwise, you can go to the library and/or work through VBIC to obtain copies of these articles. In either case, these are all required readings. The second XanEdu pack called Cases and other readings includes cases and teaching notes from Harvard Business School, as well as textbook chapters, that arent available through our library or VBIC. Therefore, you should definitely purchase this XanEdu pack as these are also all required readings. Finally, there are a few required readings that can be accessed online at no charge to you. In the Course Outline, I direct you to the relevant websites to access these readings. Performance Evaluation Contribution to class discussion (see Appendix B for details) 15%

Individual case analysis of your choice (see Appendix C for details) Individual case analysis of Nucor case (see Appendix D for details) Group presentation (see Appendix E for details)

30% 30% 25%

BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr. Hugh Courtney

Groups should be 5-6-person, self-selected teams. It is expected that all group members will make contributions to preparing and/or communicating the presentations, and that all should receive the same grade.

BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr. Hugh Courtney

Academic Integrity Academic integrity is expected in this class. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in any form. University procedures will be used to investigate any potential instances of academic dishonesty. Please visit the following website for more information on the University's Code of Academic Integrity: http://www.shc.umd.edu/code.html Absences Attendance at all class sessions is expected. Absences, late arrivals, and early departures necessarily limit your class contribution - and hence may influence your grade. Disability Policy If you have a documented disability or other special needs and wish to discuss appropriate academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible, and in any event no later than the second week of class.

BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr. Hugh Courtney

COURSE OUTLINE Note: Readings and case studies should be completed before the relevant class session. Oct 29 WHAT IS STRATEGY AND HOW DO YOU DEVELOP ONE? Objectives: To define what is meant by strategy; to introduce different points of view on how one should develop strategies and what role strategies play in driving company financial performance; to consider the factors that should drive strategy choices; to begin developing, communicating and evaluating business strategies; to explain the underlying logic and flow of the course outline; to set collective expectations for class norms Readings: Course syllabus which is posted on our course Blackboard site Hambrick, D. C., and Fredrickson, J. W., Are You Sure You Have a Strategy?, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 15, No. 4, November 2001 Porter, M. E., What is Strategy?, Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 1996 Case studies: The Alaskan Gold Mine. Copies to be distributed in class. Gamble, J. E., Rocky Mountain Adventures, Inc., 1998. This case can be accessed online at: http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/thompson/11e/case/rma.html Case discussion preparation questions for Rocky Mountain Adventures: What are the key characteristics of the outdoor recreation industry? Given these characteristics, would you expect it to be a profitable industry or not? Given this industry environment, what sort of strategies would you expect to be most successful? Least successful? Why? Use Hambrick and Fredricksons Five Major Elements of Strategy to describe Rocky Mountain Adventures current strategy. Has this strategy been effective to date? Is it likely to remain effective going forward? Explain. Use Hambrick and Fredricksons Five Major Elements of Strategy to specify a new strategy for Rocky Mountain Adventures to follow. Explain why you chose this strategy, and why you dismissed other possible strategies. Be sure to include estimates/arguments regarding expected financial performance in your analysis. Other: You must form your group presentation team and submit your team preferences for presentation topics/dates by the end of this first class! See Appendix E for details.

BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr. Hugh Courtney

Nov 5

STRATEGY AS POSITION: INDUSTRY AND COMPETITOR ANALYSIS Objectives: To understand why and how industry structure and company conduct drive firm performance; to appreciate how external shocks and companies new strategies may reshape industry profit opportunities over time; to identify the strengths and weaknesses of standard industry and competitor analysis frameworks; to provide insights on how to conduct an industry and competitor analysis; to appreciate how market structure and individual firm characteristics shape the strategies that companies choose to follow and the nature of competition over time; to introduce some simple ideas from game theory and their implications for competitive strategy Readings: Review SCP analysis of Australian beer industry. This PowerPoint presentation will be available on the course Blackboard site under Course Documents. Porter, M. E., How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review, March-April 1979 Brandenburger, A. M., and Nalebuff, B. J., The Right Game: Use Game Theory to Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1995 Case study: Yoffie, D. B., Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2006, Harvard Business School Case # 9-706-447, 2006 Case discussion preparation questions for Cola Wars: Why is it that concentrate producers have been so profitable relative to bottlers? What are the important trends and uncertainties in the soft drink industry, and how do these developments affect the competitive positions of Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, and the smaller competitors? Evaluate Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Colas primary strategic moves and countermoves over the past 50 years. Which have been successful (unsuccessful) and why? What should Pepsi do next, and how might Coke respond? Which strategies should the smaller competitors follow? Which strategies should a new entrant follow? Other: 2 group presentations (see Appendix E) Individual case analyses due (if this is your choice see Appendix C)

BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr. Hugh Courtney

Nov 12

STRATEGY AS POSITION: COST- AND DIFFERENTIATION-BASED ADVANTAGES (GUEST LECTURER: PROFESSOR DAVID WAGUESPACK) Objectives: To identify generic market positioning strategies; to appreciate the tradeoffs involved in strategy formulation; to understand how a companys value chain/activity system must support its strategy; to expose you to some tools for qualitative and quantitative assessment of potential sources of competitive advantage; to appreciate how companies might build and lose competitive advantages over time; to show how changes in the industry and competitive environment often cause companies to rethink their generic strategies Readings: Grant, R. M., Cost Advantage, Chapter 8 in Grant, R. M., Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Concepts, Techniques, Applications (5th Edition), Blackwell Publishing Professional, 2005 Grant, R. M., Differentiation Advantage, Chapter 9 in Grant, R. M., Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Concepts, Techniques, Applications (5th Edition), Blackwell Publishing Professional, 2005 Ghemawat, P., and Rivkin, J. W., Creating Competitive Advantage, Harvard Business School Teaching Note #9-798-062, 1998 Case study: Rivkin, J. W., Husky Injection Molding Systems, Harvard Business School Case # 9-799-157, 1999 Case discussion preparation questions for Husky: What is Huskys strategy? Why has the company been so successful? Are Husky injection molding systems worth the premium price the company charges? Be precise by calculating customer willingness to pay for a Husky system. Consider a customer who wants to make as many plastic products as a Husky system can make in a year. If the price of a Husky system were to rise above a certain level, the customer would be better off making its products with a competitors system. What is the price that would make the customer just indifferent between a Husky system and a competitors system? This is the customers willingness to pay for the Husky system. What has caused Huskys current difficulties? How might Robert Schad, Huskys CEO, and the company respond? How should they respond? Other: 2 group presentations (see Appendix E) Individual case analyses due (if this is your choice see Appendix C)

BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr. Hugh Courtney

Nov 19

STRATEGY AS LEVERAGE: THE RESOURCE-BASED VIEW Objectives: To understand the importance of a companys assets, capabilities and resources in formulating sound strategies; to identify how to protect, extend and leverage these assets, capabilities and resources; to illustrate how a changing external environment can influence the ability to sustain competitive advantage; to appreciate how corporate strategies can be built around a portfolio of competencies and not just businesses; to consider the pros and cons associated with charismatic business leadership Readings: Collis, D. J., and Montgomery, C. A., Competing on Resources: Strategy in the 1990s, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1995 Prahalad, C. K., and Hamel, G., The Core Competence of the Corporation, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1990 Case study: Yoffie, D. B., and Slind, M., Apple Computer, 2006, Harvard Business School Case # 9-706-496, 2006 Case discussion preparation questions for Apple: Why was Apple one of the most profitable companies in the PC industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s? How has the PC industry evolved over the past 20 years and what implications does this have for Apples ability to create and sustain competitive advantage in this sector? Evaluate Apples PC strategies in light of the changing industry environment. Evaluate Apples non-PC strategies, in particular its iPod strategy. What do you think it has done well and not so well? What resources (if any) does Apple have that are valuable, rare, inimitable and nonsubstitutable? What implications does this have for the strategic options Apple should pursue in the near future? What are Apples core competencies (if any)? What implications does this have for the strategic options Apple should pursue in the near future? Other: 2 group presentations (see Appendix E) Individual case analyses due (if this is your choice see Appendix C)

BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr. Hugh Courtney

Nov 26

STRATEGY AS LEVERAGE: CORPORATE SCOPE AND SCALE CHOICES Objectives: To understand how corporations can add value above and beyond the sum of value in each of its business units; to learn the rigorous tests that companies should go through when contemplating any significant changes in corporate scale and scope; to understand the underlying theories and logic that should drive corporate strategy decisions; to appreciate how the application of these theories and logic may differ across countries with different economic institutions and stages of development Readings: Collis, D. J., and Montgomery, C. A., Creating Corporate Advantage, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1998 Piskorski, M. J., Note on Corporate Strategy, Harvard Business School Teaching Note # 9-705-449, 2005 Case study: Montgomery, C. A., and Winkler, C. A., HNA Group: A Miracle in Civil Aviation, Harvard Business School Case #9-705-426, 2005 Case discussion preparation questions for HNA Group: Evaluate Hainan Airlines strategy and organization. What changes, if any, would you recommend and why? Evaluate the HNA Groups six criteria for evaluating industries it might enter on the bottom of page 12 of the case. Do you think these are sound criteria for such corporate strategy decisions? Why or why not? What do you think of the HNA Groups five blocks of business? Would you exit any? What other industries might it enter instead? Why? What actions might the HNA Group take to achieve greater synergies across its businesses? Other: 2 group presentations (see Appendix E) Individual case analyses due (if this is your choice see Appendix C)

BUSI 690 Strategic Management Fall 2007 Dr. Hugh Courtney

Dec 3

STRATEGY AS OPPORTUNITY: DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES AND SIMPLE RULES Objectives: To identify the types of strategies and organizational architectures that facilitate a company sustaining competitive advantage in changing market environments; to compare and contrast different points of view on short- and long-term drivers of superior firm performance; to introduce a key framework for aligning organizations around their strategies as part of a systemic strategy implementation plan; to illustrate the tradeoffs between commitment and keeping your options open; to illustrate how companies strategies can be guided by simple rules Readings: Eisenhardt, K. M., and Sull, D. N., Strategy as Simple Rules, Harvard Business Review, January 2001 Bradach, J., Organizational Alignment: The 7-S Model, Harvard Business School Note # 9-497-045, 1996 Mini-case study: Govindarajan, V., and Lang, J. B., 3M Corporation, Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth, William F. Achtmeyer Center for Global Leadership, Case # 2-0002, 2002. This mini-case can be accessed online at: http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/cgl/downloads/20002_3M.pdf Arndt, M., and Brady, D., 3Ms Rising Star, Business Week, April 12, 2004. This article can accessed online at: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_15/b3878001_mz001.htm Hindo, B., At 3M, A Struggle Between Efficiency and Creativity, Business Week, June 11, 2007. This article can be accessed online at: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_24/b4038406.htm Case study: Leonard, D., and Delacey, B., Collabrys, Inc. (A) The Evolution of a Startup, Harvard Business School Case # 9-603-064, 2002 Case discussion preparation questions for Collabrys: What is the business environment like for Benjamin Wayne and the other managers in Silicon Valley in 2000? What are the Five Forces or SCP of Collabrys industry? What are the core competencies (if any) of Collabrys? What is the strategic value of these resources and capabilities? What rules are implied by the various decisions that Wayne and the other senior managers make? What kinds of rules are these? Are they sound simple rules in your opinion? What other rules might it use to better navigate through the uncertainty that it faces? What should Collabrys do now? Become a service agency, technology provider, or

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something else altogether? Other: 2 group presentations (see Appendix E) Individual case analyses due (if this is your choice see Appendix C)

Dec 10

STRATEGY AS OPPORTUNITY: INNOVATION, TIMING AND RISK MANAGEMENT Objectives: To identify how industries change over time due to disruptive and sustaining innovations and the implications such changes have for incumbents and new entrants; to identify first-mover advantages and disadvantages; to assess the pros and cons associated with attempting to shape and/or adapt to uncertain market environments; to discuss strategy-setting and decision-making under uncertainty; to review core frameworks, concepts and ideas from the class; to provide an integrated overview of different approaches to strategic management Readings: Bower, J. L., and Christensen, C. M., Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave, Harvard Business Review, January-February 1995 Coughlan, P. J., The Leaders (Dis)Advantage, Harvard Business School Teaching Note # 9-701-084, 2001 Courtney, H., Making the Most of Uncertainty, The McKinsey Quarterly, 2001:4. This article will be posted to our course Blackboard site under Course Documents. Case study: Ghemawat, P., and Stander III, H. J., Nucor at a Crossroads, Harvard Business School Case # 9-793-039, 1992 Case discussion preparation questions for Nucor: To what extent is Nucors historical performance a result of the structure and characteristics of the steel industry? To what extent is Nucors historical performance a result of its resources and capabilities? What would you recommend to Ken Iverson regarding the thin-slab casting opportunity, and why? Other: Individual Nucor case analyses due (see Appendix D) A brief course review and course evaluations will also take place

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Appendix A: Analyzing Cases and Preparing for Class Discussions

Each case typically focuses on a defining moment in a firms history. The case contains all of the information about the firm, industry, and competitors that you will need to perform an analysis of the situation and develop specific recommendations. While it is tempting to try and figure out what happened, and the Internet makes this continually easier, this is typically a waste of time and a distraction from the development of your own strategic thinking. Cases are necessarily a simplification of the real situation, and at times actual courses of action are taken for reasons not apparent from the case or are impacted by subsequent events. Also, at times people make poor decisions. It is expected that you will work purely from the data in the case and not be influenced by what transpired after the close of the case. Your learning from the cases will derive both from your preparation for and from your participation in the class discussion. It is important that outside information not be introduced prematurely in a class discussion, as it could undermine the learning experience for some students. If you are particularly familiar with a firm or industry and would like to comment on the case from that perspective, please let me know prior to class. I find that a students experience can provide valuable insight in further understanding a case, but that this information must be introduced at an appropriate point in the discussion to maximize the learning of all individuals in the class. In preparing for class, it is recommended that you read each case at least three times. The first reading should be a quick skimming of the text of the case. It should give you a feeling for what the case is about and the types of data contained in the case. Your second reading should focus on better understanding the business and the situation, and should involve careful analysis of the case exhibits. As you work through the second reading, you should begin to develop some fairly clear perspectives on your analysis and recommendations for the case. By your third reading you should have a good idea about the fundamentals of the case. Now you will be searching for additional specific confirmatory or contradictory information. You will need to get at the root causes of problems and gather data from the case that will allow you to make specific, actionable recommendations. Before the third reading, be sure to review the recommended case discussion preparation questions (Course Outline) that have been prepared to help guide your analysis. Each week you will be assigned conceptual readings that provide frameworks, tools and ideas that will help you understand, analyze and communicate the case issues. However, these readings certainly will not provide perfect insight into the case issues. Thus when reading and analyzing the assigned cases, you should be prepared to draw on ideas and frameworks from any source, and should not confine yourself to just one idea. You are encouraged to draw upon other sources of information with which you are familiar: books, material from other courses, articles, research reports, your employers processes and models, and your personal experience. In addition, you are encouraged to discuss the cases with your classmates. Your classmates experiences and perspectives will undoubtedly be useful to you as you analyze the case and prepare for our class discussion. Keep in mind, however, that your written case analyses must represent your own work in your own words.

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In a typical class case discussion, one or more students will be asked to start the class by answering a specific question or series of questions posed by the instructor. Anyone who has thoroughly prepared the case should be able to handle this leadoff question. The discussion will then be opened up to the rest of the class. Each person is expected to be prepared to share his or her views on the case. Since individuals whose hands are not raised may be called upon at any time, you should let the instructor know prior to the start of class if you are not prepared to participate in that sessions case discussion. While analyses and recommendations are important elements of case discussions, so, too, are probing questions. If someone says something that you do not understand, raise your hand and question that person directly. The purpose of a case discussion is not to come up with the correct answer (there rarely is such a thing), but to learn from each other the best way to analyze situations. When someone in the class makes a recommendation that you do not agree with, try to understand why they have come to that conclusion, rather than merely attacking the correctness of their conclusions. The objective of using the case method will have been attained if individuals have a well-formulated position regarding what they would do AND understand why other individuals might undertake a different course of action.

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Appendix B: Performance Evaluation Contribution to Class Discussion As you all know, managers must often sell their ideas to others in order to get their acceptance and support. In this course, the classroom provides a laboratory in which you can test your ability to convince your peers of the appropriateness of your approach to complex management problems. Furthermore, it tests your ability to carefully listen to others perspectives and understand why they may reach a different conclusion. Before you can effectively sell your ideas to others, you must understand what is motivating them, what issues they feel are important, and what assumptions they are making that may be different from your own. When evaluating your contribution to the class discussion, then, I will consider how effectively you put forth your own arguments, as well as how well you listen to, understand, and build upon (or refute) the arguments of others. In all cases, I will look for high quality (which is not always the same as high quantity) arguments, analyses and questions that improve the class collective understanding of the case issues. While I encourage you to speak up at any time, keep in mind that comments that are redundant, tangential or seemingly irrelevant to the case discussion at hand will have a negative impact on your class contribution grade. I will use the following criteria when determining class contribution grades: Has the student attended and made significant contributions to each class discussion? Is the student a good listener? Are the points made relevant to the current discussion? Are they linked to the comments of others? Do the comments show evidence of analysis of the case? Do the comments add to our understanding of the situation? Do the ideas push us to consider an aspect of the case that is not necessarily obvious at the outset? Do they go beyond the surface and get into core issues? Is there evidence of a willingness to test new ideas, or are all comments safe? Are comments backed up by solid analysis and a willingness to stand up for a point of view when challenged? But equally important, when comments are shallow and do not stand up to close scrutiny, is there a willingness to admit error? Does the student interact with, challenge, question, and extend comments of other participants, or are all comments directed towards the instructor?

Please note that one can also make contributions to the class through postings on the Discussion Forum in our class Blackboard site. I encourage you to post any questions, ideas, articles, and other sources that you believe will help you and your classmates better understand core concepts, frameworks, tools and examples from the class.

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Appendix C: Performance Evaluation Individual case analysis of your choice Due: Length: Depends on option chosen; see Course Outline and below for due dates Text should be typed, double-spaced, and consist of no more than 4 pages, excluding exhibits. You may supplement the text with exhibits that provide additional information and support for your arguments and analyses. Do not put your name anywhere on the report. Instead, please put your student ID number on the top right corner of the first page. Note: This is not your social security number! I will not be able to identify your paper if you use your social security number. Your student ID number is the nine digit number that starts with 10 that the university uses to identify students. If you dont know this number, you can access it through Testudo. Also, you can ask me for your number since I have these on my class roster. 30%

Guidelines:

% of grade:

Assignment options (each student is to choose one of the five options for his/her paper): 1. Cola Wars case: Due November 5 Answer the following questions: a. Explain how the structure of the carbonated soft drink industry has influenced the way CocaCola and Pepsi-Cola have chosen to compete in this industry over time, and identify those strategies that have fit the industry well and those which havent. b. Given the changing nature of the industry, identify any possible new strategies that either or both should follow at this time and explain your rationale. 2. Husky Injection Molding case: Due November 12 Answer the following questions: a. Are Husky injection molding systems worth the premium price the company charges? Be precise by calculating customer willingness to pay for a Husky system. Consider a customer who wants to make as many plastic products as a Husky system can make in a year. If the price of a Husky system were to rise above a certain level, the customer would be better off making its products with a competitors system. What is the price that would make the customer just indifferent between a Husky system and a competitors system? This is the customers willingness to pay for the Husky system. b. What has caused Huskys current (at the time of the case) performance difficulties and how should it respond?

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3. Apple case: Due November 19 Answer the following questions: a. How has the PC industry evolved over the past 20 years and what implications does this have for Apples ability to create and sustain competitive advantage in this sector? Evaluate Apples PC strategies in light of the changing industry environment. b. What are Apples core competencies (if any)? What implications does this have for the strategic options Apple should pursue in the near future? 4. HNA case: Due November 26 Answer the following questions: a. Evaluate the HNA Groups six criteria for evaluating industries it might enter on the bottom of page 12 of the case. Do you think these are sound criteria for such corporate strategy decisions? Why or why not? b. What do you think of the HNA Groups five blocks of business? Would you exit any? What other industries might it enter instead? Why? 5. Collabrys case: Due December 3 Answer the following questions: a. What rules are implied by the various decisions that Wayne and the other senior managers make? What kinds of rules are these? Are they sound simple rules in your opinion? What other rules might it use to better navigate through the uncertainty that it faces? b. What should Collabrys do now? Become a service agency, technology provider, or something else altogether?

No matter which topic you choose for your first individual paper, keep in mind the following: o Please answer the questions clearly and directly. You have limited space in a 4-page paper. Thus, you shouldnt spend time and space repeating background issues from the case. You can assume that I am quite familiar with the case and dont need you to remind me of the case basics. Rather, you should focus directly on the questions asked. You are trying to make an effective argument in the paper. An argument is effective if it is supported by clear logic and real data/evidence, and is communicated in a clear, concise manner. Thus, a good paper will use concepts/tools/models from the course to

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frame and support the logic of your arguments, and will use data/evidence from the case to further support those arguments. In addition, the paper will be well written with no typos, grammatical errors or confusing sentences and paragraphs. The paper will be concise and to-the-point so that its meaning is absolutely clear to the reader. A picture is often worth a thousand words! An exhibit or two that either further clarifies your logic or provides direct evidence in support of your logic can often help synthesize and communicate your arguments in a way that is readily accessible to your readers.

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Appendix D: Performance Evaluation Individual case analysis of Nucor case Due: Length: December 10 Text should be typed, double-spaced, and consist of no more than 4 pages, excluding exhibits. You may supplement the text with exhibits that provide additional information and support for your arguments and analyses. Do not put your name anywhere on the report. Instead, please put your student ID number on the top right corner of the first page. Note: This is not your social security number! I will not be able to identify your paper if you use your social security number. Your student ID number is the nine digit number that starts with 10 that the university uses to identify students. If you dont know this number, you can access it through Testudo. Also, you can ask me for your number since I have these on my class roster. 30%

Guidelines:

% of grade:

Answer the following questions regarding the Nucor case: a. To what extent is Nucors historical performance a result of the structure and characteristics of the steel industry? b. To what extent is Nucors historical performance a result of its resources and capabilities? c. What would you recommend to Ken Iverson regarding the thin-slab casting opportunity, and why? Keep in mind the following: o Please answer the questions clearly and directly. You have limited space in a 4-page paper. Thus, you shouldnt spend time and space repeating background issues from the case. You can assume that I am quite familiar with the case and dont need you to remind me of the case basics. Rather, you should focus directly on the questions asked. You are trying to make an effective argument in the paper. An argument is effective if it is supported by clear logic and real data/evidence, and is communicated in a clear, concise manner. Thus, a good paper will use concepts/tools/models from the course to frame and support the logic of your arguments, and will use data/evidence from the case to further support those arguments. In addition, the paper will be well written with no typos, grammatical errors or confusing sentences and paragraphs. The paper will be concise and to-the-point so that its meaning is absolutely clear to the reader. A picture is often worth a thousand words! An exhibit or two that either further clarifies your logic or provides direct evidence in support of your logic can often help synthesize and communicate your arguments in a way that is readily accessible to your readers.

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Appendix E: Performance Evaluation Group presentation Background: In each of our Week 2-6 classes, we will have two student-group-led presentations on topics that we will be covering that week in class. We will have 10 groups of 5-6 students each. You are responsible for forming your own groups. The presentations must focus on one of the following five topics from the Course Outline: November 5, Strategy as Position: Industry and Competitor Analysis; November 12, Strategy as Position: Cost- and Differentiation-Based Advantages; November 19, Strategy as Leverage: The Resource-Based View; November 26, Strategy as Leverage: Corporate Scope and Scale Choices; and December 3, Strategy as Opportunity: Dynamic Capabilities and Simple Rules. Two groups will be assigned to each of these five topics. You must form your groups and inform me of your rank-order preferences (1 being most favorable, 5 being least favorable) for the topic/date of your presentation before the end of our first class on October 29. I will take into account these preferences when assigning presentation topics to each group, and will try to accommodate as many 1st and 2nd choices as possible. If there is significant excess demand for any given topic, though, I will have to assign topics randomly across the teams. I will announce presentation topics via Blackboard and email by October 30. Assignment: Apply one or more of the concepts, frameworks, or perspectives covered in this weeks readings and/or cases to another real-world example. The purpose of the application is to help you and your classmates better understand the issues raised in the readings and cases, and to appreciate how those issues may be applicable (or not applicable) to other organizations in other settings. The example you choose may be a current event spurred by your reading of the business press, for example, or it might be an historical event that you revisit and potentially reinterpret using lessons from the readings and cases. Alternatively, it might be an application from your personal life or career, past or present. You must present your application to the class. Presentations will be evaluated on: 1.Your understanding of and ability to clearly articulate the lessons from the weeks readings and case studies; 2.Your ability to apply these lessons to a different situation/example; and 3. Your ability to help others better understand these lessons by presenting your application in a clear, thoughtful manner that others comprehend. Length: The presentation must not exceed 10 minutes and will be followed by 5 minutes of Q&A with the class. 25%

% of grade:

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