Syllabus: Strategic Management, IMBA

Crafting & Managing Winning Business Strategies

IMBA Class, Fall Semester, 2018, Classes on Mondays, 7:15 to 10:00 PM.
3 semester credit hours.
National Cheng Chi University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Offered by Dr. Andrew C Chu and Dr. Jason C Lin

Class Text: You must have the following materials.

1. "Strategic Management, An Integrated Approach", 12th Edition. By Hill and

Jones. By Hwatai, Taiwan. You should buy the version without the case studies
IF IT IS AVAILABLE. The ISBN for Taiwan edition will be supplied at the first
class.

2. Manager Guide, CAPSTONE Management Simulation. Available to students

on-line after registration.

• Reference Case Studies. Will be assigned in class. The Case Materials will be
passed out in class.

Reference: Optional.

• The Economist

Subscription: You must subscribe the following

• At week 1. Capstone Foundation Management Simulation. Online

registration at www.capsim.com.

Introduction:

The purpose of this course is to develop the students’ abilities to conduct

business strategic planning and management. To accomplish this goal, the course
emphasizes on skills development rather than knowledge acquisition.

The strategic management skills are best developed by actual hands on

participation. Short of actually running a business over a significant length of time
under the mentorship of a team of senior managers, the next best thing is to use
simulated business settings for the students to experience the challenge of
managing a business.

In this class, competing in a Simulated Market and management role

playing in Simulated Board Meetings shall be used in conjunction with the
text book.

Competing in a Simulated Market:

The management simulation is offered by www.capsim.com. Each student must

register with Capstone Management Inc. on line. Each student must join a team
and each team is assigned to manage one company. The team will follow a set of
guide lines to craft a company strategy and implement the strategy, for 8 simulated
years during the semester. Every year the team has to decide the sales target, the
production volume, the price, the R&D effort in product development, financing,
etc. The student teams compete against each other in the dynamic market place.

Management Role Playing in Simulated Board Meetings:

In a simulated board meeting, one team shall play the role of the Management
Team. Another team, the Directors Team. The rest of the class shall act as Share
Holder representatives attending the Board meeting as guests.
The business background is provided by case studies and student research
work. An industry will first be chosen; we will investigate the The Evolution of
Online Retail Business and It’s Future Challenges
A list of team assignments and case studies covering major competitors shall
be provided.

Each Simulated Board Meeting shall deal with some key issues confronting
the target company in the industry. The Strategic Management process shall be
applied. The external and internal analysis shall be conducted. Issues focused, and
solutions proposed. The proposal is then debated in class. And the proposal
examined.

The purpose of the Simulated Board Meeting is to treat the issues of a real
company in depth and develop next strategic plan after full discussions.
IMPORTANT : The 3 modules of the class, namely, the TEXT BOOK,
The CAPSIM SIMULATION, and THE SIMULATED BOARD
MEETINGS, fit together moving from simple conceptual level, to
simulated market place, to real life challenges.

The Way the Class is Organized

The class meets once a week for 16 sessions. Each week the class is 3 hours.
The students will be divided into teams of 4 to 6 persons each. The teams shall
stay as one unit throughout the semester.

Each team shall form a company to compete in the Capstone Management

Simulation and the Simulated Board Meetings.

The student teams are very important. It is the core unit for you to go
through this course. You could spend up to 10 to 15 hours a week working
together. And your grade shall depend on how you team mates perform in the team
related activities and how they rate your effort in a Peer Review. Therefore you
should choose your team mates carefully. The team members should have diverse
professional background, a balance of aggressive and conservative dispositions,
and the willingness to work together via meetings, emails and phone calls.

The classes are conducted in a seminar format. It is imperative for all

students participate in the discussions and presentations. There will be very
few lectures. You have to develop the skills to be effective in a group situation.
You have to contribute to the group learning and willing to teach and learn.

How the Course Grade is Determined

The following are the elements of the course grade:

1. Board Meeting Simulation, Case study and strategic recommendation.

(Team). 30%
2. Market Simulation. Capstone Simulation (Team). 30%

3. Essay on “The business Issues Questions” (Individual). 5%

4. Class participation (Individual, contribution to discussion,

CASPIM consultation, etc.) , 10%
5. Mid Term Course Exam (Individual), 25%

6. Final, or extra credit task, Take Home . (individual) . 10%.

Total 110%

Note: We reserve the right to eliminate the Final or Extra Credit Task.

7. Additional bonus: Capsim Challenge when finished for individual add

5 pts. For team add 3 pts.