Corporate Strategy (MGT 506)- Fall 2019

Class: MBA
Instructor: Ashar Saleem

Class details
Venue Main Campus
Session Day(s) Monday-Wednesday

Credit Hours: 3 Credit Hours

Email asaleem@iba.edu.pk
Contact # IBA Ext: 2663

-Course Description
This course is designed to give Master level students an in-depth understanding of
strategically managing a corporation across various products, businesses, and geographies.
The course focuses both on the theory and practice of strategy, where actual cases from
various industries and contexts are used to emphasize the importance of theory. Key
concepts, principles and tools of strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation have
been discussed. The course also engages with some of the issues of crucial importance for
strategic management which include: Ethics and CSR, technology management, knowledge
management, international business, and strategy in the developing world with a particular
focus on Pakistan. The course also provides students an opportunity to work with
international teams of students and with real companies on solving strategic issues of these
companies through participating in an international business strategy project.

By its very nature this course is integrative and interdisciplinary which borrows from a number
of areas such as marketing, operations management, finance and accounting, organizational
behavior, and at a more basic level from sociology, psychology and economics. Building on this
rich knowledge base this course develops a conceptual and practical understanding of an
organization, its environment, issues managers face in running these organization, and ways
and means to solve these.

MBA Program Learning Goals

1. Communication Skills
The students will be able to communicate effectively in wide variety of business settings,
employing mediums such as written, oral and visual
2. Knowledge of All Business Disciplines
Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of theory and practice in relation to
major business related functions.
2. Critical Thinking
Students are able to develop a critical approach in research and use of management theory
and practice leading to effective decision making
4. Ethics
Students will have an understanding and awareness of the ethical implications of their
decisions.
5. Glocal Mindset
Students will develop an appreciation of global best practices and learn to adapt them to local
cultural contexts.

Corporate Strategy Course Learning Outcomes - CLOs

1. Analyze an organization, especially one operating in multiple businesses and
geographies, and its external environment, using different concepts, tools, and
frameworks in corporate strategy.
2. Integrate knowledge acquired in previous core courses, and knowledge of different
businesses and geographical locations, in order to recommend an organization’s
long term direction for gaining sustainable competitive and corporate advantage.
3. Apply strategy knowledge in order to offer solutions to real life strategic issues of
organizations keeping in view global best practices, and local traditions.
4. Make ethically informed strategic decisions which are CSR compliant and which
balance interests of multiple stakeholders.

1
 Course Learning Outcomes mapped to Program Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
Communicati
of Critical Glocal
Program on Ethics
All Business Skills Mindset
Learning Goals Skills
Areas
CLOs
1 x
2 x x

3 x x x x

4 x x x x

Teaching and Learning Methodology

The course primarily uses case based teaching. Key concepts are taught through
articles/technical notes and an associated case. The cases require students to apply the
concepts learnt, in real life situations. Cases are assigned to the students well before the class
and students are expected to come well prepared in order to generate a healthy discussion
on the strategic issues in the case. The instructor may ask to submit a Written Analysis of Case
(WAC), in order to ensure students’ learning. The instructor may also start the class with a
short quiz on the case if the class is underprepared. Students will be evaluated based upon
the quality of their participation, their performance in the quiz, and upon the quality of WAC
they submit.

2
COURSE OVERVIEW

Lecture/ Mapping
Topics Readings for Topics Cases for Topics
Week to CLOs

Week -1 Introduction to Corporate Strategy

What is
Strategy:
Introduction to the course and Porter
discipline of strategic Honda Effect
Rise & Fall
management of Strategic
Planning:
Mintzberg

“An Introductory Read these notes

Note on the Case in case you have
Method,” by John S. any confusion on
Introduction to case based Haywood-Farmer the case method.
teaching/How to do case analysis
“How to Discuss A
Case,” by William
Ellet

Week-
Strategy Formulation
2,3

Analyzing Business Mission & Case: New Mission CLO-1

Reading/Technical Notes
Vision for MBC

Reading/ CLO-1
Technical
Notes

e.g., - The Five

Competitive Forces
External/Environmental/Industrial Case: Cola Wars
That Shape
Analysis Continue 2010
Strategy,” by
Michael Porter,
HBR, 2008 +
-Porter’s How to
do Industry
Analysis
Organizational Analysis  Read: Ch. 4 Case: IKEA CLO-1
David

3
  Skim: Ch. 3
JSW

 Competing on
Resources:
Collis and
Montgomery.
HBR

Week
Strategy Options
4-7

Reading/ CLO-2,3
Technical
Notes
Read: Ch. 6 W&H. Case: Samsung
Business Strategy Read: Ch. 6 JSW – Electronics
Business Level
Strategy

Reading/ CLO-2,3
Technical
Notes

-Ch7. W&H.
-Skim: Ch. 8 JSW –
Corporate Level
Corporate Strategy Strategy Case: Telenor in
-From Competitive Pakistan
(Vertical Integration/ Advantage to
Concentration/ Related Corporate Case: On unrelated
Diversification /Unrelated Strategy- By Diversification
Diversification/ Mergers and Michael E. Porter
Acquisitions -Strategies of K-ELectric
Related
Diversification -
Anand
-Strategies of
Unrelated
Diversification -
Anand & Jayanti

4
 Reading/ CLO-2,3
Technical
Functional Strategy Notes Case: Nike
Ch. 8 W&H

Week 8 Strategy Implementation

Reading/ CLO-2,3
Technical
Notes:
Strategy Selection and -Ch 9 W&H.. Case: Philips,
Implementation in the -The Secrets to Sony, Panasonic
Organization Successful Strategy & Samsung
Execution. HBR,
Nielson, Martins,
& Powers (2008).

Week -
Strategy Evaluation
9-11

-“The Honda CLO-

Effect” Revisited 1,2,3
Reading/ (A debate
Technical
Strategy Review, Evaluation Notes between strategy
and Control gurus)
-Ch. 9 David
Mintzberg,
Pascale, Goold,
Rumelt, & Ansoff

-Ch. 10 David CLO-4

Strategy & Ethics
-Read: Pinto Fires
and Personal
Case/Documentary
Ethics: A Script
Analysis of Missed The Corporation
Opportunities-
Dennis A. Gioia

Week
Important Topics in Strategy
12-14

5
 Reading/ Technical CLO-2,3
Notes

-Ch. on
International Case: L’Oreal in
Strategy and International Strategy India 2017
Business -“Distance Still
Matters: The Hard
Reality of Global
Expansion,” by
Pankaj Ghemawat

Reading/ Technical CLO-2,3

Notes Case: K&N
Strategy in the Developing Pakistan
How local
Economies companies keep
MNC at Bay

Other topics

What’s your CLO-1,2

strategy for
managing
knowledge?
Hansen, Nohria, &
Knowledge Management Tierney, 1999. Case: TBA
HBR.
Developing a
Knowledge
Strategy. Zack,
1999, CMR
Competitive CLO-1,2
Dynamics in high-
Technology and Innovation technology Case: TBA
Industries,
Mudambi & Swift
(2009)

Note: Readings may be added and removed from this list as per requirement of a particular
class.

6
 Course Material
Course Pack:

 Corporate Strategy Course Pack (Fall 2019)

Study material from the following books will also be used in addition to the course pack:

 Johnson, G., Scholes, K., & Whittington, R. (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text
& Cases. Pearson Education. (JSW)
 David, F. R. (2015). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. Fifteenth Edition.
Pearson/Prentice Hall. (David)
 Rothaermel, F. T. (2017). Strategic management. Third Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
 Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2011). Concepts in Strategic Management and
Business Policy. Pearson Education India. (W&H)

Reference:

 Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B., & Lampel, J. (2009). Strategy safari: Your complete guide
through the wilds of strategic management. Pearson Education Limited, Upper Saddle
River.

Grading Breakup and Policy

The distribution for course grading will be as follows:

1. Class Participation 10%

2. Quizzes/Assignments* 10%
3. Mid 20%
4. Finals 35%
5. Project 25% (Details will be given in class)

*Quizzes will be unannounced, and will be based upon the assessed need of the class. The
instructor may increase the %age of this instrument by up to 20%,if he feels the need.

7
Term Project/Live Case Report

Term project is a very important component of this course and good performance in this will
ensure that student gets a good grade. Students will work in groups of 4-5 students (in-class
teams or as part of international teams), and will select an organization from a list offered,
and work on actual strategic issues of this real life company. The project will require
students to integrate the knowledge from previous courses as well as from corporate
strategy, apply the analytical skills learnt in this course, and come up with solutions to these
issues. These solutions should be practicable, in line with international best practices and
local traditions and are ethically informed. Further details about the project will be given by
the instructor in class.

Prerequisite for this Course

Corporate Strategy can only be taken after completion of all core courses.

Comments and/or Suggestions

Valued

Academic Conduct

IBA policy

Attendance Policy

IBA policy

8
 Plagiarism Policy

IBA policy

Withdrawal Policy

IBA policy