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Understanding Business Cycles for Strategic Decisions

Part B: Strategy - Hybrid Format

Updated: 2022-10-07
Faculty: Olivier Bouclier at o.bouclier@ieseg.fr
LinkedIn: Click here
IESEG online: To access resources, submit assignments and practice for Final Exam
Office Hours: For any questions, in-person or online meeting please email your instructor!

Syllabus subject to change

The content of this syllabus can be altered to meet your needs. I will notify you by email of any changes
to the topic outline and assignments.

Description
The course immerses you into the theory and practice of strategic management. It focuses on topics
not covered (or only partially) in your Undergraduate Studies. It starts with Corporate Strategy: Vertical
Integration & Diversification (online, session #6) followed by Strategic Alliances, Mergers &
Acquisitions & Global Strategy (on-campus, session #7). Subsequently, the course focuses on
Corporate Governance (online, session #8) and closes with Executing Strategy (on-campus, session
#9).
The topics and learning activities for each session are described under “Schedule” hereinafter.

Hybrid Format
● Sessions #6 and #8: Online Sessions (Asynchronous, Student-led)
● Sessions #7 and #9: Face-to-face Sessions (F2F, Instructor-led)

Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, students should be able to (per IESEG’s Assurance of Learnings):
❏ Breakdown complex organizational problems using the appropriate methodology
❏ Construct expert knowledge from cutting-edge information
❏ Employ state-of-the-art management techniques
❏ Thoroughly examine a complex business situation
❏ Integrate different skills and management disciplines in support of interdisciplinary
responsibilities

Class Strategy and Expectations

❏ On-line sessions: You will have a week (Wednesday to Tuesday, midnight) to complete online
session #6 and another week (Wednesday to Tuesday) for online session #8. Those two
sessions are student-led (so not instructor-led) and allow for learner autonomy and teamwork.
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❏ You will learn through readings, interactive illustrations, short videos, MCQs, case studies (for
both online and F2F sessions), and class debates and discussions (for F2F sessions).
❏ The value of this course also lies in your engagement with others and self-reflection.
❏ You form a team (5 to 6 students and SAME teams for online and on-campus sessions) and
collaborate on group assignments (in blue under “Schedule” hereinafter).

Course Material (on IOL)

All readings, videos and cases are available on IESEG Online. They include materials from:
❏ McGraw-Hill: Strategic Management 5th Edition (Rothaermel)
❏ MCQ Practice Tests (McGraw-Hill)
❏ Harvard Business Publishing and Harvard Business Review
❏ Videos

Our Goal
Our goal is to help you become a more effective global manager by applying theoretical frameworks to
real cases and by thinking more holistically and critically.

Color Code (“SCHEDULE” hereinafter)

❏ In Pink: Learning Objectives
❏ In Black: Class Material and Class Activities
❏ In Blue: Team Assignments and Individual MCQ Practice Tests
❏ In Purple: Optional Deeper Dives
❏ In Green: Optional Refresher Material

SESSION TOPICS & LEARNING OBJECTIVES
#6 Corporate Strategy:
Online Vertical Integration & Diversification
● Vertical Integration along the Industry
Value Chain
● Four Main types of Diversification
○ Single Business
○ Dominant Business
○ Related Diversification
○ Unrelated Diversification (Conglomerate) 2. Has Amazon outperformed its rivals (3 to 4 slides max - Tips: You should support your
● Core competence-market matrix
Learning Objectives (McGraw-Hill)
● Define corporate strategy and describe
the three dimensions along which it is
assessed.
● Identify and evaluate benefits and risks of
vertical integration.
● Describe and evaluate different types of
corporate diversification
● Apply the core competence-market matrix
derive different diversification strategies
SESSION TOPICS & LEARNING OBJECTIVES
#7 Strategic Alliances, Mergers &
F2F Acquisitions, and Global Strategy
● Strategic Alliances and M&As
● CAGE Framework
● Integration-Responsiveness Framework
○ International Strategy
○ Multidomestic Strategy
○ Global Standardization Strategy
○ Transnational Strategy
Learning Objectives (McGraw-Hill)
● Apply the build-borrow-or-buy framework
to guide corporate strategy
● Apply the CAGE distance framework to
guide MNE decisions on which countries to
enter
● Apply the integration-responsiveness
framework to evaluate the four different
strategies MNEs can pursue when
competing globally
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SCHEDULE
CLASS ACTIVITY
Required Reading
● Corporate Strategy: Vertical Integration & Diversification, including
Amazon, opening and closing case. McGraw-Hill: Strategic
Management 5th Edition, Chapter 8 (40 pages).
Team Assignment #1: Amazon mini-case, to be submitted on IOL
1. How would you describe Amazon’s corporate strategy to institutional
investors? (3 to 4 slides max - Tips: Q. #1: Apply the Core Competence-market matrix)
claims with numbers. Remember to cite your sources, e.g., Amazon’s website, McGraw-Hill, Yahoo
Finance...)
Individual MCQ Practice Test
● Non-graded 10-question MCQ self-assessment (self-paced, multiple
attempts possible, on IOL)
Optional Deeper Dive
● Corporate Strategy (R. Casadesus-Masanell) (34 pages)
Harvard Bus. Pub.: Core Curriculum - Reading + Interactive Illustrations
Optional Refresher Material
● Introduction to Strategy (R. Casadesus-Masanell, 23 pages)
● Sustaining Competitive Advantage (F. Oberholzer-Gee, 40 pages)
Harvard Bus. Pub.: Core Curriculum - Reading + Interactive Illustrations
● Competitive Advantage (P. Ghemawat and J. Rivkin, 29 pages)
Harvard Bus. Pub.: Core Curriculum - Reading + Interactive Illustrations
CLASS ACTIVITY
Preparatory and Required Reading
● Corporate Strategy: Strategic Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions.
McGraw-Hill: Strategic Management 5th Edition, Chapter 9 (26 pages)
● CAGE and Global Integration Vs. Local Responsiveness. McGraw-Hill:
Strategic Management 5th Edition, Chapter 10.3 (4 p.) and
Chapter 10.4 (6 p.)
Team Assignment #2: To be submitted before class to your F2F instructor
Your team should choose an organization and apply the CAGE and
integration-responsiveness frameworks to guide the firm’s decision on
which country to enter and how.
Guidelines
1. Firm Introduction (1-2 slides)
2. CAGE and integration-responsiveness frameworks applied to your firm
and the country selected (2-3 slides)
3. Conclusion/Recommendations (1 slide)
Tips: Select only the two or three most important CAGE factors given your firm, its industry and the country
selected. Use numbers to introduce your firms and make recommendations.
Class Activity: Group Presentations
● A few groups to present their project to the rest of the class, which will
examine and provide constructive feedback
Optional Deeper Dive Reading
● IBM100 - The Globally Integrated Enterprise (Palmisano)

SESSION TOPICS & LEARNING OBJECTIVES
#8 Corporate Governance Required Reading
Online ● Corporate Governance and Business Ethics ● Corporate Governance and Business Ethics including Theranos, opening
● Conflicts of Interest Between Stakeholders
● Principal-Agent Problem
Learning Objectives (McGraw-Hill)
● Explain the role of corporate governance
● Apply agency theory to explain why and
how companies use governance
mechanisms to align interests of principals Team Assignment #3: Theranos, to be submitted on IOL
and agents
SESSION TOPICS & LEARNING OBJECTIVES
#9 Executing Strategy: Implementation
F2F ● Organizational Design and Competitive
Advantage
● Strategy and Structure
● Organizational Culture: Values, Norms and
Artifacts
● Strategic Control-and-Reward Systems
Learning Objectives (McGraw-Hill)
● Assess the effectiveness of an
organizational structure and design a
new one.
● Explain where an organizational culture
comes from, assess it along five
dimensions and evaluate its impact on
the firm’s competitive advantage.
● Propose a transformation of
organizational culture, including new
shared values.
● Evaluate and critique a control-and-reward
system and suggest changes.
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CLASS ACTIVITY
case. McGraw-Hill: Strategic Management 5th Edition,
Chapter 12 (26 p.)
Individual MCQ Practice Test
● Non-graded 10-question MCQ self-assessment (self-paced, multiple
attempts possible on IOL)
1. Why and how did Theranos get in trouble? (about 300 words)
2. Did Theranos’ Board of Directors fulfill its role? Is it a case of bad
governance? Please elaborate? Why? Why not? (About 300 words - Tip: Q. #2:
You should refer to the Principal-Agent Problem Framework)
Optional Deeper Dive
● Theranos: Breaking News (CNN, 2022)
● Corporate Governance: Conflicts of Interest between Stakeholders (38
pages). Harvard Bus. Pub.: Core Curriculum
● Corporate Governance 2.0 (G. Subramanian) Harvard Business Review
Optional Refresher Material
● What is the Stakeholder view of the firm?:
What is Stakeholder Theory? - R. Edward Freeman
● So, What is CSR? What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
CLASS ACTIVITY
Preparatory and Required Reading
● Organizational Design: Structure, Culture and Control. McGraw-Hill:
Strategic Management 5th Edition, Chapter 11 (34 pages)
● SeCyber, Silicon Valley: Time for Change? (5-p. case, O. Bouclier, 2022)
Team Assignment #4: To be submitted before class to your F2F instructor
1. Should SeCyber change its organizational structure? (About 100-200 words -
Tips: Use Exhibit 11.4, Chang. Organizational Structures and Increasing Complexity as Firms Grow,
and Exhibit 11.10, Matching Global Strategy and Structure.)
2. Where does SeCyber’s organizational culture come from, and how
would you assess its impact on the firm’s competitive advantage?
(About 100-200 words - Tips: Use the following dimensions: Results Orientation, Collaboration,
Integrity, Customer Orientation, Adaptability, and assign each of them a low, medium or high mark
along with your observations)
3. What new shared values and norms should SeCyber consider to
improve its organizational culture? (About 150-300 words - Tips: you should refer to
customer and employee considerations and Chap. 11.4, Org. Culture: Values, Norms and Artifacts)
4. What changes in its control-and-reward system should SeCyber
consider? (About 100-200 words - Tips: Refer to Chapter 11.5 and in particular Input and Output
Controls)
Class Activity: Group Presentations
● A few teams present their project to the rest of the class, which will
provide constructive feedback to the presentation.
Optional Deeper Dive
● The Promise and Problems of Organizational Culture: CEO Personality,
Culture, and Firm Performance (O’Reilly, Caldwell, Chatman, Doerr, 2014)
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Grade Components
Assignments - Tests - Participation Type Weighting
Two F2F Team Assignments Group 40%
Class Contribution Individual 30%
Based upon peer evaluations and your instructor’s observations
Final MCQ Exam (via Wiseflow) Individual 30%

Final MCQ Exam

It is an individual 30-minute exam that includes 30 multiple choice questions drawn from readings,
videos, and cases/articles covered in Sessions #6 to #9 (not including refresher and optional/deeper
dive material). It will be administered via Wiseflow at a date to be determined by the administration.

Laptops and Phones (F2F Sessions)

Use of laptop is permitted for class assignments and taking notes (this rule might differ from one
faculty to the other). Activities such as texting are prohibited. Please turn off and put away phones, and
all other beeping or ringing devices.

Respect (F2F Sessions)

Please respect your fellow students, and the learning process by avoiding the following behaviors:
● Walking in and out of the room (Please use restrooms, water fountains, etc., before class)
● Talking with other class members, texting, etc.
● Doing homework or reading material from another class.

GRADING GUIDELINES AND RUBRICS

A. Team Projects

Main objectives
● Think as a strategy consultant.
● Further learn how to effectively collaborate and communicate with team members.
● Concisely articulate (analyze and formulate) a strategy and make recommendations.

Guidelines
● Please note: No mere regurgitation of the facts! So, descriptive and historical background
should be limited to what is absolutely essential to answer the questions.
● Instead, you should critically analyze the case using class material and make recommendations.
● Apply course frameworks/models covered in class.
● As in the business world, your work will be judged not only on your analysis and
recommendations, but also on clarity, punctuation and spelling of your slides/paper.
● Cite sources (including the text book, magazines, journal articles, etc..)
● Each group member should email a ‘peer evaluation’ (form at the end of this document) to
her/his F2F instructor.
● Online Sessions: Assignments #1 and #3 should be submitted on IOL
● On-Campus Sessions: Assignments #2 and #4 should be emailed prior to class to your F2F
instructor for grading.
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B. Class Contribution
Guidelines
Our two F2F sessions are mostly case-based and discussion-oriented so you are encouraged to
share your substantiated views and rationale via respectful debate, creativity, and expression of
ideas.
Managers and future leaders need to persuasively engage in the dialogue of their organizations.
In evaluating your contribution, the following will be considered:
● Preparation, as evidenced by responses to questions posed in class discussion.
● Active and relevant participation in class assignments.
● Interest in, and enthusiasm for, the subject matter being discussed.
● Engaging other students or building on their comments.
● Willingness to share unsolicited thoughts/ideas/experiences/comments and ask questions.
● Respectfully challenges/questions line of reasoning of peers.
● Offers questions or comments during class or via email.
● Suggest relevant articles (to be submitted to the instructor a week prior to class for approval).
● Optional short (7 minutes max) presentation to the class about a strategic issue, an article and/or a
video.

Attendance
You should attend the two on-campus sessions and arrive on time so that we can start promptly.
Late arrivals or early departures are considered absences.

Grading Rubric
The following guidelines will be employed in determining class contribution grades (out of 20 points):

Contribution = Attendance X Participation

Strong Attendance Moderate Low

Attendance Attendance
(1 at. out of 2) (0 at. out of 2)

Strong Participation 15-20 11-13 0

Moderate Participation 12-14 9-10 0
Low/No Participation 10-11 8 0
Disruptions (chit-chats,
texts during class…) Impact contribution grade

Each student’s contribution to class learning is evaluated and tracked for each session. Final evaluation
of contribution is at the discretion of the instructor and based on experience and careful observations.
You are encouraged to talk with me regarding your participation to date. Also, please see grading
rubrics in this syllabus.
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PEER EVALUATION FORM

To be emailed to your face-to-face instructor

This form provides an opportunity to evaluate the contribution of each of your group's members to the
output of your team for the online and face-to-face assignments.
Individual contribution grades might be affected (up or down) at the discretion of the instructor based
upon peer evaluations! All evaluation forms will be held in the strictest confidence, so seen only by me.
Please follow the steps listed below.

A. In the space provided, list all group members' LAST names (NOT INCLUDING YOUR OWN) in
alphabetical order.

B. Evaluate each of your team members by giving them a score that reflects their overall team
performance. Consider the following performance dimensions in your evaluation:

● Was the team member cooperative and reliable regarding communication, meeting times,
assignments, deadlines, decisions, etc.?
● Did the team member maintain professional attitude, demeanor, and relations with others
(e.g., listened to and respected others' viewpoints)?
● Did the team member contribute significantly to the group's learning and output.

Team Member’s Name Grade Scale

_________________________ _______ A = 10
B= 8
_________________________ _______ C= 6
D= 4
_________________________ _______ E= 2
F= 0
_________________________ _______

_________________________ _______

C. Any optional additional comments.

Print Your Name___________________________