College of Business, MAN 6721 - Global Business Strategy, Professor Neubaum Management

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GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY

(MAN 6721-001, 16566, 3 Credit Hours, 3 Lecture Hours)
(Fall 2019, Tuesday, 6:15 – 10:00, BU 104)
(Prerequisites MAN 6937, MAR 6815, ACG 6315, and FIN 6806)

PROFESSOR
Name: Don Neubaum, PhD
Office Location: DS207D
Phone: 561 297 3194
E-mail: dneubaum@fau.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 11:30AM-12:30PM, Tuesday 5:00PM-6:00PM or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is the capstone course on strategy, consisting of the three main modules of strategic analysis,
strategy formulation, and strategy implementation. It provides a review of current theory and prevalent
practices in the context of participative case study analyses. The overarching goal is to enhance students’
understanding of the role of a firm’s strategic leaders in managing the firm in a global context
characterized by high levels of uncertainty.

The fundamental question of strategy is: Why are some firms more successful than others? While
answering this question, we will analyze the corporation as a whole and examine both business-level and
corporate-level strategies. Our perspective will be that of a general manager whose responsibility is to
maximize the performance of a business unit within the firm, or the overall performance of the firm. At
the business level, the pursuit of competitive advantage involves the development of a unique
competitive position that effectively leverages a firm’s resources and capabilities in ways that allow it to
mitigate threats and exploit opportunities generated by its industry and macro-environments.
Consequently, the course utilizes tools to help students analyze a firm’s external environment, internal
environment, strategic positioning, and competitive advantage. At the corporate level, the course will
focus on how companies can achieve profitable growth by understanding where to grow (e.g. vertical
integration, diversification, geographic expansion) and how to grow (e.g. organically, acquisitions) in
ways that allow the firm’s businesses to outcompete their market rivals by leveraging the firm’s
resources and capabilities across its multiple businesses. Strategy implementation involves the design and
use of organizational structure, culture, and reward systems to achieve desired organizational outcomes.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 CONTENT: Understand and be able to apply key concepts and analytic frameworks of strategic
management to analyze strategic problems at the business and corporate levels.
 SKILL: Improve your ability to analyze and critically assess complex, unstructured business
problems using appropriate tools and frameworks; develop strategic solutions; and express your
arguments and conclusions clearly, logically, and persuasively in written and oral forms.
 PERSPECTIVE: Develop an integrative, general (as opposed to functional) management
perspective of organizations and strategy by integrating knowledge from other business courses.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
 Textbook: Robert M. Grant, “Contemporary Strategy Analysis”, 9th edition, Wiley. (Version without
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cases at the end)

 Required Course Packet: Collection of Harvard Business School Cases and Notes. See the course
schedule for the list of readings and cases required for the course. Readings might also be made
available via the Canvas portal.

TEACHING METHODS
Strategic decision making is a highly complex, ambiguous, and difficult endeavor. There certainly are
concepts, tools, and analytical frameworks (i.e. scientific knowledge) that you will have to “understand”
and “learn” in your quest to solve strategic problems, and that is what the readings and my lectures will
provide. However, the real takeaway is going to be the PROCESS OF STRATEGIC ANALYSIS. That
involves developing the ability to:

 look at real world business problems in a comprehensive way to identify strategically relevant
aspects of the problem (i.e. relevant data);
 assess which particular scientific tools you can use to “make sense” or “make use” of those data
(i.e. relevant theory/concept/analytical framework);
 make inferences based on the joint use of scientific tools and data to develop solutions to the
problems at hand;
 and finally communicate with others and convince them of the wisdom of your solutions to
ensure their committed cooperation.

These are all “skills” that go way beyond the “content material” of the course. The only way you can
begin (and continue) to develop these skills is to THINK THROUGH ISSUES in the context of
COLLECTIVE DISCUSSIONS.

In line with the above, this will be a DISCUSSION-BASED class. I will sometimes act as a lecturer
(albeit very briefly assuming that you have done the assigned reading), but more frequently, as a
moderator and facilitator of the discussion. PREPARING for class, and PARTICIPATING in the
discussion will be crucial elements of your learning experience.

BEFORE CLASS: You need to come to class well-prepared. Here is the approach you should take:

1. Read the case discussion questions posted on Canvas.

2. Skim the assigned case to get a general sense of the context and content.
3. Read the assigned textbook chapter(s) and course packet reading(s).
4. Fully read the case thoroughly (AFTER DOING THE CHAPTER AND COURSE PACKET
READINGS) and think about how the concepts from the readings or discussed in class can be
used/applied. Pay particular attention to what pieces of data from the case are strategically most
relevant.
5. Answer the discussion questions posted on Canvas, making notes you can refer to during class.

DURING CLASS: You need to participate. In class, please do the following:

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1. Share your ideas and analysis with the class. Given the complexities of the real world and the
nature of strategy as a field of inquiry, there is rarely a single right answer. What is more
important is if and how you use course content to analyze a situation and support your position.
2. Do not just express unsubstantiated opinions or repeat facts given in the case. Make sure that you
make a point, and you support your point with relevant data, theory, and/or logic. Ask yourself if
your comment answers the crucial “why” question.
3. Make sure you allow others to also speak. Listen carefully to your classmates and suggest
supporting or alternative views.

COURSE EVALUATION AND GRADING

Grading Scale
>93.3% ……... A
90 - 93.29% ……... A-
86.6 - 89.99% ……... B+
83.3 – 86.59% ……... B
80 – 83.29% ……... B-
76.6 - 79.99% ……... C+
73.3 – 76.59% ……... C
70 – 73.29% ……... C-
66.6 - 69.99% ……... D+
63.3 – 66.59% ……... D
60 – 63.29% ……... D-

Grade Components
Attendance and Participation 135
Case Analyses (8 total)
Primary Reports (3 @ 100 points) 300
Secondary Reports (2 @ 25 points) 50
Team Reports (3 @ 75 points) 225
Team Case Presentation 150
Team Critiques 120
Strategic Issue Summary 20

Attendance and Participation (9 @ 15 points - 135). Attendance is mandatory because of the

importance of the collective learning experience. Each unexcused absence will cause you to lose 15
participation points. Excused absences are those where you communicate the reason for your absence to
me IN ADVANCE and provide APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION, if necessary. Please try to avoid
any type of absence as best as you can.

Participation refers to your readiness and willingness to contribute to class discussions by providing your
ideas as well as challenging/clarifying the ideas of your peers. For all the class sessions, you are required
to display a legible name tag at your desk so that I can track your participation. If you do not display a
name tag, you may not earn participation points. Following are some key points about participation:
 You can earn up to 20 points each day.
 Just attending the class and listening (i.e. without participating in the discussion) will earn you
only 8 points. Excused absences (see above) will earn you only 8 points.
 Participation is assessed mainly by QUALITY of your comments and then quantity. Insightful,
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analytical comments that show me that you are prepared (i.e. have read the text and case and
thought about the issues presented) are more likely to earn points than rambling thoughts.
 Irrelevant, distracting, disruptive comments/behaviors (such as coming late or engaging in
sidebar conversations) may cost you points.
 Playing with cell phones, surfing the web on your laptop, showing up late, leaving early, etc.
WILL cost you participation points.

Case Analysis (575 pts.). Throughout the semester, we will analyze a total of eight cases. You are
REQUIRED to prepare (see “preparation” under “teaching methods” above) for all the case discussions.
In addition, you will write:

(1) Three PRIMARY REPORTS

(2) Two SECONDARY REPORTS
(3) Three TEAM REPORTS

I will randomly assign individual students and groups to these cases and make these announcements in
Canvas. The requirements and point values for the reports are as follows:

1) PRIMARY REPORT (3 @ 100 points each = 300 points): Students will individually answer the
case discussion questions posted on Canvas. Modules. Please answer each question separately and
number your answers. DO NOT REPOST THE QUESTIONS.

FORMAT: 3 pages max. with one inch margins, Times 12 font, 1.5 line spacing; SUBMIT: through
Canvas>Assignments: DUE: at 6:10 on the day the case is due (please note that if you are past the due
date/time, Canvas will not allow you to submit your report and I may not accept it). DEVIATING FROM
THIS FORMAT WILL COST YOU POINTS.

2) SECONDARY REPORTS (2 @ 25 points each = 50 points): For two cases, you will
(individually) write a secondary report. This will be a one page overview that includes (1) An
identification of 3 key challenges, problems, and/or issues facing the focal company/industry; (2) a
discussion/ demonstration of how concepts from the assigned chapter can help us solve/understand
each issue at hand; (3) your strategic recommendation as to how the focal company (or companies in
the industry if the level of analysis in the case is the industry) should proceed. Secondary reports will
be graded on a five-point scale: You will get 0 pts. (indicating a no report), 50 pts. (Excellent), 40
pts. (Very Good), 30 pts (Good), 20 pts. (Fair), or 10 pts (Poor).

FORMAT: 1 page max. with one inch margins, Times 12 font, 1.5 line spacing; SUBMIT: through
Canvas>Assignments; DUE: at 6:10 on the day the case is assigned (please note that if you are past
the due date/time, Canvas will not allow you to submit your report, and I may not accept it).
DEVIATING FROM THIS FORMAT WILL COST YOU POINTS.

3) TEAM REPORTS (3 @ 75 points each = 225 points): The team will submit a single report answering
the case discussion questions posted on Canvas (same as the Primary Reports). Please answer each
question separately and number your answers. DO NOT REPORT THE QUESTIONS. In addition, on
the fourth page of the assignment, the team will highlight specific theoretical ideas from the readings for
the week that were illustrated in the case. For each idea, provide:
a. A quick summary of the theoretical idea.
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b. An explanation of how the idea is illustrated in the case. Make sure that you provide
supportive examples/data from the case.

FORMAT: 4 pages max. with one inch margins, Times 12 font, 1.5 line spacing; SUBMIT: through
Canvas>Assignments (one submission per group is sufficient), file name should be “group name-
case name-group report”; DUE: at 6:10 on the day the case is assigned (please note that if you are
past the due date/time, Canvas will not allow you to submit your report and I may not accept it).

Each case analysis must be written in paragraph format (i.e. NOT bullet-points). Your grade will be
determined by the extent to which you:

• identify the focal issues facing the company, and present your standpoint on those issues,
 write clearly and professionally, conveying your ideas in a logical, structured manner,
• apply and incorporate relevant theories/concepts/frameworks from the course (Very
important!!!), provide supporting evidence from the case (i.e. data) to support your arguments

Team Case Presentation (150 points). Each team will be assigned one case to present to the class as
well as a date to present that case. Your team will present your analysis to the case in about a 25 minute
presentation. In this presentation, you will discuss the firm’s current situation, and present your
recommendation/alternatives for the firm. Everyone in your group is expected to present. After you
present, you will be asked a series of questions by me and your classmates. You will have to defend your
analyses and your alternatives. Your final grade will be based on how well you analyzed the case, how
well you integrated course material into your analyses, how well you presented your material, and how
well you answered the post-case questions.

Team Case Critiques (8 @ 15 points = 120 points) - After each case is presented, your team will
convene and you will quickly critique the analysis just presented, and draft a series of questions to ask
the team. You will have about minutes for these assignments. During this period, you will type your
critiques/questions/queries of the presentation, and then submit responses to me when instructed in class
via Canvas. Once all the assignments are emailed to me, you are then encouraged to ask your questions
to the team as part of a post-case discussion and analysis. If you are absent the day of a case presentation,
you will receive a 0 for that assignment. You will get 0 pts. (indicating a no report), 15 pts. (Excellent),
10 pts. (Good), or 5 pts (Poor). The point here is not to critique the presentation in terms of font choice,
typos, format (although those things are worth mentioning). You should focus more on the ideas, analysis
and structure the group took. Did they use the right tools, and use the tools correctly? Were their
assumptions justified, their analysis correct?

Strategic Issue Summary (20 points) - You are required to identify an article, or series of articles,
related to some aspect of strategy. Articles from the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Business Week
and alike are best suited for this assignment. You can also easily find articles related to business and
strategy many places on the internet as well. Specifically, you are required to: 1) Create a SHORT
PowerPoint presentation (approximately 3-5 slides, about 5 minutes) summarizing the article(s) for the
class. You may be required to do a bit of additional research to fill in the necessary detail to place your
article in the proper context. 2) Provide 2-3 questions at the end of your powerpoint presentation intended
to stimulate class discussion of the topic. This assignment is worth 20 points. You will be graded on the
quality of your presentation and the extent to which your questions were thoughtful and relevant. I will
pass around sign-up sheets so that you can sign up for a specific day. Twenty percent will be deducted
from your grade if you are not ready to present on the day you signed up. If you miss your assigned day,
you are expected to present the next class session. Points will continue to be deducted (20%) until you
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present.

Students will form teams (of size two) in class on the first day of class, and then submit (via email to me
by midnight on Wednesday, August 21st) a list of 4 cases (in order of preference) that the team would
like to present. I will then assign each team a case based on their choices.

CONSEQUENCES OF FREE-RIDING YOUR TEAM: At any time during the semester, if your team
decides collectively that you are not carrying your share of the teamwork load, they may talk to me and
fire you from the team. If you are fired, you will have to do an entire team project yourself. Getting fired
from your team will also cause your team case report grades to be zero (regardless of whether you
participated in the team case report or not). Also, at the end of the term, I will distribute a “Peer
Evaluation Form” on which each team member will evaluate other team members confidentially. Any
student who negative peer evaluations from other team member may be penalized on the team work
grade (both the team project and the team case reports).

POLICIES
Code of Academic Integrity. Students at Florida Atlantic University are expected to maintain the
highest ethical standards. Academic dishonesty is considered a serious breach of these ethical standards,
because it interferes with the university mission to provide a high quality education in which no student
enjoys an unfair advantage over any other. Academic dishonesty is also destructive of the university
community, which is grounded in a system of mutual trust and places high value on personal integrity
and individual responsibility. Please make sure that you read FAU’s “Code of Academic Integrity” at:
http://www.fau.edu/regulations/chapter4/4.001_Code_of_Academic_Integrity.pdf

Consistent with FAU’s Code of Academic Integrity, your exams, individual reports and team reports must
be solely your own work. Any attempt to represent the work of others (including from the Internet) as your
own will be considered plagiarism. In general, avoid using exact sentences from any source. If you must
quote somebody, make sure that you use quotation marks and cite your source immediately after the quote.
If you fail to use quotation marks, I will consider it plagiarism even if you cite your source. Be aware that
your assignments will be submitted through cheating-detection software. Any student found to partake in
any form of academic fraud will receive a grade of “F” in this class. In addition, the student will be reported
to the school administrators to pursue sanctions beyond this class ranging from probation to expulsion.

Disruptive Behaviors. Disruptive behavior is defined in the FAU Student Code of Conduct as “...
activities which interfere with the educational mission within the classroom.” Students who behave in a
way that disturbs the educational experiences of other students and/or the instructor’s course objectives
(including his ability to teach) are subject to dismissal from class as well as disciplinary action.
Disruptive behaviors include, but are not limited to:

 arriving late,
 non-approved use of electronic devices (PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE AND
PUT IT AWAY FROM SIGHT),
 sidebar conversations during class,
 leaving and re-entering class repeatedly,
 cursing or shouting at others.

E-Mail Communications. I will assume that any e-mail that I send to your FAU address is received. It is
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your responsibility to have a working FAU e-mail and check it regularly.

Lecture Notes and Canvas. I will post my lecture notes on Canvas after each lecture. At times, I may
post announcements on Canvas. Once I post an announcement, I will assume that it is seen and you will
be responsible for the contents of the announcement. I suggest that you check Canvas regularly.

Students with Disabilities. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act
(ADAAA), students who require reasonable accommodations due to a disability to properly execute
coursework must register with Student Accessibility Services (SAS)—in Boca Raton, SU 133 (561-297-
3880); in Davie, LA 131 (954-236-1222); or in Jupiter, SR 110 (561-799-8585) —and follow all SAS
procedures. Their web site is: https://fau.edu/sas.

Religious Accommodation Policy. In accordance with rules of the Florida Board of Education and
Florida law, students have the right to reasonable accommodations from the University in order to
observe religious practices, observances, and beliefs with regard to admissions, registration, class
attendance and the scheduling of examinations and work assignments. For further information, please see
FAU Regulation 2.007 at: http://www.fau.edu/regulations/chapter4/4.002_Student_Academic_Grievance_Procedures_for_Grade_Reviews.pdf.

University Approved Absence Policy. In accordance with rules of the Florida Atlantic University,
students have the right to reasonable accommodations to participate in University approved activities,
including athletic or scholastics teams, musical and theatrical performances and debate activities. It is the
student’s responsibility to notify the course instructor at least one week prior to missing any course
assignment.

Incomplete Grade Policy. A student who is passing a course, but has not completed all work due to
exceptional circumstances, may, with consent of the instructor, temporarily receive a grade of incomplete
(“I”). The assignment of the “I” grade is at the discretion of the instructor, but is allowed only if the
student is passing the course.

The specific time required to make up an incomplete grade is at the discretion of the instructor. However,
the College of Business policy on the resolution of incomplete grades requires that all work required to
satisfy an incomplete (“I”) grade must be completed within a period of time not exceeding one calendar
year from the assignment of the incomplete grade. After one calendar year, the incomplete grade
automatically becomes a failing (“F”) grade.

Missing Exams. Students can make up the final exam if they are unable to make the appointed class.
Such arrangements must be made prior to the exam with the instructor.

Late Assignments. Assignments will be penalized 10% for every 24 hour period they are late.

Attendance Policy Statement. Students are expected to attend all of their scheduled University classes
and to satisfy all academic objectives as outlined by the instructor. The effect of absences upon grades is
determined by the instructor, and the University reserves the right to deal at any time with individual
cases of non-attendance.

Students are responsible for arranging to make up work missed because of legitimate class absence, such
as illness, family emergencies, military obligation, court-imposed legal obligations or participation in
University-approved activities. Examples of University-approved reasons for absences include
participating on an athletic or scholastic team, musical and theatrical performances and debate activities.
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It is the student’s responsibility to give the instructor notice prior to any anticipated absences and within
a reasonable amount of time after an unanticipated absence, ordinarily by the next scheduled class
meeting. Instructors must allow each student who is absent for a University-approved reason the
opportunity to make up work missed without any reduction in the student’s final course grade as a direct
result of such absence.

Anti-plagiarism Software. Written components of any assignment or project may be submitted to anti-
plagiarism software to evaluate the originality of the work. Any students found to be submitting work
that is not their own will be deemed in violation of the University’s honor code discussed above.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Center. Life as a university student can be challenging
physically, mentally and emotionally. Students who find stress negatively affecting their ability to
achieve academic or personal goals may wish to consider utilizing FAU’s Counseling and Psychological
Services (CAPS) Center. CAPS provides FAU students a range of services – individual counseling,
support meetings, and psychiatric services, to name a few – offered to help improve and maintain
emotional well-being. For more information, go to http://www.fau.edu/counseling/

Withdrawals. Any student who decides to drop is responsible for completing the proper process required
to withdraw from the course.

Grade Appeal Process. A student may request a review of the final course grade when s/he believes that
one of the following conditions apply:
• There was a computational or recording error in the grading.
• Non-academic criteria were applied in the grading process.
• There was a gross violation of the instructor’s own grading system.
The procedures for a grade appeal may be found in FAU Regulation 4.002.

Faculty Rights and Responsibilities. Florida Atlantic University respects the right of instructors to
teach and students to learn. Maintenance of these rights requires classroom conditions which do not
impede their exercise. To ensure these rights, faculty members have the prerogative:
• To establish and implement academic standards
• To establish and enforce reasonable behavior standards in each class
• To refer disciplinary action to those students whose behavior may be judged to be disruptive
under the Student Code of Conduct.
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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Aug 20 Introduction to the course

Theories and Frameworks
Aug 27 What is Strategy?
Read: Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 (Grant) – REQ: 3-25; SUP: 25-28: REQ: 35-40; 48-58;
SUP: 40-48
Read: Porter, M.E. 1996. What is strategy? HBR.
Read: Hambrick D.C. & Frederickson, J.W. Are you sure you have a strategy? AME
Prepare Case: Ingvar Kamrad and IKEA
Sep 3 External Analysis – PEST+ and Industry Analyses
Read: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 (Grant) – REQ: 63-86; 89-95; 100-108; SUP: 95-100
Read: Porter, M.E. 2008. The five competitive forces that shape strategy. HBR.
Prepare Case: Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010
Sep 10 Internal Analysis – Resources and Capabilities
Read: Chapter 5 (Grant) – REQ: 113-133
Read: Collis, D.J. & Montgomery, C.A. 2008. Competing on resources. HBR.
Prepare Case: Trader Joe’s
Sep 17 Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage
Read: Chapter 7 (Grant) – REQ: 168-200
Read: Duncan, J.W., Ginter, P. M. & Swayne, L.E. Competitive Advantage and Internal
Organizational Assessment.
Prepare Case: eHarmony
Sep 24 Blue Ocean Strategy
Read: W. Chan Kim; Renee A. Mauborgne Blue Ocean Strategy: From Theory to
Practice
Read: W. Chan Kim; Renee A. Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Strategy
Prepare Case: The Marvel Way: Restoring a Blue Ocean.
Oct 1 Corporate Strategy – Product Scope (i.e. Diversification)
Read: Chapter 13 (Grant) - REQ: 341-356
Read: Prahalad, C. K. & Hamel, G. 1990. The core competence of the corporation.
HBR.
Prepare Case: The Walt Disney Co.: The Entertainment King
Oct 8 Corporate Strategy – Geographical Scope (i.e. Globalization)
Read: Chapter 12 (Grant) – REQ: 324-337; SUP 311-324
Read: Bartlett, C. A. & Ghoshal, S. (1988). Organizing for worldwide effectiveness: The
transnational solution. CMR.
Prepare Case: Philips vs. Matsushita: The competitive battle continues
Oct 15 Corporate Strategy – Ways to change firm scope - Mergers, Acquisitions and
Alliances Read: Chapter 15 (Grant) – REQ: 389-400: SUP: 401-406
Read: Collis, D.J & Montgomery, C.A. 1998. Creating corporate advantage. HBR.
Prepare Case: Newell Co.: Corporate Strategy
Oct 22 Technology-based Industries and the Management of Innovation
Read: Chapter 9 (Grant): REQ: 241-268
Prepare Case: Guidant: Radiation Therapy