Syllabus For Management 1402 -
Management Policy and Administration
Mr. David Blackmore
235C Swarts Hall
Spring Term l997
Management Policy is the capstone course for the undergraduate
business curriculum. It is a course about "strategy" and about
"managing for success." A central theme is that a company achieves
sustained success if and only if its managers (l) have an astute,
timely strategic game plan for running the company and (2) implement
and execute the plan with proficiency.
TEXT: Strategic Management, Concepts and Cases,
Thompson, Arthur A. and A.J. Stickland, III
Eighth Edition, l995, Richard D. Irwin, Inc.
The Business Strategy Game, Stappenbeck,
Gregory J. and Arthur A. Thompson, Jr., Third
Edition, l995, Richard D. Irwin, Inc.
ASSIGNMENTS: The Business Strategy Game will be played over
a ten-week period. A case will be discussed
in most classes.
GRADING: 20% Business Strategy Game
20% Business Strategy Game Five Year
Plan (A Written Paper)
20% Final Exam
20% Homework Preparation and
Classroom Participation
20% Group Case Presentation
Grading Policy:
90 - l00 = A
80 - 89 = B
70 - 79 = C
60 - 69 = D
0 - 59 = F
#1 January l3,14 - Introduction
#2 January l5,16 - United Products, Inc., Chapter l, ll0 Fisher
l. How is George Brown doing as chief executive
officer of United Products, Inc.?
#3 January 20,21 - NO CLASS - Martin Luther King Birthday
Chapters 2,3
#4 January 22,23 - Cineplex Odeon*, Chapter 4, ll0 Fisher
l. What is your assessment of Garth Drabinsky's
performance as CEO of Cineplex Odeon?
2. How good is the strategy Drabinsky has crafted for
Cineplex Odeon? Who has done the best job of
strategizing - Mike Patrick at Carmike Cinemas or
Garth Drabinsky at Cineplex Odeon?
3. Who has done the best job of strategy implementation
- Mike Patrick or Garth Drabinsky?
4. How successful has Cineplex Odeon been under Garth
Drabinsky's leadership?
5. What is your assessment of the firm's liberal
accounting practices? Why was the decision made to
extend the depreciation period for properties and
goodwill? Why are one-time sales of assets included
as part of operating revenues? What effect have
these had on net income? What would the company's
net income have been in l988 had these accounting
changes not been instituted? Is the firm on the
verge of a financial crisis?
6. To what extent are Cineplex Odeon's problems of
Drabinsky's own making? To what extent are they due
to forces and circumstances beyond Drabinsky's
control?
7. What actions need to be taken at Cineplex Odeon?
#5 January 27,28 Susan's Special Lawns, Chapter 5
l. Does it make sense for Jensens to consider getting
into t he landscaping design and sprinkler systems
business? Is there really a market opportunity
here? What capabilities do the Jensens have to
succeed in this business?
2. What is your assessment of the performance and
success of Susan's Special Lawns to date? How strong
is the firm's current financial position? Has the
business really made a profit?
3. What is your assessment of Gerald Green's report?
How good is Gerald's analysis? What do you think he
has done well? Does his analysis have any holes or
shortcomings? Has he covered all the bases? Is
there anything else you would like to know (if you
were the Jensens) before deciding what to do?
4. What does you SWOT analysis reveal about Susan's
situation?
5. What options should the Jensens consider?
6. What would you recommend that the Jensens do? What
business mission, objectives, and strategy should
they adopt?
#6 January 29,30 - The Business Strategy Game (BSG), 110 Fisher
#7 February 3,4 - BSG, Chapter 6
#8 February 5,6 - BSG - Work on input for Period l
#9 February l0,ll - Hickory Ridge Golf Club*
1. What is your assessment of the competition facing
Hickory Ridge in the Columbia market?
2. Is the local industry environment attractive for a
"new" entrant like Hickory Ridge? Did Greg Hamilton
invest in an attractive industry? Why or why not?
3. What does your SWOT analysis reveal about Hickory
Ridge's situation?
4. What are Hickory Ridge's competitive strengths and
weaknesses? How strong is the golf course's
competitive position in the local market?
5. What strategic issues does Greg Hamilton need to
address?
6. What do you recommend that Greg Hamilton do to make
Hickory Ridge a business success? What should his
5-year strategic plan be?
7. If Greg Hamilton does what you recommend, what
financial performance can he expect over the next
five years? Please use Strat-Analyst to develop
financial projections for the next five years for
Hickory Ridge. Be prepared to show Greg Hamilton how
your recommended strategy can be financed and be
prepared to demonstrate what revenues, expenses, and
profits Hamilton can expect over the next five years
as a result of pursuing your recommended 5-year
strategic plan.
#10 February 12,13 - BSG - Period 2 Chapter 7
#11 February 17,18 - World Automotive Industry 1994*
l. What is competition like in this industry? Which
competitive forces are strongest? weakest?
2. What driving forces are shaping conditions in the
world auto industry as of l994?
3. What accounts for the success which the Japanese
companies have had? What competitive advantages do
the Japanese producers have over the American and
European producers?
4. What key factors will underlie a company's ability
to compete successfully in this industry during the
remainder of the decade?
5. Which companies are in the strongest position? the
weakest? Please do a competitive strength assessment
using the methodology described in Table 4-4 in text
Chapter 4.
6. What actions do you think U.S. producers need to take
to regain market share and seize the competitive
initiative in the U.S. market?
7. What actions do you think European producers will
need to take to defend successfully against mounting
Japanese market penetration in their home market?
8. What actions can be expected from the major Japanese
producers? How will they try to increase their
market penetration?
9. Does Jack Smith have GM on the comeback trail? What
is your assessment of the moves he has made as
GM's new CEO?
l0. What moves would you recommend to Chrysler?
Mercedes-Benz? Renault?
11. Who do you think will be the top five companies in
the year 2000? Justify your answer.
#12 February 24,25 - Toyota Motor Corporation*
l. What is Toyota's long-term strategic objective?
Or, to put it another way, what is its "strategic
intent"? What evidence provides support for Toyota's
strategic intent?
2. What is Toyota's business strategy? Competitive
strategy? How well is Toyota's strategy working?
What competitive advantage(s) does Toyota have? To
what do you attribute Toyota's success?
3. What does Toyota do best? What strengths and
weaknesses do you see? What external opportunities
and threats must Toyota consider?
4. What is your assessment of Toyota's financial
condition and recent financial performance?
5. How has the Toyota Production System contributed to
Toyota's overall successful performance? What parts
of the TPS are the most important?
6. How strong is Toyota's competitive position?
7. What strategic issues does Toyota face?
8. What strategic action plan would you recommend to
Toyota to achieve its long-term strategic objective?
#13 February 26,27 - BSG - Period 3, Chapter 8
#14 March 3,4 - Video Concepts
l. What is your assessment of Chad Rowan as an
entrepreneur, chief strategy-maker, and chief
strategy-implementer? How well has he performed the
five tasks of strategic management? What mistakes
has he made? What grade would you give Chad in
his role as owner-entrepreneur of Video Concepts?
2. What is the video rental industry like? What forces
are driving change? What are the key success
factors in this industry?
3. What are Blockbuster Video's strengths? its
weaknesses? Compare them to Video Concepts strengths
and weaknesses. How does Video Concepts fare?
4. What is Video Concept's strategy? How well did it
work prior to Blockbuster's entry? Does what Block-
buster did in Lexington surprise you? Why is
Blockbuster outperforming Video Concepts?
5. What competitive options does Video Concepts have?
What can Chad do to improve Video Concepts'
performance and market position? What strategic
issues does Chad need to address?
6. What alternatives does Chad have? Which of these
appears most profitable?
7. What recommendations would you make to Chad Rowan?
What could Chad get for the business if he tried to
sell it? Is he better off keeping the business and
pursuing efforts to make it more profitable?
#15 March 5,6 - BSG - Period 4, Chapter 9
#16 March l0,11 - Nucor Corporation*
l. What are the primary competitive forces impacting
the mini-mill producers? What would a strategic
group map of this industry look like?
2. Why has Nucor been so successful? Just how good is
the company's performance over the past 5 years?
3. What type of strategy has Nucor followed?
4. How has Nucor implemented this strategy? What
specifically has the company done to make its
strategy work so successfully?
5. What is your assessment of Nucor's growth
opportunities? Which product lines offer the best
potential? Where should Nucor invest its capital?
Which product categories should be given top priority?
6. What strategic actions should Nucor take? What
recommendations would you make to Ken Iverson?
7. Can Nucor's formula for success be transferred
to other companies and/or industries?
#17 March 12,13 - BSG - Period 5, Chapter 10
#18 March 24,25 - Pepsi Co and the Fast Food Industry*
1. What is PepsiCo's corporate strategy? What strategic
approach does it use to compete in each business
segment? Is its strategy the same or different from
business to business?
2. Please draw a 4-cell BCG-style portfolio matrix
displaying PepsiCo's fast-food restaurant businesses.
Based on your analysis, what strategic approaches
would you recommend to Wayne Calloway regarding each
of PepsiCo's business units?
3. Evaluate PepsiCo's fast-food business portfolio using
9-cell industry attractiveness/business strength
matrix. What would you recommend the firm do based
on this analysis?
4. What are the strengths and weaknesses of PepsiCo in
general, and each of its fast-food chains? How
well has PepsiCo's business portfolio performed
during l989-1992 period? Which portfolio members
have been the strongest and weakest performers?
5. What are the cash flow characteristics of each of
PepsiCo's three fast-food businesses? Which
are cash hogs and cash cows?
6. Based on the preceding analysis, what is your overall
evaluation of PepsiCo's business portfolio? Is there
good strategic fit? What opportunities for skills
transfer and cost-sharing do you see? What new
strategic moves would you recommend to Wayne Calloway?
#19 March 26,27 BSG - Period 6, Chapter ll
#20 March 31, April l Ryka, Inc.: Lightweight Athletic Shoes for
Women
l. What are the chief economic characteristics of the
athletic footwear industry?
2. Which competitive forces are strongest? weakest?
3. What are the driving forces in this industry? What
factors are critical for success?
4. How are t he rivals in this industry positioned.
Develop a strategic group map to support your answer.
5. What is Ryka's strategy? How successful has the
company been?
6. What are the company's internal strengths and weak-
nesses? What are its external opportunities and
threats?
7. How well positioned is the company vis-a-vis its
competitors?
8. What strategic issues must Ryka's management address?
9. What strategic alternatives does Sherri Poe have?
What recommendations would you make?
#21 April 2,3 BSG - Period 7, Five Year Plan Due
#22 April 7,8 Robin Hood
l. What problems does Robin Hood have? What issues
need to be addressed?
2. Do Robin Hood and the Merrymen need a new mission?
new objectives? a new strategy?
3. What strategic option does Robin Hood have? Is
continuing with the present strategy an option or
is the present strategy obsolete?
4. What strategy would you recommend to Robin Hood to
deal with the problems/issues he confronts?
5. What action steps will need to be taken to implement
your recommended strategy and make it work
effectively?
#23 April 9,10 BSG - Period 8
#24 April 14,15 Vail Associates In-class Presentations
l. What is the ski resort industry like? What are its
chief economic characteristics? How do you make
money in this business?
2. What competitive forces and pressures does Vail
Associates confront?
3. What forces are driving change in the industry?
What factors are key to success?
4. What are Vail Associates' internal strengths and
weaknesses? What are its external opportunities
and threats?
5. How successful has the company's current strategy
been? What alternatives could it consider for its
future? How can the strategy be enhanced or
stretched?
#25 April 16,17 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.*
1. What impresses you about this company? What
factors account for Wal-Mart's success? Is it a
great strategy, superb strategy implementation and
execution, or Sam Walton's entrepreneurial
and leadership?
2. What are the key elements of Wal-Mart's strategy?
3. What has Wal-Mart's management done to implement
this strategy? What policies, practices, support
systems, and management approaches underlie how Wal-
Mart has implemented and executed its strategy?
4. Why is Wal-Mart outperforming K mart-is it a better
strategy or better strategy implementation? Why
can't other discount retail chains come close to
Wal-Mart by simply copying what Wal-Mart does? Does
Wal-Mart have core competencies that others can't
seem to match?
5. What role did Sam Walton play in Wal-Mart's success?
What were his contributions? What did he do well?
Was he a leader or a manager? What did he do to
shape Wal-Mart's culture?
6. How would you characterize Wal-Mart's culture? What
are its key elements? Is the culture strong or weak?
healthy or unhealthy? Why?
7. What would it be like to work for this company? Why
do you think employees are complimentary about their
jobs at Wal-Mart? What have Sam Walton and Wal-
Mart's executives done to galvanize employee
commitment to making the Wal-Mart strategy work as
well as it has?
8. Can the company continue to be successful? What
problems do you see arising? What do you see to be
critical of? Are there any ethical issues that need
to be addressed?
9. Can Wal-Mart continue to grow as fast in the future
as it has in the past? Use the what-iffing
capability of STRAT-ANALYST to determine how fast
Wal-Mart will have to grow to realize Sam Walton's
vision of becoming a $125 billion company by the
year 2000. Is this growth achievable?
#26 April 21,22 Village Inn
l.
* Use Strat-Analyst