loyola university new orleans the joseph a. butt, s.j ... · business policy/strategy summer 2015...

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LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS

THE JOSEPH A. BUTT, S.J. COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

BUSINESS POLICY/STRATEGY

Summer 2015

Course: BA 445 Professor: Len Trevino

Sec: 001 Office: Miller 312

Semester: Summer 2015 Office Hours: W, 2:00 – 3:00

Phone: (504) 864-7927 E-mail: [email protected]

Time: MTWR, 3:15 – 5:15 Grades website: Blackboard

Location: Miller 112

Prerequisite: Senior standing.

COURSE OVERVIEW

This is the capstone course for all business majors. Much of your classroom experience has

been in courses providing either an overview of a single business topic or a series of concentrated

functional and applied courses, leading to expertise in an area of business (i.e., your major). The

capstone course is meant to broaden your orientation by providing you with an integrative frame of

reference from the perspective of top management. This is accomplished by integrating information

from functional areas and by providing a “big picture” strategic approach to the business

environment. The capstone course is meant to be a "value added" experience and not just a review

of materials that you have learned to date. Taking this broader perspective and considering how to

evaluate your options will be part of the capstone experience.

These broader and often analytical perspectives in viewing an organization's resources,

environments, and business strategies will be provided through text material, outside readings, and

classroom discussion. You are expected to come to class prepared to participate in discussions with

your own analysis, insights, and recommendations, based on your preparation, background and

experience. Recruiters consistently advise business schools that prospective employees require

communication and team building skills to succeed as much or more than specific functional

or applied content skills. Your ability to communicate orally and in writing, as well as your ability

to effectively work with and manage team interactions, will determine the majority of your grade in

this course.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Develop the ability to analyze an organization and its environment to uncover or create

competitive advantages. (e.g., quantitative reasoning, decision making, and critical/analytical

skills).

2. Adopt the “big picture” top management approach that considers the entire organization and its

environment. (e.g., complex thinking and multiple perspective skills, synthesizing business

knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines and considering stakeholders’ diverse

perspectives to solve a complex problem).

3. Improve communication and relationship skills. (e.g., develop professional oral and written

communication skills for application in one-on-one business settings and in business

presentations).

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4. Simulate measures of performance consistent with business settings. (e.g., consistent and

frequent performance feedback on learning the job, demonstrating what you know, and working

effectively with others.)

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson, Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization, 11th

Edition, Cengage Learning. Any additional outside readings and research assignments can be found

on the Internet, on Blackboard or through Loyola University New Orleans’ library databases.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

One class period will be devoted to content (lecture/discussion) and one class period will

begin with a team presentation followed by a discussion of the case in class that day (this is an

interactive discussion). In sum, one day per week is spent on learning and discussing content and

one day per week is spent on application via the case discussion. We will discuss 5 cases during the

semester. Additional class time will be allotted to allow students to work on team case preparation

and to receive feedback from the instructor.

As part of the course process you should:

Arrive to class on time, turn off your phones and computer (computer may be used for taking

notes only), and be ready to engage in discussion.

Read assigned readings before coming to class. I recommend that you take bullet point notes of

the key concepts from the textbook. Our discussion in class will elaborate on these points.

Read the case before we discuss it in class. Think about what you would do if you were part of

the top management team of the organization. Look at the data presented in the case. What do

the data suggest? What problems do you see? How would you exploit opportunities?

Be ready to discuss and answer questions that we discuss in class.

Be attentive to presentations by peers.

Be a good team member. You will work on a team for two different projects.

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

This is a participatory class where we will learn from each other as well as from the text and related

materials. Therefore, PARTICIPATION IS REQUIRED EVERY DAY, and each student must be willing

to contribute effectively. Your participation grade reflects your shared insights about the concepts and ideas

studied in class. This includes sharing outside experiences or perspectives about the readings. Excessive

absences will negatively and significantly affect your participation grade simply due to the fact that you

were not there enough to actively participate in discussions. If you are disruptive in class, falling asleep,

working on the computer or conducting any activities unrelated to class, you will be asked to leave and

your participation grade will be negatively impacted. In addition, absences on any online discussions will

significantly affect your participation grade. IF YOU ARE ABSENT 20 % OR MORE OF CLASS

MEETINGS, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE A FAILING GRADE FOR THE

COURSE. Arriving to class late will constitute a ½ class absence, so arrive on time.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAMS

Team skills are in high demand in the business world. Acquiring these skills or improving

on them will greatly enhance your ability to land your dream job. Contribution to team success is a

measure of your individual abilities and your relationship skills. Your ability to successfully lead or

contribute to team success will ensure an optimal outcome in both team and individual grades.

Teams, like organizations, have resources and competencies that derive from their members. Play

to your strengths by dividing the workload according to each other’s skills and resources. There are

resources/skills such as leadership, organization, researching, writing, speaking, publishing, and

time management, to mention a few; use them to your advantage. The professor will assign

students to teams based on building diversity within the team using majors, gender, work

experience, international exposure, or any other relevant factor. Team composition is meant to

reflect real life experiences of teams with varying skills and membership not of your choosing.

Teams will choose or be assigned cases that can be used in class discussions of text material and

that represent a major portion of your end-of-semester grade (e.g. oral and written presentations).

Team members will evaluate each other’s performance. To receive the best possible

team peer evaluation, it will be necessary for you to know what your responsibilities are and to

execute them. It is imperative that you communicate often, attend meetings, complete assignments

on time, and help lead the team to success. Be sure to use each team member's resources as you

would in any organization. Although it is not necessary for every member to contribute an equal

amount in every area, it is imperative that each member participate relatively equally during the oral

presentation and question and answer components. Peer evaluations will reflect the amount of

effort put forward by each team member in total. Peer evaluations allow me to adjust individual

scores for the team project, based on very good performance or very bad performance. Do not

shirk on your team!

GRADING

In the real world of business, you must be prepared every day for your boss, your subordinates,

your peers, and your customers, not just a couple of times a “semester” when you cram for a test. In

preparing for the business world, your classroom performance will be measured daily (i.e., each

class) in terms of knowledge of the material through quizzes and participation. You don’t just

“show up” for your career; you come prepared to participate in it! You will receive frequent

feedback on your preparation and performance. Feedback will give you the opportunity to address

deficiencies and take the appropriate actions necessary to ensure that your final grade is in line with

your objectives. Grades will be posted on Blackboard and you are encouraged to keep track of

your grades by the grade records sheet that is a part of this syllabus.

GRADES AT A GLANCE

Each assignment is graded on a 100-point scale. The total possible points for the semester is

1000. See Appendix B at the end of the syllabus for the grading rubrics. Please note that I do

not accept late work on any of the written assignments.

The grading scale based on 1000 points is as follows:

A = 930-1000 C+ = 770-799

A- = 900-929 C = 730-769

B+ = 870-899 C- = 700-729

B = 830-869 D+ = 650-699

B- = 800-829 D = 600-649

F = Below 600

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Participation - class discussion – individual grade 20% of grade

Participation will be evaluated each class period.

Regular participation will be worth 20 % of your grade.

Non-attendance equals zero participation for that class.

The only non-attendance excused is a University-sanctioned absence.

Quality counts more than quantity. I will drop your lowest participation score.

If you show up to every class and never participate, you will score a 60% for participation

(regular attendance will only receive 60%). Participation is more than attendance!

Team Discussion Case Presentation – team grade 10% of grade During the semester we will read 5 different cases from the text. These cases illustrate the

material from the chapter that you are expected to read before the case. Each team will be

required to present one case analysis. This will form the basis for our case discussion. Each

team will sign up for the date of their case presentation (TBD).

Team Case Project (Written and Oral) – team grade (see below) 30% of grade

This is the overall average of your written project and oral presentation.

There will be a minor class evaluation adjustment to the team’s oral presentation grade.

Peer evaluation adjustment for individual performance of team grade:

Individual student’s peer evaluations will be used to reward or penalize individual

performance if it is exceptional (really good or really bad individual performance).

Mid-Term Exam – individual grade 20% of grade The mid-term exam will cover the first 5 chapters and the cases that we have discussed to

date. It will be composed of multiple-choice questions and a few short answer or short essay

questions.

Final Exam – individual grade 20% of grade The final exam will be comprehensive and will be composed of essay questions and/or a

case exam.

Assignment Percentage of total

grade Total points

Participation 20% 200

Team Case Presentation small 10% 100

Team Case final – Written* 15% 150

Team Case – Presentation* 15% 150

Mid-Term Exam 20% 200

Final Exam 20% 200

*Adjusted by Peer Evals 100% 1000

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ASSIGNMENTS IN DETAIL AND LEARNING GOALS

Participation – Class Discussion - 20% of Grade

Points are based on your classroom participation. You obtain participation points for quality

input into classroom discussion. I will drop your two lowest participation scores. If you come to

class every day of the semester (but two), and don’t say anything, then you will score a 60% on

participation. Participation is more than attendance! There are 19 class periods in total that are

graded. You will receive only 60% for participation for simply showing up.

Learning Goal 3 (Communication): Graduates will be able to communicate effectively in the

business world. Graduates will be able to articulate ideas clearly and concisely in a one-on-one

professional business setting.

Team Discussion Case Presentation - 10% of Grade

During the semester we will read 5 different cases from the text. These cases illustrate the

material from the chapter that we will read before the case. Each team will be required to present

an analysis of a case to the class (this is a PowerPoint presentation). This will form the basis for our

class discussion on that day. Each team will sign up for the date of their case presentation (TBD).

Your PowerPoint presentation should provide a brief overview of the company and the case. You

should diagnose any problems facing the organization. Afterward, you will make three

recommendations that address the key problem or problems facing the organization. You will need

to justify why your recommendations address the key problem. Lastly, you will select the best

recommendation and then present a brief implementation plan, detailing how the company would

implement your plan. This presentation should be 12-15 minutes in length. See the evaluation form

at the end of the syllabus for additional insight and my grading criteria.

Learning Goals (Critical and Creative Thinking) and (Communication): You will develop the

ability to define, analyze and solve problems facing the organizations in the case. You will take

the relevant performance information (accounting, financial, and marketing) provided in the

case and convert it into comparable performance data (discussing what it means for the focal

organization and how they are performing). Lastly, you will develop your public speaking skills

as well as your ability to answer probing questions.

Team Case Project – 30% of Grade

Written Portion – Half of 30% = 15% of Final Grade

There will be a written case/company analysis to assess your ability to critically assess a

company’s strategy and to communicate your findings and recommendations succinctly, logically,

and professionally. I have included an outline at the end of the syllabus to provide you with a rough

checklist of items that are often found in a case analysis. Please don’t follow the outline verbatim,

as some items may not need to be included in your report. This is a team project. All written

cases will be handed in on the date of your presentation. The written portion will account for

15% of the course grade and the oral portion will account for 15 % of the course grade. Each

student will be evaluated by fellow team members as to their contribution to the effort and output of

the complete written and oral case project (see the attached peer evaluation form). Each student's

individual grade will be based on the professor's assigned team grade adjusted by peer evaluations.

Be advised that I will aggressively grade for punctuation, spelling, grammar, tense agreement

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appearance, etc., in addition to content. Do your best work; prepare as though this were a report

being reviewed by the top management team of your future employer. A copy of the grading

checklist that I will use is attached to this syllabus. You will lose points for not following directions

in the assignment or format. It is highly recommended that you take advantage of writing

assessment and skill development services on campus if you need them. Format: The paper should be typed with 1.0-inch margins using double-spaced, 12-point

type. Use your word processor's spell checking and grammar options. Paginate with the first page

being the start of the executive summary. An executive summary is 2-3 pages and states everything

in the report in a highly condensed fashion. Charts, tables, graphs, and figures should be placed

throughout the document to illustrate material in the text portion of your paper. Add appendices

that are appropriate at the end of the paper. A reference section (Endnotes or Footnotes) is required,

enabling the reader to review the sources of any information provided in the paper. Cite your

sources and quote where necessary. Plagiarism is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. You

will receive a ZERO on any assignment and or a grade of “F” for the class in the presence of

plagiarism. Better efforts in past classes have used many references from several diverse sources.

Maintain balance in your references, as there are many sources of information. Do not go to the

company’s website and regurgitate information therein. You need to make an original

contribution to the case. Please do not use your textbook as a reference source. Search for

what others (e.g., business commentators or analysts) have written about your company. Length

will be dependent on the complexity of your case and the depth of your analysis. YOUR CASE

SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 33 PAGES LONG. The final written presentation should be

professionally bound (do not use 3-ring binders).

Learning Goals: (Business Disciplines), (Critical and Creative Thinking) and (Communication).

You will collectively analyze the case and identify problems facing the organization. You will

develop the ability to utilize the relevant information provided in the case and translate it into

relevant performance data that can be used to compare performance of the focal company to its

competitors. You will also develop the ability to assemble creative recommendations to address

the problems that you have identified and to develop an action plan. Lastly, you will utilize

professional technical writing to communicate your analysis, recommendations and

implementation action plan.

Oral Presentation of Case Analysis – Half of 30% = 15% of Final Grade

The semester will end with oral presentations of the team case. There are 5 days of

presentations with 1 per class (adjusted for class size and semester). We will “draw straws” to

determine the date for each team’s presentation. Presentations are expected to last approximately

20-24 minutes with another 5-7 minutes allotted for questions and discussion. At the 30 minute

mark, I will cut you off. Class members earn participation points on presentation days and should

ask questions that indicate they have read the case write-up. Presentations should use PowerPoint.

Practice. Practice. Practice. Know your material. Make your material fit the time constraint. Both

the professor and the audience will be evaluating your presentation. There will be a penalty for

exceeding the time limit (leave time for Q&A).

Learning Goals: (Critical and Creative Thinking), (Quantitative Reasoning), (Scientific

Literacy), (Information Literacy), (Communication), and (Diversity). You will develop the ability

to seek out information on a company, its industry and its competitors. You will use financial

analysis to compare relevant performance on important metrics that you identify from your

critical examination of the industry environment. Your analysis of the performance metrics will

help you to pose arguments about the health of each organization (the focal company and its

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competitors). You will develop the ability to diagnose critical problems and develop creative

solutions that the company could adopt to deal with those problems. Your development of

solutions will further expose you to the importance of incorporating and understanding the

diverse stakeholders who might be affected by your proposed solutions and implementation plan.

You will develop your written communication ability by developing a document that incorporates

concisely assembled information, relevant graphics, and clear writing. Lastly, your oral

(PowerPoint) presentation will develop your public speaking skills.

Mid-Term Exam – 20% of Grade

The mid-term covers the first five chapters as well as the cases we will have read to that

point in the semester. The mid-term will be composed of multiple choice questions and short

answer or short essay questions.

Final Exam – 20% of Grade

The exam will be composed of essay questions. I will assign a case from the text that you will read

prior to the exam. The final will be comprehensive. It will be open book and open notes.

NOTES

Attendance: Attendance is required if you want to maximize your grade.

Classroom Etiquette: Though we often do not think of it in these terms, the classroom is a training

ground for the real world. Soon, you will graduate and find yourselves in interviews, business

meetings, etc. As such, during class, you should conduct yourself professionally. Non-class-related

activity, such as texting and/or checking email, is bad etiquette and will certainly not fly in the

business world. In addition, such activities will interfere with your ability to learn and may be

distracting to others. Please do yourself and everyone else a favor by conducting yourself

professionally in class. If you are using your computer for non-class related activities, such as

surfing, you will be asked to leave the class.

Disability Statement: If you have a disability and wish to receive accommodations, please contact

Disability Services at 504- 865-2990. If you wish to receive test accommodations (e.g., extended

test time), you will need to give the course instructor an official Accommodation Form from

Disability Services. The Office of Disability Services is located in Marquette 112.

Emergency: In the event that there is an interruption to our course due to the cancellation of

classes by the university as a result of an emergency, we will continue our course on Blackboard

within 48 hours after cancellation. All students are required to sign on to Blackboard and to keep up

with course assignments within 48 hours of evacuation and routinely check for announcements and

course materials associated with each class. Class handouts will be posted under “course materials”.

Students should be familiar with their responsibilities during emergencies, including pre-evacuation

and post-evacuation for hurricanes. This information is available on the Academic Affairs web site:

http://academicaffairs.loyno.edu/students-emergency-responsibilities

Additional emergency-planning information is also available:

http://academicaffairs.loyno.edu/emergency-planning

http://academicaffairs.loyno.edu/emergency-planning

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Campus Safety: At times, ordinary university operations are interrupted as a result of tropical

storms, hurricanes, or other emergencies that require evacuation or suspension of on-campus

activities. To prepare for such emergencies, all students will do the following during the first week

of classes:

1. Practice signing on for each course through Blackboard.

2. Provide regular and alternative e-mail address and phone contact information to each instructor.

• In the event of an interruption to our course due to the result of an emergency requiring an evacuation or

suspension of campus activities, students will:

3. Pack textbooks, assignments, syllabi and any other needed materials for each course ad bring during an

evacuation/suspension

4. Keep up with course work during the evacuation/suspension as specified on course syllabi and on-line

Blackboard courses.

5. Complete any reading and/or writing assignments given by professors before emergency began.

Assuming a power source is available…

6. Log on to university Web site within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension.

7. Monitor the main university site (www.loyno.edu) for general information.

8. Log on to each course through Blackboard or e-mail within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension to

receive further information regarding contacting course instructors for assignments, etc.

9. Complete Blackboard and/or other online assignments posted by professors (students are required to turn

in assignments on time during the evacuation/suspension period and once the university campus has

reopened.)

10. Contact professors during an evacuation/suspension (or as soon as classes resume on campus) to explain

any emergency circumstances that may have prevented them from completing expected work.

Further information about student responsibilities in emergencies is available on the Academic Affairs web

site: http://academicaffairs.loyno.edu/students-emergency-responsibilities

Academic Integrity: Academic integrity will be strongly enforced in this course. Any student caught

cheating on any assignment will be given an F grade for the course and will be reported to the Office of

Academic Affairs. All academic work will be done by the student to whom it has been assigned, without the

student receiving unauthorized data or assistance. A student who supplies another with such data or help is

considered deserving of the same sanctions as the recipient. Specifically, cheating, plagiarism, or

misrepresentation are prohibited. For further details, the student is referred to Loyola University New

Orleans’ policy on academic integrity: http://academicaffairs.loyno.edu/records/integrity-scholarships-and-

grades

http://141.164.133.3/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.loyno.edu

http://141.164.133.3/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://academicaffairs.loyno.edu/students-emergency-responsibilities

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COURSE SCHEDULE

The following schedule is approximate and may change with advance notice.

5/26 Course review, administrative details, student information sheet, syllabus review, case

analysis and presentation guidelines.

5/27 Chapter 1: Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness; The Strategic

Management Process; Group formation.

5/28 Introduction to case analysis and strategy implementation (handout); Group formation

5/28 Chapter 2: The External Environment; in class case preparation

6/1 Chapter 3: The Internal Environment; in class case preparation

6/1 Case 1: Avon (Team 1 Presentation); Case discussion

6/2 Presentation on conducting effective research, (Guest Lecture, Ms. Bea Calvert,

Library Liaison to the College of Business

6/2 Presentation on effective business writing, (Guest Lecture, Mr. Bradley Warshauer)

6/3 Chapter 4: Business-Level Strategy (Guest Lecture, Dr. Felipe Massa)

6/3 Case 2: Chipotle: Mexican Grill, Inc.: Food with Integrity (Team 2 Presentation);

Case discussion.

6/4 In class final case preparation

6/8 Chapter 5: Competitive Rivalry and Competitive Dynamics

6/8 Overview Chapters 1-5 (Mid-term examination review)

6/9 Mid-Term Exam

6/10 Case 3: Facebook (Team 3 Presentation); case discussion; in-class case

preparation.

6/10 Chapter 6: Corporate-Level Strategy

6/11 Case 4: lululemon athletica Inc. (Team 4 Presentation); case discussion

6/11 Chapter 8: International Strategy

6/15 Chapter 10: Corporate Governance; team case preparation

6/15 Case 5: Research in Motion (Team 5 Presentation); case discussion

6/16 Chapter 11: Organizational Structure and Controls

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6/16 In class team preparation, Teams 1, 2 meet with instructor

6/17 In class team case preparation; Teams 3, 4 meet with instructor

6/18 Oral case presentations, written cases due; peer evaluations are due on the date that

your team presents the case; in class case preparation






your team presents the case; Final Exam Review

6/25 Final Examination

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MY GRADES ON ASSIGNMENTS

Mid-Term Exam: ___________________

Individual Case Analysis: __________

Team Discussion Case: __________

Final Team Case: __________

Final Exam: __________

Participation: __________

APPENDIX A

Peer Evaluation Form – complete this and turn it in on the date that your team presents the

PowerPoint presentation for the Team Case.

Outline that may be used as a guideline for Team Case.

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Team Peer Evaluation Form

1. Include in the rating your evaluation of your own performance (this introduces an amount of self-assessment).

2. Assign 100 percentage points based on how much each member (including yourself) contributed to various aspects of the team's performance.

3. Assign percentages for each category for each team member. If team members have varying skills (which is likely) they will have contributed at

different levels for various categories. e.g. one member might have done 30% of the research but only 10% of the writing. One member may

have participated in all the meetings and write-ups but did not participate in research or the oral presentation. Assign effort rating accordingly.

4. Use whole numbers and make sure totals add up in each column before proceeding to the average. Each member’s scores in each category

should be averaged and one overall score assigned for total average effort.

Team Member (alphabetical order) Amount of effort in each category: Leadership Outside Due Dates Written Oral Average

/Team Player Research /Meetings Presentation Presentation

% % % % % %

% % % % % %

% % % % % %

% % % % % %

% % % % % %

% % % % % %

Total must equal: 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

YOUR SIGNATURE _____________________________________ Print Name _____________________________ ID # ________________

Comments if any

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OUTLINE FOR A MAJOR CASE REPORT ON A COMPANY

1) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Provide an overview of the entire case in two pages or less, detailing the key

problem and your recommendation.

2) INTRODUCTION OF COMPANY AND CURRENT SITUATION

3) EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS:

I. General Environment – How are these things going to affect the company in the near future?

a. Economic

b. Sociocultural

c. Global

d. Technological

e. Political/legal

f. Demographics

II. Industry Environment 5-forces analysis

a. Bargaining power of suppliers

b. Bargaining power of buyers

c. Threat of substitute products

d. Rivalry among firms:

i. Numerous or equally balanced competitors?

ii. Slow industry growth?

iii. High fixed costs or high storage costs?

iv. Lack of differentiation or low switching costs?

v. High strategic stakes?

vi. High exit barriers?

e. Threat of new entrants:

i. Barriers to entry

1. Economies of scale?

2. Product differentiation?

3. Capital requirements?

4. Switching costs?

5. Access to distribution channels?

6. Cost disadvantages independent of scale?

7. Government policy?

ii. Expected retaliation from competitors

III. Competitor environment (DON’T FORGET TO SEE THE HANDOUT)

a. Identify primary competitors (top 3 or so)

i. What is their background/history? How is each performing financially?

ii. What is their business-level strategy?

iii. What are the key success factors in this industry? How have they performed over the last

3+ years compared to the focal company?

1. What key ratios or performance metrics would indicate how well they have

performed?

2. Why is their performance trending like it is?

iv. Future objectives – what are they seeking to do?

v. Capabilities - what are their strengths and weaknesses?

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4) INTERNAL ANALYSIS:

I. What is the history of the company?

II. How is it run today? What does the business look like (for example, how many stores does it run and

how are those stores run, does it manufacture its own products and sell its own products, does it sell to

retail customers or industrial customers, etc.) Who is on the top management team and what is the

structure of its management?

III. What key resources and capabilities does it possess?

IV. How has it performed over the last 3+ years?

a. How does this performance compare to its competitors’ performance?

b. Is there a reason for this trend?

5) IDENTIFY KEY PROBLEM AREAS

I. What problem is facing the company that would hurt its performance significantly in the near future (or

lead to bankruptcy)?

a. Are competitors gaining strength?

b. Are costs going out of control?

c. Has there been foolish expansion?

d. Is the company being run efficiently?

II. Are there any areas of the business that, if improved, would greatly increase the performance of the

company vis-à-vis its rivals?

a. Does it operate cost efficiently?

b. Are there areas of the business which should be outsourced or sold off?

c. Is it able to maintain high margins with its suppliers?

III. Are there any key opportunities that the company must pursue either to maintain an advantage or as a

hedge against potential changes in the environment?

a. What kinds of investment would be required for this?

b. Would it be wise to partner with other firms?

IV. DEFINE THE CRITICAL PROBLEM YOU WILL ADDRESS IN THE CASE.

6) RECOMMENDATIONS

I. Create 3 separate recommendations to deal with the critical problem that you identified above.

II. Provide a justification for each recommendation, explaining why your recommendation would

ameliorate the problem.

III. Choose the best recommendation and explain why this recommendation is superior. Provide an

Implementation Plan to discuss how you would go about executing your recommendation in the

organization. The following are some questions to keep in mind as to how other stakeholders will

respond. Some of these stakeholders may have very little bearing on the organization (and may have

little reaction to your recommendation) so do not include a discussion of each if they are really not

relevant.

a. How will the management team react to your recommendation? Will there be resistance?

b. How will employees react?

c. What kind of investment will your plan require?

d. How do you expect competitors to react?

e. How will customers react?

f. How will suppliers react?

7) WHERE TO FIND YOUR DATA:

www.sec.gov – Check the Edgar filings. You will want to get the 10K annual report for each competitor

and your company and read this. It has a discussion by management about how the company is

http://www.sec.gov/

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performing and where it is headed. This also has the Balance Sheet and Income Statement provided.

This will allow you to calculate and compare certain key ratios.

a. You and your team must decide which ratios are most important for this industry and company.

Don’t include a bunch of ratios that don’t make sense or aren’t relevant to the problem or

opportunity.

Company website – This usually provides a history of the company and may provide more information

about the way the company operates. NOTE: DO NOT PLAGIARIZE THIS INFORMATION AND

DO NOT SIMPLY REGURGITATE THIS INFORMATION, CHANGING A FEW WORDS HERE

AND THERE. Do not use your textbook as a reference; this is not an acceptable reference.

There are some excellent databases at the library. Also, check Fortune, Businessweek, Wall Street

Journal and the financial page at Yahoo.

Ask a librarian about getting additional information. Industry information is sometimes difficult to find.

Ask them, it’s their job. Here is the library website: http://library.loyno.edu

WHERE YOU SHOULD NOT GET YOUR INFORMATION: IF YOU FIND A CASE

ANALYSIS ON THE COMPANY YOU ARE RESEARCHING, DO NOT USE THIS. DO NOT

SEEK OUT A CASE ANALYSIS ON THE INTERNET. DO NOT TRY TO FIND A TEXT WITH

THE COMPANY ANALYSIS. IF YOU HAVE ANALYZED THE COMPANY FOR A DIFFERENT

CLASS, THEN CHOOSE A DIFFERENT COMPANY.

8) CITING YOUR SOURCES:

Do not plagiarize; err on the side of caution. Cite anything and everything that you get from another source.

If you cite something from an article and it is a direct quote, you need to provide quotation marks. If you

use an article or anything else for information, you must cite it with endnotes. If I find plagiarized material

in your case, you get an F on the case project and I will turn the evidence over to the Office of Student

Affairs. If you have any questions, ask.

9) NOTES ON MAKING A BETTER CASE: Please note that you do not have to follow the outline verbatim! Use only the parts of the outline that you

need. Better cases are those that are interesting to read and use evidence to support arguments and

conclusions. For example, if you claim that it is difficult to enter a particular industry because of the

amount of fixed assets needed, then you need to provide insight into this amount. For example you could

say something like: “the average size of fixed assets among the top three firms in the industry is XXXX.” If

you can find a subject matter expert (such as a financial analyst who studies the industry and is quoted in the

business press), then this form of evidence would suffice as well. For example, if you are trying to justify

which ratios to use in analyzing the company and its competitors, you could say something like: “David

Jones, petroleum analyst for Goldman Sachs, argues that upstream refinery cost containment is the most

critical capability in the oil and gas industry.”

Make sure that you have edited your manuscript so that it reads well (correct all errors and make sure that it

has a consistent voice throughout). Make it look good. Don’t add a bunch of filler material just because it

happens to be in the outline. Be judicious and make it read like a case from your textbook.

Lastly, and most importantly, you should begin with the key problem affecting the company in mind and

then develop the case to build up to this key problem (this will affect what ratios you analyze and the

evidence you present to support your case). Then your recommendations should naturally flow so that they

address this problem.

16

APPENDIX B – GRADING RUBRICS

Grading Rubric –Team Case (Written Portion)

Category High Level Moderate Level Low Level

External Environment

Analysis: General

Environment

(10 points)

The elements of the external

environment are well researched

with good evidence provided,

informative, and convincing.

Some elements are well researched

with some evidence provided.

Many elements are under-

researched and evidence is either

lacking or poorly communicated


Analysis: Industry

Environment (5-

Forces Analysis)

(10 points)




informative, and convincing.





lacking or poorly communicated.


Analysis: Competitor

Analysis

(20 points)




informative, and convincing. Key

success factors are logical. Metrics

are provided and comparisons

among the competitors and the

focal organization are clear and

convincing.


with some evidence provided. Key

success factors are somewhat

logical. Metrics may not be clear

or comparisons are not shown in a

clear fashion.



lacking or poorly communicated.

Internal Analysis

(20 points)

Information on the company is

clear and well researched.

Operations of the company are

clearly presented, and performance

is clearly identified. Company’s

key resources and capabilities as

well as its business level strategy

are identified and convincingly

detailed.

Information on company is not as

clear or well researched or is

overly long. Operations of the

company are generally lacking and

performance is only partially

identified. Company’s key

resources and capabilities and

business level strategy are

identified but there is little

convincing evidence for this.

Information on company is unclear

and poorly researched.

Performance and operations are

generally lacking. Company

resources and capabilities as well

as its business level strategy are

barely mentioned.

Identify Key Problem

Areas

(15 points)

Key problem areas are well

defined, and convincing based on

evidence provided.

Key problem areas are defined but

not too convincing based on

evidence provided.

Key problem areas are not defined

or are not convincing and do not

incorporate any evidence.

Recommendations

(15 points) All three recommendations were

logical, specific, feasible,

addressed the key problem, and

sufficient detail was given to

explain how they work.

One or more of the

recommendations were not logical,

too general, or failed to address the

key problem. Detail was not given

to explain how they would work.

Two or more of the

recommendations were not logical

or too general or failed to address

the key problem. Detail was

generally lacking about how they

would work.

Implementation Plan

(10 points) The implementation plan was

logical, sufficiently detailed and

took into account other

stakeholders.

The implementation plan was

logical but lacked detail and did

not take into account other

stakeholders.

The implementation plan was not

logical or lacked so much detail

that it was hard to grasp how it

would work. Additionally other

stakeholders were not taken into

account at all.

17

Category High Level Moderate Level Low Level


Analysis: General

Environment

(10 points)


environment are well researched with

good evidence provided, informative,

and convincing.



Many elements are under-researched

and evidence is either lacking or

poorly communicated


Analysis: Industry

Environment (5-Forces

Analysis)

(10 points)




and convincing.





poorly communicated.


Analysis: Competitor

Analysis

(10 points)




and convincing. Key success factors

are logical. Metrics are provided and

comparisons among the competitors

and the focal organization are clear and

convincing.


with some evidence provided. Key

success factors are somewhat logical.

Metrics may not be clear or

comparisons are not shown in a clear

fashion.



poorly communicated.

Internal Analysis

(10 points)

Information on the company is clear

and well researched. Operations of the

company are clearly presented, and

performance is clearly identified.

Company’s key resources and

capabilities as well as its business level

strategy are identified and

convincingly detailed.

Information on company is not as clear

or well researched or is overly long.

Operations of the company are

generally lacking and performance is

only partially identified. Company’s

key resources and capabilities and

business level strategy are identified

but there is little convincing evidence

for this.

Information on company is unclear and

poorly researched. Performance and

operations are generally lacking.

Company resources and capabilities as

well as its business level strategy are

barely mentioned.

Identify Key Problem

Areas

(10 points)

Key problem areas are well defined,

and convincing based on evidence

provided.

Key problem areas are defined but not

too convincing based on evidence

provided.

Key problem areas are not defined or

are not convincing and do not

incorporate any evidence.

Recommendations

(10 points) All three recommendations were

logical, specific, feasible, addressed

the key problem, and sufficient detail

was given to explain how they work.

One or more of the recommendations

were not logical, too general, or failed

to address the key problem. Detail was

not given to explain how they would

work.

Two or more of the recommendations

were not logical or too general or

failed to address the key problem.

Detail was generally lacking about

how they would work.

Implementation Plan

(10 points) The implementation plan was logical,

sufficiently detailed and took into

account other stakeholders.

The implementation plan was logical

but lacked detail and did not take into

account other stakeholders.


logical or lacked so much detail that it

was hard to grasp how it would work.

Additionally other stakeholders were

not taken into account at all.

Presentation Delivery

(30 points)

Presentation was well done. Graphics

were easy to read and interesting. The

presenters knew the material and were

convincing and confident. Presentation

was length appropriate and was

visually interesting.

Presentation was marginal. Graphics

were overly busy or difficult to read.

The presenters did not seem to know

some of the material. The presentation

was too short or too long. The

presentation was rather dry and

visually uninteresting.

Presentation was poorly done.

Graphics were difficult to read with

many grammatical/spelling errors. The

presenters did not know the material

very well. The presentation was too

short or too long. The presentation was

visually boring.

Grading Rubric – Team case (Oral Presentation)

18

Grading Rubric – (Team Discussion Case)

High Level Moderate Level Low Level

Introduction of

Company

(10 points)

Introduction is easy to

understand, and properly

introduces the case.

Introduction is clear but overly

long or overly short and includes

irrelevant information.

Introduction is unclear.

Overall Analysis of

Situation

(20 points)

Properly utilizes the strategic

tools we have discussed to date

in class. Is informative and

gives a clear idea of the

competitive situation.

A good portion of the analysis of

the situation misses out on

important information or fails to

take into account the tools that

have been learned in class.

The analysis is abbreviated and

uninformative.

Identify Key

Problems

(10 points)

Key problem is well defined,

and convincing based on

information from the case.

Key problem is defined but not too

convincing based on information

that is provided in the case.

Key problem is not defined or is

not convincing.

Recommendations

(15 points)

They were logical, specific,

feasible, addressed the key

problem, and sufficient detail

was given to explain how they

work.

One or more of the

recommendations were not logical,

too general, or failed to address the

key problem. Detail was not given

to explain how they would work.

Few or none of the

recommendations was logical or

they were too general or failed to

address the key problem. Detail

was generally lacking about how

they would work.

Implementation Plan

(15 points)


logical, sufficiently detailed and

took into account other

stakeholders.


logical but lacked detail and did

not take into account other

stakeholders.


logical or lacked so much detail

that it was hard to grasp how it

would work. Additionally other

stakeholders were not taken into

account at all.

Presentation

Delivery

(30 points)

Presentation was well done.

Graphics were easy to read and

interesting. The presenters knew

the material and were

convincing and confident.

Presentation was length

appropriate and was visually

interesting.

Presentation was marginal.

Graphics were overly busy or

difficult to read. The presenters did

not seem to know some of the

material. The presentation was too

short or too long. The presentation

was rather dry and visually

uninteresting.

Presentation was poorly done.

Graphics were difficult to read

with many grammatical/spelling

errors. The presenters did not know

the material very well. The

presentation was too short or too

long. The presentation was visually

boring.

loyola university new orleans the joseph a. butt, s.j ... · business policy/strategy summer 2015...

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