Business Policy and Strategy Capstone

BUSI435:

1.      Course Details

Semester:	Spring 2020
Course Code:	BUSI435
Course Name:	Business Policy and Strategy Capstone
Course Prerequisites:	QANT 405
Course Co-requisites:	BUSI405, BUSI495
Credits Hours:	Three (3) credit hours
Classroom:
Class Timing:	(45 contact hours)
Final Exam Period:

 

2.      Instructor Details

Professor:
Office Location:
Office Hours:
Email:
Course website:
Phone (Office):

 

3.      Catalog Course Description

This capstone, senior-year course, integrates knowledge and skills in the various functional areas of business for corporate and business strategy development. Student teams will develop a corporate mission, goals and objectives, and implement business policy by managing a complete value chain for a company; deploying marketing, operational and financial strategies and policies in a simulated competitive environment so as to achieve sustainable growth and productivity.

4.      Course Overview

The course is designed to integrate the knowledge and competencies developed in the three functional areas of business studies (marketing, operations, and finance) within a strategic management framework.  Accordingly, the emphasis will be placed on the analysis, design and implementation of corporate/business strategies. Student teams will:

• Discuss and affect the strategic management practices of organizations in environments under risk;
• Develop an understanding of business enterprises, and the entrepreneurial and strategic thinking that drives these enterprises in dynamic competitive regional, national and global economies and design an organizational strategy and policies to affect the chosen strategy;
• Analyze organization situations utilizing their understanding of the variables and interdependencies that influence the effectiveness and efficiency of their companies, and evaluate their decisions through an interactive business game; and
• Apply concrete practical skills by way of industry situational analysis.

This course utilizes the results of the ETS Major Field Test for the Bachelor’s Degree in Business (administered to each student in BUSI405) as a component in the grading rubric.

5.      Course-Level Learning Goals[1]

• Invariant Learning Goals (In support of the BSBA Programmatic Learning Goal(s)):

Upon the successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Analyze and evaluate overall corporate strategies;
2. Delineate and analyze the threats/opportunities in the business environment;
3. Utilize short and long term forecasting models for market demand, exchange rates, revenues and costs;
4. Plan a symbiotic relationship between the organization and the uncontrollable environment;
5. Develop a Strategic Business Plan with embedded business policies and annual business plans for a multi-market/multi-business company;
6. Solve problems that require an understanding of the interdependence between strategy and tactics in each of the functional areas of business;
7. Make decisions in the fundamental areas of marketing, operations, and finance, in a group setting
8. Evaluate short term performance and plan corrective actions;
9. Apply the determinants of revenue growth, market share, earnings, brand image, and credit ratings; and
10. Develop and plan for the implementation of corporate/business strategy using various theoretical approaches and models.

Assurance of Learning Validations (In support of the BSBA Programmatic Learning Goal(s))[2]:

1. Global Industry Simulation: A Global Industry Simulation entitled GLO-BUS^®: Developing Winning Competitive Strategies ( www.glo-bus.com) provides a framework for class discussions of strategic management processes and analysis techniques, in addition to guiding the development of materials that will assist in measuring the attainment of student learning outcomes. This Simulation is a dynamic computer-based, business exercise designed for practicing managers and students enrolled in a course that features decision-making at the strategic management level. It provides players with simulated real-world experience in managing the variables that are encountered in strategic choices. It enables the players to practice various principles in addition to learning them. Company (e.g. student team) co-managers must make decisions relating to R&D, component usage, camera performance, product line breadth, production operations, work force compensation, outsourcing, pricing, sales and marketing, and finance.

Simulation Exercise (Glo-Bus) will commence after the preliminary discussions are completed. Because of the seminar nature of the course it is impossible to plan ahead a specific date, as every seminar develops at its own pace.

[Week 1 of the Simulation]  Introduction to Glo-bus. Read the Participant’s Guide and the PPt Companion slide show.

1. [Week 1] Teams will be formed to function as decision-makers of various firms within an industry. Each team should consist of students from different majors to facilitate “cross-fertilization” and synergistic decision making. Team members will develop and submit a name for their company, an organizational chart, and job descriptions. Each team will justify their choices. To be included into the team’s Strategic Audit
2. [Week 2]Each student must conduct a study on the technical aspects, characteristics and attributes of digital cameras and the technological trends in manufacturing and product innovation. Also, sign on to Glo-bus.com using your code and study the technical aspects of the cameras, as coded into the simulation.

Teams submit a summary that includes technical aspects and characteristics, associated consumer benefits, and emerging trends in the industry. This will be included into the team’s Strategic Audit.

• [Week 4] Each team will evaluate their company’s position in various international markets (Europe, Asia, Middle East, North America, etc.) The initial market position will vary across the international markets, in terms of market share (leader in some, follower in others). Since the game closely resembles reality, each team will submit a report (3- 5 pages) that includes:
  • A market potential study for each of the international and domestic markets, based on the data contained in GLO-BUS^®, as well as other business sources. A score will be given based on identification of the proper determinants of the market potential (M2O1).
• [Week 5] Members of a team (co-managers) will make decisions individually, “save” the decisions in GLO-BUS, and then communicate using the Instant Messenger of GLO-BUS^® with other members of the team. The decisions saved the latest, before the deadlines are the decisions that are processed by Glo-Bus.  This procedure will be repeated for every decision period.  Final decisions for each period should be a result of a (virtual and regular) group meeting, when each functional manager will present and justify his/her decision, as well as adjust them as a result of input from other co-managers. The faculty member is to attend at least one of the group meetings to provide an informal feedback on the decision making process and suggestions for improvement in the company’s performance (Formative Assessment).

Each team will have to make the following set of decisions for each time period:

• Design and performance of the camera line (10 decisions);
• Production operations and worker compensation (15 decisions);
• Pricing and marketing (16 decisions);
• Financing of company operations  (4 decisions); and
• Social responsibility and citizenship (up to 6 decisions).

Decisions must be submitted, by each group member in turn, prior to the deadline for a given period, at which time the computer will run the simulation and provide each team with the marketing, operating, and financial results on the company, and less detailed, on the competition. The first two periods will be considered as trials.

• [Week 5] Before submitting the first “real” decisions, each team member will take an On-line assessment (quiz#1) on the knowledge of GLO-BUS^® operations.  This grade is retained by GLO-BUS^® for inclusion into individual student overall game score.

Each team will submit a document of Elasticities. To be included into the team’s Strategic Audit

• [Week 6] Each team, prior to submitting the first “real” decision, will submit a “Business Strategy” document (PowerPoint Slides), consisting of:
• The Global Vision and Mission of the Company;
• The Goals and Objectives (Strategic [3 years] and Tactical [next year]) for each market segment.  The Objectives ought to be stated in terms of metrics, such as market share, unit shipments, PQ (for multifunction and basic cameras only), etc.;
• The Marketing Strategy for each targeted market segment; and
• Corporate Financial and Operating Strategy.

One score will be given for the “Business Strategy”, based on the alignment of the concepts discussed in class with the four aforementioned components (M4O1).

• [Week 7] After the 3^rd period, co-managers will adjust their initial strategic plan and business policies. Regardless of the degree of adjustment, each company will submit the “new” strategic plan (Power Point slides) and a written addendum specifying the changes. In that addendum, students must indicate the areas of concern, as identified by the simulation and the subsequent what-if analyses, and a resulting solution that the team implemented. One score is given based on the ability to derive a solution to the tactical area of concern within the framework of the strategy (M1O2).
• [Week 10] All students take a second computer based assessment (quiz#2), testing the understanding of Key Strategic Factors, the underlying drivers and relationships. This quiz score is retained and will be one of the factors determining individual student’s score for the simulation.
•  [Week 14] Each team will prepare a Strategic Audit, evaluating the quality of a company’s strategic plans and implementation, using graphic tools, strategic group maps, all inserted in an MSWord document and PPT Slide presentation. The audit should discuss how preliminary strategy and policies translated into annual business plans and were modified and the rationale behind these changes. Three scores are given. The first is based on the written quality of the overall effectiveness of the report in clearly conveying the embedded concepts (M2O4). The second grade is based on the team ability to comprehend the interrelationship between the functional areas and the linkage of these to the outcomes generated (M4O2). The third score is the ability of the team to communicate concepts effectively during the oral presentation (G1O2).
• [Week 15] Upon completion of the simulation, each team member will independently complete the peer evaluation exercise.  One score is given based on the quality of the contribution to the team (G1O3).
• [Final Exam week]The final simulation scores are reported in support of the student team’s overall ability to strategize and effectively navigate the business landscape in a competitive environment.

A2. Reflective Reports (WRR): During the course, there will be ample opportunities for finding relevance of the course material to the localized events in the business world, things you observe and/or read about in the business press. Five (5) Reflective Reports must be submitted during the course. Reflective Reports  are short (1 to 3 typewritten pages) descriptions of such happenings and an interpretation/position, using the vernacular developed in the course. Two scores are given. The first is based on the quality of the writing (G1O1) and the second on the number of relevant localized (globalized for NY campuses) concepts that were discussed in the analysis and the interpretation/position (G2O2). Grades achieved are added to examination scores. Each submission results in an addition to the midterm (or final) grade according to the following:

Total Score	Points added to an examination score
10	2.5
8-9	2.0
6-7	1.5
4-5	1.0
2-3	0.5
0-1	0.0

• Contextualized (Globalized) Learning Goal(s):

Upon the successful completion of this course, student will be able to:

1. See Invariant Learning Goals 3 and 4 above.

Assurance of Learning Validation (In support of the Contextualized (Globalized) Learning Goal(s)):

B1.  See Assurance of Learning Validation A2, score 2.

• Instructor Specific Learning Goal(s) (Optional):

None

Assurance of Learning Validation (In support of the Instructor Specific Learning Goal(s)):

None

6.      Teaching and Learning Methodology

The School of Management’s teaching and learning strategy is informed by contemporary indicators/sources that derive from its target market, specifically the millennial generation.  In particular, behavioral traits for this generation are identified and form the basis of emphasis for the schools’ teaching and learning methodologies.  These methodologies are reflected in the school’s mission statement by way of its TEMPOS campaign[3].  In addition, teaching and learning strategies are informed by institutional indirect assessment results, periodically collected and reviewed by the Office of Planning and Assessment and the school’s faculty[4].   Teaching and learning strategies are also externally referenced systematically (e.g., the Annual Stakeholder’s Conference) through continuing consultations with non-board key stakeholder groups, including employers, business and community leaders, accreditation and ministerial agencies, alumni, students, peer institutions, and business and governmental agency representatives.

A component of all courses, as a part of the teaching and learning strategies, is to maintain academic rigor and to be intellectually challenging.  This is validated in institutional survey results. However, School of Management faculty members utilize an overall collective portfolio of strategies/initiatives that obtain from the aforementioned sources in delineating those that are most appropriate or emphasized in the courses they lead.

In this course (BUSI435), four (4) prioritized teaching and learning strategies focus on:

1. use of the web;
2. solving problems;
3. in-class interactive discussions; and
4. reflection activities.

All faculty members that instruct this course should consider how to execute the course to emphasize these key components of the strategies considered. Following a review of learning outcomes, faculty members consider how re-orientation of teaching and learning strategies might result in strengthening these outcomes, and adjustments are made, accordingly. Faculty members also consider how the School of Management Triple Platforms of Excellence (Professional Enrichment, Experiential Education, and Student Advancement) might be leveraged as a part of this strategy, and provide recommendations to the Directors of those platforms. The school also reviews the distribution of identified teaching and learning strategies periodically to ensure comprehension and the integration of each (from the designated list of approximately 20-25 strategies) within the curriculum. Finally, results from student teaching evaluations also provide indications of how various teaching and learning strategies are integrated into the course delivery. The following issues (indicator number is provided) are among those in the evaluations that bear on this review and analysis:

7. The instructor was responsive to student questions.

8. The instructor was available for course related consultation and advice.

9. The instructor graded and returned student work and exams promptly.

10. The instructor incorporated information technology (e.g. computer or the Internet) in the course.

18. The instructor was responsive to student needs and concerns.

21. The instructor assigned challenging course work.

22. The instructor provided helpful, constructive feedback on assignments and course work.

23. The instructor acknowledged cultural differences and diversity among students.

24. The instructor helped me understand the subject matter.

Along with teaching and learning strategies, the notion of student effort/time on task is also considered, although it is not necessarily driven by metrics.  It is noted that the notion of student effort, specifically metric driven, is not a universally adopted approach[5].  However, if an instance occurs where student learning outcomes do not meet targeted academic standards, the School of Management utilizes indirect inputs in this area to explore the interdependencies between factors including the amount of work required in the course, the degree of challenge in the coursework, and level of critical analysis, among others[6].

This course also employs instructor led lectures, student discussion and teamwork, case study, and a computer-based simulation to integrate all core business functions with an outcome of creating, implementing, evaluating and improving business strategy and policy.  Emphasis is placed on peer-learning and individual reflection.

7.      Required Resource(s)

Thompson, A., Strickland, A., and Gamble J. (2013). Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases. 19^th Edition. McGraw-Hill Publishing. ISBN 13: 9780078029509.

Online Learning Center www.mhhe.com/thompson

The student sections of this site contains

A)   Concept-Tutor. Self-grading, 20 questions quizzes for each chapter

B)   Power Point Slides for each chapter.

 

http://www.glo-bus.com/ (Strategy Game)

E-Book of this text is available as a part of Glo-Bus Premium, which in addition includes the access to the business simulation http://www.glo-bus.com/

8.      Reference Resource(s)

Wheelen, T. and Hunger, D. (2005). Strategic Management and Business Policy. 10^th Edition. Prentice Hall. ISBN-13: 978-0131494596.

Relevant journals and magazines for consultation

• Strategic Management Journal
  • Long Range Planning
  • Journal of Business Strategy
  • Management Decision
  • Business Week
  • The Fortune
  • Harvard Business Review
  • MEED (Middle East Economic Digest)
  • The Economist
  • California Management Review
  • Business Horizons

Internet search websites

• www.nbia.org
• www.harvardbusinessonline.com
• www.business.com
• www.findarticles.com
• www.managementfirst.com
• www.oclc.org
• www.mbs.umd.edu/dingman
• www.fastcompany.com
•  FedReserve-BEIGE BOOK
•  www.strategicmanagement.com
• www.mamma.com
• www.bplans.com
• www.businessplans.com
• www.csuchico.edu/mgmt/strategy
• www.internalbusinessplans.co.uk
• www.inc.com
• www.sbinfocanada.about.com
• www.efqm.org
• http://www.hoovers.com
• www.businessweek.com 
• www.fortune.com
• www.wsj.com
• http://www.annualreportservice.com
• http://www.vlib.org
• http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/
• http://www.bcg.com/
• http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/
• http://hbswk.hbs.edu/forms/newsletter.html

9.      Assessment Methodology and Grading Guidelines

Instrument	Points (i.e. weights)	Time on Task[7]
Tests (Midterm and Final) (See A2 for adjustments)	300 points (100 points for midterm, 200 points for final)	25 hours (10 for Midterm, 15 for Final)
Simulation Portfolio (see A1; and 1 below)	100 points	15 hours
Simulation Quantitative Finish (see A1; and 2 below)	100 points	60 hours
Individual  Simulation Score (see A1 and 3 below)	100 points	0 hours
TOTAL	600 points	100 hours

The grading criteria for each Company’s simulation performance will include the following:

• The Portfolio will consist of the strategic vision, organizational chart and job descriptions, industry review, strategic planning slides and addendums, and the strategic audit – to be prepared at the end of the course. This Portfolio will be a team effort with one Portfolio submitted for each company. Each member of the management team should participate in its preparation.
• The Quantitative Finish is based on outputs of the simulation and are weighted, as follow:

Earnings Per Share:		25%
Return on Equity:		20%
Stock Price:		15%
Credit Rating:		15%
Image Rating:		25%

(3) Individual Score: The grading criteria for the Individual performance in the Simulation Game, in addition to the Company’s score, will include the following: Quizzes I and II, the Activity Log, Memo on Digital Cameras Characteristics and the and the peer evaluations. The individual simulation score is computed by Glo-Busand depends on the percentile placement among all teams (usually around 1500) from all colleges and universities around the globe (usually in excess of 100) participated in the Simulation Game.

10.  Grading Guidelines: N/A

 

11.  Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend every class session. Instructors will inform students of the exact number of absences and late-arrivals permitted during the semester. Students who exceed these limits may be subject to failure. If a student misses any class or test, the instructor has the right to either grant or deny an opportunity to make up the work that was missed. In such cases, the instructor shall be the sole judge of the validity of a student’s explanation for having missed the class or test.

12.  Deductions for Late Arrival, Early Departure, and Unexcused Absences:

13.  Policy for Make-Up Assignments or Quizzes:

14.  Classroom Behavior: Behavior that disrupts, impairs, interferes with, or obstructs the orderly conduct, processes, and functions within an academic classroom or laboratory violates the student code of conduct and may result in disciplinary action. This includes interfering with the academic mission of NYIT or individual classroom or interfering with a faculty member’s or instructor’s role to carry out the normal academic or educational functions of his classroom or laboratory, including teaching and research.

15.  Students with Physical or Educational Challenges:

• It is the policy of New York Institute of Technology to provide reasonable accommodations for students who are otherwise qualified but have disabilities, including learning disabilities, health impairments, and other disabling conditions. Possible accommodations include, but are not limited to, test schedule modifications, class relocation, and possible assistance in acquisition of necessary equipment.
• The college has an interest in helping students with disabilities to be competitive in this academic environment. Therefore, reasonable accommodations will be made upon proof both of disability and need for the accommodations. It must be understood that accommodations are meant to facilitate educational opportunities. Admission to NYIT and accommodations do not guarantee success. Therefore, in addition to accommodations, the college encourages utilization of auxiliary services available to all students to maximize opportunities for success. Students whose disabilities may require some type of accommodation must complete a request for accommodations form and an intake interview with their campus services coordinator prior to the academic semester. Accommodations maybe requested at any time during the semester; however, accommodations cannot be applied to past failures, only to future academic endeavors. Appropriate modifications of accommodations will be worked out on a case-by-case basis and will not necessarily incorporate all requested changes.
• Students for whom auxiliary services—such as readers, interpreters, note takers, etc.—have been approved should arrange these with their campus services coordinator. In addition to discussing appropriate educational modifications, the campus services coordinator will serve as a liaison with other college faculty and administration on behalf of students with disabilities.

16.  Academic Integrity:

• Each student enrolled in a course at NYIT agrees that, by taking such course, he or she consents to the submission of all required papers for textual similarity review to any commercial service engaged by NYIT to detect plagiarism.  Each student also agrees that all papers submitted to any such service may be included as source documents in the service’s database, solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.
• Plagiarism is the appropriation of all or part of someone else’s works (such as but not limited to writing, coding, programs, images, etc.) and offering it as one’s own. Cheating is using false pretenses, tricks, devices, artifices or deception to obtain credit on an examination or in a college course. If a faculty member determines that a student has committed academic dishonesty by plagiarism, cheating or in any other manner, the faculty has the academic right to 1) fail the student for the paper, assignment, project and/or exam, and/or 2) fail the student for the course and/or 3) bring the student up on disciplinary charges, pursuant to Article VI, Academic Conduct Proceedings, of the Student Code of Conduct. The complete Academic Integrity Policy may be found on various NYIT Webpages, including: http://www.nyit.edu/images/uploads/academics/AcademicIntegrityPolicy.pdf.

17.       15 Week Topical Class Schedule

Week	Topic	Chapter
Wk 1-2	Course introduction: syllabus discussion, learning outcomes, team planning. What is Strategy and why is it important? Charting a Company’s Long Term Direction.	Ch. 1 & 2
Wk 3	Organization Analysis: External Environment*	Ch. 3
Wk 4	Organization Analysis: Internal Environment: Company’s Resources and Competitive Position*	Ch. 4
Wk 5	Strategy Crafting: Five Generic Competitive Strategies*	Ch. 5
Wk 6	Strategy Crafting: Supplementing the Chosen Competitive Strategy*	Ch. 6
Wk 7	Strategy Crafting: Competing Internationally or Globally	Ch. 7
Wk 8	Exam 1
Wk 9	Spring Break
Wk 10	Diversification Strategies and Strategy, Ethics and Social Responsibility	Ch. 8 and 9
Wk 11	Strategy Crafting: Strategy, Ethical Issues, & Social Responsibility Executing Strategy: Building Organization: Competences and Capabilities	Ch. 10 and Ch. 11
Wk 12	Executing Strategy: Building Organization: Managing Internal Operations	Ch. 12
Wk 13	Executing Strategy: Corporate Culture and Leadership	Ch. 13
Wk 14	Recap and Presentations and Make up Classes
Wk 15	Exam 2

*By the end of week 6, class lectures must reinforce how to derive a solution to the tactical area of concern within the framework of the strategy.  This content is reinforced to improve student attainment of M1O2.

18.       Using the NYIT Library

All students can access the NYIT virtual library from both on and off campus at www.nyit.edu/library.  The same login you use to access NYIT e-mail and NYITConnect will also give you access to the library’s resources from off campus. 

On the left side of the library’s home page, you will find the “Library Catalog” and the “Find Journals” sections.   In the middle of the home page you will find “Research Guides;” select “Video Tutorials” to find information on using the library’s resources and doing research. 

Should you have any questions, please look under “Library Services” to submit a web-based “Ask-A-Librarian” form.

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[1]     A note on School of Management Course-Level Learning Goals: Learning goals are partitioned into those that are in support of the programmatic learning goals (Invariant), specific to the localized region of delivery (Contextualized), and specific to the domain expertise of the instructor (Instructor-Specific). The former two categories are required for all courses. Invariant “Assurance of Learning Validations” are specifically linked to the associated programmatic learning goal and objective, with course-level learning goals representing the programmatic goal as it applies to the context of the course. Learning goals that focus on knowledge acquisition (Bloom’s Taxonomy) are not specifically or necessarily included into the course-level learning goals, although it is assumed that knowledge acquisition of all relevant business core fundamentals is addressed within each course. Examinations in class are used to provide feedback concerning knowledge and comprehension for the purpose of ensuring that students who have not mastered these will not advance through the curriculum. Attainment of knowledge within each core area is assessed by way of standalone testing of each student as a required part of the instructional program prior to graduation (e.g. ETS).

[2]       A note on School of Management Assurance of Learning Scoring: Scores form the metric for the degree to which the validation (e.g. learning outcome) satisfies the associated learning goal or objective. Assurance of learning validation descriptions identify the criteria for each score that is to be given. All scores are scaled from 1-5 (1-poor, 2-fair, 3-good, 4-very good, 5-excellent). It must be noted that scores are to be differentiated from grades. Scores form a criterion from which an instructor will ascertain an overall grade for any instrument of assessment, and the overall assessment the student receives for an instrument is a “grade.” A score is an extraction that specifically measures the degree of attainment of a learning goal and/or objective.

[3]               Teaching and Learning Strategies: ”TEMPOS and the Millennials,” revised September 2008.

[4]               E.g., Student Survey on Teaching Quality – Quantitative Data: School of Management.

[5]               See the Victorian TAFE Association Response – Strengthening the AQF: Proposal, June 2009.  East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, retrieved from http://www.vta.vic.edu.au/docs/PositionDiscussion%20Papers/VTA_Response_Strengthening_the_AQF.pdf on February 22, 2010.

[6]               Sample data regularly collected through the New York Institute of Technology Student Rating of Courses/Teaching Form.

[7]               An estimate of the period of time during which a student is actively engaged in a learning activity, excluding classroom contact hours.