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SECTION
3
Organizing Your Course,
Deciding What the Workload
Should Be, and Settling on
Specific Assignments
42
Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
THE ROLE AND OBJECTIVES OF COURSES IN STRATEGY
The cornerstones of courses in strategic management involve looking at the job of managing through strategic
eyes and drilling students in the whys and hows of utilizing the tools and techniques of strategic analysis to
craft, implement, and execute company strategies. The central theme of the strategic management course is that
then executing it successfully. The skills-building portion of the course, built around case analysis and strategy
simulations like GLO-BUS and The Business Strategy Game, drills students in the applications of key concepts
and analytical weaponry, helps develop their ability to do strategic thinking, forces them to exercise business
judgment, and gives them a modest but valuable dose of experience in making strategy-related decisions.
The ground that has to be covered content-wise is expansive and moderately rigorous in terms of core concepts
and analytical tools, yet the subject matter is full of energy and practical relevance. During the term, instructors
are obliged to drive home what the roles and tasks of the strategist are, to introduce students to what strategy
means, to lead them through the ins and outs of crafting and executing a strategic plan, and to get them into the
habitofautomaticallyreviewingafirm’ssituationandre-appraisingtheneedforstrategyrevision.
The overriding pedagogical objectives are to sharpen students’ abilities to “think strategically”, to evaluate a
company’s situation from the perspective of its competitiveness and performance prospects, and to draw sound
conclusions about what actions a company’s management needs to take in light of all the relevant circumstances.
Accomplishing these objectives entails introducing students to how an enterprise must in fact deal with all of
the complexities and constraints of the business environment in which it operates, why none of these can be
assumed away or ignored, and how situational factors impact strategic decisions. It means pushing students to
attractive strategic plan, and to the varied managerial and leadership tasks associated with implementing and
executing the chosen strategy as well as circumstances permit. It means deliberately putting them in managerial
shoes and forcing them to make decisions (in an ethical and socially responsible manner!) and concoct concrete
action plans capable of producing good results. The excitement and fun of it all comes from seeing the lights
turn on in students’ eyes and the “a-ha, now I get it” results that signal the lessons of the course are being driven
Some concern the “hard side” and others the “soft side” of managing. Some relate to important concepts and
information, while others involve skills-building. But none can match courses in strategy in covering so much
of the spectrum of managing. Weighing the ins and outs of crafting, implementing, and executing company
strategies forces a total enterprise perspective, demands that many internal and external situational considerations
be dealt with at once, and calls for judgments about how all the relevant factors add up. This trait is what makes
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Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
Suggested Course Objectives
We see courses in crafting and executing strategy as having eight very relevant objectives:
1. To develop students’ capacity to think strategically about a company, its present business position, its
2. To build students’ skills in conducting strategic analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations
3. To give students hands-on experience in crafting business strategy, reasoning carefully about strategic
options, using what-if analysis to evaluate action alternatives, and making sound strategic decisions.
4. To acquaint students with the managerial tasks associated with implementing and executing company
5. To integrate the knowledge gained in earlier core courses in the business school curriculum, show students
6. To develop students’ powers of managerial judgment, build their skills in assessing business risk, and
improve their ability to create results-oriented action plans.
7. To have students become more proficient in using personal computers to do managerial analysis and
managerial work.
8. To make students more conscious about the importance of exemplary ethical principles, sound personal and
company values, and socially responsible management practices.
STRUCTURING YOUR COURSE
Just as there are “many ways to skin a cat,” there are many ways to structure a good course in strategic
management. Aside from just the core text and cases which you plan to use, you will have to decide:
1. Whether to include GLO-BUS or The Business Strategy Game as an integral part of your course. Using
one of the two companion simulations is a powerful and constructive way of emotionally connecting
2. Whether to use outside readings and, if so, what readings to assign.
3. Whatbalancetostrikebetweenlecturesonconcepts/techniques,classdiscussionofcases,anda“learn
4. What use you wish to make of written case assignments.
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Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
5. Whethertorequireclassmemberstodoanoralteampresentationofanassignedcase.
6. What use to make of the chapter-end Assurance of Learning Exercises and Exercises for Simulation
Participants.
7. Whether to use the Connect platform for case assignments that the publisher now has made available for
8. What sort of examinations to use.
If you are a veteran in teaching the course, you undoubtedly have some experience in what works for you and
which pieces of the overall text package are most intriguing. But if you are wrestling with teaching the course
forthefirsttimeorarelookingfornewwaystodesignyourcourse,youmayfindsomeofthefollowingthoughts
and suggestions helpful in selecting a comfortable, suitable approach.
Deciding on an Appropriate Workload
The “standard” senior-level and MBA course in strategic management these days seems to involve:
1. Covering all or most of the text chapters.
2. Discussingasubsetofthecasesinthetext—somewherebetween5and15.
3. Assigningoneormorewrittencasesand/oranoralteampresentation.
4. Use of a strategy simulation. (We believe over two-thirds of strategy courses in the U.S. these days entail
having students play a simulation game—and the percentage seems to be growing, both domestically and
5. Having one or more in-class examinations over the text chapters.
These combine to make a full course, with plenty of topics to cover and ample assignments to keep students busy.
Sowhyaddmore?Specifically,shoulduseofthenewConnectplatformthatincorporateschapter-endquizzes,
selected Assurance of Learning exercises, and selected case exercises be voluntary or mandatory? Should you
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Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
Why Incorporating a Strategy Simulation Makes Sense
Insofar as use of a simulation is concerned, we believe—based on our own experiences and the mushrooming
use of simulations in strategy courses worldwide—that incorporating a simulation as a course centerpiece
definitely adds major value. As was discussed at some length in Section 2 of this IM, a strategy simulation steps
up the tempo of the course a notch, emotionally involves students in the subject matter, and gives them much-
needed hands-on practice in (a) applying what they have read in the 12 chapters and (b) making sound business
decisions and being held accountable for the results they produce.
Competition-based strategy simulation games give students every bit as much valuable practice as do cases in
thinking strategically, diagnosing market and competitive circumstances, appraising a company’s competitiveness
andfinancialperformance,andcomingupwithconcreteactionstoimproveacompany’smarketpositionand
performance. What a simulation does that a case cannot is give students immediate and incontrovertible feedback
of the caliber of their decisions to improve a company’s performance—in light of competitive circumstances
andthecompany’sproductoering,costs,andothersituationalcircumstances.Sinceinthecourseofplayinga
simulation,studentshavetolivewiththefinancialresultsoftheirdecisions,simulationsarepowerfuldevices
strategy simulation is more pedagogically powerful than just relying on traditional case assignments alone.
YoucanbefairlyconfidentthatifyouincorporateuseofGLO-BUS or The Business Strategy Game the challenges
andexcitementofacompetition-basedstrategysimulationwillgetmoststudents’competitivejuicesowing
and make their task of learning about crafting and executing winning strategies more enjoyable. Most students
findthe“learnbydoing”natureofasimulationmoreengaging.Theybecomemoreemotionallyandpersonally
in the simulation typically gets very personal, most students become immersed in what’s going on in their
industry—as compared to the more impersonal engagement that occurs when they are assigned a case to analyze.
While incorporating the simulation will consume part of a class period to get things under way, the actual
playing of the game is an out-of-class group exercise done mostly sitting around a personal computer (company
teammemberswillneedtospend1½to2½hourspreparingeachdecision,usuallymoreforthefirstcoupleof
cheapest) way for students to obtain the simulation is via a secured credit card transaction at www.bsg-online.
com (if you opt to use The Business Strategy Game) or at www.glo-bus.com (if you opt to use GLO-BUS).
Purchasing the simulation direct at the simulation web site allows students to bypass paying sometimes hefty
bookstore markups (a savings that can amount to $10-$15). The second way for students to register for the
simulation is by using a pre-paid access code that comes bundled with the 21st Edition when you order the
46
Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
Suggestions for Using the Connect™ Management Web-based
Assignment and Assessment Platform Accompanying the 21st Edition
The mushrooming popularity of McGraw-Hill’s innovative Connect™ Management Web-based Assignment and
Assessment Platform among text adopters is a solid reason to consider incorporating use of Connect in your own
courseoering.
The Connect-Based Chapter-end Quizzes. One element of Connect for the 21st edition involves
automatically-gradedandrecordedchapter-endquizzesconsistingof20to25multiplechoicequestions.Having
students complete these quizzes following your coverage of each chapter is strongly recommended, not only as
a prod to push students to gain better command of the chapter material but also to assess class member learning
and the achievement of course objectives.
Forstudentstorealizethemaximumbenefitfromtheonlinechapterself-testsandforyoutoseethedierence
in their command of the core concepts and ability to use the analytical tools to analyze assigned cases, we
recommend that you strongly encourage students to work through the online chapter tests immediately after
reading each chapter (rather than waiting until just before the hour exam over the chapters). It is easy to check
The Connect-Based Learning Assurance Exercises. The authors of the text have developed two
Connect-based learning assurance exercises for each of the 12 chapters of the 21st edition. All of the exercises is
based on an end-of-chapter Assurance of Learning Exercise that requires students to demonstrate understanding
and proper application of chapter concepts. The exercises include (1) 3 to 6 assignment questions that assess
students’ abilities to accurately apply chapter concepts and analytic tools. Students should be able to complete
the Connect-Based exercises for a chapter in about 20 minutes.
Topics included in the Connect-Based Learning Assurance Exercises for the various chapters include:
Identifying and critiquing a company’s business strategy
Assessingtheeectivenessofmanagerialoversightonthepartofacompany’sboardofdirectors
Drawingastrategicgroupmapandassessingthepositionsofthecompanies/strategicgroups
Calculatingfinancialratiosanddoingothernumber-crunchingtodetermineacompany’sfinancialper-
formance and the strength of its balance sheet
Determining the strengths of a low-cost provider strategy and gain command of the major avenues for
securing a cost-based advantage
Evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of extending the company’s scope of operations via verti-
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Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
Assessing how companies balance duties to engage in socially responsible and sustainable business
practices with economic responsibilities to shareholders
Identifying and critiquing the policies, practices, principles, and approaches management is using to
implement and execute the company’s strategy
Each chapter includes one exercise that is automatically graded and open-ended assignment questions that
require students to discuss their analysis of the exercise material.
Chapter Learning Assurance Exercises are intended to improve student understanding of chapter concepts and
their mastery of the application of tools of strategic analysis. The Connect-Based Learning Assurance Exercises
may be scored and used as a graded component for the course or the exercises may be used for individual-level
assessment purposes only. Whether used as part of course pedagogy or for accrediting body assessment purpos-
Chapter and Source
Content for Exercise
Objectives
Covered Exercise Title/Topic
Automatic
Grading
Ch. 1: Assurance of Learning Exercise 1 LO 4, LO 6 What is Strategy and Why is it Important? Ye s
Ch. 4: Assurance of Learning Exercise 1 LO 1 Ratio Analysis Ye s
Ch. 4: Assurance of Learning Exercise 3 LO 4 Company Value Chain No
Ch. 5: Assurance of Learning Exercise 2 LO 2 Low-Cost Provider Strategy Ye s
Ch. 5: Assurance of Learning Exercise 4 LO 3 Differentiation Strategy No
Ch. 6: Assurance of Learning Exercise 1 LO 1, LO 2, LO 3 Strategic Moves No
LO 4
Businesses
Ch. 8: Assurance of Learning Exercise 3 LO 1, LO 2, LO 3,
LO 4, LO 5
Analyzing a Company’s Diversification
Strategy
Ye s
Ch. 9: Assurance of Learning Exercise 3 LO 4 Corporate Social Responsibility Ye s
Ch. 9: Assurance of Learning Exercise 4 LO 2 Environmental Sustainability No
48
Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
The Connect-Based Case Exercises. The 21st Edition includes Connect case exercises for 12 of the 31
cases in the text.All of the exercises reect the recommended assignment questions for the respective case
and call upon a student to develop thoughtful, analysis-based recommendations to address strategic issues
disclosed through their analysis (as opposed to stating seat-of-the-pants opinions). Students are able to complete
autograded assignment questions related to the proper analysis of the case and submit strategic recommendations
thatareinstructor-graded.Eachexerciseisdierent,dependingbothonthecircumstancesofthecaseandthe
content of the chapters to which it is closely linked. The exercises relate to such things as
Identifying and critiquing a company’s strategic vision or objectives or strategy
Doingafive-forcesanalysis
Identifying driving forces (industry dynamics) and evaluating their impact
Drawingastrategicgroupmapandassessingthepositionsofthecompanies/strategicgroups
Identifying key success factors
Identifying and critiquing the policies, practices, principles, and approaches management is using to
implement and execute the company’s strategy
Assessing whether a company’s stated core values are cosmetic or genuine
Identifyingthestrategicissues/problemsthatcompanymanagementneedstoaddress
Proposing action recommendations
The driving concept underlying the creation and use of these exercises has been to facilitate student learning, put
students on the path to sound strategic thinking and proper use of the concepts and tools of strategic analysis, and
make it quick and easy for you to assess student performance on assigned cases.
The exercises can typically be completed in 30 to 60 minutes, assuming a student has done a conscientious job
ofreadingthecaseandabsorbingtheinformation.You’llfindthatsomeofthecaseexercisesaresuitableforuse
as substitutes for a written case analysis, with a portion of the exercise being automatically graded and a portion
requiring instructor grading.
Special Note: Because, the Connect-based case exercises call upon students to develop answers to
questions that are largely identical to some of same assignment questions presented in the Teaching
Note we provide for the case, the content of the Teaching Outline and Analysis section of each TN
serves as your “answer guide” to the questions posed to students in each of the Connect case exercises.
HavingclassmemberscompletesomeormanyoftheConnect-basedcaseexercisesservesseveralteaching/
learningpurposesandhasmultiplebenefits:
The nature and content of a case exercise signals students that they need to do more than come to class
havingreadanassignedcase(thisisparticularlybeneficialifthecaseassignmentsforyourcoursearea
student’sfirstencounterwiththecasemethodofteaching/learning).Thereisnowaythatstudentscanscore
wellonthecaseexerciseswithoutdoing some serious thinking and putting forth eort;guessingatthe
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Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
The exercises are yet another means of drilling students in how to apply the chapter content in managerial
situations and helping them bridge the gap between theory and practice. We think a good argument can
be made that the learning potential of an assigned case is more likely to be fully achieved by having
students use an interactive tool that “tutors” them in the process of (a) thinking strategically, (b) using the
developing solid answers to the assignment questions will put more students in position to give meaningful,
content-filledanswerstothequestionsyouposeinclass.
The table below lists cases included in the 21st Edition with Connect exercises.
Case Number/Title
Case 1: Mystic Monk Coffee
Case 14: Chipotle Mexican Grill in 2016: Can the Company Recover from Its E. Coli Disaster and Grow Customer Traffic
Again?
Case 16: Tesla Motors in 2016: Will Its Strategy Be Defeated by Low Gasoline Prices and Mounting Competition?
Case 21: Mondelez International: Has Corporate Restructuring Produced Shareholder Value?
Case 22: LVMH in 2016: Its Diversification Into Luxury Goods
Case 23: Robin Hood
Case 25: Southwest Airlines in 2014: Culture, Values, and Operating Practices
Case 27: Nucor Corporation in 2016: Contending with the Challenges of Low-Cost Foreign Imports and Weak Demand for
Steel Products
Suggestions for Examinations over the 12 Text Chapters
Wesuggesthavingtwoexamscoveringthetextmaterialandperhapshavingacomprehensivefinal(although
ourpreferenceistouseacomprehensivecaseasafinalexamasopposedtoacomprehensivefinalcoveringthe
contentofjustthe12chapters).Ifyouoptfortwochapter-relatedexams,werecommendthatthefirstonecover
Chapters 1-7 and that the second one cover Chapters 8-12. If the number of class periods is too short for two
exams, a single exam covering all 12 chapters is the next best option—it can be given at the end of the course or
whereexamsonthechaptersfitin.
There’satestbankof900+multiplechoiceandshort-answer/essayquestionsyoucanchoosefrominmaking
out exams. The full test bank is in both this volume of the IM. The EZ Test companion software enables you to
quickly setup an online exam or print out a test master.
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Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
Suggested Weights in Determining Final Grades in the Course
If you are a veteran in teaching strategy, then you have no doubt arrived at a scheme for weighting all the various
Exam over Chapters 1-7
10% 10.0% 15% 12.5% —
Exam over Chapters 8-12
10% 10.0% 15% 12.5% —
Written Case Report #1
15% 12.5% 15% 12.5% 20%
Written Case Report #2
— 12.5% 15% — —
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Tips and Suggestions for Effectively Incorporating Either The Business
Strategy Game or GLO-BUS in Your Course
Both The Business Strategy Game and GLO-BUS are suitable for either senior-level or MBA-level courses.
Which to use is really a matter of preference and the degree to which the faculty believe that there should be a
clear distinction between the content and rigor of a senior-level course in strategy and the MBA-level course in
strategy:
If you want students to spend an average of 1-2 hours per decision, then we believe GLO-BUS is the best
choice. If you want the simulation to be a truly major part of the course and serve as the main assignment for
the class beyond the text chapters, then The Business Strategy Game is perhaps the better choice—especially
for a MBA class—because it has more robust production and distribution operations and allows students to
formulate somewhat more complex strategies. Both simulations have a 3-year strategic plan module (which
can be made a requirement or left optional or ignored altogether).
If school policy is to maintain a clear-cut distinction between the content and rigor of the senior-level course
and the MBA-level course then it probably makes sense to use GLO-BUS in one course (probably the senior-
However, adopters have used both GLO-BUS and The Business Strategy Game for senior and MBA courses—
with apparent success at both levels. We firmly believe you can have a successful experience with either
simulation in either senior or MBA courses.
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Section 3 Organizing Your Course, Deciding What the Workload Should Be, and Settling on Specific Assignments
What Decision Schedule to Use. We suggest that you consider one of the three following types of decision
schedules:
One decision weekly throughout the term (with a total of 1 or 2 practice decision rounds and 7-10 regular
or scored decision rounds). This decision round schedule makes the simulation a standard part of the course
(ideally through Chapter 7), be familiar with many of the concepts, analytical tools, and competitive strategy
options, and have had some experience in analyzing some cases. Somewhere near mid-term of the course,
it can thus be assumed that students have a fairly solid foundation for beginning an exercise which will give
them opportunity to use and apply all that they have learned and will later encounter in the course.
Daily decisions the last two weeks of the term (which is an ideal schedule for concluding the course and
completionofQuiz 1andQuiz 2(requiringboth quizzesisveryhighly recommended),whattimes/dates to
establish as deadlines for completion of the quizzes, whether to require completion of one or two strategic plans
(at least one is highly recommended), what deadlines to establish for completion of any strategic plans you
require, and whether to require completion of the peer evaluation (very highly recommended) at the end of the
simulation.
simulation count at least 20% of the overall course grade and probably no more than 40% of the total grade. If it
countslessthan20%,thenstudenteortisweakenedtoanundesirableextentandsomeofthelearningpotential
slips through the cracks. If it counts more than 40%, then the game may take something away from the emphasis
you want to give to other aspects of the course.
However, we have growing numbers of users who are making the simulation the dominant centerpiece of the
analyze.
