NUS BUSINESS SCHOOL

BMA5013
Corporate Strategy

Lecturer: Dr. Nitin Pangarkar

Office: BIZ1 #02-22, Tel: 6874 5299
e-mail: bizpn@nus.edu.sg

Term: Semester 1, 2004/2005.

Course objectives

This course requires you to assume the role of a general manager. Since
general managers have to cope with tremendous complexity, uncertainty,
and inadequate information, an important requirement of a general
manager's job is the ability to think in a cross- functional and holistic
manner. Very often, decisions that are optimal for an individual business unit
or department are not in the best interests of the whole firm. Creativity
and innovation are critical to achieve success as a general manager since
following often-traveled strategic paths is unlikely to result in a superior
performance. Creativity can be exercised in both analysis as well as
implementation.

This course seeks to develop both the analytical skills as well as the action
orientation that is required of a general manager. The assigned readings and
discussion sessions in the course will address the analytical tools required of
a general manager but the theoretical knowledge can only be imbibed with
considerable practice. Hence a significant part of the course will be devoted
to the discussion of cases.

Recommended Text
• Strategic Management, Competitiveness and Globalization (5th Edition) ,
By M.A. Hitt, R.D. Ireland and R.E. Hoskisson, Thomson/ South-Western
Publishing, 2003 (Hereafter HIH). WE WILL USE THE CONCEPTS BOOK.
• We will also discuss several Harvard cases and one Ivey case. The
method for procuring these cases will be discussed during the first class.
• We will be using 2 cases from Business Strategy in Asia, A Casebook (2nd
edition) by Singh, Pangarkar and Heracleous, Thomson Learning (2004).
A few copies of the book will also be available on RBR. Students who
intend to take Global Strategic Management later may find it worthwhile
to buy the book.

Weightage of assessment
Class participation+ contribution to the discussion forum 20%
Two quizzes through the term 20%
Group case analysis 20%
Group project on a selected topic (presentation) 20%
Final (format to be decided later) 20%
 Course Schedule
Sessi Topic Readings
on
1 • Introduction to the course • HIH, Chapters 1
• Nature of strategy (Introduction) and 2
• Macro-environmental analysis
2 • Macro-environmental analysis •
(contd) • HIH Chapter 2
• Porter's Five forces analysis
3 • Business level strategy, competitive • HIH, Chapters 3
advantage & sustainability and 4
• Case discussion • Crown Cork and
Seal
4 • Case discussion • Coca Cola versus
Pepsi Cola and
Soft Drinks
Industry
5 • Quiz 1
• Case discussion • The Singapore
Airlines Group†
6 • Entry and response to entry, • HIH, Chapter 5
• Case discussion • Wal Mart’s
Discount Store
Operations
7 • Case Discussion • Samsung in the
Theme Park
• Vertical integration Industry
8 • Diversification, Portfolio Planning • HIH Chapter 6
techniques (1) • Corporate Strategy
• Case Discussion at the Hour Glass†
9 • Take home mid-term case analysis;
no class
10 • Diversification, Portfolio Planning • HIH Chapter 6
techniques (2)
• Quiz 2
11 • Mergers and acquisitions • HIH Chapter 7
• Case Discussion • Asahi Glass
Company:
Diversification
Strategy
12 • Strategic intent
• Catching up/ Summary and wrap-up
• Group Project Presentations
13 • Group Project Presentations

14 • In-class final
† denotes cases available in Business Strategy in Asia by Singh, Pangarkar
and Heracleous.
General standards and evaluation process:

1. Participating in class is important to learning strategy through the case

method. It gives you an opportunity to discuss your proposed solution with
peers. In the process, you can judge clarity of your own thoughts as well
peers' reaction to your ideas. Attending as many classes as possible is
important for receiving a good grade on class participation.

2. There may not be one correct answer to the question posed in the
case though some answers may be more correct than others. The quality of
supporting reasoning that you provide for choosing one alternative over
others will be used to evaluate your contribution to the class discussion..
Class participation also means listening to other people and being sensitive
to their points of view.

3. Please read, in advance, the cases and the readings assigned for every
class. If you are not prepared for any class, please let me know in advance
so that I don't inadvertently embarrass you. Individuals and/or groups may
be called on to present their analyses in class.

4. Feel free to come and talk to me regarding any aspect of the course
including your individual performance or issues discussed in the class.
Suggestions for improving the quality of class discussion are always
welcome.

PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR MOBILE PHONES WHILE YOU ARE IN CLASS.
UNLESS IT IS ESSENTIAL, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM LEAVING THE
CLASSROOM DURING THE DISCUSSION.

Mid-term case analysis

Each group is required to hand in a paper on a case assigned to you around
the middle of the term. The paper should not exceed 5 double-spaced pages
with a standard font such as Times Roman 12. Exhibits and figures can be in
addition to the 5 pages but they must add value and not repeat the
information from the case. You may reference data or text from the case
simply be citing the relevant page number (e.g., page 4, para 3 of case, or
Table 2 in case).

Quizzes
There will be two quizzes through the term. The quizzes are intended to
reinforce the learning occurring in the previous classes and also test whether
you are prepared for the particular class. They will often involve application
of concepts learned. The duration for each quiz will be about 45 minutes.
Term Project to be done in groups
Each group is required to do a project on one of the contemporary topics
listed in the guidelines. I have listed a number of topics that are of current
interest. As far as possible, I have tried to pose the topic in the form of a
question and/ or a debate. Your task is to gather some relevant material to
the topic, read, summarize and synthesize the articles and prepare a 20-
minute presentation on the topic. Your presentation should include, at the
minimum, some background information introducing the issue, a brief
summary of arguments that have been advanced by the previous literature,
conflicts (if any) among the different arguments and your own view regarding
the topic. Some initial references are provided with the list of topics. The list
is NOT EXHAUSTIVE and I expect you to do some search on your own.
Typically, projects that deal only with the references I have listed (don’t
locate any materials on their own) receive a mediocre grade. If the topic is
not clear, please feel free to contact me for explanation. You must hand-in a
list of references that you have consulted for your project. TWO OR MORE
GROUPS CAN DO THE SAME TOPIC AT THEIR OWN RISK
(=DUPLICATION OF CONTENT ACROSS GROUPS)