Course Syllabus

BUS475
Integrated Business Topics

Course Start Date: 12/14/2010

Course End Date: 1/18/2011
Campus/Learning Center: Rancho Cordova

Please print a copy of this syllabus for handy reference.

Whenever there is a question about what assignments are due, please remember this syllabus is
considered the ruling document.

Copyright

Copyright ©2010 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

University of Phoenix© is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Microsoft©, Windows©, and Windows NT© are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of
these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation.

Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix© editorial standards and practices.

Facilitator Information

Don Olsen
dolsen@email.phoenix.edu (University of Phoenix)
don@modgroup.net (Personal)
916-608-8958 (PST)

Facilitator Availability

I am available from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Pacific Time on most days, but I attempt to reserve Sunday for my day
off. If these times are not convenient for you, please let me know. I will be happy to accommodate your
schedule, if possible. I provide you with these times to make it easier to communicate with me, and not to
limit our contact.

I want you to know that, should you need to contact me outside these time frames, you should not
hesitate to do so.

For emergencies, when you are not able to gain access to messages on the Online Learning System
(OLS), please send a message to my personal email address. In the event a third party needs to contact
me, please direct them to my contact information listed under "facilitator information." No third party
should use your login credentials to gain access to the classroom.

Where to Go to Class: Your Course Forums

Main: This is the main forum for the class and is where you may ask questions between class meetings.
It has read-and-write access for everyone.

Chat-Room: This is a read-and-write access forum. It is designed as a place to discuss issues not related
to the course content.

Course-Materials: This is a read-only forum, which means you can read messages here but cannot send
any. This is where I will post the course syllabus and materials.

Learning-Team-A, B, C, D, E and F: These six Learning Team forums will be used as workrooms for
the learning teams. You will be assigned to one of these learning teams.

Individual Forum: You will see one forum with your name on it. This is a private forum, shared only by
you and me, the facilitator. Your classmates will not have access to this forum. You can ask questions
here. However, if you have general questions about instructions of assignments, please post those in the
Main forum, since other students may benefit by that exchange as well.

Where to Submit Your Assignments

Assignment Section: This is where you will submit all formal assignments. Navigate to the
Assignments link on eCampus. Locate the link to submit your assignment as an attachment.

Policies
For class policies, please see the "Policies" link on the left side of the Materials page for the course on
eCampus. Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all
policies contained within that link. University policies are subject to change so please be sure to read
them at the beginning of each class as it may have changed since your last class. Policies may be slightly
different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities it
is important you read the policies governing your current class modality.
Learning Teams
University of Phoenix students are expected to work effectively in diverse groups and teams to achieve
tasks. They must collaborate and function well in team settings as both leaders and followers. They
should respect human diversity and behave in a tolerant manner toward colleagues and peers. If you
experience difficulties working with your team, you are expected to resolve them within the team if
possible. However, please feel free to contact me for guidance if you have concerns in this area. Because
Learning Team projects are outcome-based, all members of your Learning Team will generally earn the
same grade for Learning Team projects. However, I reserve the right to report different grades for
different Learning Team members if I see a substantial imbalance in individual contribution.
Learning Team Charters and Peer Evaluation forms are required. Please see the instructions in the
weekly sections for more information.

It is expected that you will actively participate with your learning team and contribute to the team
discussions by a) contributing original work that is accepted and used by the team with proof of originality
b) participating in the project from assignment organizing through meaningful final review of the team
project for submission, and c) ensuring to your team that your contributions are your original work and
properly quoted, cited, and referenced.

Classroom Management Policies

Late assignments receive a 10% grade deduction for each day late, up to four days after it was due. After
the 4th day, you will receive a zero for the assignment. If you have made prior arrangements with me this
late penalty will not be applied. All deadlines are by the start of class for that particular workshop. This
means that the assignments, whether individual or team, must be posted to your Individual Forum by 6:00
pm, PST. Anytime you feel that you might be falling behind in the course, it is best to contact me to
discuss your situation. I do not accept assignments after the final day of class. If you have an assignment
completed by the deadline but are unable to post it in the Individual Forum for technical reasons, you can
send it to me by e-mail to demonstrate that you completed it on time. However, you must post the
assignment once that becomes available. Late arrivals and/or early departures will likely result in the loss
of some or all of your participation points for that workshop. The final decision as to the amount of loss is
my discretion. The university defines late as arriving after the start of class and early as leaving prior to
the end of class. Class starts at 6:00PM and runs through 10:00PM. Students must understand that being
absent from a workshop will prevent them from earning an A for the course. Extra Credit There is no
opportunity to earn extra credit for this course.

Technical Support
Technical Support is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call 1-877-832-4867, or use the e-mail
support form.
Answers to the most common issues are found in the Knowledge Base by clicking Help, found at the top
of every student Web site.

Feedback
Each week, I will provide grades or scores and comments on assignments within 7 days of when they
were submitted.

Grading Formula

Percentage % Grade
95+ A

90-94 A-

87-89 B+

84-86 B

80-83 B-

77-79 C+

74-76 C

70-73 C-

67-69 D+

64-66 D

60-63 D-

<59 F

Course Description

See eCampus.

Course Topics & Objectives

See eCampus.

Course Materials

See eCampus.

Point Values for Course Assignments

NOTE: No Week 1 Assignment

Week Two
Individual Assignment: Strategic Plan, Part I: Conceptualizing a Business 10
Learning Team Assignment: Value Alignment 10
Week Three
Individual Assignment: Strategic Plan, Part II: SWOTT Analysis 10
Learning Team Assignment: Functional Area Interrelationships 10
Week Four
Individual Assignment: Strategic Plan, Part III: Balanced Scorecard 10
Learning Team Assignment: Communication Plan Outline 5
Week Five
Individual Assignment: Final Strategic Plan and Presentation 20
Individual Assignment: Final Exam 15
All Weeks
 Participation 10
Assignment Totals
Individual 75
Learning Team 25
Point Total 100

Week One
Introduction to Strategic Management

• Define strategic management and planning.

• Create an organizational mission and vision statement.
• Analyze an organization in terms of its structure, culture, and purpose.
• Develop a strategic plan.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

• Read Ch. 1–3 & Ch. 2 Appendix of Strategic Management.

• Read Ch. 7 of Strategy: Winning in the Marketplace.
• Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

Week Two
Internal and External Environment

• Conduct a SWOTT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, and Trends) analysis.

• Analyze the effect of the external and internal environments on an organization’s strategic plan.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

• Read Ch. 4–6 of Strategic Management.

• Read Ch. 3 of Strategy: Winning in the Marketplace.
• Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Strategic Plan, Part I: Conceptualizing a Business

• Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you explain the importance of your selected
business’s vision, mission, and values in determining your strategic direction. Include the
following:

o Define your business, products or services, and customers by developing a mission

statement. Ensure that you are differentiating your product or service.
o Create a vision for this organization that clearly demonstrates your decision on what you
want your business to become in the future.
 o Define your guiding principles or values for your selected business considering the topics
of culture, social responsibility, and ethics.
o Analyze how the vision, mission, and values guide the organization’s strategic direction.
o Evaluate how the organization addresses customer needs and critique how they achieve
competitive advantage.

• Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

• Prepare to discuss this assignment with the class.

3. Learning Team Assignment: Value Alignment

• Discuss with your Learning Team an existing organization with which you are familiar that is
different than the one you used for the Conceptualizing a Business paper.

• Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper in which you analyze the individual values and the
organization’s values as reflected by the organization’s plans and actions. Include the
following in your paper:Starbucks

o Analyze the origin(s) and subsequent evolution of your personal and workplace values.
o Explain how your individual values drive your actions and behaviors, and analyze the
alignment between your values and actions and behaviors 250 words per person.
o Analyze the degree of alignment between the organization’s stated values and the
organization’s actual plans and actions.
o Explain the differences and analyze the degree of alignment between your values and
the organization’s values as reflected by the organization’s plans and actions.

• Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

• Prepare to discuss this assignment with the class.

Week Three
Strategy Development

• Develop strategic objectives.

• Create organizational objectives and goals.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

• Read Ch. 7 of Strategic Management.

• Read Ch. 4 of Strategy: Winning in the Marketplace.
• Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Strategic Plan, Part II: SWOTT Analysis

• Conduct an internal and external environmental analysis for your proposed business.
• Discuss with your Learning Team the forces and trends below that must be taken into
consideration while developing a strategic plan. Given today’s business environment and
each Learning Team members’ selected business idea, provide a list of the lessons learned
from your Learning Team’s discussion for each of the items listed below. Use this discussion
to complete this assignment.
• Create a SWOTT table summarizing your findings. Your environmental analysis should take
into account, at a minimum, the following factors. For each factor, identify the one primary
strength, weakness, opportunity, threat, and trend, and include it in your table.

o External forces and trends considerations:

• Legal and regulatory

• Global
• Economic
• Technological
• Innovation
• Social
• Environmental
• Competitive analysis

o Internal forces and trends considerations:

• Strategy
• Structures
• Processes and systems
• Resources
• Goals
• Strategic capabilities
• Culture
• Technologies
• Innovations
• Intellectual property
• Leadership
 • Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word synopsis in which you analyze at least seven of the forces and
trends from the list above. Your analysis must include the following:

o Include economic as well as legal and regulatory forces and trends.

o Critique how well the organization adapts to change.
o Analyze the supply chain operations of the organization.
o Identify issues and/or opportunities:

• Identify the major issues and/or opportunities that the company faces based on
your analysis above.
• Generate a hypothesis surrounding each issue and research questions to use for
conducting analysis.
• Identify the circumstances surrounding each issue; classify the circumstances;
attribute the importance of each classification; and test the accuracy of the
importance for each classification.

• Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

3. Learning Team Assignment: Functional Area Interrelationships

• Select one organization of the Virtual Organizations from the student Web site.
• Write a 1,400- to 2,100-word paper in which you complete the following:

o State the primary reasons for the organization’s existence from an analysis of the
mission, vision, values, and goals.

o Analyze the reason for the type of organizational structure employed by the organization,
and identify the key positions that support that organizational structure.

o Identify and explain the steps of the collaboration process among the functional areas
that must be employed to achieve organizational goals, and prepare an action plan to
implement the collaboration process.

o Identify and provide an example of the use of lateral collaboration and vertical
collaboration within the organization, and prepare an action plan to use lateral and
vertical collaboration.

o Identify the key stakeholders and their roles needed to achieve the organizational goals,
and recommend the collaborative interactions among the key stakeholders to facilitate
the organization’s success.
Week Four
Strategy Implementation

• Recommend an implementation strategy for a strategic plan.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

• Read Ch. 10–12 of Strategic Management.

• Read Ch. 8 of Strategy: Winning in the Marketplace.
• Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Strategic Plan, Part III: Balanced Scorecard

• Resources: Exhibit 7-1 in Ch. 7 of Strategic Management

• Develop the strategic objectives for your business in the format of a balanced scorecard. The
strategic objectives are measures of attaining your vision and mission. As you develop them
consider the vision, mission, and values for your business and the outcomes of your SWOTT
analysis. Consider the following four quadrants of the balanced scorecard when developing
your strategic objectives:

o Shareholder Value or Financial Perspective, includes strategic objectives in areas such

as:

• Market share
• Revenues and costs
• Profitability
• Competitive position

o Customer Value Perspective, includes strategic objectives in areas such as:

• Customer retention or turnover

• Customer satisfaction
• Customer value

o Process or Internal Operations Perspective, includes strategic objectives in areas such

as:

• Measure of process performance

• Productivity or productivity improvement
• Operations metrics

o Learning and Growth (Employee) Perspective, includes strategic objectives in areas such
as:

• Employee satisfaction
• Employee turnover or retention
• Level of organizational capability
• Nature of organizational culture or climate
• Technological innovation
 • Develop at least three strategic objectives for each of the following four balanced scorecard
areas identified above (Financial, Customer, Process, Learning and Growth). Your objectives
should be selected, in part, based on an evaluation of a number of potential alternatives to
the issues and/or opportunities identified in the SWOTT Analysis paper and table you
completed in Week Three. Base your solutions on a ranking of alternative solutions that
includes an identification of potential risks and mitigation plans, and a stakeholder analysis
that includes mitigation and contingency strategies. You should also incorporate the ethical
implications of your solutions into your selection.

o For each strategic objective, develop a metric and target using a balanced scorecard
format. (For example, a strategic objective in the shareholder or Financial Perspective is
to increase market share. A metric to actually measure this strategic objective of market
share increase is, "The percentage of increase in market share." The target is the specific
number to be achieved in a particular time period. The target for the metric of "Increase
market share" could be "Increase market share by 2% for each of the next 3 years" of an
increase of 2% per year for 3 years.)

• Write a 700- to 1,050-word summary that explains your critical thinking on how you derived
your objectives from your vision, mission, values, and SWOTT analysis.

• Format paper according to APA guidelines.

3. Learning Team Assignment: Communication Plan Outline

• Develop a generic communications plan and template. This template will be used to develop
a communication plan for your Final Strategic Plan, due in Week Five.
Week Five
Monitoring and Control

• Develop methods to monitor and control the implementation of a strategic plan.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

• Read Ch. 13 of Strategic Management.

• Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Final Strategic Plan and Presentation

• Resources: Vision, mission, values, SWOTT analysis, balanced scorecards, and

communication plan

• Write a 700- to 1,050-word section for your strategic plan in which you add your strategies
and tactics to implement and realize your strategic objectives, measures, and targets. Include
marketing and information technology strategies and tactics. Develop at least three methods
to monitor and control your proposed strategic plan, being sure to analyze how the measures
will advance organizational goals financially and operationally. Finally, recommend actions
needed to address ethical, legal, and regulatory issues faced by the organization, and how
they can improve corporate citizenship.

• Combine your completed strategic plan. This includes the vision, mission, values, SWOTT
analysis, balanced scorecard, and communication plan. Your consolidated final strategic plan
should be 2,800 to 4,200 words in length.

• Prepare three to five Microsoft® PowerPoint® slides, in which you briefly outline the vision,
mission, values, and balanced scorecard that you have developed for your business.

3. Individual Assignment: Final Exam

• Resources: Final Exam & assigned readings from all weeks

• Select the link to the final exam on your student Web site. The exam is
available from the end of Week Four through the end of Week Five.
• Complete the final exam. Only one attempt is allowed, which is timed
and must be completed in 3 hours. Results are auto-graded and sent to your instructor.

Note. Final exam questions are adapted from business content students will have completed
in the Bachelor of Science in Business program.