Welcome to our schedule for the semester. Please note that each of days for courses are color coded. In preparation for each class you should check the schedule, study the assignments, and discuss with your team the study questions posed and how the topic applies to the case you selected. In most class sessions we will first review questions you may have regarding current events, readings, and case. I will usually present new material or an integration of material from readings. Finally, your team will be able to use some class time for your case study with instructor consultation.

Duluth Campus, Tuesday 5:30-9:00pm Rm 3150
Ashland Campus, Wednesday 5:30-9:00pm Rm 305
Note: The Duluth campus class starts one week later than the Ashland class due to school starting on Sept. 3
 

Date	Topic & Links	Chapter Reading Assignments
Session 1 Sept. 3, 4	Introduction & Overview of Strategic Management . Course Overview Syllabus-- Basics: Case Study Approach, resources, grading rubric, teamwork-- Introduction to Strategic Management Short history of & experiences with strategic management-- understand the trends Overview of Strategic Management-- get the big picture of where this is going  What's wrong with strategy?-- what are the shortcomings of and complaints about strategy? Change drivers of strategy (brief review)-- what are the large scaled forces that drive change that should be considered in planning? The Ouroboros Effect-- revenge effects of unintended consequences when good intentions go awry. Team Work Initial team formation & team building-- form teams of 3-5 for semester long case study projects Introduction of case study options-- overview of possible cases	Strategic Management (SM) Chapter 1 Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Chapter 1, 2
Session 2 Sept 10, 11	Overview of the strategy process-- similar to the text model with more detail and linked to the BSC . The Balanced Scorecard and integrated strategic management-- note how the BSC adds value to the traditional stages Setting the direction: Vision, Mission & Values-- this is where we start! Bring your current employer's mission statements to class! We will be using David's nine components (p. 65) to examine, evaluate, and revise the statements. Team Work Team review & selection of possible cases-- teams will select the final case and discuss project schedule and strategy.  Teams will also discuss the company's values, vision and mission so come prepared to do so.	SM Ch. 2
Session 3 Sept 17, 18	External Environment Assessment . Remote Environment: economy, demographics, societal trends, technology, globalism, legal considerations, -- for your case you should know: what aspects of external environment are relevant to this case; what do we need to know? where can we locate the information? when we get it, how will we use it and integrate it? Research Resources-- Teamwork & case study Confirmation of case selected (last chance to change) discussion of environmental factors to monitor, where to locate, distribution of responsibilities, and consideration of hyow to integrate and use information	SM Ch. 3
Session 4 Sept. 24, 25	Assessing the Marketplace-- What do you need to know about your market? What techniques are available to help you examine your products/services against competitors? The Cola Wars-- how have Coke and Pepsi competed over the decades? Cola Wars video will also be presented. Portfolio approaches-- Teamwork & Case study-- consider what kind of market information you need, where you can find it, and how you will use it. Which portfolio approaches might be useful to consider?	SM Ch. 3
Session 5 Oct. 1, 2	Industry & Competitive intelligence-- Porter's 5-Forces Model-- Teamwork & Case study-- identify your competitors, what you need to know about them, how you would find out, and how you would use theinformation. Use Porter's model to overview the competitive landscape for your case, and to identify what you know and don't know.	SM Ch. 3
Session 6 Oct. 8, 9	Internal Environmental Assessment Overview of Internal environment-- Overview of functional areas-- Financial analyses-- Teamwork & Case study-- what information do you need for the financial analyses? Especially note the ratios. Also-- what are the benchmarks against which you can compare your data?	SM Ch. 4
Session 7 Oct. 15, 16	Human Resources-- IT Considerations-- Leadership considerations for company situation-- Structure-- What are different kinds of organizational structures, what are their advantages and disadvantages, which might be appropriate for your case? Teamwork & Case study--identify the questions you need answered for each functional/key area; plan how you will gather information and integrate it into your strategy; combine information into IFE analysis	SM Ch. 4
Session 8 Oct. 22, 23	Integrating Information Matrix analysis methods: SWOT, IFE/EFE, SPACE, etc. Scenario Development-- Teamwork & Case study: generate 3-5 scenarios for your case and discuss positioning and regret analysis. Supplement with matrix analyses to narrow selection of strategic options.	SM Ch. 6
Session 9 Oct. 29, 30	Strategic Options-- Downsizing & M&A-- Downsizing (ppt) & Mergers/Acquisitions (ppt)-- Evaluating Strategy-- Teamwork & Case study: you should begin selection of your strategies at corporate level and be able to defend and explain your rationale.	SM Ch. 6
Session 10 Nov. 5, 6	Final strategy formulation Performance, control & feedback measures-- Balanced scorecard-- BSC readings online,  PowerPoint on BSC-- Teamwork & Case study: for your strategic goals, design and present a strategy map that identifies targets and measures.	SM Ch. 9 BSC (complete book read by now)
Session 11 Nov. 12, 13	Organization Development We've covered much of this in OD before, so do a brief review and consider the change process and transition management in your particular case study. Also reflect on how changes have been introduced in your work environment-- How effective were they? Why and why not? What would you change and why? Implementation strategy-- Change process-- Resistance to change-- Transition management-- Powerpoint on Implementation-- Teamwork & Case study: explore how disruptive the proposed changes will be; conduct stakeholder analysis; and explore what may be needed to facilitate adjustment to change	SM Ch. 7
Session 12 Nov. 19, 20	Team Preparation Consultation with instructor (as needed)-- Check on facilities & arrangements-- Practice presentation
Nov. 27-  Dec. 1	Thanksgiving Break (don't let the turkey's get you down)
Session 13 Nov. 26, 27	Team Case Presentation and class discussion--	Be familiar with grading rubric for case presentation
Session 14 Dec. 3, 4	Team Case Presentation and class discussion--	Be familiar with grading rubric for case presentation
Session 15 Dec. 10, 11	Team Case Presentation and class discussion--	Be familiar with grading rubric for case presentation
Session 16 Dec. 17, 18	Finals Week: final reports due, course and team evaluations--	Be familiar with theteam member evaluation rubric