Student Effort Hours:
| Lectures |
24 |
| Small Group |
10 |
| Specified Learning Activities |
20 |
| Autonomous Student Learning |
64 |
| Total |
118 |
|---|
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Mini Lectures: We will begin each class with a brief review of the key concepts and frameworks. We assume that you have read the relevant textbook chapters, readings, and cases, and therefore will devote most of our class time on application and discussion. We will also address any questions you have about the material including Strat Sim.
Case Method: With the case method, you will step into the shoes of case protagonists, real business leaders, and learn to make tough decisions under conditions of uncertainty. According to C. Ronald Christensen, the case method illustrates the central managerial challenge of making strategic decisions under conditions of uncertainty. Pioneered at Harvard Business School in the early 1900s, the case method is the method of choice at top business schools throughout the world. There are three reasons why the case method is chosen.
First, it focuses attention on the application of strategic concepts, tools, and theories, bringing them to life and enhancing your comprehension and retention of strategic theory.
Second, the case discussion method is an action-oriented learning method aimed at developing your tacit skills in diagnostic reasoning that are essential for strategic decision-making, and to sharpen your knowledge of the strategic and economic principles that determine the overall performance of a business. More specifically, the case method enhances your problem-solving skills. Each case presents its own set of challenges which require that you structure the situation, break problems down into manageable components, and formulate solutions that address each aspect of the problem set. This requires a mental discipline that can only be acquired through repeated practice – which is why we use an extensive set of cases. Through repeated exposure to different companies, industries, and geographies, your pattern recognition skills are likely to be enhanced. While these skills are useful no matter where you work, they are especially relevant to management consulting, investment banking, and graduate management positions.
Finally, the case method allows you to bring your own knowledge and experiences to bear on the issues in the case, and therefore enlarges the knowledge base of the entire class. For those of you who have completed internships, we believe this approach will help consolidate your learnings.
Expectations: The expectation for the case method is that you come prepared for class by i) reading the case in advance of class and ii) reflecting upon the discussion questions. We expect active participation, and we will use a combination of open, warm, and cold calling to ensure an interactive class experience.
Simulation: People learn best by doing. You will be assigned to a group that will compete against other groups in a computer-based strategy simulation. No matter how well your group does on the simulation, you will have a much better appreciation for the demands of running a business by the time the simulation is complete. Do not underestimate the simulation, neither its time demands nor its impact on your grade. The simulation is time consuming and difficult. It requires teamwork and rigorous analysis. If you take the simulation seriously, you will learn a great deal and you will have fun in the process. The simulation will allow you to experiment with strategic concepts, as well as basic business skills that you should have acquired in your other classes (e.g., finance, marketing, etc.).