Attendance and Participation 20%
Much of the learning in this course comes from class discussion. Your classroom participation grade will be primarily based on attendance, class preparation, familiarity with the reading materials, and the quality of your contribution.
Group assignment 30%
In the whole semester, there are 4 group assignments. The student will be formed as a group of 4 to 5.
Group Assignment I-III: The first three group assignments are related to case analysis. The three cases will be uploaded to the course website. In each group assignment, your group’s case assignment should explicitly address these questions. You are expected to hand in the hard copy of the group assignment in class. Case analysis should be no more than 3 pages. No late assignments will be accepted.
Group Assignment IV: This group assignment asks your group to provide a recent news article that involves introducing a company that fits the topic of the chapter we are covering in this semester. For example, you might choose to talk about the corporate-level strategies being undertaken by a company covered in a recent Fortune, Forbes, Business Week, The Economist, Financial Times, or Wall Street Journal article. The only rules for this exercise are that (1) you group provides me with a copy of the current article and one-page report that explains the link between this news article and the management topic covered in this course (2) you do not choose a firm or article that has been covered in the course.
Group Project 30%
This group project offers you an opportunity to apply knowledge learned in class to real management
issues. In the group project, you are expected to identify a situation that a company is going to make a strategic change and propose your recommendations. For example, how do firms align their organizational structure or rewarding system with their strategic initiatives? Alternatively, which country/area should the firm launch their product or service? Your project should include: (a) a refined topic and company background information, (b) description of the situation you want to examine, and (c) your recommendations. In the report, you are expected to provide thoughtful analysis and reports that are simple statements of facts and events will receive a low grade. In choosing a focal firm, remember that you may not choose a firm highlighted in the cases from the course; the firm must be publicly listed. Moreover, please choose the firm that you are able to gather useful information in analyzing the situation you proposed.
Each group will prepare (a) a 5-page summary report for the company’s board of directors and (b) a presentation outlining the strategic recommendation with supporting analyses. Each group will have 20 minutes for your presentation in two class sessions in December. More details will be provided in class.
Final exam 20%
The final exam is closed-book. The exam covers the entire course, including cases and theories/concepts in the textbook.
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