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Week Description of Topics and Major Work Assignments Due
Mon 8/22 – Sat 8/27 Course introduction ▪ Syllabus overview ▪ Introductions discussion board ▪ Team formation process
▪ Class introduction discussion due Wed 8/24 @ 11pm ▪ Submit team formation preferences (one per team to the Canvas dropbox) by Sat @ 11pm
Sun 8/28 – Sat 9/3 Module 1, Part 1 ▪ Learn about decisions, uncertainty, and heuristics ▪ Learn about the origins of strategic management ▪ Consider how uninformed we all are, in relative terms
▪ Quiz 1.1 due Sat 9/3 @ 11pm ▪ Module 1.1 disc due Thu @ 11pm (Responses to discussion due Sat @ 11pm)
Sun 9/4 – Sat 9/10
*Labor Day holiday is Monday, 9/5
Module 1, Part 2 ▪ Learn about the value of strategic trade-offs ▪ Distinguish between business- / corporate-level strategy ▪ Examine the pitfalls of misguided corporate strategy
▪ Quiz 1.2 due Sat 9/10 @ 11pm
Sun 9/11 – Sat 9/17 Module 2, Part 1 ▪ Learn about External Analysis (esp. Five Forces & SWOT) ▪ Learn about Internal Analysis (esp. VRI/NO & Value Chain) ►►Teams begin to interact with their chosen companies by Friday, 9/17, and will continue to do so (for roughly 2 weeks) through Friday, 9/30. By that point, teams should have enough working knowledge of the company to make a “pitch” for their company as the ideal consulting client for the class.
▪ Module 2.1 disc due Thu @ 11pm (Responses to discussion due Sat @ 11pm)
Sun 9/18 – Sat 9/24 Module 2, Part 2 ▪ Learn about Competitive Dynamics ▪ Learn about comparing two sets of data (“this vs. that”)
▪ Quiz 2.2 due Sat 9/24 @ 11pm
Sun 9/25 – Sat 10/1 Module 3, Part 1 ▪ Learn about how to communicate (more) effectively ▪ Learn about the Minto’s Pyramid Principle to present the best form of argument ►►Teams will create a draft progress report to submit to the professor by the end of the week. This is intended to keep the team on track and the professor informed as to their progress toward their “pitch”.
▪ Team progress report on chosen company is due by Sat 10/1 @ 11pm via Canvas dropbox
Sun 10/2 – Sat 10/8 ►►This week, each team will finalize their “pitch” that their company should be the class’s ideal consulting client. All pitches are reviewed and “voted on” by all class participants via the Pitch Discussion Board. Teams are expected to interact at length with the professor during this week, in a manner that exceeds “normal office hours,” to ensure that their chosen company “pitch” is as good as it can be. This interaction can be via email, Teams call, or in-person interaction for those nearby campus. Teams should be aware that their pitch is a subjective attempt to gain support from other students, and that the professor acts as an advisor as they finalize their pitch. Teams should heavily rely on the Minto’s Pyramid Principle as they make their case with their pitch.
▪ Teams submit their “pitch” for their chosen company by Fri 10/7 @ 11pm, via the Pitch Discussion Board on Canvas (make just one post per team). *Note, the due date is Friday, not Saturday for this assignment, to allow time for voting over the weekend
Sun 10/9 – Sat 10/15 Module 3, Part 2 ▪ Learn about Strategic Control & Corporate Governance ▪ Learn about Structure, Reputation, and Decision-making ►►Ranked choice voting: We are using a ranked choice / instant run-off voting approach for the pitch ranking, so each person needs to: - …Decide their first choice, and make a post response that says
“Team X’s pitch is my FIRST choice” for their first choice, briefly explaining why.
- …Decide their second choice, and make a post response that says “Team X’s pitch is my SECOND choice” for their second choice, briefly explaining why.
- NOT: You are not allowed to choose your own team. To determine the winning pitch, Dr. Parker will create a grid with everyone’s 1st / 2nd choice votes. If a pitch earns >50% of the 1st choice votes, that pitch wins. If not, the pitch with the fewest 1st choice votes is eliminated, with those voters’ 1st choice votes dropped and their 2nd choice votes promoted. This continues until a >50% winner emerges, with some “ballots” potentially “exhausted” if both 1st and 2nd choices are eliminated. This approach favors consensus rather than flukes. For more info on ranked choice voting, see this link. Once the instant runoff concludes, Dr. Parker will announce which pitch “won”, and this will determine the focal company for the consulting exercise. Teams will begin their thinking at this point. Moreover, Dr. Parker will interface with the chosen company to get a better sense of their needs, and will provide any supplemental information to all teams as soon as it is available, so that teams can incorporate any new/revised information into their thinking.
▪ Pitch discussion board votes due Monday 10/10 @ 8am. Every student indicates their 1st and 2nd choice among the other teams’ pitches (not their own team) via the Pitch Discussion board on Canvas by Mon 10/10 @ 8am. See explanation to the left. ▪ Quiz 3.2 due Sat 10/15 @ 11pm
Sun 10/16 – Sat 10/22
►►From the week of 10/16 through 10/29, teams will consider the focal company and develop consulting recommendations that meet the company’s stated needs. The company’s unstated needs may also be targeted by a team, as long as the rationale is clearly articulable to the company. After all, the company is the client, and they should be convinced as to the merits of the recommendations. Teams will work effortfully during this two-week period to develop the highest quality recommendations possible. The professor may request updates from teams to ensure progress is being made, and to avoid sub-par recommendations being delivered to the client. Dr. Parker will carefully consider the client’s impressions when assigning grades for this consulting exercise. Grades are not zero-sum, however, so even though the team with the winning pitch has an advantage of time spent communicating with the company, other teams’ grades will not be negatively impacted by this.
No fixed assignments due this week. NOTE: Dr. Parker might still request updates from teams.
Sun 10/23 – Sat 10/29 No fixed assignments due this week. NOTE: Dr. Parker might still request updates from teams.
Sun 10/30 – Sat 11/5 Consulting Exercise phase 1 complete ▪ Teams will submit their recommendations by Monday at 8am, and Dr. Parker will compile these and submit to the client company. ▪ Students will review the paper “Authoritarianism, Populism, and the Global Retreat of Democracy” (Adler et al., 2022) and consider the role of the firm in shaping global norms for human rights and freedoms. This serves as the motivating material for the Special Topic Discussion post, due Thursday at 11pm.
Consulting Recommendations for Phase 1 due by Mon 10/31 @ 8am via Canvas. ▪ Special Topic disc due Thu @ 11pm ▪ Peer evaluation #1 due by Sat, 11/5 via Canvas (text entry submission)
Sun 11/6 – Sat 11/12 Consulting Exercise phase 2 begins (TENTATIVE) In the intervening days, as you are working on the Special Topic Discussion post, I will hopefully have talked with Jarrid Shriver at Freedom Doors to get his thoughts on the first round of recommendations. I will then, hopefully, record another phone interview with him for your review, and we will have another set of parameters to work from. You will have this week, plus the week after Thanksgiving, to complete this revised 3-4 minute set of recommendations (another video upload).
Sun 11/13 – Sat 11/19 Teams have all week to work on their consulting recommendations with check-ins with Dr. Parker.
Sun 11/20 – Sat 11/26
Consulting Exercise phase 2 complete ▪ As stated above, teams will post a second round of consulting recommendations to the Canvas dropbox by Monday, 11/21 at 8am Thanksgiving Holiday is 11/23 to 11/25
Consulting Recommendations for Phase 1 due by Mon 11/21 @ 8am via Canvas.
Sun 11/27 – Sat 12/3 Hopefully, this week we will have had the chance to review Jarrid Shriver’s final thoughts on the recommendations we have given to Freedom Doors. I will probably post announcements with updates on this process so that you are aware. You will spend the remainder of the week collecting your thoughts for the Feedback Discussion, and completing the Peer Evaluation #2 submission.
▪ Feedback disc post due Thu @ 11pm (Responses to discussion due Sat @ 11pm) ▪ Peer evaluation #2 due by Sat, 12/3 via Canvas (text entry submission)
Sun 12/4 – Tue 12/6 Course review ▪ Beginning the previous week, students will review back over all material covered in the course in preparation for the “final quiz” which is due on Tuesday @ 11pm. This quiz is intended to help audit the knowledge gained in the course, from a pedagogical perspective, as well as assess student mastery of the content.
▪ Final Quiz due 12/6 @ 11pm