02 Sep Strategic Management and Business Policy Week One Learning Plan and Readings In this first week together, we will discuss some of the common terms and basic concepts of strategic ma

Strategic Management and Business Policy

Thomas L Wheelen; J. David Hung

Week One Learning Plan and Readings

Weekly Introduction

Introduction

In this first week together, we will discuss some of the common terms and basic concepts of strategic management. The Strategic Management Model will be introduced and developed for the remainder of the course. We will examine how corporations are governed through their boards. The unit finishes up with a discussion to the two primary viewpoints regarding the social responsibilities of management.

Also in this unit, we take on one of the most important, and often overlooked, aspects of strategic management: environmental scanning. Our purpose is to determine both what opportunities and threats lurk in the marketplace and what strengths and weaknesses exist within our firm.

Environmental scanning is our first step in the Strategic Management Model. We will use both the Internal and External Factor Analysis Summary (IFAS and EFAS) matrices to clarify and outline our findings and conclusions. This week we will focus on EFAS.

Selection of One Case for All Assignments (EFAS, IFAS, SWOT and SA)

Over the course of this term you will be developing a Strategic Audit on ONE of the following case studies:

· #7 Chipotle Mexican Grill

· #9 Harley Davidson

· #10 Uber

· #11 Pandora

· #12 Amazon

· #13 Blue Nile

· 14 Groupon

· #15 Netflix

· #16 Town Sport International

· #17 Zynga

· #19 Panera

· #22 Sonic Restaurants

· #24 Under Armour

· #26 J.C. Penny

· #27 Best Buy

· #28 Target

· #29 Staples

· #30 Tesla Motors

· #31 TomTom

· #32 General Electric

· #33 Snap-On Tools

Select one case to work on for all your weekly assignments. All these cases are in the BUS480 library site and you can read there the abstract for each case. Remember that you will stick to your case for four weeks. Make sure you pick one that is of interest to you!

Week 1 Assignment – EFAS

This week you will create the first component of the Strategic Audit, the EFAS (External Factors Analysis Summary) for the case you selected from the options above. See the calendar to verify the due date.

Things to do in Week 1:

· Study the material mentioned in Week One Readings

· Prepare questions for the live office hours

· Participate in the discussion topics mentioned in Week One Discussions

· Complete your assignment mentioned in Week One Assignment – EFAS

· Please ensure that you review the details of the BBA Exit Exam (Peregrine exam) in week 4, so there won't be surprises for you. You can take the exam any time during the class, but we recommend to do it during weeks 3 and 4.

Learning Objectives Week 1: Societal Environmental Scanning

This first week we will focus on the CLO’s presented in the following table. Under each relevant CLO, there are specific learning objectives you should be able to do upon completion of this segment:

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4
CLO #1	X			X
CLO #2	X
CLO #3		X	X	X
CLO #4	X
CLO #5			X	X
CLO #6	X	X		X

CLO #1 – Analyze the business situation of an enterprise in a variety of domestic and international industries and competitive situations.

· Identify external environmental and strategic factors.

· Apply and utilize the External Factors Analysis Summary (EFAS) Matrix.

CLO #2 – Use the principles of strategic management to make recommendations for a case enterprise.

· Explain the importance of the case method.

CLO #4 – Demonstrate awareness of ethical principles, personal and company values, and socially responsible management practices.

· Define and interpret the role of the board of directors in corporate governance.

· Explain some reasons for unethical behavior and how organizations encourage ethical behavior.

CLO #6 – Demonstrate the ability to integrate and apply the skills and knowledge acquired in business courses, including marketing, management, finance, accounting, and economics.

· Explain the basic model of strategic management.

· Apply basic accounting and finance tools in developing strategic audits.

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Week One Assignment – Sept 2022

EFAS

Develop an External Factor Analysis Summary (EFAS) for your selected case study following the guidance in Chapter 4.

DUE BY THE END OF THE WEEK. VERIFY THE EXACT DUE DATE AND TIME IN THE CALENDAR.

· Helpful Hint #1: external factors are those the firm as NO control over. I will be doing reality checks when reading your work, asking, "Does the firm control this activity or not?" For instance, a firm has control over the price it chooses to charge, but they don't have control over whether or not that price is acceptable to the ultimate consumer.

· Helpful Hint #2: your explanation/comments column can make all the difference in my answer to the question above. Use short names for the factors, but flesh them out in the explanation/comments so they make sense when you approach them later on.

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Threaded Discussions Week One (1) – Sept 2022

Topic 1: Societal Environmental Scanning and Section III of your SA 

Based on your readings this week (specially chapters 4, 13 and table 4.1) and the information you have found about your selected firm so far, what variables would you consider to make a societal environmental scanning (STEEP analysis) in Section III of your SA? 

Threaded Discussion Week One (2) – Sept 2022

Topic 2: : Thinking on Section II of your SA

The basic starting point for  Section II – Corporate Governance is to read chapter 2, the document about your case in the textbook and the respective section of your firm's Form 10 at the Securities Exchange Commission. Share the draft of 2 paragraphs for your chosen case. The question is to lay out the responsibilities of the corporate governance regarding laws and regulations of the SEC. Each of your selected companies must have this document submitted to SEC regarding the disclosure of their information all the time.

The annual report on Form 10-K provides a comprehensive overview of the company's business and financial condition and includes audited financial statements.