CS Las LS125 Lim - N D 2017 2
CS Las LS125 Lim - N D 2017 2
CS Las LS125 Lim - N D 2017 2
A. Course Description
The course serves as an integrative course for seniors in management-oriented concentrations and programs
(ME, ComTech, MAC, ITE, SOMBA). It gives the big picture, integrating all other business courses—
accounting, finance, marketing, production, operations, human resource, and information systems—as well
as other non-business courses, taken in the course of your study program. Strategic management is used to
chart the future directions of different types of organizations. The center of attention is the firm—the
industry and the competitive environment in which it operates, its long-term direction and strategy, its
resources and competitive capabilities, and its prospects for success.
The course project is a corporate strategic review (CSR), which is a hands-on experience for students in
strategy evaluation, (re)formulation, and implementation planning. Topics include the Strategic Management
Process; Mapping the Business Landscape; Creating Competitive Advantage; Strategy Analysis and Choice;
Implementing Strategies; Strategy Review, Evaluation and Control. Case studies and readings complement
conceptual content.
1|Page
4. Demonstrate powers of managerial judgment, including how to assess business risk, and make sound
decisions and achieve effective outcomes;
5. Reflect and articulate the importance of exemplary ethical principles, sound personal and company
values, and socially responsible management practices.
6. Articulate reflections on critical processes and current issues, as well as insights and personal vision,
particularly in view of the Ateneo LS vision.
C. Required Textbook
David, Fred R. and David, Forest R. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. A Competitive
Advantage Approach Low Price Edition. Pearson (16Tth Edition). 2017
References:
1. Hill, Charles W. L. and Gareth R. Jones. Theory of Strategic Management with cases. Canada.
Southwestern (9th International Student edition) 2010
2. Pitts, Robert A and David Lei: Strategic Management: Building and Sustaining Competitive
Advantage. Thomson Asian (4th) Edition 2007. http://pitts.swlearning.com
3. Thompson and Strickland. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases (13th Ed.)
3|Page
CSR Key Dates:
(1) CSR target companies’ submission/approval: Week 2
(2) CSR First Pass*: Week 6
(3) CSR Second Pass*: Week 9
(4) CSR Final Pass: Week 11
(5) Final Panel Presentation: Week 12
* Instead of submitting a written pass, lecturers have the option to require oral presentations in class on the
salient points of the update. These presentations will be graded and shall be considered as the groups’ first
or second pass. The Final Pass shall be a written paper.
E. Methodology/Course Requirements
Interactive lectures Corporate Strategic Review
Class discussions Experiential exercises
Written Analysis of Cases Long tests and quizzes
Team presentations Outside readings on current strategic issues
1. Corporate Strategic Review (CSR). There will be two (2) corporate review updates. Advice and
guidance by the faculty throughout the entire course on Corporate Strategic Review will be in two (2)
stages. The two updates (which can either be in the form of a written submission or an oral
presentation), and final paper will be graded and form part of the final mark. Please see attachment
for detailed guidelines.
2. Written Analysis of Cases (WACs) / Team Presentations: Individual or group written cases analysis to
be submitted; group class presentations required.
3. Long Tests (which may take the form of WACs) plus quizzes, experiential exercises, recitation.
Lecturers shall schedule these tests, quizzes, exercises, in the course of the semester.
4. Reports/reflection papers on extra readings.
F. Grading System
Corporate Strategic Review Project
- Development/written submissions or oral presentations (7.5/7.5) 15
- Final Written Paper 10
- Panel Presentation 10 35
Group Exercises/Research/Reports/WACs 10
Individual Long Tests, WACs and reports, reflection papers, Quizzes 45
Class Participation/Recitation 10
100%
G. Classroom Policies
1. Absences. Maximum allowable cuts: 6 absences for 1.5 hours’ classes or 3 absences for 3-hour classes
or 9 absences for 1 hour classes.
2. Dress Code. The prescribed dress code for students of the JGSOM should be strictly observed. A
student not properly attired will be marked absent and not be allowed to take quizzes/exams/etc.
3. Plagiarism. Each piece of assessable work must be demonstrably the student/s’ own. In this class the
copying, borrowing or the unacknowledged use of another person’s ideas or written language as
one’s own whether published or unpublished will be penalized. Any piece of work that is plagiarized
in whole or in part will not be assessed and will be marked F.
4. The Student Handbook will serve as the guide for all. Additional guidelines may be issued by individual
faculty to respective classes.
4|Page
H. Consultations
Consultation hours will be announced individually by each lecturer, with a view to the concept of
mentoring and nurturing the ideas of the students. The students are encouraged to regularly seek
the advice of their lecturers’/course facilitators. You may check their schedule with the secretary
(Ms. Ghing Lopez) of the Department of Leadership and Strategy. You may also email them directly
to request for an appointment.
The Corporate Strategic Review (CSR) is a research project that involves the application of the concepts of
strategic management on an actual existing organization/corporation.
(1) Students are to organize themselves into teams, the number of members of which is not to exceed 7
(the exact number of teams and its members will be determined by the LS125 lecturer). The teams
then choose an actual company to be the subject of their CSR (subject to the final approval of the
lecturer).
(2) After choosing the company, the teams are to gather information on said company and the industry
it operates/belongs to. The information-gathering can be done through discussions with its senior
management and other stakeholders, as well as actual research (through the SEC, Internet, other
sources of information, etc…)
(3) After gathering information, the team then sets out to analyze its operations by applying the
concepts of strategic management, as well as the different strategy evaluation tools.
(4) After a thorough analysis of the company and the industry it operates in, the team is then expected
to make recommendations that involve strategy re-formulation and execution/implementation.
By going through the entire process of a CSR, the student is able to apply all the concepts of
strategic management, as well as all the other management courses that he has taken in the past. It
is for this reason that this research project is what we call an ‘integration project’, where the
students are expected to look at their chosen company from a total business perspective.
The project objective, therefore, is to enable the student to apply the concepts and tools in Strategic
Management, which in its totality involves the Industry and Environmental Analysis, the Company History
and its current operations, and the Strategy Evaluation, leading to a possible Strategy Reformulation and
Implementation.
5|Page
Choosing the Company: The Qualifiers
The following are the qualifiers for the choice of the company:
(1) The company must be Filipino-owned (at least 60%), but can be of any size, provided that the
business is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for corporations or with
Department of Trade and Industry and the local LGU (for a business permit) for single
proprietorships; and
(2) There is a formal management structure in place and that the owner-investor shares decision making
functions with non-owner(s) holding management positions.
Small to Medium enterprises are actually preferred, as these would be easier to view in their entirety.
Multinationals or large domestic corporations may give you access only to specific aspects of their
operations.
The typical company would have annual gross revenues of at least P20 million, and at least 25 full-time
employees.
The final requirement is a written research paper that contains all the work that the teams have done on the
company of its choice as well as a panel presentation.
(1) Part 1: Industry and Company Information and Facts, leading up to the Case Description.
In the course of setting the case, it is necessary to support it through information about the
company and its industry. It is pretty much like telling a story – events are recounted and facts
that are pertinent to the story are included in this Part 1, such that by the time the case is put
forward, it comes out as a clear and logical conclusion from the said information.
In this section therefore, students are required to study the chosen company’s current situation
and strategic plans and write a case about it, with focus on the major strategic issues. The case
must be comprehensive enough to describe the situation in real life terms and should only
include relevant data and information. This requires the student therefore to be truly selective
because it is possible to lose one’s case amongst irrelevant information, especially in situations
where there is voluminous information available.
This portion of the research paper contains the analysis of the company’s current operations
from the perspective of the concepts of strategic management.
Draw conclusions that are realistic and supported by case facts, and are logical and have
used the application of sound management principles.
Throughout the entire semester, the students will be taught the different strategic management
tools and techniques that will help them do the said analysis (although the students are
encouraged to read and study in advance). The analysis portion will also require stock
knowledge of the basic functions of management, which have previously been taken by the
student in the earlier years (principles of management, marketing, finance, accounting,
organizational development, etc…)
After recounting facts, and doing the analysis of the case facts, it is logical to come to some kind
of conclusion about the company, and to make recommendations on what it should be doing for
short-term and long-term.
The conclusions and recommendations have to be properly built-up: in simple terms, this means
that by the time the student states the conclusion (and the subsequent recommendation), the
reader of the paper is able to understand why the said conclusion and recommendation is such.
The objective of this section, therefore, must be to convince the reader that: (1) the conclusion is
logical and sound and (2) that the recommended next strategy and actions steps are the best
ones available to the management of the company. In addition, it is also necessary to include a
discussion on potential problems/challenges of the recommended strategy as well as
contingency plans.
The students may use the format of a management consultant recommending improvements on
the company’s strategy to the CEO or the Board. An Executive Summary (1 to 2 pages) addressed
to top management summarizing your detailed analysis and recommendations would be ideal.
(1) It is important to choose a company whose information is readily available, especially as far as its
financials are concerned. It does not make sense to do a strategic audit, when financial information
(preferably for the last three years) cannot be obtained, since financial ratio analysis is basic to a
strategy audit. Thus, before any further work is undertaken, make sure first that the management is
willing to share its financial statements or that said statements can be obtained from the Securities
and Exchange Commission. If no financial statements are available, and the team still insists on the
said company, then the team should be prepared to have some tough times, when it comes to the
teachers’ comments as well as the panel defense.
(2) Do not use dated information – meaning that data that is more than 3 to 5 years old should not be
used. This is a common mistake of the teams, especially when it comes to industry analysis. Old data
is no longer relevant when doing strategy evaluation and analysis. This does not mean that the team
should not write about the history of the company – that is a different matter altogether. The history
of the company is often relevant, especially when explaining the corporate culture or organization.
(3) The number of pages of the research paper does not determine how well the CSR has been
undertaken. What is important is a concise but thorough case presentation, analysis and
7|Page
recommendation. Again, it must be emphasized that only relevant information must be included. As
consultants to management, you should assume that the CEO or the Board have no time to read
through thick documents and would prefer very short and simple reports.
(4) When certain facts are not available, it is important to say so, especially in Part 1, which is the case
presentation. All exhibits and appendices must be numbered. Figures included must be checked for
accuracy so it is important to record complete and specific sources of references.
(5) When an entire case, written under the name of the company, is based on published material such as
annual reports of a company or its financial statements as reported in a publication, a footnote from
the case title should indicate the source. When substantial quotations are used, permission to
reprint must be secured from the publisher, with exact indication of the source, including title of
article, as well as author, publisher and date of publication, must accompany each quotation.
Newspaper articles, not syndicated, and advertised may be used without the formality of securing a
release from the company provided due credit is given to the source from which the material is
taken.
(6) The student, unless the case is disguised (with the teacher’s prior permission) should request the
written permission from a ranking executive of the company allowing the case to be used for
educational purposes. The usual procedure is for a manager to sign a statement signifying his
organization’s acceptance of the case. He thereby gives permission to the educational institution
(Ateneo) to make it available for use in class.
(7) The suggested report format (which follows this section) is precisely what it is: A SUGGESTION.
Students are not required to comply with each and every section that is contained in the outline, but
instead use its judgment to discern which sections are more fitting and relevant than others. For
example, in the strategy evaluation section, there are several tools that are available to the students
(to be taught during the semester). However, some of these tools may not be relevant to the
company that has been chosen, so the team is not expected to force-fit the tool into the research
paper. In the end, the final determinant of what to include and what not to is whether the resulting
paper is logical in flow, and most importantly whether or not the conclusions and recommendations
have been properly supported in Part 1 and Part 2.
(8) Most of the teams take the strategy of dividing the whole paper into sections, and then assigning
various individuals to write-up their assigned sections, without careful discussions. BE CAREFUL IN
DOING THIS! If the teams do this, what ends up is also a disjointed and confused research paper. It
is easy to tell when a team has done this – it normally does not take the teacher past the first 10
pages to know that this is exactly what has happened. Take the time out to discuss first the company
and your observations, before actually starting to write the research paper. After spirited and
meaningful discussions, make an outline of the paper and your thoughts – only then should the team
assign the actual write-ups to different members of the team (if the team opts to do this). Have one
or two members of the team do the final editing, so that the said member can also check for the
logical flow.
(9) Finally, start the research early. This is one project where the students cannot get away with putting
it off until the last minute. It takes time to gather the information, do the analysis and finally end up
writing the entire paper.
2. The Industry
a. Brief background and history (size, importance, market and growth trends)
b. The macro environment – STEP-C (Brief description of the socio-cultural, technological,
economic/environmental, politico-legal, and competitive factors relevant to the company); a 5-
Forces Analysis is optional
c. Industry structure (profile and history of major players – their size, scope, profitability, influence,
strategies, resources, value networks)
d. Other key stakeholders – customers, suppliers, channels of distribution, creditors, trade associations,
local community, interest groups, shareholders
e. Recent development and trends – implications on the company
3. The Company in Focus
a. Brief background and history (ownership, size, position and influence in industry)
b. Overview of the Firm (business concept, business model using the Business Model Canvass, business
vision-mission-values, long-term objectives, and core strategy).
c. Its Key Resources using a Resource-Based View (leading to identification of strategic assets, core
competence, core processes).
d. Organizational profile using McKinsey’s framework (structure, systems, staff, skills, management
style, shared values/culture); a Functional Area Approach is optional
e. Recent performance / major accomplishments
f. Strategic issues / organizational problems experienced
g. Financial Highlights (The actual Pro-forma Financial Statements can be placed in Appendix)
10 | P a g e
Presentation Date: Apr 14, 2018
Company Name: __________________ L&S 125 Strategic Management Venue: _________ Time: ________
Type of business: _________________ Second Semester, 2017-2018
Corporate Strategic Review Grading Guidelines
The following attempt at a general description of what a grade of A, B, C or F means may be helpful (B+ or 3.5, C+ or 2.5 and D or 1 fall in between):
Your Conclusion and Complete, logical, clear, systematic Sufficiently clear and Satisfactory Poor solutions;
and creative presentation of systematic solutions. solutions; some critical areas
Recommendations solutions for top management key areas may neglected; 30%
Summary of state of organization consideration. Good fit and logic of the not be recommended
Logical, clear, concise, recommended solutions. adequately actions are
comprehensive and creative Strong fit with the current state of addressed. incomplete,
solutions offered for top the company. incoherent and
management consideration. inconsistent.
Shows evidence of high critical
thinking in recommending
solutions for top management
consideration.
11 | P a g e
Your Presentation Excellent presentation/ Sufficiently clear & Understandable Report/presentati
organization/ communication skills, organized report/ enough with on not cohesive,
Clear, concise, interesting report and
team work; good visuals with presentation; good team acceptable inconsistent, 10%
presentation
strong audience impact and coordination & use of presentation uncoordinated,
defense. visuals; can sufficiently skills; shows unclear; very poor
defend positions taken. openness for defense.
improvement.
TOTAL WEIGHTED SCORE
12 | P a g e
COURSE SYLLABUS
13 | P a g e
Apr 23 Home Study Day for seniors
Apr 24-28 Final Exams for seniors
Grading
Corporate Strategic Review Project
- Development/Written Submissions or Oral presentation (2 updates – 7.5/7.5)
15
- Final Written paper 10
- Final panel presentation 10 35
Group Reports (Chapter topics, Cases, etc.) 10
Individual Long Tests, WACs and reports, reflection papers,
Quizzes 45
Class Participation/Recitation 10
100%
Classroom Policies
1. Class Attendance – Attendance will be CHECKED ONLY ONCE AT ANY TIME during the
course of the class schedule, which is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-10:50 AM (section D),
and 11:00-12:20 AM (section E). It is the student’s responsibility to be present in class,
especially during roll call. Failure to answer the roll call will be construed as an absence from
class for the session. There are no lateness records in class -- only absences. Students who
arrive late should sit at the back of the classroom to avoid class disruptions. As this is a twice a
week course, more than six (6) absences will result in a final letter mark of W.
2. If due to unforeseen circumstances that the concerned Faculty will be absent or late for a session, the
concerned Faculty will inform the class beforehand through a duly designated Course Beadle. If there is
no prior information relayed to the Course Beadle, there will be class.
3. Signatures - For all written requirements; sit-downs, take-homes, written reports of cases, or project
passes, students should print their full names then sign above their names at the end of their written
submission. This is an affirmation that the student(s) did the submitted document. Failure to sign will
mean a deduction of 0.25 from the grade of the submitted requirement. For group submissions, failure of
any individual to sign will be construed as non-participation of the person in the submission which will be
treated as none submission on the part of the individual, meriting a grade of F (equivalent to 0).
4. Late Submissions – All written requirements shall be due at the start of the official class time schedule on
specified due dates. Any late submission will be penalized 0.25 per day late to be deducted from the
grade of the submitted requirement. No e-mail submissions are allowed, unless given prior clearance by
the concerned Faculty Failure to submit on specified due dates will also merit an absence from class for
the day of scheduled due date even if student is physically present in the classroom.
5. None Submission – None submission of written requirement (unless justified convincingly and accepted
accordingly) will automatically merit a failing mark of F (equivalent to 0) for the requirement.
6. Dishonesty - Any form of dishonesty is a major offense at the Loyola Schools. Students caught engaging
in any form of dishonesty (plagiarism, looking at the paper of others during a quiz, etc) shall be given a
mark of F for the particular requirement and reported to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs
7. Absences during Scheduled Long Tests, Sit-down Cases and Oral Presentations – As long tests or sit-
down cases and Oral Presentations are pre-scheduled, you will really have to have a valid reason
(communicable disease or death in immediate family) to be excused from class and from the scheduled
exercise.
14 | P a g e
8. Peer Evaluation – For all group work, we will implement a Peer Evaluation System so as to gauge the
amount of effort put in by each member of a group to the group output. All group members are required
to submit peer evaluation sheets for every group work done. Failure to submit a complete set of the
required peer evaluations may merit a grade of INC. The results of the group evaluation shall be used by
the concerned Faculty in determining the actual grade to be received by each member of a group for the
group work.
9. Dress Code – As class sessions are part of your academic training in preparation for your plunge “down
from the hill, down to the world”, students should dress decently. The Dress Code of the JG-SOM shall
be strictly enforced, as a minimum. For the males, no shorts (only for sections D and E), sandos, or
slippers. For the females, no plunging necklines, short shorts, or micro-mini skirts with high slits. During
oral presentations, business attire is highly encouraged.
11. Focus on Class sessions – During class sessions, laptops, tablets, or any other audio/video/communication
device, can be used for note-taking or authorized e-mailing or internet browsing only. These are not to be
used for playing games, watching video, or accessing social networking sites such as Facebook. The
lecturer/facilitator reserves the right to confiscate these devices if students are caught to be using them
unauthorized. The devices will only be returned at the end of the semester. It is paramount that students
focus on the class sessions at hand.
15 | P a g e