Dear colleagues and friends,
For several years, I have been extremely reluctant to meddle with a core
strategy course that has been extremely successful for me at both the MBA
and EMBA levels. I hardly ever get any complaints about the course, but
the two that I do get are: (1) the case studies are getting a bit old
(mostly from the 1990's, but a few are earlier), and (2) the conceptual
readings are too long and too unfocused, covering material beyond what we
get around to discussing in class -- especially those conceptual readings
that are textbook chapters.
Usually I brush off the "cases are too old" critique by asking students,
"Did you read any Shakespeare in high school?" and then explain that,
similar to Shakespeare's plays, certain case studies are true "classics"
that drive home specific timeless lessons, and do so in particularly
powerful ways that no newer case study can match. Usually this
explanation is accepted, but sometimes not.
I'm more sensitive to the "conceptual readings are too long and unfocused"
critique, because I genuinely agree with it.
Anyway, as I think about updating the readings for my course, I figured it
would probably be a good idea to tap into the collective wisdom and
experience of the hundreds of colleagues and friends who subscribe to the
BPS-NET list. I also figured that whatever answers emerged might help
other BPS-NET subscribers as well.
Listed below are the topics that I cover in my core strategy course, along
with the case studies and conceptual readings that I assign for each
topic. On any given topic listed below, if anyone can suggest a relevant
alternative case study that is more recent and/or a relevant alternative
conceptual reading that is more compact (shorter and more focused) , that
would be very helpful, and I would be very grateful...
Topic #1: Competitor dynamics, entry and exit
Conceptual reading: Entry and Exit, chapter 9 from Besanko et al,
Economics of Strategy, 3rd ed.
Case study: "Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Company versus
NutraSweet (A) HBS 9-794-079,
Topic #2: Industry analysis, five-forces framework
Conceptual reading: Industry Analysis, chapter 3 from Walker, Modern
Competitive Strategy, 2nd ed.
Case study: Cola Wars Continue: Coke vs. Pepsi in the Twenty-First
Century HBS case 9-702-442,
Topic #3: Strategic positioning
Conceptual readings:
- How Market Leaders Keep Their Edge by Treacy and Wiersema,
Fortune, 6 Feb. 1995, 88-93.
- What Is Strategy? by Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review,
Nov-Dec 1996, 60-78.
Case study: Crown Cork & Seal in 1989 HBS case 9-793-035
Topic #4: Building competitive advantage
Conceptual reading: Business-Level Strategy, chapter 4 from Miller &
Dess, Strategic Management, 2nd ed.
Case study: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. HBS case 9-794-024,
Topic #5: Sustaining competitive advantage
Conceptual reading: Competing on Resources by David Collis & Cynthia
Montgomery, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1995, 118-128.
Case study: EMI and the CT Scanner (A) HBS case 9-383-194.
Topic #6: Industry evolution and revolution
Conceptual reading: The Art of Standards Wars by Carl Shapiro & Hal
Varian, California Management Review, Winter 1999.
Case study: Apple Computer 1992 HBS case 9-792-081.
Topic #7: Corporate-level strategy -- diversification and vertical
integration
Conceptual readings:
- Creating Corporate Advantage by Collis & Montgomery, Harvard
Business Review, May-June 1998, 71-83.
- Vertical Integration and Outsourcing, chapter 6 from Walker,
Modern Competitive Strategy, 2 ed
- Corporate-Level Strategy, chapter 6 from Miller & Dess, Strategic
Management, 2nd ed.
Case study: PepsiCos Restaurants HBS case 9-794-078
Topic #8: Creating revolutionary business models
Conceptual readings:
- Creating New Market Space by W. Chan Kim & Renée Maubourgne,
Harvard Business Review, January-February 1999.
- "Breakthrough Thinking from Inside the Box " by Coyne, Clifford,
and Dye, Harvard Business Review, December 2007.
Topic #9: Strategy implementation through incentive and control systems
Conceptual reading: On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B
by Steven Kerr, Academy of Management Executive, February 1995 (v.9,n.1),
p. 7-14.
Case study: Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks (A) HBS case
9-191-002,
Topic #10: Strategy implementation through organizational design
Conceptual reading: Context Levers, ch. 10 from Miller & Dess,
Strategic Management, 2nd ed.
Case study: Bausch & Lomb: Regional Organization HBS case 9-594-056
Thanks in advance for whatever assistance anyone can provide.
Best regards,
Rich Makadok
--------------------------
Richard J. Makadok
Associate Professor
Goizueta Business School
Emory University
1300 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30322-2710
voice (404) 727-8639
fax (404) 727-6313
Rich_Makadok@bus.emory.edu
http://www.bus.emory.edu/Rmakadok/Professional/
"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation."
-- Herman Melville