Final Examination - In Class: Week 13 - 18%
The Final Examination will consist of multiple choice questions as well as short-answer questions drawn from your assigned readings, case studies, lectures, and seminars. The exam is designed to test your understanding of the theory and empirical research relevant to the strategic management process.
The Examination will take place during your lecture timeslot in week 13. The duration of The Exam will be 90 minutes.
Details of the possible examination topics will be discussed in lectures. You are allowed to bring one (1) A4 - sized piece of paper with study notes on it (double-sided, typed using any size font or hand-written) into the Examination. It is suggested that students make summary notes of each reading to aid in the development of this sheet.
Assignment 1 (Group): Case Study Analysis I (CSAI) – 25%
Due Week 7 in your Seminar
The assigned Case Study to be analysed will be either a Harvard Business School case or one selected from your text, it will be announced in your assigned Seminar in Week 4. The Case Study Analysis is designed to enable you to apply the theory and empirical research discussed in the subject to real-world situations. Related goals include the development of skills in teamwork, intra-group dynamics, organisational analysis, project management, and professional report writing (i.e., proper layout, grammar, spelling, etc.). In order to assist you in developing the practical skills needed for successful completion of this assignment, a portion of seminar time will be devoted to relevant learning and training.
Specifically, you are required to:
- Organise yourselves into teams of 6 people (exceptions to this guideline can only be made by the express permission of the seminar leader in your nominated seminar). In order to facilitate effective group development, group members must be from the same nominated seminar.
- Analyse the Case Study utilising the C.A.S.E. method (C is for Challenge, A is for Analysis, S is for Solution, and E is for Execution). This case analysis technique will be introduced to you in your seminar in Week 2.
- Submit your Case Study Analysis to your seminar leader at the designated time (late case study analyses will have their marks reduced per the university guidelines) and place (see Assessment Summary in this document). The Case Study Analysis is to be a maximum of 4 (four) double-spaced pages including any references and appendix (but not including the cover page). The cover page must be the official School of O&M "Essay/Assignment Cover Sheet." The cover page must be stapled to the Case Study Analysis and must contain the following information: a) the complete names of the students who prepared the analysis, b) their respective student identification numbers, c) the subject name, d) the name of your Lecturer, e) the name of your Seminar leader, f) the day, time, and classroom of your seminar, and g) the date submitted. All team members must sign the cover sheet acknowledging that the case analysis has not been submitted in any other subject. The Case Study Analysis must be typewritten in a 12 point font, be double-spaced only, and have 3 cm margins on the left and right. The Case Study is meant to be self-contained so do not use any information about the organisation or the competitive environment that is found outside the case (i.e., websites, company brochures, newspaper or magazine articles, etc.). Each section of the Case Study Analysis (i.e., Challenge, Analysis, Solution, Execution) is worth 20% each. The final 20% of the Case Study Analysis is for Style (i.e., spelling, grammar, sentence construction, format, etc. of the written Case Study Analysis). This task is worth 18% of your total mark.
- Oral Presentation: In addition, you will need to prepare an Executive Summary Presentation of your key findings for CSA I and deliver it in your seminar.
- This is a concise summary of your findings. It is an audio (i.e., verbal) and visual (i.e., use of a combination of PowerPoint and/or handouts) presentation made to the Seminar by the entire team. This presentation must be made in 12 minutes or less. All members of the group must verbally participate in the presentation. This task is worth % of your total mark.
Assignment 2 (Group): Case Study Analysis II (CSAII) – 30%
Group Report and Presentation Due Week 12 in your Seminar
The assigned Case Study to be analysed will be either a Harvard Business School case or one selected from your text, it will be announced in your assigned Seminar in Week 9. The requirements for this case study analysis are the same as those for Case Study Analysis I. Case Study Analysis II is due in your nominated seminar in Week 12.
Case Study Analysis written report – this task is worth 20% of your final mark.
Oral Presentation: An Executive Summary Presentation of your key findings for CSA I and deliver it in your seminar. It is an audio (i.e., verbal) and visual (i.e., use of a combination of PowerPoint and/or handouts) presentation made to the Seminar by the entire team. You will need to present a concise summary of your solution and execution in particular and prepare for a workshop style session. This presentation must be made in 10 minutes or less, and all members of the group must verbally participate in the presentation.
This task is worth % of your total mark.
Assignment 3 (Individual): CSAII Review - 15%
Individual Report due in Week 13 - June
As an Individual Assessment Exercise, you will need to prepare and submit a short CSAII Review assessment or observation paper. This assignment will be an individual report where you consider or analyse the impact of the presentation made by your group in the seminar and the questions asked by other groups.
For the review, considering the presentations that other teams made in your seminar, you need to
- Assess whether the solution your team presented is still the best solution in your view, and justify why you believe so, OR
- Modify (or adjust) the solution your team presented and state why you have made this change
Please do not simply reproduce parts of the CSAII Group Report. This individual assessment review must reflect your own opinion. Given its content, it must be done AFTER the CSAII seminar presentation and discussion, and is due June.
This assessment is a written report with a minimum of 1,000 words and a maximum of 1,200 words and as with your CSA, typewritten in a 12 point font, double-spaced, with 3 cm margins. This task is worth 15% of your total mark.
Assessment: Seminar Preparation and Participation – 12%
Preparation for, and active participation in, your seminars is a key component of the learning of this subject. The seminars will primarily focus on experiential learning via the case study method. To that end, you will be introduced to a number of topics that will facilitate the earning of your Case Study Analyses marks. These topics will include: the C.A.S.E. method (which is an acronym for Challenge, Alternatives, Solution, and Execution), intra-group dynamics, report writing, and report presentation.
To help extrinsically motivate you to prepare and actively participate in seminars, peer evaluations will be utilised in the CSAs. The use of peer evaluations will serve as a diagnostic tool for the analysis of intra-group dynamics.
In Class Evaluation: Class sessions will usually begin with a short oral presentation by one or two student teams – “consulting teams” – presenting to the class as if we were the client in the case. Your career success depends critically on your skill in articulating and defending your ideas and engaging a productive dialogue with your colleagues. You should consider our classroom as a laboratory in which you can test and improve these skills. Class participation grades will be determined based on your contribution to class discussion of case studies. Attendance is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a good participation grade. You are expected to be an active participant. Just like in a real work setting, your contributions in discussions are a key part of your performance. At the end of each case discussion session, scores will be assigned to each student on the following scale:
- Excellent Participation: comments that challenge constructively the direction of the discussion and reorient it in a productive way.
- Good Participation: comments that clarify complex issues, synthesize material, and move the discussion forward noticeably
- Modest Participation: comments that are marginal but help flesh out a given part of the discussion or analysis
- Poor Participation: few comments or interactions and little contribution made to discussion or analysis
Some of the criteria that make for effective class participation include:
- Involvement:
- Are you following the discussion attentively?
- Are you actively contributing ideas?
- Are you respectful of others in how you formulate your contributions?
- Listening:
- Are you a good listener? Are your points relevant to the flow of the discussion?
- Do you link them to the comments made by others?
- Adding value:
- Do your comments show evidence of insightful analysis of the case data?
- Do they make use of relevant practical experience?
- Are they formulated in a succinct, effective manner?
- Do your comments clarify and highlight the important aspects of earlier ideas and lead to a clearer statement of the relevant concepts and issues?
- Risk-taking:
- Are you willing to test new ideas, or are all your comments “safe”? (For example, repeating case facts without analyses and conclusions, or simply generic statements that would be true in almost any setting would be considered “safe” and not very useful.)
There will also be 2 (two) brief MC In Class Quizzes to be undertaken during the semester. Your Preparation for and Participation in Seminars is worth 12% of your total mark.