MG6023 B, Economics & Strategy

This is a course in Economics, Strategy, and the Firm with a primary focus on the needs of managers. It draws upon a range of concepts and tools from the fields of Industrial Organization and Strategic Management to review the cognitive building blocks that provide an economic foundation to strategic thinking. Strategy is ultimately about value creation and capture of economic value. Value-based strategies show that a firm that introduces a technological innovation creates value, and if it fails to protect it from competition it will be driven out of business. This basic level of insight is linked to the rich tradition in economics to untangle some ambiguities surrounding these concepts and provide a deeper understanding of strategic decisions made by managers within the bounds imposed by competition.

Course Objective:

After completing this course, students should be able to:

•   Explain the structure of the industry in which a firm competes and the nature of the competitive interactions among firms in those markets.

•   Articulate the differences in the firms' positions to compete and the basis of their competitive advantage.

Course Structure:

The course relies on a combination of lectures, in-class discussions, and students' presentations. Chances are that students, who have invested quality time to prepare for class will initiate a valuable discussion during my lectures. Notice that the last one or two sessions (depending on class size) will be devoted to students' presentations.

Readings:

Lecture Notes

Your lecture notes provide the basic reading material and serve as a subject guide. Study the lecture notes first, and then the additional readings and the corresponding chapters in the textbook. As a rule, your exams are designed to test your basic knowledge, and questions will be drawn for the lecture notes.

Textbook

The textbook emphasizes strategic behavior and covers a wide range of topics in great detail. However, please note that there is no single textbook that includes all topics covered in the course.

[ES] Economics of Strategy (Recommended)

by David Besanko and David Dranove Wiley Binder Version,  7th  edition

Additional Readings

[AR] Several book chapters and journal articles supplement your textbook and cover concepts that are not discussed in the main textbook.

Wall Street Journal

You will read the Wall Street Journal on a regular basis during the duration of the course. You are strongly encouraged to subscribe to this publication for the duration of the course.

Syndicated websites

You will be instructed to visit and explore various websites to collect data and work on assignments. You will soon find out that these websites will serve you well as you build your career.

Course Assignments and Grading:

What's the point?

This project should be considered a laboratory in which you can test your ability to identify and clearly explain complex strategic issues. You will write several reports based on articles that you select from the Wall Street Journal. You are required to submit one-page written reports based on your articles. I will call a student to open the class discussion with a brief presentation of his/her what 's the point? report that has been prepared beforehand.

A good report is expected to have the following structure:

"What's the point?"

Your Name:                                                                                        Due Date:

What's the Point?

This is your general brief statement, the strategic lesson you have learned by analyzing the article.  Do not simply repeat the title of the article. Notice that you might be able to derive several lessons, but you will select and focus on only one point.

Source:

List the data and title of the WSJ article.

Analysis:

o Part 1. Plan of Action. Describe the actions taken by management and the economic characteristics of the decision that makes it strategic.

o Part 2. Situation. Explain the strategic issue that managers had to address.

o Part 3. Objective & Outcome. Explain the logic i.e., how the actions improve the situation.

o Part 4. Generality. Explain if this is a problem that other companies (even in different industries) are facing now or could be facing in the future?

Research Project

The class will be divided to groups to complete an industry research paper. An up to 15-page double- spaced report will be prepared to showcase your research, not including accompanying bibliography. The report should be a professional-looking document that relies heavily on the topic discussed in class to draw its conclusions.

Your industry and competitive analysis report should follow the following structure:

Title

The title summarizes the main idea or ideas of your study. A good title contains the fewest possible words that adequately describe the contents and/or purpose of your research paper. If the title is too long it usually contains too many unnecessary words, e.g., "A Study to Investigate the...." On the other hand, a title which is too short often uses words which are too general. For example, "The U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry" could be the title of a research paper, but it does not provide any information on the focus of the research. A better title could be: “A New Business Model for Pharma: How the Pandemic Changed Priorities.”

I.         The Research Statement. The research statement conveys the overall intent of the study i.e., why you are writing this report. The purpose of the statement is to guide your research and it must be clear, specific, and informative to stimulate readers’ interest.

II.        Macro-analysis. Use the PEST/PESTEL framework to identify emerging trends in the macro-environment of the selected industry. Although this is a broad discussion of the emerging trends that could influence the industry, the emphasis should be on trends related to your research statement.

III.      Industry Analysis. The five-forces framework for industry analysis is the main tool to be used in this part of the research which has two parts:

a.   Describe the current structure of the industry and its ability to capture part of the value it creates.

b.  Next, explain how your findings in the macro-analysis section could impact the industry's structure in the future and its ability to capture value.

IV.      Situation  Analysis. Select  a  company within the  industry and use SWOT analysis to understand the company’s situation within the industry.

a.   Strengths and Weaknesses (SW) refers to the current internal environment of the firm which will be analyzed with the use of the business model canvas.

b.   Opportunities and Threats (OT) refers to the emerging external environment of the firm i.e., the work in the PEST and industry structure sections of the research.

c.   How  the  current  business  model  is  expected  to  perform  within  the  emerging  external environment.

V. Business  Model  Innovation. Complete your report with  a  statement like  "Given the expected changes in the structure of the industry, it is advisable for the focus company to implement the proposed business model modifications" followed by a description of the improved business model.

***

A research statement (maximum length one to two pages) should be submitted for approval. It should include the preliminary title of the research paper, and it will introduce a question which could be further explored through research. A good research question involves more efforts than just a guess. It is a specific testable research hypothesis about what you expect to happen in an industry.  Visit the websites of several consulting firms to start thinking about alternative research questions:

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast

https://www.pwc.com/?_ga=1.250734469.2045506006.1483047989

https://www.bcg.com/featured-insights/thought-leadership-ideas

https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/gx/en/insights/industry-trends.html

The research paper will be evaluated along the following dimensions:

Cohesiveness. The writers provide a clear research statement and concluding remarks that are fully supported by the analysis. The paper ties together information, and it flows from one topic to the next. Integration  of Knowledge. The  paper  demonstrates  that  the  authors  fully  understand  and  can synthesize using the concepts learned in the course.

Spelling & Grammar. No spelling and/or grammar mistakes. The paper should have a professional appearance.

Citations. The paper cites all data and text obtained from other sources. It employs a uniform style throughout the paper.

Academic writing follows specific styles, and each style has different peculiarities and distinctive features. The most common styles are: American Psychological Association (APA) style, Modern Language Association (MLA) style, and the Chicago style. Use the one that fits your style, but be consistent. Notice that Word will format your paper based on the selected style.

Evaluation of Team Research

Every team member initially receives the same grade for the research paper.  However, the individual grade is adjusted after a peer-review evaluation.

Let’s assume that there are n members on a team. Then each member will have 10(n-1) points to allocate to  other  team members.  The  allocation  should  reflect  your judgment  about  everyone’s contribution to the project. If the grade for the research paper is x and you receive k points from your teammates, then the individual grade will be computed as: x + 10 { ((k/10(n-1))-1}, capped at 100.

For example, in a 4-person team, each member gets 30 points to allocate to the other members as they please. If x = 92.5 and you get 8 points from each teammate, (k=3 x 8 = 24) then your individual score for the group research project is: 92.5 + 10{(24/10(4-1)) -1} = 90.5

Forum. Participation in the discussion forums is required and critical for maximizing student learning in this course, both because your participation is graded and because it's a chance to engage in a dialogue about course material. Submit the requested initial post, and then post your reflections  on at least one other person's post.

Examinations

There will be two exams. Both exams will ask you to answer multiple-choice questions and are designed to test your basic knowledge in the subject area. All questions will be selected from the material you will find in your lecture notes.

Assessment

What's the point? 15%   Forum Participation 5%

Class Participation/Quizzes 10%

Research Paper 20%   Mid-Term Exam 25% Final Exam 25%

Assignments submitted late will be penalized.

Grading Policy

Late works Students are reminded that grades are not "given" but reflect what is "earned" by the student through course performance along clearly established dimensions, and not what they have (falsely) learned to "expect" or managed to negotiate with the instructor, or what the instructor believes is the effort level or commitment. A rather normal distribution will be constructed around the overall class average grade. By this very definition, it should not be expected that a significantly large percentage of the class receives an A in the course. At the other end of the grade distribution, poor or unacceptable performance will carry a grade below B-.