Given the fact that one of the benefits of an online class is the ability to "go to class" whenever it is convenient for you, we feel that you should be able to communicate with us on a daily basis. As a rule of thumb, we will attempt to respond to all emails in 24 hours or less. You can count on the fact that we will respond to all emails by 6 PM (Pacific time) on Monday through Friday.

Guidelines for student communication:

1. If the question/comment you have is related to you personally (e.g. a question about your grade), please email Randhi for all matters with the exception of the Business Strategy Game.
2. For "personal" questions/comments regarding the BSG, please email Sandie.
3. If your question/comment regards something that is likely of general interest to all of your classmates, please utilize the "General Student Questions" topic in the Discussion Forum. We will then reply within your particular discussion thread.
4. Oftentimes, we will want to talk to all of you for various and sundry reasons. We will do so via the Course Announcements or the Email facility of our classroom. Please take five minutes per day (seven days a week) to enter the classroom and check for new announcements and/or emails. We will always post announcements by 6 PM (Pacific time).

TEXT:

Thompson, Strickland, and Gamble. Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases, McGraw-Hill Irwin, Inc., 15th Edition, 2006.

SIMULATION:

Thompson and Stappenbeck, The Business Strategy Game, Richard D. Irwin, Inc., Online 8th Edition, 2004. (URL = www.bsg-online.com) The text for the simulation can be printed from this site once you have registered for the online simulation. Note that you must have a registration code that will be provided by Sandie after we meet on September 16th. More to come on how to register later!!!!! In the meantime, please see the Business Strategy Game link on the Homepage for information regarding accessing an Introductory Powerpoint presentation and the BSG "demo" site prior to our meeting on the 16th.

OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of the course the student will have demonstrated the ability to:

1. conduct strategic analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations using a situational analysis model of industry, competitive and company conditions,
2. analyze, formulate, and implement business strategies,
3. integrate the multiple perspectives of knowledge gained from this and other courses, case materials and actual experience to look at policy from the standpoint of the general manager as the chief strategist and policy maker of the firm, and to take a "real world" approach to issue resolution,
4. use personal computers to do managerial analysis (forecasting and what-if analysis),
5. professionally communicate ideas, research, and analysis in both oral and written formats, and
6. work in teams for project development/completion and presentation.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Each class member will (on an individual basis):

(1) prepare a minimum of three "Memo Responses,"
(2) take a minimum of three chapter exams,
(3) take one Business Strategy Game online quiz,
(4) complete Business Strategy Game peer evaluations for all team members including yourself.

Each team will:


(1) prepare six Business Strategy Game decision sets,
(2) prepare a Business Strategy Game Business Concept, and
(3) prepare a Business Strategy Game Three-Year Plan, and
(4) participate in a minimum of two case forum discussions.

Each of these requirements is generally explained in the ensuing sections.

MEMO RESPONSES:

Each class member will prepare "Memo Responses" for a minimum of three case assignments. "(Required Memo Response)" highlights these three cases on the calendar. Follow the link to view the Memo Response example. Note that the "Memo Response" example includes much more than is requested in your actual written assignments. It is suggested that you scan down the example to find the analysis sections that correspond to the questions that are asked in your "Memo Response" assignment to get an idea of the format with which you are to respond and the appropriate level of detail to be provided. "Memo Response" assignments are available by following the appropriate links on the course calendar. Please respond to the questions posed or provide the information requested via a typewritten memo which is to be submitted via the "Assignments" page in our classroom.

There is also one "(Optional Memo Response)" assignment. You may choose to either write it or not write it. You may only write this optional memo if you have submitted all three of the required memos. The Memo Response portion of your final grade will be calculated using the three highest Memo Response grades.

PLEASE DO NOT USE ANY SOURCE MATERIAL OTHER THAN WHAT IS PRESENTED IN THE TEXT.

CHAPTER EXAMS:

Each class member will take a minimum of three chapter exams, each containing twenty multiple-choice questions. The exam dates and chapter coverage are outlined on the assignments page. Each exam can be taken anytime during the week specified, but once you open an exam, you must complete it before logging off, as only one submission is allowed. Should technical difficulties arise during the time that you are taking an exam, please contact Sandie immediately.

There is also one "(Optional Chapter Exam)" assessment. You may choose to either take it or not take it. You may only take this optional exam if you have completed all three of the required exams. The exam portion of your final grade will be calculated using the three highest exam grades.

Please note that these exams are closed-book. Hence, you are ON YOUR HONOR!!!!!!!!!

CASE FORUM DISCUSSIONS:

It is expected that each team will actively participate during each of the two required case forum discussions. Forum discussion questions can be found at the various links on the course calendar. Each team is to address the question that corresponds to the first letter of its company name for the BSG (though there is no relationship with the BSG other than this.) Please respond as thoroughly as possible. The participation grade will be based on the quality of your responses. Note that responses are to be based on case facts and not unsubstantiated opinion. Finally, all are responsible for ensuring the completeness of the discussion. The aggregate of all of the responses should constitute very good case coverage.

There is also one "(Optional Forum Discussion)" assignment. You may choose to either write it or not write it. You may only write this optional forum discussion response if you have submitted the two required responses. The Forum Discussion portion of your final grade will be calculated using the two highest Forum Discussion grades.

Forum discussion should follow the same format as Memo Responses. Please follow the link to view the Memo Response example. Note that the "Memo Response" example includes much more than is requested in your actual forum discussion assignments. It is suggested that you scan down the example to find the analysis section/s that correspond/s to the question/s that are asked in your "Forum Discussion" assignment to get an idea of the format with which you are to respond and the appropriate level of detail to be provided.

The forum questions and response instructions for each discussion can be found in the discussion forum itself as they are posted.) Please post your responses in the appropriate places in the actual discussion forum. Note that Web CT has been having difficulty accepting the upload of attachments in the discussion space, so please "paste" your responses if the attachment uploading feature does not work correctly. Please note that you occasionally loose some of the Word formatting when you "paste" responses, but it is not significant enough to worry about.

SIMULATION ASSIGNMENTS:

Simulation assignments will be team efforts (with the exception of the online quiz and peer evaluations). Each team will represent one firm in the athletic shoe industry. Each team is responsible for submitting a business concept and six annual management decisions. Additionally, each team will submit a Three-Year Plan for its firm based on the conditions at the end of period 14 (i.e. when the results of period 14 are returned to you).

The Business Concept has a template (of sorts) which can be accessed via the "Assignments" page.

On February 24th we will spend a goodly amount of our class session discussing the simulation and its assignments.

DUE DATES:

* All memo responses, written case reports, and simulation assignments are due by 11:00 PM on their assigned dates.

** Memo responses and the simulation team written assignment (Business Concept) are to be submitted via the "Assignments" page of the classroom.

** Simulation decisions should be complete at 11: PM on their assigned due dates......the online BSG administration program will automatically run the simulation at that time.

* All discussion forum responses must be posted in the appropriate discussion thread by 11:00 PM as defined in the calendar.

* All tests must be submitted by 11:00 PM on the test completion date.

Failure to comply with this policy will result in a zero for the particular assignment. To put this another way.....We do not accept late work.

Given the above, it behooves all of us to NOT procrastinate!

WRITING COMPETENCY:

All memo responses must be appropriate senior level college work. This being the case, you are allowed a maximum of one "typo," misspelling or grammatical error per page. For example, if a document totals five pages, you may have five errors without any adverse effect on your grade. If a document totals two pages, you may have a total of two errors without penalty. Once you surpass the threshold, each error will cost you five percentage points. (Each written assignment will be graded on a one hundred-percentage point basis.)

When participating in the case forum discussions "typo" rules will not apply, but please be reasonable about the general structural quality of your responses.

DISTRIBUTION OF GRADES:

	Component
Case Forum Discussions	10%
Memo Responses	30% (10% each)
Simulation
Online Quiz	05%
Business Concept	05%
Three Year Plan	05%
BSG Peer Evaluation	10%
Game-to-Date Score for Period 15 or 16 50% (Overall Investor Confidence Average) + 50% (Game-To-Date Performance Rankings)	25%
Chapter Exams	10%
	100%Total

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Please review the Linfield policy regarding academic dishonesty. It can be found in the college catalog. Note that any incidence of academic dishonesty may result in a final grade "F."

Students with documented disabilities, who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the first week of the term.