Strategy Electives

STR 8150 Corporate Strategy and Post-Merger Integration (2 sections)

STR 8870 Strategy Seminar (3 sections) STR 8970 Investigations into the Nature of Strategy (2

sections) STR 8044 The Consulting Process STR 8305 Strategic Thinking: Integrating East and West STR 8310 Competitive Dynamics STR 8459 Corporate Innovation and Design Experience

(semester long) STR 8468 Organic Growth: A Challenge for Public

Companies DBP 895A DBP: Consulting STR 8484 Creativity and Design Thinking

GBUS 8150: Post-Merger Integration

Role of acquisitions in corporate strategy

Achievement of merger objectives after the “deal is done”

Integrating different types of mergers: In-market (industry consolidation) Product/market extensions Diversification

Jay Bourgeois

Jared Harris

GBUS 8870A and 8870B: Strategy Seminar

The economics of strategy Competing on capabilities Strategy as options Strategy as a process Genesis and origin of a strategy: analysis,

insight, intuition, or Zen?

This course helps students become conversant with contemporary issues in the field of strategic management both in theory and practice. It covers selected strategy topics in depth that are chosen from three areas: First Year Strategy, current practice and issues, and current research in strategy and related fields of economics and organizational sociology. Four streams of literature will be discussed: organizational economics, resource-based/dynamic-capabilities view of the firm, business psychology, and business sociology. The course will allow students to become more conversant with relevant current issues in strategic thinking and the practice of strategy and to treat ideas in greater depth and rigor than possible in a traditional case course.

Jared Harris

GBUS 8870C: Strategy Seminar

Strategic importance of corporate governance practices

Associated strategic and ethical challenges raised by governance issues

Behavioral/process view of governance that complements GEN 8090 structural view

During the 2014-2015 academic year, the 8870C section of Strategy Seminar will focus on the topic of corporate governance from the standpoint of strategic management and business ethics. Readings and cases will touch on key issues for firm governance as it impacts strategy, ethics, and organizational performance – including behavioral issues, research insights, and current/contemporary challenges in governance. The students will gain expertise in the subject matter, and as such, work together to help develop materials for an entirely new course intended to complement Darden’s existing GEN 8090 Corporate Governance elective. Grading will be based on class participation and written deliverables (cases, caselets, technical notes) intended to be used in the new course, going forward.

GBUS 897: Investigations into the Nature of Strategy

Q2 and Q4Purpose is to give students

confidence in creating novel strategies

Exploration of wide variety of metaphors for strategy from non-business disciplines:

Biology Anthropology Military history Experimental game theory Neuroscience Others

Tiha von Ghyczy

GBUS 8310: Competitive Dynamics Seminar

Overview: This advanced strategy seminar provides class participants with an integrative framework and specific analytical tools for understanding how firms interact in the marketplace—within an industry, across industries, and beyond national borders.

The seminar intends to engage participants on two fronts: bridging application and scholarship, and maximizing the student-centered learning experience.

Topics: Analysis of a competitive attack, Prediction of competitive reactions, Dynamic global competition, Competitor analysis, Competition-cooperation

Audience: especially useful to those interested in high-level business-strategy consulting, advanced strategic planning and marketing, and industry security analysis, as well as anyone seeking to develop sophisticated competitive thinking

Ming-Jer Chen

GBUS 8305: Strategic Thinking: Integrating East

and West Overview: This seminar intends to help

participants 1) develop a deep understanding of the strategic concepts and business models underlying foreign (in this case, Chinese) business, based on a thorough knowledge of cultural and institutional differences; 2) use this understanding to think broadly about global enterprise; 3) develop a globally integrative perspective that enables them to conduct business in any part of the world.

Topics: China’s re-emergence and its global implications, competition-cooperation, a globally integrative business perspective, a new enterprise framework.

Audience: especially useful to those interested in pursuing managerial careers with responsibilities involving international operations or high-level strategic components, and to those interested in strategy consulting, international business, or business opportunities in Asia.

Ming-Jer Chen

GBUS 8468: Organic Growth:

A Challenge of Public Companies

Overview: examines the challenges of creating consistent organic growth in public companies. Students will use their knowledge of strategy, operations, finance, marketing, and human resources to focus on growth from a growth manager, an organizational design, and strategy and execution perspectives.

Topics: Building A Growth System; Who Are Growth Leaders?; A Growth Experimental Pipeline; Growth Resiliency; Managing The Risks of Growth

 Audience: designed for those who will 1) either manage, lead, or execute growth inside public

companies2) be consultants creating growth strategies3) be involved in finding and investing in growth

companies4) be involved as investment bankers in financing

growth

Ed Hess

GBUS 8459: Corporate Innovation and Design

ExperienceQ2 & Q34

Overview: semester long course meeting Tuesday af in Quarters 2 & 3, focused on exploring and using design thinking and innovation principles and tools to accelerate business model innovation. Students will form teams to do a hands-on innovation project aimed at providing user insights, deep concept thinking, and prototypes for specific innovation opportunities to client organizations

Topics: Design thinking; business model innovation; user-driven design; visualization techniques; hypothesis generating and testing; prototyping; storytelling

Audience: any student interested in developing his or her capacity for innovative thinking in any field or career: especially of interest to those interested in strategy consulting, product management, business development

Jeanne Liedtka

GBUS 8484: Creativity and Design Thinking

Q3 Overview: This course covers much of the

same material as 8459, with a greater emphasis on the topic of creativity and without the field project. It is focused on exploring and using design thinking and innovation principles and tools to identify and accelerate innovation opportunities

Topics: Design thinking; business model innovation; user-driven design; visualization techniques; hypothesis generating and testing; prototyping; storytelling

Audience: any student interested in developing his or her capacity for innovative thinking in any field or career: especially of interest to those interested in strategy consulting, product management, business development

Rachel Brozenske