MGMT 497 Course Orientation Dr. K. Kwong MGMT 497

Our Class Website Course Materials for next week on forecasting and production analysis can be downloaded from our class website: http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/kkwong2/Mgmt497.html Additional information on other items, which you may find useful, can also be obtained from this website.

An Integrated, Team-Taught Course All the sections of MGMT 497, though supervised by possibly different instructors, share the same syllabus and thus have exactly the same course requirements. Also, the same team of instructors will be responsible for all the different sections. The purpose of the MGMT 497 course is not to teach you anything significantly new but rather to: evaluate how much you have learned and show how you may apply what you have learned from different business disciplines in an integrated manner. This course integrates different areas of functional knowledge learned in previous courses in accounting, finance, economics, statistics, marketing, and operations and production management.

Course Prerequisites You should have completed all the required upper-division business core courses. These required courses are listed individually on page 1 of our syllabus. Since you are expected to know all the basic aspects of business analysis covered in the required core courses, there will be no excuse for you to say: “I never learned that” or “I forgot all these”, etc. If you are not ready, you should not be in this class.

Required Materials As shown in Section 2 on page 1 of the syllabus: A blue book (8.5” x 11”) for the written case examination Three written business cases The cases needed are identified in Section 7 on page 3 of our syllabus. License to play the Business Policy Game (BPG) Purchase it directly from the BPG website for $100 per team. See Section 12 on page 5 of the syllabus for more information. Remember to request the actual license be sent to Professor Kwong’s email address: kkwong2@calstatela.edu. BPG Player’s Manual Paperback copies are sold at our university bookstore. An electronic version is available online from either the BPG website (www. software.bpgsim.biz) or our class website. BPG Player’s Program Download the Player’s Program from the BPG website. A tutorial for using the program is available there and also at our class website.

Team Identification You will compete in the business game in teams. Each team normally consists of 4 to 6 members. Each team will be identified by its company number (assigned by your instructor) and a business world number (which can be found in Section 18 on page 8 of our syllabus). You will use these identification numbers when purchasing the business game license and when playing the game. Each team will have a Decision Data Flash Drive (a USB stick). The USB stick should have the correct identification numbers matching your team. Just verify that yourself.

Grading Grading will be based on a strict scale, as shown in Section 6 on page 2 of our syllabus. A breakdown of the grade (out of a maximum of 100 points) is given as follows: Personal Scores (40% of the Total) Written Exam on one Case 20 Oral Exam on Written Case in a Class Panel Discussion 10 Policy Game Quiz 5 CSU Business Assessment Test 5 Team Scores (60% of the Total) Performance on Computer Simulation Game 20 Two-Year Business Plan 20 Final Report and Condition of Firm 20 Note: Actual allocation of your team scores will be based on peer ratings.

Special Lectures There will be not much teaching in this course. You will have just a few lectures: Lecture on the Business Policy Game during the 1st week; Lecture on sales forecasting and production analysis in the 2nd week; Lecture on financial and accounting analysis in the 2nd week; Lecture on strategic analysis in the 3rd week. In a few more class meetings, your instructor will provide additional instructions and guidelines to assist you in completing all the course requirements. The instructor essentially serves as a supervisor, hopefully making your work easier. For the rest of the time, you should expect to do the coursework either by yourself or with your team under a very tight assignment schedule.

Assignment Schedule to Follow It is important to follow strictly the course’s assignment schedule given in Section 7 on page 3 of the syllabus. Pay special attention to exam dates: Game Quiz on the Player’s Manual in the 2nd week (bring scantron) Written Case Exam in the 4th Week CSU Assignment Test in the 6th Week (bring scantron) Oral Exam as a Case Panel in the 8th, 9th or 10th Week Final Presentation as a Team in the 11th Week Meet all the due dates: Business Game License Preliminary Weighting Factors (for the business game) Final Weighting Factors (for the business game) Two-year Business Plan Final Corporate Report

Reading Assignment for Next Week You are expected to be familiar with the Business Policy Game during the first week. Hence, study the Player’s Manual as soon as possible. There will be a trial run. The business game will officially start on the following Thursday. In addition, you will need to take a 10-minute quiz during our next meeting. Remember to bring a scantron sheet for the quiz. To get a better picture of all the course requirements, you should study the syllabus carefully after our first meeting. At this moment, focus your attention on those requirements over the next few weeks, especially those related to the business game. As the quarter proceeds, you will receive further instructions on other specific requirements – including the business plan, the oral exam, and the final corporate report.

Decision Form to be Submitted for Your Business Game

Game Decision Schedule Chapter 2 of the Player’s Manual discusses how to enter values and complete the Decision Form for our business game. With the Player’s Program installed on your computer, you will be able to input your game decision numbers on an electronic Decision Form. Take good care of the USB flash drive. Don’t lose or damage it. You can find a game decision schedule in Section 16 on page 7 of the syllabus. Except when it falls on a holiday, the decision date will normally be either a Monday or a Thursday. All game decisions are due by 1:00 PM on each due date. The game will not be rerun for any late decisions. The business game instructor will give you more detailed instructions about the game. Also, you should read Section 18 on pages 8-9 of the syllabus yourself.

Weighting Factors for Game Performance Criteria A team’s performance in the simulation game will be evaluated based on six criteria (see Section 14 on page 6 of our syllabus): Return on Asset (ROA) Return on Equity (ROE) Market Share (MS) Stock Price (SP) Unit Production Cost (UPC) Total New Income (TNI) Each team can decide on how its performance will be evaluated by choosing the weighting factors – which determines the relative importance – for individual performance criteria. Every team will need to complete a form regarding the choice of weighting factors – both the preliminary and the final choice.

Written Case Exam The written exam requirement is outlined in Section 9 on page 4 of the syllabus. During the 4th week, you are required to take a written exam, which involves business case analysis. Three possible cases (as listed on page 3 of the syllabus) will be used in the written exam. At the start of the exam, the professor will randomly assign one of the three cases to you. You will then write an analysis of the case assigned in the exam. During our class meeting in the 3rd week, you will be given more specific instructions on how to prepare for the written exam.

Oral Case Exam Once a case is assigned to you for the written exam, you will be tested on the same case again in another exam under a panel discussion format. This oral exam will take place during the 8th, 9th, or the 10th week, depending on the assigned case (see Section 7 on page 3). During the oral exam, you will be responsible for all the current information on the assigned case.

Two-Year Business Plan The business plan requirement is outlined in Section 19 on pages 10-11 of the syllabus. You will work with your teammates to identify and resolve problems facing your company in the game, and to develop and implement a coherent business plan with clearly defined objectives (performance targets), concrete functional strategies, and specific planned actions for reaching these objectives over a two-year period. During our class meeting in the 5th week, you will be given more specific instructions on how to prepare for the two-year business plan.

Final Corporate Report The final report requirement is described in Sections 22 and 23 on page 12 of the syllabus. Your team will need to prepare a final report to evaluate how well your company meets the performance targets set in your business plan. The report should also evaluate your company’s current strengths and weaknesses as well as future strategies. During our scheduled Final Exam period, each team will present the final corporate report orally in class (using PowerPoint presentation software) and in writing to the instructor. During our class meeting in the 9th week, you will get further instructions on how to prepare for the final report.

Team Manager A major part of this course requires teamwork. If there are any conflicts between members of your team, you should try your best to resolve them. Your professor will not be involved in resolving personal conflicts within your team. Think about a name for your company in the business game. Your company is considered to be selling a durable consumer product. Send me a short email to introduce yourself as a team manager for your team. Put “MGMT 497” and your “Company #” on the subject line of your email. I will send you an electronic form for your team to complete regarding the choice of weighting factors.

Work Hard and Deliver. Enjoy the class!