(Mt) – BUS 497A CSUN Challenges of Strategic Business Management Reflection Paper

Assignment: Strategic Opportunity/Challenge Essay wayne.smith@csun.edu [ updated: Friday, August 30, 2019 ] Course: Title: BUS 497a Capstone: Strategic Management (3 units) “The five functions of management are 1), setting objectives and planning, 2), organizing the group, 3), motivating and communicating, 4), measuring performance, and 5), developing people.” —Peter Drucker (1909-2005) Goal: I want you to reflect briefly on a substantive issue germane to this class, and I want to capture a small writing sample from each of you. This assignment is straightforward. Objective: In narrative essay format, I want you to describe the most engaging strategic opportunity or most intractable strategic challenge that you have ever encountered as an employee. The strategic issue can be an opportunity that is just waiting to be exploited (leveraged), or perhaps it was indeed leveraged successfully. Similarly, the strategic issue can be a challenge that is just waiting to be addressed (resolved), or perhaps it was indeed addressed successfully. You can describe the issue itself, the issue and the approach (successful or not), or the issue and what approach you would take if you could. I am less interested in which issue you select; I am more interested in your attention to detail, your critical reasoning, and your due diligence with respect to language use and grammar. More to the point, management is concerned with all strategic issues in organizations. The challenge for managers, therefore, is to apply the theory and practice of strategy to address, and possibly resolve, the issue (opportunity or challenge) to deliver persistent and consistent value in the organization, especially in the face of competition. If you have little or no work experience, you may describe an issue that you have encountered as a customer. If this is your situation, at the top of the essay simply state “I have little or no work experience”. Finally, only choose an issue from the University if you are employed at the University. As to critical thinking, the “VALUE” critical thinking rubric on page 3 of this document can be used a general guide. Beyond that minimal requirement, students should employ typical expository, composition, and communication techniques in this brief essay. Length: This essay is to be no less than two and two-half pages in length and no more than three full pages in length. Other relevant formatting requirements (“style guide”) are linked Page 1 of 3 from the course web page. Recall also that for all written assignments in this course, 10% is deducted from the content score for each type of error in language use. Performance Measurement: The maximum number of points for content is 10. Textbook Tips: Students should read and comprehend the details in the Gamble/Peteraf/Thompson textbook. These chapters contain key ideas that can improve the rigor of your critical thinking essay. Some key ideas regarding strategic management from Chapter 1 are as follows:  What is the distinctive strategy or competitive approach of the firm?  If you know it, what appears to be the company’s strategy and business model?  What is this firm’s competitive advantage? How might the firm develop it?  How has the strategy changed, if at all, over time? How should it change?  How will the firm know that it was successful? Some key ideas regarding strategic management from Chapter 2 are as follows:  What are the firm’s vision, mission, or values?  How are these aligned all the way throughout the firm?  How is strategy managed at the firm?  What is measured? How are corrective actions taken (or not taken)?  Is the firm’s strategy visible to all internal and external stakeholders? Other Tips: Students should read and comprehend the Library readings, Lecture presentations, and other materials that complement the textbook. These materials contain key ideas that can improve the relevance of your critical thinking essay. Some key ideas from Week 1 readings are as follows:  Are there any principles of lower- or upper-division courses that apply?  Are there any aspects of Ethics or Corporate Social Responsibility that apply?  Are there any theories or models from General Education courses that apply? Some key ideas from Week 2 readings are as follows:  Are there any particular elements of PESTEL analysis that apply?  If you have first-hand knowledge (that is, an insider’s view of the firm), which elements of Porter’s Value Chain are uniquely and particularly critical?  Can you identify the critical benefit, cost, and competition drivers, and any changes (planned, tried, or missing) from existing technology to new, state-of-theart technology?  There are a few Wall Street Journal articles assigned for reading in Week 2. Can you draw an analogy from an element in your strategic opportunity/challenge to an element in one or more of those articles? Page 2 of 3 “VALUE” Critical Thinking rubric: When writing a college-level essay—even a short one—it is helpful to review the basic elements of “critical thinking”. The following critical thinking “rubric” is excerpted and adapted from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU): http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/CriticalThinking.cfm Before final submission, endeavor to see if your essay would be considered “relatively strong” on all or most of the following elements as applicable to your unique essay. Element Explanation of issues Evidence Influence of context and assumptions Student’s position (perspective, thesis/hypothesis) Conclusions and related outcomes (implications and consequences) Relatively Strong Issue/Problem to be considered critically is stated clearly and described comprehensively, delivering all relevant information necessary for full understanding. Information is taken from source(s) with enough interpretation/evaluation to develop a comprehensive analysis or synthesis. Viewpoints of experts are questioned thoroughly. Thoroughly (systematically and methodically) analyzes own and others’ assumptions and carefully evaluates the relevance of contexts when presenting a position. Specific position is imaginative, taking into account the complexities of an issue. Limits of position are acknowledged. Others’ points of view are synthesized within position. Conclusions and related outcomes are logical and reflect student’s informed evaluation and ability to place evidence and perspective discussed in priority order. Page 3 of 3 Relatively Weak Issue/Problem to be considered is stated without clarification or description Information is taken from source(s) without any interpretation/evaluation. Viewpoints of experts are taken as fact, without question. Shows an emerging awareness of present assumptions (sometimes labels assertions as assumptions). Begins to identify some contexts when presenting a position. Specific position is stated, but is simplistic and obvious. Conclusion is inconsistently tied to some of the information discussed; related outcomes are oversimplified.

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