There are two issues in the choice of this project: style and specific case. Our goal is to get a diversity of both styles and cases. Therefore, please identify three different styles your group would be interested in working on, and associate with each of them a specific cases, order them by preference, and post these in WebCT in milestone 1.
Note: Do not choose a case already undertaken by groups in past classes (see past reports). Very contemporary cases are preferred to historical cases, although the latter can be good if they still harbor unresolved issues.
- Analyze one industry product category w.r.t. how complementary/competitive products relate to one another and the various factors in the success/failure of terms of considerations covered in this class. Example case: workstations -- Apple/Mac, PCs, UNIX workstations
- Analyze a group of companies with complementary products, in terms of how they collaborate to maintain compatibility etc., whether their cooperation is fair or anti-competitive, and whether it is effective in terms of the considerations covered in class. Example case: Intel/Microsoft/Compaq
- Analyze a single company, in terms of the strategic business challenges it faces within the scope of this course (product strategies, industry alliances, intellectual property, standardization, etc.). Example case: SUN Microsystems
- Analyze an industry consortium or standardization body in terms of its effectiveness and its impact on the industry it serves. Example case: OMG or IETF
- Analyze one important patent or group of patents in terms of the effectiveness with which they have been protected, the impact they have had on competition in the industry, and how easy or difficult it would be for a new company to compete in this category without licensing arrangements. Example case: TI basic IC patents
- For a standards war currently being waged, analyze the strategies of the competing approaches and predict the outcome based on considerations discussed in this course. Example case: CDMA vs. TDMA vs. GSM for digital cellular telephony
- Define and propose yet another style not listed, with associated case, that is of more interest to your group.
Analyze the case drawing upon resources like trade magazines, scholarly journals, Web sites, and of course the course readings and lectures, adding your own understanding and initiative. It would be welcome if you wanted to talk to people in industry about the case. Your goal is to analyze the case in light of the concepts of this course, uncovering in-depth understanding of existing strategies and strategic alternatives. Is it being approached in the best way, or if you were in charge would you approach this differently?
The projects will result in an approximately 10- to 15-page written report on the Web, posted in the “groups and reports” section of WebCT. Each report should have references and links to other resources, such as trade magazine articles, company or product homepages, etc. Your report will be graded mostly on the depth and completeness of your analysis, but style and organization will count for something too.
See the course calendar for due dates for the project milestones and the final project due date. Only the final report will be graded; the intermediate milestones are for your benefit in positioning a good topic and covering all your bases.
· Milestone 1: Choose your list of three project styles/case combinations, ordered by preference, and post these on the WebCT. For each proposal, give a short paragraph indicating why you think this is an interesting case. The instructors will look at all the group’s proposals, and try to strike a balance between giving you your highest choice and achieving a diversity of projects. The instructors will also give you feedback on whether your choices are likely to exercise the knowledge developed in this class.
· Milestone 2: Post on the Web an outline of your project report. The instructors will give you feedback on completeness and organization.
· Project due. Post the final report on the Web for grading.
· In-class presentation: Each group will be allocated ten minutes for a presentation to the class (with no questions or interruptions), followed by a five minutes of questions and class discussion. The ten-minute limit must be strictly enforced, so please rehearse your presentation in advance. The purpose of the presentation is to expose the entire class to your most interesting or compelling analysis and conclusions, and motivate others to delve further into your report. What did you uncover that was surprising? How did your analysis confirm or contradict conventional wisdom? What actions would to suggest or recommendations would you make in light of these findings?
· Follow-up. Each member of the group please assign your 100 points to the other group members based on their individual contributions to the group’s efforts (choosing a topic, report, and presentation) on this project using a form posted on WebCT.
See the “grading” section for grading policies. Note that the group will receive a grade, and each individual member of the group will be graded for their contribution to the final report by their fellow group members. In setting the group grade, the instructors will be influenced by both the written report and the in-class presentation.