Strategic Planning During Technology Revolutions

MBA 290T / ENG 298A / INFOSYS 290

Tues/Thurs, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

C220 Cheit Hall

Fall, 2004

SYLLABUS

Mr. Larry Downes

311 South Hall

Office Hours: Thursdays, 3:00-5:00 or by appointment

Off-campus Office Phone: (510) 526-9547

Strategic Planning During Technology Revolutions

MBA 290T / ENG 298A / INFOSYS 290

Developing a strategy in a newly-emerging industry or in a business undergoing revolutionary technological changes is a daunting proposition (. . .) Ironically, the popular business press, focused on hot, emerging industries, is prone to presenting these special cases as proof that we have entered a new era of competition in which none of the old rules are valid. In fact, the opposite is true.

Michael A. Porter, “What is Strategy?” Harvard Business Review, November-December, 1996

Course Description

Strategic planning, according to Henry Mintzberg, is an oxymoron. Where strategy is a creative, left-brain activity, planning is a rote, right brain function. Only in academia can it be imagined that strategy—the vision an organization develops about its products, services, and markets—is reducible to forms and graphs, calculations and analysis.

Apparently, as the above quotation suggests, even Michael A. Porter, the reigning guru of academic strategists doubts whether the “traditional” approach works in industries undergoing radical transformation at the hands of disruptive new technologies. Unfortunately, it’s hard these days to think of an industry that doesn’t fit that description.

This course will apply an inter-disciplinary approach both to a critique of traditional strategy as well as the search for something better--or at least more pragmatic--for students whose careers will inevitably (perhaps already have done so) put them in roles that require creative thinking about business, whether from a business, engineering, or IT perspective.

In order to cover more ground, the course will mix traditional business school discussion sessions with lectures on material that will not be assigned reading. For students interested in delving more into these topics, associated reading material is listed in the schedule.

Course Texts

Readings for this course will come from a variety of books and articles, many from non-traditional literature. We will be working closely with my two books on strategy, “Unleashing the Killer App” (Harvard 1998) and “The Strategy Machine” (HarperBusiness 2002). Optional texts will be the subjects of lectures and are not required reading; however, the material in the lectures will be covered by the mid-term exam.

Required Texts (available at the bookstore or from Amazon.com):

1. Michael A. Porter, “What is Strategy?” Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 1996 (Study.Net download)

2. Larry Downes, Unleashing the Killer App (Harvard Business School Press 1998)

3. Henry Adams, “A Law of Acceleration (1904)” (Study.Net download)

4. Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Univ. of Chicago 1962)

5. Nicholas Carr, “IT Doesn’t Matter,” Harvard Business Review, May 2003 (Study.Net download)

6. Michael A. Porter, “Strategy and the Internet,” Harvard Business Review, March, 2001. (Study.Net download)

7. Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma (Harvard Business School Press 1997)

8. Larry Downes, The Strategy Machine (HarperBusiness 2002)

Optional Texts (available from Amazon.com or University Libraries):

1. Michael A. Porter, Competitive Advantage (Free Press 1985)

2. Henry Mintzberg, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (Free Press 1994)

3. Lynn White Jr., Medieval Technology and Social Change (Oxford 1962)

4. Larry Downes, “Unleashing Killer Architecture,” CIO Magazine, June 15, 2003

5. Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm (HarperBusiness 1991)

Grades and Assignments

Grades will be based on a midterm exam and a final paper, as well as class participation and attendance:

Midterm exam – Short essay exam on the key concepts introduced during the first half of the course. 30% of grade.

§ Final paper - 50% of grade. The final paper will give you the opportunity to apply one of the “five revolutionary strategies” described in Chapter 1 of “The Strategy Machine” to an industry or organization of personal interest to you.

§ Class Participation/Instructor Discretion – 20% of grade.

Rules of the Road

I expect the following basic rules are agreed among us:

You and I will come to class and will not come late or leave early. You will let me know by email or voicemail if you will not be in class or need to arrive late or leave early.

You and I will read the material assigned for each class. You don’t need to completely understand each reading but you need to be able to turn any confusion into a question.

You and I will participate in class discussion. It is the quality, not the quantity, of participation that matters to me. I will not force people to speak in class, but if the same few people tend to be the only volunteers I expect you to accept conscription gracefully.

You and I will respect each other by turning off our cell phones and pagers throughout class. No exceptions. We will also show respect if not love for each other in agreeing or disagreeing on content of our comments and opinions.

5. You and I will respect each other by eating and drinking in class only if absolutely necessary and in a civilized way that our families would not be ashamed to watch.

6. You and I will discuss any problems with the course or course materials as soon as we become aware of them. Problems can be raised in class or in private as is most appropriate.

Detailed Schedule

I. The Problem

Module A – What is Strategy?

Week 1 – Introduction

8/31 Introductory Lecture: Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, RIP

9/2 What is Strategy?

Reading Assignment: Michael A. Porter, “What is Strategy?” Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 1996 (Study.Net download)

Week 2 – The Academic Approach to Strategy

9/7 Porter: The Five Forces, The Generic Strategies, The Value Chain (lecture)

Note: This lecture will be based on Michael A. Porter, Competitive Advantage (Free Press 1985)

9/9 The New Forces, The Oddity of the Generic Strategies (exercise)

Note: This discussion will be based on an exercise posted on the Study.Net course website.

Module B – Some Critiques of the Academic Approach

Week 3 – Reality

9/14 The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (lecture)

Note: This lecture will be based on Henry Mintzberg, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (Free Press 1994).

9/16 Digital Strategy

Reading Assignment: Larry Downes, Unleashing the Killer App (Harvard Business School Press 1998), Chapters 1-3.

Module C – Disruptive Technologies: The Killer App

Week 4 – Disruptive Technologies

9/21 Historical Perspectives: Adams, Kuhn, White

Reading Assignment: Henry Adams, “A Law of Acceleration (1904)” (Study.Net download); Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Univ. of Chicago 1962) (required book).

Note: This discussion will include a brief lecture on Lynn White Jr., Medieval Technology and Social Change (Oxford 1962).

9/23 Historical Perspectives (continued)

Week 5 – IT as a Disruptive Technology

9/28 The Killer App: An Update (lecture)

Note: This lecture will be based in part on Larry Downes, “Unleashing Killer Architecture,” CIO Magazine, June 15, 2003.

9/30 Does IT Matter?

Reading Assignment: Nicholas Carr, “IT Doesn’t Matter,” Harvard Business Review, May 2003 (Study.Net download); Michael A. Porter, “Strategy and the Internet,” Harvard Business Review, March, 2001. (Study.Net download)

Module D – Innovation: The Dilemma and the Chasm

Week 6 – The Innovator’s Dilemma: Strategy and Disruption

10/5 Christensen: The Dilemma

Reading Assignment: Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma (Harvard Business School Press 1997) (required book).

10/7 Moore: The Chasm (lecture)

Note: This lecture will be based on Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm (HarperBusiness 1991).

Week 7 – Review and Midterm

10/12 Review of Part I

Assignment: Please come prepared with questions about material covered in the first six weeks of the semester.

10/14 In-class Midterm Exam

II. The Solution

Module E - The Revolutionary Strategies and Design Principles

Week 8 - Revolutionary Strategies

10/19 Revolutionary Strategies

Reading Assignment: Larry Downes, The Strategy Machine (HarperBusiness 2002), Chapter 1-2.

10/21 Rules for Revolutionaries

Week 9 – Design Principles

10/26 Killer App Design Principles

Reading Assignment: Larry Downes, Unleashing the Killer App (Harvard Business School Press 1998), Chapters 4-6.

10/28 Design Principles (continued)

Module F – Industry Transformation

Week 10 – The Three Stages of Industry Transformation

11/2 Design Principles Update

Note: This discussion will be based on an exercise posted on the Study.Net course website.

11/4 Industry Transformation

Reading Assignment: Larry Downes, The Strategy Machine (HarperBusiness 2002), Chapter 3.

Week 11 – The Information Supply Chain

11/9 The Information Supply Chain

Reading Assignment: Larry Downes, The Strategy Machine (HarperBusiness 2002), Chapter 4.

11/11 NO CLASS - VETERAN’S DAY

Module G – Strategic Planning During Technology Revolutions

Week 12 – The Portfolio Approach

11/16 Strategy Portfolio

Reading Assignment: Larry Downes, The Strategy Machine (HarperBusiness 2002), Chapter 5.

11/18 Information Assets and the Value Curve

Reading Assignment: Larry Downes, The Strategy Machine (HarperBusiness 2002), Chapter 6.

Module H - Execution Issues

Week 13 – Inhuman Factors

11/23 The Sociology of Strategy

Reading Assignment: Larry Downes, The Strategy Machine (HarperBusiness 2002), Chapter 8.

11/25 NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING DAY

Week 14 – Obstacles

11/30 Execution Obstacles

Reading Assignment: Larry Downes, The Strategy Machine (HarperBusiness 2002), Chapter 9-10.

12/2 The Regulatory Crisis (lecture)

Module I – Slouching Towards Academia

Week 15 – Conclusions

12/7 The Five Revolutionary Strategies Revisited

Note: This discussion will be based on an exercise posted on the Study.Net course website.

12/9 Final Thoughts (lecture)