Faculty
Objectives
The General Management course focuses on three general management areas:
Analysis for General Managers (Professors Argenti and Finkelstein)
• To introduce the concept of “general management”
• To develop your analytic skills for effective problem and opportunity identification
Entrepreneurial Management (Professor Horvath)
• To evaluate and select winning entrepreneurial opportunities
• To understand the elements of a convincing business plan and how to read and dissect business plans
• To learn how venture capital firms operate and understand basic strategies for financing new ventures
Management Communication (Professors Argenti and Munter)
• To improve your understanding of and ability to apply communication strategy
• To improve your oral presentation and managerial writing skills
• To introduce cross-cultural communication and corporate communication
Requirements
See also Policies and Grading
The required textbooks are: Guide to Managerial Communiction (5th edition) by Mary Munter and Corporate Communication (2nd edition) by Paul Argenti. Both are available at the Dartmouth Bookstore and Wheelock Books.
Materials
Expectations
You are expected to:
1. Abide by the Honor Code.
2. Take responsibility for group work representing equal efforts by all team members. If you have a “free rider” problem in the group that you can’t solve yourselves, you need to tell us about it.
3. Attend every class session. If you miss class, it will adversely affect your class participation grade.
4. Turn in all assignments on time. Late assignments will be downgraded.
Grading
Your grade in GM will be based on the following percentages:
AGM 20% Written midterm exam;
20% Class participation in case discussions
EM * 5% Executive summary of business plan;
5% Homework and class participation
Man Comm 20% Oral presentation (cross-cultural)
(composed of 10% group grade for strategy, structure, and visuals,
10% individual grade for nonverbal delivery skills);
15% Individual grade for homeworks and class participation;
15% Individual grade for writing exam
Grading
Grading: Unlike feedback, your ManComm grade will be based on performance only—not on either effort or improvement. Your grade in GM is based on the following percentages:
AGM: 20% Written midterm exam;
20% Class participation in case discussions
EM: 5% Executive summary of business plan;
5% Homework and class participation
ManComm 20% Oral presentation (cross-cultural)
(composed of 10% group grade for strategy, structure, and visuals and
10% individual grade for nonverbal delivery skills);
15% Individual grade for homeworks and class participation; 15% Individual grade for writing exam
Schedule
Module 1:
Analysis for General Managers
Session 1: Thurs,
September 20
Case: Yellowtail Marine
Assignment:
What would you do if you were Robin Gilchrist? Why?
Readings:
1. Argenti, Corporate Communication (Corp Comm), pages xiii-xvi, “A Note on the Case Method.”
2. Kotter, "What Effective General Managers Really Do” Harvard Business Review, March-April 1999.
Session 2: Friday,
September 21
Case: Yellowtail Marine (continued)
Reading:
Gadiesh and Gilbert, “Transforming Corner-Office Strategy into Frontline Action,” Harvard Business Review, May 2001.
Session 3: Wednesday,
September 26
Case: Nike (A)
Assignment:
1. Why has Nike been successful?
2. What are the most important problems and opportunities the company faces at the time of the case? How would you deal with these problems and opportunities?
Readings:
1. Argenti, Corp Comm, chapter 1.
2. Hamel and Prahalad, “The Core Competence of the Corporation.” Harvard Business Review, May-June 1990, 79-91.
3. Andrews, “The Concept of Corporate Strategy,” in H. Mintzberg and J.B. Quinn, Readings in the Strategy Process, third edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
Session 4: Friday,
September 28
Case: The Atchison Corporation (A)
Assignment:
If you were Price Millman, what problems and opportunities would be of greatest importance to you? What would you do? Why? How would you do it? (Note: Be very specific in addressing this question.)
Readings:
1. Lawler, “Achieving High Performance: Turning Principles into Practice,” in From the Ground Up: Six Principles for Building the New Logic Corporation, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1992 .
2. Quinn, Anderson, and Finkelstein, “Managing Professional Intellect: Making the Most of the Best,” Harvard Business Review, March-April 1996.
Session 5: Thursday,
October 4
Case: The Body Shop International
Assignment:
1. Why has the Body Shop been such a strong economic performer?
2. Are there any risks associated with the Body Shop’s environmentalism and social responsibility?
3. What recommendations would you make about how to proceed in the U.S. market?
Readings:
1. Finkelstein and Hambrick, “Individual Bases of Executive Action,” in Strategic Leadership: Top Executives and Their Effects on Organizations, Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1996.
2. Maignan, “Consumers’ Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibilities: A Cross-Cultural Comparison,” Journal of Business Ethics, 30: 57-72, 2001.
Session 6: Friday,
October 5
Case: Duplitrace GmbH
Assignment:
At the end of the case, a meeting has been called of all five managers to discuss how to deal with the problems and challenges of the company. In class we will conduct a role play of that meeting. Read and think about the case from your assigned perspective, which will be announced beforehand:
1. From your perspective, what do you think Duplitrace should do and why?
2. What do you think will be the effect of your approach on the performance of the company as a whole, and on the positions and interests of the key managers? Be prepared to respond to the comments and suggestions that you anticipate from the other members of management.
3. What is your intended approach to the upcoming meeting?
Readings:
1. Mitroff, "The Error of the Third Kind: Solving the Wrong Problem Precisely,” in Smart Thinking for Crazy Times, Chapter 2, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc., 1998.
2. Munter, Guide to Managerial Communication, chapter 5, pp 95-103.
Module 3: Management Communication
Monday,
November 5
Communication Strategy
Assignment: Be prepared to discuss the following five questions in class, based on the five sections in GMC, chapter 1. We encourage you to discuss these questions in advance with your study teams; groups should air all views, not seek to gain consensus.
1. Communicator strategy: What was Van Dyke’s objective? What management style did he use? What management style do you think he should have used? How would you analyze his credibility in this situation? How would you have enhanced your credibility if you had been Van Dyke?
2. Audience strategy: Who was Van Dyke’s audience? Who would you have included as an audience? How did he try to appeal to them in his letter? What specific technique(s) would you have used?
3. Message strategy: How did Van Dyke structure his letter? How would you have structured it? How would you describe the tone? What tone would you have adopted?
4. Channel choice strategy: What channel(s) of communication would you have used?
5. Culture strategy: What is your analysis of the Fletcher Company "culture"?
6. Readings How do Cialdini's five aspects of persuasion relate to the five factors for credibility (GMC, page 9)?
Case:
Fletcher Electronics
Readings:
1. Munter, Guide to Managerial Communication (GMC), chapter 1
2. Cialdini, "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion," Harvard Business Review, October 2001
Module 2: Entrepreneurial Management
Session 1: Monday,
November 5
Selecting Winning Opportunities and Business Plans Design
Readings:
1. Identifying Winning Opportunities and Business Plan Basics case and discussion questions.
2.Kana.com Business Plan Basics
Featured start-up: Kana Software(www.kana.com)
Topics Covered:
What kind of ideas are attractive to investors and prospective employees? - scale, rivalry and excudability.
The entrepreneur's role in creating a successful enterprise.
Lifestyle vs. success?
The elements of a convincing business plan.
How to read and dissect business plans.
Module 3: Management Communication, Tuesday,
November 6
Presentation Structure and Visuals
Assignments:
1. Prepare a 3-minute recruiting presentation for a company, organization, or college you know well, incorporating the guidelines on GMC, pp. 84-90. Bring your outline (preferably on a 4x6 or 5x7 inch card) to class. See Karen Weinstock in Tuck 205I for cards if you need them.
2. Visual aids assignment I
Readings:
1. GMC, pages 84-90 (tell/sell presentation structure)
2. GMC, chapter 6 (visual aids)
3. Munter, “How to Use PowerPoint 2000”
4. Munter, "How to Improve Your Peer Feedback Skills"
Module 2:Entrepreneurial Management
Session:1 Tuesday,
November 6
Selecting Winning Opportunities and Business Plans Design
1. Identifying Winning Opportunities and Businesss Plan Basics and discussion questions.
2. Kana.Com Business Plan Case and discussion questions.
Featured start-up: Kana Software (www.kana.com)
Topics Covered:
What Kind of ideas are attractive to investors and prospective employees? - scale, rivalry, and excludability.
The entrepreneur's role in creating a successful enterprise.
Lifestyle vs. success?
The elements of a convincing business plan.
How to read and dissect business plans.
Module 3: Management Communication, Thursday,
November 15
Visual Aids and Nonverbal Delivery
Assignment:
Visual aids assignment, part 2 (to be handed out in class November 6)
Readings:
1.GMC, chapter 7 (nonverbal delivery and relaxation)
2.Munter, "Using visual Aids" (excerpt from Guide to Presentations)
Module 3: Management Communication, Friday,
November 16
Cross-Cultural Communication
Assignments:
1. Select a framework from the assigned article. Where would you place yourself on that framework? Where would you place the culture of the company you last worked for? The culture of the Tuck School?
2. Discuss the cross-cultural presentation assignment and resource guides with your group.
3. Turn in your group’s country preference sheet (one sheet on behalf of your group)
Reading:
Munter, “Cross-Cultural Communication for Managers”
Module 3: Management Communication, Thursday,
November 29
Writing Process and Macrowriting
Assignment: A typed copy of your answers to the following questions:
1. Write a one-page memo to a bright college graduate, newly hired it in your company, explaining the 3 to 7 most important guidelines (or pitfalls to avoid) for email usage.
2. Explain how Fielden and Dulek’s concept of “bottom-line writing” relates to the Audience Memory Curve (GMC, pages 18-21)?
3. Explain how Fielden and Dulek’s concept of “efficiency” relates to GMC's concept of “efficiency” (chapter 2).
Readings:
1. GMC, chapters 2 and 3
2. Ewing, chapter 2 "To Write or Not To Write?"
3. Fielden and Dulek, "How to Use Bottom-Line Writing in Corporate Communications"
Module 3: Management Communication, Friday, November 30
Impromptu Speaking Exercise
Assignment:
You will be speaking impromptu (that is, without preparation) in front of the entire class and on videotape. You do not need to prepare a presentation.
Module 3: Management Communication, Thursday,
December 6
Style, Tone, and Microwriting
Turn-in Assignments:
1. As a group, write the three documents explained at the end of the UDT case. Your group should bring to class the three printed documents and save the documents somewhere where you can assess them on your computers during class.
2. As an individual, edit and rewrite the Energade memo. Bring to class a printed copy of the document (strictly an individual effort, see page 2 of this syllabus) and save the document somewhere where you can assess it on your computer during class.
Case:
United Digital Technologies
Readings:
1. GMC, chapter 4 and skim Appendices
2. Fielden, "What Do You Mean You Don't Like My Style?"
3. GMC, pp. 10-22, chapter 3, and pp. 74-81
Module 3: Management Communication, Friday, December 7
Oral Examination
• Prepare a team cross-cultural project on the country of your choice, referring to the cross-cultural presentation assignment.
• You will be given a schedule for the day. At your assigned time, your team will deliver its presentation and provide feedback to three other teams.
• Bring the multi-colored packet of peer feedback forms for cross-cultural presentations to your assigned session. When your group is not speaking, you will provide written peer feedback to the presenting group.
Exam
Module 2: Entrepreneurial Management
Session: 2 Friday,
December 7
Business Plan Financials and Introduction Entrepreneurial Finance
1. Patterns of Growth in High-Tech Start-Ups case, discussion questions, and quantitative analysis in Excel
2. Class Note: Overview of Venture Capital and Start-up Financing
Featured Start-up: Buying-Partner S. A. (www.buying-partner.com)
Topics Covered:
The value of pro forma financial statements in business plans
Business plan presentation etiquette
How venture capital firms operate
Basic strategies for financing new ventures
Exit strategies
Module 3: Management Communication, Thursday,
December 13
Corporate Communication: Strategy and Function
Assignment:
1. What was the communication function like in the organization you worked for prior to business school?
2. How would you define “corporate communication?”
Readings:
1. Argenti, Corp Comm, chapters 1-3 (N.B. you do not need to read the cases at the end of the chapter.)
2. Argenti and Forman, "The Communication Advantage: a Constituency-Focused Approach to Formulating and Implementing Strategy," in The Expressive Organization, Oxford University Press, 2000
Module 3: Management Communication, Friday,
December 14
Corporate Communication: Media
Assignment:
1. What should Ms. Richard do in terms of developing a communication strategy? (see Corp Comm, chapter 2)
2. How should she deal specifically with 60 Minutes?
3. How are media relations dealt with in your organization?
Case:
Adolph Coors Company (at end of chapter 6 in Argenti, Corp Comm)
Readings:
Argenti, Corp Comm, chapters 6 & 10
Sunday, December 16
Written Examination
Due by 5 PM
Detailed assignment to be distributed later.
Exam
