It's Not Too Late to Do Something Fun in Class
Updated (Free) Teaching Tools Website
Please check out the new tools, experiential exercises and videos at:
www.CarpenterStrategyToolbox.com.
You can filter by type of tool (exercise, video, etc.) using the tabs at the top or you can filter by topic in a strategy course (5 forces, RBV, global, etc.) using the categories on the right side. There is also a search function. You should find something useful in no time at all.
Please help make the site more useful:
· Comment on tools you have used in class (adding tips, etc.)
· Submit new tools so the resource is always growing
· Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions
Be sure to check out the most popular post this week – David Kryscynski's Learn Strategy Videos! After that, here are links to a few recently added exercises and resources that you might find especially useful:
· Discussing Terrorism in Class. When there is a terror event in the news, how might you discuss it in the strategy classroom? This post outlines some questions you might ask (after the Paris attack).
· Exercise: Negotiating Coordination Costs. The MicroTech negotiation focuses on the problems promoting cooperation across divisions (for example, to achieve synergies). Sub-optimal agreements (money left on the table) represent the cost of failing to coordinate. About 20-40% of the potential value is typically left on the table. The discussion focuses on how to align objectives and achieve cooperation across units. It turns out that such cooperation is hard to achieve in a competitive culture. How, then, can the firm create a cooperative culture? You can find more materials on experiential exercises by filtering on that topic.
· Video: Organizational Islands. This recent AT&T commercial captures the essence of organizational coordination challenges. Of course, they promise to solve these problems. I suspect that they can barely scratch the surface in most cases. In any event the video might lead to some nice discussions of coordination dilemmas and how addressing them is critical for strategic implementation. You can find more videos by filtering on videos.
· Disney Wields its Princess Power. Mattel just lost to Hasbro on producing Disney princess dolls - a $500M a year business. This brings to an end a 60+ year strategic alliance. A recent Bloomberg article tells the story of what happened and makes a nice start to a mini case. There are many facets to this that might be of interest in the classroom. Bargaining power is probably front and center. Mattel wanted to have their own princess line that they didn't have to pay the substantial licensing fees to Disney. Other cases can be found by filtering on cases.
The FAQ shows you how to download and convert videos so they can be inserted into PowerPoint presentations.
-Russ
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Russell Coff, UW Foundation Chairman Orr Bascom Professor of Strategic Management
Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research |<www.bus.wisc.edu/faculty/Russ-Coff>