Efficient Market Hypothesis Essay

These will be presented by practitioners Media Conference This will be populated by journalists Board Meeting Presentation will be to Board members Module Outline The module aims to enable students to develop business and management skills and to capture an integrated view of their learning across their MBA programme. It also builds specifically on Media Training and three Preparatory Sessions. It combines substantive lectures; ‘Business Briefings’ in the form of practitioner presentations pertinent to the Case; and experiential learning through a ‘live’ Case involving group work. Justification of the strategy (10%); Integration of business relevant functions and underpinning disciplines (10%); and Coherence & Focus of the document (10%) To be submitted by 13. 00 hours Thursday 18th April 2013. The Strategy Document should consist of four separate documents: †¢ Title page including Group name and team members †¢ 1 page Executive Summary †¢ Strategy Document (1,500 words) †¢ Appendices (make sure that these clearly reinforce points made in the Strategy Document). The Strategy Document should be in a format suitable for presentation to the company board. It should not be in the form of an essay. It should not simply be the sum of different departmental strategies. Rather, it should present an overall integrated strategy reflecting a long-run scenario plan. It should be supported by the different departmental components of that strategy. The full details of the departmental strategies can be included in Appendices. There are plenty of on-line examples of how to write a strategy document. You will still need to decide which format suits your strategy. Further advice will be given in the module. 2. Media Statement in Response to Intervention (500 words 10%) We will be looking for a justification, integration and coherence & focus of action in the statement. To be submitted by 17. 00 Thursday 18th April 2013. 3. Media Conference and Board Presentation (10% or 5% per event) This includes the Management, Presentation and Coherence of the Media Conference and Board Presentation. Individual Assignment 4. Individual Reflection (50%) Critically reflect on selected strategy (10%), group processes (10%); response to the intervention (10%); and your individual role (10%). Identify what you take from these experiences; what you would have done differently? (10%) This report should be in an essay format and can include supporting documents. The purpose of the individual coursework is to enable you to reflect on your learning from the coursework and the Company Case experience. This can include reference to: The challenges of integrating multi-disciplinary approaches to business and integrating business strategy; †¢ Group dynamics and management, your role within the group and interactions with others, decision-making processes under pressure; and group development and coherence; †¢ Real busin ess experiences of public exposure through the media and defence of strategies from senior managers. You might want to structure it by time or key stages (i. e. Strategy formulation and process; responses to interventions and the Media statement; Group formation and dynamics; Media and Board Events and event management). Please do not use this essay to criticise others but to reflect on your experiences and how you might approach this differently in the future. The essay is due at 16. 00 on 24th May 2013. Session 1 Monday 15th April 09. 30 – 11. 00 Module Introduction Introduction to the Case; Allocation of Groups What is Sustainability? In this session we will introduce the Module, its aims, activities and structure and we will clarify the assignments and assessment. We will introduce the Company Case, Wearing Well or Wearing Out? and allocate the groups. We will address the question, what is sustainability? The Company Case The Company Case ‘Wearing Well or Wearing Out? ’ will be introduced; the full case will be circulated separately. In essence Wearing Well is a long-standing UK retail chain which has recently been taken over by a private equity consortium. It has principally sold women’s clothing but also men’s clothing, men’s and ladies shoes and accessories, furnishing, appliances, and home accessories. The company is not considered to be performing well by the owners and they have commissioned a new management team (i. e. YOU in the different groups) to turn the company around. You are asked to prepare an initial five year plan in the form of a Strategy Document and to consider how integrating sustainability into the strategy can add value to the company. You will also be asked to respond to an ‘intervention’ in the form of a Media Statement. You will be required to explain and justify your initial strategy and the subsequent response in two ‘live events’ both on Friday 20th April:1. A Media Conference (supported by a Media statement that you will need to prepare) 2. A Board Meeting (supported by a Strategy Document that you will also need to prepare) Groups The class members will be organised into groups with whom they will address the Group Assignments (Strategy Document, Media Statement in Response to Intervention, Media Conference and Board Meeting). Break out rooms will be allocated. When class members are allocated to their groups, the groups will then need to decide and agree job roles / descriptions / responsibilities and assign these to group members. Each member will then be required to sign a ‘contract’. What is Sustainability? A general introduction to the theme of sustainability will be provided. The key pillars of sustainability will be introduced: 1. Balance of social, environmental and economic criteria 2. Intra-generational justice 3. Inter-generational justice. A systems approach is used to highlight the importance of sustainability and to understand the importance of sustainability to business. Preliminary Reading Senge, P (2009) ‘Sustainability: Not What You Think It Is’ MIT Sloan Management Review June Michael Porter and Mark R Kramer (2011) ‘Creating Shared Value’ Harvard Business Review Jan – Feb 2011 See http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sustainability. Core Reading Stead and Stead (2009) Chapters 1-4 OR Stead and Stead (2004) Chapters 1-3 (Chapter 2 provided) Dunphy Dexter, Andrew Griffiths and Suzanne Benn (2007) Organisational Change for Corporate Sustainability, New York: Routledge. Chapters 1 and 2 (Part 1), Background reading on Sustainability (All provided in the Module Booklet) Assadourian Erik (2007) ’Acknowledgements,’ Vital Signs 2007-2008, 104-105, New York: WW Norton and Company. Brown, Lester R. (2008) Plan B 3. 0: Mobilising to Save Civilisation. New York: WW Norton and Company. Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III. (1972) The Limits to Growth. New York: Universe Books Ehrlich Paul R. and Ann H. Ehrlich (1990) The Population Explosion. New York: Simon and Schuster. Elkington John. (1997) Cannibals with Forks. Oxford UK: Capstone Publishing Limited. Hart, S and Milstein, M (2003) ‘Creating Sustainable Value’ Academy of Management Executive 17 (2) 56 – 69 Laszlo, C (2003) The Sustainable Company Island Press Chapter 1 Munasinghe, M (2009) Sustainable Development in Practice: Sustainomics Methodology and Applications Cambridge Chapter 2 Senge, Peter M (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation. New York: Doubleday/Currency. Wearing Well CEO Agreement Group Role Description Manage allocation of group roles and submit Manager Agreements Manage decision processes for Group Strategy and Media Statement in Response to Interventions Manage preparation for Media conference and Board presentation Submit Group Strategy and Media Statement (according to deadlines and word lengths) CEO Name Signature Module Lecturer (Simon Wright) Signature Date Wearing Well Manager Agreement Group Role Title Role Description Name Signature CEO Name Signature Date Session 2 Monday 15th April 11. 30 – 13. 00 Shared Value and Stakeholder Value This session will provide the opportunity to revise the concept of stakeholders and to apply it specifically to the question of strategies for sustainability. Different frameworks for understanding stakeholders will be discussed and contrasted, highlighting the importance of understanding and managing stakeholder expectations in strategy formation for sustainability. We will have virtual appearances by the Stakeholder guru, RE ‘Ed’ Freeman and by Harvard Professor Michael. E. Porter discussing the concept of ‘shared value’. Core Reading Michael Porter and Mark R Kramer (2011) ‘Creating Shared Value’ Harvard Business Review Jan – Feb 2011 Freeman, R. Edward, Harrison, Jeffrey S. and Wicks, Andrew C. (2007) Managing for Stakeholders: Survival, Reputation and Success Yale University Press. See provided a short paper R. E. Freeman (2008) ‘Managing for Stakeholders: Survival, Reputation and Success’ Darden Business Publishing, University of Virginia (note permission has been obtained for the use of this paper in this module). Stead, W. Edward and Jean Garner Stead (2009) Management for a Small Planet Greenleaf 3rd Edition Chapter 7 provided Session 3 Monday 15th April 14. 00 – 15. 30 Business Briefing: Sustainability in the Retail Sector Stuart Wright, Head of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability J Sainsbury PLC http://www. j-sainsbury. co. uk/responsibility This presentation will highlight the current sustainability policies, practices and issues for J Sainsbury PLC, one of the UK’s largest supermarkets. The session will provide an opportunity to consider trends, opportunities and challenges from the perspective of one of the UK’s most innovative and successful retailers. Stuart is responsible for the delivery of Sainsbury’s 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan, a ? 1 billion initiative to drive corporate responsibility across a variety of stretching targets encompassing environmental, sourcing, communities, food ; health. Session 4 Monday 15th April 16. 00 – 17. 30 Business Briefing and Group work: First Steps Here you will begin your assessment of the Company Case and your preparation of your Strategy. This will involve agreement about individual roles within the Group, integration and time lines, and about decision-making and strategy-making processes. You should start your stakeholder scanning for WW. Sessions 5 ; 6 Tuesday 16th April 09. 30 – 12. 30 Business Briefing and Group work: First Steps Here you will begin your assessment of the Company Case and your preparation of your Strategy. This will involve agreement about individual roles within the Group, integration and time lines, and about decision-making and strategy-making processes. You should start your stakeholder scanning for WW. Sessions 7 ; 8 Tuesday 16th April 13. 30 – 17. 30 Group Work: Scenario Planning for WW This will enable you to apply the processes of scenario planning for sustainability (Sessions 5 and 6). What sort of environment (supply, employees, market) and company do we plan for? What overall strategy should we follow? You may find that this overview gets reviewed as you explore operational realities and develop operational strategies. Session 9 Wednesday 17th April 09. 30 – 11. 00 Business Briefing and Group Work: Operational Scanning for WW Each operational manager should be scanning their area of responsibility: what is working? Why? How do the operations support / undermine the overall performance of WW? This will enable you to apply the thinking about developing operational strategies for WW. Session 10 Wednesday 17th April 11. 30 – 13. 00 Group work: Operational Strategies for WW The process started in Session 8 should feed into the preliminary thinking about operational strategies. You will need to think about the relationships between the results of the different operational scanning exercises and the fit – or otherwise – of preliminary operational strategies. These will ultimately need to be informed by the overall strategy that you select. However, also the overall strategy needs to take account of operational realities and to integrate operational strategies. What do you remember from your Strategy modules? Session 11 Wednesday 17th April 14. 00 – 15. 30 Group Work: Preliminary Integration of Strategies for WW Here you will begin to integrate your operational Strategies; identify and address inconsistencies. Do the operational strategies reinforce one another? Does the overall strategy run through all the operations? Is there a clear vision for WW?