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| Why is this man smiling? |
GPP CORPORATE
STRATEGY WORKSHOP
Stephen
Givens
“Japanese companies rarely have
strategies.” This provocative statement
appears in Michael Porter’s influential article “What Is Strategy?” One of the primary objectives of this
workshop is to introduce students to the “toolbox” of concepts taught in American
business schools on the subject of “corporate strategy” and to apply those
concepts to four Japanese companies in different industries: JR East Japan
Railway, Taisho Pharmaceuticals, Softbank and Sony.
What are the competitive dynamics
of those industries and do the Japanese companies have a coherent strategy or
strategies to succeed in the markets in which they compete? Students will be assigned to teams dedicated
to one of the four Client Companies.
Each team will act as the corporate strategy advisor to its Client
Company and prepare a series of presentations culminating in a final
comprehensive presentation analyzing the client’s competitive challenges and
recommending strategic actions and policies the client should take. By the end of the semester students will know
their Client Companies in depth.
There will be a reading assignment
each week introducing students to basic business analytic tools and corporate
performance metrics. Those tools will in
turn be used to analyze the industry and competitive dynamics faced by the
Client Companies. This will be an
opportunity for students to learn about the economics of different industries:
pharmaceuticals, railways, mobile communications, consumer electronics, and the
complexities created in relation to market and product segmentation as the
result of the Internet and information technology.
This will also be an opportunity
for students to develop analytic and communications skills in English. Each student/team during the course of the
semester will prepare a short paper in English; prepare a presentation giving
an overview of its Client Company against the background of its relevant
competitive environment; participate in a debate about specific actions the
Client Company should take to improve performance; and prepare and present a
final presentation to the senior management of the Client Company analyzing
challenges and making recommendations.
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Themes
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Reading/assignment
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Week 1
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Introduction
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Week 2
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Corporate
Strategy: Basic Analytic Framework 1:
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Capital
Efficiency and Measures of Profitability
How Do Investors
Evaluate Potential Investments?
Profitability
Ratios: Gross margin, operating profit, net margin, return on assets, return
on equity, return on net assets
Other basic
concepts:
-- Income
statement/Balance sheet
--Net asset
value/shareholders equity
--Market
capitalization
--Debt/equity
--EBITDA
--Price/earnings
ratio
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Reading: “Profitability
Ratios”
Team Assignment:
Chart revenues, operating profit, market capitalization, P/E ratio and ROE your
Client Company for the past five years:
JR East Japan
Railway (9020)
Taisho
Pharmaceuticals (4581)
Softbank (9984)
Sony (6758)
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Week 3
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Corporate
Strategy: Basic Analytic Framework 2
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The Five Forces
that Drive Profitability
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Reading: Michael
Porter: “The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy”
Team Assignment:
For your Client Company:
--Define the
relevant product market(s) and the Client Company’s market share
--What “business”
is the Client Company engaged in?
--Evaluate the
relevant geographic scope of competition
--Identify the
relevant actual/ potential competitors of the Client Company
--Identify the
Client Company’s main competitive advantages and weaknesses
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Week 4
4/30
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Corporate
Strategy: Basic Analytic Framework 3
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Competitive
Advantage and Corporate Strategy
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Reading: Michael Porter: “What Is Strategy?”
Team Assignment: Present progress report on
data collection for your team’s Client Company. Describe competitive dynamics within the
relevant industy(ies) and preliminary hypothesis about the client company’s
competitive position within the relevant industry(ies), applying the concepts
developed by Michael Porter.
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Week 5
5/13
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JR East Japan 1
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The Economics of
Railways and Other Network Businesses
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Reading: HBS,
”Platform-Mediated Networks”
Assignment for JR
Team: Overview Presentation: “Overview of JR East Japan”
Assignment for
other teams: Is the Tokaido Shinkansen a “platform-mediated network”? Write a
brief paper (500 words) explaining whether the Tokaido Shinkansen is a
“platform mediated network” and how that affects the economics of the
business.
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Week 6
5/20
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Taisho
Pharmaceuticals 1
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Dynamics of the
Global and Domestic Pharmaceutical Markets
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Assignment for
Taisho Team: Overview Presentation: Domestic and International Market
Analysis of Taisho’s Products
Assignment for
other teams: Work on upcoming
presentations
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Week 7
5/27
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Softbank 1
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Understanding the
Mobile Communications Industry
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Assignment for
Softbank Teams: Overview Presentation:
What is Softbank’s Business?
Other Teams: Prepare diagram showing major segments of
mobile communications business and key players in each segment
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Week 8
6/3
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Sony 1
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What Happened to
Sony?
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Reading: “Amazon,
Apple, Facebook and Google”
Assignment for
Sony Teams: Overview Presentation:
“What Happened to Sony?”
Assignment for
other teams: Write a short paper (500
words) analyzing the main differences in business model between Sony and
Apple.
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Week 9
6/10
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Taisho
Pharmaceuticals 2
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Proposition 1:
Taisho should withdraw from the international market and become a purely
domestic company
Proposition
2: Taisho should immediately return ¥200
billion in unneeded cash to its shareholders
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Reading: Framework for Financial Decisions
Assignment for
Taisho Teams: Debate on Propositions 1 and 2
Assignment for
other teams: Work on upcoming presentations
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Week 10
6/17
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JR East Japan 2
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Proposition
1: JR East Japan should be broken up
into two or more separate companies.
Proposition 2: JR
should actively pursue growth opportunities outside Japan.
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Reading: Hagel
and Singer, “Unbundling the Corporation”
Assignment for JR
Teams: Debate on Propositions 1 and 2
Assignment for
other teams: Work on upcoming
presentations
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Week 11
6/24
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Softbank 2
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Proposition 1:
Softbank’s acquisition of Sprint/Nextel has seriously damaged Softbank’s corporate
value
Proposition
2: Softbank is significantly
overvalued by the market
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Reading:
“Valuation Methodologies”
Assignment for
Softbank Teams: Debate on Propositions 1 and 2
Assignment for
other teams: Work on upcoming
presentations
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Week 12
7/1
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Sony 2
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Proposition
1: Daniel Loeb is right: Sony should spin off its movie and
entertainment business
Proposition
2. Sony should sell its television
business
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Reading: Daniel Loeb letter to Sony
Assignment for
Sony Teams: Debate on Propositions 1 and 2
Assignment for
all teams: Deliver video version of
finalpresentation
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Week 13
7/8
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Final
presentation 1
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JR East Japan:
Strategic Proposals
Taisho
Pharmaceutical: Strategic Proposals
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Deliver final
presentations
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Week 14
7/15
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Final
presentation 2
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Softbank:
Strategic Proposals
Sony: Strategic
Proposals
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Deliver final
presentations
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