Strategic Management of Technology

TM583 Strategic Management of Technology

Case Study Assignments

As noted in the syllabus, there are two written case study assignments for this course. All case assignments are due on the Sunday ending the week. Submissions, in Microsoft Word format, can be posted in the Drop box. Use the following convention for naming your file:

Case ##-# [LASTNAME] for example: Case II-9 Smith

Case II-8: The PC Desktop Videoconferencing Systems Industry in 1998

Part #1: Why did Intel enter the DTS market? What were its objectives? How do you evaluate this initiative from strategic perspective? Be sure to support your comments.

Part #2: Identify and evaluate key elements of Intel's approach to develop its business in the DTS market. How successful has Intel been?

Due: Sunday ending Week 3

Case III-5: Innovation at 3M Corporation (a)

Part #1: How does the Lead User research process differ from and complement traditional market research methods?

Part #2: Has the Medical-Surgical team applied the Lead User research process successfully? Why or why not? Be sure to support your conclusions.

Due: Sunday ending Week 6

How to Prepare your Case Analysis

Each case study will follow this sequence:

* Read the assigned case study

* Each student submits an individual analysis of the case. The analysis will cover questions or provided above.

* Papers should be at least three, but no more than five, double spaced pages in length.

* Assignments should be submitted before Sunday, 10pm CST of the week the paper is due. Papers should be submitted in Microsoft Word format and posted to the Drop Box set up on the course site for each assignment.

* Instructor posts grades in the course Grade Book by the following Wednesday. Feedback is returned to the student by Saturday of the same week the grade is provided.

Approach the assignment as follows:

* Read case twice, once for an overview and once to gain full command of the facts related to the assigned questions.

* It is very important to identify the fundamental strategic issue presented by the case. This represents the lesson the case is intended to provide and is key to analyzing the case.

* Be thorough in your diagnosis and make an outline of your assessment.

* Support any and all opinions with well-reasoned arguments and numerical evidence; do not stop until you can purge "I think" and "I feel" from your assessment and, instead, are able to rely completely on the phrase "My analysis shows...."

* Charts and tables can be used to explain more clearly the main points of your analysis.

* Prioritize your recommendations and make sure they can be carried out in an acceptable time frame with the available skills and financial resources.

* Review your recommended action plan to see if it addresses the problems and issues you identified.

* Avoid recommending any course of action that could have disastrous consequences if it does not work out as planned; in other words, be as alert to the downside risks of your recommendations as you are to their upside potential and appeal.

* Three Primary Tools -

o Comparison - point out similarities - debt-to-equity ratio of company is consistent with industry standards

o Contrast - point out differences - strategy is very different from usual practice

o Synthesis - integrating facts, comparisons, contrasts, principles and outcomes of procedures and/or other interpretations already arrived at into a consistent interpretation of the elements of the case study. This interpretation of the situation can then yield a reasonable and supportable conclusion.

Remember there are no obvious answers to the problem. Also we are not searching for "correct answer" but learning how to apply what you have learned in realistic situations in a competent, considered manner as a means of reaching a reasonable and supportable conclusion

Your case write-up should consist of three sections as follows:

* Background or Introduction

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