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Capstone Course: Global Strategy and Competitiveness MBA 6503 201604
Course Details Course Name: Capstone Course: Global Strategy and Competitiveness Course Code: MBA 6503 Credits: 3 Teacher's Name: Dr. Dimitrios Hatjidis Telephone: 02 694 1682 Email: [email protected] Office Location: Business Faculty Room – ADWC (City)
Office Hours:
Prerequisite(s): None
Sunday 15:00pm-16:00pm Monday 14:00pm-15:00pm Tuesday 15:00pm-16:00pm Thursday 13:00pm-14:00pm
Course Description
The final project, the Capstone Project, provides an opportunity for the MBA candidate to develop the ability to identify, analyze, research and propose a solution to a real problem of significance in business or administration. It can be a project involving contact with practice (for example in a company), a research based project using secondary data, or a business plan. The standard expected is that the project will demonstrate knowledge, understanding and application of the area that is being researched.
The Capstone Project provides a final stage of the learning process. It requires mastery of the course work stage and extends this to a higher level of personal investigation, and a greater degree of specialization. The combination of setting the problem by choosing the topic, deciding on the issues to be considered, and the difficulties of structuring both the research process and the final report make this the most challenging element of the Program and one which calls on intellectual skills appropriate to many aspects of senior management. Critical argument and the design of solutions involving multiple considerations are requirements for successful completion of the program.
Course Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of the course, the student will demonstrate the ability to:
o CLO 1- Evaluate and demonstrate the ability to integrate learnings from all MBA courses. o CLO 2- Demonstrate the ability to fully develop a comprehensive plan or proposal worthy of implementation (applicability). o CLO 3- Conduct a high level of applied research and writing skills necessary for graduation from the MBA program. o CLO 4- Demonstrate knowledge gained within the MBA program that can be applied through the development of a comprehensive culminating project. o CLO 5- Conceptualize and develop a comprehensive presentation worthy of presenting to corporate leadership or a funding source.
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Delivery Framework
This capstone course integrates the skills necessary to be a successful general manager. The project is to involve an investigation of a current issue, trend, problem, or opportunity for a department, company, or industry. It will entail extensive research of published sources (secondary information) and may include gathering primary data, as well. Primary data could be gathered through focus groups, in-depth interviews, or a telephone or mail survey, however, this may present two major challenges. First, the student must become thoroughly knowledgeable in the use of the method through independent study. Second, desired survey respondents may not be available. Design of a primary research study must be approved by the faculty member before class begins. This includes sample selection, questionnaire design, and methods of analysis.
The project assignment is as follows: you are to select a company/organization of your choosing. Based on available information, you are to do a complete strategic assessment of a project solving a problem or exploiting an opportunity for this organization. The result will be your opinion, backed by your analysis, of the medium term (2-3 years out) prospects for this project. You may think of this as an evaluation of the issue and subsequent recommendations. You should identify, describe, and evaluate the overall strategy addressing the core issue and, if feasible and important to your assessment of the firm’s prospects, the functional strategies (i.e. management, financial, marketing, technological, manufacturing, etc.) necessary to implement
Classes Schedule: Week Content Area / Assessment / Activity CLOs 1
27/4
Introduction to the Capstone Project
Overview of the Capstone project structure Identification of issues Definition of the problem statement The research framework process
Activities:
Topic definition approval form
1
2
4/5
Structure of an ‘Argument’
Refining the problem statement Supporting information through literature – journal articles and professional publications Crafting an argument
Assessment:
Submit the project approval form for review and feedback
2
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3
11/5
Building a Logic Framework
The proposition Mind-mapping ideas Turning information into insights
Activities:
Review proposals
3
4
25/5
Pulling it all Together
Selling the story Presentation structure and style Crafting a persuasive report format
Assessment:
Submit project outlines for review and feedback from Faculty Supervisor
4
5
31/5
Individual Consultations
As part of the capstone process, students are expected to consult with their capstone advisor in order to monitor progress and obtain feedback about their capstone topic.
1,4
6
7/6
Individual Consultations
As part of the capstone process, students are expected to consult with their capstone advisor in order to monitor progress and obtain feedback about their capstone topic.
1,4
7
13/6
Individual Consultations
As part of the capstone process, students are expected to consult with their capstone advisor in order to monitor progress and obtain feedback about their capstone topic.
1,4
8
14/6
Capstone Project Presentations
Assessment:
The purpose of the oral presentation of the capstone project is to provide feedback and guidance to the student prior to the final report. The presentation provides students with the opportunity to give an overview of their project topic, answer questions, and discuss points raised by those present. In addition to the oral presentation, students are expected to provide a written summary of their project at the time of the project presentation.
4,5
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9
21/6
Capstone Project Report Submissions
Assessment:
A typical Capstone deliverable spans at least 5,000 words, 25-50 pages (at least 25 pages of full text and additional pages may include charts and tables) and contains a thorough examination of the organization’s challenges and resulting recommendations. It also includes a comprehensive analysis of key performance factors and their impact on the organization. The deliverable will incorporate multiple references from the academic and business press, all of which must be appropriately cited. The bulk of the written document should focus on specific recommendations for addressing the core strategic issue. Each of these recommendations should be based upon solid justifications grounded in relevant research and the knowledge students gained during the MBA program. The final document may be shared with senior officers of the organization and therefore must be of the highest professional standard.
3,4,5
Teaching and Learning Strategies:
The teaching and learning process should encourage faculty to use a variety of instructional methods appropriate for enhancing students’ learning experiences in this course; promote an interactive, investigative and collaborative learning experience, engage with the application of various analytical tools to business decision contexts, integrate technology in learning through the use of discipline-specific software and e-learning platforms, and encourage exploration of the textbook and other resources through robust signposting.
A combination of lectures, discussions, exercise, case studies and projects will be used throughout this course. Active learning will focus on the exploring aspects of theory. Appropriate skills will be assessed through activities designed to provide a formative indication of progress in learning. A summative comprehensive assessment at the end of the course will assess comprehension and application of the core concepts.
Assessment Activities
Assessment Category
Week(s) Assessment Method
Weight %
Description Relevant CLOs
Coursework 2 Plan or Proposal
10% Proposal of the general scope for the project to be approved by the course Faculty.
1,2
Coursework 4
Plan or Proposal
15%
Outline of project structure and sources of information. Milestone for Supervisor to provide feedback and direction for development.
1,2
Coursework 7, 8
Oral Presentation
25% Presentation of project challenge, analysis and recommendations. Milestone for Supervisor to provide feedback prior to final report.
2,3,4,5
Final Assessment
9
Capstone Assignment
50% Submission of project deliverable in final report form. To be assessed by the MBA Faculty and possibly shared with the client organization.
1,2,3,4,5
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Required Educational Resources
o All sources are provided by HCT
Additional Educational Resources
o Learning resources (e.g. academic articles and business periodicals) in MBA course LMS.
Classroom Policy: All students must treat the classroom setting with respect. This includes arriving on time and staying for the entire class (or notifying the instructor in advance if this will not be possible), turning off cell phones and similar devices during class, and refraining from reading non-course related material, passing notes, talking with friends, as well as any other potentially disruptive activities. Failure to abide by these policies will be dealt with in an appropriate manner.
Attendance Policy*: You must be punctual and attend all classes. You cannot learn if you are absent. If you are experiencing medical or personal problems, your counselor is available to provide support. Contact your department if you are absent for more than two days. As soon as you return to College, stamp any medical notes at Student Services. You have two days to do this. If you try to give any documents to Student Services after this, they will not accept them. If you know that you are going to be absent, for example for an operation or to get married, complete a Special Leave Permission form and take this to your Program Chair beforehand. If you miss an assessment or exam, you must see your Program Chair as soon as you return to College to show any medical notes, etc. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to ask for any materials and to do any course work that you have missed. If you get a 5% attendance warning in a course you must see your class advisor. As soon as you get a 10% attendance warning you must see program chair with your guardian present.
Late Assignments Policy: Class assignments, homework and assessed projects must be handed in by the deadline given by your instructor. Failure to do so will result in a deduction of 5% of your final grade for each day over the deadline
Academic Honesty Policy*: The HCT is committed to creating a learning environment that is honest & ethical, and as such, academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism (copying) or any other attempt to gain an academic advantage in a dishonest or unfair manner. Breaches of the Academic Honesty Policy will result in dismissal from HCT. Written assignment will be checked for plagiarism using the Safe Assign plagiarism prevention software. As per HCT policies, any detected case of plagiarism will be forwarded to the supervisor and an advisory panel will be formed to investigate the circumstances of the case.
* For a detailed description of the policies mentioned in this syllabus, please refer to the HCT Student Handbook.
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For all written assignments and projects, the faculty reserve the right to request oral defense of the content at any time. If projects are team-based, each member of the team may be required to defend the content individually.
All written assignments must follow the APA Formatting Guidelines. Please refer to the following web sites for instructional information concerning APA Guidelines: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm
Grading scale: Grades in the PMBA program are: A, B, C, F, I and W. Grades reflect the following standards and grade point values as follows:
Grade Grade Range Grade Point Description A 100-90 4.0 Achievement that is outstanding relative to the course and requirements. A - 89-87 3.7 B+ 86-84 3.3 Achievement that is significantly above the course and GPA requirements. B 83-80 3.0 B- 79-77 2.7 C+ 76-74 2.3 Achievement that satisfactorily meets the course requirements. C 73-70 2.0 C- 69-67 1.7 D+ 66-64 1.3 Achievement that minimally meets the course requirements. D 63-60 1.0 F 59-1 0.0 Achievement that does not meet requirements.
Note: I = Incomplete work W = Withdrawn from course Excluded from the calculation of grade point averages (GPA) are grades of "W" (withdrawn) or "I" (incomplete) or "Pass" from bridging or transfer courses. To graduate students must have a cumulative Program GPA of 3.0 or higher.