Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise

Course Number 1504

Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice Willy Shih

Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever

Fall; Q1Q2; 3.0 credits
28 Sessions
Paper

Overview:

The Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise (BSSE) course is a second-year elective that aspires to teach aspects of the management of innovation, strategy, and growth of a firm from the perspective of the general manager. The central puzzle in this course – and something we will see frequently in our cases - is why managers, acting in seemingly rational ways making logical business decisions, often find their firms in trouble. The course seeks to develop insights into why these things happened and how we should think about them in our future careers.

The original course design was by the late Professor Clayton Christensen. It starts with a grounding in the construction of business theories and bridging those theories to the world of practice. The hope is that we can then recognize well researched theories of causality as a basis for understanding why things happen the way that they do, and become discerning practitioners of theory in our careers.

We choose theories for the course based on their utility in answering some important questions for managers.

Educational Objectives:

The course aspires to teach students to be a better general manager. The objective is to help students apply well-researched academic theories to practical every-day business situations, understand why things happen the way they do, and exercise better decision-making when they encounter similar circumstances in their jobs and careers.

Course Content and Organization:

The course includes 28 class sessions, with a paper to be submitted at the end of the semester. We ask students to make the theory reading the focus of class preparation, and then use the associated case as a vehicle to practice using the theory. As the course progresses, students find that they can use multiple theories as lenses to get a comprehensive picture of what is going on. In each class, we ask students to prepare by understanding what is happening and why. What are the proximate and root causes of why this company is facing the situations articulated in the case? What signals are appearing that suggest the world in which this company has succeeded is about to change? Or, why does this constitute a viable growth opportunity for the company? Then we ask students to think about what needs to be done. What actions can management take that will predictably lead to success? What problems might one predict as management implements different alternatives?

Over the course of the semester, we develop a set of interconnected frameworks that will be a useful toolbox for the future general manager.

Grading / Course Administration:

The grade allocation for this class will be 50% for class participation and 50% for the paper. Students should work with a partner on the paper; teams of three are okay but will have higher expectations vis-a-vis grading. Students are permitted to use ChatGPT or other Generative AI tools but will be asked to declare any such usage.

For class discussions, we encourage inquiry and the exploration of ideas. Many of the theories have important nuances that are best explored widely in class.