Welcome to strategy.sjsu.edu
International Collegiate Busines Strategy Competition B180D Greensheet

BUS3 180D-80 (20276) : International Collegiate Busines Strategy Competition

Instructor: Simon Rodan
 
Office: BT 457
 
Contact information: Email: simon.rodan@sjsu.edu
Tel (work): 408 418 8457
 
Meeting Day/Time: January 20th: 12pm - 4:00pm BBC 032
January 27th: 12-4pm BBC 032
February-April : TBD with teams - online
 
Office Hours:

Office hours - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9am-5pm

If you need a quick answer to a question, please contact me at (209) 206 6613.

You can also check my calandar to see when I am available.

Course Description and Overview

The course uses a business simulation game to help build awarness of the relationship between operational / tactical decisions (marketing, production scheduling, finace and accounting) and market outcomes, and build strategic thinking skills.

The course is linked to participation in the International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition Students work in teams making resource allocation decisions for a virtual firm over 20 quarters. They will compete with teams from other universities in the US and abroad.

CourseLearning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a basic understanding of each of these functional areas:
    • Sales and Marketing
    • Production and Operations Management
    • Finance
    • Accounting
  2. Demonstrate an ability to successfully manage the tradef-offs between a firm's different functional areas (marketing, production and finance)
  3. Demonstrate an ability to use analyse marketing data
  4. Develop and refine a demand forcasting model
  5. Manage product supply and cash flow
  6. Develop an winning (hopefully) competitive strategy
  7. Play an effective role as a member of a team

Reading

You should familiaraize yourself with the BPG Player's Manual

Course Requirements and Assignments

Aside from the analysis required to make the 20 quarterly decisions, there are two pieces of documentation that must be developed.

Business Plan

The business plan is written in virtual Year 3 (typically the month of February) and must be emailed as a PDF to the competition adminstrators at the beginning of March. It will require creation of a 3 year demand forcast, production and capital expenditure plan, and pro-forma financial statements (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement).

The structure of the business plan will be set out in a set of instructions from the competition organizers.

Annual Report

The annual report must be completed by the beginning of the intensive phase of the competition April 22nd. The format will mirro annual reports put out by public corporations, but will be shorter in length. The structure of the annual report will be set out in a set of instructions from the competition organizers. Teams must bring five printed copies of theit annual report to the intensive phase in Anaheim.

SJSU classes are designed such that in order to be successful, it is expected that students will spend a minimum of forty-five hours for each unit of credit (normally three hours per unit per week), including preparing for class, participating in course activities, completing assignments, and so on. More details about student workload can be found in University Policy S12-3 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-3.pdf. However, particularly in the first monty of the competition, (Febriary) teams should plan to spend considerably more time working on competition related tasks that would be expected for a regular class.

The scheduled course contact hours are in compliance with the required course credit hours and the required course culminating experience ).

Grading

This is a "credit/no credit" course. No letter grades are assigned.

University Policies

General Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities of the Student

As members of the academic community, students accept both the rights and responsibilities incumbent upon all members of the institution. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with SJSU’s policies and practices pertaining to the procedures to follow if and when questions or concerns about a class arises. See University Policy S90–5 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S90-5.pdf. More detailed information on a variety of related topics is available in the SJSU catalog, at http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/catalog/rec-12234.12506.html. In general, it is recommended that students begin by seeking clarification or discussing concerns with their instructor. If such conversation is not possible, or if it does not serve to address the issue, it is recommended that the student contact the Department Chair as a next step.

Dropping and Adding

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester’s Catalog Policies section at http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html. Add/drop deadlines can be found on the current academic year calendars document on the Academic Calendars webpage at http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/services/academic_calendars/. The Late Drop Policy is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for dropping classes.

Information about the latest changes and news is available at the Advising Hub at http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material

University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain instructor’s permission to record the course and the following items to be included in the syllabus:
  • “Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are recording him/her. You must obtain the instructor’s permission to make audio or video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private, study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material.”
    • It is suggested that the greensheet include the instructor’s process for granting permission, whether in writing or orally and whether for the whole semester or on a class by class basis.
    • In classes where active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or guests should be obtained as well.
  • “Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload instructor generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework solutions without instructor consent.”

Academic integrity

Your commitment, as a student, to learning is evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University. The University Academic Integrity Policy S07-2 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S07-2.pdf requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The Student Conduct and Ethical Development website is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/. Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act.

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center (AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

In addition to offering small group, individual, and drop-in tutoring for a number of undergraduate courses, consultation with mentors is available on a drop-in or by appointment basis. Workshops are offered on a wide variety of topics including preparing for the Writing Skills Test (WST), improving your learning and memory, alleviating procrastination, surviving your first semester at SJSU, and other related topics. A computer lab and study space are also available for student use in Room 600 of Student Services Center (SSC).

Lucas College and Graduate School of Business Policies:

To ensure that every student, current and future, who takes courses in the Boccardo Business Center has the opportunity to experience an environment that is safe, attractive, and otherwise conducive to learning, the College of Business at San José State has established the following policies:

Eating:

Eating and drinking (except water) are prohibited in the Boccardo Business Center. Students with food will be asked to leave the building. Students who disrupt the course by eating and do not leave the building will be referred to the Judicial Affairs Officer of the University.

Cell Phones:

Students will turn their cell phones off or put them on vibrate mode while in class. They will not answer their phones in class. Students whose phones disrupt the course and do not stop when requested by the instructor will be referred to the Judicial Affairs Officer of the University.

Computer Use:

In the classroom, faculty allow students to use computers only for class-related activities. These include activities such as taking notes on the lecture underway, following the lecture on Web-based PowerPoint slides that the instructor has posted, and finding Web sites to which the instructor directs students at the time of the lecture. Students who use their computers for other activities or who abuse the equipment in any way, at a minimum, will be asked to leave the class and will lose participation points for the day, and, at a maximum, will be referred to the Judicial Affairs Officer of the University for disrupting the course. (Such referral can lead to suspension from the University.) Students are urged to report to their instructors computer use that they regard as inappropriate (i.e., used for activities that are not class related).

Academic Honesty:

Faculty will make every reasonable effort to foster honest academic conduct in their courses. They will secure examinations and their answers so that students cannot have prior access to them and proctor examinations to prevent students from copying or exchanging information. They will be on the alert for plagiarism. Faculty will provide additional information, ideally on the green sheet, about other unacceptable procedures in class work and examinations. Students who are caught cheating will be reported to the Judicial Affairs Officer of the University, as prescribed by Academic Senate Policy S04-12.

Class schedule


Jan 20th, 2024
(Saturday)
1. Training Day #1
To prepare: BPG Player's manual
Class agenda:
  • 12:00 Welcome
  • 12:30 Introduction to forecasting
  • 13:45 Y3Q1
  • 14:30 Y3Q2
  • 15:15 Y343
  • 16:00 Y3Q4
  • 16:00 End
  • Jan 27th, 2024
    (Saturday)
    2. Training Day #2
    Class agenda:
  • 12:00 Welcome
  • 13:45 Y3Q1
  • 14:30 Y3Q2
  • 14:30 Report F data extraction and estimation of price elasticity
  • 15:15 Y343
  • 15:45 Y3Q4
  • 15:45 Panel discussion with ICBSC alumni
  • 16:00 End
  • Feb 5th, 2024
    (Monday)
    3. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • After the quarter has been run, meet each team to:
    • Review prior quarter's results
    • Plan the approach to next quarter's decisions
  • Feb 12th, 2024
    (Monday)
    4. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • After the quarter has been run, meet each team to:
    • Review prior quarter's results
    • Plan the approach to next quarter's decisions
  • Feb 19th, 2024
    (Monday)
    5. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • After the quarter has been run, meet each team to:
    • Review prior quarter's results
    • Plan the approach to next quarter's decisions
  • Feb 26th, 2024
    (Monday)
    6. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • Business plan
    • Review denand forecast and capacity plan
    • Review the business plan and financial statements
    • Review the Goal Attainment Report (GAR)
  • Mar 4th, 2024
    (Monday)
    7. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • After the quarter has been run, meet each team to:
    • Review prior quarter's results
    • Plan the approach to next quarter's decisions
  • Mar 11th, 2024
    (Monday)
    8. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • After the quarter has been run, meet each team to:
    • Review prior quarter's results
    • Plan the approach to next quarter's decisions
  • Mar 19th, 2024
    (Tuesday)
    9. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • After the quarter has been run, meet each team to:
    • Review prior quarter's results
    • Plan the approach to next quarter's decisions
  • Mar 26th, 2024
    (Tuesday)
    10. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • After the quarter has been run, meet each team to:
    • Review prior quarter's results
    • Plan the approach to next quarter's decisions
  • Apr 2nd, 2024
    (Tuesday)
    11. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • After the quarter has been run, meet each team to:
    • Review prior quarter's results
    • Plan the approach to next quarter's decisions
  • Apr 9th, 2024
    (Tuesday)
    12. Weekly meetings
    Class agenda:
  • Work on annual report
  • Apr 18th, 2024
    (Thursday)
    13. Intensive phase
    Class agenda:
  • Travel to Anaheim:
    • Southwest flight to John Wayne Airport (dep c 12 noon)
    • Shuttle to Double Tree Inn and Suites
  • On arrival at the hotel:
    • Check in
    • Deliver annual report to the competition organizers
    • Reception (6pm-8pm) - meet your competition
  • Decisions
    • Y6Q1
  • Apr 19th, 2024
    (Friday)
    14. Intensive phase
    Class agenda:
  • Decisions
    • Y6Q2
    • Y6Q3
    • Y6Q4
    • Informal meeting with the judges
    • Y7Q1
    • Y7Q2
  • Prepare presentation
  • Apr 20th, 2024
    (Saturday)
    15. Intensive phase
    Class agenda:
  • Decisions
    • Y7Q3
    • Y7Q4
  • Deliver presentation to judges
  • Team photographs
  • Closing banquet and awards
    • Best presentation
    • Best documentation
    • Best overall financial performance
  • Return to San Jose
    • Shuttle to John Wayne airport
    • Southwest flight to SJC