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GSBA-552: Decision-Making and Problem-Solving: An Integrated Perspective

Term Three 2016

Coordinator &

Primary

Instructor:

Project

Faculty:

Kyle Mayer

Bob Kiddoo, Kyle Mayer, Steve Mednick, Zal Phiroz, Florenta

Teodoridis, and Pai-Ling Yin

Office: Hoffman 502 (KM)

Office Hours: By Appointment, often available MW 12:30 – 1:30

Phone: (213) 821-1141

Email: kmayer@marshall.usc.edu (best way to reach me)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is highly integrative, interactive, and challenging. GSBA 552 is an immersion and integrative

experience with exposure to actual unstructured business situations, imperfect data, decision-makers and their

organizations and a variety of analytical tools and critical thinking methods that span multiple disciplines.

Marshall MBAs are provided with a unique experience and, ultimately, professional development and

insights, into working collaboratively to address and solve inter-related and unstructured challenges faced by

actual organizations.

The objectives of this course are to help you better formulate, analyze, and communicate your ideas about

unstructured business problems, some of which involve multiple functional areas of business (marketing,

operations, finance, etc.). The kinds of competencies you will develop in this course include:

Problem formulation: Looking at a business problem from different, especially non-obvious,

perspectives; distinguishing symptoms from causes; reformulating problems to shed light on

potential solutions.

Elimination of faulty reasoning: Identifying and mitigating various cognitive biases that can

emerge as a problem is being formulated and analyzed, such as the use of inappropriate

analogies, confirmation bias, self-serving bias, conflation of correlation and causation, etc.

Logical reasoning: Constructing arguments using logical reasoning, quantitative and

qualitative evidence, etc.

The operational environment is constantly changing, technology and data can be significant game changers,

once stalwart barriers to entry are falling, differentiation and exclusivity are fleeting, exit costs are often

prohibitive, the speed of change is accelerating, and social responsibility and accountability are increasingly

important. Leading or consulting to an organization requires working with problems and data that are often

unstructured, incomplete and note entirely accurate. Indeed, the nature of most business challenges and

problems are initially unstructured, demanding definition, scoping and structure. As a result, uncertainty is

more prevalent and more challenging. Good decisions are noted, but mistakes are often amplified and

critically assessed by investors, regulators, the media and employees.

The leaders of organizations, members of their boards of directors and consultants to management must make

decisions under uncertainty and with imperfect and unstructured data based on multiple inputs, direct and

indirect indicators, application of analytical methods and referential and experiential perspectives, and

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collaboration. Organizations and individual executives and consultants who are adept at working under

uncertainty and anticipatory of changes often lead their organizations to improved, if not superior, competitive

positions and enhanced shareholder and societal value. Those that do not, such as Blockbuster, Borders,

Circuit City MySpace, and many others, run the risk of becoming footnotes in business cases.

We will pay particular attention to decision-making in context and thus will spend a lot of time on different

organizational environments and how they influence decision-making. This class will build upon the material

you will concurrently be learning in GSBA533 (Organizational Behavior); while OB focuses on individual

decision-making biases and processes and explores how that may play out in teams, we will build upon that

and look more at problem-solving and decision-making in organizations. Context matters a great deal by

influencing the incentive people face and how they view different problems based on organizational goals,

processes and culture.

COURSE MATERIALS

There is no book for this course but there will be a series of cases and articles in the course reader. Additional

readings will be posted to Blackboard.

MARSHALL GRADUATE PROGRAMS LEARNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

In this course you will learn, via frameworks, class discussion and working with your client company, how to

diagnose and address important organizational problems. There are many goals of this course, but one of the

major ones is to help you understand organizational decision-making and it influences, and is influenced by,

strategy, organizational structure and culture.

This course builds on what learn in a variety of your other core course, particularly data driven decision-

making, organizational behavior and strategy. We will use lectures, frameworks and cases just as you have in

many other core classes, but we will complement those teaching methods with direct exposure to a client firm

with whom you will work to address an important issue facing the organization. Getting out the classroom and

working with managers in organizations about their challenges is a strong complement to in-class learning.

This course is designed to give you experience with companies and help you in the following ways that I call

the ABCs of this course.

A: A chance to apply the knowledge you have learned in other courses, including the foundations the part of

this course.

B: A chance to build new capabilities as you learn to work with firms, how to investigate their concerns, do

research and draw from your toolbox to craft recommendations to address the fundamental issues driving the

project on which you have been working.

C: A chance to craft a narrative that will help you as you prepare for interviews for (initially) internships and

(next year) full-time positions after graduation. The experience and insights you will gain working with highly

regarded and innovative firms will be something you can draw on in interviews and informal discussions with

potential future employers.

In terms of Marshall’s learning objectives, this course is primarily focused on developing an ability to

integrate decisions and solutions across disciplines in complex decision-making environments. The company

project as well as the in-class frameworks and discussions will provide a strong foundation to develop the

critical thinking and problem analysis skills that are an important part of an MBA education.

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COURSE ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING

Course grades will be determined by students’ relative performance on the following course components:

Course Participation (Foundations sessions MW--Mayer) 20%

Course Participation (Project sessions TuTh—Project Faculty) 5%

Individual Assignment 1 (Mayer) 10%

Individual Assignment 2 (Mayer) 7.5%

Group Assignment (Mayer) 5%

Final Company Report (Project Faculty) 20%

Final Company Presentation (Project Faculty—with client input) 17.5%

Initial Company Presentation (Project Faculty) 5%

Individual Post Mortem & Peer Evaluation (Project Faculty)* 10%

* Peer Evaluation influences all group grades.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

Case courses work well, and are enjoyable effective learning experiences, if everyone is an active productive participant.

Your overall class participation will be closely monitored. In grading in-class participation, we will look at both the

quantity and quality of your class contributions/interventions. In-class participation is obviously a function of

preparation, skills, attitude, and a willingness to actively commit yourself in front of me, and your colleagues. A

classroom is a cost-free environment for experimenting and learning to "play the game." Make use of it. We recognize

that some students are far more comfortable than others with in-class participation. However, it is important you make an

effort every class to contribute in some meaningful way. Please feel free to come and discuss with us ways to enhance

your participation.

With regard to quality, the dimensions that we look for include:

Relevance -- does the comment bear on the subject at hand? Comments that do not link up with what the discussion

is focusing on can actually detract from the learning experience.

Causal Linkage -- are the logical antecedents or consequences of a particular argument traced out? Comments that

push the implications of a fact or idea as far as possible are generally superior.

Responsiveness -- does the comment react in an important way to what someone else has said? Analysis -- is the

reasoning employed consistent and logical?

Evidence -- have data from the case, from personal experience, from general knowledge been employed to support

the assertions made?

Importance -- does the contribution further our understanding of the issues at hand? Is a connection made with other

cases we have analyzed?

Clarity -- is the comment succinct and understandable? Does it stick to the subject or does it wander?

Students will be called on, at random, to participate in various aspects of class discussions. While “cold-calling” is not

popular with everyone, it is reflective of actual business situations. When you attend a meeting, the expectation is that

you are prepared and ready to contribute. These cold calls are an important part of your participation grade.

Factual misstatements, comments that demonstrate a lack of adequate preparation, or comments that come late in a

discussion that distract the class and indicate that the student has not been actively listening will be noted as “negative”

course participation.

While both the quality and quantity of your in-class contributions are important, the quality of your contributions will

carry the most weight. Consistent comments that add little value will not significantly improve your participation grade.

Classroom Conduct: Another way to impact your participation grade is through your conduct in the classroom. We

expect professional behavior and respect for both your classmates and the professor. Activities that disrupt our class

discussions will lower your participation grade. Disruptive activities include, but are not limited to: arriving late,

leaving early, side conversations in class, leaving and re-entering the classroom during case discussions or lectures. If

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you need to arrive late or leave early, please let me (or your project faculty member if it a project session) know in

advance.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include

the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be

submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own

academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students

are expected to understand and abide by these principles. SCampus, the Student Guidebook,

(www.usc.edu/scampus or http://scampus.usc.edu) contains the University Student Conduct

Code (see University Governance, Section 11.00), while the recommended sanctions are located in

Appendix A.

Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further

review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at:

http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/. Failure to adhere to the academic conduct standards set forth by

these guidelines and our programs will not be tolerated by the USC Marshall community and can lead to

dismissal.

No audio or video recording is permitted.

STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC CONDUCT AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Academic Conduct Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a

serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of

plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11, Behavior Violating University Standardshttps://scampus.usc.edu/1100-

behavior-violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are

equally unacceptable. See additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct,

http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct/.

Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to

report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity http://equity.usc.edu/ or to the Department of Public

Safety http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety/online-forms/contact-us. This is important

for the safety whole USC community. Another member of the university community – such as a friend,

classmate, advisor, or faculty member – can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of

another person. The Center for Women and Men http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/cwm/ provides 24/7

confidential support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage sarc@usc.edu describes reporting options

and other resources.

Support Systems A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing. Check with

your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is not English should check

with the American Language Institute http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali, which sponsors courses and workshops

specifically for international graduate students. The Office of Disability Services and Programs

http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.html provides certification for students

with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes

travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information http://emergency.usc.edu/will provide safety and

other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard,

teleconferencing, and other technology.

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DAILY CLASS OUTLINE – FOUNDATIONS (MW – MAYER)

Session Topics Case Additional

Readings

Module 1: Problem Solving: Getting to the Root of the Issue

#1 October 17

Introduction to problem solving.

Formulating ill structured problems and looking beyond the surface issue.

Freemark Abbey None

#2 October 19

Critical thinking lecture and interactive discussion. Refer back

to Freemark Abbey and other examples.

None Critical Thinking handbook

(from Olin)

#3 October 24

Looking beyond the immediate problem as businesses seek

growth.

How should decisions in an organization be made? Why does the decision-making process matter?

FIRST INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT DUE

Un Amor (Olin case)

October 26 NO CLASS—Cancelled for MBA Career Trek

#4 October 31

Interactive lecture and discussion on how biases influence decision-making in an organizational context. Builds off

material from OB and Stats.

Will also discuss how different types of data can address different kinds of questions.

Pitfalls of Data Driven Decision-Making –

MacGarvie & McElheran

#5 November 2

GUEST SPEAKER: Consultant as Problem Solver: Alex

Mannella, PwC

GROUP ASSIGNMENT DUE

None None

Module 2: Decision-Making in Organizations

#6 November 7

Decision-making in multi-divisional organizations.

Headquarters – subsidiary relationships can often be challenging

as the two parts of the organization have different perspectives. We must look carefully at the underlying effects of different

decisions—strategically and organizationally.

BRL Hardy

#7 November 9

Organizational barriers to adaptation and change. Decision-making in a matrix organization and how

organizational culture and heritage influences decisions and

ability to change.

Philips vs. Matsushita

#8 November 14

Decisions that involve change can be particularly challenging to

agree upon. Changing how an organization views product and market opportunities can be very challenging.

Forays into new markets can be particular difficult but can also

afford opportunities to see ways of doing business.

SECOND INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT DUE

Silvio Napoli

#9 November 16

GUEST SPEAKER: Presenting Recommendations to Clients and Managing the Client Relationship

Candice Lu, Founding Partner at OnPrem Solution Partners

(Formerly of Cognizant, SVC, and CBS)

None

#10 November 21

Firms can use incentives and a variety of other tools to create

very different kinds of organizations.

Firms create internal systems that work together to provide structure, coherence and direction for an organization.

Lincoln Electric

November 23 NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Module 3: Organizations in Action: Deciding and Doing

#11 November 28

Barriers to implementation of strategic decisions can be

imposing. The next step after a solving problem is

implementing a solution. What are the main barriers to change in organizations?

Five Frictions.

Apple

#12 November 30

GUEST SPEAKER: Organizational Decision Making: Why

Good Companies do Perplexing Things

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John Stewart, Principal at OnPrem Solution Partners (Formerly

of NBCUniversal and Fox)

#13 December 5

Failures to adapt. Looking at several firms that failed to adapt and examining what to learn from their mistakes.

Articles to be posted to Blackboard

#14 December 7

Finish failure to adapt cases. Final lecture--putting it all

together.

December 13 or 14 FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

Course Readings:

Freemark Abbey (HBSP # 9-181-027)

Critical Thinking at Olin (or at USC?) (from Olin)

Un Amor (A) (Olin 2010-0630-001A) (from Olin)

Un Amor (B) (Olin 2010-0630-001B) (from Olin)

Un Amor (C) (Olin 2010-0630-001C) (from Olin)

Pitfalls of Data-Driven Decision-Making (forthcoming in HBR—I have an early copy from the author)

BRL Hardy: Globalizing an Australian Wine Company (HBSP # 9-300-018)

Philips Matsushita: The Competitive Battle Continues (HBSP # 9-910-410)

Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A) (HBSP # 9-303-086)

Apple (HBSP # 9-702-469)

Lincoln Electric (HBSP # 9-707-445)

Assignments:

(1) One page write-up of recommendations for Un Amor (10/24)

(2) Two page write-up applying the problem solving framework to group project (11/2) (GROUP)

(3) One page write-up on Silvio Napoli (11/14)

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PROJECT SECTIONS APPENDICES

East West Bank - Marshall MBA Project 2016

Project Description

East West Bank is one of the largest independent banks headquartered in California and is one of the

only banks to focus primarily on the US and Greater China markets. The bank holds assets of $33.0

billion and has a market capitalization of over $5.2 billion.

Originally founded in 1972 to serve the Chinese American community in California, it has grown

substantially and now has over 130 full-service branch locations in the US and China, including US

operations in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Washington.

Your task is to develop a marketing plan for the launch of a new credit card which targets

undergraduate and graduate students, while observing the overall strategic positioning of East West

Bank. In understanding the overall market, each team is to choose the specific market segment(s)

they would like to focus on. Within this segment, the final deliverable would identify the specific

target customer demographic, expected budget thresholds, positioning strategy, financial analysis etc.

In addition to the traditional components of a marketing plan, the following questions are to be

answered:

1. Who are the potential customers within the target segment, and which specific market needs

apply?

2. What is the unique value proposition for the target segment? A description of how East West

Bank would be able to differentiate it’s product offering and meet these needs relative to other

competitors is required. Examples of differentiation factors could include compelling product

features, highly completive pricing, superior customer experience etc.)

3. What are the unique capabilities East West Bank needs to acquire/develop in order to meet the

needs identified in #2? What infrastructure/talent/organizational requirements are required to

build these capabilities?

4. How does your financial analysis (including an estimate of return on marketing investment)

impact your overall plan?

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Daily Schedule – East West Bank (TuTh 8:00 - Phiroz)

Session Topics Case Additional

Readings

#1 October 18

12:30pm – 1:50pm

Project kick off. Discussion of project and Q&A

with East-West Bank.

Guest speaker: Gary Wang, Sr. Vice

President, Strategy & Corporate Development

at East West Bank

None None

#2 October 20

Discussion on Company background, Current

offerings and Overall Company Structure)

Discussion with Groups 1-3

Citibank:

Launching the

Credit Card in Asia

Pacific

1- Current EW Bank

Credit Card Offerings

2- Strategic

Positioning of EW

#3 October 25

Discussion on positioning and product offerings.

Discussion with Groups 4-6

Alpen Bank:

Launching the

Credit Card in

Romania

None

October 27 NO CLASS—MBA Career Trek

#4 November 1

Outline of project goals and objectives.

Evaluation of overall industry (obstacles,

opportunities and potential areas of focus).

HSBC Credit Card

Rewards Program

TBA

#5 November 3

(No class meeting—individual meetings between

faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#6 November 8

Mid-Term Feedback (15 minute teleconference

with each group – 4pm – 5:30pm November

9th.

#7 November 10

(No class meeting—individual meetings between

faculty and groups at times to be determined)

TBA

#8 November 15

(No class meeting—individual meetings between

faculty and groups at times to be determined)

TBA

#9 November 17

(No class meeting—individual meetings between

faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#10 November 22 (No class meeting—individual meetings between

faculty and groups at times TBD)

November 24 NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING

#11 November 29 Practice Presentations – Preparation for Final

Presentation

TBA

#12 December 1

Practice Presentations – Preparation for Final

Presentation

TBA

#13 December 6

(No class meeting—individual meetings between

faculty and groups at times to be determined)

December 13

2:00pm – 6:00pm Final presentations to East West Bank

Weekly Conference Call with Gary Wang of East West Bank: Thursday 4:30-5:30pm

Readings:

Citibank: Launching the Credit Card in Asia Pacific (HBR Case #: 9- 595 026)

Alpen Bank: Launching the Credit Card in Romania (HBR Case #: 4559)

HSBC Credit Card Rewards Program (HBR Ivey Case # 908A17)

TBA Readings on East West Bank

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GE Ventures - Marshall MBA Project 2016

Project Description GE is huge multinational digital industrial corporation. Founded in 1892, GE currently operates in a wide variety industries, including aviation, medical devices, power and water, oil and gas, and several others. Noted not only as a large diverse firm but also one that is highly innovative (two Nobel laureates have come from GE) and well run. GE Ventures is a corporate venture capital (CVC) group within GE. The charter of GE Ventures is to add value to GE by accessing the entrepreneurial ecosystem for learning, optionality and accessing new technology and business models. The group has a number of tools (venture investing, new bus. Creation, licensing, etc.) by which it seeks to achieve it’s mandate. Adding value can take multiple forms but is primarily focused on financial returns (easy to measure) and strategic value to the parent company (much harder to measure). Many companies that engage in corporate venture capital have a hard time quantifying the strategic value of such investments. These CVC investments require significant amounts of capital and internal resources, and many corporations struggle to determine how much resource should be allocated to CVC activities. Returns and payback on these resource allocation decisions can be subjective and engender a lot of debate without clear criteria or metrics to help guide decision-making. Your task is to help GE Ventures create a mechanism for measuring the value it creates for GE to aid in resource allocation decisions. Direct financial returns are already measured and accounted for in decision-making in assessing the performance of GE Ventures. Strategic returns, however, are much harder to quantify, and thus managers within GE hold any array of opinions about the strategic value provided by GE Ventures. Strategic value is a difficult and broad metric to define and agree upon, which is part of the challenge in clearly quantifying it. Examples of strategic value can include: investing in firms that create technology that enhance GE’s product or service offering; introducing new and innovative business models; or co-developing a product/technology that GE would not otherwise have been able to do on its own. In situations like these, and many others, there is value to GE that is recognized by the immediate beneficiary but is not being captured in simply looking at the financial returns for GE Capital. Your deliverable for this project is to develop and recommend tangible metrics to help GE quantify the strategic value of GE Ventures to the broader corporation as well as tools to consistently measure and report this value. Ideally, part of the project would be a spreadsheet or other model that identifies different sources of complementarity/strategic value from GE Ventures and facilitates quantifying it to aid in future resource allocation decisions. The model should include what data needs to be collected, who would provide it, how to value different types of value to the company, etc. GE is very open to how you might construct this model but it needs to provide clear ways to quantify different types of strategic value.

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Daily Schedule – GE Ventures Project (TuTh 9:30 - Mayer)

Session Topics Case Additional Readings

#1 October 18

Project kick off. Discussion of project and Q&A with GE Ventures. Guest speaker: David Mayhew, Chief Investment Officer, GE Ventures

None None

#2 October 20

Introduction to corporate venture capital. Understanding motives and management of CVC investments.

None Making Sense of Venture Capital Technical Note on CVC

#3 October 25 + 4pm Conference Call

How to produce information from data: Netflix Guest speaker: Laurence Wong, Senior Statistician

October 27 NO CLASS—MBA Career Trek

#4 November 1 + 4pm Conference Call

Why firms start CVC units and how they are run. Challenges in running CVC units.

Corporate Venture Capital at Eli Lilly

#5 November 3

General Electric company overview. Discuss company, strategy, history, etc. How might it use CVC investments?

GE After GE Capital

November 7 3-5pm

Mid-term review with GE Ventures Conference call. 20 minutes per team.

#6 November 8

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#7 November 10

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#8 November 15 + 4pm Conference Call

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#9 November 17

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#10 November 22 + 4pm Conference Call

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

November 24 NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING

#11 November 29

Practice final presentations

#12 December 1

Practice final presentations

#13 December 6

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

?

December 13 2:00 – 6:00

Final presentations to GE Ventures ?

Weekly Conference Call with David Mayhew of GE Ventures: Tuesday 4-5pm Readings: Making Sense of Venture Capital (HBSP # R0203G) Technical Note on Corporate Venture Capital (HBSP# KEL893) Corporate Venture Capital at Eli Lilly (HBSP# 9-806-092) General Electric after GE Capital (HBSP# MH0033) Additional articles may be posted to Blackboard.

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Lockheed Martin - Marshall MBA Project 2016

Project Description

Lockheed Martin & Quantum Computer Opportunities

“We solve the great problems of our times. We create the innovative technologies that define eras.” (Lockheed-

Martin)

Lockheed Martin is in the business of engineering a better tomorrow. Their focus includes not only aerospace

and defense, but also energy sources, storage and management, biometrics, cybersecurity, data analytics, health

and life sciences and space exploration. As such, Lockheed is operating at the frontier of knowledge with a keen

interest in emerging technologies and scientific discovery.

One such technology is quantum computers. Lockheed-Martin was the first to acquire a quantum machine from

D-Wave Systems, the first company in the world to build and commercialize quantum computers. While still in

their early days, quantum computers are believed to have the potential to solve some of the most complex

technical problems of our modern society. D-Wave is working on scaling up their computers to work towards

solving optimization, classification and learning problems across various domains such as machine learning,

financial analysis, logistics and bioinformatics.

Lockheed Martin has been part of this journey since its early days. As the quantum technology advances, the

company is interested in understanding areas of opportunities for capitalizing on their quantum computing asset.

How can the company best utilize their quantum computer in areas of business that carry Lockheed’s mission

forward?

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Daily Schedule – Lockheed Martin Project (TuTh 9:30 - Teodoridis)

Session Topics Case Additional

Readings #1 October 18

Project kick off. Discussion of project and Q&A with Lockheed Martin.

Guest speaker: TBD

#2 October

20

Quantum computers and D-Wave &

Lockheed

“D-Wave Systems:

Building a Quantum Computer” by Alan

MacCormack, Ajay

Agrawal, Rebecca Henderson, Apr 26,

2004 (604073-PDF-

ENG)

D-Wave quantum computer

1. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/429429/the-cia-and-jeff-bezos-bet-on-quantum-computing/

2. http://www.dwavesys.com/sites/default/files/D-

Wave-brochure-Mar2016B.pdf 3. http://www.dwavesys.com/sites/default/files/D-

Wave%202X%20Tech%20Collateral_0915F.pdf

Quantum computing applications

1. http://www.dwavesys.com/quantum-

computing/industries 2. http://www.dwavesys.com/quantum-

computing/applications

D-Wave & Lockheed

1. http://www.dwavesys.com/our-company/customers

2. http://www.dwavesys.com/press-releases/d-wave-systems-announces-multi-year-agreement-lockheed-

martin

#3 October 25

Current state of quantum computing technology: the good and the bad.

Guest speaker Federico Spedalieri: USC Quantum computing specialist working on

Lockheed’s machine in Marina del Rey.

Lockheed technical representative TBC

October 27 NO CLASS—MBA Career Trek

#4 November 1

About Lockheed, the market for quantum computing (i.e. factors impacting the process

of monetizing these machines) and markets

for disruptive technologies

About Lockheed 1. “A Look Inside Lockheed Martin’s Space-Age

Operations” by Brynn Watson (H026282-PDF-ENG)

2. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/who-we-are.html

3. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/what-we-do.html

4. (others provided by Lockheed)

Competitors in quantum computing space

1. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/544421/google

s-quantum-dream-machine/ 2. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602283/google

s-quantum-dream-may-be-just-around-the-corner/

3. http://www.nextplatform.com/2016/09/14/want-program-quantum-computers/

Markets for disruptive technologies

1. “The Clayton M. Christensen Reader” by Clayton M.

Christensen (15003-PDF-ENG) (Chapters 1, 2, 8, 9)

#5

November 3

Consulting practices

Guest speaker Michael Mische

“McKinsey &

Company” by Jaw

W. Lorsch and

Kathleen Durante

(413109-PDF-ENG)

“Consulting On The Cusp of Disruption” by Clayton M.

Christensen, Dina Wang and Derek van Bever (R1310F-PDF-

ENG)

#6 November 8

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be

determined)

#7 November 10

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be

determined)

Friday Nov 11 (TBC)

Midterm check in with Lockheed Martin. Each group has 20 minutes with the

company.

NOTE: Date & time not confirmed.

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#8

November 15

(No class meeting—individual meetings

between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#9

November 17

(No class meeting—individual meetings

between faculty and groups at times to be

determined)

#10

November 22

(No class meeting—individual meetings

between faculty and groups at times to be

determined)

November 24

NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING

#11

November 29

Practice final presentations

#12 December 1

Practice final presentations

#13

December 6

(No class meeting—individual meetings

between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

December 14

(Time TBD)

Final presentations to Lockheed Martin

Weekly Conference Call with Lockheed Martin representative (TBD).

Readings (HBS Cases and Articles):

“D-Wave Systems: Building a Quantum Computer” by Alan MacCormack, Ajay Agrawal, Rebecca

Henderson, Apr 26, 2004 (604073-PDF-ENG)

“A Look Inside Lockheed Martin’s Space-Age Operations” by Brynn Watson (H026282-PDF-ENG)

“The Clayton M. Christensen Reader” by Clayton M. Christensen (15003-PDF-ENG) (Chapters 1, 2, 8, 9)

“McKinsey & Company” by Jaw W. Lorsch and Kathleen Durante (413109-PDF-ENG)

“Consulting On The Cusp of Disruption” by Clayton M. Christensen, Dina Wang and Derek van Bever

(R1310F-PDF-ENG)

Links to additional articles above or posted on Blackboard.

14

LotaData Project Description

LotaData is new company in the data analytics/business intelligence area. They seek to address why people are

where they are and what is on their minds, focusing (so far) largely on the marketing tech and government tech

markets. They provide mobile intelligence and predictive analytics through machine learning for apps, cities,

and businesses. They are headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with presence in major regions

worldwide.

LotaData applies data science and machine learning to infer “True Profiles” and “Behavioral Segments” for

people, based on their mobile location signals, without accessing any personally identifiable information.

LotaData collects data on time, place, activity from mobile users and transforms it into context, insights, and

segments for mobile analytics, business intelligence, and smart cities. They currently serve several clients

with a small team of 10.

HOW CAN LOTADATA SCALE ? • Who are they missing as customers that would permit them to scale?

• How can they acquire these customers?

• What are they missing as information services/products to accelerate?

• How would they have to adjust their products/services to serve new customers, a larger customer, a

larger set of customers in their current or new verticals?

15

Daily Schedule – LotaData Project (TuTh 8:00 - Yin)

Session Topics Reading Topics (links on Blackboard)

#1 October 18

Project kick off: Discussion and Q&A with LotaData, Inc. Guest speaker: Apu Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO

LotaData online coverage

#2 October 20

How VC’s use information: Social Capital Guest speaker: Ashley Carroll, Investment Partner

Venture capital

#3 October 25

How to produce information from data: Netflix Guest speaker: Laurence Wong, Senior Statistician

Data Analytics

October 27 NO CLASS—MBA Career Trek

#4 November 1

Industry Discussion Student presentations of readings

Business intelligence, verification, prediction, advertising, HR, public services

#5 November 3

Scaling up by the competition Case Discussion: foursquare

Case: foursquare HBS #9-711-418

#6 November 8

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#7 November 10

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined) Mid-term review with LotaData (Time TBD)

#8 November 15

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#9 November 17

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#10 November 22

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

November 24 NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING

#11 November 29

Practice final presentations (3 teams)

#12 December 1

Practice final presentations (3 teams)

#13 December 6

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

December 13 noon – 4:00pm

Final presentations to LotaData

NOTES:

(1) Weekly conference calls with LotaData to be scheduled. Each team will have a 20-minute

slot every other week.

(2) Bi-weekly or weekly meetings between Prof. Yin and each project team to be scheduled.

16

PwC Project Description

Media and Entertainment companies are struggling with how to enhance competitive position and

improve performance in an environment where fluid customer behavior, changing operating models,

and disruptive marketing and distribution methodologies have permanently altered the competitive

landscape across the industry’s value chain. The diversity of customers, increasing costs related to

content acquisition and development, and variety of marketing and delivery mechanisms has created

an industry requirement for: 1) improved understanding and collection of broad scale base data; and

2) the ability to derive relevant and reliable information from that data to drive management insight

and decision making.

With this in mind, the following questions have been posed by your client:

- How are individual media and entertainment companies currently using ‘big data’ to identify

issues and / or opportunities in their current value chain? To what extent do they use data and

analytics to support decision-making? This includes support for:

o Content identification and acquisition

o Production and development

o Marketing analytics, planning and execution

o Audience / customer engagement, experience and relationship management

o Content sales and revenue management

o Financing, sourcing and procurement

- Are there specific data and analytics services and / or ‘big data’ technologies that are currently

considered market leaders and provide better outcomes than competing services or

technologies? If so, identify the leaders and describe why you believe their outcomes are

superior.

- Are there new technologies on the horizon that might disrupt current analytical business

models? How best might an organization access the possible impact?

- What might the future of data and analytics look like at specific media and entertainment

companies? How might specific companies build (or outsource) data and analytics

capabilities?

- If a media and entertainment had no existing ‘big data’ capabilities, what is the minimum

investment an organization would have to make to support a big data initiative and what

returns might the organization expect? Items for consideration include:

o Technology

o Personnel / expertise

o External services and support

17

PwC DAILY CLASS OUTLINE – (TuTh 11:00 - Kiddoo)

Session

(Date)

Topics

Preparation / Reading External Meetings

#1

10/18

Project introduction / Client

discovery

#2

10/20

Media & Entertainment

background and industry value

chain discussion

http://go.sap.com/solution/industry/media.html

http://go.sap.com/solution/industry/sports-

entertainment.html

20 minute meetings

with each team

#3

10/25

“Big Data”

Definition presentations

- What is / what isn’t it?

- Requirements / costs / benefits?

- Supporting technologies?

10/27 No Class – MBA Career Treks

#4

11/1

Project planning, resource

requirements, project

management, project control

https://e5.onthehub.com/WebStore/OfferingDet

ails.aspx?o=39565a63-1c62-e511-9410-

b8ca3a5db7a1&ws=c74665be-b56f-e011-971f-

0030487d8897&vsro=8

http://thinklikecenter.com/consultant/keys-to-

successful-projects

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-

things/10-best-practices-for-successful-project-

management/

https://www.wrike.com/blog/project-

management-best-practices-infographic/

30 minute team

meetings with 3 teams

#5

11/3

Deliverable outline, development

and supporting documentation

Outline available on Blackboard

30 minute team

meetings with 3 teams

#6

11/8

20 minute mid-term touch base

with client - 3 teams

30 minute team

meetings with 3 teams

#7

11/10

20 minute mid-term touch base

with client – 3 teams

30 minute team

meetings with 3 teams

#8

11/15

No formal class, see team

meetings

60 minute team

meetings with 3 teams

#9

11/17

No formal class, see team

meetings

60 minute team

meetings with 3 teams

#10

11/22

No formal class, see team

meetings

Team meetings as

necessary

11/24 NO CLASS—HAPPY

THANKSGIVING

#11

11/29

Practice Presentations to Faculty

(one group at a time) (3)

30 minute team

meetings with 3 teams

#12

12/1

Practice Presentations to Faculty

(one group at a time) (3)

30 minute team

meetings with 3 teams

#13

12/6

Follow-up presentations, as

necessary

30 minute team

meetings

12/13

11 am –

3 pm

Client Presentations

NOTE: Weekly conference calls with client; the plan is for each group to have a 20-minute slot every other

week. Specific dates and times TBD.

18

CF Industries & ROC Group Project- Marshall MBA Project 2016

Project Description Recruiting and retaining outstanding engineers is critical to the long term success of CF Industries (“CF”). The company, a $5B agricultural chemical manufacturer, requires employees with a sound understanding of chemistry, math and physics, exceptional mechanical aptitude, strong problem solving skills and attention to and respect for operating procedures. It usually takes at least five years for a plant operator to achieve full certification and seven to ten years for an engineer to be qualified for a supervisory or lead technical position. The typical manufacturing facility employs approximately 200 people including 150 operators and maintenance technicians, 5 to 10 engineers, and 5 to 10 management positions requiring engineering expertise. Additionally, since the company is a chemical manufacturer, many middle and senior level management positions, including plant managers, are staffed with employees who are engineers and who have manufacturing experience. Mobility (moving between plants) is critical for the company to share knowledge and to be able to develop engineers for key management positions. CF’s manufacturing facilities are located near sources of natural gas and access to modes of transportation that can move liquid and dry forms of nitrogen fertilizer to both the agricultural areas of North America and export to other countries, primarily South America and Europe. Most of the plants are located near other chemical facilities or near areas of natural gas production, or both. All but one North American plants are located in towns with populations under 85,000. The local areas have limited engineering expertise and often have limited cultural, housing and aspects of “quality of life” that many outside candidates prefer. In 2006, 50% of CF’s workforce was 50 years or older. In the past 10 years, the company has grown significantly, extensively expanded two facilities and most of those employees have retired. The net result is 50% of the workforce has 5 or fewer years of experience with CF. During this period, the company significantly upgraded its talent base, attracting and developing “best in class” employees at all levels of the company. CF is in a commodity industry. As with all commodities, there is a cycle where demand outpaces supply and companies are profitable and invest in expanding capacity. Those boom years almost always result in overbuilding and overcapacity which then pushes the industry into years where supply outpaces demand, prices (and profits) fall, and companies go out of business which reduces capacity. Once supply catches up with demand, the commodity cycle starts again. Over half of CF’s employees joined the company during the commodity cycle when demand outpaced supply and CF was delivering record profits, record returns to shareholders, and record bonuses and amounts of development opportunities to employees. The nitrogen fertilizer industry reached oversupply during 2015 and is now far less profitable than a year ago and it is anticipated to be in an oversupply situation for the next six to eight years. During the last downturn in the industry, companies closed plants, laid off workers, and stopped hiring. This created a talent gap throughout the industry whereby chemical companies had a disproportionate amount of employees of retirement age. CF has worked hard to remedy the talent gap caused in the last downturn and doesn’t want to create a similar situation again. CF should not need to lay off workers or close plants during this downturn; instead, the company wants to take this opportunity to continue to build its talent base so it is even better positioned when the industry turns around.

19

CF has spent a lot of time and effort building its current, capable workforce. What can the company do to continue to attract new employees and to retain that workforce during the next several years? For this project, you are a consultant working for ROC Group. CF has hired ROC Group to research the issue, develop a model (or models) to help senior managers think about the issue, and develop proposals for solutions that CF can implement in the near and medium term. ROC Group is a communications company that specializes in helping client companies create strategies and communications that engage employees and increase their productivity and commitment to their companies. Questions to be answered:

1. What should the company do to retain its employees during a prolonged period of industry-

wide low profitability?

2. What risks does CF incur if it experiences high turnover? Can you quantify those risks?

3. Does CF need to do something differently to retain millennials? What does CF need to do to

standout in its industry as an employer of choice for millennials?

4. Many of the engineers joined CF when the company was spending billions of dollars

annually on capital projects. How does the company provide excitement and development

during this phase of the commodity cycle?

5. In the past few decades, US employees have been less willing to move for career

opportunities. What can CF do to ensure enough engineers move between plants in order to

fill leadership positions from within?

6. How can you, as a ROC Group consultant, bring value to CF industries? What tools and/or

models can you provide CF management to help them understand and/or make decisions

about these issues? How is your role as a consultant different than one as a CF employee

and how can you leverage that role to bring value to your client?

Company Descriptions and Contacts CF Industries Overview CF Industries [NYSE:CF], a global leader in nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing and distribution, owns and operates world-scale nitrogen complexes and serves agricultural and industrial customers through its best-in-class distribution system. CF Industries was founded in 1946 as a fertilizer brokerage operation by a group of regional agricultural cooperatives. In the 1960s, the company expanded its product distribution capabilities and diversified into fertilizer manufacturing. Major investment programs during the 1970s and the 1990s built CF Industries into one of the fertilizer industry's largest companies. CF Industries was listed 543rd on the Fortune 1000 Companies list for 2015 and 463rd in 2014. The company is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. Wendy S. Jablow Senior Vice President, Human Resources Wendy Jablow serves as the company's senior vice president, human resources. She joined CF Industries in August 2007. Prior to that, she held the position of vice president, human resources and administration for Ideal Industries, Inc. During much of her time at Ideal, she

20

held a concurrent position as vice president and general manager of the company's DataComm Division. Earlier in her career, Wendy worked in a variety of human resource positions with FMC Corporation. Wendy holds a B.S. degree in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant. Chris Swenson Vice President, Human Resources and Compensation Chris Swenson serves as the company’s vice president, human resources and compensation. He joined CF Industries in June 2012. Prior to that, he served as Director, Human Resources for Elkay Manufacturing Company a manufacturer of kitchen and bath service and storage solutions including sinks, water coolers and cabinets. Earlier in his career, Chris served as Vice President and Chief People Officer of Gibson Guitar Corporation and as Vice President, Human Resources for Powermate Corporation a manufacturer of portable and standby electrical generators and air compressors. Chris holds a B.S. degree in Kinesiology from Indiana University and is currently enrolled in the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago - Booth School of Business. ROC Group Overview ROC Group is an award-winning organizational consulting firm that helps employees and leadership understand, accept and act on change. By tapping the science and art of communication, ROC Group helps clients break through barriers, explain things and make change happen. Whether the topic is broad enterprise transformation or detailed program implementation, ROC Group has engaged workforces since 1998 through a combined expertise in human resources, individual behavior change and marketing. ROC Group consultants work in a wide range of industries, tackling today’s workforce challenges: compensation literacy, performance and talent management, health decisions and wellness engagement, retirement readiness, diversity and inclusion, Lean Six Sigma adoption, and systems enablement such as SAP and Workday implementation. Named “2015 Agency of the Year” in the mid-size category by the International Association of Business Communicators, ROC Group wins awards for clients year after year by blending creativity and innovation with business focus. Over 35 professionals in seven locations bring big-consulting experience to clients’ challenges, with small-firm attention and flexibility.

21

Jan Burnham CEO, Co-Founder Jan Burnham is a communications and engagement strategist who has pioneered using creative marketing, persuasion and behavior design strategies to engage participants, leadership and other stakeholders. She is founder and CEO of ROC Group, a communications consultancy named 2015 Mid-sized Agency of the Year by the International Association of Business Communicators. Jan's work has won numerous awards, and she is a frequent speaker on effective communication strategies for reaching people across industries and age groups. Jan also serves on the Board of Directors of Ballantine Communications, Inc. Before founding ROC Group, Jan was a partner at both Towers Perrin (now Willis Towers Watson) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds a BA degree in English from Carleton College. Jason Mednick Senior Consultant Irvine, CA Jason Mednick is a communications and change management consultant at ROC Group. He has more than a decade’s experience developing and executing internal and external strategic communications, including global projects such as business strategy initiatives, mergers and acquisitions, culture, engagement and change management, recruitment, incentive and rewards programs, and benefits. In addition to ROC Group, Jason has consulting experience at Mercer and has worked internally for companies in the life sciences, higher education and grocery retail industries. He holds MBA and MA degrees, both from USC, and a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.

22

Daily Schedule – CF Industries/ROC Group Project (TuTh 11:00 - Mednick)

Session Topics Case Additional Readings

#1 October 18

Project introduction by ROC Group and CF Industries with Q&A. Class discussion of expectations and deliverables. Guests: Jan Burnham, President and Co-Founder, ROC Group, Jason Mednick, Senior Consultant, ROC Group, and Wendy Jablow, Senior Vice President, Human Resources.

#2 October 20

Wendy Jablow, CF Industries. In this Skype session, our guest speaker will more fully discuss their business environment and the problem statement.

#3 October 25

Guest speakers – Jan Burnham and Jason Mednick, ROC Group. In this session Jan and Jason will discuss consulting, including client engagement, framing a client problem, formulating a recommendation and crafting the final presentation.

October 27 NO CLASS—MBA Career Trek

#4 November 1

We will discuss recruitment and retention in more detail drawing on many (but not all) of the readings posted to Blackboard. This will complement CF Industries and ROC Group’s perspective by discussing the overall issue of human capital and how to best utilize it during a time when the needs of the workforce are changing. Please come prepared to discuss the following readings. The class discussion will be led by two-person volunteer student groups who will present an overview of one selected reading. Presentations should be no longer than 10 minutes and must be supported by PowerPoint slides. Participation points apply. A sign-up sheet will be available in class.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, “Job Openings and Labor Turnover,” September 7, 2016. [Two-person volunteer group.] CF Industries 2015 Annual Report/CF Industries Investor Presentation, Summer/Fall 2016. [Two-person volunteer group.] Center for American Progress, “There are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees,” Heather Boushey and Sarah Jane Glynn, November 16, 2012. [Two-person volunteer group.] The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey, “Winning over the next generation of leaders.” [Two-person volunteer group.] Insource, “Employee Turnover’s Impact on Your Budget,” April 14, 2016. [Two-person volunteer group.] “Employee turnover and its effect on sustainable manufacturing operations,” Robert Sarmiento, Nick Rich and Gilbert Aryee, Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre, Cardiff University. [Two-person volunteer group.]

#5 November 3

Full class discussion on the problem statement, your team’s thoughts/progress, primary and secondary research expectations.

#6 November 8

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

#7 November 10

Skype session with CF Industries plant manager. To be confirmed.

#8 November 15

Mid-term check-in via Skype with either ROC Group or CF Industries. Each team will have 20 minutes with ROC Group and CF Industries. To be confirmed.

#9 November 17

Mid-term check-in via Skype with either ROC Group or CF Industries. Each team will have 20 minutes with ROC Group and CF Industries. To be confirmed.

#10 November 22

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

23

November 24 NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING

#11 November 29

Practice final presentations (3 teams)

#12 December 1

Practice final presentations (3 teams)

#13 December 6

(No class meeting—individual meetings between faculty and groups at times to be determined)

December 14 10 am – 2 pm

Final presentations to CF Industries/ROC Group

Readings: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, “Job Openings and Labor Turnover,” September 7, 2016. CF Industries 2015 Annual Report/CF Industries Investor Presentation, Summer/Fall 2016. Center for American Progress, “There are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees,” Heather Boushey and Sarah Jane Glynn, November 16, 2012. The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey, “Winning over the next generation of leaders.” Insource, “Employee Turnover’s Impact on Your Budget,” April 14, 2016. “Employee turnover and its effect on sustainable manufacturing operations,” Robert Sarmiento, Nick Rich and Gilbert Aryee, Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre, Cardiff University. Additional articles and sample slide deck used by consulting firms have been posted to Blackboard.