BUS 499: Business Administration Capstone

Course Description

This course is a senior capstone seminar for business majors. The goal of the course is to apply and synthesize all previous course learning to manage organizations strategically. This capstone course will address the causes of an organization’s success or failure. The course will require students to examine all business functions of an organization and harmonize prior learning from other program courses. Students will apply this learning to real-world cases and by create a mock organization. Students in this course apply core concepts of business techniques to address key challenges facing businesses and to propose plausible solutions involving multiple business functional areas. (3 credits)

Prerequisites

  • ACC 101: Financial Accounting
  • ACC 102: Managerial Accounting
  • BUS 120: Business Law
  • FIN 210: Financial Management
  • ITE 101: Management Information Systems
  • MGT 101: Principles of Management
  • MGT 315: Organizational Behavior
  • MKT 220: Principles of Marketing

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

  1. Synthesize the knowledge from the core curriculum, including finance, accounting, marketing, law, principles of management, MIS, and organizational behavior into a comprehensive strategy requiring a total enterprise perspective into strategic decision making.
  2. Apply strategic thinking to make decisions that logically consider multiple alternatives and stakeholders, weighing information from multiple perspectives.
  3. Analyze the roles and challenges facing strategic leaders.
  4. Evaluate the tools and applicability of environmental analysis to assess a company's strategic position along with industry and competitive analysis.
  5. Compare and contrast the unique challenges of strategy in domestic and global contexts.
  6. Develop skills of formulating and implementing strategic plans to analyze the complexities of real business decisions by studying a number of different firms and industry contexts.
  7. Apply ethical business judgment to making socially responsible decisions.
  8. Synthesize concepts of organizational behavior and development, such as leadership, group dynamics, into recommended courses of action for organizations.

Course Activities and Grading

AssignmentsPointsWeight

Discussions (Weeks 1-8)

80

30%

Group Case 1 - Sears or Skype (Week 4)

100

20%

Individual Assignment (Week 6)

100

30%

Group Case 2 - Mock Organization (Week 8)

100

20%

Total

380

100%

Required Textbooks

Available through Charter Oak State College's Book Bundle

  • Dyer, Jeff, Paul Godfrey, Robert Jensen, David Bryce. Strategic Management; Concepts and Cases. 4th. ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2022. ISBN-13: 978-1-119-76354-3 [Looseleaf version]

Additional Resources

Course Schedule

Week

SLOs

Readings and Exercises

Assignments

1

1-8

Topics: Business Strategy & External Environment
  • Readings:
    • Chapter 1: What Is Business Strategy
    • Chapter 2: Analysis of the External Environment
    • Chapters 1 & 2 supplemental files (located in course)
  • Read assigned material
  • Review the Lecture Powerpoint
  • Participate in the Discussions (2)
  • Form groups for 2 group-projects during the course. Groups are self-enrollment with a 5 member limit.

2

1-8

Topics: Environments & Advantage
  • Readings:
    • Chapter 3: Analysis of Internal Environments
    • Chapter 4: Cost Advantage
    • Chapters 3 & 4 supplemental files (located in course)
  • Read assigned material
  • Review the Lecture Powerpoint
  • Participate in the Discussions (2)
  • Continue work on Group Case 1

3

1-8

Topics: Differentiation Advantage & Corporate Strategy
  • Readings:
    • Chapter 5: Differentiation Advantage
    • Chapter 6: Corporate Strategy
    • Chapters 5 & 6 supplemental files (located in course)
  • Read assigned material
  • Review the Lecture Powerpoint
  • Review Cases 5 & 6
  • Participate in the Discussions (2)
  • Continue work on Group Case 1

4

1-8

Topics: Vertical Integration & Outsourcing
  • Readings:
    • Chapter 7: Vertical Integration and Outsourcing
    • Chapter 7 supplemental files (located in course)
  • Read assigned material
  • Review the Lecture Powerpoint
  • Review Case 7
  • Participate in the Discussions (2)
  • Submit Group Case 1
  • Continue work on your individual paper and begin work on group case assignment 2

5

1-8

Topics: Strategic Alliances & International Strategy
  • Readings:
    • Chapter 8: Strategic Alliances
    • Chapter 9: International Strategy
    • Chapters 8 & 9 supplemental files (located in course)
  • Read assigned material
  • Review the Lecture Powerpoint
  • Review Cases 8 & 9
  • Participate in the Discussions (2)
  • Continue work on Group Case Assignment 2

6

1-8

Topic: Innovative Strategies & Competitive Strategy
  • Readings:
    • Chapter 10: Innovative Strategies
    • Chapter 11: Competitive Strategy
    • Chapters 10 & 11 supplemental files (located in course)
  • Read assigned material
  • Review the Lecture Powerpoint
  • Review Cases 10 & 11
  • Participate in the Discussions (2)
  • Submit Individual Assignment
  • Continue work on group case assignment 2

7

1-8

Topic: Implementing Strategy, Corporate Governance & Ethics
  • Readings:
    • Chapter 12: Implementing Strategy
    • Chapter 13: Corporate Governance and Ethics
    • Chapters 12 & 13 supplemental files (located in course)
  • Read assigned material
  • Review the Lecture Powerpoint
  • Review Cases 12 & 13
  • Participate in the Discussions (2)
  • Continue to work on group case assignment 2

8

1-8

Topics: Strategic Tools & Social Values
  • Readings:
    • Chapter 14: Strategic Tools and Social Values
    • Chapter 14 supplemental files (located in course)
  • Read assigned material
  • Review the Lecture Powerpoint
  • Review Case 14
  • Participate in the Discussions (2)
  • Submit Group Case 2
  • Complete Course Evaluation

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.