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Strategic Management |
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| in the Design and Construction Value System |
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Assignments |
last revised February 5, 2007 |
| HOME | ADMINISTRATION | CALENDAR | ASSIGNMENTS | ||
| LIBRARY | MIT CENTER REAL ESTATE | MACOMBER CONSTRUCTION | BUILDINGVISION | 1.464 I.T. STRATEGY | JOHN D. MACOMBER |
Go to assignment number: 1 2 3 4 5 6
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Class Number |
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Case |
Savannah West |
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Topics |
Purpose of Strategic Planning Industry Value System - Structure Vertical Integration |
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Assignment |
None |
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Discussion Questions |
About You: What is your background? What do you hope to take away from this course? About Strategic Planning: Why do firms feel the urge to plan? Why does this matter to you? What issues might one address? About the Real Estate, Design, and Construction Industry: Who are the participants in the real estate and construction value system? What are some of the characteristics of the industry as a whole - from a strategic point of view? Savannah West Note: This is a finance case about one project which we will use to illustrate issues in an ongoing organization with respect to vertical integration, cash flow, and risk allocation, and shared expertise. Do not spend time on the financial project analysis. What is going on here? Who are the major parties and what are their interests? What is the mission of the entity, what is going on externally, what are the internal issues? What is the arrangement of this value system? Follow the money. In broad terms, how is the money supposed to flow if the project is successful? In broad terms, who is responsible for what? What are the major risks? How are they described? How well are they understood? What are the benefits of vertical integration? The pitfalls? |
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Reading |
Required (by the second class meeting): Required: Competitive Advantage, Chapter 1, Competitive Strategy: The Core Concepts Competitive Advantage, Chapter 2, The Value Chain and Competitive Advantage (Section 1, "The Value Chain)." Optional: Hammond, "Learning by the Case Method" Optional: Porter, Competitive Strategy, Chapter 14, Vertical Integration (this is in the Library, which you can also find from the links at the top of this page). |
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Last revised February 5, 2007 |
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Class Number |
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Case |
SOHO China |
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Topics |
Steps in Planning Business and Market Segmentation Attractiveness of Segments |
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Assignment |
None |
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Discussion Questions |
What do you think is the mission of SOHO China as a company? What are the key issues in their external circumstances at the time of the case? What does the Industry Value System look like for SOHO at the time of the case? With respect to business planning and segmentation,
Using the Five Forces model from Chapter 1, discuss how some of these segments might or might not be attractive business areas for SOHO. How might you compete within these segments? Can the Five Forces change over time? |
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Reading |
Competitive Advantage, Chapter 7, Market Segmentation (particularly through the third section, "Industry Segmentation and Competitive Strategy)" Optional Link: http://www.sohochina.com/english/aboutus.html Several other articles about SOHO and housing in China are in the BuildingVision Library http://www.projectlounge.com/QuickPlace/buildingvision/Main.nsf/h_Toc/00D33ABFA679 |
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Last revised February 5, 2007 |
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Class Number |
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Case |
The Del Webb Companies |
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Topics |
Segment Attractiveness: Where to Compete Generic Strategies: How to Compete (Differentiation, Low Cost, Focus, Broad) Implementation: The Firm Value Chain |
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Assignment |
Paper # 1 due (5 pages MAXIMUM due printed and collated at START of class. Please draw some exhibits to illustrate your approach). Phil Dion has been replaced - by you! The new Board wants to know how you are thinking about the company's prospects going forward. Using the tools of the course, the readings, and some of the discussion questions below, please prepare this analysis for Mr. Dion. Be sure to create diagrams and tables that illustrate the principles. You can assume that the Board has read the same case study so you don't need to recite data and facts; show them how you would use the tools of the course to help lead discussion of the way forward. ***All of the diagrams for this problem set may be hand drawn. I am looking for thinking, not for computer formatting skills. You might also think of other clever ways to efficiently convey the information by combining or modifying some of the tools. |
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Discussion Questions |
What is the Industry Value System for the Del Webb Companies? How do you organize the analysis when they compete in multiple parts of the industry? How might you set up a business segmentation analysis for Del Webb? What segments are attractive? Why? What strategies would you follow in which segments? How would you change the Firm Value Chain in those segments? It can be helpful to think of the delta between current and proposed. What do you recommend? You may know what the firm ultimately did. We will discuss that later. What is your observation about the people issues in the case? |
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Reading |
Required: Competitive Advantage, Chapter 3, Cost Advantage (skim with particular attention to high level lists and summaries of Cost Drivers, Policy Choices, and Steps in Strategic Cost Analysis as they occur in the chapter). Competitive Advantage, Chapter 4, Differentiation (skim with particular attention to high level lists and summaries of Sources of Differentiation, Buyer Value and Differentiation, Signaling Criteria, and Pitfalls in Differentiation). |
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Last revised February 5, 2007 |
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Class Number |
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Case |
Herman Miller: Innovation By Design |
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Topics |
The Firm Value Chain Disruptive Technology Integrated Design and Data Management; Building Information Models Supply Chain Optimization |
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Assignment |
None |
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Discussion Questions |
This case is nominally about the furniture business. However, there are many choices in how this company organized its service business that can be used to discuss strategy for delivery of services like real estate development and management. There also are applications of technology including 3D modeling, visualization, and supply chain management that help to illustrate the potential of some of these tools. This case should help to reinforce some of the concepts from the course around vertical integration, market segmentation, leadership, and innovation. Where does SQA fit in the "industry value system" for office buildings? On what market segments have they chosen to focus? Why? What is Z-Axis? How does it work? Does it matter? What choices did they make? Does Z-Axis lead to sustainable competitive advantage? Why or why not? How do EnSync and the Product Metering Center (PMC) work? What choices did they make to implement this strategy? Do EnSync and PMC lead to sustainable competitive advantage? Why or why not? How might Miller SQA grow beyond furniture - say to partitions, floors, ceilings, walls? Could these services apply to entire buildings in some market segments? Do you see any ways in which these kinds of capabilities might impact the business of construction? Of architecture? Of real estate development? |
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Additional Reading |
Required: Bower and Christensen, "Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave." Optional: Competitive Advantage, Chapter 5, Technology and Competitive Advantage (particularly the first section, "Technology and Competition)" Optional: Porter, "Industry Transformation" |
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Last revised February 5, 2007 |
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Class Number |
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Case |
Real Estate Franchising: The Case of Coldwell Banker Expansion into China |
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Topics |
Disruptive Business Models How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage Knowledge Management Scale, Alliances, and Franchising |
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Assignment |
None |
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Discussion Questions |
About How would you describe the franchisees' role in the Industry Value System in the case? Why would an individual entrepreneur benefit from being part of a franchise model? Why would a large entity want to have franchisees representing it? What are the aspects of this role in the Industry Value System that benefit from local control or from global scale? How else is this playing out in the Real Estate industry today? Do you think there are parallels in implementing 3D models or BIM Building Information Models? |
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Reading |
Required: Porter, "How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage," HBR Optional: "A Note on Franchising" Porter, Competitive Strategy, Chapter 9, Strategy in Fragmented Industries (in the BuildingVision Library) |
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Last revised February 5, 2007 |
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Class Number |
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Case |
George B. H. Macomber Company 1990 George B. H. Macomber Company 2004 (to be distributed) George B. H. Macomber Company 2007 |
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Topics |
Putting it All Together Mission, Strategy, Focus Coping with Fragmentation Strategic Leadership |
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Assignment |
Final Paper Due (5 Pages Maximum, Due at Start of Class) Following your successes at The Del Webb Company, you have been hired as a special assistant to John Macomber, Chairman of Macomber Builders and lecturer at MIT. Based on the background and culture of the George B. H. Macomber Company in 1990, and the 2005 update, what would you recommend that John Macomber do in 2004? Using the tools of the class, and using your judgment in selecting which tools to use, write a strategic analysis including your recommendation. Remember that this is a chance to showcase your grasp of the tools of the course. |
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Discussion Questions |
You might want to consider: What is the mission of the George B. H. Macomber Company? What is the external environment in 2004? The internal situation? Assuming that the company operates in an updated version of its 1990 business segments, in which segments would you expect to compete now? How would you compete? How would you attempt to use some of the tools of BIM, 3D modeling, supply chain, knowledge management, and franchising? |
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Reading |
None |
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Last revised February 5, 2007 |