School of Accounting and Finance

AFM 433: Business Strategy

Fall 2021 Course Syllabus
Course Instructor:
Section: Shared for all 3 Shared for all 3
Instructor Mark Arnason
Zamal Ruffudeen
:
Email: arnasonmark@gmail.com zruffudeen@uwaterloo.ca
I can meet with you virtually almost any time. Please send I can meet with you virtually almost any time. Please send
Office
me an email with suggested dates/times and a number me an email with suggested dates/times and a number where
Hours:
where you can be reached. you can be reached.

Course Description:

This course focuses on strategic management of the total enterprise. Managers contribute to the organization through their analytical and
leadership capabilities as well as their technical expertise. The course provides a framework for developing and implementing strategy that
fits the firm's environment, managerial values, and organization.

Course Goals and Learning Outcomes:

Programs delivered by the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) are designed to provide students with the competencies,
professionalism and practical experience that they need to excel in their chosen careers. With this in mind, the course was designed to
deliver a specific set of the knowledge, skills and competencies identified in the School’s
Learning Model illustrated to the right.
This course will focus on developing knowledge and skills from the following four categories:
1. Understanding Business,
2. Thinking & Problem Solving,
3. Communication, and

4. Leadership and Collaboration.

You will integrate the knowledge and skills to develop competence in strategic thinking. The
learning outcomes for the course are as follows:
 1. To assess the alignment of an organization’s mission, vision, and values with its business strategy and its organizational
accountability system;
2. To identify and evaluate an organization’s business strategy and strategic alternatives, specifying the conditions for success;
3. To describe an organization’s governance structure and the specific roles of the board in strategic management;
4. To discuss the implications of an organization’s business strategy and strategic alternatives, specifying implementation issues and
risk management requirements;
5. To strengthen thinking and problem-solving skills by learning when, why, and how to apply strategy analysis concepts/tools and
design thinking skills; and,
6. To further develop written communication skills, presentation delivery skills, and teamwork capabilities through deliberate practice.

Course Activities and Resources:

As shown in the Module Map (figure 1) below, the course is structured into 11 weekly modules each aligned with one of the four course
learning outcomes. 9 of the 11 modules provide an opportunity to apply the content learned directly to simulations (cases).

Figure 1 – Module Map

Course Support
The benefits you get from this course will depend entirely on what you invest in completing the course. A combined synchronous and
asynchronous learning environment can be challenging and an adjustment for many students. This is even more exacerbated in a case-based
course. We want you to be successful and have the best experience possible which is why the following resources are available to support
you:

 You have been assigned a lead TA for your section. These will be identified in an announcement on the LEARN homepage for the
course.
o Start with the lead TA for your section for all questions.
 If you still need help, you can email your Professor directly at arnasonmark@gmail.com or zruffudeen@uwaterloo.ca (depending on
your assigned sections) to answer your questions and/or to set up an appointment to meet by video conference or phone call

Learning in the current environment is challenging. Please don’t hesitate to reach out directly if you need help on any front. We will do our
best to help, and can connect you with available campus support resources as required.
Live Classes
Consistent feedback from our students over the last two online terms has indicated that many students prefer and are missing live and
interactive classes. Therefore we have scheduled regular live class on Thursdays at 10AM (1 hour and 20 minutes max, although many
times we won’t use this entire timeframe).
 The first will be in week one to introduce the course and answer any questions you may have about how the course will operate.
 There will be seven more live classes throughout the term to review the assigned cases, as well as review and provide feedback on
the team case submissions. Two of these sessions will also be used to prepare you for the midterm and the final exam at the
appropriate point in the schedule.
 Please see the detailed course schedule for the specific weeks for the live classes.
 All of these calls will be held during the assigned class time on your schedule (Thursday mornings at 10AM for all sections
combined), and will use MS Teams. Attendance is optional, but strongly encouraged. Specific details and links to the calls will
appear in an announcement on LEARN at the start of the term.
 The calls will not be recorded, but we will be providing “voice over PPT” versions of all of the slides that we cover for those who
prefer to learn asynchronously. We will also post transcripts of the Q&A where appropriate (for example during the midterm and
final exam prep classes)
 You may also wish to consider a “team coverage approach” where at least one member of your team attends the call to ask questions
collected from your team.

It is vital that you take responsibility for your own success in the course. Please reach out to your assigned Professor if there is any reason
that you feel you cannot be successful. We are here to help.

Live Classes – Bonus Contribution Grades

The live online classes are entirely optional, however we will be awarding bonus contribution grades of up to 3% for those who attend and
participate at the discretion of the Professors. Bonus marks will be awarded to students who attend live classes regularly, participate
regularly, and make high quality contributions that help advance the learning.
Course Schedule
The Course Schedule (posted in a separate document in the LEARN Administration folder) identifies specific learning activities for each
module and the dates for assigned readings, pre-recorded lecture presentations, quizzes, and team assignments. The typical weekly schedule
is as follows (specific details for each week are in the Course Schedule):

1) Read articles from the Harvard Business Review (HBR) where applicable, which can be accessed for free through the UW Library’s
Course Reserves system. See “Course Resources” section below for details.
2) Listen to the PowerPoint presentations in the weekly Module X folder in the Content section of LEARN.
3) Watch related videos where applicable.
4) Work on the weekly assigned case activity (five of these will be required team assignments) and attend the weekly live classes
5) Attend the weekly live classes described above.
6) Write Module Quiz (where applicable) which can be accessed in LEARN under “Submit  Quizzes”. 9 of 11 Modules have a
Quiz. See “Course Evaluation” section below for details.
7) Prepare Team Submission (where applicable) based on the requirements in the Module Assignment and submit into LEARN
Dropbox folder (“Team Submissions”). 5 of 11 Modules have a Team Submission. See “Course Evaluation” section below for
details.

An Important note on Course Due Dates

ALL COURSE DUE DATES ARE BASED ON THE EASTERN TIME ZONE OF WATERLOO. Please plan your activities accordingly.
To compensate for students who may be in different time zones we have purposely provided extended windows for each of the quizzes and
team submissions.

Course Resources:
There is no textbook for this course, but there are assigned readings for most classes and a series of cases that we will analyze over the term.
The Class Schedule [Available in the LEARN “Administration” folder and below as Attachment 1] identifies both.
 Most of the assigned articles listed in the Class Schedule are sourced from Harvard Business Review and can be accessed for free
through the UW Library’s Course Reserves system. When you look at your LEARN course site there is a “Get Course Reserves”
widget under the Library Resources section (automatically included on the left side of the course home page).  Click on the “Get
Course Reserves” link and it will bring you to the e-reserve sign-in where, once you have signed in, you will have access to the
electronic copy of the assigned readings.
  The assigned cases are protected by copyright and therefore are bundled into a Courseware Package available at the UW Bookstore.
See Exhibit 1 for UW Bookstore purchase instructions.

Course Assessments:

As shown in Figure 2, your grade is based on the following:

Figure 2 – Assessment Methods and Weights

% of Total
Assessment Method Due Date
Grade
Module Quizzes (x8 / 9 if you Throughout term – See Course Schedule:
10%
complete the Practice Quiz) Due by the due dates specified in the Course Schedule (typically Fridays @ 9pm).
Throughout term – See Course Schedule:
Team Submissions (x5) To be submitted in the corresponding Team Submission Dropbox by the due dates 10%
specified in the Course Schedule. (typically Wednesdays @ 9pm)
Midterm Case Exam Oct 22nd, 6-9PM 20%
Team Case Part A Oct 8th, 6PM 10%
Team Case Presentation (Part Nov 26th, 6PM (content deck and presentation dry run). Dec 3, 6PM (final
15%
B) presentation)
Final Case Exam TBD – likely mid-December 35%
100%

Module Quizzes (10%)

There are eight (8) module quizzes in this course that are to be completed individually, plus a practice quiz for Module 1. See the Course
Schedule for the applicable modules and due dates. A Module Quiz is typically available to be written starting when the module is released
at 12:01am on the Friday before the week of the module. The quiz is typically due on Fridays at 9pm, but the specific dates for each module
quiz can be found in the Course Schedule. Quizzes can be accessed in LEARN under “Submit  Quizzes”.
Each module quiz will test you on the content assigned in the Module Readings of the Course Schedule for that week. Module Readings
include the PowerPoint presentations, questions in the PowerPoint presentations, articles, and/or videos.

The quizzes are multiple choice and each quiz contains five (5) questions and you have five (5) minutes to complete it once you initiate it.
The top six (6) of eight (8) quizzes completed will count towards your final grade. The two (2) excluded quizzes will be those with the
lowest scores, or the ones that you were unable to complete for any possible reason. Quizzes will be automatically graded. Your quiz grade
and feedback will be released right after the quiz due date.

In addition, a “practice quiz” will be due on September 14th for Module 1. This quiz will effectively provide a 9th quiz that can count
towards your top 6 if you choose to do the practice quiz and if you do well enough for it to be one of your top 6 quiz marks. Effectively this
means that the top 6 will still count but will be chosen from a total of 9 quizzes (8 official quizzes plus the optional practice quiz).

Team Case Submissions (10%)

The Team Submissions allow you to apply the content learned to Cases. You will be assigned to a team at the beginning of Week 2. Please
complete the LEARN Survey in Week 1 to provide input on which time zone you are in to help facilitate the creation of your teams.
There are 5 Team Submissions in this course. See the Course Schedule for the applicable modules and due dates. Team Submissions are
typically due on Wednesdays at 9pm and are to be submitted into the LEARN Dropbox folder (“Team Submissions”). The Requirements
for each Team Submission will be posted in that particular Modules’ LEARN folder. Requirements will provide direction on what is to be
prepared and the length of submission.
Grading will be assessed using a pass/fail rating scheme. To “pass” you need only demonstrate a solid understanding and response to the
Requirements.

 To Meet Expectations (ME rating = 8/10), achieve a “pass” rating on four (4) of five (5) Team Submissions.
 To Exceed Expectations (EE rating = 9/10), achieve a “pass” rating on all 5 Team Submissions.
 There will be one bonus mark out of 10 if you achieve at least the ME rating AND one of your submissions is selected as best in
class in any given week and you agree to allow it to be posted for your peers.
 We will be using Turnitin to verify the originality of your team’s submissions.

Capstone Team Case Assignment (25%)

The capstone activity for the course will be a team case presentation. The case will be developed specifically for the course and for this
term. It will be released at the end of January and will be due in two parts.
Part A is worth 10% and will be due at 6PM on Friday, Oct 8th. Part B is worth 15% and will be a 10-minute recorded initial team
presentation and a PPT content appendix which will be due on Friday Nov 26th at 6pm (Waterloo time zones). Instructors will provide
feedback on the presentation over the weekend and a final version of the presentation will be due the following Friday, Dec 3rd at 6PM.
More detailed requirements will be posted on LEARN when we release the case for Part A, and following the midterm for Part B.

Midterm Examination (20%) and Final Examination (35%)

The Midterm Exam is a case exam. You are expected to select and apply appropriate analytical models and communication skills to address
the case role and requirement. It will be a 3-hour case exam covering the first 5 modules of the course. The midterm will be administered
online on Oct 22nd from 6PM to 9PM (Waterloo time zone).
The Final Exam is also a 3-hour case exam, but will cover all 11 modules of the course. The date for the final exam will be scheduled by the
registrar but is expected to be in mid-December. You must pass the final exam in order to pass the course.
Normal University of Waterloo academic integrity regulations will apply during the midterm and the exam, i.e. these are your own
individual work and you should not communicate in any way with other students during the midterm or the exam. In both cases we will be
using Turnitin to verify the originality of your submissions. A separate Instruction memo will be issued prior to the exam providing further
details.
If you miss the Midterm Exam for an approved absence (see SAF policy on accommodations for missed assessments), then you will write a
Final Exam for the total of the midterm and the final.
Written requests for re-grading a Midterm Exam must be made via email within one week after the examination has been returned. A
written request must be submitted that indicates your reasons for believing that the case solution was improperly graded. The Instructor
reserves the right to re-grade the entire examination.

Study Teams
You will be assigned to study teams at the beginning of week 2. These will be randomly assigned in your sections and will have up to 5
members. Your study teams will be required to work together for the following graded activities:
- The 5 team case submissions; and
- Part A and Part B of the Capstone Team Case Assignment.
All members of a team normally receive the team’s grade for each component of the Team Submission and Team Assignment because
strategy development and implementation are team efforts, not an individual activity. Should any significant teamwork issues arise, contact
your Instructor as soon as the issue occurs, not after the Team Submission and/or Team Assignment has been evaluated.
Although there will be no formal peer evaluation, the instructors reserve the right to increase or decrease the individual marks of a team
member based on feedback from the rest of the team. Please note that the team must take steps to work with the instructors to resolve any
team issues as they arise in order for peer adjustments to be made, otherwise the entire team mark may be reduced.

Course Policies
1) Submission Times

The University of Waterloo is located in the Eastern Time Zone (GMT or UTC-5 during standard time and UTC-4 during daylight
saving time) and, as such, the time for your activities and/or assignments are due is based on this zone. If you are outside of the Eastern
Time Zone and require assistance converting your time, please try the https://www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_CA-ON.aspx

2) Late Submission Policy

The purpose of the Quizzes and the Team Submissions is to motivate you to stay engaged on an ongoing basis. Therefore, there are NO
extensions on these weekly module deadlines although, as indicated in Figure 2, you may choose NOT to submit some without penalty.
Failure to submit by the deadline and/or in the case of the Quiz within the 5-minute time allotment, results in an automatic grade of
ZERO for that particular Quiz or Team Submission. NO EXCEPTIONS.

The late penalty for the Team Assignment (Part A and B), Midterm Exam and Final Exam is a deduction of 1% for every 1 minute late.
NO EXCEPTIONS.

3) Turnitin Policy

Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments and examinations in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that
all materials and sources in assignments are documented and that academic integrity exist on both examination and assignment
submissions. Students will be given an option if they do not want to have their assignment screened by Turnitin®. If you have concerns
about using Turnitin or would like to opt out of using it, please contact your Instructor by the end of Week 1 to discuss alternate
arrangements to submit your assignment.
University of Waterloo and School of Accounting & Finance Policies
Details regarding School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) policies and University of Waterloo policies can be found on the SAF LEARN
site “My SAF Community”. These policies are an integral part of this course syllabus. They have been posted on the SAF LEARN site
as they are not course specific but are common for all SAF program courses. Please ensure that each term you are informed regarding these
policies. They include:

School of Accounting and Finance Policies:

 Accommodations for Missed Assessments
 Documentation Requirements Supporting Requests for Accommodation
 Recording of Lectures
.
University of Waterloo Policies:
 Academic Integrity
 Grievance
 Discipline
 Appeals
 Academic Offenses and Implications
 Avoiding Academic Offences
 Violation of Standards by Another Student
 Note for Students with Disabilities