EE204: Business Management for
Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists

EE204 Assignment Syllabus

 

All assignments are listed in the following table. Cases, Required Readings, and Recommended Readings can be purchased directly from Harvard Business School. Students are responsible for preparing both the cases and the readings listed for each class. Web links lead to the actual assignments and supplemental readings for each date. Assignments list specific questions which students should be prepared to answer in class.

For those of you visiting this web site who wish to read the cases or articles, they can be purchased online at Harvard Business School Publishing (see "Course Reader" below).

Students with documented disabilities

Students who may need an academic accommodation based on the impact of a disability must initiate the request with the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) located within the Office of Accessible Education (OAE). SDRC staff will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Accommodation Letter for faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is being made.

Students should contact the SDRC as soon as possible since timely notice is needed to coordinate accommodations. The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk (phone: 723-1066, 723-1067 TTY).

Upcoming Events

 

LOOK HERE FOR WEEKLY SPECIAL EVENTS ON CAMPUS RELEVANT TO THE COURSE AND CASES WE DISCUSS

Course Readers

The EE204 course reader is available for purchase through Harvard Business Publishing. The cost of the course reader is approximately $136. If you have purchased it for $300 by mistake, HBS can process an appropriate refund. We ask that students respect the publisher's copyright policies and purchase his/her own copy of the reading materials for the class.

Full course (all 10 weeks): Available here

 

Date

Assignment

Readings

Case Studies

Notes

01

3/29/16 
Introduction
  1. Review EE204 website
  1. Introductory Case: Qualcomm Inventors, Dreamers, and What to Do Next
  

02

3/31/16 
Strategy
  1. What Is Strategy?
  2. Price/Features Matrix
  1. Apple Inc.
Complete Student Info Card

03

4/05/16
Competitive Forces
  1. The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy
  2. Product Lifecycle
  1. Nintendo Wii U: Lessons Learned

Class Reception and Team Building

5:30-7:30pm at the Stanford Faculty Club, Upper Patio

Soft drinks, heavy appetizers

04

4/07/16
Disruptive Innovation
  1. Introduction: Why Good Companies Fail to Thrive in Fast-Moving Industries
  2. Disrupting Disruption Theory
  1. Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption
 
Back Bay Battery Simulation begins

05

4/12/16
Financial Statements
  1. Financial Statements: Understanding Basic Financial Statements
  2. Yahoo Financial Statements: Tesla
  1. Financial Statement Analysis: Identify the Industry
Simulation update

06

4/14/16
Customer Centricity
  1. Customer Centricity
  1. Groupon for Local Businesses
Simulation final results

07

4/19/16
Innovation Ecosystem
  1. Match Your Innovation Strategy to Your Innovation Ecosystem
  1. Mobileye: The Future of Driverless Cars
  

08

4/21/16
Emerging Markets
  1. Finding Great Ideas in Emerging Markets
  1. Logitech and the Mouse that Roared
  

09

4/26/16
Midterm Paper
  1. Written case analysis guidelines
  2. Grading criteria and scoring sheet
  1. Chegg, Inc: Building the Student Hub
Group Written Assignment due at start of class (9:30 AM)

10

4/28/16

Marketing Strategy
  1. Framework for Marketing Strategy Formulation
  1. Kiva the Disrupter
Complete Mid-Quarter Case and Readings Feedback

11

5/03/16
Sales Management
  1. Personal Selling and Sales Management
  1. Asclepius

 

12

5/05/16
Entrepreneurship-Recognizing and Shaping Opportunities
  1. Entrepreneurship Reading: Recognizing and Shaping Opportunities
  1. Airbnb
  

13

5/10/16
Scaling a Startup
  1. Scaling a Startup: People and Organizational Issues
  1. CloudFlare: Running Hot?
 

14

5/12/16
Hiring Talent
  1. 21st Century Talent Spotting
  1. LinkedIn and Modern Recruiting
 
 

15

5/17/16
Managing People
  1. Bringing Out the Best In Your People
  1. Wendy Peterson
 

16

5/19/16 
Company Culture
  1. Organizational Culture, Values and Fit in the Workplace
  1. Inside Amazon
  2. Jeff Bezos Responds to 'New York Times'
  3. Amazon's Leadership Principles
  4. Netflix Culture Slides
Complete Organizational Culture Survey

17

5/24/16
CEO as Leader
  1. What Leaders Really Do
  1. Leader 360: Meg Whitman
  2. Leader 360: Mark Zuckerberg
  

18

5/26/16
Final Paper
  1. Written case analysis guidelines
  2. Grading criteria and scoring sheet
  1. Microsoft

Final Written Assignment due at start of class (9:30 AM) 

19

5/31/16
Managing Oneself
  1. Managing Oneself
  2. Creating a Personal Brand & Networking
Complete End-Quarter Case and Readings Feedback

Class Party

5:30-7:30pm at McArthur Park

27 University Ave across from the CalTrain Station 

Beer, wine, soft drinks, heavy appetizers