Introductions to Organizations and Strategy
This Course sets the stage for learning about how business works. Beginning with an understanding of what an
organization is and its basic purposes, topics will include vertical and horizontal integration, diversification, the
managerial role, designing incentive plans, business strategy, the central importance of “value” in a business
context, and the concept of industry attractiveness.
Faculty
Professor Ian Larkin
Kelly Bean, Associate Dean, UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive Education
Ian Larkin is an Assistant Professor in the Strategy group at the UCLA Anderson
School of Management. He researches the optimal use of formal rewards systems
by companies, given the complex and often unanticipated effects these systems
have on employee motivation and decision making. His research quantifying the
cost incurred by a major enterprise software vendor due to salespeople deliberately
gaming their sales commission system, published in The Journal of Labor Economics,
is one of the most prominently cited empirical studies of incentive system gaming. It
was the basis for a case study widely used in MBA classes on compensation and
human resource management.
His recent research focuses on corporate awards and other programs companies use to formally recognize
employee performance, and demonstrates that these programs often have unintended costs, such as the
demotivation of some employee groups. A final stream of research investigates physician prescribing decisions
in light of different sales tactics used by pharmaceutical sales representatives. His research has been discussed in a variety of media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes and National Public
Radio.
Ian teaches the core Business Strategy course at Anderson. Before coming to Anderson, he was a member of the
faculty at Harvard Business School, where he taught an elective MBA course on human resource management,
as well as several executive education courses. He received a Ph.D. from the Haas School of Business at UC
Berkeley, and a M.Sc. from the University of London, where he was a British Marshall Scholar. Ian worked as an
Associate and Engagement Manager for McKinsey and Company, based in Hong Kong and Silicon Valley.
Ian’s hobbies include cooking, traveling and supporting the Green Bay Packers.
Course Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
• Determine a company’s profit, using such key business concepts as input costs, transformation, total
cost, price, willingness to pay, and value.
• Make intelligent decisions about horizontal and vertical integration involving your business.
• Use a comprehensive business strategy to intentionally create, capture, and deliver value to your
company and your customers.
Syllabus
Learning Objectives:
As a result of participating in this module, you will be able to:
Explain the value of an organization in terms of how it manages resources and transforms inputs into
more valuable outputs.
Evaluate a potential diversification opportunity that involves a key resource’s appropriability, control,
durability, and inimitability.
Determine the best course of action for a company that is considering vertical/horizontal integration or
geographic diversification.
Module Components:
Video Lectures:
- Video Lecture 1: What Is an Organization?
- Video Lecture 2: Organizational Scope and Horizontal Diversification
Readings:
- Reading 1: A Customer Value Creation Framework for Businesses That Generate Revenue with Open Source Software
- Reading 2: Horizontal Integration
- Reading 3: Vertical Integration
Quiz:
- Check for Understanding Assessment