EE204: Business Management for
Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists



On this page:

EE204 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

For those of you visiting this web site who wishes to read the cases or articles, they can be purchased online at Harvard Business School Publishing

 

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)."

 

Link to Course Reader

Click on the course reader link below and to purchase the reader (to purchase the reader, please make an account on the HBS Publishing website)

  1. Course Reader for students enrolled in EE204 for Spring 2011

  2. Course Reader for cases and articles used in week 1 (class on 3/29 and 3/31) for students that are waitlisted

  3. Course Reader for cases and articles used in all classes except week 1 for students that are now registered and purchased reader #2.
  4.  

    Reimbursement Instructions

     

    Date

    Required Reading

    Case Study

    Recommended Reading

    Amusing Links

    Seeing the Big Picture

    4/03/12 
    1. Note to the Student: How to Study and Discuss Cases
    2. Price/Features Matrix
    3. Review EE204 website
    1. Introductory Case: Amazon and the Future of the Kindle 2012 (will be handed out in class)
       
    4/05/12 
    1. What Is Strategy?
    1. Google Inc.
    1; 2; 3; 4; 5
    4/10/12
    1. The Five Competitive Forces
    2. Note on Team Process
    3. Product Lifecycle
    1. Wii Encore?
    Camels and Rubber Duckies  

    Class Reception and Team Building 

    4/10/12

    Class reception and team building

    5:30PM-7:30PM

      Meeting at Stanford Faculty Club

      Red Lounge

       

    Creating New Markets

    4/12/12
    1. The Innovator's Dilemma
    2. Order of Magnitude Analysis
    1. Netflix
    Let Me Go Back
    6; 7; 8

    Financial Analysis and Strategy Simulation Game

    4/17/12 
    1. Financial Statements: The Elements of Managerial Finance
    2. Back Bay Battery Simulation
    1. Financial Statement Analysis: Identify the Industry
    Text Book Recommendation: Essentials of Accounting By Robert Anthony and Leslie Pearlman, available on Amazon; Self-paced study of accounting. 10-15 hours to complete.

    4/19/12
    1. Finding Great Ideas in Emerging Markets
    1. LG Electronics: Global Strategy in Emerging Markets
      10; 11; 12
    4/24/12
    1. Marketing Myopia
    2. Rule of 72
    1. The Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool, or a Tech Powerhouse?
       

    Developing Successful Products

    4/26/12 
    1. Match Your Innovation Strategy to Your Innovation Ecosystem
    2. Breakeven Analysis
    1. HP: Flight of the Kittyhawk (A)
       
    5/1/12
    1. The Practice of Global Product Development
    1. Gold Peak Electronics
       

    Group Written Assignment 

    5/3/12
    1. The Discipline of Innovation

    2. Group Assignment on Samsung is due at beginning of class (9am)
    1. Samsung Electronics
       
    5/03/11 
    1. Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale Part 1;  Anatomy of a Sale Part 2;

      Anatomy of a Sale Part 3 (Handed out in class)
    1. Selling as a Systematic Process
       

    Product Development

    5/05/11 
    1. Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk (A)
    1. Match Your Innovation Strategy to Your Innovation Ecosystem
    1. Debugging Your Product
    2. Measurement
    3. Evidenced Based Scheduling

    5/10/11 
    1. Cisco Systems, Inc.: Collaborating on New Product Introduction
    1. The Practice of Global Product Development
       
    5/12/11 
    1. Intellectual Ventures
    1. Patent Sharks
    Product Development Takes Ten Years. Get Used to It!
     

    Student Research Case

    5/17/11
    1. Finding a partner model with Broadcasters at Tunein.com
    1. CaseWiki Instructions
    Product/Market Fit
     
    5/19/11 
    1. Samsung
    1. Innovator's DNA
       
    5/24/11
    1. Nantero
    1. How Venture Capitalists Evaluate Potential Venture Opportunities
    2. Alternate Sources of Financing
      13

    Individual Written Assignment 

    5/26/11
    1. Intel and WiMax in 2010

    2. Individual Written Assignment due at beginning of class (8am)
    Mouth Wide Shut   
    5/31/11 
    1. Tata Nano - The People's Car
    1. How Leaders Create and Use Networks
    2. Creating a personal Brand
    3. Skill Set of the CEO
      16
    5/31/11  (5:30 to 7:30 pm) 

      Class Party

      California Café (Stanford Barn) 700 Welch Road, Corner of Welch and Quarry Roads, on Campus, 325-2233

    Drinks (beer, wine, soft drinks); Appetizers   17; 18
     

    Amusing Links

    1. Apple “1984” Commercial
    2. Microsoft Vista Commercial (2006)
    3. Windows Laptop Hunters (2008)
    4. Steve Jobs Video
    5. SNL Weekend Update IPhone
    6. Reid Hoffman / Charlie Rose
    7. Why I Invested in LinkedIn
    8. Reagan / Tear Down This Wall
    9. Gamasutra History of EA
    10. The "Internet Thing"
    11. Steve Balmer Video #1
    12. Selection-based Search
    13. Fund Raising - Israeli Style
    14. Microsoft Designs the iPod Package
    15. TRS-80 Commercial (circa 1982)
    16. Ebay by Weird Al Yankovich
    17. The Graduate (1967 Academy Award Winner)
    18. Plastics