Saturdays 9:30am – 12:30pm

Room TBD

MANAGING ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATIONS

Mgt 284C, Winter 2020
UCLA Anderson School of Management

John Ullmen, Ph.D.

Office : Collins Center, A409
john.ullmen@anderson.ucla.edu
cell: (310) 266-1559
Office hours by appointment*

*Note: Although there is not a set appointment time for office hours, students are
encouraged to reach out for an appointment whenever they might like to do so.

Course Description
This course focuses on how to develop and manage entrepreneurial
organizations. We address issues of “scaling up” entrepreneurial organizations
toward becoming professionally managed, mature firms, while keeping them
entrepreneurially-oriented. We have practitioner guest speakers (e.g., leaders of
high-growth firms faced with these issues) and “live” cases in which students
partner with high-growth firms.

The course works to address the following issues:

1. Why are some entrepreneurial organizations (such as Microsoft, Nike,
Southwest Airlines, and Starbucks) successful over the long term, while
others experience difficulty and even fail (e.g., Blockbuster, LA Gear,
Osborne Computers, and KMart)?
2. What are the predictable stages of organizational growth, the most
important success factors at each stage, and the right tools and methods
to apply at each stage?
3. Whether you are in charge of the organization, or a leader/manager within
it, or an advisor/influencer, how can you choose with confidence the top
priority areas to focus on to support the firm’s success, and if appropriate,
growth?
4. What transitions do individuals need to make to succeed at every stage?
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. The overarching theme or issue is: How to make the transition from an early
stage entrepreneurship to an “entrepreneurially-oriented professionally managed
organization.” It is during and after this transition that MBAs can bring significant
value to entrepreneurial organizations.

Course Materials:
Text: Flamholtz, E. F. and Randle, Y.R. Growing Pains: Building Sustainably
Successful Organizations. 5th edition. Jossey-Bass Publishers, Inc., San
Francisco, California (2015).

Course Reader: Readings include articles in the electronic course reader as

specified below under the class session headings.

Please note there are readings assigned in addition to what is in the course
reader. Wherever possible to obtain rights/permission to use readings without
charge I have done so, to reduce the cost of the course reader.

Also, as explained below, there are required videos to watch, the links for which
will be sent to you.

There are optional readings and videos too, and those are NOT required, and
you will be at no disadvantage in assignments, discussions etc., without reading
or viewing them.

Additional handouts will be provided in class, with additional bonus tools,

methods, checklists, etc., you can apply.

Course Grading:

Final Case Analysis (see below) 30%

Final Project Assignment (see below) 40%
Class Preparation & Participation 30%

Class preparation and participation involves attendance, preparation of case

analyses, and participation in class discussions, and other in-class activities.

Class participation and interaction with our guest speakers/leaders and your
peers (and instructor) is important to the learning experience and your ability to
apply course tools now and going forward, in your organization and your career.
Therefore, come prepared for class sessions, and be ready to engage, learn and
apply course insights.

The Final Case Analysis and Final Project Assignment are explained separately
below. To receive full credit, turn in all assignments by the date specified.
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If you will miss a class, you are responsible for letting your instructor and TA
know ahead of time, and for obtaining announcements, information, handouts,
and materials from your classmates and for checking the course website for
other materials that might have been posted.

Grade Distribution
As an elective course, Mgmt 284C will be graded within each section using the
UCLA Anderson School guidelines:

A+, A, A- No more than 50% of the class

B+ or below At least 50% of the class

Learning/Teaching Methods
The course has been designed in such a way that to derive optimal benefit it will
be necessary for you to go through all of the relevant readings, exercises and
experiences from beginning to end. Each part connects with the others. Due to
the nature of the topic—integrated, overall organizational effectiveness for firms
at certain stages of growth—the course is not (and cannot be) modularized so
that the pieces are independent of each other. The learning is cumulative, and
the integrated learning will apply to your final presentation. Although this
statement may not seem fully clear to you now, I believe it will be as we proceed
through the course. If you invest the required effort, you will leave with a solid,
integrated, holistic point of view on how an organization’s various elements and
systems need to fit together and evolve if it is to continue to be successful
through stages of growth and change. You can apply that integrated, overall
perspective to any organization you encounter going forward.

Learning/Case Preparation
The course will focus heavily on application of the concepts learned in the course
to problems and cases analyses.

For the purpose of case analyses, you will be assigned into small groups. You
will work with your group to complete the case analyses prior to the appropriate
class session and then be prepared to present your results. Advance
preparation will be required for the cases. Teams will be called randomly for case
presentations. Your preparation will be part of your class participation grade.
PowerPoint summaries of the presentations are required and need to be
submitted online before class begins.
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Please note that your delivery for the cases is NOT expected to be highly
polished, but I DO want you to have the experience of quickly analyzing
organizations using an integrated, holistic method (which we’ll cover), and
choosing priorities based on available data and information, and leading a
discussion based on your insights given (necessary) constraints on time,
resources, etc.

This mirrors the “real world” situations you’ll face throughout your career in
organizations at any stage. I want to put you at an advantage for that almost
inevitable theme in your current and future career.

In my experience over many years, being able to set forth your insights based on
an integrated, holistic point of view on how organizations develop will put you at
advantage versus most who view organizations dominantly through lenses of
limited personal experience or are highly biased -- often without realizing it -- by
their functional specialty (e.g., as merely a “marketing” person, or a “strategy”
person, or a “finance” person).

All teams must upload the document with their presentations to the course
website, regardless of which team is selected to present.

Guest Speakers – “Live Cases”

During the quarter I will try to arrange for guests who are either founders or
senior executives of entrepreneurial companies to visit the class to share
experiences and perhaps do “live case” discussions with you on their
organizations.

We typically have a terrific and diverse set of such experienced, insightful

organizational and industry leaders – often one for every class session.

Since these individuals typically have busy schedules, their visits are subject to
change. Because of the difficulties of scheduling these speakers, it requires us to
be flexible with the course schedule. This means that some assigned course
case presentations might be truncated if arrangements are made for a “live case”
on a specific date.

It is not possible to know about this in advance. Since flexibility is one of the
great characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, it is assumed that you will be
comfortable with this. Based on overwhelmingly positive student responses to the
guest speakers I’ve brought in previously, I expect you’ll find the opportunity to
hear their perspectives and interact with them briefly to be very valuable. It also
presents an opportunity for you to follow up with them, expand your network,
perhaps do your term project with them, etc.
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Computer Use

Although computers are helpful for putting together written and oral
communications, do not use your computers, phones, PDAs, etc., during class.
Class time will be devoted to topic-related conversation, writing and oral
presentation exercises, experiential activities, short lectures and discussions. I
want you to get the most value possible out of every session.

Teaching Assistant:

TBD

-----

Session #1 – Jan 4
Course Overview & Framework for Organizational Analysis

Readings:
Growing Pains, Chs. 1-2, pp. 1-46
Hamermesh, et al., “A Note on Managing the Growing Venture”

OPTIONAL: Buchanan, “100 Great Questions Every Entrepreneur Should

Ask,” Inc. Magazine, 4/2/2014. (Not in course reader—posted on course
website.)

Assignment:
Complete Word document titled “Individual Context” posted on course
website and turn it in on the course website before class begins on Session 1.
No preparation is required for this assignment, and you can complete it
quickly. The information helps me choose guest speakers, etc.

Session #2 – Jan 11
Organizations, Stages I-IV and Assessing the Need for Change.

Readings:
Growing Pains, Chs. 3-5 pp. 47-111
(Please note: You are not accountable for a detailed recollection of all the
Growing Pains material, but I do want you to be able to apply the integrated,
holistic point of view the authors set forth on how to analyze organizations.
We will adapt and apply the material throughout the course.)
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Collins and Porras, “Building Your Company’s Vision”

OPTIONAL: Reid Hoffman’s Two Rules for Strategy Decisions (not in course
reader—posted on course website)
OPTIONAL: 10,000 Hours with Reid Hoffman: What I Learned (not in course
reader—posted on course website)
OPTIONAL: Reid Hoffman: What I Wish I Knew Before Pitching LinkedIn to
VCs (not in course reader—posted on course website)
OPTIONAL: Pitch Advice for Entrepreneurs: LinkedIn’s Series B Pitch (not in
course reader—posted on course website)
OPTIONAL: Video on the “50 Minute Focus Finder” – see link and more info
on course website

Case:
Starbucks Coffee Company in the 21st Century

Assignments:
Case analyses and presentations

Session #3 – Jan 18
Strategic Planning and Strategic Organizational Development

Readings:
Growing Pains, Ch. 6 pp. 113-158
Neilson, et al., “The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution”
Hsieh, “Zappos’s CEO on Going to Extremes for Customers”
Watch 10-minute video with Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky and former Zappos
COO Alfred Lin, who is now a partner at Sequoia Capital and on Airbnb’s
board. (Video link is posted on the course website.)
Watch the two brief videos Zappos.com (A) and (B) posted on course
website.
Jacobs, A. “Happy Feet: Inside the Online Shoe Utopia.” The New Yorker.
7/14/09. (Not in course reader—posted on course website.)
Gelles, D. “At Zappos, Pushing Shoes and a Vision,” New York Times,
7/17/15. (Not in course reader—posted on course website.)
Silverman, R. “At Zappos, Banishing the Bosses Brings Confusion,” The Wall
Street Journal, 5/20/15. (Not in course reader—posted on course website.)
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Useem, J. “Are bosses necessary? Zappos is leading the way for bossless
companies,” The Atlantic, 10/15/15. (Not in course reader—posted on course
website.)
Hsieh, T. “Why I Sold Zappos.” Inc.com, 4/1/16. (Not in course reader—
posted on course website.)

OPTIONAL: A TED Work Life with Adam Grant podcast episode “A World
Without Bosses.” Includes various takes on that theme, including Zappos and
other organizations trying something similar. (Link on course website.)
OPTIONAL: An NPR How I Built This podcast episode (2017) “Zappos: Tony
Hsieh.” Longform discussion with Hsieh. (Link on course website.)
OPTIONAL: Check out ZapposInsights.com for more on Zappos culture.
OPTIONAL: Tony Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness, which provides more
detail about Hsieh’s background and the development of Zappos

Case:
There is no separate/additional Zappos case document. But treat the
combined Zappos material (the brief videos posted on the course website,
and the articles above) as an overall “case.”

Assignments:
Case analyses and presentations (Analyze and present the Zappos material
as one overall integrated case.)

Session #4 – Jan 25
Management Development, Organizational Structure, Performance Management
Systems

Readings:
Growing Pains, Ch. 9, pp. 215-242 (OPTIONAL: Chs. 7 and 8, pp. 159-213)
Groysberg and Cowan, “Developing Leaders”
Eisenmann and Wagenfeld, “Scaling a Startup: People and Organizational
Issues”
Watch my video program Executive Leadership (Video link is posted on the
course website.)

Case:
Tough Mudder

Assignment:
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Case analyses and presentations

Session #5 – Feb 1
Leadership Effectiveness

Readings:
Heifetz and Laurie, “The Work of Leadership”
Thomas, “Inside the Crucible”
Collins, “Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve”
Watch my video program Developing Executive Presence (Video link posted
on the course website.)

OPTIONAL: Watch video of David Heinemeier Hansson, Partner at

37Signals.com – see link and more info on course website
OPTIONAL: Catmull, “Building a Sense of Purpose at Pixar” (not in course
reader—posted on course website)

Case:
Patagonia

Assignment:
Case analyses and presentations

Session #6 – Feb 8
Leading Change

Readings:
Kotter, “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail”
Heifetz and Linsky, “A Survival Guide for Leaders”
Case:
Satya Nadella at Microsoft

Assignment:
Case analyses and presentations.
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Session #7 – Feb 15
Managing Corporate Culture

Readings:
Growing Pains, Ch. 10, pp. 243-273
Katzenbach, et. al., “Cultural Change that Sticks”
Kanter, “How Great Companies Think Differently”
McCord, “How Netflix Reinvented HR”
Hastings, et. al., “Netflix Culture: Freedom and Responsibility” (not in course
reader—posted on course website). See also an updated version
at https://jobs.netflix.com/culture
Rao & Sutton, “Bad to great: The path to scaling up excellence” (not in course
reader—posted on course website)
OPTIONAL: Nair (2017), “How Netflix works: the (hugely simplified) complex
stuff that happens every time you hit Play” (not in course reader—posted on
course website)

Case:
Netflix Inc.: Streaming Away from DVDs

Assignment:
Case analyses and presentations

Session #8 – Feb 22
Leading & Managing Overall Organizational Growth and Development

Readings:
Growing Pains, Chs. 12 and 13, pp. 305-362

Case (choose any of the following options to analyze and present—whichever best suits
your team’s interests):
Read Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight. A very highly
regarded CEO/Founder autobiography, it’s a revealing, insightful, very readable
story of the founding and growth of Nike, Inc. Knight founded the company and
served as CEO from1964 to 2004 and as board chairman through 2016.
Here's a link to an additional, optional article (PDF below):
https://qz.com/936931/nike-air-vapormax-as-air-max-turns-30-the-sneaker-giant-
bets-big-on-its-next-generation/
--- OR ---
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Read a different book that has the same level of substance as Shoe Dog that
focuses in detail on the growth, changes, leadership, etc. of an organization that
aligns with your group’s interests. For example, Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull
about Pixar is an option. If you have another book in mind, please simply ask me
and we’ll work it out. Choose one you’d love to read!
--- OR ---
Using our class methods, analyze any organization (e.g., an organization in
which any of you worked, or might want to work, or any other organization). Draw
on sufficient publicly available information you can gather, e.g., through books or
easily accessible articles. You DO NOT need to do any primary research. If you
choose this option, please check with me to confirm your chosen organization
and approach.

Assignment:
Final Case Analysis & Presentation (Your group will present only your chosen
case.)

Session #9 – Feb 29
Final Project “Rough Draft” Presentations (no readings or cases)

Assignment:
The intent of this presentation is for you to share in a 15 minute (max)
presentation your key points of analysis and insight so far on your Final
Project with your classmates in other teams, and to learn from them too. Even
though it is a “Rough Draft” presentation, the information in this PPT file
should already be substantive -- like your earlier course presentations.

Upload your presentation file to the course website anytime before class
begins. In addition, bring your presentation file to class on a flash drive and
be prepared to present.

Note: It’s understood your Final Project Report, due next week, will include
more detail than you can cover in your presentation. Please note that your
group can continue to update your Final Project Report content before you
turn it in next week.

Session #10 – Mar 7***

Final Project Report is Due (no readings or cases)

***Note: This class does NOT meet in person. This serves the “Finals Week” class
meeting, and it serves as the due date to turn in your final assignment.
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This is in recognition of the time you spend on your team tasks, and gives you time to
finalize the file(s) you submit for your Final Project.

Assignment:
Your Final Project Report is due. It is a PowerPoint (PPT) file. You can use an
updated version of the file that you used last week for your in-class
presentation, e.g., with additional slides, and/or additional detailed comments
in the “notes” section of the slides.

Upload the PPT file on the course website anytime by the session date before
12:30pm.
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Mgmt 284C: Managing Entrepreneurial Organizations

Final Project Assignment

In this project you apply course concepts and insights to a real-world

entrepreneurial/growth organization.

Find a firm with which you are familiar or one to which you can gain access. I can help
you on this, but I encourage you to be entrepreneurial! Reach out to your
connections. Be bold and proactive in securing appointments and commitments.
Do what it takes to connect with a firm that will be a great fit for your team. Take
initiative—but do let me know if you need help. I want this to be a great
experience for you.

Your assignment is to identify an aspect of entrepreneurial management covered in this

course (e.g., strategic planning, management development, managing corporate culture
etc.) that is a problem/challenge for that firm—or at least is an area that can be
improved.

Then do an in-depth examination of that phenomenon, including a thorough analysis of

the current situation and recommendations for improvement.

Interview a leader(s) and/or manager(s) and others in the firm as appropriate about the
problem/challenge area. (Note: Your initial discussions might need to be devoted to
identifying the most relevant/important area to focus on.)

Be respectful, courteous and highly professional in all your dealings with your “client”
organization. Align expectations upfront, and check in with them to ensure they are
satisfied with how you are interacting with people in the organization, how you are using
their time, minimizing your impact on their work flow, etc. As a team you will doubtless
decide to make commitments to the “client,” i.e., to focus on areas valuable to them and
to follow up with them and provide them with your analysis.

Please note that the focus of your team project cannot overlap with any team member’s
assignment(s) for another class, and must be different from other Anderson projects
(e.g., AMR project, GAP project, etc.). If you have any questions about whether there is
such a potential conflict, contact me right away, and let’s work it out. I don’t want you
getting off track—I want you to get the most out of your time and effort on this project
and have a very valuable learning experience.

Be sure that the problem/challenge area you select connects with leading and
managing the organization as a whole—keep in mind the entire Pyramid of
Organizational Development. For example, you should not identify and address a
marketing or operations management problem in total isolation from the rest of the
organization.
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To receive maximum credit, it is important that your final report illustrates learning from
course content. Therefore, in your analysis of the current situation and your
recommendations for improvement, your final report should make clear, explicit
connections to topics covered in the course.

The Final Project Report should be prepared as a PowerPoint (PPT) presentation, with
details on the slides, and also, if you prefer, in the “notes” sections of the slides.

Final Project “Rough Draft” Presentation Due – Session 9:

1. The intent of this presentation is for you to share in a 15 minute (max)

presentation your key points of analysis and insight so far on your Final
Project with your classmates in other teams, and to learn from them too.
Even though it is a “Rough Draft” presentation, the information in this PPT
file should already be substantive -- like your earlier course presentations.

2. Upload your presentation file to the course website anytime before class
begins. In addition, bring your presentation file to class on a flash drive
and be prepared to present.

3. Note: It’s understood your Final Project Report, due next week, will include
more detail than you can cover in your presentation. Please note that your
group can continue to update your Final Project Report content before you
turn it in next week.

Final Project Report Due – Session 10:

1. Your Final Project Report is due. It is a PowerPoint file. You can use an
updated version of the file that you used last week for your in-class
presentation, e.g., with additional slides, and/or additional detailed
comments in the “notes” section of the slides.

2. Upload the PPT file on the course website anytime by the session date
before 12:30pm.

3. The PPT file may be any length you wish, but should provide an in-depth
analysis of the organizational phenomenon and should reflect your
learning from the course.

4. At the beginning of the final class session, each student also turns in a
separate hardcopy Peer Evaluation Form for his/her team members. As
with your other group work, the purpose of this peer evaluation is to
encourage effective collaboration from the very beginning of your group’s
formation. Again, I hope and will be happy if everyone receives strong,
positive peer ratings. In this group as with your other group in this course,
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I hope you leave with strong, positive connections with each other that will
be helpful to you for many years to come. Upload your completed
document on the course website by 12:30pm.

Evaluation:
The Final Project Report will be evaluated on the following criteria:

− Organization: How clearly structured, written and professionally presented

is the project?

− Substance: To what extent does the project show careful examination of

the client’s situation (e.g., past history, current challenges and
opportunities, future goals) through your interviews and other research as
appropriate (e.g., secondary sources such as news articles/stories, other
published materials)?

− Scope: How challenging is the task you set for yourself? How ambitious
are your aims for your project?

− Mastery: To what extent did you appropriately and insightfully apply--and

creatively extend or adapt--course concepts to your analysis and
recommendations?
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PEER CONTRIBUTION FORM

For your Group A Team members: For your Case Analyses/Presentations

− Turn in on course website before Session 8

For your Group B Team members: For Final Team Project

− Turn in on course website before Session 10
Note: This is to encourage positive, mutual team accountability and healthy contribution throughout your work
together. You cannot help or harm your own grade by how you rate others.

YOUR GROUP NUMBER:

Your Name:

Please use the following system to rate your group members:

- this member’s contribution was smaller than appropriate

0K this member’s contribution was appropriate
+ this member’s contribution was outstanding

Delete the non-applicable ratings in the following table (i.e., each box should only have one of
the three symbols: - or OK or + )

Members’ Names
(Other than yourself)
MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER

- OK + - OK + - OK + - OK + - OK + - OK +

Any other comments?