Personal Strategic Plan: An Innovative Assignment for the Undergraduate Capstone Strategy Course

Abstract

In undergraduate business education, the high expectation and hope is that students will graduate prepared to meet the challenges of a complex business work world. Most business schools offer the capstone Business Strategy course, which typically includes a combination of lectures and exercises with a heavy emphasis on case studies and industry analysis, as well as one of the Strategy Game simulations. We believe the Strategy course can be improved by using the Personal Strategic Plan (PSP), an exercise requiring students to apply analytical tools to their own lives and career plans. We offer background on the Strategy course, challenges and opportunities, a description of the PSP, and student feedback.