MOR 565 - Alliances and Cooperative Strategy

The professor is really great. This is a class that is all that you make of it. If you read the cases and are actively partcipating then you do get a lot out of it. He is a great guy and wants everyone to learn. Depends mainly on class discussion.

Not too many learnings, but Mayer is fantastic and the cases generally interesting. Agreed it should be a 1/2 semester course as the objectives and learnings are generally achieved early and repeated often the rest of the course. Super light on work.

Not much work and largely case based discussion. I would agree that there aren't enough key takeaways or insights.

Mayer is a good discussion leader and brings the energy. The problem is the class doesn't have enough content/insights to justify itself. There are a few key takeaways from the course that keep getting reinforced over and over. There are diminishing returns after the first few weeks of class. This should be a 1.5 unit course, not a full 3.0.

Pros: there are just a couple of short individual assignments and one group assignment; case-based class but the professor doesn't cold call, so you don't have to do a lot of work if you don't want to. Con: Because this isn't a super demanding class and the professor doesn't cold call, some lectures can be a bit boring with most of the class unengaged.

Great class covering mostly interesting alliances/partnerships. Professor Mayer does a good job of stimulating discussion.

This class is purely case discussion based so if you don't read the cases it will be hard to particpate/engage in class. However, it's a fun class environment and the professor is really engaging. There's one big group project where you have to write a case and then lead a class discussion which is cool.

The class is vey discussion and case focused, which made it a very practical application to theory. The guest speakers brought in interesting perspectives from fascinating industries, which helped further understand theoretical strategy within an organization.

This class was super interesting from the cases we read to the discussions that followed. There is not a ton of work which is nice but you do have to prepare a full case with a group of students (not as hard as you would expect). The guest speakers are also great.

I really like the structure of the class and the discussion-focus. Professor does send summary emails after every class to clarify key takeaways from the cases. No exams. 1 group project and 3 short individual assignments.

Personally, I find a little more tangible knowledge from a professor to be helpful. The style is in contrast to the core strat course that Peer fiss has. Too much discussion and no concrete framework/analysis does little justice. But the course is very accomodating and kudos to prof kyle for allowing zoom participation.

Heavy class discussion is a double-edged sword. Sometimes you learn, and sometimes you're just listening to people talk. If you liked Peer Fiss or Shon Hiatt, you're likely to be disappointed here. If you hated those guys, this could be perfect as a lower stakes way to explore strategy.

discussion based class; professor is friendly and supportive. the guest speakers area also good, and the professor has a deep network

Discussion based class, very few deliverables. Professor is both relaxed and extremely knowledgeable. Also has some interesting guest speakers. Agree with the comment that it might also be too discussion based and not enough lecture from the professor. Still highly recommend.

Kyle is an awesome, gregarious professor. The class is almost entirely discussion based. Kyle facilitates robust discussions of the case each class. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to get more tangible knowledge from Kyle but he never lectures and you're just getting opinions on alliances from your fellow classmates. Not a hard no just not what I wanted out of the experience.

No midterm or final. Just 2 papers, a final paper, and a group project. Case reading before most classes, but you not reading them doesn't hurt much just makes it harder to participate in class. Takes attendance and participation is worth ~20-25%. Overall course learnings are great, applicable to all facets of business. Recommend this class, even if you want to put 50% effort into the readings/participation.

I took this class mostly because I really enjoyed Mayer in core, and he excels at facilitating discussion. I loved that this was one of few classes that touched on private sector interaction with the public sector and nonprofits. I have enjoyed getting the practice of writing a case with my team (a major part of the course). The guest speakers have mostly been really interesting with practical experience. Overall, there are a few core lessons that are echoed again and again with cases, which I guess is kind of the point. I think it's a nice class for learning how to think about things.

Yes, the ability to look at great use-cases surrounding alliances, partnerships, and acquisitons around the world will help any would-be business professional.