MOR 565 - Alliances and Cooperative Strategy

The course is repetitive and got boring after a while. I picked this course more for the time than for the interest. I wish I could say I took a lot from this class but I don't think I have.

All you do is a read a case (every week) and argue about the alliances in the case. The class feels incredibly repetitive after about a month. I would stay clear - its very similar to the GSBA class that mayer taught during core

Good: You get to write a case for the class. Gives you a great insight into what goes into making all the cases that you read for classes. We all need to know about alliances and partnerships, considering a lot of us will be in senior management positions that require such knowledge, and some of the cases in this class do a great job of illustrating what works and what doesn't. Bad: Not a lot of students read the cases and Prof. Mayer lets everyone jump into the discussion so sometimes we just go off on tangents. Summary: Not a bad class but not a great class either. If you don't have any other option, go ahead and take it.

Kyle is awesome. The value of this class has a lot of correlation with quality of students who take the class. If HiTech is your thing, this is a MUST-TAKE class.

I used the lessons I learned in this class in multiple interviews. I love Mayer, the work load is a bit heavy (2 cases per week) but the class period is all discussion. We don't have "tests" but have a major group project where you get to write your own case. It's an awesome class taught by an incredible professor. If you don't take this class, take something else taught by Mayer before you graduate.

It's an interesting course but not sure how much I'm really learning. The cases are interesting and the course load is not bad at all. The course is structured mostly as open discussion about the case reading for the class session with a little bit of lecture to tie together patterns and basic learnings.

Entertaining and fun class, especially as it is offered with only FT MBAs.

When to partner with another firm, what that might look like, advantages and disadvantages. Case heavy with interesting discussion opportunities.

This class was far outside my comfort zone, but I really enjoy Prof Mayer's energy. The cases are interesting but there is a good amount of reading. A lot depends on your classmates and how much they participate. I really enjoy the group we have, and it's a great chance to practice making an argument in front of your peers. Mayer will not let you off the hook and it's fun to be able to think on your feet. Highly focused on entertainment.

Excellent professor and great course for those who will manage relationships between companies.

This class is almost exactly like all the other strategy classes. Every class you read a case, and discuss. So readings for every class. You have to write a few papers throughout about cases, and do a presentation. Work wise, it's mainly just readings. Learning wise, after you discuss one case, the conversations all kind of become the same and you hear repeat information after the first few classes. Professor Mayer is a nice guy and energetic though, so he keeps it interesting. If you need a moderate workload strategy class this one is good.

Kyle Mayer teaches this class. Take it!! Totally different from Global Strategy, and brilliant case studies..

Good not great. Mayer gets super excited and crams in a bunch during lectures but never really drives home the point. It is helpful to understand alliances though.

Mayer's class is truly an MBA level class. He teaches strategy very well and really gets students to think out of the box. LOTS of cases to read, but interesting class discussions and not too much work. It's a great option for someone looking for a strategy class similar to Peer Fiss' core class.

Kyle is great. Syllabus makes sense. It is hard to fully understand what I have walked away learning though.

The class is a deeper dive into what strategy talks about. He brings in cool speakers and the cases are pretty interesting. I would take it again!

Great professor, learn a lot. No cold calling, but a large % of your grade is based on participation. No midterm, no final, but you get to write a (group) case and present it, and that's 40% of the grade. Great cases, great discussions.

Read cases and papers that focus on JVs, alliances, contracts, M&A. Mayer is a good professor - able to generate good classroom discussion. Final project is writing and teaching a case to the class. I believe that I will take a lot of what I learned from this class with me beyond business school.