Welcome to SM323 – The Cross Functional Core – Fall 2015
Day 1 of Core – MANDATORY ATTENDANCE - Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Everyone is required to be in class on the first day. If you miss Day 1 of Core you will be dropped
from the course.
Section Assignments and Times
There is no switching between AM and PM sections. As you were informed, students are randomly
assigned to sections -- unless you supplied third-party documentation at the time of your registration
for an AM or PM section. If you find an internship or job, plan to work with your employer so
that your hours fit with your current section of Core.
Sections meet Monday-Thursday (and a number of Fridays). “A” Sections meet from 8am - Noon.
“B” Sections meet from Noon - 4pm. There will also be approximately EIGHT Friday class days
during the semester. Those dates will be announced on Day 1 of Core.
Core EXAMS (midterms and finals) are held in the evenings from about 5pm-9:30pm. It is
expected they will be Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Dates will be provided on Day 1.
If you are taking a 5th course, it should not meet on Tuesday or Thursday after 5pm as that is
when Core exams start.
It is anticipated that your last Core deliverable will take place on Friday December 11, 2015. If you
must make final travel reservations before the semester starts, make your travel plans for AFTER that
date. The final Core schedule will be available on Day 1 of Core.
Pre-Assignment
The semester-long project involves developing a business plan for a new consumer product. The
faculty has prepared a required pre-assignment which must be completed prior to the start of Day 1.
The pre-assignment can be completed in any country and will be collected on Day 1.
The Core Tools Websites
The SM323 Tools sites will be available on Day 1 of Core (you will not need it before then).
The SM323 faculty looks forward to working with you next semester!
Professor Jonathan Hibbard
SM323 Course Coordinator
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Books and Materials for Core – Fall 2015
In an effort to keep materials costs as low as possible, the faculty has only selected books and materials that will be used extensively during the semester. Please note, some materials will be at the SMG Copy Center and others at the BU Bookstore. OM323 – No text to buy ‐ materials are contained in the OM packet from Copy Center. The packet from Fall2014 and Spring 2015 CAN be used for Fall 2015 (packets from before Fall 14 cannot be used). If you buy the packet new it comes bundled with Connect and an eBook. If you buy it used you will need to purchase Connect separately. Those details will be discussed by your OM faculty on Day 1 of class. For questions, contact Prof. Barry Kadets at [email protected]. QM323 –You will receive a separate email in late June with the required material to purchase for QM323. Do not buy the QM materials used in Spring 2015. For questions, Prof. Megan Macgarvie at [email protected] FE323 – The FE text used in Fall 2014 (or earlier) CANNOT be used in Fall 2015. All students who took FE101 should have a copy of: "Fundamentals of Corporate Finance: 2nd edition by Berk, DeMarzo and Harford, by Pearson/Prentice Hall (2nd edition) and also have a My Finance Lab (MFL) license account linked to this text copy. The MFL reactivation process will be discussed on Day 1 of Core and will also allow you to upgrade your text to the 3rd edition of "Fundamentals of Corporate Finance" for no cost. If you do not have the text or an MFL account, you have several options. ‐ You can purchase an e‐text bundled with the MFL software. It includes an option to order a loose‐
leaf copy of selected chapters from the publisher ‐ You may purchase a used text (3rd edition only!) from Amazon or elsewhere and purchase an MFL license separately. Do NOT purchase after‐market copies of My Finance Lab. Only purchase MFL directly from Pearson publishing. Instructions will be provided during the first week of class. All students must have a Financial Calculator. Only 2 models are allowed in the exams: the HP 10B II and the HP 10 BII+. This is the same calculator you purchased for FE 101. For questions, contact Prof. Ted Chadwick at [email protected] MK323 – You will receive a separate email in late June with the required material to purchase for MK323. Do not buy the MK text that was used in Fall2014 or Spring 2015 as that text may change for Fall 2015. For questions, contact Prof. Jonathan Hibbard at [email protected] The Cross Functional Core – Fall 2015
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SM323 -- Pre-Assignment
The SM323 project involves teams developing a business plan for a new consumer product idea. A
consumer product may be sold either directly to the consumer by the company that makes it - like a
sweater from the Gap.com, or indirectly, through retailers who sell to consumers. It cannot be
software, e.g. iPhone application, etc) or a service. Also, please see the list at the end of this
document for “product ideas which are discouraged for Core.”
One of the first tasks that you (and your future team) will need to accomplish is to decide on a
product idea. This pre-assignment is designed to allow you to bring potential ideas for your project to
class on Day 1. The SM323 pre-assignment has TWO parts to it.
Part 1.
Research (both online and by talking to others) and uncover TWO social trends that have the
potential to create market opportunities for new consumer products. Social trends can take the
form of demographic, population, lifestyle changes, fashion trends, etc. Based on your analysis of
these trends, you are to identify market opportunities and think of ONE new product idea for each
social trend and research those ideas to make sure they do not already exist. The Part I write-up
can be 1 page single spaced with two trends and one idea for each trend .
Part 2.
One of the best sources of ideas for new products is retailers (i.e., stores). Interviews with retailers
can serve as an excellent source of ideas because they often are in contact with customers looking
for products not yet on the market. If you approach retailers in a friendly manner (at a time when
they are not busy with customers), many will spend a few minutes with you and share their ideas
about new product concepts.
For this assignment, visit AT LEAST TWO retailers who sell products in the categories that are
assigned to you. The last digit of your BU ID number determines the types of stores you have been
assigned. You can choose to visit retailers in the same category. Also, we understand that in some
parts of the country or world some types of retail establishments might be more difficult to locate,
hence the three choices.
When you visit the retailers, you should identify a key person (maybe a store manager, or a floor
sales person), and engage this person in a conversation. Ask her/him about the trends that can be
observed in their business and what products that consumers request/need that do not exist.
You should document with whom you spoke, date and time, store name and location, and the
contact information for that person. Based on your retailer summaries you should generate TWO
new product ideas for Part 2 -- and research those ideas to make sure they do not already exist. The
Part 2 write-up should be about 1-2 pages single spaced with the summaries of the retailer
interviews and your TWO ideas.
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On Day 1 of Core, come with ONE printed copy of:
 Your pre-assignment, which will include FOUR new product ideas in total:
o
Your identification of market opportunities based on two social trends (typed, about 1
page single spaced) with your TWO new product ideas (1 per trend).
o
Your summary of your interviews with retailers (typed, about 1-2 pages single spaced)
with your TWO new product ideas.
The printed copy will go to your section faculty. You will also share your pre-assignment with your
new teammates electronically at that time.
(Retailer Categories You Are Assigned)
SM 323 -- Pre-Assignment
The last digit of your BU ID number determines the types of retail stores you are assigned.
Last digit of your BU ID #
0 or 1
2 or 3
4 or 5
6 or 7
8 or 9
Retail Category Choices

Clothing, Apparel and Accessories Stores

Sports and Recreation Equipment Stores

Bath and Linen Stores

Kitchen Supplies and Houseware Stores

Games and Toys Stores

Tool and Hardware Stores

Office Supply Stores

Lawn and Garden Stores

Grocery Stores

Home Furniture and Decoration Stores

Music, Entertainment, Electronics and Accessories
Stores

Automotive Supply Stores

Stores that sell any kind of Electronics or Accessories

Drug Stores

Travel Accessories Stores and Pet Stores
You may visit any combination of retailers in your assigned category, e.g. if the last digit of your BU
ID# is “6,” you can visit two home furniture stores, one home furniture store and one music store, one
home furniture store and one automotive supply store, etc. If you cannot find a store type in your area,
you can also visit a store that sells a broader array of items, but also sells the category of interest to
you.
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SM323: The New Product Development Project
The New Product Development Project serves as the key vehicle for cross-functional
integration within the Core cluster of courses. The faculty has chosen this project for two main reasons.
First, some of the greatest cross-functional challenges organizations face today are those dealing with
the development and launch of new products. These challenges involve bringing together different
parts of an organization - people with different skills, perspectives and agendas - and getting them to
work together on complex tasks, often under significant time pressures. The work of guiding the new
product process across organizational functions offers some of the most intense, rich and rewarding
experience to be found in most organizations. From such work, one intimately experiences many of
the key interdependencies that organizations must effectively manage if they are to prosper.
Our second reason for choosing this project is the fact that, among the great variety of different
activities that go on within an organization, the work of developing and launching new products is
critical. It is the development of successful new products that keeps an organization vital and alive.
While some organizations can claim excellent track records at developing and launching new
products, many, however, can not. Thousands of new products are launched in the United States every
year and the large majority of these new products fail. The work of developing a new product and
launching it successfully takes people with a special perspective and a special set of skills. It takes
people who can resist pressures to focus on the values of one's own department and the priorities of
one's own chain of command. It requires people:

who are both willing and able to examine their business as an integrated whole - that is, as a
system of inter-related components,

who are able to craft new product strategies that reflect that larger system perspective, and

who are able to work together effectively with others - especially with those from other
areas of the organization - whose talents and thinking can be quite different from their own.
This project has been designed to help you further develop the perspectives and skills you will
need to be one of these people. Building on work in your previous courses in the Questrom School of
Business, it should help deepen your understanding of management as a system and help further your
skills in working effectively with others.
You are likely to spend as much time on this project as you will on any one of the individual
courses in Core. Many of the tasks you will carry out as you complete this project will be crossfunctional in nature. To perform them well, you will need to see them not as simply a marketing issue,
or an operations problem, or a finance issue, but as simultaneously presenting opportunities or
constraints within each of these areas.
Most of you will become quite involved with your own new product teams. However, in your
role as a member of the class, you should plan on getting involved in the formulation of strategy for the
other teams. One of the key benefits of a structured project like this is that you will not only
experience the process of developing your own product; you will also have the opportunity to review
and critique the "live cases" of others trying to do the same thing -- but with different products in
different competitive arenas pursuing different strategies. We encourage you to be actively involved as
a member of the class for each of the other teams in your section. The role you play there, and the
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opportunities for learning you will encounter, are just as important as the role you will play on your
own team.
If you put some effort and ingenuity in developing ideas for potential new products that interest
you, this could become one of the most involving semesters you will have at SMG. Many former 323
students point to their Core semester as the most powerful learning experience in their four years at
Boston University. They also point to this project as what made that experience so demanding,
valuable and rewarding.
Where to Look for Project Ideas
In looking for new CONSUMER product ideas, you should try to draw on every legitimate
source of ideas you can. There are plenty of good sources which you should pursue. These include:
Yourself You may enter the course with an idea or two for a new product, either something
completely new or something that you have seen in another country, that you think could be
adapted in a way that might meet with success in the U.S.
Family and friends Family members often point to unhappiness they have with current
product offerings and to new variations that they would like to see available on the market.
Blogs/Facebook Groups People with special interests in specific areas of activity that involve
some form of consumption, like hobbies or other recreational activities, can often point to gaps
in offerings in their area of interest.
Retailers Retailers who are familiar with products in your category of interest can be an
excellent source of new ideas. They often chat with consumers who are searching for products
that are not offered in the market. In fact, a few retailers have urged 323 teams to start making a
product they suggested and to send them the first shipments!
Products Discouraged for Core:
Based on the faculty’s experience, past teams have struggled or abandoned similar Core project ideas,
so the following product ideas would be discouraged for Core.
Trash can related products, products with pockets, duffle bags, backpacks, lunch boxes, suitcases,
spinning storage devices, devices with lotion (showerheads and soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste,
hairbrushes and gel, etc), Shoes with removable heels, types of Baby/Child Carseats or Strollers,
umbrella related products, perishable products, products that heat or cool beverages, products that
dry/warm/heat jackets or clothing, bottles, mugs, cups or thermos with multiple compartments, stuffed
animals with micro chips inside, products with embedded alarms or alarm clocks, luggage accessories,
key locating devices.
The Cross Functional Core – Fall 2015