OBJECTIVE: This course will introduce students to the concepts and methods of industry, firm, and product analysis at a strategic level in the context of high technology industries -- as illustrated by the biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology industries. The emphasis will be on start-up and hyper-competitive situations where product life cycles are short, rivalry is intense, and strategic advantage is difficult to maintain.  The course will be structured as a set of multi-functional team projects covering one or more aspects of the selected industries -- analogous to the way such an analysis would be structured in the "real world."  Readings will cover the basic through advanced material in industry analysis, scenario analysis and competitive firm positioning, as well as the practical issues covered in industry and trade publications.  Strategic issues and projects will be solicited from firms in the high technology sectors to provide relevant topics for student investigation.  Periodically, guest lecturers from the industries being studied will address the class.  At the conclusion of the course students will know how to conduct an industry, firm, and product analysis in a hyper-competitive environment, and will have developed in-depth knowledge of their selected industry and will have been exposed to information on the industries chosen by other teams.