Module Information

The aim of this module is to introduce the latest theories and practices in strategic management. This module looks at the competitive forces affecting the firm and the resources and capabilities that are needed to sustain competitive advantage. The module also looks at the processes that underlie the strategy concepts and contexts.

This module is designed to demonstrate the complexity of business strategy to undergraduate students by means of a range of business scenarios and cases. It will equip students with an understanding of the development of business strategy, and illustrate the importance of business strategy to the company itself, to various stakeholders and to the wider business community.

This module includes the processes by which strategy making takes place, the key strategists i.e. the people who play a key role in the strategy process, strategy formulation, and how organizations develop strategies. It also explores how to analyze strategies, including generic ones, why different approaches may be more effective, strategic change, the cognitive process of formulating a strategy, organizational structure and strategies, technology, alliances and globalization as well as the values that underpin successful strategies.

This module will equip students with an understanding of the development of business strategy, and illustrate the importance of business strategy to the company itself, to various stakeholders and to the wider business community. Students will (i) develop their understanding of the many, often conflicting, approaches to business strategy and critically reflect on the assumptions, possibilities and limitations of each approach; (ii) explore how strategy functions within the wider internal and external business environment; and (iii) develop the necessary skills to apply their learning to a wide range of situations and scenarios.

Lectures:

Week 1: Strategies. What is Strategy? The classical approach to strategy, dimensions and criteria for effective strategies, competitive advantage and sustainability.
Week 2: Strategists. The nature of managerial work, the learning organization, vision and control, power and timing, communication and leadership. Examples of successful strategists.
Week 3: Formulating strategy. Achievement of fit between the external and internal situation. Strategic intent, creating a vision and planning for the future and empowerment.
Week 4: Analyzing strategy. Resource-based view of the firm. Porters five forces, generic strategies and value chain. Sustainable advantage, identifying the core business and strategic positioning.
Week 5: Strategy in practice. Emergent strategy, taking advantage of the unexpected, flexible and open strategy formation. The role of technology in the strategy process.
Week 6: Strategic change. Strategy as a process of transformation, techniques used to promote change in organizations, dramatic shifts in strategy, realignment and re-orientation.
Week 7: Organizations. The relationship between organizational structure and strategy, vertical integration and diversification, divisionalization, virtual and network organizations etc.
Week 8: Alliances and collaboration. Formation and management of partnerships and outsourcing, joint ventures and alliances. Acquisition of knowledge through partnerships and alliances.
Week 9: Global strategy. Strategic management in an international context. Deciding on which markets to participate, products and services to offer and the pitfalls of going global.
Week 10: Values. Ethical strategies. Values as a driving force and stabilizing influence in strategy. Sustainability and planning for the future. Review of the lectures.

Seminars/tutorials:

A case study will be discussed in each seminar/tutorial with the following themes:

1. The entrepreneurial approach to strategy: managing start-ups
2. Strategic management in a mature organization
3. Strategy in professional and diversified organizations
4. The innovation context, technology and dynamic change
5. Course and exam review