Overview
What is strategy? How does it relate to firm success? What role does industry play in impacting a company’s success (performance)? What role do a company’s internal resources play in improving firm success?
These are just some of the questions discussed and debated in STMT 500. This course covers fundamental concepts and principles in strategy. It reflects current academic thinking and management practices. The course challenges students to enhance their strategy and strategic management thinking and how it relates to an organization’s future, competitive advantage, external environment, and internal resources. Strategic thinking and management are essential leadership skills for middle and senior executives.
Outline
This course is divided into eight lessons.
- Lesson 1 - The Concept of Strategy
- Lesson 2 - Goals, Values, and Performance
- Lesson 3 - Industry and Competitive Analysis
- Lesson 4 - Analyzing Resources and Capabilities
- Lesson 5 - Organization Structure and Management Systems
- Lesson 6 - The Sources and Dimensions of Competitive Advantage - Part 1: Cost Advantage
- Lesson 7 - The Sources and Dimensions of Competitive Advantage - Part 2: Differentiation Advantage
- Lesson 8 - The Sources and Dimensions of Competitive Advantage – Wrap Up
Objectives
Strategy analysis assists us in identifying and understanding issues and managing complexity. By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Appraise organizational resources and conduct an industry analysis using strategy frameworks
- Evaluate the concepts and techniques critical to identifying and exploiting sources of profit
- Discuss and debate ideas on strategy formulation and implementation
- Apply concepts and techniques to case analysis and group discussions
- Relate course learnings (concepts, tools, and techniques) on strategy analysis to work settings
- Develop respect for and an understanding of the value of a Code of Conduct towards effective group work and communication
- Develop MBA core competencies
Evaluation
Grades are based on an individual assignment, a group case study, a group debate, and participation in the discussion application. The individual assignment will also assess academic writing and referencing.
| Activity | Weight |
| Participation in Discussions and Weekly Nuggets | 50% |
| Individual Case Study | 25% |
| Group Case Study | 25% |
| Total | 100% |
Component marks for this course are translated into letter grades per the Graduate Grading Policy.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Grant, R. M. (2022). Contemporary strategy analysis (11th ed.). Wiley.
Other Materials
All other course materials will be accessed online.