Small, medium and large business operate in very different ways however they share a common business and industry environment and often will both compete and collaborate. All sizes and types of business must understand their business and industry environment as they position themselves for success.
This module focuses on the strategic skills and knowledge needed by executives, managers, intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs and aims to:
• development understand and skills in strategy development and in execution
• provide the knowledge and skills to scan, analyse and interpret their business environment
• develop skills in understanding trends in the business environment and to construct scenarios that can be used to test strategy
• develop the ability to manage resources and capabilities and to critically evaluate their importance as sources of sustainable competitive advantage but also as potential sources of disadvantage when disruptive innovation occurs
• take strategic decisions based on a deep understanding of their business and the market or markets they serve
• foster and exploit innovation through the development of new products and services
• critical awareness of the importance of environmental and social responsibility, ethical decision making and the need for effective corporate governance.
A key element of the module is participation in the business simulation in which students will compete against each other in teams within in a simulated global market place. This will provide the opportunity to role play executive positions in a global business, take strategic decisions and gain rapid feedback on their validity.
Prior learning requirements
None
Syllabus
1. Introducing Strategy and the Strategy Process
a. Strategic Context
b. Planned and Emergent Strategy
c. Vision and mission 1,2,3,4
2. Starting and Growing a Business
a. The importance of knowing the customer
b. Lean Start-up and Business Model Canvas
c. Stages of Growth and the Need for Systemisation 1,4
3. Business Strategy
a. Strategic Position
b. Scale and Learning Effects
c. Strategic forecasting 1,3,4
4. Environmental Analysis
a. Analysing the macro-environment – PEST and PESTLE
b. Major trends
c. Value chains and value networks 1,2,4
5. Scenario planning
a. Rationale
b. Developing Scenarios
c. Linking Scenarios to strategy 1,2,4
6. Industry Analysis
a. Industry definition, boundaries and analysis
b. Industry lifecycle models
c. Strategic groups and Competitor Analysis 1,2,4
7. Internal Analysis
a. Sources of competitive advantage
b. Resources and capabilities
c. Core competencies 1,3,4
8. Corporate Strategy
a. Horizontal and vertical integration
b. Related and unrelated diversification
c. Mergers, Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances 3,4
9. Innovation and Disruption
a. Creative Destruction
b. The Innovator’s Dilemma
c. Fostering innovation 1,2,3
10. Technology Strategy
a. Technology adoption
b. Standards wars
c. Platform strategy
d. Crowd Sourcing
e. Incubators and technology hubs 1,2,3,4
11. Strategy in the Global Environment
a. Global strategies
b. Entry modes to new geographies
c. National competitive advantage
d. The role of governments 1,2,3
12. Strategic Change
a. Radical and incremental change
b. Strategic Alignment
c. Theories of Change 3,4
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
Students will attend weekly 3-hour workshops during which time they will receive material in the form of lectures/discussions, discuss case studies and current issues, and participate in groups in the business simulation.
In the early part of the module, time will be allowed in the workshops for simulation team building, discussion and decision-making, but this will move to be an activity performed by the students outside the classroom either in face to face meetings or online.
The module assessment will include a reflection on the business simulation experience.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
1. Critically evaluate business start-ups
2. Critically evaluate the external environment of a business and identify signals that require action.
3. Critically evaluate the strategy and performance of a business and make strategic recommendations for change
4. Communicate strategic analysis and recommendations clearly and confidently.
Assessment strategy
The assessment of the module will comprise:
• A presentation on simulation performance and strategy (Group)
• Portfolio (Individual)
o 4 case study solutions or business reports
o Reflection on the Simulation
Group Presentation – 20% of the total mark
The group presentation will examine the company performance of the group’s simulation company and set out their strategy for the remainder of the simulation.
Case Studies – 60% of the total mark (max 2,000 words)
Students will provide short written solutions (500 words) to case studies over the course of the module. Feedback and feedforward will be provided for case study 1 and case study 2 to help students improve their analytical and problem-solving skills. Students will submit all their case studies as a portfolio. Assessment weighting of the case studies will be
• Case 1 – 10%
• Case 2 – 10%
• Case 3 – 20%
• Case 4 – 20%
Simulation Reflection – 20% of the total mark (max 1,000 words)
The simulation reflection will examine an element of the simulation experience, for example the group’s strategy making process or the strategy pursued by the group following the presentation
