Strategic Management

Module description

Summary:

Like many of the other disciplines in business, strategic management has evolved since its first modern iteration in the 1950s. This module looks at how strategy is currently practiced in a wide variety of contexts from commercial and entrepreneurial to social and not-for-profit. The curriculum encourages exploration of and a critical approach to the key concepts that underpin strategic management and the tools managers use to analyse their environment, frame choices and put the resulting strategies into action.

Additional Information:

Internationalisation

You will work with a number of case studies in this module to help you engage with the material and gain an international perspective on strategic management. These include a number of international studies.

Sustainability

The impact of Ethics and CSR on strategy will be an important consideration in all the sessions and will be covered in specific sessions during the module. All of the resources are available through ELE (Exeter Learning Environment).

External Engagement

The team teaching the module have a wealth of experience outside academia – as board directors of companies, members of co-operatives, social enterprise leaders/chairs, consultants and analysts, which they bring to the classes and assignments. The team will invite guest speakers from industry to address the module.

Employability

You will develop a number of transferable skills including presenting ideas at board level, team-working, problem-solving, numeracy, research, writing reports and designing infographics. You will also have the opportunity to develop practical skills in the workshops which you may find useful for assessment-centre exercises, through activities such as role plays and case study analysis.

Full module specification

Module aims

The aims of this module are to:

• present the 21st century competitive/business landscape from a strategic management perspective and to assess how global and technological influences shape it
• develop your ability to analyse strategic issues from a number of broad functional perspectives
• study strategic competitiveness, competitive advantage, strategic intent and strategic mission, and evaluate their contribution to the strategic management process
• formulate strategies, provide implementation plans and evaluate cross-functional decisions that facilitate the achievement of organisational objectives
• develop an understanding of strategic management in different contexts, including commercial, not-for-profit and public sector, entrepreneurial, B2B, B2C and multi-national/global.

ILO: Module-specific skills

• 1. diagnose an organisation’s situation by critically analysing its external and internal environments;
• 2. apply a range of module theories and frameworks for describing and setting an organisation’s direction;
• 3. evaluate different strategic options using objective criteria to support and justify recommended decisions and use these skills in case study discussions to research real world organisations;
• 4. discuss how strategy is delivered and the implementation tools and techniques which are used in different contexts.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

• 5. develop strategic analyses based on case material, desk research and research in the marketplace;
• 6. explain the difference between different types of problems and potential solutions.

ILO: Personal and key skills

• 7. demonstrate team working skills;
• 8. manage time efficiently in preparing for learning activities and to work independently within a limited timeframe to complete a specified task.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

MCQ Test 15%; Individual Situation Report 30%; Exam 55%.

Syllabus plan

The lectures and workshops will cover: the nature, process, content, context and purpose of strategy formulation; a study of the external environment and market based strategies; business, corporate and network level strategies; strategic capability and the resource-based view, organisational factors and competence based strategies; strategic methods including intrapreneurship, alliances, mergers and acquisitions; assessment of existing strategy and future strategic choices; strategic management of technology, new product development and innovation; organisational and international content; schools of strategy formation; putting strategy into action through the systems, structures and culture of the organisation; and a critical analysis of the strategy literature.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

Core text for the course:

Thompson, J L., Scott, J M., & Martin, F. (2020).Strategic Management: Awareness and Change. Cengage (9^th Edition). London: Cengage.

Hill, C., Schilling, M., & Jones, G. (2020). Strategic Management, An Integrated Approach – Theory and Cases. Boston: Cengage.

Supplementary reading:

Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B. and Lampel, J.B. (2008) Strategy Safari. London: Financial Times.

De Wit, B. (2020) Strategy: An International Perspective (7^th Edition). Andover: Cengage

Web-based and electronic resources:

• ELE based online pre-recorded lectures, links to internet resources and other resources

Various journal articles – some compulsory, some optional from a variety of relevant publications including Harvard Business Review, Long Range Planning, Strategic Management Journal etc.

 Case studies which will require in-depth analysis for workshop activities

Other resources:

Module has an active ELE page?

Yes

Origin date

01/09/2019

Last revision date

08/06/2022