MBA7012 - Strategic Management

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Understand and critically evaluate the key perspectives on strategic management.
Critically analyse both the external environment – political, social, economic and technological (including international business aspects) and context in which an organisation exists and describe their relative effects on a given organisation’s corporate strategy.
Select and employ specific techniques, methodologies and theoretical perspectives in the assessment of a given organisation’s corporate strategy.
Identify, list and critically analyse the relative strengths and weaknesses of a given organisation’s corporate strategy in order to build competitive advantage in existing and international markets.
Identify and develop appropriate strategic choices including international expansion and corporate social responsibility development for a given organisation.

Content:

This module has two parts. The theoretical part of the module gives an opportunity to address current empirical and theoretical business planning models in the context of specific organisations. It provides an opportunity to review factors affecting an organisation’s decision making. These are both external (including international business aspects), in the given environment (political, social, economic and technological), and internal, in the discretionary environment. The second part of the module encourages students to transfer their knowledge and understanding of strategic management issues into practice by participating in a computer-based business simulation game, which will be facilitated by the module co-ordinator/lecturer.

The module enables students to address the issues relevant to the collection, collation and use of economic and financial data information and its appropriateness to differing groups of organisational 'stakeholders'.

Students will analyse the effects of organisational culture and structure on the strategy process and the various strategic techniques that affect the way organisations develop, including the development of corporate social responsibility.

The module gives the opportunity for students to develop research methodologies, decision making skills and reporting formats related to:
• The nature of strategy - its context from single business units to multinationals and transnationals
• Strategic management in practice – current practices and approaches
• Strategic analysis - the use of environmental audit, financial analysis and organisational capability
• Strategic alternatives - the structures of ownership, creating competitive advantage, portfolio management, mergers and acquisitions, growth and the concept of risk
• The management of strategy - strategic change, the need for change, the type of change and the process of change.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The sessions will be organised in mainly 2.5-hour teaching blocks.
Lectures will deliver core theoretical frameworks followed by seminar discussions and simulation game sessions played in teams.

Lectures
Hours: 6
Intended Group size: Whole cohort

Seminars
Hours: 6.5
Intended Group size: Whole cohort

Business game/simulation sessions
Hours: 12.5
Intended Group size: Whole cohort

Guided independent study
Hours: 175

Further details relating to assessment
Students form their own teams and play several rounds of the simulation game but submit individual reports.

Assessment:

001 Essay 1 x 2000 words end of term 2 50%
002 Business simulation game (Individual) report; end of simulation game during term 2 50%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - PRS_CODE=
Level - 7
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - T2

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