module specification

Business strategy addresses the choices firms make as they set their mission and goals, make decisions in relation to positioning and which markets to enter, and develop their business models. They do this in the context of the external environment, addressing changes in technology, government intervention, competitor actions, customers and markets.

This module aims to:

• Provide a context for current strategic and social issues raised by technology change
• Enable students to develop an understanding of business purpose, strategy and strategy development and to understand how this applies in global organisational contexts for both small and large businesses.
• Develop the knowledge and skills to analyse the current and future business environment through the recognition of changes and trends, and the construction of scenarios
• Introduce the importance of resources and capabilities and develop students’ abilities to critically evaluate their importance as sources of sustainable competitive advantage but also as potential sources of disadvantage when disruptive innovation occurs
• Develop critical awareness of the importance of stakeholders including governments, societies, suppliers and employees, and the need for corporate governance, ethical decision making and corporate responsibility.
• Develop an understanding of managerial decision making with limited information and industry uncertainty through participation in a business simulation.

A key element of the module is participation in the business simulation in which students will compete against each other in terms within a simulated global marketplace.

N/A

1. Introduction to the strategy process (LO 1,2)

• Vision, mission and values
• Planned and emergent strategy
• Strategy as a process
• Balanced scorecard and strategy mapping
• Levels of strategy and alignment

2. Industry & environmental analysis (LO 1)

• Environmental uncertainty
• Macro-economic analysis
• Industry definition and boundaries
• Industry lifecycle models
• Strategic groups
• Competitor Analysis

3. Systems Tools (LO 1,2,3)

• Company schematics
• Trend analysis and Scenario planning
• Strategy tables
• Strategy games

4. Internal analysis (LO 1,2)

• Competitive advantage
• Resources and core competencies
• Dynamic capabilities
• Value chains and value networks
• Make, buy or ally decisions

5. Business Strategy (LO 2,3)

• Generic strategies
• Market development
• Rivalry in Mature Industries
• Declining Industries
• Fragmented Industries
• Blue Ocean Strategy

6. Corporate Strategy (LO 2,3)

• Horizontal and vertical integration
• Related and unrelated diversification
• Organisational structure
• Portfolio analysis

7. Global and Collaborative Strategies (LO 1,2,3)

• Growth strategies matrix
• Global strategies
• Entry modes to new geographies
• National competitive advantage
• Transaction costs analysis
• Mergers & Acquisition and integration
• Strategic alliances

8. Technology-Based Industries and Innovation (LO 1,2,3)

• Dominant designs
• Ambidexterity
• Slack resources and innovation
• Diffusion of innovations
• First mover advantages

9. Strategic Purpose (LO 3,4)

• Stakeholder analysis
• Agency theory
• Ethics and Strategy
• Governance Mechanisms
• Triple Bottom Line
• Shared Value

10. Decision-making options (LO 3,4)

• Systems thinking
• Value vs Utility
• TOWS models
• RACES and SAF criteria
• SMART objectives

11. Non-profit strategies (LO 1,2,3,4)

• Private, Public and Voluntary sectors
• Strategy development with Maslin’s matrix
• Non-profit industry life cycle
• Strategic milestones

12. Review and assessment preparation

Students will attend weekly 3-hour workshops during which time they will receive material in the form of lectures and case studies for discussion. They will also participate as groups in the business simulation game. In the early part of the module, time will be allowed in the workshops for team building, discussion and decision-making but this will move to being an activity performed by the students outside the classroom.

On successful completion of the module students will be able to:

1. Analyse the environment of a firm (both internal and external as well as current and future) to identify sources of competitive advantage and opportunities and threats
2. Critically evaluate strategic direction and strategic options in complex current and future business environments to inform executive decisions
3. Critically evaluate strategic information, insights and recommendations; and appraise the strategic decision-making process
4. Communicate strategic analysis and recommendations clearly, concisely and effectively

Assessment Part 1

When the simulation game finishes, teams of students will present a review of the strategy, performance and decision-making process they followed. The group presentation (followed by individual reflective report) will last 15 minutes and will happen as if presenting to the company’s board of directors. Students will have to showcase data collection and analysis skills as well as judgement and critical thinking with the use of theories. This assessment covers LO1-4.

Assessment Part 2

Working individually, students will conduct a strategic analysis of a firm and its industry, making recommendations for the future and delivering their work as a report with a one-page executive summary. The word limit for the report is 2,500 words. This will be done by collecting primary or secondary data and by analysing the data using appropriate theoretical frameworks. This assessment revisits LO1-4 in the context of a firm and its industry in the real world.

Textbooks:

Core Text:

De Wit, R & Meyer, R, (2017) Strategy, An International Perspective, Andover, Hampshire: Cengage Learning, 6th ed.

Other Texts:

Amatori, F., & Jones, G. (2003). Business history around the world. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press.

Barnett, P., (2019) Sages of Strategic Management: Inside the Minds of the Great Business Thinkers and Strategists, Wiley

Christensen, C. M. (2006). The innovator's dilemma: the revolutionary book that will changed the way you do business. New York, HarperCollins Publishers.

Clegg, S., Carter, C., Kornberger, M. & Schweitzer, J. (2011) Strategy Theory & Practice, London: Sage.

Grant, R. M. (2012). Contemporary strategy analysis: text and cases. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley.

Hamel, G, and Prahalad, C K (1994). Competing for the Future, Boston, Mass.: HBS Press.

Hill, C. (2014) International Business: Competing in the Global Market place, Global Edition, Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill

Mintzberg H, Ahlstrand B and Lampel J (2008), Strategy Safari, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall.

Porter, M E (1998). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, The Free Press, New York.

Journals:

Strategic Management Journal

Long Range Planning

Harvard Business Review

California Management Review

MIT Technology Review

London Business School Review

Electronic Databases:

Bloomberg

Mintel

Fame (UK Companies)

Companies House

Reading List Talis

https://londonmet.rl.talis.com/modules/mn7002.html