THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2022/2023

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

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Postgraduate Course: Strategic Leadership (MBA) (CMSE11401)

Course Outline
SchoolBusiness School CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryStrategic leadership is the core theme running through the MBA programme. Strategic Leadership is a 20 credit course which includes the key content and subject discipline areas of importance to the study of strategic leadership. The aim of the course is to provide students with the necessary background in the discipline of strategic leadership in order to understand how this contributes to overall management/senior management skills and competencies, necessary for graduating FT students.
Course description The course is divided in two parts: Principles and Context. The Principles section includes Introduction to Strategic Management and Thinking; Strategic Leadership, both self and in the wider organisational context; Managing Strategic Change; Ethics within Strategic Leadership; The place of Strategic Leadership within the overall HRM function. The Context section looks at specific contextual elements of strategic leadership. The Entrepreneurial Dimension; Disruptive Dimension; Importance of strategic communication; the Wider Global Challenges; Analytics for Strategic Leaders.
At 20 credits, this is the highest credit bearing course on the MBA programme (Capstone Project excluded), a course of real status.

Outline Content
Principles (Semester 1)
Strategic Thinking and Planning 1: where are we now?
Strategic Thinking and Planning 2: where are we going?
Strategic Leadership: the roles and responsibilities of strategic leaders across the organisation
The Strategic Leadership Development Process: developing yours and others' strategic leadership capacity
Managing Strategic Change
The Ethical Dimensions of Strategic Leadership
How Strategic Leadership fits with a typical HRM Module

Context (Semester 2a)
Strategic Leadership in Context: the entrepreneurial dimension
Strategic Leadership in Context: the disruptive dimension and the new world of management (2 sessions)
Strategic Leadership in Context: the communications and reputation dimension (2 sessions)
Strategic Leadership in Context: the VUCA dimension
Analytics and the Strategic Leader (2 sessions)
The Strategic Leadership Big Picture
The Boardroom Challenge
Guest speakers

Student Learning Experience
The course will be taught over two semesters. Each session will be led by an experienced academic. Sessions will be principally divided into two parts. The first part will be the more formal yet interactive lecture. The second part will typically involve students in developing the knowledge they have just learnt through a series of non-credit bearing tutorials and group project activities. The actual formal assessments which will include one group and one individual assignment, will enable students to effectively demonstrate application of learning and learning outcomes.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Only available to MBA students.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Flexible
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 24, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 21, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 16, Other Study Hours 135, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 0 )
Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) Other research, development, presentation of two groups projects and individual assessment
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Group assignment 40% - presentation and report (LO1, 2, 4, 5)
Individual assignment 60% (all LOs)
Feedback GROUP ASSIGNMENT: Verbal feedback (presentation); written feedback (report).
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT: Written individual feedback.

Feedback for written assignments will be given within 15 days of submission.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand the nature of strategy and the strategic planning process and critically analyse an organisation for strengths and weaknesses in strategic leadership.
  2. Critically compare alternative approaches to understanding strategic leadership and the direct and indirect role of strategic leadership and strategic leaders within and across organisations.
  3. Identify and discuss critically the relationship between businesses, global challenges, ethics and CSR in today¿s leadership environment.
  4. Understand and discuss critically the links between strategic leadership, innovation and organizational change
  5. Apply current strategic leadership thinking: entrepreneurial; disruptive; global challenges; strategic communications.
Reading List
There is no Strategic Leadership core textbook but here are an example of some of the readings that will be provided:

Porter, M (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1): 78-93.
Reeves, M., Love, C. and Tillmanns, P. (2012) Your strategy needs a strategy. Harvard Business Review, 90(9), p. 76-83.
Kim, W, Mauborgne, R (2004). Blue Ocean Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 82(10): 76-84.
Sull, D, Homkes R, Sull C. (2015). Why strategy execution unravels ¿ and what to do about it. Harvard Business Review, 93(3): 58 - 66
Case: Pepsico¿s Turning Point.
Hitt, M.A., Haynes, K.T., & Serpa, R. (2010). Strategic leadership for the 21st century. Business Horizons, 53, 437-444
Eccles, R.G., Perkins, K.M., & Serafeim, G. (2012). How to become a sustainable company. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(4), 43-50.
The Essential skills of Strategic leadership 2013, HBR
Case: ¿Growing Your Own, How to Lead So People Develop¿ (excerpted from ¿Immunity to Change: How To Overcome it and Unlock Potential in Yourself and Your Organisation¿), Harvard Business Review
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Communication
Combination of written and verbal communication
Opportunity to influence through group presentations and group dynamics/activity

Personal and Intellectual autonomy
CSR covered extensively within the course
Self-awareness and reflection integral to individual assessment
Decision making is a key part of course assessment
Creativity is an important part of group assessments as well as non-assessed in class activity
Personal Effectiveness
All aspects of PE attributes are integral to the two group assessment activities

Research and Enquiry
Students are directed towards a wide range of reading resource
Analytics for strategic leaders is a core aspect of the course
Individual assessment includes critical thinking and independent research
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserMr Julian Rawel
Tel: (0131 6)50 8067
Email:
Course secretaryMrs Angela Muir
Tel: (0131 6)51 3854
Email:
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