Postgraduate Course: Strategic Management (MBA) (BUST11213)
Course Outline
| School | Business School | 
College | College of Humanities and Social Science | 
 
| Course type | Standard | 
Availability | Not available to visiting students | 
 
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) | 
Credits | 10 | 
 
| Home subject area | Business Studies | 
Other subject area | None | 
   
| Course website | 
None | 
Taught in Gaelic? | No | 
 
| Course description | This course is concerned with the strategic management process. Rarely is the formulation of strategy straightforward. Corporate complexity and market uncertainty often result in messy and sometimes political processes. Consequently, many of the concepts, frameworks and tools that we use often appear very straightforward in theory, but can be difficult to apply in practice. This is because at its heart strategy is a social process, which can be difficult to quantify or to analyse objectively. But, ultimately, it is these social processes that underpin economic performance.  
 
This course is designed to both introduce strategic management to MBA students, and to begin integrating knowledge from your previous learning and experience to identify and address strategic concerns of firms. The first four days is structured around eight overlapping and interweaving key themes. They include strategic leadership, the context of strategic management and society, competitive analysis, strategy in the multi-business firm, disruptive innovation, transformation and renewal and strategic resilience. Each theme is based around a case. For each theme there will be a one hour case discussion, 30-minute lecture on theory, followed by 60 minutes of group discussion and analysis of the case in syndicate groups, and finally, 45 minutes of a case de-brief and Q&A. The first four days is designed to encourage students to reflect on their own experiences and to share them with the rest of the class. The fifth day of the module will comprise of group presentations of a case that has been developed over the module. 
 
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites | 
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Co-requisites |  | 
 
| Prohibited Combinations |  | 
Other requirements |  None | 
 
| Additional Costs |  None | 
 
 
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2012/13  Semester 1, Not available to visiting students (SS1) 
  
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WebCT enabled:  Yes | 
Quota:  None | 
 
	
		| Location | 
		Activity | 
		Description | 
		Weeks | 
		Monday | 
		Tuesday | 
		Wednesday | 
		Thursday | 
		Friday | 
	 
| No Classes have been defined for this Course |  
| First Class | 
First class information not currently available |  
| Exam Information | 
 
    | Exam Diet | 
    Paper Name | 
    Hours:Minutes | 
    
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     |  
  
| Outwith Standard Exam Diets December | Strategic Management | 2:00 |  |  |  
 
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes 
Knowledge and Understanding: 
 
&· The complexity of strategic management in firms; 
 
&· A knowledge of key concepts associated with strategic management process; 
 
&· Different perspectives for managing strategically; 
 
&· The current issues being faced by strategic managers. 
 
Cognitive Skills: 
 
&· The ability to manage and synthesise relevant information about firms in a clear, sound and explicit way; 
 
&· Broad, integrative thinking; 
 
&· The ability to use management concepts to produce persuasive conclusions about real firms 
 
&· Ability to apply theories and models to new environments and contexts 
 
- Ability to evaluate and critique business theories and models 
 
 
Subject Specific Skills: 
 
&· Ability to analyse complex business situations  
 
&· Skills of argument development and persuasion  
 
&· Group working and presentation skills  
- The ability to communicate analyses and conclusions clearly and persuasively 
  
 
By the end of the course students will have learned 
 
&· Useful approaches of strategic analysis, and their limitations 
 
&· Knowledge of strategy alternatives for firms in different contexts 
 
- Different perspectives for managing strategically 
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Assessment Information 
Assessment is linked directly to the aims and objectives of the module, and is based on the application of the concepts and frameworks to real cases.  The assessment for this course comprises the following components, with the marks allocations in parentheses: 
 
A. Teams&© written case study and analytical note (X1) of their case (10%) 
 
B. Teams&© case study presentation (X1) of their case study and analytical note (10%) 
 
C. Participation (peer assessed within syndicate groups) (10%) 
 
D. Written examination $ú &«role play&ª (70%) 
 
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Special Arrangements 
| None |   
 
Additional Information 
| Academic description | 
Not entered | 
 
| Syllabus | 
Introduction to the module 
 
Case Discussion: Google Inc. 
Lecture 1:    Strategic Purpose, Mission, Vision, Values  
Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case 
Case De-brief 
 
Case Discussion: Apple Inc. 
Lecture 2:   Competitive Analysis 
Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case 
Case De-brief 
 
Case Discussion: Global Climate change and BP 
Lecture 3: Strategic Context: Business and Society 
Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case 
Case De-brief 
 
Case Discussion: The Walt Disney Company: the Entertainment King 
Lecture 4: Strategy in Multi-business firms 
Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case 
Case De-Brief 
Guest Lecture: tba 
 
Case Discussion: Tata Nano $ú the people&©s car 
Lecture 5:  Disruptive Strategy 
Syndicate Groups:  Application of theory to case 
 
Case Application:   Cirque du Soleil 
Case De-brief 
 
Case Discussion: Globalization at Komatsu  
Lecture 6:   Strategic change and transformation 
 
Syndicate Groups: Application of theory to case 
Case Application:  Anne Mulcahy: Leading Xerox through the perfect storm 
Case De-Brief 
 
Presentations 
 
Live Case Study 
Participation Assessment 
 
Guest Lecture: tba 
 
 
 
 
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| Transferable skills | 
Not entered | 
 
| Reading list | 
Primary Text 
 
Leavy, B. and McKiernan, P. 2009. Strategic Leadership: Governance & Renewal. Palgrave 
 
Secondary Texts 
 
Ackermann, F. and Eden, C. 2011. Making Strategy. Sage 
 
Grant, R. 2010. Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Wiley 
 
Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B. and Lampel, J. (2008). The Strategy Safari. NY: Free Press. 
 
 
Lecture 1:    Strategic Purpose, Mission, Vision, Values  
Reading:   L&M: 1-67  
 
Lecture 2:   Competitive Analysis 
Reading:     L&M:125-149 
 
Lecture 3: Strategic Context: Business and Society 
Reading:   L&M: 69-124 
 
Lecture 4: Strategy in Multi-business firms 
Reading:   L&M: 167-202 
 
Lecture 5:  Disruptive Strategy 
Reading:    149-166, 203-241 
 
Lecture 6:   Strategic change and transformation 
Reading:     L&M: 243-285 
 
 
 
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| Study Abroad | 
Not entered | 
 
| Study Pattern | 
Not entered | 
 
| Keywords | Not entered | 
 
 
Contacts 
| Course organiser | Dr Robert Mackay 
Tel:  
Email:  | 
Course secretary | Mr Stuart Mallen 
Tel: (0131 6)50 8071 
Email:  | 
   
 
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© Copyright 2012 The University of Edinburgh -  7 March 2012 5:42 am 
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