Strategic Management

Transcription

1 Strategic Management Number of ECTS credits: 3 Number of Aston credits: 6 Staff member responsible for the module: Professor Dr Tugrul Atamer EM Lyon Other staff contributing to the module: Professor Dr Dietmar Harhoff, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich Dr Stathis Tapinos, Aston Business School Pre-requisites for the Module: Financial Management Marketing Management Managerial Economics Module Objectives and Learning Outcomes: The ultimate aim of the module is to develop students skills in analyzing strategic situations and formulating strategy. Learning Outcomes: After completing the module, students should: 1. Be able to analyze the competitive situation facing a firm and identify potential sources of competitive advantage and disadvantage. 2. Be able to apply analytical techniques from strategy, finance, accounting, organizational theory, organizational behavior, marketing, economics and operations management in these analyses. 3. Be able to recognize the problems the organization faces and develop and evaluate alternative courses of action available to the firm to solve those problems. Further, each student should be able to persuasively communicate their analytical conclusions, both verbally and in writing. 4. Have developed the ability to view the corporation as a whole and to appreciate the responsibilities and margins of freedom of top executives. Module Content: Strategy process is to help a company respond effectively to the challenges offered by its competitive environment. This process calls for a company to study its external and internal environments to identify its marketplace opportunities and threats and determine how to use its core competencies in the pursuit of desired strategic outcomes. In such a strategic process, managers employ the three functions of Strategic Management; namely, cognitive function, creative function and participative function. The cognitive function is to gain a perception of the competitive environment in terms of threats and opportunities; the creative function is to

2 use the core competencies and resources in the most innovative way to avoid threats and capitalize on opportunities; and the participative function is to manage the interaction with the competitive environment in order to pursue desired strategic outcomes. Topics to be covered: Business strategy: Building a competitive advantage; Understanding and analyzing a competitive environment; Business strategy: Building a competitive advantage; From competitive strategy to Corporate Strategy; Strategic Change. 1st Session Business strategy: Building a competitive advantage The aim of the session is to create a common language and understanding of strategic thinking and action. We will define key concepts and explore different perspectives provided by the strategy literature. We will also present and validate our methodology and the course plan. The goal of the firm: Value creation process, profitability and Stakeholders; Strategy at the Business level; Strategy at the Corporate level; Strategic Analysis: presentation of the framework; Firm Identity and Business definition - Key readings: Text Book (Robert Grant) chapters 1 and 2 (The Concept of Strategy; Goals, Values, and performance; Michael E. Porter; What is Strategy, Harvard Business Review, November- December Case study: Harley-Davidson INC 2nd Session Understanding and analyzing a competitive environment - Understanding a dynamic of an industry - Identifying company s competitors - Identifying elements on which companies in a given industry compete - Understanding international dynamics of the competitive environment - Drawing alternative industry scenarios - Key readings: Text Book (R.Grant), chapters, 4 and 10 (Industry Analysis: The Fundamentals; Further Topics in Industry Analysis; Industry Evolution) - Case study: Vodafone - Further reading: Note on the Telecommunication Industry 3rd Session Business strategy: Building a competitive advantage Building a competitive advantage in a business: cost strategies & differentiation strategies; Building a competitive advantage through a combination of key elements: Value proposition. Understanding the value chain; Value chain and Key Success Factors; Value chain and value creation: a financial perspective; Value chain and resources analysis; Key resources and key competencies. Strategy through the Resources Based View (RBV) approach;

3 Positioning and RBV: two complementary approaches rather than two conflicting approaches. - Key readings: Text Book (R.Grant), chapters 5,7,8,9(Analyzing Resources and Capabilities; The Nature and Sources of Competitive Advantage; Cost Advantage; Differentiation Advantage). - Cases: Wal-Mart: The World s Most Successful Retail; Carrefour in Asia - Application: What can we learn respectively from the Industrial Organization and RBV approaches by comparing Wal-Mart case with Carrefour case? 4 th Session - From competitive strategy to Corporate Strategy Corporate strategy / Businesses strategies: main contents; Portfolio analysis: outlines of the portfolio analysis; Different kinds of portfolio analysis: BCG, McKinsey; Diversification Strategy Global Strategies Strategy formulation. - Key readings: Text Book (R.Grant), chapters 13, 14 and 15 (Vertical Integration and The Scope of the Firm; Global Strategies and the Multinational Corporation; Diversification Strategy. D.Collis and C.Montgomery, Corporate Strategy: A conceptual Framework - Case study: Bombardier/Adtranz 5 th Session Conclusion: from strategy to action or Strategic Change - Key Reading: R.Calori & T.Atamer, How French managers deal with strategic change, Long Range Planning, N 6, Case Study: Allianz, the race for new e-business models International Dimensions: The whole module takes a global perspective. Material and cases are drawn from all around the world. Corporate Connections: The focus of this module is on case studies, so the emphasis is on the practical application of strategic management theories. Contribution of Research: Method of Teaching: Several approaches to learning will be employed in this course, which include: lectures, reading, class discussion and integrated comprehensive team cases. This course is highly interactive: all participants are expected to come to class having read cases and articles and to contribute to the discussions in the classroom.

4 For cases, individuals will be assigned to a team which will prepare and present the case during class. Each group of participants will be asked to prepare a class presentation and discussion and to submit a written summary of the key points and issues identified as well as the main recommendations. Specific instructions will be given later on. Method of Assessment: The final grade will consist of three parts: individual class contribution 20%; case analysis and group presentations 30 %; and final project and presentation 50%. Learning Hours: Contact hours 24 Group work, including preparation for 8 presentation Directed reading 12 Preparation for examination 14 Examination 2 Total 60

5 Indicative reading list : Core text Grant, R.M. Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Concepts, Techniques and Applications, Fifth Edition, Blackwell Business Bibliography Porter, M. (1985) Competitive Advantage, Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, New York. The Free Press. Johnson, G., Scholes, K and Whittington, R (2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy, 7 th Edition, Prentice Hall. Barney, J. (2001) Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage, 2 nd Edition New York, Prentice Hall