Strategy Implementation

2024/2025

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

4

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Department of Strategic and International Management

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

4 year, 3 module

Instructor

Grabarnik, Alexey

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This course delves into the realms of strategic management, preparing students to participate in and excel at strategy implementation within organizations. The program covers essential frameworks that align organizational strategies and goals with effective execution. Throughout the course, students will learn to assess and refine ongoing organizational strategies, build comprehensive metric systems to align key objectives with company rewards, and understand how strategy offices operate and the tools they use to monitor strategic execution effectively. In addition, they will examine the impact of structures on decision-making and adaptability, understand the significance of aligning culture with change, and explore approaches to overcoming resistance to change, ensuring smooth transitions during strategic shifts. The course includes multiple case studies and practical exercises, offering real-world insights and applications during the lectures and seminars.

Learning Objectives

• Develop an understanding of the strategy implementation process and ensure the development of necessary competencies for effective participation and execution
• Master key concepts and approaches to strategy implementation, including factors influencing successes and failures, as well as methods and tools to prevent such situations
• Develop control and evaluation systems for strategic implementation results, including mechanisms for measuring and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and methods for regular assessment and analysis of strategic goal achievement
• Practically master skills for creating and maintaining transparency in the execution of strategic tasks, including defining and allocating roles and responsibilities, as well as establishing a regular reporting and feedback system
• Understand key leadership skills for effective change management in the organization, including ways to communicate strategic priorities, create transparency, and support employees during change processes

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Grasp the significance of processes supporting strategy execution, and assess an organization's current implementation by identifying key barriers, examining main goals and priorities, and analyzing crucial business metrics.
• Identify key success factors of a strategic office's operations and compare them with best practices
• Implement effective strategies for creating and monitoring key initiatives throughout the year.
• Develop systems for managing company metrics and track progress through effective performance management techniques.
• Explore and apply key goal-setting approaches like OKRs, Balanced Scorecard, and KPIs, integrating them based on company objectives and tasks.
• Apply the STAR model to assess and align the organization’s strategy, structure, processes, rewards, and people.
• Describe and apply the 4A's model, focusing on alignment, ability, architecture, and agility for maintaining strategy implementation.
• Apply the eight steps of organizational transformation to implement and integrate changes effectively.
• Apply the six steps to effectively communicate priorities within organizations for better alignment and performance.
• Determine how different structures affect decision-making speed, adaptability, and strategic execution.
• Describe the role of organizational culture in facilitating or hindering change.
• Describe sources of resistance at different organizational levels
• Assess change readiness within an organization and apply tailored strategies to effectively manage change.
• Implement strategic methods tailored for startups to support rapid growth and innovation.

Course Contents

• Introduction to strategy execution
• Strategic planning and alignment
• The role of the strategy office in organizations
• Goal setting and monitoring system
• Leadership and change in strategy implementation
• Organizational design and managing resistance
• Contemporary strategies for dynamic execution and innovation

Assessment Elements

• Final presentation of the group project
  7 minutes for a presentation by the whole group of students. 3 minutes for questions and answers from the audience
• Final group project report
  Completed by project teams of up to 10 people throughout the course. Format: report as a text file.
• Individual written exam
• Individual interim tests
  Two tests on theoretical knowledge from lectures and course articles, each with 25 multiple-choice questions. Duration: 30 minutes

Interim Assessment

• 2024/2025 3rd module
  0.3 * Final group project report + 0.2 * Final presentation of the group project + 0.1 * Individual interim tests + 0.4 * Individual written exam

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Harvard Business Review, Michael E. Porter, A.G. Lafley, Clayton M. Christensen, & Rita Gunther McGrath. (2020). HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Vol. 2 (with Bonus Article “Creating Shared Value” By Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer). Harvard Business Review Press.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Bradley, C., Hirt, M., & Smit, S. (2018). Eight shifts that will take your strategy into high gear. McKinsey Quarterly, 2, 89–99.
• Casadesus-Masanell, R., & Ricart, J. E. (2011). How to Design A Winning Business Model. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 100–107.
• Crafting and executing strategy : the quest for competitive advantage : concepts and cases : 2024 release, , 2024
• Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. R. (2005). The Balanced Scorecard: Measures That Drive Performance. (cover story). Harvard Business Review, 83(7/8), 172–180.
• Kotter, J. P. (2007). Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, 85(1), 96–103.
• Sahlman, W. A., Hoffman, R., Andreessen, M., & Blank, S. G. (2018). HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Entrepreneurship and Startups (featuring Bonus Article “Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything” by Steve Blank). Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1798805
• Strategic management : theory & cases : an integrated approach, Hill, C. W. L., 2024

Authors

• GRABARNIK Aleksei VLADIMIROVICH