Strategic Management

Bachelor 2023/2024

Type: Compulsory course (Supply Chain Management and Business Analytics)

Area of studies: Management

Delivered by: Department of Strategic and International Management

Where: Graduate School of Business

When: 3 year, 1, 2 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Sergei Titov

Language: English

ECTS credits: 4

Contact hours: 40

Full Syllabus

Abstract

This course is designed to prepare students for the increasingly competitive and innovative business world. The course deals with the development and implementation of organization strategy and focuses on the perspectives, analytical techniques and skills utilized by managers to improve an organization’s probability of attaining sustainable competitive advantage and success in the long term. In this course, students will be expected to integrate and apply knowledge and skills from courses in the business fields, work effectively in teams, demonstrate leadership skill, communicate effectively, engage in the analysis of complex business situations, and make their own decisions based upon perception. This is a multidisciplinary course, emphasizing the development of strategies that integrate accounting, financial, economic, marketing and management considerations.

Learning Objectives

to understand the processes and techniques associated with analysing environmental, industry, and company data in order to identify significant threats, opportunities, organizational capabilities, and strategy alternatives inherent in a specific situation;
to introduce basic concepts, theories and approaches in the field of strategic management by understanding the internal and external environments of a firm, analysing capabilities and resources of a firm, assessing the firm’s current strategy;
to provide knowledge and skills for students to conduct effective organizational research and opportunities to practice strategic management skills through real examples of business situations, case analysis and business news;
to develop analytical, communication, interpersonal, teamwork, and leadership skills that can help advance professional career;
to provide a framework that can be used to integrate what students have learned and are learning in the other disciplines and to enhance this learning through case analysis.

Expected Learning Outcomes

To describe the strategic management process. To discuss the role of strategy for competition and achieving economic goals. To identify different types of strategy. To discuss the application of strategic management in different organizational and business contexts.
To identify and explain company’s mission, vision, values and strategy. To master the business model as a tool for company’s analysis. To identify and analyze external factors. To explain the nature of strategic fit/ misfit for sustainable development. To build radar model in order to monitor external environment. To define key strategic problems/ opportunities.
To define and analyze key parameters of market. To implement PEST-analysis. To analyze 5(+1) market forces in order to reveal the market dynamics. To analyze competition with strategic group map, key competitive factors, competitive profile. To identify the external threats and opportunities.
To analyze the company’s operations and functions with value chain model. To connect value chain analysis with competitive profile to identify the strategic options. To perform comparative analysis of resources and capabilities. To apply VRIO-analysis to investigate company’s internal potential. To discuss the role of dynamic capabilities and organizational orientations.
To integrate the results of external and internal analysis with SWOT approach. To apply GAP approach for strategic problem identification. To analyze causes of strategic problems with hierarchical cause-effect models. To apply conceptual map for deeper understanding of cause-effect links. To forecast the business environment and to elaborate strategic options with scenario analysis.
To understand the benefits and limitations of generic strategic options. To identify the opportunities for blue ocean strategy application. To discuss the nature and opportunities for strategic innovations. To discuss pluses and minuses of different international strategies.

Course Contents

Introduction to the course. The nature of strategic management
Preliminary (situational) strategic analysis
External strategic analysis
Internal strategic analysis
Integrative strategic analysis (synthesis)
Typical strategic options
Corporate strategy and portfolio approach
Strategy formulation and deployment

Assessment Elements

Lectures’ activities
Maximum grade is 10. Calculated with the formula: (Number of earned working points) * 10/12. For two academic hours of a lecture, a student can receive one working point accrued if the student attended the lecture and sent comments on the lecture in the form and scope established by the instructor no later than 2 hours after lecture’s completion. If during the face-to-face attendance check it is discovered that comments were made without the student actually attending the lecture, no work points will be awarded and all work points for lectures will be canceled. The working points are accruing according to the schedule of lectures. Total points are calculated at the end of the modules. Resit is not possible. Compensation with another tasks is not possible. It is not a blocking assessment.
Seminars’ activities
Maximum grade is 10. Calculated with the formula: (Number of earned working points) * 10/16. For two academic hours of a seminar, a student can receive 2 working points accrued if the student attended the lecture and presented the results of his/her (individual or team) work at the seminar, in accordance with the form and scope established by the instructor, no later than 2 hours after its completion. If during the face-to-face attendance check it is discovered that comments were made without the student actually attending the seminar, no work points will be awarded and all work points for seminars will be canceled. The working points are accruing according to the schedule of seminars. Total points are calculated at the end of the modules. Resit is not possible. Compensation with another tasks is not possible. It is not a blocking assessment.
Midcourse testing
Conducted at the end of the first module of the discipline. Implemented as part of online testing with limited time as part of the self-study of students.
Examination. Final testing
Conducted at the end of the second module of the discipline. Implemented as part of online testing with limited time as part of the self-study of students.
Individual analytic assignment (case analysis)
Based on the case published by the instructor within the current implementation of the discipline. The results of the case solution are provided by students in the form of a single file, prepared in accordance with the requirements for written work of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, at the time and form set by the instructor.
Team project (part 1)
As part of the course, students work on a group project dedicated to the analysis and solution of a long case provided by the teacher. The content of the case, the number and composition of teams are determined within the current implementation of the discipline. The group project (part 1) involves completing several tasks for the project, presenting them as a separate written work in the form and deadline indicated by the teacher, as well as publicly defending the results in the form of their presentation, followed by a discussion.
Team project (part 2)
As part of the course, students work on a group project dedicated to the analysis and solution of a long case provided by the teacher. The content of the case, the number and composition of teams are determined within the current implementation of the discipline. The group project (part 2) involves performance of analytical tasks for the project (not included in the Group project (part 1)), presenting them as a separate written work in the form and deadline indicated by the teacher, as well as publicly defending the results in the form of their presentation, followed by a discussion.

Interim Assessment

2023/2024 2nd module
0.3 * Examination. Final testing + 0.1 * Individual analytic assignment (case analysis) + 0.05 * Lectures’ activities + 0.15 * Midcourse testing + 0.1 * Seminars’ activities + 0.1 * Team project (part 1) + 0.2 * Team project (part 2)

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Business model generation : a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers, Osterwalder, A., 2010
Strategic management : Concepts and Cases, 9th ed., 1035 p., Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., 1996

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Blue ocean strategy : how to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant, Kim, W. C., 2015
Contemporary strategy analysis : text and cases, Grant, R. M., 2013
Economics of strategy, , 2017
Strategic management of technological innovation, Schilling, M. A., 2013

Authors

Зайцева Марьяна Александровна
Titov Sergey Anatolevich

Course Syllabus