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On successful completion of the course will be able to:

Analyse complex organizational environments, cases and issues by reference to and application of relevant theories, concepts and models i.e.

1. Diagnose environmental and industrial forces that drive and constrain strategic options for businesses.
2. Specify the key elements of strategic advantage for individual organizations against the demands of their industries.
3. Analyse strategic positioning strategies of firms and evaluate them against the necessary competencies and resources of the organization.
4. Develop alternative strategies contingent on the demands of the organization and its industry context.

The text book for this course is:

Thompson, A., Strickland, A., Peteraf. M., and Gamble, J.E. (2014) Crafting and Executing Strategy:The Quest for Competitive Advantage, Concepts and Cases, (19th edition) McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-802950-9

There are many business strategy texts that students can use as references. Useful references include:

Angwin D., Cummings S., & Smith C. (2011), The Strategy Pathfinder, Core Concepts and Micro-Cases, 2nd Ed, Blackwell Pub.
Colls, D., and Montgomery, C. (2005), Corporate Strategy: A Resource-Based Approach. (2nd edition) McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Johnson, G., Scholes, K., and Whittington, R. (2005), Exploring Corporate Strategy. (7th edition) FT Prentice Hall.
McGee J., Thomas H., Wilson D. (2005), Strategy Analysis and Practice, McGraw Hill Pub.
Pearce J.A., and Robinson R.B. Jr (2003), Strategic Management, Formulation, Implementation, and Control, (8th Ed), McGraw Hill Pub

Other useful (最新糖心Vlogn) references on business strategy include:

Davis, J., and Devinney, T. (1997) The Essence of Corporate Strategy. Allen & Unwin.
Hubbard, G., Rice J. and Beamish P (2007), Strategic Management: Thinking, Analysis and Action. (3rd ed) Pearson Education 最新糖心Vlog.
Twite, G. and O’Keeffe, M. (eds) (2000) New Directions in Corporate Strategy. Allen & Unwin.
Viljoen, J. and Dann, S. (2003), Strategic Management. (4th ed) Prentice Hall.

No specific online learning facilities are part of the course other than the usual communication and sharing of information/papers via MyUni. Please ensure that your MyUni email address is one through which you can be contacted.

Topics, Associated Readings, and Case Studies are:

Session 1:
Introduction: A Framework for Strategic Analysis and what is ‘Business Strategy’?

Readings:
Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, Chapters 1 & 2
“Fundamental issues in strategies” Rumelt R, Schendel D, & Teece D (eds), 1994, Chpt 1, Fundamental Issues in Strategies, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, pp.9-47

Case Study: Costco wholesale in 2012: mission, business model, and strategy
 

Sessions 2:
Business Strategy Analysis and External Industry Analysis.

Readings:
Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, Chapter 3
“Commitment: The persistence of strategies”, Ghemawat P.,1991, Commitment: the dynamic of strategy, The Free Press, New York, pp.13-31

Case Study: Panera bread company in 2012 – pursuing growth in a weak economy
 

Session 3:
External Industry Analysis and Measuring Organisational Performance

Readings:
Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, Chapter 4
“The Five Competitive Forces that shape Strategy”, Porter M., HBR, January, 2008
“Industry segmentation & competitive advantage” Porter M., 1985, Competitive Advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance, The Free Press, New York, pp.231-272

Case Study: Tiffany’s little blue box: does it have any strategic significance?
 

Session 4:
Measuring Organisational Performance and Capability Analysis.

Readings:
Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, Chapter 5
“Capitalising on Capabilities”, Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, HBR, June 2004, Jun2004, Vol. 82 Issue 6, p119-127
“Strategy and the Internet”, Porter M., HBR, March 2001

Case Study: Nucor corporation in 2012: using economic downturns as an opportunity to grow stronger
 

Sessions 5:
Strategic Options and Decision making 1

Readings:
Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, Chapters 6
“The nature and sources of competitive advantage”, in Grant R, 1995, Contemporary Strategy Analysis, 2nd ed, Chpt 6, pp 149-172, Blackwell Business Pub. Cambridge, Massachussets

Case Study: 7-Eleven in Taiwan: adaptation of convenience stores to new market environments.
 

Session 6:

Mid Term in Class Mini- Case Study Analysis Test
 

Session 7:
Strategic Options and Decision making 2

Readings:
Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, Chapter 7
“The right game: use game theory to shape strategy” Brandenburger A & Nalebuff B, 1995, HBR, July –August, pp 57-71
“Speed & strategic choice: how managers accelerate decision making”, Einsenhardt K., 1990, California Management Review, Spring, pp.39-54

Case Study: Tata motors: can it become a global contender in the automotive industry?
 

Session 8:
Strategy and Ethics

Readings:
Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, Chapter 9
“The business of ethics and the ethics of business”, Pattan J.E, Journal of Business Ethics 3, 1984, Pp.1-19

Case Study : Rhino sales, hunting, and poaching in South Africa, 2012 
 

Session 9:
Strategy Execution 1

Readings:
Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, Chapter 10
“Cost advantage”, 1985, Porter M., Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance, New York, The Free Press, pp. 97-118
“Competitive cost dynamics: the experience curve”, 1982, Hax A., & Maljuf N., Interfaces, 12/5, Pp.50-61

Case Study: Starbucks in 2012: evolving into a dynamic global organisation
 

Session 10:
Strategy Execution 2

Readings:
Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, Chapters 11 & 12
“Innovation & competitive advantage: what we know & what we kneed to learn”, 1992, Lengnich-Hall C., Journal of Management, 18/2, pp.399-429
“Differentiation strategy”, 1985, Porter M., Competitive Advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance, The Free Press, New York, pp.150-163

Case Study: Group Presentations

This is a standard ‘3 Unit’ MBA course which requires about 156 hours of student effort. These 156 hours includes the time spent in class and undertaking assessment as well as the reading and assignment preparation you must undertake outside of the class hours.

Thorough case preparation and willingness to participate in class discussion is essential to the educational process as well as the achievement of a satisfactory grade in strategic decisions and implementation. Participants will be required to prepare two or three readings plus a case study for discussion for every session. Participants will be regularly quizzed on both cases and readings, so please come prepared.

Ind Class Participation
Constructive participation in class discussion
10%

Mid Term In Class Test
Mini Case Analysis – Wednesday October 15
20%

Group Presentation
Group Presentation
15%

Group Assignment
Group Report
15%

End of Term Exam
Case Base – Wednesday November 19
40%

Attendance

Our specific requirements are that students must attend at least 80% of class sessions to be graded for that course.  Students failing to meet these requirements will be automatically graded 0% Fail (F) on their transcripts.

Grade minimum

To gain a pass for this course, a student must achieve at least 50% overall with a minimum of 45% for the overall individual components. Students not achieving this requirement will have a fail (F) recorded as their final grade The individual component is the weighted average of the class participation, mid-term test and the final exam grades.

Individual Class Participation (10%)
Thorough case preparation and willingness to participate in class discussion is essential to the educational process as well as the achievement of a satisfactory grade in strategic decisions and implementation. Participants will be required to prepare two or three readings plus a case study for discussion for every session. Participants will be regularly quizzed on both cases and readings, so please come prepared.

Mid Term in Class Test (20%)
The mid term in-class test will take the form of a short case analysis. Participants will be required to: Read and familiarise themselves with a short case study; Answer specific questions relating to the case and its industry; Demonstrate their ability to integrate relevant knowledge and skills covered in the first half of the course and, where applicable, in other relevant management areas.

Group Presentation (15%)
Details of the presentation will be discussed at the first class. You will have a total of 30-40 minutes to make your presentation and answer questions. Presentations will be held on the last day of the course.

Group Assignment (15%)
Please see details of the questions to be addressed on the following page. Please note that all groups and organisational choices must be approved by the lecturer. The nature and focus of group reports will be discussed in Session 1

Examination (40%) The examination will be Case based and will be “open book”. Specific details and expectations will be discussed in the course.