Prerequisite Modules
Description
Strategic management is the process
of specifying an organisation's objectives, developing policies and
plans to achieve these objectives, and allocating resources so as to
implement the plans. It is the highest level of managerial activity,
usually performed by the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and
executive team. It provides overall direction to the whole enterprise.
An organisation's strategy must be appropriate for its resources,
circumstances, and objectives. The process involves matching the
companies' strategic advantages to the business environment the
organisation faces. One objective of an overall corporate strategy is
to put the organisation into a position to carry out its mission
effectively and efficiently. A good corporate strategy should
integrate an organisation's goals, policies, and action sequences
(tactics) into a cohesive whole.
Aims
Strategic management can be seen as
a combination of strategy formulation and strategy implementation. The
aim of this module is to provide the student with the knowledge and
skills to understand the strategy process both the formulation of the
strategy and the implementation of it. The student will develop the
skills necessary to understand how strategy is applied in an
organisation.
Specific issues include
-
Situation analysis
-
Objective setting
-
Detailed plan
-
Allocation of resources
-
Establishing a chain of command
-
Assigning responsibility
-
Managing the process
-
Implementation
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this
module, the learner will develop the skills necessary to understand
how strategy is applied in an organisation.
Specific outcomes include:
-
How to do a situation analysis:
both internal and external; both micro-environmental and
macro-environmental.
-
How to set objectives. This
involves crafting vision statements (long term view of a possible
future), mission statements (the role that the organisation gives
itself in society), overall corporate objectives (both financial and
strategic), strategic business unit objectives (both financial and
strategic), and tactical objectives.
-
How to create a strategic plan.
The plan provides the details of how to achieve these objectives.
-
Allocation of sufficient resources
(financial, personnel, time, computer system support)
-
How to establish a chain of
command or some alternative structure (such as cross functional
teams)
-
How to assign responsibility of
specific tasks or processes to specific individuals or groups
-
How to manage the process. This
includes monitoring results, comparing to benchmarks and best
practices, evaluating the efficacy and efficiency of the process,
controlling for variances, and making adjustments to the process as
necessary.
-
How to implement specific
programs, this involves acquiring the requisite resources,
developing the process, training, process testing, documentation,
and integration with (and/or conversion from) legacy processes.
Learning and Teaching Methods
Lectures, self-study, labs,
tutorials, and any combination of discussion, case study,
problem-solving exercises, readings, seminars, and computer-based
learning.
Content
-
Introduction to strategy and the
Strategy process
-
The Strategic Position
-
The Environment
-
Strategic Capability
-
Expectations and Purposes
-
Strategic Change
-
Business-Level Strategy
-
Corporate-Level and
International Strategy
-
Directions and Methods of
Development
-
Strategy selection
-
Strategy into Action
-
Organising for Success
-
Enabling Success
-
Managing Strategic Change
-
How Strategy Develops
-
Understanding Strategy
Development
-
Strategy development in
organisations
Assessment
The methods of assessment to be
used to measure the learning objectives stated above are written
examination and continuous assessment including one or more of
assignment, essay, problem-solving exercise, oral presentation, and
class or lab tests.
-
Continuous Assessment: 20%
-
Examination: 80%
Recommended
Reading
-
Strategic Management Concepts, 10e
Fred R. David, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-150346-4
-
Exploring Corporate Strategy, 7e,
Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-273-68739-5
-
The Strategy Process, Mintzberg,
Lampel, Quinn & Ghoshal, Prentice Hall, 2003, ISBN 0-13-122790-4
-
Management Information Systems,
7e, Laudon & Laudon, Prentice Hall, 2002, ISBN 0-13-061960-4
|
|
For more information contact
Ciarán O'Leary
|
Home