Entrepreneurship - BUSI70371
Role
Course Leader
Corporate Strategy - BUSI97249
Aims
This course builds on the basic ideas of business-level strategy and introduces students to more advanced concepts in strategic management, and in particular, corporate strategy. Corporate strategy is concerned with determining which businesses and activities to include within the boundaries of the firm and how to coordinate them. In this regard, it differs from business-level strategy, which focuses on the competitive aspects of operating in a single line of business. Topics covered in this course include vertical and horizontal integration, international expansion, diversification, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic alliances.
A different area of corporate strategy will be explored during each class, and we will examine how it can be used to anticipate, understand and resolve different problems that arise for upper-level managers. Class discussions, exercises and readings from the textbook and business press will be used to link corporate strategy concepts with real world issues and problems. Because actively applying these concepts is such a central part of the course, the conceptual topics covered may also be applied to cases that are assigned subsequently. Case analysis and discussion are integral parts of the course. The cases are designed to test and sharpen the ability of students’ to identify course concepts in actual business settings and apply these concepts in decision-making.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Knowledge Objectives
• Understand the central concepts in corporate level strategy
• Understand which frameworks and tools to utilise to determine whether or not it makes sense to include a particular business or activity within the boundaries of the firm
• Understand the relationships and assumptions underlying the different corporate strategy concepts
Skill Objectives
• Ability to apply concepts and frameworks to business cases and real-life firms
• Ability to analyse a firm’s portfolio of businesses
• Ability to determine what international strategy and entry mode might be appropriate for the firm
• Enhanced skills in written and verbal communication, teamwork, analytical thinking, decision-making, project planning and general management
Role
Course Leader