MBA 617 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

MBA 617 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Purpose: To equip the learner with skills for formulation of corporate and business strategy
Expected learning outcome of the course:
A learner who passes this subject should be able to:
i) Explain the term corporate and business strategy
ii) Identify strategic issues, values and corporate culture for an organization
iii) Describe methods of managing strategic change
iv) Identify contemporary issues in strategic management

Course Content

Strategic planning or strategic management: a shift in paradigm, the traditional approach to strategic analyzing and planning a business case, analyzing of the external environment, analysis of the internal environment, formulating strategies: corporate strategies, formulating strategies: business and functional strategies, gap analysis and strategic choice: a stable equilibrium perspective, strategy implementation, evaluation and control, dynamic perspectives of the stable equilibrium paradigm, managing change within the stable equilibrium paradigm, complexity models: the learning organization, managing complexity and chaos

Course outline

WEEK 1 STRATEGIC PLANNING OR STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT A shift in paradigm The traditional approach to strategic analyzing and planning a business case

WEEK 2 ORGANIZATIONS ENVIRONMENT Internal and external environment

WEEK 3 STRATEGY FORMULATION Corporate strategies Business strategies Functional strategies

WEEK 4 GAP ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC CHOICE Stable equilibrium perspectives

WEEK 5 STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION Objectives Process of strategy implementation (phases) Managers role in implementation process Matching organizational structure to strategy

WEEK 6 &7 Analyzing organizational culture
Selecting an implementation approach Implementating the strategy Bottle necks to strategy implementation

WEEK 8 STRATEGY EVALUATION AND CONTROL Purpose and contribution of strategic evaluation and control The components of strategic control The process of strategic controls Designing an effective strategic control system Consequences of poor controls Why control systems fail Importance of information in strategic controls Key player in strategic controls

WEEK 9 DYNAMIC PERSEPTIVES OF THE STABLE EQUILIBRIUM PARADIGM

WEEK 10&11 MANAGING CHANGE Definition Indicators of change management Role of leaders in the change process Resistance to change Managing or watering the resistance to change Managing change within a stable equilibrium paradigm Case analysis

WEEK 12&13 COMPLEXITY MODELS Learning organization Managing complexity and chaos Case or scenario building

Course Assessment

Examination (Week 15-16) -70%
Continuous Assessment Test (CATS) (week 7 and week 11) -20%
Assignments -10%
Total -100%

Recommended Text Books: Baker M.I (2005) Strategic Management (2nd Edition) Macmillan
Text Books for further Reading: Bush P.S and Houston M. I (2000), Strategic Managements Latest Edition
Other support materials: Various applicable manuals and journals; variety of electronic information resources as prescribed by the lecturer