Bringing business strategy to life (ULMS075)

In the contemporary, intensive and highly volatile and competitive business environment, leadership plays a significant and vital role in the success of an enterprise. Therefore, leadership has received substantial attention from scholars and practitioners and it is increasingly becoming a prominent subject for study.

The module intends to enable students with academic understanding of leadership theory and, importantly, to allow for critical engagement with the current debates surrounding its application within the organisational context. This course will provide students with an opportunity to learn essential core skills and techniques involved in leadership, enabling them to become better and effective leaders in their prospective careers. This course will develop and enhance students’ leadership skills and techniques so they will be able to inspire a team, successfully manage change and conflict, and better serve the needs of a team.

Module leader: Caroline Makoni

Caroline is a Graduate Teaching Fellow and PhD candidate at the University of Liverpool. Her research explores organizational responses to Grand Challenges, currently focusing on the climate emergency. Her teaching focuses on Strategic Management and Business Policy.

Aims

To develop confidence in understanding and communicating complex ideas
To develop skills in research, collaborative learning and writing effective commentary on their opinions and view on a topic
To introduce students to the concepts and theories of business strategy.

Content

The following topics will be considered on the module:

Introduction to strategy
The environment and its impact
Developing Strategic Options
An international perspective
Evaluating Strategies

Structure

The module will be delivered over a three-week period in six two hour sessions (four hours per week, total 12 hours contact time). The final block will be an assessment session.

Each session will include a formal lecture covering the topic identified. Integral to the session will be opportunities for students, in a seminar style, to discuss (in English) issues both in small groups and a whole class. Students will be actively encouraged to contribute.

In addition, it is expected that students will spend 34-38 study hours outside of the classroom contact hours on activities including assigned reading, optional reading of areas of personal interest, homework tasks, web research and preparation for assessment.

The indicative schedule is as follows:

Session one: Introduction to Strategy

A: Introductions

Housekeeping
Module overview
Key expectations

B: Introduction to strategy

Strategy defined
Role of strategy in organizational success

Session two: The environment and its impact

Identifying tools available to fully understand the environment in which a firm operates

A: Internal analysis - identifying organizational resources and capabilities

VRIO Analysis
Value Chain Analysis

B: Industry Analysis – Analysing competitive dynamics within a sector

Defining industries
Porter’s Five Forces framework
Competitor analysis

C: The Macro-environment: Understanding the broader external environment and its impact on strategic planning

- PESTEL analysis

Session three: Developing Strategic Options

Understanding the firm’s strategic position, identifying potential strategies that can enhance the firm’s strategic position.
- SWOT Analysis
- TOWS Matrix
- Ansoff’s Matrix

Session four: An International Perspective

Understanding strategic considerations for investing in an international context and their implications.
- Major Market Entry Decisions
- Why, Where, When and How?
- Mergers, acquisitions and alliances

Session five: Evaluating Strategies (SAFe Criteria)

The SAFe Criteria
- Suitability
- Acceptability
- Feasibility

Session six: Reflection, discussion and revision

Reflection
Discussion
Assignment brief
Assignment expectations
Q&A session

Teaching methods

The teaching approach will include the following:

Taught sessions
Flipped classroom – preparation work
Small group working
Group discussions
Presentations
Online learning.

Assessment

Assessment will be by written essay/reflection of 1,000-1,200 words (worth 100% of the overall mark).

Standard University policies apply with regard to late submission of assessments.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:

Better understand and communicate complex ideas in written language
Research a topic and work collaboratively in this research to produce a written essay/reflection
Demonstrate an introductory understanding of certain aspects and theories of strategy and the application to business.

Skills

Key skills that will be developed:

Collaboration and teamwork, through group discussions, activities and tasks in class, and collaborative research
Communication, developed orally in group discussions, activities and tasks in class, and in writing by production of assessed assignment.

Books, ebooks and websites

The University Library website provides access to many relevant books and electronic books, as well as academic journals and databases.