Course Description

Managing strategy is concerned with the long-term direction and performance of an organisation. This course draws on students' prior business and management studies to examine contemporary thinking in strategy. Using case studies, the course aims to equip you with a practical understanding of the concepts and frameworks needed to make better strategic decisions in the dynamic, fast-changing business and management environment. Students can expect to critically explore how the continuous, accurate analysis of essential strategic tasks and the interaction between internal and external environments are components of a successful strategy.

Learning Outcomes

• Critically analyse the internal and external environments in which businesses operate and assess their significance for future initiatives.
• Apply understanding of the theories, concepts and tools that support strategic management in organisations.
• Individually and collaboratively evaluate and synthesise information and existing knowledge from numerous sources and experiences.
• Apply appropriate tools, theories and concepts to analyse strategic issues in organizations and to develop potential implementation options.

Learning Experience

This course is designed to develop students’ ability to think and act strategically in dynamic, technology-driven, and globally competitive environments. Drawing on contemporary strategy theory and real-world cases, the learning experience equips students to analyse organisational contexts, formulate strategic choices, and evaluate how strategy is implemented, governed, and sustained over time.

The course is structured across 12 modules and intentionally sequenced to mirror the strategic management process itself. In the first six modules, students establish foundational understanding by exploring why strategy matters, how strategic planning contributes to organisational longevity, and how strategic inputs emerge from the interaction between internal capabilities and external environments. Core concepts such as competitive advantage, globalisation, technological change, and strategic flexibility are introduced through short teaching videos, applied readings, and facilitated discussion.

From module seven onwards, the focus shifts from understanding strategy to exercising strategic judgement. Students engage with advanced strategy formulation topics including mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, growth strategies, and the governance and control mechanisms required for effective implementation. Later modules extend this thinking to leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation, supporting students to consider how organisations build and renew strategic capability for the future.

Learning activities are designed to make strategy tangible and experiential. Interactive case studies and branching scenarios are used to simulate real strategic decision-making under uncertainty. For example, an H5P branching scenario centred on Tesla places students in the role of a senior decision-maker, requiring them to weigh competing strategic options and observe the consequences of their choices. This activity provides a safe environment for experimentation, reinforcing that strategic management rarely involves a single “correct” answer, but rather informed trade-offs shaped by context.

Creative strategy development is also deliberately embedded to broaden students’ strategic repertoire. Activities such as the “funnovation” challenge encourage imaginative yet viable strategic thinking, demonstrating how differentiation, storytelling, and brand identity can coexist with sound commercial logic. By linking these activities explicitly to the executive-level assessment, students are supported to see creativity as a legitimate and valuable component of strategic leadership.

Assessment design reinforces progression from analysis to synthesis. Multimedia presentations, written reports, and strategy visualisations allow students to demonstrate understanding in multiple formats. For the final executive strategy proposal, a custom self-checklist was incorporated into the assessment page to support self-regulation, ensuring students could track engagement with required readings and preparation tasks. The capstone group assessment requires students to present at Board or CEO level, applying strategic tools to provide coherent, evidence-informed direction for an organisation.

Weekly interactive sessions underpin the learning experience by providing structured opportunities for discussion, clarification, and peer learning. These sessions support students to interrogate assumptions, test strategic frameworks against real-world examples, and build confidence in articulating strategic recommendations.

By the end of the course, students develop the capacity to view organisations through a strategic lens, critically analyse competitive environments, and contribute meaningfully to strategic decision-making in a wide range of organisational contexts.

MiroBoards:

• Description: >- A card sort can be a valuable exercise for multiple reasons, such as familiarising participants with using Miro as a collaborative tool, aiding in the creation of a coherent module structure for a course, and facilitating a collective understanding of key themes and concepts among team members of a course build. Link: 'https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVMhHzJUc=/'