Advanced Strategic Management

BMAN31731 Advanced Strategic Management 20 Semester 1 Undergraduate Level 3 Christopher Golding Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 Looking to sharpen your strategic edge and stand out in today’s fast-moving markets? This final-year course takes you on an immersive journey through the entire strategy process—from incisive analysis to innovative formulation, decisive execution, and robust control. Through interactive case studies, you’ll discover the strategic capabilities that separate market leaders from also-rans. Expect real-world challenges, high-stakes decision-making, and leadership insights designed to ignite your critical thinking and equip you to drive competitive advantage in any dynamic environment.  This final-year Advanced Strategic Management course prepares students to navigate rapidly changing business environments by mastering advanced analysis techniques, from understanding dynamic business ecosystems to in-depth competitor assessment and capability evaluations. Building on foundational theories of competitive advantage, such as resource-based perspectives and dynamic capabilities, students will learn to manage the entire strategy process—analysis, formulation, and implementation—while aligning organizational structures, culture, and leadership with strategic intent. Emphasis is placed on honing strategic decision-making and strategic leadership skills, understanding both the barriers to and enablers of effective strategic adaptation, and embracing innovation and sustainability principles for long-term success. Students will explore the strategic management capabilities that distinguish successful firms from unsuccessful ones through interactive case studies. The emphasis on real-world challenges, strategic decision-making, and strategic leadership fosters a practical and workable understanding of what drives competitive advantage in dynamic markets.  By the end of the course, students will be equipped to develop courses of action that enable them to contribute to the long-term survival and performance of business enterprises.    The aim of this course unit is to equip students with the advanced knowledge and critical skills required to analyse the factors involved in the effective strategic management of business organizations operating in complex, dynamic and competitive business environment and develop courses of action that enable executives to sustain organizational performance.  By mastering advanced strategic management concepts and frameworks, students refine critical thinking, analytical, and decision-making abilities, all of which are prized by employers seeking professionals capable of navigating complex business environments. The integration of diverse data sources and evaluation of alternative strategies foster robust problem-solving skills, ensuring graduates can propose sustainable, high-impact solutions. In addition, designing and managing end-to-end strategy processes enhances both strategic leadership capabilities, preparing students to guide teams toward achieving strategic objectives. Finally, the capacity to communicate complex insights and drive collective decision-making, combined with a leadership mindset, equips students with the collaborative and motivational talents essential for inspiring high-performance outcomes across a variety of organizational settings.  Demonstrate mastery of advanced strategic management concepts and frameworks for analyzing complex business environments.Critically evaluate the origins of competitive advantage—encompassing resource-based perspectives, dynamic capabilities, and network effects—to develop sustainable strategies.    Synthesize diverse data sources and theoretical perspectives to formulate coherent, evidence-based strategic recommendations.Critically assess alternative strategic options by integrating advanced analytical techniques, thereby evaluating feasibility and potential impact on long-term organizational performance.  Understand how to make effective strategic decisions, including the use of tools and techniques for facilitating strategic decision-making processes, with a view to enhancing the quality and impact of strategic choices.  Demonstrate the ability to leveraging strategic analysis insights to communicate complex ideas and drive collective decision-making.Develop a mindset for effective strategic leadership to inspire high-performance outcomes for business enterprises in dynamic environments.    Hence, the course is suitable for those interested in understanding the 'real' challenges of strategic leadership or aiming for careers in general management or consulting. Other The course is designed to help students understand the human forces behind the success (and failure) of business organizations. The ideas covered in lectures and workshops combined with the coursework assignments provide the foundation for developing strategic analysis skills, including: diagnosing enablers of and barriers to strategic change, designing effective strategic decision processes, applying tools and techniques to enhance opportunity recognition and development. * Strategic analysis in dynamic environments: Advanced environmental scanning techniques, industry and competitor analysis, and firm and managerial capability assessments.  * Origins and sources of competitive advantage: Investigating the foundations of firm-level advantage, including resource-based perspectives, dynamic capabilities, and network effects, to craft enduring strategies for superior performance* Strategy processes: Managing the strategy process, from strategic analysis to strategy formulation and implementation* Organizational structures and strategy execution: Aligning organizational design, culture, and leadership with strategic intent.  * Strategic decision-making & strategic leadership: Analytical tools, decision-making models, and individual and collective contributions to effective strategic leadership.  * Barriers to and enablers of strategic adaptation: Tools and techniques for understanding and influencing organizational strategic change processes.* Innovation and sustainability: Integrating emerging technologies, responsible governance, and stakeholder engagement for long-term value creation.  The course uses a mix of traditional lectures and interactive workshops. Weekly workshops provide a forum for preparing a case analysis of a real world strategic problem facing a chosen firm or industry. The workshops are important and are unlike a typical seminar - you will need to do bits of work to prepare and work actively with colleagues and the lecturer while in class.Lectures.Workshops.  Written, multimedia and interactive content delivered through the virtual learning environmentIndependent study.Content is delivered synchronously and asynchronously.  0 Other 100% Individual written assignment analyzing a provided case (formative)Individual students research and write their own case study (100%) Written feedback for individuals comprising annotated comments via Turnitin, summary evaluation, and numeric grade. BMAN24442 Foundations of Strategy and Innovation Pre-Requisite Compulsory BMAN24630 Business Analysis Pre-Requisite Compulsory BMAN24630 (ITMB students) is a pre-requisites for BMAN32312 for ITMB students. BMAN24442 is a pre-requisite for those registered on BSc Mgmt/Mgmt (Specialism), IM and IMABS.Pre-requisites: BMAN24442 OR BMAN24630 (ITMB students ONLY)Pre-requisite course units have to be passed by 40% or above at the first attempt unless a higher percentage is indicated below. N There is no single textbook for strategy. This is an advanced final year course and students are expected to read widely around each substantive topic covered in the lectures. For this reason, the lecture schedule lists core and supplementary readings associated with each topic. However, the books listed as course texts below are useful for background on strategic management.Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B., & Lampel, J. 2009. Strategy Safari, second edition. London: Prentice Hall.Provides a readable and insightful overview of the schools of thought that dominate thinking and practice in strategy. In particular, chapter six ('The cognitive school') explains how the core ideas of this course lie at the centre of a comprehensive understanding of strategy. If you read this chapter and contrast it with the other schools, then you will have a grounded picture of where behavioural strategy sits.Finkelstein, S., Hambrick, D. C. & Cannella, B. 2008. Strategic Leadership: Theory and Research on Executives, Top Management Teams, and Boards. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Reviews theory and research on how top executives influence organizational performance, focussing on top management teams and the influence of values, personality, motives, and demography. Provides a sophisticated overview of the 'upper echelons' view of firms.Duhaime, I. M., Stimpert, L., & Chesley, J. A. 2012. Strategic thinking: Today's business imperative. New York: Routledge.One of few general texts that attempts to integrate standard ideas from business strategy (e.g. industry analysis, competitive positioning, resources, capabilities) with principles of managerial and organizational cognition (e.g. mental models, managerial beliefs). Lectures 16.5 Seminars 15 0 168.5 Pre-requisite course units have to be passed by 40% or above at the first attempt unless a higher percentage is indicated below.Pre-requisites: BMAN24442 Foundations of Strategy and Innovation OR BMAN24630 Business Analysis (ITMB students only)Co-requisites: NoneDependent courses: NoneProgramme Restrictions: BSc Management and Management (Specialisms), BSc International Management and BSc ITMB.For Academic Year 2023/24Updated: March 2023Approved by: March UG Committee