Professor Peter Steane Visiting Lecturer at the Center of Small Business Research & Entrepreneurship (ifm)

This unit aims at building skills in Strategic Management – the skill of analysis behind strategic decisions, and the skill of crafting strategies best likely to maximize organisational success. The course intends to help you develop an intelligent point of view about strategic management. The content of this unit should help you to make a more significant contribution to the strategic decision-making process in an organization or in one to which you are providing advice. Also, this unit should assist you to work more effectively as a business manager.

The course has five major objectives:

• To understand the processes of strategic decision-making.
• To develop skills of industry analysis.
• To understand and develop skills in analysing the internal capabilities of firms:
• To understand the difference between corporate and business unit level strategy.
• To know the relationship between structure, change and strategy:

There are few "universal solutions" in the field of strategic management. What we have are different perspectives, which can help managers in analysing situations, forming judgments, developing skills of implementation, with an above-average chance of success.  The course is designed to expose you to range of views on strategic management and challenge you to define and develop a skilled approach for dealing with complex business problems.

2) Required Literature

Thompson, A.A., Strickland, A.J. & Gamble, J.E. 2008, Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage, 16th edn, McGraw Hill/Irwin, New York. ISBN: 0073381241

 
3) Contact per week

The course possesses three phases: Strategic analysis, Matching strategy to a company’s situation, and Skills involved in Implementing Strategy.

The course will comprise 14 sessions of lectures (90minute classes, twice a day, spread over a 2 week period). It will finish with a final examination. 

 
4) Is registration required for the students?

Yes, registration is compulsory! Students must register at the Department of International Management during 08-12.September between 10-12.00 am. Please take your ECUM-card (students’ ID card) to get registered to the course.

5) Course type (e.g. lecture, seminar, lecture & seminar)

The course will involve: formal lectures, group/video discussions, case analysis, and exercises.

6) Degree type of the students (diploma and master)

The course is formally recognized as a constituting part of the "Hauptstudium der BWL" (SBWL: "International Management"). Also, exchange students doing their MBA abroad are entitled to seat the exam.

This course is NOT a constituting part of the Bachelor Study!

7) ECTS points

There are 6 ECTS credit points for this exam.

8) Lecture Day, Time & Place

Day 1: Tuesday, November 4, 13:45-17:00 (2 lectures), Room 0133, Schloss Ostflügel
Day 2: Wednesday, November 5, 12:00-15:15 (2 lectures), Room O145, Schloss Ostflügel
Day 3: Thursday, November 6, 12:00-15:15 ( 2 lectures), Room 004, L9,1-2
Day 4: Friday, November 7, 12:00-15:15 (2 lectures), O135, Schloss Ostflügel
Day 5: Saturday, November 8, 12:00-15:15 (2 lectures), O148, Schloß Ostflügel
Day 6: Monday, November 10, 13:45-17:00 Uhr (2 lectures), Room O148, Schloß Ostflügel
Day 7: Tuesday, November 11, 13:45-17:00 Uhr (2 lectures), Room O133, Schloß Ostflügel
Day 8: Wednesday, November 12, 12.00-15.15 Uhr, (2 lectures), Room O145, Schloß Ostflügel
Day 9: Thursday, November 13, 12:00-15:15 Uhr, (2 lectures), Room 004, L9, 1-2

There is a 10-minutes break after lecture 1 and before the beginning of lecture 2.

9) Contact person

Contact person for this course is Ms. Vartuhi Tonoyan (Office Hours: Wednesdays: 3.00-5.00 pm; phone: 181-2895; email: tonoyan@ifm.uni-mannheim.de).