Course Description (Higher Education)
School Federation Business School
Course Title STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Course ID BUMGT5976
Credit Points 15.00
Teaching Period 2020/07
Author Abdul Moyeen
Pre-requisites (At least 120 credit points from program MM9 or MM9.EL or MM9.HSM or
MM9.IB)
Co-requisites Nil
Exclusions Nil
ASCED Code 080301
Description of the Course for Handbook Entry:
In today’s increasingly complex and changing environment that is filled with uncertainty, businesses are continuously looking for better ways to gain and maintain sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic management concerns the long-term direction and scope of the business and draws from business fundamental knowledge, e.g. marketing, finance and economics. Through case studies and stories about successful businesses, students learn about the importance of strategy in any business. The course equips students with the concepts, frameworks, tools and skills needed for developing and implementing strategic decisions to gain and sustain superior performance in both traditional and emerging markets/industries. The course focuses on building the capacity of current and future managers by identifying sources of superior business performance.
Grade Scheme Graded (HD, D, C, etc.)
Placement Component No
Supplementary Assessment Yes
Where supplementary assessment is available a student must have failed overall in the course but gained a final mark of 45 per cent or above and submitted all major assessment tasks.
Program Level
AQF Level of Program
5 6 7 8 9 10
Level
Introductory
Intermediate
Advanced
Organisation
Delivery Mode
Regular semester
Structure
The course will be delivered in a three-hour face-to face workshop mode. It is important that the students read the available cases in Moodle before coming to the workshop each week.
Staff
Role Name Room Telephone Email
Lecturer Geoff Stewart 03 8600 6700 gstewart@mit.edu.au
Timetable
Type Day Time Room Staff / Comment
Lecture Monday 2.30 423 Geoff Stewart
Tutorial Monday 4.30 423 Geoff Stewart
Additional consultation time can be booked by contacting the staff member concerned directly.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
K1. Recognise the internal and external national and international factors influencing business competitiveness and the key roles of strategy, resources and capabilities to gain sustained competitive advantage.
K2. Develop strategic thinking for formulating and implementing strategies that will enable the organisation to achieve competitive advantage and sustainability
K3. Evaluate the sources and routes to superior performance and judge the appropriateness of the tools and techniques for developing strategies that help businesses to grow and create economic, social and ecological value
K4. Develop management skills and knowledge to examine strategic management challenges from strategy, change and learning perspective.
Skills
S1. Apply theoretical knowledge within diverse organisational and environmental contexts to build businesses’ capacity to gain competitive advantage.
S2. Research and synthesise industry, macro and global environment related secondary data and interpret the findings to make informed strategic decisions
S3. Recognise the limitations of theoretical and practical concepts in strategic management and explain the implications of those limitations
S4. Cooperatively undertake critical and systematic evaluations of relevant theories, concepts and practices and communicate the findings with clarity to specialist and non-specialist audiences
S5. Critically evaluate the sustainable competitive advantage (and its underlying drivers) for an organisation
Application of knowledge and skills
A1. Adapt and apply strategic management knowledge and skills in diverse and novel organisational settings.
A2. Apply proprietary tools and techniques to develop strategic options that an enterprise can use to grow and create shareholder value in the context of a changing global and local environment.
A3. Integrate ethical, social and environmental perspectives into the organisational strategies
Content
Topics may include:
The concept of strategy
Tools of strategic management: goals, values and performance
The analysis of industry and external environment
The analysis of internal environment of the firm: resources and capabilities
Business strategies in different industry contexts
Corporate strategies
Strategies for competing in international markets
Building capacity for strategy execution
Strategy Implementation
Corporate culture and strategic leadership
Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
Values
V1. Appreciate the importance of strategic management in the context of increasing uncertainty and competitive local and global business environments.
V2. Appreciate the high level of critical thinking and the increasing requirement for ethical as well as commercial frameworks in strategy development and implementation.
V3. Appreciate the need for continuous learning in order to maintain up-to-date skills and knowledge
Graduate Attributes
FedUni graduate attributes statement. To have graduates with knowledge, skills and competence that enable them to stand out as critical, creative and enquiring learners who are capable, flexible and work ready, and responsible, ethical and engaged citizens.
Attribute Brief Description Focus
Knowledge, skills and competence Students develop awareness that the theories and tools of strategic management evolve to address the issue of sustained competitive advantage of business in different macro and international environmental settings and that conscious effort must be expended to ensure currency in the discipline. High
Critical, creative and enquiring learners Students utilize knowledge and tools to prepare independent and reliable business strategies in workplace. High
Capable, flexible and work ready Students to work collaboratively in a team to undertake research, analysis and synthesis of industry, macro and global environment data in their second assessment task. Graduates develop the capacity to pursue a senior level management career which requires them to interact with diverse group of stakeholders. High
Responsible, ethical and engaged citizens Students understand and apply integrity and social responsibility principles in the formulation and implementation of strategies. High
Learning Tasks and Assessment
Learning Outcomes Assessed Assessment Task Assessment Type
K1,K3, K4 S3, A1 Assess core principles and theories and apply associated analytical frameworks Case Analysis
K1,K2,K3,K4, S1, S2,S4,S5 A1,A2, A3 Analyse firm, organisation or industry using a range of approaches Assignment/Report/Essay
K1,K3,K4 S3,S5 A2,A3 Review and analyse material across the course Exam/Case Preparation
The following tasks will be graded.
Task Released Due Weighting
Individual Test Week 1 Thu, Apr 9, 2020 - 16:00 (Week 4) 10.0%
Assignment/Report Week 1 Thu, May 21, 2020 - 16:00 (Week 10) 45.0%
Examination Week 1 End of exam 45.0%
Assessment Task 1: Individual Test
A 60 minute in-class closed-book test which will feature short answer questions relating to key concepts from the first three weeks of the course.
Assessment Task 2: Written Assignment (Group Report)
Assessment Details - In groups of no more than three students you are to select a superiorperforming (industry above-average performance) firm (Any company except FLIGHT CENTRE) that is listed on a stock exchange and provide background information on the firm and the major industry it competes in. Using Porter`s Five Forces framework, examine the competitiveness of the firm’s industry. Examine the distinctive features of the firm’s business-level and corporate strategy throughout its history that are the major reasons for the firm’s superior performance. Guided by strategy Gurus (Porter, Mintzberg), what would you propose to ensure strategy making is improved in the future? As a consultant to the firm, what would you have advised the firm for developing new capabilities to adapt to the changing industry environment?
Assessment Task 3: Final Examination
The exam is a closed-book exam of 3 hours duration. All material covered in this course is examinable.
Normal writing materials will be allowed in the examination venue. The students will be required to answer three questions out of five options. The students are expected to write about 800-900 words for every question. Each of the questions has two/more sections.
Recommended time per learning activity
Learning Activity Description Hours
Workshops 3 Hours Per Week During Semester 36
Reading Prior to Workshops 2 Hours Per Week During Semester 24
Preparation of Set Questions, Exercises and Problems 2 Hours Per Week 24
Research and Writing of Assignments Preparation of assignment 36
Study and revision for test and end of semester examination Study and revision for test and end of semester examination 30
Total: 150
Submission and Return of Student Work
Assessment Task 1: Individual Test
The test will generally be held in the workshop session. Marked test papers handed back in class within two weeks of sitting the test.
Assessment Task 2: Written Assignment (Group Report)
One written submission per group (3000-3500 words excluding executive summary and references) via Moodle. You have to present your analysis in the workshop session 12.
Marks with feedback will be provided within one week of presentation of the group report.
Assessment Task 3: Final Examination
The written examination will be held during the exam period following the end of the semester. Normal exam conditions will apply.
Students will be advised of grades via fdl grades, at the end of the semester.
Final Exam
The final exam in this course will take place in the end of term exam period. It will be a 3 Hours exam and students will NOT be permitted to take in any materials.
Closing the Loop / Student Feedback
1. 1. Acknowledgement of key issues identified through such feedback: Few students recommended for discussion of questions at the end of each workshop.
2. 2. Summary of improvements or course modifications as a result of the student feedback, peer review and/or course review: Discussion forum will be added for each week in Moodle.
3. 3. Summary of how key issues will be addressed in the future delivery of the course: They will lead to changes in future delivery.
4. 4. An estimated time when any resulting changes will be included in the course: Usually in the next delivery.
Topics Assessed
All topics covered during this course are subject to assessment.
Assistance with Online Submission
Students are often asked to submit assessments online. Here are a few useful links that introduce students to the Turnitin software:
About Turnitin
Student Guidance on Turnitin
Student Turnitin Access 2020 (Moodle Support Shell)
Special Consideration
If students are adversely affected by life circumstances a discretionary assessment extension of up to five University working days for one assessment task may be granted at the discretion of the tutor, lecturer, or course coordinator (dependent on faculty process) upon a direct request by the student via the Discretionary Assessment Extension form.
However if a student has experienced or encountered some form of disadvantage or impediment (medical reasons; hardship/trauma; compassionate grounds; other significant cause) in more than one course and requires more than five working days extension, then they may apply for Special Consideration.
For further information on Discretionary Assessment Extensions and Special Consideration, including access to the policy, procedures or associated forms, see http://federation.edu.au/current-students/essential-info/administration/special-consideration
Available Grades
A list of the available grades, a description of the corresponding required student performance and the required percentages for the Course is given in the University Handbook.
https://federation.edu.au/students/essential-info/administration/exams/results The Course Coordinator may standardise raw marks before allocating grades.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is the presentation of the expressed thought or work of another person as though it is one's own without properly acknowledging that person.
Students must not allow other students to copy their work and must take care to safeguard against this happening. In cases of copying, normally all students involved will be penalised equally; an exception will be if the student can demonstrate the work is their own and they took reasonable care to safeguard against copying. Plagiarism is a serious offence. Please refer to the following documents:
Statute 6.1: Student Discipline
Regulation 6.1: Student Discipline
Regulation 6.1.1: Plagiarism
Academic Regulations
Supplementary information concerning teaching, learning, and assessment may be provided from time to time in response to unforeseen circumstances. This may include changes in times or location of classes, order of the schedule or due dates for assignments. Announcement of these matters in classes and placement of a notice on the course Moodle page shall be deemed to be official notification. FedUni has a range of educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which you can find at http://policy.federation.edu.au/category_list.php?catalogue_id=115
Student Support
The University provides many different kinds of services to help you gain the most from your studies. You can see the list of Student Services contacts at http://federation.edu.au/students#Assistance_support_and_services Students who have a disability or medical condition are welcome to contact the Disability Liaison Unit to discuss academic support services. The role of the DLU is to support the development of a learning and working environment that maximise participation in University life by students with a disability
Learning Management System
This course makes use of Moodle to support your learning. You can access Moodle from the FedUni home page or at https://moodle.federation.edu.au/login/index.php If you do not have access for this course you should notify your course co-ordinator immediately
Late Assignment
Assessment tasks submitted after the due date, without prior approval/arrangement, will be penalised at 10% of the available marks per day. Requests for extension of time must be made with the lecturer concerned and based on Special Consideration guidelines
Materials
General
A textbook is recommended for this course. In addition, the following journals are valuable sources of information:
1. Journal of Management & Organization, published by eContent Management Pty Ltd, www.jmanorg.com (ISSN 1833-3672)
2. Harvard Business Review, published by Harvard Business School Publication Corp., www.hbr.org (ISSN 0017-8012)
3. Academy of Management Journal, Published by Academy of Management, www.aom.pace.edu/amj/ (ISSN 0001-4273)
4. Strategic Management Journal, Published by Strategic Management Society, http://smj.strategicmanagement.net/ (ISSN 0143-2095)
5. Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, ISSN: 0167-4544 (print version) ISSN: 1573-0697 (electronic version)
6. Mckinsey quarterly – available on-line at www.Mckinsey.com
7. Sloan Management Review
8. Web sites of consultants –www.Bain.com; www. www.booz.com (for the publication Strategy and
Business); http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ for Harvard Business School working papers
Reading
Textbooks
Hill, C. W. L., Jones, G. R., and Schilling, M.A. (2017 or later). Strategic Management: Theory & Cases: An Integrated Approach . CENGAGE LEARNING PTY LTD. ISBN: ISBN-10: 130550227
eBook / Online
Hill, C. W. L., Jones, G. R., and Schilling, M.A. (N/A). Strategic Management: Theory & Cases: An Integrated Approach (Publisher Discount Code: GETSMART) . CENGAGE LEARNING PTY LTD.
Note that some material in lectures, assignments and other resources provided to students may contain direct quotations from the text book(s) and references listed.
Sequence
The following is an approximate guide to the sequence of topics in this course.
Week(s) Topic(s)
1 Strategic Leadership: Managing the Strategy-Making Process for Competitive Analysis Text Book Chapter 1
2 Competitive Analysis I : External Analysis: The Identification of Opportunities and Threats Text Book Chapter 2
Week(s) Topic(s)
3 Competitive Analysis II: Internal Analysis: Distinctive Competencies, Competitive Advantage, and Profitability.
Text Book Chapter 3
4 Building Competitive Advantage Through Functional-Level Strategy.
Text Book Chapter 4
Individual Test
Submit one-page outline of company chosen for Assignment 2
5 Strategies: Building Competitive Advantage Through Business-Level Strategy Text Book Chapter 5
6 Business-Level Strategy and the Industry Environment Text Book Chapter 6
7 Corporate-Level Strategy: Horizontal Integration, Vertical Integration, and Strategic Outsourcing.
Text Book Chapter 9
8 Corporate-Level Strategy: Related and Unrelated Diversification. Text Book Chapter 10
9 Strategy in the Global Environment. Text Book Chapter 8
10 Implementing Strategy Through Organisation Text Book Chapter 12
11 Corporate Culture and Leadership; Corporate Governance, Social Responsibility and Business Ethics
Text Book Chapter 11 and other materials available in Moodle
12 Presentation of 2nd Assignment, Course Overview and Final Exam-Preparation
The report for the second assignment must be submitted via Moodle by Monday 11:55 pm of week 12.
Adopted Reference Style
APA