Mastering Business Strategy

About the Course:

Strategy isn’t just some thick document that is only used to show the Board of Directors that you have a plan. It’s your secret blueprint to success and competitive advantage. In this class, you will learn to understand what REAL strategy is, and how it can unlock the secret to your professional and personal success.

The course will be divided into 5 parts:

• What is strategy?
• Understand what strategy is in general, what it is in business in particular.
• How it differs from tactics, plans, and missions.
• Real vs. Stated Strategy
• How strategy affects business performance.
• Strategy and Competitive Advantage
• Porter and the 3 Generic Strategies
• Cost Leadership
• Differentiation
• Focus
• Applying Porter
• Porter’s 5 Forces Model
• International Strategy
• Network Strategy
• Negotiating strategies - WW or WL
• The Future of Strategy - Planning in an AI World

Methodology:

• Focused Lectures: Presenting foundational concepts and advanced insights
• Case Studies and Scenario Analysis: Facilitating Understanding through Real-World Examples
• Interactive Elements: Group activities to apply theories in a controlled environment.
• Future-Oriented Discussion: Encouraging forward-thinking about the evolution of business strategy

This updated outline aims to provide a holistic view of strategic planning by combining Porter's theories with SWOT analysis and the Five Forces model, ensuring a well-rounded educational experience for the participants.

Course Objective:

After taking this course, students will have a clear understanding of what business strategy is and how it affects their businesses and careers. Participants will learn to work with existing strategies or to develop their own strategic solutions to new situations. We will introduce the concepts of Michael Porter to give our work a strong academic underpinning, and then apply his theories to a number of practical cases.

This class will be based on student participation. Students will come to class prepared with the assigned reading and videos. Our in-class time will follow the pattern.

Mini lecture

• Targeted discussion or demonstration
• Guided debrief discussion about how our experience applies to their real business situations. 

Who is the Target Audience?

• Managers and business students Appropriate for professional development.

Basic Knowledge: 

• Basic business familiarity