| Learning objectives |
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the
following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or
errors: At the end of this course, students should:
- Understand the particular strategic challenges associated with
service firms.
- Understand the key issues of strategic management: Value
creation, value appropriation, superior positioning, and
(sustained) competitive advantage.
- Be able to explain and discuss the strategic management
theories and models introduced in the course.
- Be able to explain and discuss the links between the different
theories and models introduced in the course.
- Be able to identify and apply relevant strategic management
theories and models to analyze practical situations and issues
related to firms’ strategy.
- Understand how various functional areas fit together and
influence the performance of the firm, which provides an important
way in which this course serves an integrative purpose relative to
the other courses in this program.
|
| Course prerequisites |
| English language skills equal to B2 level (CEFR)
and math skills equal to Danish level B are recommended |
| Prerequisites for registering for the
exam |
|
Number of mandatory
activities: 2
Requirements about active
class participation (assessed approved/not approved)
Mandatory and active participation in the 2 simulation workshops
If the student does not participate in one of the simulation
workshops, the student must answer a given assignment of maximum
2-3 pages, by a set deadline.
If the student does not participate in both simulation workshops,
the student must answer a given assignment of maximum 5 pages, by a
set deadline.
|
| Examination |
|
Strategy in a
Service Perspective: Service and innovation:
|
| Exam
ECTS |
7,5 |
| Examination form |
Written sit-in exam on CBS'
computers |
| Individual or group exam |
Individual exam |
| Assignment type |
Written assignment |
| Duration |
4 hours |
| Grading scale |
7-step scale |
| Examiner(s) |
Internal examiner and external examiner |
| Exam period |
Autumn |
| Aids |
Limited aids, see the list below:
The student is allowed to bring - USB key for uploading of notes, books and compendiums in a
non-executable format (no applications, application fragments, IT
tools etc.)
- Non-programmable, financial calculators: HP10bll+ or Texas BA
II Plus
- Books (including translation dictionaries), compendiums and
notes in paper format
The student will have access to - Access to CBSLearn
- Advanced IT application package
At all written
sit-in exams the student has access to the basic IT application
package (Microsoft Office (minus Excel), digital pen and paper,
7-zip file manager, Adobe Acrobat, Texlive, VLC player, Windows
Media Player). PLEASE NOTE: Students are not allowed to communicate
with others during the exam :
Read more about exam aids and IT application
packages here |
| Make-up exam/re-exam |
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up
examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most
appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office
will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take
examination will be held as an oral examination
instead.
|
|
| Course content and structure |
|
The course provides an introduction to core thinking on
strategic management, that is, how firms seek to achieve and
sustain competitive advantage. Thus, the course provides students
with a general understanding of the issues, considerations,
analyses, and decision-making situations that confront general
managers in a strategic perspective. Strategic decision-making is
concerned with the long-term performance of the firm, the size and
scope of its business activities, the market position of the firm,
the resources needed to perform diverse corporate functions, etc.
Moreover, management must consider how to coordinate and utilize
the specialized departmental functions in the organization to
achieve superior performance on a consistent basis.
To achieve these aims, the course introduces both classical and new
theories and models within the area of Strategic Management that
can be used by the students to address some of the fundamental
strategic issues confronting the firm: Is the firm well positioned
in an industry? What are the key resources on the basis of which
the firm competes? How can the firm ensure its resource base in the
future? How can the firm increase the creation and appropriation of
value? How does the firm ensure an effective implementation of its
strategy? What are the specific strategic challenges of service
industries and firms—and how can we handle
these?
|
| Teaching methods |
The course structure: The course is built around
a standard textbook (see curriculum below), which introduces the
basic strategy concepts, and a number of research articles and
cases.
The course starts by introducing some basic terms like mission,
vision, goals, and strategy and looks at different ways in which
strategies are developed in theory and in practice. Next follows an
introduction of how we can analyze the environment of the firm and
the internal resources, capabilities, and processes of the firm. On
the basis of these analytical models for strategy development, we
assess the role of corporate headquarters, alternative ways of
competing, and innovative methods of strategic renewal and growth.
This is followed by a discussion of how different types of
strategies can be synthesized, and how we can evaluate and chose
among them.
Throughout the course, the theoretical models and insights are
applied to service firms and industries, and we consider the
particular challenges raised by services. How does it matter that
service-industries are heavily human capital-intensive? What are
the sources of competitive advantage in service industries? What
role does reputation play? And so on.
Teaching is lecture-based, however, supplemented with discussions,
group presentations, and case discussions. The lectures will be
accompanied by line-specific workshops where the students get the
opportunity to work with the introduced theories and models in a
line-focused and practice-oriented way. The workshops consist of a
simulation in which students in groups will make strategic and
tactical decisions to manage firms competing within a service
industry. |
| Feedback during the teaching period |
Feedback during class discussions. Individual
feedback can be obtained during office hours
Feedback lecture after the grades from the final exam are
announced |
| Student workload |
| Classes |
20 hours |
| Workshops |
15 hours |
| Preparation for classes and workshops (incl exam) |
171 hours |
|
| Expected literature |
|
Textbook:
- Grant, R. 2016: Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Text and Cases,
9th edition, Wiley
Research articles and cases:
-
Mintzberg, H. & Waters, J. A. 1985. Of strategies,
deliberate and emergent. Strategic Management Journal, 6 (3):
257-272.
-
Peteraf, M. & Barney, J. (2003). Unraveling the
resource-based tangle. Managerial Decision Economics, 24 (4):
309-323 (from bottom of page 313 to bottom of 316).
-
Frei, F. 2008. The Four Things a Service Business Must Get
Right. Harvard Business Review, April: 70-80.
-
Porter, M. 2008. The Five Competitive Forces That Shape
Strategy. Harvard Business Review, January: 78-93.
-
Brandenburger, A. M. & Nalebuff, B. J. 1995. The right game:
Use game theory to shape strategy. Harvard Business Review,
July-August: 57-71.
-
Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive
advantage. Journal of Management, 17: 99-120.
-
Teece, D., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. 1997. Dynamic
Capabilities and Strategic Management. Strategic Management
Journal, 18: 509-533.
-
Segal-Horn, S. 2000. The search for core competencies in a
service multinational: A case study of the French hotel Novotel.
Globalization of Services, 320-333.
-
Martin, R. L. 2010. The Execution Trap. Harvard Business Review,
July-August: 64-71.
-
Kaplan, R. S. & Norton, D. P. 1996. Using the Balanced
Scorecard as a strategic management System. Harvard Business
Review, January-February: 75-85.
-
Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. 2000. Self-determination Theory
and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development,
and Well-being. American Psychologist, 55 (1): 68-78.
-
Noble, C. H. 1999. The eclectic roots of strategy implementation
research. Journal of Business Research, 45: 119-134.
-
Heracleous, L. & Wirtz, J. 2010. Singapore Airlines’
Balancing Act. Harvard Business Review, July-August:
145-149.
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Porter, M. & Kramer, M. (2002). The Competitive Advantage of
Corporate Philanthropy: Competitive Context. Harvard Business
Review, 80 (12): 56-68.
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Devinney, T. (2009). Is the socially responsible corporation a
myth? The good, the bad, and the ugly of corporate social
responsibility. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 23 (2):
44-56.
-
Austin, J. E. & Reavis, C. 2004. Starbucks and conservation
international. Harvard Business School Cases, 9-303-055.
-
The UN global compact: The ten principles (will be uploaded on
Learn)
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Ghemawat P. 2001. Distance Still Matters – The Hard Reality of
Global Expansion. Harvard Business Review, 7(8):
137-147.
Cases:
- Mostly available in the textbook.
Please note, changes may occur. The professor will
upload the final reading list on LEARN two weeks before the course
starts.
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