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2012/2013  KAN-SMGE  Strategy Making in Global Environments

English Title
Strategy Making in Global Environments

Course information
Language English
Exam ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Course period First Quarter
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study board
Study Board for BSc/MSc in Business Administration and Information Systems, BSc
Course coordinator
  • Niels Bjørn-Andersen - Center for Applied Information and Communication Technology
Main Category of the Course
  • Information Systems
  • Management of Information and Knowledge Management
Last updated on 05-10-2012
Learning objectives
After completing the course students should demonstrate:
  • An understanding of the main corporate strategy theories
  • An understanding of the key strategic challenges for information management and IT related to global environments
  • An understanding of how Multinational enterprises (MNEs) grow in the global environment using information and IT as strategic resources
  • An ability to both recognize and analytically reflect on the international strategy issues covered in the course, and to critically reflect on and connect the discussed theoretical perspectives to current information and IT management problems.
Examination
.
Strategy Making in Global Environments:
Type of test Written Exam
Marking scale 7-step scale
Second examiner External examiner
Exam period December/January
Aids Closed Book
Duration 4 Hours
The exam is based on a case analysis answering a set of questions.

Re-Examination and make-up Examination: The exam is equal to the regular exam. The exam takes place in the winter term.
Course content

The basic objective of this course is to provide the student with understanding of the field of corporate strategy in relation to information and IT. It is basically bridging the gaps between corporate strategy, information management and IT management. It is assumed that students have different skills and familiarity regarding strategy literature, but it is expected to bring everybody up to speed in a relative fast way during the course. This means that students without any knowledge about strategy will need to study somewhat harder than those who have the related background. The pedagogical model is intended to familiarize the students with issues in international business strategy as it relates to information management and IT, and to take the students from theory to strategy application through the use of case studies regarding multi-national enterprises (MNE’s).


IT and information management are prominent in strategy and strategizing, as they contribute to efficiency, effectiveness and innovation. But strategic analysis is often described as a ‘wicked’ problem, which tends to be complex, hard to clearly define, interconnected with other (organizational) issues and generally characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity and conflict. Furthermore, the complexity of strategic issues and strategy-making is only amplified with presence on the international scene as we see in MNE’s.
The course will start with a quick overview of the most relevant literature on general and corporate strategy and, and will proceed in exploring specific topics related to information and IT management for the MNEs. Some of the key issues that we shall deal with will be
  • Different sourcing/outsourcing strategies like shared service centers, on-shoring, off-shoring
  • Use of IT and information management for creating new and more effective business processes across boundaries and using partners
  • Governance mechanisms for managing such relationships
  • Importance of Strategic Business Units and how to service them
  • IT and information management in mergers and acquisitions, especially as these relate to MNEs
Teaching methods
The typical format for the sessions will be a lecture, interactive dialog elements and a case. Four of the cases will be traditional teaching cases (HBR type), where students are required to upload half a page before class with his/her preliminary analysis of the case. Two of the cases will be living cases, where we will invite CIOs of major MNEs to present the IT and information management challenges they face, and how they deal with these. After such a session, there will be a few questions, for which the students need to prepare a short analysis (half a page) similar to the one for analyzing the Harvard case, which as mentioned above, has to be handed in before the case is discussed in class. In order to take the written examination, students must hand in at least 4 of these 5 small assignments with an acceptable analysis. Students are encouraged to collaborate, but must hand in individual assignments.
Expected literature

Please check the course literature on CBS Learn
Last updated on 05-10-2012