| Learning objectives |
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 cognizant with the fundamental theorizing in the strategic
management field.
- 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.
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| Course prerequisites |
| Students not enrolled in BSc in Business
Administration & Service Management must document A level in
English equal to TOEFL 575 and A level in mathematics equal to
Danish level B. |
| Examination |
|
Strategy in a
Service Perspective: Service and Innovation:
|
| Exam
ECTS |
7,5 |
| Examination form |
Oral exam based on written product
In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product
must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The
grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and
the individual oral performance. |
| Individual or group exam |
Group exam, max. 3 students in the
group |
| Size of written product |
Max. 5 pages |
| Assignment type |
Synopsis |
| Duration |
Written product to be submitted on specified date and
time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade,
and informing plus explaining the grade |
| Grading scale |
7-step scale |
| Examiner(s) |
Internal examiner and external examiner |
| Exam period |
Autumn Term |
| Make-up exam/re-exam |
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Make-up examinations are given as an
individual oral exam based on a synopsis - exactly as for the
regular exam. The synopsis should be handed in before the set
deadline for make-up exams. In case the student already handed in a
synopsis for the regular exam (and met the set deadline), but was
sick on the date of the oral exam, the make-up exam is given as an
individual oral exam based on the synopsis handed in for the
regular exam.
Re-take examinations are given as an individual oral exam based on
an improved version of the synopsis handed in for the regular exam.
The improved version of the synopsis should be handed in before the
set deadline for re-takes.
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Description of the exam
procedure
The synopsis will be followed by an
individual, 20 minutes oral exam. While it takes its point of
departure in the synopsis, it is a curriculum exam meaning that
links are drawn to other parts of the curriculum.
The individual assessment is based on a combined evaluation of the
written product and the individual oral
exam.
|
|
| 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?
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| 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. |
| Student workload |
| Classes |
30 hours |
| Workshops |
8 hours |
| Preparation for classes and workshops (incl exam) |
168 hours |
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| Expected literature |
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Textbook:
- Grant, R. 2010: Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Text and Cases,
8th edition, Wiley
Research articles:
- Mintzberg, H. & Waters, J. A. 1985. Of strategies,
deliberate and emergent. Strategic Management Journal, 6:
257-272.
- Peteraf, M. & Barney, J. (2003). Unraveling the
resource-based tangle. Managerial Decision Economics, 24:
309-323.
- Segal-Horn, S. 2006. Strategy in Service Organizations, in
Andrew Campbell and Faulkner David O. (eds.) Oxford Handbook of
Strategy.
- Porter, M. 2008. The Five Competitive Forces That Shape
Strategy. Harvard Business Review.
- 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.
- Martin, R. L. 2010. The Execution Trap. Harvard Business
Review.
- Sull, D. & Eisenhardt, K. M. 2012. Simple Rules for a
Complex World. Harvard Business Review.
- Frei, F. 2008. The Four Things a Service Business Must Get
Right. Harvard Business Review.
- Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. 2000. Self-determination Theory
and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development,
and Well-being. American Psychologist.
- Heracleous, L. & Wirtz, J. 2010. Singapore Airlines’
Balancing Act. Harvard Business Review.
- Lovelock, C. & Yip, G. 1996. Developing Global Strategies
for Service Businesses. California Management Review.
- Westney, D. E., Zaheer, S. 2001. The Multinational Enterprise
as an Organization’, in Alan M. Rugman and Thomas L. Brewer (eds.)
The Oxford Handbook of International Business.
- Porter, M. & Kramer, M. 2002. The Competitive Advantage of
Corporate Philanthropy: Competitive Context. Harvard
Business Review, 80 (12): 56-68.
- 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.
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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