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2017/2018  KAN-CSMCO1041U  Strategic Leadership and Brand Management

English Title
Strategic Leadership and Brand Management

Course information

Language English
Course ECTS 15 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Sven Junghagen - MPP
Main academic disciplines
  • Marketing
Last updated on 01-09-2017

Relevant links

Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors:
  • Discuss the underlying assumptions and distinguishing features of dominant perspectives for the study of Strategic Leadership and Brand Management
  • Select and apply models, concepts and theories in Strategic Leadership and Brand Management towards a given practical problem
  • Compare and integrate the models, concepts and theories of Brand Management with the models, concepts and theories of Strategic Leadership and thereby explain and conclude on interfaces and their consequences from a management perspective
  • Present argumentation for the relevance of the selected models, concepts and theories
  • Synthesise and deduce new models that can be used towards practical problems of Strategic Leadership and Brand Management
Examination
The exam in the subject consists of two parts:
Strategic Leadership and Brand Management:
Sub exam weight50%
Examination formWritten sit-in exam on CBS' computers
Individual or group examIndividual exam
Assignment typeWritten assignment
Duration4 hours
Grading scale7-step scale
Examiner(s)One internal examiner
Exam periodSpring
AidsLimited 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.)
  • Any calculator
  • Books (including translation dictionaries), compendiums and notes in paper format
The student will have access to
  • Access to CBSLearn
  • Access to the personal drive (S-drive) on CBS´ network
  • 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.
Strategic Leadership and Brand Management:
Sub exam weight50%
Examination formOral 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 examIndividual oral exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group2-4
Size of written productMax. 30 pages
Assignment typeProject
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
Preparation timeNo preparation
Grading scale7-step scale
Examiner(s)Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam periodSpring
AidsClosed book
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Make-up/re-exam will take place in the Fall with a report submission deadline in October. If the student did not pass the regular exam, a new or a revised project, cf. advice from the examiner of the ordinary exam, must be handed in by the new deadline.
* if a student is absent from the oral exam due to documented illness but has handed in the written group product she/he does not have to submit a new product for the re-take. However the group product must be uploaded once again on Digital Exam.
* if a whole group fails the oral exam they must hand in a revised product for the re-take.
* if one student in the group fails the oral exam the course coordinator chooses whether the student will have the oral exam on the basis of the same product or if he/she has to hand in a revised product for the re- take.
Course content and structure

What do we actually want students in the Strategic Leadership and Brand Management course to learn? It seems an obvious question to start with. Yet, in practice, many courses on the topic implicitly assume that the type of teaching objectives and teaching methods needed do not differ radically from any other subject - basically, strategic leadership and brand management can be taught in the same way as mathematics or baking cookies. This “instructional” approach is based on the following teaching objectives:

 

  1. Knowledge. To get the student to clearly understand and memorize all of the "ingredients";
  2. Skills. To develop the student's ability to follow the detailed "recipes";
  3. Attitude. To instil a disciplined frame of mind, whereby the student automatically attempts to approach all issues by following fixed procedures.

 

However, while instructing students on a subject and programming their behaviour might be useful in such areas as mathematics, cooking and karate, we believe it is not a very good way of teaching strategic leadership and brand management. Instead, we have the following teaching objectives with the strategic leadership and brand management course:

 

  1. Knowledge. To encourage the understanding of the many, often conflicting, schools of thought and to facilitate the gaining of insight into the assumptions, possibilities and limitations of each set of theories;
  2. Skills. To develop the student's ability to define strategic issues, to critically reflect on existing  theories, to creatively combine or develop theories where necessary and to flexibly employ theories where useful;
  3. Attitude. To instil a critical, analytical, flexible and creative mind-set, which challenges organizational, industry and national paradigms and problem-solving recipes.

 

Class session will consist of lectures and include interactive presentations and case discussions. Moreover, executives and experts may also be involved in a number of lectures to confront the class with a number of practical and challenging issues in the area of strategic leadership and brand management. The format of the course is thus based on a mixture of cases and theory, as it is our belief that understanding both practice and theory, and acquiring the skill to apply one to the other, should be the core of this course. Hence, classes will be used to partially review theory and promote critical discussion of theory application and to partially present and discuss cases. This discussion should, however, be guided by insights gained in the 'theoretical' readings and should lead to conclusions about the applicability of theoretical concepts in certain practical situations.

 

This course will provide the students with a solid understanding of the underlying assumptions - on the company as well as its environment- behind the different schools of thought within strategic leadership and brand management. 

Teaching methods
The course consists of lectures, case-works, semester project and a 4 hour written exam.
Feedback during the teaching period
Continuous feedback in class and student office hours.
Student workload
Lectures 33 hours
Readings and preparation for the exam 173 hours
Expected literature

de Wit, B., & Meyer Ron. (2014). Strategy: An international perspective (5.th ed.). London: Cengage Learning EMEA.

ISBN: 9781408082676

 

Heding, T., Knudtzen Charlotte F, & Bjerre Mogens. (2016). Brand management: Research, theory and practice (2.nd ed.). London: Routledge.

ISBN: 9781138804692

 

Plus: a selection of articles

 

Last updated on 01-09-2017