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2021/2022 KAN-CIMMO1073U Foundations of Strategy
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| Foundations of Strategy |
Course information |
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| Language | English |
| Course ECTS | 7.5 ECTS |
| Type | Mandatory |
| Level | Full Degree Master |
| Duration | One Semester |
| Start time of the course | Autumn |
| Timetable | Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk |
| Study board |
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business
Administration
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| Last updated on 18-06-2021 | |
Relevant links |
| Learning objectives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The objective of this course is to enable
students to provide an in-depth study of a problem of scientific
relevance based on the course. Students must demonstrate this
ability through theoretical review, analysis, and reflection.
Specifically, the learning objectives are demonstrated in the exam
to the degree to which students can:
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| Course content, structure and pedagogical approach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This is the first course in strategic management of the study program. The aim of this course is to provide students with a strong theoretical foundation in the strategy field. Consequently, the course offers a variety of strategy topics and views in order to provide a holistic view of the strategy field.
Strategy deals with the management of businesses and product-market activities within the umbrella of the larger, typically multinational, enterprise. Hence, the course focuses on business strategy perspectives concerned with competitive advantages in industry specific product-markets. Managers need a strong theoretical foundation to design and improve strategic choices. Upon completion of this course the student should be well equipped to address essential strategy issues and analyze a variety of different strategies through different theoretical lenses. The theory-guided approach facilitates critical reflection of firm practices and the identification of new, entrepreneurial opportunities.
The course will use a mixture of theory and case studies to engage students in fruitful classroom discussions. In order to have an optimal mix theoretical frameworks and perspectives, 10 lectures will be accompanied by 8 exercise sessions. The course will challenge students to develop a logical reasoning for strategic decisions, think about the boundaries of existing theoretical frameworks and envision useful extensions. Topics and readings for each session are published as course outline via Canvas. |
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| Description of the teaching methods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The ten lectures are to a large extent
literature-based and might also incorporate short cases as well as
accounts from practitioners to discuss some of the contemporary
strategic challenges. We intend to engage in a dialogue-based
teaching approach. Thus, to gain the most benefit from the sessions
students should be prepared to take active part in discussions and
to prepare the readings thoroughly.
We boost the interactive components of the course through in-class exercise sessions which will work in the following way: All course participants will be allocated randomly to 2 exercise groups that will go through the same scientific article discussions and case study exercises. The aim of the exercise sessions is to discuss and apply theoretical approaches and perspectives introduced in the lectures in a context of a much smaller class. Of course, the quality of this learning experience is strongly dependent upon the students’ preparation, engagement, and interactivity during the sessions. Selective groups of students in the exercise sessions might therefore also be asked to present their findings and case answers to the class. |
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| Feedback during the teaching period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The design of the course follows a proactive feedback philosophy by ex-ante mirroring the exam. Students are repeatedly exposed to learning objectives, exam sub-tasks, and situations during selected exercises and lectures. In the exam preparation sessions, students are debriefed and can ask for detailed feedback on their own performance. Hence, they have opportunities for reinforced learning based on exam-relevant tasks and feedback all along the course, and well before they enter the actual exam. The preparation and feedback sessions are scheduled for maximizing learning impact after the first half of the course and close to the end. Parts of the final lecture are used to recap material, provide overarching feedback and invite detailed student questions. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Expected literature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The course is based on a combination of textbook, scientific articles and case studies.
The textbook is:
Contemporary Strategy Analysis, 10th Edition Robert M. Grant ISBN: 978-1-119-49572-7
The additional readings or case materials for each session and related exercises are listed in the course outline on Canvas. All additional readings can be accessed via the CBS library homepage. Case studies used in this course are part of the Grant book or need to be purchased separately. See the course outline for details.
Please note that there might be some changes in the final readings before the respective class sessions. These changes will be announced in class or via Canvas. Canvas will also be used to communicate additional course-related information. |
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