General provisions

Master programme course- track SMM, MAC, MIB, MIG. The course syllabus was approved by the board of the Department of Business Studies on delegation from the Faculty of Social Sciences and takes effects as of 2010-08-30.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish degree of at least 180 credits including the equivalent to 60 credits in Business Studies. Proficiency in English.

Learning outcomes

The broad goal of Business Strategy is to cut across the whole spectrum of business and management. The purpose of the course is to create an understanding about the total enterprise – about the industry and the competitive environment in which it operates. The purpose is also to understand the long-term direction and strategy of an enterprise, its resources and competitive capabilities, and its prospects for success.

The specific goals of Business Strategy are:

- To develop your capacity to think strategically about a company, its present business position, its long-term direction, its resources and competitive capabilities, the caliber of its strategy, and its opportunities for gaining sustainable competitive advantage.

- To build your skills in conducting strategic analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations and, especially, to provide you with a stronger understanding of the competitive challenges of a global market.

- To give you hands-on experience in crafting business strategy, reasoning carefully about strategic options, using what-if analysis to evaluate action alternatives, and making sound strategic decisions.

- To acquaint you with the managerial tasks associated with implementing and executing company strategies, drill you in the range of actions managers can take to promote competent strategy execution, such as writing and presenting strategic plans and evaluating and developing the plans of others.

- To heighten your awareness of how and why ethical principles, core values, and socially responsible management practices matter greatly in the conduct of a company's business.

- To develop your powers of managerial judgment, help you learn how to assess business risk, and improve your ability to make sound business decisions and achieve effective outcomes.

Content

Unlike other business courses that concentrate narrowly on a particular function of the business—accounting, finance, marketing, etc., strategic management is a big picture course. It cuts across the whole spectrum of business and management. We are going to cover the following topics: (1) what are the role and tasks of the strategy manager, (2) what strategy means, (3) how to formulate and implement a strategic plan, (4) how to use the tools and techniques of situation analysis, and (5) how to exercise good business judgment and make sound decisions. A major purpose of the course is to sharpen your abilities to "think strategically" and weigh things from the perspective of what is best for the enterprise as a whole.

Instruction

- Lectures by the instructors.

- Practicing the tasks of managerial analysis and decision-making via use of actual case studies—analysis/discussion by whole class (students do most of the talking).

- Practicing the task of managing via the "learning-by-doing", a simulation exercise.

- Exams.

- Oral team presentations.

Assessment

To attain the learning goals performance is evaluated by:

- Performance on the business simulation.

- Individual written case assignment.

- Participation in class discussion of cases and satisfactory completion of

group case assignments.

- Satisfactory completion of tests on assigned chapters in the text.

- Oral team presentation of assigned case.

Grading criteria are presented in the study guide provided at the start of the course. The final grade of the course is determined after taking into consideration the different parts of the examination. The course consists of obligatory parts. Grades will be given in accordance with the Swedish grading system and the ECTS grading system. The following grades will be used: VG (pass with distinction: ECTS A or B), G (pass: ECTS C, D or E), and U (fail: ECTS F). Assignments and exams handed in late will not be graded except in special circumstances. In addition, any remaining assignments and supplemental work must be completed and handed in within two weeks after the end of the course; otherwise, the entire course (all assignments included) must be redone the next time the course is given, provided there is space in the course.

Uppsala University does not accept cheating and plagiarism. Suspected incidents of cheating or plagiarism are reported to the Disciplinary Committee of the University, which may issue a formal warning to the student or expel the student from the university for six months.

NOTE: Only completed courses can be recognised in your degree.