Help your organization prosper in times of transition with engaging in rigorous strategic analysis to complement your intuition with the deep insights needed. Learn how to design effective strategy processes and to spot fundamental market and technology changes in your industry.
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This foundational course enables you to analyze shifting industry structures and develop new capabilities in times of industry transition by covering different parts of strategy:
The Process of Strategy
- What precisely is strategy and why does it matter? What are the origins of the concept and how can we define it?
- What are the building blocks of strategy and how can they be arranged as a process?
- What distinct conceptions of the strategy process co-exist and what are their respective advantages and disadvantages?
Analyzing Industry Structure
- What is the role of the industry and its structure for firm performance? How can we analyze industry structures?
- How can we unpack industries and identify the most attractive strategic positions to occupy therein?
- How do we identify what it takes to outcompete others in our strategic group?
Developing Internal Resources
- Can firms succeed in generally unattractive industries? What is the role of firms’ internal resource base in this regard?
- How can we find out which resources and capabilities are likely to have the greatest strategic value?
- What are dynamic capabilities and how do they matter for firm survival and performance?
All key ideas are illustrated through a real-life case study on Tesla and its role in the technological transformation of the global automotive industry.
This course is part of the "Managing Technology & Innovation: How to deal with disruptive change" MicroMasters program designed to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting field.
What you'll learn
- To understand key concepts and selected theories in strategic management
- To identify the building blocks of strategy and arrange them in a cohesive process
- How to analyze the (shifting) structure of your industry
- Renew or extend internal resources and capabilities, especially in times of far-reaching technological changes
Syllabus
Theme 1: Unpacking the Process of Strategy
Week 1: Strategy Concept
- Strategy Definitions: Understand the etymological origins of the concept and review key definitions.
- Strategy Evolution: Explore the evolution of strategic thinking.
Week 2: Strategy Process
- Strategy Models: Discuss the dominant perception of strategy process and its limitations.
- Strategy Schools: Distinguish between a conception of strategy as design and of strategy as emergence.
Theme 2: Analyzing Industry Structures
Week 3: Industry Analysis
- Market-Based View: Learn about the theoretical foundations of the MBV and the process of industry analysis.
- Five Forces: Review and apply Porter’s model of industry analysis.
Week 4: Strategic Group Analysis
- Strategic Segmentation: Understand how to identify clusters of strategically similar firms within one industry.
- Key Success Factors: Learn how to identify key success factors for strategic groups.
Theme 3: Developing Internal Resources
Week 5: Internal Resources
- Resource-Based View: Learn about the theoretical foundations of the RBV and compare it to the MBV.
- Resource Analysis: Become familiar with the way in which resources and capabilities can be analyzed. systematically.
Week 6: Dynamic Capabilities
- Dynamic Capability View: Introduce and explicate the concept of dynamic capabilities and its value for strategic management.
- Capability Development: Identify ways to strengthen sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capabilities.
Prerequisites:
No mandatory prerequisites but successful completion of MTI001x - Managing Disruptive Change, MTI002x - Customer-Centric Innovation, MTI003x -Innovation & Creativity Management and MTI004x -Thinking & Acting like an Entrepreneur is beneficial.
