Description
To succeed in the future, managers must develop the resources and capabilities needed to gain and sustain advantage in competitive markets. The way in which organisations attempt to develop such competitive advantage constitutes the essence of their strategy. This module considers the impact of current and emerging economic, political, digital and cultural factors and the relationship between strategy, stakeholder expectations and organisational performance. The strategic implications of e-business and the resulting digital transformation are also discussed.
Aims
The aim of this module is to provide the student with insights into how a business firm can create and sustain a competitive advantage.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should be able to:
- Critically apply tools of strategic analysis to assess a firm's position relative to competition.
- Evaluate theoretical underpinnings of a firm's strategy, formulate a strategy for a firm, and analyse how a competitive advantage could be created in contemporary business practice.
- Assess implications of various strategies for firm's sustainability, stakeholders and society at large.
Indicative Content
1 Strategic management concepts
Understanding of strategy. Strategy: a range of perspectives. The purpose of strategy. Links between strategy, tactics and operations management.
2 Industry analysis
Understanding external environment of a firm. Industry analysis: turbulences and dynamics. Porter's five forces. Analysis of competition and firms' value propositions. Market segments.
3 Analysis of firm's resources and capabilities
Distinctive resources and capabilities as a basis of a competitive advantage. Resource-based view of the firm. The VRIO framework - identification of resources that are valuable, rare, and inimitable, and how well the company is organised. Dynamic capabilities.
4 Levels of strategy
Business level strategy, corporate level strategy, network level strategy. Sources of a competitive advantage.
5 Generic strategies
Cost leadership strategy. Differentiation strategy. Focus strategies. Hybrid strategy. Evaluation of examples of business firms that implement generic strategies. Identification of sources of firms' advantage in each kind of strategy.
6 Strategy development
Strategic options. Diversification, growth strategies, international strategy. Advantages and risks entailed. Evaluation of experience of business firms that implement noted strategies. Assessment of sources of their competitive advantage.
7 Strategy as value creation
Value creation as a core of strategy formulation and implementation. Co-opetition. Blue Ocean strategy. Strategy and business models.
| Teaching and Learning Method | Hours |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 0 |
| Tutorial/Seminar | 0 |
| Supervised Practical Activity | 0 |
| Unsupervised Practical Activity | 30 |
| Assessment | 40 |
| Independent | 80 |
Guidance Notes
SCQF Level - The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.
Credit Value – The total value of SCQF credits for the module. 20 credits are the equivalent of 10 ECTS credits. A full-time student should normally register for 60 SCQF credits per semester.
Disclaimer
We make every effort to ensure that the information on our website is accurate but it is possible that some changes may occur prior to the academic year of entry. The modules listed in this catalogue are offered subject to availability during academic year 2024/5, and may be subject to change for future years.