IB 375 - Strategic Management

Strategy is an all-embracing term which refers to decision making at both an Individual level (concerning how we make personal choices in various settings) and a Business level (focusing on how individuals grouped in organizations or companies make decisions about successfully running an entrepreneurial endeavor). This course will start by discussing the elements of the Individual level of Strategy decision-making, and then focus on the Business level. To be effective, business leaders and strategists operating in both well-established companies and startups must understand the factors responsible for their firm’s past performance and be able to identify those changes (inside or outside the firm) that are most likely to help or hurt future performance. This course addresses this reality head-on by examining the fundamental conditions that enable a firm to conceive, formulate, and sustain a superior strategic position. In particular, we will focus on:

1. The various external and environmental factors that impact the firm at an Individual Strategy as well as at a Business Strategy level
2. A firm’s internal source of competitive advantage at a Business Strategy level
3. Strategy execution and innovation
4. The strategic role of Information Technology (IT)
5. Strategy and startups (e.g. lean startup approach; strategic entrepreneurship; business planning).

Students will learn strategic analysis tools, including models and frameworks to help them diagnose organizational issues and make recommendations to improve or sustain performance. The objective of the course is to equip students with real-world skills that can be applied in organizational settings, and to provide them with an appreciation for the complexity of strategic decision-making in large firms or startups. On a more general level, the course aims to improve students’ critical thinking skills and ability to tackle tough organizational problems in a variety of settings.