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Strategic Planning: Target Markets and Business Decision-Making

Explore how to make the right strategic choices for your business and the role of planning in building successful strategies.

  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    5 hours
  • 100% online

    How it works
  • Included in an ExpertTrack

    Course 5 of 5
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    $39/monthFind out more

Explore the importance of strategic planning and decision-making in a business

In such a fast paced world, it’s becoming ever more vital for organisations to put strategic choice at the heart of a business plan.

This two-week course aims to provide you with the tools to make smart strategic choices and improve your decision-making skills within a business context.

Build your understanding of strategic planning

Strategic choices are integral to the successful running of a business, and should be undertaken at a variety of levels. This course will give you access to the knowledge to make plans at all three levels: Corporate level strategy (the foundational questions of what you want to achieve), business level strategy (how you’ll compete), and market level strategy (how to grow your business).

BCG explained: the Boston Consulting Group Matrix

When defining a strategy for your business, the Boston Consulting Group matrix (or BCG matrix) will help with long-term strategic planning. With the BCG matrix, you’ll assess the dynamic environment, considering portfolio and investment growth opportunities and whether to develop or discontinue products.

Conduct in-depth research into strategic leadership and strategic direction

You’ll cover the basics of strategic direction and leadership, competitive dynamics, and how these can help you build an effective senior management team. You’ll also explore how strategic leadership creates value for a business.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Corporate-level Strategy - diversification

    • Welcome to the course

      This week we will discuss how to allocate resources across business units in a large corporation and explain a firm’s strategic choice to for growth.

    • BCG matrix

      BCG matrix is one well-known method for product portfolio planning. It addresses the inter-relation between market growth and market share.

    • Assessing the dynamic environment

      The dynamic and fast-changing environment offer both opportunities and risks.

    • Does diversification create value?

      Can diversification create value? Yes, it certainly can. But you need to carefully consider the environment and allocate appropriate resource accordingly.

  • Week 2

    Strategic direction and leadership

    • Welcome to Week 2

      In this week, we aim to discuss the strategic direction of an organisation and roles of strategic leadership.

    • Strategic action: Which way to go?

      Strategic action: Which way to go?

    • Strategic leadership and competitive dynamics

      Strategic leadership and competitive dynamics

    • Summary activities

      Strategic leadership is at the centre of an organisation’s decision making process and determines which way the organisation is heading and competing.

Prove you're job ready

Highlight the new, job-relevant skills you’ve gained and supplement existing qualifications with a hard-earned, industry-specific digital certificate – plus one for every course within your ExpertTrack.

  • Learn the latest in your chosen industry or subject.
  • Complete each course and pass assessments.
  • Receive certificates validated by the educating organisation.
  • Impress employers with learning outcomes you can add to your CV.
  • Make your career dreams a reality.

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Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Discuss the nature and importance of strategic choices
  • Explain the importance of course portfolio management

Who is the course for?

This ExpertTrack is designed for intermediate-level business managers and students to gain more knowledge about strategy and globalisation. This course aims to equip you with the concepts, framework and techniques needed for better environmental scanning.

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992
  • Location

    Coventry

About this ExpertTrack

Discover the fundamentals of business strategy, business models and strategic management, and work on your decision-making skills.

Start learning today - free 7-day trial

After your free trial you can:

  • Pay $39 per month to keep learning online
  • Have complete control over your subscription; you can cancel any time
  • Work at your own pace and set your own deadlines at every stage
  • Only pay while you’re learning; the subscription will cancel automatically when you finish
  • Complete online assessments to test your knowledge and prove your skills
  • Earn digital course certificates and a final award that you can share online, with potential employers, and your professional network
  • Keep access to the content of courses you complete even after your subscription ends

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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