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.

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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.

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