This course is part of the Business Strategy and Decision Making Skills ExpertTrack
Strategic Choice and Planning: Target Markets and Business Decision-Making
Learn how to make the right strategic choices for business and the role of planning in building successful strategies.
Duration
2 weeksWeekly study
5 hoursIncluded in an ExpertTrack
Course 5 of 5
Strategic Choice and Planning: Target Markets and Business Decision-Making
Explore the importance of strategic choices and decision-making in a business
As world events speed up, it’s becoming ever more vital for organisations to put strategic choice at the heart of a business plan. This course will give you the opportunity to build your knowledge of how to make smart strategic choices and make decisions within a business context.
Build your understanding of strategic planning essentials
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 the knowledge to make plans at all three levels: Corporate level strategy (the foundational questions of what you want to achieve), business unit 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 have the chance to assess the dynamic environment, considering portfolio and investment growth opportunities and whether to develop or discontinue products.
Conduct effective, in-depth research into strategic leadership
You’ll have the opportunity to 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 learn 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
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. 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 will equip you with the concepts, framework and techniques needed for better environmental scanning.
Who developed the course?
Coventry University
Coventry secured gold in the UK Government’s 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and is University of the Year for Student Experience in The Times & The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019.
Established
1992Location
Coventry
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