Strategy Process (2024/2025)

Introduction

The purpose of this course is to take students through the process of making strategies.  The course starts in theories about how to frame the current strategic environment and the current position of the organisation, and ends in frameworks and tools for how to implement strategies.  The course aims to develop students’ understanding of how strategies develop in different ways in different organizational contexts, and how they can be implemented successfully.  The course should enable students to evaluate and reflect on the strategizing contexts in which they work, and their own role as strategists.  We progress through a series of active learning experiences centred upon relevant theories, central ideas and frameworks in strategic cognition, strategy development processes, strategy practices, and strategic implementation.  Students will be introduced to key ideas through a mixture of teaching and learning methods, e.g. role play, case studies, simulation, class presentations, etc.  The course takes as its starting point that students have successfully completed the Strategy Analysis course within the EMBA.

Course content

Theme 1: Strategic cognition and framing strategic challenges

• Cognitive maps as framing devices
• Strategy frames, sensemaking and sensegiving 
• Strategic decision-making
• The role of scenario planning
   

Theme 2: Strategy development processes

• Managing using strategic plans 
• Managing processes of strategy emergence and evolution 
• Using strategy tools and strategy practices 
   

Theme 3. Strategic implementation

• Managing misalignment challenges and implementation barriers
• Strategies for successful execution processes 
• Strategy maps and the balanced score card