GRA 6150 Foundations of Strategy for Digital Communication

GRA 6150 Foundations of Strategy for Digital Communication

Course code: 
GRA 6150
Department: 
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Liyue Yan
Course name in Norwegian: 
Foundations of Strategy for Digital Communication
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Digital Communication Management
Semester: 
2023 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

Strategy is concerned with how organizations and their managers reach their objectives in a competitive environment. The digital shift in industry and society has dramatically changed the communication industries and made digital communication a core strategic area for most organizations in all sectors of the economy. Internally, digital communication and coordination change both how firms create value and how they organize. Externally, firms’ reputation, market opportunities and competitive positioning, as well as interfirm coordination and cooperation, and stakeholder interaction, depend on strategies for digital platforms, analytics, social media, etc. This course introduces the theoretical foundations of strategic management and discusses their application in digital and communication oriented industrial contexts. The course focuses on how a firm can use the theories, models, and frameworks from the course to formulate and implement effective business-level and corporate-level strategies.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge
  • Good knowledge of foundational theories of strategic management
  • Being able to identify and apply relevant theoretical frameworks to develop strategies
Learning outcomes - Skills
  • Apply the frameworks to current business cases in relevant industrial contexts
  • Use specific analytical tools or frameworks to:
    • appropriately assess how well the firm is doing over time and relative to its peers
    • describe the firm’s strategy and assess whether the strategy is appropriate
    • develop and implement effective strategies or propose changes to the strategy to enhance, maintain or turn around the performance of the firm
General Competence
  • Ability to understand actors – individuals, organizations, and social movements – and their actions from a strategic perspective
  • Apply critical thinking in business context
Course content
  • Introduction to the field of strategy
  • Economic foundations and external analysis
  • Generic strategies
  • Resource-based view
  • Innovation
  • Corporate strategy
Teaching and learning activities

The course consists of lectures and case discussions. Students are required to read cases before class and actively participate in discussions in class. The discussions will focus on applying learned concepts and frameworks to relevant business cases. Students are also required to work on a course project that formulates strategic recommendations for a firm.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Additional information

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.

All parts of the assessment must be passed in order to get a grade in the course.

Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Disclaimer

Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
60
Grouping: 
Group (3 - 5)
Duration: 
1 Month(s)
Comment: 
Course project
Exam code: 
GRA 61501
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
40
Grouping: 
Individual
Duration: 
2 Day(s)
Comment: 
Final exam
Exam code: 
GRA 61502
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
36 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
32 Hour(s)
Individual problem solving
20 Hour(s)
Group work / Assignments
50 Hour(s)
Examination
2 Hour(s)
Submission(s)
20 Hour(s)
Sum workload: 
160

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.