GRA 8169 Strategy Process (2016/2017)

APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017

GRA 8169 Strategy Process (2016/2017)


Responsible for the course
Debbie Harrison

Department
Department of Strategy

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
4

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
All companies have strategies, but many surveys report the same finding: between 50% and 90% of organisations that have decided on a new strategic direction fail to implement it (see www.businessballs.com). Therefore one key managerial challenge for strategists is in developing and executing strategies successfully.

This course is centred upon three central themes; strategy development processes, strategy implementation, and strategic change processes. The first theme considers sensemaking and dynamic processes of forming multiple strategies. The second theme includes strategy execution, such as how to align the organisation in realising a new strategy. Challenges in managing the change process are the third theme.

The course addresses the managerial challenges involved in strategy implementation by emphasizing application and practice. We will discuss state of the art cases in order identify key problems in executing strategy, and how such problems might be solved in order to align the organisation with a new strategy. This will be supplemented with the use of simulations and input from guest speakers (who are senior managers with a responsibility for strategy in their organisations).

Students will have the opportunity to directly apply course material to their own organisations or business units via project reports and case presentations.

Learning outcome
The intent of the Strategy Process course is to give students an understanding of how to engage in strategy development and implementation processes over time. It builds on the frameworks and competence gained from the Strategy Analysis course. More specifically:


Acquired knowledge
· Gain understanding of the roles of the strategist in setting and implementing the strategic process
· To recognize the links between strategy development and implementation
· Develop insight into how strategies actually get implemented in organizations
·

Acquired skills
· To develop skills in how to execute strategy in organizations


Reflection
· To understand the dynamic nature of strategy processes
· To gain insight into the challenges of strategy execution in the student’s own organisational context

Prerequisites
Participants must have been granted admission to the EMBA programme and passed GRA 8168 Strategy Analysis.

Compulsory reading
Books:
de Witt, B. and Meyer, R:. 2010 (4th edition). Strategy: Context, Process and Outcome. (a good general overview text for background reading)

Articles:
Approximately 10 articles selected from journals such as Harvard Business Review, Long Range Planning, Academy of Management Review and other relevant strategy journals, and / or chapters from the Harvard Business School Publishing ‘short notes in strategy’ series. This means a reading load of 1-2 articles per 4 hour teaching block

Recommended reading

Course outline
The course content would typically include, but is not limited to, topics such as:

· Strategy development processes
· Sensemaking and the cognitive side of strategizing
· Dynamic processes of formulating and forming multiple strategies
· Execution of strategic intentions
· Translating strategy into actions (AOPs, KPIs)
· Aligning the organisation to achieve change (fulfilment of strategy processes in a variety of strategizing contexts)
· Implementation and strategic change processes

Computer-based tools
It's Learning and @bi

Learning process and workload
The course will be organised around; combining teaching about the topics contained within the course outline with in-depth discussion of cases, use of simulations, input from guest speakers, and drawing on the professional experience of participants.

Course participants will be required to work with the relevant theories and frameworks and explicitly use these in the various tasks to be undertaken during the course. The workload will involve intensive group and individual work that is aimed at integrating theories and application.

1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours.

Attendance to all sessions in the course is compulsory. If you have to miss part(s) of the course you must ask in advance for leave of absence. More than 20% absence in a course will require retaking the entire course. It's the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/ It's learning or other course materials


Examination
Students will be evaluated in the following five ways:

1. A case description and analysis based on participant experience (group work) – 20%
2. A case analysis report (group work) – 20%
3. Individual oral class contribution – 20%
4. Individual critical review report (critically review 2 articles from the course and write a 2 page report) - 20%
5. A research proposition report (in pairs) - 20%

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam elements) and one final exam code. Each exam element will be graded using points on a scale (e.g. 0-100). The elements will be weighted together according to the information above in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course.

Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.

Examination code(s)
GRA 81691 - Continuous assessment; accounts for 100 % to pass the course GRA 8169, 4 ECTS credits

The course is a part of a full Executive Master of Business Administration Program and all evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the degree.


Examination support materials



Re-sit examination
Re-takes are only possible at the next time a course will be held. When course evaluation consists of class participation or continuous assessment, the whole course must be re-evaluated when a student wants to retake a exam. Retake examinations entail an extra examination fee.

Additional information