GRA 6835 The Practicing Strategist

APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017

GRA 6835 The Practicing Strategist


Responsible for the course
Øystein Fjeldstad, John Chandler Johnson

Department
Department of Strategy

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
6

Language of instruction
English

Introduction

  • This course is intended to be the final course for MSc majors in Strategy. The aim of the course is to be integrative and to build on the knowledge gained in the other five courses. The first two courses in semester one are focused on the main theories of strategy. The second three courses delivered in semester two are focused on key application areas of strategy theory. The central focus of this course offered in the fourth semester of the programme is on developing and applying the skills which are needed to operate as a strategist, in order to equip students with a practical understanding of strategy work. In order to develop a relevant skill set, students will undertake a project based on a organisational client or a consultancy company or a complex case study.

Learning outcome
  1. To integrate the previous 5 required courses in the MSc in Strategy programme.
  2. To learn how to work in teams working on strategy projects and problems
  3. To gain insight into the practice of consulting
  4. To gain experience in real projects, either with a client or a consulting firm or a large complex case study
  5. To reflect on how to be a strategist, including the skills and behaviours involved, before entering full-time work after graduation

    Prerequisites

    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 spesific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

    Compulsory reading

    Articles:
    Articles from major journals such as ASQ, AMJ, AMR, AME, ASQ, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Strategy and Management, Long Range Planning, Sloan Management Review and Harvard Business Review that are considered to be at the ‘cutting edge’ of the field. See the Course Outline for more detail

    Other:
    During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course


    Recommended reading
    Books:
    Kubr, Milan, ed. 2002. Management consulting : a guide to the profession. 4th ed. International Labour Office

    Course outline
    The course will typically include, but is not limited to, the following themes:

    1. Introduction
    2. Strategising in the context of the professional service firm
    3. Doing a project - problem definition, industry, company and issue analysis, client relations, process execution, final presentation and report
    4. Skills in conducting a project - team work, analysis, managing processes and time, building narratives, networking

    The course will be taught by a combination of lectures, team presentations, discussions, presentations from professionals, etc.
    The project groups will receive faculty supervision.

    Computer-based tools


    Learning process and workload
    A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.

    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 that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.



    Examination
    The course grade will be based on the following activities and weights:
    20% individual participation
    10% interim hand-in (group)
    40% final hand-in (group)
    30% final presentation (group)


    Form of assessment Weight Group size
    Class participation 20% Individual
    Assignment 10%
    Assignment 40%
    Presentation 30%

    Specific information regarding student assessment will be provided in class. This information may be relevant to requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several components of the overall assessment. This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded using points on a scale from 0-100. The final grade for the course is based on the aggregated mark of the course components. Each component is weighted as detailed in the course description. Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam components will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the points system and the mapping scale in the student portal @bi. Candidates may be called in for an oral hearing as a verification/control of written assignments.

    Examination code(s)
    GRA 68351 continuous assessment accounts for 100% of the final grade in GRA 6835

    Examination support materials

    Permitted examination support materials for written examinations are detailed under examination information in the student portal @bi. The section on support materials and the use of calculators and dictionaries should be paid special attention to.

    Re-sit examination
    It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught. The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code. Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes. All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee. Please note that you need to retake the latest version of the course with updated course literature and assessment. Please make sure that you have familiarised yourself with the latest course description.

    Additional information
    Honour code. Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and are values that are integral to BI's honour code system. Students are responsible for familiarising themselves with the honour code system, to which the faculty is deeply committed. Any violation of the honour code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for academic misconduct. Issues of academic integrity are taken seriously by everyone associated with the programmes at BI and are at the heart of the honour code. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honour code, please ask. The learning platform itslearning is used in the teaching of all courses at BI. All students are expected to make use of itslearning.

    Semesters

    Translations