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: 
Amir Sasson
Course name in Norwegian: 
Foundations of Strategy for Digital Communication
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Digital Communication Management
Semester: 
2025 Autumn
Active status: 
Re-sit exam
Level of study: 
Master
Resit exam semesters: 
2025 Autumn
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

Strategy is concerned with how businesses and organizations reach their objectives, often in a competitive environment. The overall strategy determines the other business activities, including product positioning, technology investment, marketing, acquisitions, hiring, etc. Successfully managing a business requires the manager to clearly define the strategy and communicate it to key stakeholders, such as investors, clients, regulators, and partners.

This course introduces the theoretical foundations of strategic management. 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
  • Understanding the foundational theories of strategic management
  • Being able to identify and apply relevant theoretical frameworks to develop strategies
Learning outcomes - Skills
  • Applying the frameworks to current business cases in relevant industrial contexts
  • Using specific analytical tools or frameworks to:
    • appropriately assess how well a firm is doing over time and relative to its peers
    • describe a 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 a firm
  • Being able to clearly communicate strategies and strategy-related issues to various audiences
General Competence
  • Ability to formulate strategy in various contexts
  • Ability to understand and evaluate actors’ actions from a strategic perspective
  • Applying critical thinking in business context
Course content
  • Introduction to the field of strategy
  • Economic foundations and external analysis
  • Generic strategies
  • Resource-based vies
  • 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 proviede in class.

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: 
Submission PDF
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
100
Grouping: 
Individual
Duration: 
5 Hour(s)
Comment: 
Final exam
Exam code: 
GRA 61503
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
36 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
72 Hour(s)
Individual problem solving
10 Hour(s)
Group work / Assignments
50 Hour(s)
Examination
5 Hour(s)
Sum workload: 
173

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.

Reading list