GRA 6833 Corporate & Global Strategies
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APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016 |
GRA 6833 Corporate & Global Strategies
Responsible for the course
Gabriel R G Benito
Department
Department of Strategy and Logistics
Term
According to study plan
ECTS Credits
6
Language of instruction
English
Introduction
NB! Students who take this course cannot also take GRA 6344 International Strategy.
The course essentially deals with the strategic issues that corporate headquarters face with respect to achieving sustainable competitive advantage in an increasingly global competition arena.
The domain of corporate and global strategies comprises: (i) defining appropriate boundaries for the corporation; (ii) restructuring the corporation (for example diversification and divestment decisions); (iii) the allocation of decision rights between corporate headquarters, division and SBU headquarters, and subsidiariy units; (iv) managing inter-unit relationships in complex and spatially dispersed corporations.
Learning outcome
This is an academically ambitious and challenging course that aims to enhance:
(i) acquired knowledge, i.e. provide students knowledge about core parts of the research-based literature about corporate and global strategies (acquired knowledge);
(ii) acquired skills, i.e. develop students’ competence in analyzing and assessing the scope of corporations ;
(iii) reflection, i.e. develop students’ understanding of the challenges involved in formulating and implementing corporate strategies, especially those that entail extending companies’ activities across national borders.
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:
The literature in the course is comprised of selected articles published in major journals in the fields of strategic management and international business such as Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, and Strategic Management Journal
Other:
During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination.
Recommended reading
Course outline
The course will focus on:
- Issues in corporate and global strategies
- The scope of the corporation
- Modes of entry, operation and expansion
- Diversification, restructuring and divestment
- Organizing the complex corporation
- Managing the complex corporation
Computer-based tools
Learning process and workload
A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.
The course is a combination of lectures, student presentations and class discussions. Occasionally, small cases will be handed out and used as a starting point for discussions in class. Students will also be asked to present academic articles in groups.
Active student participation is generally expected. Students should read all required literature before sessions and come well prepared to class. The amount of readings for each session is typically 3 to 4 academic articles.
Required course literature is a collection of articles. Most articles are available through BI library databases. Students are responsible for downloading articles that are accessible through the BI library and the It's learning. Other readings will be made available to students on a successive basis.
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 or in the required readings.
Examination
The course grade will be based on the following activities and weights:
The final grade is composed of a 25 per cent in-class component based on presentations and contributions during classes, a written individual assignment counting for 25 per cent, and a term paper written in groups of 3-4 students that counts for 50 per cent.
| Form of assessment | Weight | Group size |
| Class participation | 25% | Individual |
| Assignment | 25% | Individual |
| Term paper | 50% | Group of max 3 students |
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.
Examination code(s)
GRA 68331 continuous assessment accounts for 100% of the final grade in the course GRA 6833
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
Honor code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honor code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honor code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed.
Any violation of the honor code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honor code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honor code, please ask.