GRA 6835 The Practicing Strategist

GRA 6835 The Practicing Strategist

Course code: 
GRA 6835
Department: 
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Øystein D. Fjeldstad
John Chandler Johnson
Course name in Norwegian: 
The Practicing Strategist
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Business - Strategy
Semester: 
2018 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

This is the final course for MSc in Business, Strategy majors. The course integrates and builds on knowledge gained in the other five courses. To prepare students for practical work in strategy, this course focuses on developing and applying the skills which are needed to operate as a strategist. In order to develop these skills, students will undertake a project based on a client organization, a consultancy company, or a complex case study.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge
  1. To integrate the previous 5 required courses in the MSc in Business, Strategy specialisation
  2. To gain insight into the practice of consulting
  3. To gain experience in real projects
Learning outcomes - Skills

To learn how to work in teams when working on strategy projects and problems

Learning Outcome - Reflection

To reflect on how to be a strategist, including the skills and behaviours involved, before entering full-time work after graduation.

Course content

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

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

The course will be taught through a combination of lectures, team presentations, discussions, presentations from professionals, one-on-one advising, etc.
Project groups will receive faculty supervision.

Learning process and requirements to students

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 It's learning or text book.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course start.

At resit, all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.

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

Exam categoryWeightInvigilationDurationGroupingComment exam
Exam category:
Activity
Form of assessment:
Class participation
Exam code:
GRA68351
Grading scale:
Point scale
Grading rules:
Internal examiner
Resit:
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
20No -Individual
Exam category:
Submission
Form of assessment:
Written submission
Exam code:
GRA68351
Grading scale:
Point scale
Grading rules:
Internal and external examiner
Resit:
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
10No 1 Semester(s)Group Interim hand-in. The duration and the group size will be decided at the beginning of the course.
Exam category:
Submission
Form of assessment:
Written submission
Exam code:
GRA68351
Grading scale:
Point scale
Grading rules:
Internal and external examiner
Resit:
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
40No 1 Semester(s)Group Final hand-in. The duration and the group size will be decided at the beginning of the course.
Exam category:
Activity
Form of assessment:
Presentation
Exam code:
GRA68351
Grading scale:
Point scale
Grading rules:
Internal examiner
Resit:
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
30No -Group The group size will be decided at the beginning of the course.
Exams:
Exam category:Activity
Form of assessment:Class participation
Weight:20
Invigilation:No
Grouping (size):Individual
Duration: -
Comment:
Exam code:GRA68351
Grading scale:Point scale
Resit:All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category:Submission
Form of assessment:Written submission
Weight:10
Invigilation:No
Grouping (size):Group
Duration: 1 Semester(s)
Comment:Interim hand-in. The duration and the group size will be decided at the beginning of the course.
Exam code:GRA68351
Grading scale:Point scale
Resit:All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category:Submission
Form of assessment:Written submission
Weight:40
Invigilation:No
Grouping (size):Group
Duration: 1 Semester(s)
Comment:Final hand-in. The duration and the group size will be decided at the beginning of the course.
Exam code:GRA68351
Grading scale:Point scale
Resit:All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category:Activity
Form of assessment:Presentation
Weight:30
Invigilation:No
Grouping (size):Group
Duration: -
Comment:The group size will be decided at the beginning of the course.
Exam code:GRA68351
Grading scale:Point scale
Resit:All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam organisation: 
Continuous assessment
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Total weight: 
100
Sum workload: 
0

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.