Strategy and Decision Making

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The relevant strategy concepts in theory and practice;
• The important concepts and techniques of strategic analyses, strategic decision-making and strategic choices in corporate and international business;
• What strategy actually is;
• Decision-making and key approaches to formulating and appraising critical decisions in relation to business management contexts.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Work effectively as part of a task-orientated and diverse group;
• Manage individual tasks, personal resources and time effectively;
• Present effectively for business purposes.
• Think critically and argue effectively (based on evidence);
• Write effectively for business purposes;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Analyse strategic options and undertake effective decision-making in organisations;
• Analyse critically different strategic concepts and tools on company specific issues;
• Deploy appropriate tools and techniques to analyse and understand the strategic position of the organisation;
• Define and critically appraise decisions in relation to business management contexts.

• Defining & understanding strategy
• Overview of different strategy theories, tools & techniques in strategy formulation
• Strategic context & strategic analyses
• Strategic capability
• Overview of strategic choices
• Organising for success
• Strategic decision making in the firm
• The nature of decision making
• Making decisions when facing risk and uncertainty
• Subjective judgements, heuristics and biases
• Competitive and co-operative decision making
• Strategy implementation
• Strategic renewal
• Scenario planning

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include

• Lectures
• Class discussions
• Guided background reading
• Group work followed by group presentations and discussions
• Exploration of case studies, papers, newspaper articles and videos.

Learning activities include

• Group interactions
• Discussion of case studies
• Independent reading from a recommended bibliography
• Private study and library based research

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Johnson, G., Scholes, K.& Whittington, R. (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy. Prentice Hall.

Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D. and R. E. Hoskisson (2003). Strategic Management - Competitiveness and Globalization. Thomson.

Goodwin and Wright (2013). Decision Analysis for Management Judgment.

Johnson, Whittington, Scholes, Angwin and Regner (2017). Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases. Pearson.

Mintzberg H., Ahlstrand B. and Lampel J. (1998). Strategy Safari. Hempstead, UK: Prentice Hall Europe.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External