INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

This course will proceed sequentially through three levels of analysis The first level is an introduction to strategic management through two prevailing models; the industrial organization model (I/O) and the resource based model. The second part of the course focuses on strategy formulation. The final part addresses strategy implementation. The goal of this course is to explain the strategic management process through a practical analysis of strategic management cases. Prerequisite: Prinicples of Management

Successful completion of the course will enable students:

1. To conduct a competitive environment analysis to understand a firm’s relative market position.
2. To identify the key issues faced by a firm and analyze its internal strengths and weaknesses in the context of the firm’s competitive environment.
3. To formulate a set of viable competitive strategies that a firm might pursue and communicate in a concise and persuasive fashion.
4. To understand the ways how policies in each function such as finance, marketing, production, and human resources can be integrated into an overall competitive strategy of a firm.
5. To understand a set of issues including ethics and social responsibilities that managers should consider for successful implementation of a firm’s competitive strategy.

Case-studies will be widely used to provide the course with a “hands-on” focus and a practical orientation that complements conceptual framework discussed in the class. Students will be challenged to integrate knowledge they have gained from other business core courses and apply their accumulated knowledge to case studies. The students are expected to prepare themselves well in advance before each session in order to participate in the discussions meaningfully. The assigned readings must be read thoroughly before coming to the class in order to derive maximum mileage from each session.

This will be a highly engaging and interactive class where students will have an ample opportunity to learn about key issues in strategic management through discussions, debates, and case analysis. Therefore, I expect students to read all reading materials prior to each class in order to meaningfully participate in class discussions and debates. This course builds upon students’ prior knowledge and understanding of general management. Hence, students are required to take principles of management before taking this course.