NEW PROFESSIONAL (6-WEEK) EVENING COURSE

Nature of Strategic Management:

Definitions, stages of strategic management, key terms in strategic management, strategic management model, benefits of strategic management, business ethics and strategic management, business and military strategy.

Strategies in Action:

Types of Strategies, integration strategies, intensive strategies, diversification strategies, defensive strategies, guidelines for pursuing strategies, mergers and leveraged buyouts, generic strategies, strategic management in government organisations, strategic management in small firms.

Business Mission:

Importance of a clear mission, nature of a business mission, components of a mission statement, writing & evaluating mission statements.

External Assessment:

Nature of an external audit, economic forces, social, cultural, demographic & environmental forces, political, governmental & legal forces, technological forces, competitive forces, sources of external information, forecasting tools and techniques, competitive analysis, industry analysis.

Internal Assessment:

Nature of an internal audit, relationships among functional areas, management, marketing, finance, productions/operations, R & D, Computer information systems, internal audit checks, internal factor evaluation matrix.

Strategy Analysis & Choice:

Nature of strategy analysis and choice, long-term objectives, comprehensive strategy formulation framework, input stage, matching stage, decision stage, cultural aspects of strategy choice, role of Board of Directors.

Strategy Implementation, Management Issues: Nature of Strategy Implementation:

Annual Objectives, Policies, resource allocation, managing conflict, matching structure with strategy, restructuring and re-engineering, linking performance and pay to strategies, managing resistance to change, managing the natural environment, creating a strategy supportive culture, production/operations concerns when implementing strategies, human resource concerns when implementing strategies.

Implementing Strategies, Other Issues:

Nature of strategy implementation, marking issues, finance issues, R & D Issues, Computing information System issues.

Strategy, Review, Evaluation & Control:

Nature of Strategy evaluation, strategy evaluation information, characteristics of an effective evaluation system, contingency planning, auditing, using computers to evaluate strategies, guidelines for effective strategic management.

Core Text: Strategic Management – Fred R David (Prentice Hall)