BUSI-1324

Managing Strategy
WEEK 1 Workshop
 Agenda
1. Short introduction by the tutor & by yourself
2. Aim of the course
3. Module Structure
4. Assessment Structure
5. Introduction to the concepts of Strategy and Strategic Decision Making
Short Introduction to
each other
Introduction to the
module
Aim of the module
To introduce you to the core analytical tools of strategic
appraisal of companies

What does strategic appraisal mean? ...

• strategy analysis
• strategy formulation
• strategy implementation
Module structure
 Session Plan 1/2
Week beginning Activity
26/09/22 Workshop 1: Introduction to the module
The nature of Strategy and Strategic Decision Making
03/10/22 Workshop 2: Strategic purpose
Organisational Purpose and Stakeholder Expectations
10/10/22 Workshop 3: Macro environment
Using PESTEL and OT of SWOT
17/10/22 Workshop 4: Industry environment
Using Porter’s 5 forces of competition analysis and industry
groups
24/10/22 Workshop 5: Internal environment
Value chain analysis, dynamic capabilities, VRIO and SW of
SWOT
31/10/22 Workshop 6: The nature and sources of competitive
advantage
Porter’s Generic Strategies
07/11/22 Workshop 7: Business strategies and business models
Bowman’s Strategy Clock
 Session Plan 2/2
Week beginning Activity
14/11/22 Workshop 8: Corporate strategies
Using the BCG Matrix and the Ansoff Matrix
21/11/22 Workshop 9: Developing and evaluating strategic options for growth
Using TOWS and SFA

1st assignment deadline – 25 November 2022

28/11/22 Workshop 10: Strategy execution

Organisation systems, structures and culture
05/12/22 Workshop 11: Strategy for success
Embracing change and sustainability
12/12/22 Module revision

2nd assignment deadline – 9 January 2023

Assessment
Assessment Details
Weight towards
Assignments Content Length Due Date
final grade

Failure/decline of company
25.11.22
1. Essay chosen based on FT.com and 30% 2000 words
essay on strategic mistakes

2. Strategic Full strategic appraisal of

70% 4000 words 09.01.23
Appraisal SegaSoft Networks Inc.

Your Module Handbook specifies the marking criteria:

PLEASE DOWNLOAD IT AND READ IT
Assessment 1: Essay (1/2)
Based on a FT (FT.com) news article, please select a company that is facing a
failure/decline and analyse possible reasons of its strategic mistakes. The task
requires demonstrating the following:
• Providing an overview of a company strategy
• Explaining what is meant by failure/decline
• Analysing the possible reasons of failure/decline
• Suggesting how this could be avoided

➢ DO NOT apply strategy tools

Assessment 1: Essay (2/2)
• Use relevant academic literature in your discussion
• Use Harvard referencing style
• The selected FT (FT.com) news article(s) and any cited news
article(s) MUST be included in the reference list
• You must register to use FT.com. For guidance, please see
‘Registering for FT.com’ document uploaded to the Moodle in the
assignment help folder
• An example for the essay is provided in the same folder.
Assessment 2: Strategic Appraisal (1/2)
• Complete strategic appraisal on the given company ‘SegaSoft Networks
Inc. (SegaSoft)’.
• Use of any other company means submission will be given 1 mark
which means fail.
• The case study will be provided to you during week 6 but additional
research is needed.
• Check the marking rubric available in handbook and in assignment
help folder.
• An example for strategic appraisal is also available in assignment help
folder- Please note, this is not the company you should use- It is an
example only!
Key things to remember
Regular attendance is essential to succeed in this course – we will always
scan your id cards... But we can only scan the cards of students
enrolled in a specific workshop, so
→ You need to attend the right workshop as shown in your timetable!!!

Both the assignments have to be submitted on MOODLE: we are not

allowed to receive them by email/paper copies.
→ If you have problems, you can only raise an EC request and submit it on
MOODLE! No exceptions!
Core textbook:
Fundamentals of Strategy 4th edition
also available in e-book format (link provided in module
handbook)
Expectations
What you can expect from us
•Informative and engaging workshops
•Assistance with any difficulties you may encounter
•Every effort to help maximize your overall learning experience

What we expect from you

•Attendance at ALL workshops
•Active participation in class activities and discussions
•Preparation where needed
•Timely completion of all assignments, only on MOODLE
Activity 1

1. Spend 5 minutes with your deskmate to get to know each other.

Ask each other: what kind of industry or business are you interested in?
Who would you like to work for? What would you like to invent once you
have completed your studies ?
(Suggestion: take notes!)

2. Each students reports back what she/he has learnt about

her/his desk mate
Introduction to the
concept of Strategy
 What is strategy
and why is it important?
What is Strategy?

Let’s ask Michael Porter

 WHAT DO WE MEAN BY STRATEGY ?
…. unique position
…. achieve an advantage
…. be able to sustain that advantage/unique
position over time…

Performing different activities from rivals’

… Or performing similar activities in different
ways
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY STRATEGY ?

• What is our present situation?

- Business environment and industry CONTEXT
conditions
- Firm’s financial and competitive capabilities
• Where do we want to go from here? CONTENT
- Creating a vision for the firm’s future direction
• How are we going to get there?
PROCESS
-Crafting an action plan that will get us there
 Strategy is all about How:

• How to outcompete rivals?

• How to respond to economic and market conditions and
growth opportunities?
• How to manage functional pieces of the business?
• How to improve the firm’s financial and market
performance?
 A firm does strategy:?

• To improve its financial performance

• To strengthen its competitive position
• To gain a sustainable competitive advantage over its market rivals

A creative, distinctive strategy:

• Can yield above-average profits
• Makes competition difficult for rivals
 STRATEGY AND COMPETITORS

Strategy is about competing differently from rivals —

● Doing what they don’t do or doing it better!
● Doing what they can’t do!
● Doing that which sets the firm apart and attracts customers.
● Deciding what we should or should not do to produce a competitive edge.
● Can be described as adopting a particular position
 Good Strategy + Good Strategy Execution =
Good Management
Crafting and Executing strategy are Top Priority managerial task.

▪Good strategy without good execution doesn’t lead to success

▪Competent execution of a bad strategy doesn’t lead to success
→You need both!!

Welcome and best wishes for your success!

Why are some Individuals or
Organisations more
successful than others ???
Let’s start observing the real
world: three examples
 Louise Veronica Ciccone

1978 New York… from Bay City (Michigan)

1983 The debut album:”Madonna”

- 6 further albums: Vision Quest, True Blu, You can dance, Who’s that
girl, Like a prayer, I’m breathless..
1985-1990 - 3 world tours
- 5 movie roles: Desperately seeking Susan, Truth or dare, Body of
evidence.

50 birthday → N1 position in 40 countries

Aug 2008 with “Confession on a Dancefloor”
 Louise Veronica Ciccone
More than 300 million records worldwide and she is
recognized as:
❖the “best-selling female recording artist of all time”
(by Guinness World Records).
❖the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th
century & the second best-selling female artist in the
Unites States, with 64.5 million certified albums (by
Recording Industry Association of America - RIAA)
❖Number two by Billboard Hot All-Tome Top Artist,
making her the most successful solo artist in the
history of American singles chart (by Billboard).
Various music journalists, critical theorists, and authors have deemed
Madonna “the most influential female recording artist of all time”
 Alan Sugar
• Born in Hackney in 1947 and brought up in a council flat, he left school at
16 and started selling car aerials out of the back of a van using savings of
just £100.
• At the age of 21 he founded Amstrad, a name which came from his initials (Alan
Michael Sugar TRADing).
• Within two years he was manufacturing low-priced hi-fi turntable covers and in 1980,
Amstrad was floated on the London Stock Exchange.
By the time he turned 40 in 1987 Sugar was worth about £600 million and was the
15th richest person in the UK. At its peak Amstrad was valued at £1.2 billion.
• Sugar had an estimated fortune of £900m, and was ranked as the 110th richest
person in the UK (Sunday Times Rich List 2014)
Secret of his success:
Watching what the market leaders are doing, making better and cheaper products, and selling to the mass market at cheap prices rather than
the “hi market”.

He is an “all-rounder” in his business, sitting on the production line and assembling the first units of any new models his company
produced.
Jack Ma

• Teacher of English
• In 1995 after visiting USA as a translator he learned what Internet was and
started his own company in China having just $2000
• In 1999 Alibaba – an online platform for Chinese SMEs – was crated
• In 2000 he invites a foreign expert to help the company become global
• In 2005-2007 Alibaba takes over Yahoo China
• In 2008 Alibaba opens first office in Switzerland
• In 2014 Alibaba’s IPO in New York set a record as the world’s biggest public
stock offering, raising $25 billion…

Today Jack Ma is an owner of Alibaba Group and one of the richest

men in China
What is the secret of their success?
 Madonna Jack Ma Alan Sugar

Being self sufficient and having an

understanding that it wasn't mum and
Goals Single-minded quest for stardom To change China
dad's fault that one couldn't have
things

Understanding the Identified emerging trends in popular “All-rounder” in his business:

Realised the potential of Internet for
culture. Understood key success production, assembling, marketing,
environment factors in showbiz
business in China and worldwide
finance

Recognized limited raw talent (as a

Charismatic personality. Excellent ability Excellent ability at making better
rock singer or actress). Exploited
at involving and motivating people. products than market leaders and
Resource Appraisal strengths in self-promotion, product
Ability to inspire people to follow him in selling to the mass market at cheaper
development & relationship
pursuance of the defined vision prices
management

Commitment and discipline.

Commitment and discipline. Ability to Resolute commitment to make things
Implementation Charismatic leadership. Team
attract talent. happen
building. Attention to detail.
KEY LEARNING POINT N.1
What makes a Strategy Successful ?

36
HOW do we do that?
KEY LEARNING POINT N.2
Components of a Strategy Successful
Successful
Strategy

EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION

Long-term, Profound Objective

simple and understanding of appraisal of
agreed the competitive resources
objectives environment

38
Activity 2
1. Think about the company you like

2. Identify the key points of its strategy(10 minutes)

3. Discuss the key points with your deskmate. Which

company is more successful – yours or the one your
deskmate chose? Why? (10 minutes)
Learning outcome from Activity 2

Understand the real meaning of

strategy and how to apply it when
describing the strategy of the
company you will analyse for your
assignments
Strategic Decision Making
Activity 3
In small groups discuss:
1. What do you think strategic decision-making is?
2. What kind of strategic decisions organisations make? (10 minutes)

3. Each group has to report the key points of the discussion to the
class (15 minutes)
We will continue about this next week..

Let us see if your opinions change next

week!
 TASKS BEFORE OUR NEXT
WORKSHOP

1. Familiarize yourself with the Moodle

page and go through the assignment
help folder
2. Complete your registration with
FT.com
 See you next week !

THANK YOU