R I F T V A L L E Y U N I V E R S I T Y

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

Course Title : Strategic Management and Policy Analysis

Course Code MBA
Program Master
Credit Hours : 2
Prerequisite:
Course facilitator: Chala Dechassa (PhD)
Delivery: Year II Sem. I
Course Description:

As the business environment is becoming ever more complex, more turbulent, more
global and more competitive, thinking strategically about how a firm should position it in
order to compete successfully is becoming increasingly critical. Those firms that will
survive, grow and create value are firms with a clear vision of what their competitive
advantage is and of how to maintain and enhance it.

The perspective of this course is that of a general manager whose responsibility is to maximize
the overall performance of the firm or the performance of a business unit within the firm. To
achieve this objective, general managers must analyze the drivers of the firm’s current
performance and identify external changes that may affect this performance. On this basis, their
job is then to find ways to better leverage the firm’s internal resources in order to sustainably
improve performance.

At the corporate level, general managers’ responsibility is also to define the scope of the firm’s
activities, to implement strategic moves that will affect this scope, and convince shareholders and
stakeholders of the relevance of their strategy.
Course Objectives:

The objective of this course is to review the main concepts, methods and tools which are used in
the strategy formulation and implementation processes, identify the business situations in which
they can be applied most effectively, as well as understand the limitations of the various
approaches.

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COURSE CONTENTS
Chapter 1. THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
1.1. The need for strategic management
1.2. towards a definition of strategy:
1.2.1. Dimensions of strategic decisions
1.2.2. Formality in strategic management
1.3. Strategic management requires different time lines
1.3.1. Strategic management: what it requires
1.4. Model of strategic management
1.5. Basic elements of strategic management process
1.6. Orientations Toward Strategy ( school of thought )
Chapter 2: Basic Model of Strategic Management
2.1.Environmental scanning
2.2. Strategy formulation
2.3. Strategy implementation
2.4. Evaluation and control
Chapter 3: ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING
3.1. Environmental scanning and industry analysis
3.1.1. Identifying external environmental
variables
3.1.2. Industry analysis: using Michel porter
approach to industry analysis
3.1.3. Competitive inelegancy
3.1.4. Forecasting
3.1.5. Strategic audit: check list for
environmental scanning
3.2. Internal scanning and organizational analysis
3.2.1. Resource based approach to
organization analysis (core
competences- competitive advantage )
3.2.2. Business model

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 3.2.3. Value chain analysis ( industry value
chain or corporate value chain analysis )
3.2.4. Scanning functional resource and
capability

Chapter 4: STRATEGY FORMULATION:

4.1. STRATEGY FORMULATION: Situation analysis and
business strategy
4.1.1. Situation analysis: SWOT analysis
4.1.2. Review of Mission and Objectives
4.1.3. Development of the concept of strategy
4.1.4. Strategic analysis and choice
4.1.5. Business strategy: Porter competitive
strategy
4.2. STRATEGY FORMULATION: Corporate strategy
(Corporate level strategic alternatives)
4.2.1. Corporate strategic analysis( directional S,
growth S, stability S, retrenchment S,
4.2.2. Business strategy portfolio analysis (
Boston Consultant Group (BCG) growth
share matrix)
4.2.3. Product portfolio strategy (build share,
Hold, Harvest, Divest
4.2.4. Corporate strategy alternatives:
4.2.5. Managing organizational scope
4.3. STRATEGY FORMULATION: Functional strategy and
strategic choice (Business level strategic alternatives
4.3.1. Functional strategy: Marketing, finance,
HRM, Logestic, operational, R & Dev’t)
4.4. STRATEGIC CHOICE: select the best strategy and
construct corporate scenarios
Chapter 5: STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION: MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONAL ISSUE
5.1. Strategy Implementation: staffing and Directing

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 5.2. Staffing: who implement the strategy? What must be
done? How to implement
5.3. Strategy Implementation: organizing for action
(Strategy in action)
5.3.1. Integration strategies (Forward, backward and
horizontal
5.3.2. Intensive strategies ( market penetration, market
development, Product development )
5.3.3. Diversification strategies (related and unrelated)
5.3.4. Defensive strategies (retrichement, divesture,
liquidation)
5.3.5. Warfare based strategies –(Offensive marketing
warfare strategies , Defensive marketing warfare strategies
, Flanking marketing warfare strategies, Guerrilla
marketing warfare strategies)
5.3.6. Industry Life-Cycle States: Strategic
Implications
5.3.7. Michale porter five generic strategies ( cost
leadership, differentiation, focus)
5.3.8. Means for achieving strategies-
Globalization and International Strategy (cooperation,
joint venturing, partnership, merger/acquisition,
outsourcing
Chapter 6: STRATEGY REVIEW, EVALUATION AND CONTROL
6.1. Evaluation and control in strategic management
6.2. Measuring performance
6.3. Problem in measuring performance
6.4. Strategic information system
6.5.Guideline for proper control (some rule of thumb)

COURSE DELIVERY METHODOLOGY

 Lecture, discussion, case analysis, presentation, and other methods relevant to the
context.
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EVALUATION (TENTATIVE)

 The final grade will be computed from the following constituent of Case studies
(20%) individual assignment (20%) group assignment (20%) and Final exam
(40%)
REFERENCES

 Hunger, J. David and Wheelen, L. Thomas (2012) Strategic management and

Business policy: toward Global Sustainability, 13th edition
 David, R. Fred (2011) Strategic management: Concepts and cases, 13th edition
 Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson(2007) Strategic management, competitiveness and
globalization: concepts and cases, 7th edition

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