MGMT304 - Strategic Management

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

MGMT213 Organisational Analysis OR HRMG204 Organisational Behaviour

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Strategic Management is an advanced unit which draws on students’ previous knowledge of functional business areas, such as accounting, marketing, management, operations, HRM, as well as economics, in order to create new, higher level knowledge of organisational strategy and managing a company for achievement of long-term goals, competitive advantage and overall business success. The unit is designed to introduce students to the processes of strategic analysis, strategy development, implementation and evaluation. It will help learners understand the importance and the sources of competitive advantage, how to gain and retain a competitive edge in an increasingly dynamic and competitive world, while protecting the interests of all members of the society, in line with the principles of the Common Good. This knowledge is essential for future business executives and business leaders, as it helps realise the crucial importance of setting the vision, mission and goals of the organisation and putting in place the necessary strategies to attain these for the benefit of all stakeholders. The unit aims to explain why some competitors in the same industry, with resources comparable to other industry rivals can achieve much better results than others. The overarching aim of the unit is to build knowledge of how to manage organisations for long-term success while consistently creating value to all stakeholders in line with common good principles. 

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - identify and explain the implications of strategic management decisions for the long-term success of organisations and their contributions to the common good, environment and society (GA2, GA5)

LO2 - demonstrate how the alignment of various types of strategies at corporate, business and functional level contributes to achieving organisational objectives in local and/or international context (GA5, GA6)

LO3 - critically analyse organisational environments and strategies, using a range of strategic management concepts and analytical frameworks and reflect on the strategic options available to organisations in specific business contexts (GA4, GA5)

LO4 - apply effective communication skills to discuss a wide range of strategic management concepts, principles and the role of competitive advantage in organisations (GA5, GA10)

LO5 - work autonomously and with peers to solve strategic management problems (GA5, GA7).

Graduate attributes

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics will include: 

• the nature of strategy and strategic management; 
• the role of effective communication skills in communicating corporate mission and vision 
• critical analysis and evaluation of the external environment 
• internal analysis using a variety of analytical frameworks; 
• ethical implications of decisions
• functional strategies;  
• business strategies; 
• corporate strategies; 
• achieving competitive advantage while creating conditions for all stakeholders, including customers and society, to thrive; 
• strategy implementation and the role of teamwork; 
• strategy review and evaluation; 
• strategic leadership, social responsibility and ethical implications of local and international strategies; not-for-profit organisations; 
• global strategies; 
• the role of technology and innovation.  

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

The learning and teaching strategy for this unit is based on using weekly workshop-style meetings during which the new topic will be introduced, and the students will be engaged in series of exercises, brainstorming sessions, problem solving activities and group analysis and discussions of short case studies. The teaching of the unit is supported by the extensive use of the University digital learning platform which allows students access to the teaching notes, exercises, activities as well as extra resources, even when they are not able to be present to the face-to-face workshops. The knowledge acquired by students in the unit during the semester will be assessed via written assignments and an exam as outlined below.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students will require the learners to critically analyse in-depth key strategic management concepts & tools, and to use critical evaluation skills in defending the concepts and tools and identifying relevant work from the seminal and more recent literature to incorporate a range of perspectives. The second assessment students will need to analyse the particular business situation of a real company and solve strategic-management- and business related problems, by considering common good principles when applying the concepts, principles and theories studied in this unit. Finally, a Business Report undertaking a strategic management analysis of an organisation requiring students to work in groups and utilise effective communication and teamwork skills to apply their knowledge and skills learned in the unit to their analysis of a large company. To pass the unit the participants have to obtain at least an overall pass of 50%. Marking of the assignments will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure the level of achievement of the learning outcomes. Students will also be awarded a final grade that signifies their overall achievement in the unit. The assessment strategy allows learners to sequentially develop their knowledge and skills in the unit.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Hill, CWL, Schilling, M. & Jones, GR 2020, Strategic management: an integrated approach, 13th edn, Cengage, NY (available in the Campus Coop Bookstore)

De Wit, B 2020, Strategy: an international perspective, 7th Edn, Cengage Learning, London.

Grant, R Butler, B, Hung, H, & Orr, S 2019, Contemporary strategic management, an Australasian perspective, John Wiley, Milton, Qld

Thompson, AA Strickland, AJ & Gamble, JE 2020, Crafting and executing strategy: the quest for competitive advantage: concepts and cases. 15th Edn, McGraw-Hill Education, NY.

Ershadi, MJ, Eskandari, D, 2019, Investigating the role of strategic thinking in establishing organizational excellence model, TQM Journal, v.31(4), pp620-640

Buonomo, I, Benevene, P, Barbieri, B., Cortini, M.2020. Intangible Assets and Performance in Non-profit Organisations, Frontiers in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00729

McDonal, R, Eisenhardt, K, 2020, The New-Market Conundrum: In emerging industries the usual rules of strategy don’t apply, HBR, May-June 2020

Bhagwat, Y, Warren, NL, Beck, J, Watson, G., 2020, Corporate Sociopolitical Activism and Firm Value, JM, Vol. 84 (5), pp 1-21