Syllabus
Registration via LPIS
Business Strategy Dynamics explains how business performance has developed up to the current date, and how to develop and implement strategies to improve future performance. The approach emphasises building and sustaining the resources and capabilities needed to succeed. Focus on performance over time. The ultimate concern of strategic management is to quantitatively improve performance through time, sustainably. This can apply to the enterprise as a whole, or for a key function of interest [e.g. sales].
This means answering some challenging questions:
- Why is performance following its current path?
- Where will performance go if we continue as we are doing today?
- How can we design a robust strategy to radically improve that performance into the future?The trajectory that performance is following at any time depends, strongly and unavoidably, on what has occurred over the organization's history.
The method therefore starts from a time-chart of the organization's performance over its relevant history, and into the future, as measured by one or more conventional indicators [e.g. revenue or profits].More detailed information will be provided at the introductory session.
After completing this course students will have the ability to:
- understand how an organization?s resources behave, are developed and connected into a 'strategic architecture' that drives performance
- understand the basic concept of System Dynamics (stocks&flows, delays, feedback-loops)
- develop & conceptualize SD business models
- use SD business models for answering strategic questions
- structure complex problems
- demonstrate a critical awareness of key tools and techniques
- have the ability to evaluate, select and systematically apply these in a real business situation
Apart from that, completing this course will contribute to students? ability to:
- efficiently work and communicate in a team
- improve their oral and written communication and presentation skills
- learn to give and receive constructive feedback
- learn to take a meta-perspective on the strategy process
Full attendance at on-site classes is required. In addition, the course requires the use of at least 10 hours of online instruction, plus associated homework.
The course will combine various learning methods:
- online self-guided learning
- software-based modeling and workshop
- short lectures and class discussions
- team work on self-selected projects
- team coaching and online project guidance
- presentations & discussions
The final grade of the course will depend on:
- 25% participation (pre-reading & preperation of questions, in-class participation, etc.)
- 25 % presentation of group project
- 50 % report on group work (development of a business model + answering strategic questions using a given model)
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