Indicative content is expected to be diverse in nature, reflecting the issues that are current and / or of direct concern to the organisation at the time. The aim of this module is to analyse the practices, processes and techniques that surround Strategic Working and Interpretation.

The focus will be on:

Understanding the purpose of the corporate strategy, how it clarifies the future direction of an organization in meeting its customers¿ needs and the outcomes it needs to deliver in order to be successful

How the strategy is translated by comparing current state to the proposed future state which identifies where an organization needs to change in order to achieve its outcomes;

How the decision making for change should be based on sound data capture and analysis to ensure decisions are not based on assumptions

And topics may include:

- An overview of corporate strategy, nature, scope, role and process.
- Frameworks for strategic management, missions, goals, objectives and their determination.
- Formulating and selecting strategies, generic models, evaluation methods and selection criteria.
- Implementing and controlling strategy at strategic and functional levels including the management of change and the management of structures, information systems and controls.
- The fundamentals of managing, controlling, and the management of strategic change at an individual, team and organisational level (ie at the micro and macro levels)

The learning strategy for this module will require you to commit to one hundred and fifty hours of learning. The main emphasis is on the application of the learning in the work place and the return on investment to the organisation resulting from the learning. Your learning strategy will be supported by academic study, including formal articles, activity based learning and reflective practice. This will apply to both in academic study and, most importantly, its application in the work place.
You will be encouraged to integrate your knowledge, evaluation and analysis skills as the module progresses.

The workshops will focus on the investigation process and the key aspects relating to the coursework. They will include talks and facilitated group discussion, peer review, group working and presentations based on group research, focusing on the application of new knowledge and skills in relation to your workplace.

You will be encouraged to research some of your own materials and share them in the workshops.

Learning support material will be provided for the module in the form of handouts, PowerPoint presentations and materials generated in the workshops themselves together with relevant support material on Blackboard.

Staffordshire University electronic resources, the module web site and on campus library facilities.

Adair J. 2006 Handbook of management and leadership. Thorogood Publishers U.K.
Blanchard K. 2004 The one minute manager meets the monkey. Harper Collins London.
Covey S. 2004 The seven habits of effective people . Simon and Schuster UK Ltd.
Gowthorpe C. (2005) Business Accounting & Finance for Non-Specialists. 2nd ed. Thompson
Jobber D. and Fahy J., (2006) Foundations of Marketing, McGraw-Hill
Mullins L J (2007) Management and Organisational Behaviour (8th Ed) FT Prentice Hall
Naylor J (2004) Management, FT Pitman
Whittington J. 2007 Exploring Corporate Strategy in the Public Sector. Pearson Education Ltd.

Details :- A work based assignment of 2000 words weighted at 80% ( learning outcomes 1-3 ).
A reflective journal of 500 words relating to the learning, development and application of new skills, weighed at 20% (learning outcome 4 ).

A minimum grade point of 4 must be achieved in both assessments.