Johnson, G, Scholes, K. and Whittington (2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy, 7th edition, Pearson Education Ltd
Williamson, D., Jenkins, W., Cooke, P., and Moreton, K.M. (2004). Strategic Management and Business Analysis, Elsevier, Butterworth Heinemann

Students will be directed to specific papers from a variety of journals including:
Harvard Business Review
Management Decision
Strategic Management Journal

- Case study materials from recommended textbooks and other sources including journals and newspapers
- Specified readings from recommended texts and journal articles
- Materials for delivering presentations.
You will need access to the University's electronic and physical databases

Your studies will be helped by regular reading of the business pages of an appropriate daily or weekly paper/journal

The learning strategy requires students to commit to 150 learning hours (including assessment). Of this there will be 36 hours of class or workshop support and 114 hours of independent and self-directed study for students working alone or as part of a learning group.

The tutor led sessions will tend to follow a general pattern of introduction of a topic and provision of frameworks and models for student learning, followed by application to appropriate data or case study materials. Classes will include group and individual presentations. Students will be expected to obtain supplementary information from a number of paper or electronic sources as part of their preparation. Students are encouraged to form themselves into self supporting learning groups, which will be encouraged to meet both physically and via internet message boards. The course will be supported by a Blackboard site

Strategic management involves a high level integration of a number of business functions and policies to give overall coherence to organisational activities. This module provides a general grounding in the tools and processes of strategic analysis, evaluation, and selection. It introduces ideas about the path dependency of strategy, and the management of strategic change under different circumstances. It acts as a core integrative module, bringing together material from a number of disciplines.
The following topics will be covered
- The concept of organisation strategy and distinctions between levels of strategy
- Business strategy design frameworks
- Alternative processes of strategy development; strategy development in different contexts
- Mission and vision
- The external environments of organisations
- Key issues in strategic management including the impact of ICT and CSR on the formulation and implementation of strategy
- Resources as assets and competences in organisation activities.
- Strategic positioning and the pursuit of competitive advantage
- Stakeholders
- Organisation culture and its impact on strategy development and implementation
- Strategic choice and implementation under different circumstances

1. A 20 minute group presentation, weighted at 25% in approximately week 8 (assessing all three Learning Outcomes)
2. An individual assignment of 2500 words, weighted at 75% at the end of the module (assessing all three Learning Outcomes)