By the end of this course, you will be able to identify significant external and internal factors a firm must consider, describe how a firm fits into its industry, assess a firm’s strategy, and present alternatives and recommendations for increased performance.  You will also have sharpened your ability to concisely and persuasively present your ideas as well as respond effectively to the ideas of others.  Finally, you will have gained experience working together in groups, learning how to seize the advantages and overcome the potential hurdles of such teamwork.

 

This course is equally valuable to those pursuing functional specialties (such as finance).  With increasing organizational complexity and functional specialization, specialists must nonetheless understand the organization’s mission, recognize the competitive environment that the organization faces, appreciate how their function affects the wider organization, and develop support for activities pursued by their functional area.  If specialists do not know the wider organizational objectives that they serve, they can hardly serve them well.

 

Strategic management is also strongly tied to Krannert’s Launching Business Leaders.  Launching Business Leaders (LBL) is the Krannert program designed to teach and enhance “soft skills” through academic coursework and campus experiences.  Of the twelve specific leadership competencies highlighted in the LBL program, MGT 45100 teaches at least ten:  Trustworthiness and Integrity, Professionalism, Personal Responsibility, Oral and Written Communication, Decision Making, Strategic Thinking, Team Building (reduced during Summer session), Adaptability and Cultural Intelligence.

Strategic Management deals with the organization, management, and strategic positioning of the firm so as to gain long-term competitive advantage.  Students in this class are expected to exhibit the Krannert leadership competencies of professionalism and personal integrity while completing course requirements.  In this course, you will develop your skills in:

 

 

To accomplish these objectives, this course introduces and employs various analytical frameworks that help us to identify the sources of competitive advantage from both an industry and firm perspective.  By focusing on what makes some competitive strategies strong and viable, while others remain weak and vulnerable, we shall develop the ability to consider the impact of change and other important environmental forces on the opportunities for establishing and sustaining competitive advantage. Strategic thinking is featured through case study projects which will engage students decision making skills, requiring understanding of the businesses’ competitive advantages and opportunities; you will learn strategic thinking skills as you build a business plan. A major part of that plan will require you to practice sound decision making skills.

Why were Compaq, HP and IBM unable to effectively compete with Dell?

The question may be multiple choice:  Why were Compaq, HP and IBM unable to effectively compete with Dell? (Choose the best answer)

a)       Dell had first mover advantage

b)      The other competitors did not have the same economies of scale

c)       The other competitors had established sales channels they did not want to upset

d)      If another competitor tried selling direct, the sales partners would sell against them