Course syllabus - Strategic management

Objectives

The purpose is to give the student an overview of strategy concepts, theories and different schools/perspectives on strategy. The course also lets the student analyse the relationship between entrepreneurship, knowledge, market dynamics, innovation and growth.
Another purpose is to develop the student's personal skills in concerns to oral and written presentations; critical and analytical thinking; information search; scrutinizing material, and; group work.

Learning outcomes

After this course the student should be able to:
- demonstrate the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity when evaluating different alternatives concerning a company's strategy in certain context;
- apply theories and models from the course literature - and other collected and scrutinized material - to an organization in order to describe and analyze their stratetgy
- formulate judgements with incomplete data concerning strategy;
- communicate and present (both orally and in writing) his/her conclusions and underpinnings (on the above mentioned learning outcomes), to specialist and non-specialist international audiences clearly and unambiguously;
- peer-review the work of fellow students as well as argue for and discuss about his/her own contribution in each learning activity, and;
- study in a manner that is largely self-directed and autonomous, which means that the student is expected to take responsibility for his/her own studies, and also indirectly for other students' learning and development by taking an active part in different course activities.

Course content

During the course the student will discuss and analyse concepts connected to different views on strategy. The base for the discussion will come from the course literature, articles and case studies. The student will do a research where they should describe strategies used by a company / organization. Part of the course is also to get the experience of leading and managing a seminar. The course contains 30% applied business administration.

Tuition

Seminar activity: During the seminars, the student must be ready to engage in discussion about the course material. Participation is mandatory and includes: physical attendance; involvement in classroom activities and discussions.

Group project: The assignment consists of writing a paper (or papers) about a certain topic distributed by the teachers. The assignment will be presented (orally and in writing) during a final seminar. On the seminar the students also peer-review and scrutinize another group's paper. Presence during the final seminar is mandatory.

Written exam: The final written exam might contain multiple choice, short answer and essay questions. The exam should give the student the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills he/she has acquired during the learning activities. Two opportunities for make-up exams are given if the student is absent from or fail the written exam.

Specific requirements

Business Administration 60 credits with progression of theese 15 credits must be on level G1F. In addition English course 6 is required.

Examination

Written examination (TEN2), 6 credits, grade Excellent (A), Very good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Sufficient (E), Insufficient (F) 
Group project (GRU1), 4,5 credits, grade Excellent (A), Very good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Sufficient (E), Insufficient, complementary work possible (Fx), Insufficient (F) 
Seminar activity (SEM1), 4,5 credits, grade Excellent (A), Very good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Sufficient (E), Insufficient, complementary work possible (Fx), Insufficient (F)

A student who has a certificate from MDU regarding a disability has the opportunity to submit a request for supportive measures during written examinations or other forms of examination, in accordance with the Rules and Regulations for Examinations at First-cycle and Second-cycle Level at Mälardalen University (2020/1655). It is the examiner who takes decisions on any supportive measures, based on what kind of certificate is issued, and in that case which measures are to be applied.

Suspicions of attempting to deceive in examinations (cheating) are reported to the Vice-Chancellor, in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance, and are examined by the University’s Disciplinary Board. If the Disciplinary Board considers the student to be guilty of a disciplinary offence, the Board will take a decision on disciplinary action, which will be a warning or suspension.

Grade

Excellent, Very good, Good, Satisfactory, Sufficient, Insufficient, complementary work possible, Insufficient

Interim Regulations and Other Regulations

Overlaps 15 hp with EFO210 Strategic Marketing Management