BUS6A2 - BUSINESS STRATEGY
Fall Term
Academic Year 2012/2013
Module Outline Booklet
Module Leader: Mikko I Arevuo
BA in International Business
European Business School London
Faculty of Business and Management, Regent’s College, London

Module Code: Bus6A2
Module Name: Business Strategy – Managing and Thinking Strategically in a Rapidly Changing International Environment
Academic Level: 3
Credit Value: 20 RC/10 ECTS
Status: Core
Formal student hours: Contact: 48 hours Self-directed learning: 152 hours
Pre-requisites: All required Level 1 and Level 2 Business modules. For exchange students, pre-requisites/entry requirements include introductory modules in accounting and finance, managerial economics, and marketing.
Course Team: Mikko I Arevuo, Module leader Stuart Francis, Seminar tutor

Rationale & Aims

Rationale
The purpose of Business Strategy – Managing and Thinking Strategically in a Rapidly Changing International Environment is to deliver a holistic module that ties previously studied disciplines together at a strategic level in determining the future strategic direction of organizations in the context of the broad general and immediate competitive environment and their choice of competitive strategy. Business Strategy is an integrative module that draws upon previous modules delivered at earlier levels, particularly the core modules at Level 2 (marketing, accounting & finance, managerial economics, HRM, and quantitative methods). The emphasis will primarily be on the analysis of the external and internal environment of various organizations and industries using appropriate theories, concepts and principles. Students will have access to the necessary frameworks and models to analyze an organization, or an industry, its environment, and make the appropriate choice of future direction and competitive scope to deliver competitive advantage. The module incorporates managerial decision-making models as most strategy is viewed as emergent in an increasingly global, hyper-competitive context, and it can’t be treated separately from the mental models of organizational actors. The module also serves as a foundation for the Business Dissertation as students will apply some of the relevant theories, frameworks and concepts gleaned from the Business Strategy module when doing their research for their final year dissertation.

Aims
This module provides a general framework for the understanding of the direction and functioning of organizations. It encourages students to analyze and evaluate the importance of strategic decisions within an organization through the use of case studies and decision-making exercises. The module also introduces newer developments and concepts within the discipline including real options, the resource- and knowledge based views of a firm, cognitive mapping, and strategic decision-making.

Programme level outcomes

|A. Knowledge and understanding |
|At the end of the module, learners will be expected to: |
|A10. To demonstrate a thorough and critical understanding of the strategic aspects of business in its global context and the implications for |
|operational effectiveness. |
|A12. To critically analyse contemporary theories and developments across the range of business disciplines in understanding the dimensions of |
|contemporary international and global business. |

|B. Cognitive skills |
|At the end of the module learners will be