Mastering Strategy

This course will provide you with a robust foundation of strategic knowledge by exploring strategy in several domains. It has been designed to have you learn both about strategy and how to be strategic, providing learners with the knowledge needed to understand strategy as well as the opportunity to build the skills and competencies required to leverage this understanding.

Course Outline

• Military strategy, national strategy, diplomatic strategy, political strategy, public sector strategy and competitive strategy
• Strategic management in public sector organizations
• Mintzberg and colleagues’ 10 schools of strategy
• Approaches to and challenges with crafting strategy
• Strategy tools (including SWOT analysis, the BCG Matrix, Porter’s 5 Forces, PEST analysis)
• Game theory
• Blue Ocean Strategy
• Functional strategies (including marketing strategy, HR strategy, and manufacturing strategy)
• Approaches to and challenges with strategy execution
• Strategic learning
• Cultural and cognitive considerations for decision-making

What You Will Learn:

• Have developed a deep understanding of strategy and understand what strategy involves in different contexts
• Be able to explain the difference between strategy and tactics
• Be familiar with the origin of modern strategic thinking and have become acquainted with some of the world’s most prominent strategic thinkers
• Understand the strengths and limitations of the various schools of strategy and appreciate the importance of strategic learning
• Be familiar with a range of strategy formation and implementation tools
• Have practiced making decisions in the face of uncertainty
• Be aware of the importance of strategy execution, the challenges associated with it, and approaches to drive effective implementation
• Applied your learning to real strategic challenges faced by your organization and those of others in your course working group