The Global Strategy module focuses on the fundamental issues in strategy planning and will give you the skills needed to develop the long-term viability of your organization. It provides you with both conceptual knowledge and frameworks for strategic management.

The Global Strategy module will

• teach you the concepts of strategic management and how you can apply them
• allow you to learn how to develop, evaluate and implement strategies in complex global environments.

Module Overview

On this Global Strategy module we will examine the choices and actions through which managers can create value for shareholders and improve the competitiveness of their firm. In particular we will attend to three interrelated elements of strategic management: leadership and people, competition and business environment, and organization and capabilities. Strategic management requires the analysis of each of these domain areas, the formulation of strategy that is applicable to the situation in all three domains, and coherent implementation efforts that connects to and shapes all three areas.

The course will focus on digitalization as an overarching megatrend that continues to drive strategic change in numerous industries. Illustrating the key themes in strategy more generally, we will analyze how digitalization shapes competition, required skills of individuals, leadership and management practice, firm capabilities, and the design of organizations. The on-going globalization of business represents another theme covered on the course, touching each of the three domains mentioned above. We will discuss challenges how internationalization creates need for agile responses to developments in technology and new business models, the need to balance between the local adaptation and global standardization, and the new opportunities brought by broader range of customers and innovative new ideas in the global marketplace.

Module Objectives

This course should provide participants with both conceptual knowledge of key terminology and frameworks in strategic management as well as develop practical skills in strategic analysis and strategy formulation in a global context. After the course the participants should be able to:

• Understand and use the key concepts and contemporary frameworks in strategic management
• Diagnose firm’s internal capabilities and organization, the competitors, and key changes in the business environmental
• Understand key strategic challenges posed by increasing digitalization and globalization across industries in both manufacturing and services
• Design and assess realistic and effective strategy implementation efforts
• Grasp the main strategic and structural approaches available to multinational corporations
• Understand the limitations of strategic analysis and strategic planning and appreciate the role of experimentation and venturing as strategic tools

Instructor: Professor Henri Schildt, Aalto University, Finland