Class notes
Strategic Management Lecture Notes
- Course
- Institution
Lecture notes of 26 pages for the course 6012B0430Y at UvA (6 weeks of notes)
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
natasha9
Content preview
WEEK 1Lecture 1: Introduction
Learning goals:
- Recognize strategic problems in practical situations
- Explain how organisation can develop strategies to effectively deal with the demands
of the contemporary business environment
- Analyse external and internal environments of an organisation
- Resolve basic strategic problems in practical stations
Assignments
- 30% group assignments + bonus points
- 70% Written examination (open and 25 closed questions)
Strategic management and external analysis
What is strategy?
- What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Strategy”?
o Method to achieve what you want
o Game plan
o Chess
o Structuring and planning of ideas
- Origin
o (Greek) “Leader or commander of an army”
- Dictionary definition
o A detailed plan for achieving success
o The skills of planning for such situations
- Course definition (2 definitions)
o Porter: “strategy is the creation of unique and valuable positions, involving a
different set of activities”
o Book: “ A strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments
(Decisions), and actions designed to exploit and develop core competencies
and gain a competitive advantage.”
Competitive advantage
- = when a firm implements a strategy competitors are unable to duplicate or find too
costly to try and imitate
Operational effectiveness
- = performing activities better, that is, faster, or with fewer inputs and defects, than
rivals (Porter, 1996)
- Why is operational effectiveness not strategy?
o Competitors can imitate this easily
Strategic planning
- “Strategic positioning attempts to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by
preserving what is distinctive about company… by performing different activities
from rivals, or performing similar activities in different ways” (Porter, 1996)
, - Variety based positioning
o Product orientated
o Based on choices of product or service varieties rather than specific customer
segments
- Needs-based positioning
o Thinking about specific customer preferences
o Serving most or all needs of a particular group of customers
Ex. Lululemon (yoga mats)
- Access-based positioning
o Segmenting customers who are accessible in different ways
- Strategic planning is not enough in the long-term unless unique combination of
activities is created
o Trade-offs naturally emerge
o Strategy is about combining activities
Two underlying models
- I/O Model
o Assumptions: Resources are mobile, rational decision-making, firm strategies
are similar in nature (Porter’s five forces)
o 20%
- Resource based view
o Assumptions: Heterogenous firm resources, immobile resources, rational
decision making
o 36%
, Strategic management process:
Analysing the external environment
- How can we identify opportunities and threats?
o Analyses macro and industry environments
Macro embroilment
- What would I look at if I was going to make an investment
o Political conditions
Stability, taxation
o Environmental conditions (natural resources)
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller natasha9. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.30. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
83637 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now