Competitive Strategy – GMBA 1201

Description:

This course is designed to help students develop the skills for formulating strategy. It provides an understanding of:

  • A firm’s operative environment and how to sustain competitive advantage.
  • How to generate superior value for customers by designing the optimum configuration of the product mix and functional activities.
  • How to balance the opportunities and risks associated with dynamic and uncertain changes in industry attractiveness and competitive position.

Particular attention is paid to competitive positioning; understanding comparative costs; and addressing issues such as cannibalization, network externalities, and globalization.

Learning Objectives:

  • Develop a mastery of a body of analytical tools and the ability to take an integrative point of view.

  • Use these tools to perform in-depth analyses of industries and competitors, predict competitive behavior, and analyze how firms develop and sustain competitive advantage over time.

Action Learning Project:
Students will create two projects during this course.

  1. The first will be a short essay due between the sixth and eighth week of the course.
  2. The second will be a research paper due between the twelfth and fourteenth week of the course.

*Students should consult with their online instructor on any questions regarding theme, design, research, etc.

Recommended Text:
Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors; Jun 1, 1998 by Michael E. Porter
The Well-Timed Strategy: Managing the Business Cycle for Competitive Advantage (paperback);Jan 23, 2006 by Peter Navarro

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