Corporate Strategy
Subject Overview
Corporate Strategy covers the strategic management process and external environment analysis, industry and internal environment analysis with business-level strategies, corporate-level strategies (expansion, diversification, restructuring) and portfolio strategies, and strategy implementation and evaluation using the Balanced Scorecard. A 4-credit core theory paper.
Unit-wise Syllabus
4 units — click WhatsApp below to get the full notes for each
Unit 1: Understanding strategy and external analysis
Strategic management process, strategic decision making, levels of strategy, McKinsey's 7-S model, defining vision/mission/goals, environmental scanning techniques (ETOP, PEST, SWOT, TOWS)
Unit 2: Industry and internal analysis
Porter's Five Forces, strategic group mapping, key success factors, VRIO framework, value chain analysis, competitive advantage and core competency, Porter's competitive strategies (cost leadership, differentiation, focus)
Unit 3: Corporate-level strategies
Horizontal and vertical integration, strategic outsourcing, related and unrelated diversification, international entry options, corporate restructuring, synergy, mergers and acquisitions, stability/harvesting/retrenchment strategies, BCG matrix, GE nine-cell matrix, product life cycle matrix
Unit 4: Strategy implementation and control
Strategy-structure fit, resource allocation, organization structure and systems, leadership and corporate culture, functional plans and their integration, strategic and operational control, the Balanced Scorecard