ADVANCED MANAGEMENT
Syllabus
Updated A.Y. 2019-2020
TOR VERGATA ACADEMIC YEAR 2019-2020 1ST SEMESTER , MASTER OF SCIENCE IN EUROPEAN ECONOMY AND BUSINESS LAW
COURSE : ADVANCED MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTOR : PROF. VITTORIO DE PEDYS
CONTACTS: vdepedys@escpeurope.eu, de.pedys@economia.uniroma2.it , vdepedys@yahoo.it, TEL 335 /5789566 ROOM : 3rd floor, professors building , room 3C-4
LESSONS TIMETABLE: SEE SCHEDULE COURSE
BACKGROUND This course in management practice explores what managers have to do in order to increase the likelihood of the firm’s success. Today’s strategies are influenced by many factors such as resources available, the external environment, competitive conditions in the industry, the firm’s internal structure, changes happening in the marketplace. As a result developing the firm’s strategic choices involves dealing with complexity and technical issues, as decisions are interrelated and impact across different functions (production, marketing, finance, human resources, etc). The course examines how organizations achieve, sustain and renew competitive advantages.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES Formally the course objectives are to supply key concepts, models and basic analytical tools able to define the strategic choices of an organization. At the end of the course, students should be able to: - think in a strategic way about the different choices the business environment confronts organizations with; - ask the right questions about the future of a business; - apply the technical tools and the conceptual frameworks learned to real business situations; - analyse and make relevant choices in business situation of highly uncertain outcome. METHODOLOGY The methodology used is Participant-centered Learning, which entails active class discussion of the topic of the day. Relevant contribution is expected by the students to these discussions. The course is taught in sessions of 2 hours each. Instructor will lead particularly interactive lessons: you are invited and required to actively participate to fruitful class discussions. At group level, live exercise and business cases will be debriefed in plenary form. You must thoroughly prepare cases before discussions and debriefs. NOT preparing assigned cases carefully is considered by the instructor a serious offence and can heavily compromised your final mark.
EXAM Although attendance is not mandatory, it is highly recommended, given the methodology employed. Students attending at least 80% of classes and which show a good participation level, will sustain a final exam in simplified, oral form. The instructor will consider in the final mark the quality of students’ contribution to class discussion during the course AND mark a final presentation made by students, in groups, on a chosen business situation. All other students will sustain a written exam which can be in the form of an essay, a case to be solved or a questionnaire.
CONTENTS Topics covered will be:
- strategic management in a complex world
- competitive advantage
- mission, vision, values of an organization; leadership skills needed;
- the strategic posture; the strategic process; objective setting;
- the external environment in which the organization operates: Porter forces, Pestel analysis, Swot analysis, scenarios;
- the internal environment: value chain , resources and capabilities;
- the product focus: marketing to a shifting demand;
- vertical and horizontal integration: different forms;
- international management;
- innovation and blue ocean thinking
TEACHING MATERIAL
- Slides prepared by the instructor
- Exercises prepared by the instructor
- Cases: 1. Eastman Kodak Company: funtime film , Harvard Business School case no. 9-594-111, 8 may 1995 2. Arborne Express, Harvard Business School case no. 9-798-070, 23 may 2007 3. Madonna, general Giap, William sisters (by Instructor) 4. Ikea invades America Harvard Business School case no. 9-504-094, sept 2004 5. Honda (a) and Honda (B), Harvard Business School case no. 9-384-049, rev march 2011
- Assignment questions All teaching material is uploaded on the platform or available from Susanne White’s ’s office.
SUGGESTED READING
- M.Porter "What is strategy ", HBR nov-dec 1996
- C.K. Pralahad, G. Hamel “The core competences of the corporation “, in Harvard Business Review, May-June 1990
- M. Johnson, C. Christensen, H. Kagermann “Reinventing your business model” in Harvard Business Review, December 2008
- J. Magretta “Understanding Michael Porter: the essential guide to competition and strategy”, 2012, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, NY. Chapter 2: “The five forces competing for profits” , Harvard Business Review press, 2012
- S. Wunker “ Get the job done” in Strategy and Innovation, Harvard Business School Publishing, july-August 2005
- W.C. Kim , R. Mauborgne “Blue ocean strategy” in Harvard Business Review , october 2004
ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED TEXTBOOKS R. M. Grant “Contemporary Strategy Analysis” – 8th Edition , Blackwell Publishing, 2011