Course: Introduction to Strategic Management

Week-0

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: COURSE OVERVIEW

How did Nokia, once the world’s most successful mobile phone manufacturer end
up losing against new comers Apple and Samsung who continued to thrive? Bad
strategy? Or just plain bad luck?

Why did Google succeed so spectacularly in the internet search engine space while
yahoo the original go to destination on the Internet put up its business for sale?
Inferior technology? Or bad positioning?

How did Kodak go from being the world’s best known and most innovative
photography company to becoming bankrupt? Lack of understanding of the
changing business context or inability to adapt?

Why are there winners and losers in the industries in which firms compete? What
ultimately wins in the marketplace? Best product? Best Strategy? Adapting to a
changing business context? All of these? Or none of these?

In this course we address these questions by examining the context in which the
firm competes, positioning of the firm and its competitive environment, resources
and capabilities which the firm possesses and its diversification initiative.

This course will help you understand how firms compete by using the important
analytical approaches that underlie the field of strategy. To compete successfully,
managers must view the firm in its totality and in the context of its environment.

In completing this course, you will have a good understanding of what is managing
a firm strategically imply, how does a firm create and sustain its competitive
advantage, how does a firm manage a portfolio of businesses.

We welcome you to explore all of these and much more in our course on Strategic
Management.

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