Strategic Management

In this course, you will be challenged to develop optimal solutions to the key business problems and/ or opportunities facing organizations. You will utilize a structured methodology to analyze the situation and develop plausible alternatives for evaluation. Case studies will include companies of various sizes, diverse industries, and different countries. This course integrates the courses of the Management Development Certificate Program and is recommended to be taken as the final course.

Course at a glance

• Fully online course, accessible through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool.
• Learn through lectures and lively discussions, as you broaden your network and apply the course content to the context of your own work or organization and explore its implications for your professional practice.
• Acquire hands-on experience in crafting business strategy, reasoning carefully about strategic options, using what-if analysis to evaluate action alternatives, and making sound strategic decisions.
• Aimed at individuals in supervisory or management positions who wish to upgrade or sharpen their managerial abilities, this course will also benefit prospective or aspiring managers ready to take the next step in their careers.

What you will learn

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• Think strategically about a company—its present business position, long-term direction, resources and competitive capabilities, the caliber of its strategy, and its opportunities for gaining sustainable competitive advantage.
• Conduct strategic analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations, with a stronger understanding of the competitive challenges of a global market environment.
• Understand the managerial tasks associated with implementing and executing company strategies, as well as the range of actions managers can take to promote competent strategy execution.
• Be an effective member of a company’s strategy-implementing team.
• Integrate the knowledge gained in earlier courses and understand how the various pieces of the business puzzle fit together.
• Demonstrate why the different parts of a business need to be managed in strategic harmony for the organization to operate in winning fashion.
• Have a heightened awareness of how and why ethical principles, core values, and socially responsible management practices matter greatly in the conduct of a company’s business.
• Make sound business decisions and achieve effective outcomes.

Take note:

• This is a graded course; assessment activities may include exams, projects, presentations, journals, or research papers.
• Refer to the course syllabus for details on activities and assignments.
• A textbook is required for this course; further information will be provided in the course syllabus.
• Additional learning materials are provided through eClass at no additional cost.